No one thought that the commander-in-chief Jiang Rang would ask such a question, and in order to answer this question, one must know the story of the Battle of Saarhu.
In the forty-fourth year of Wanli, Nurhaci unified the Jurchen tribes, established the Houjin Dynasty, called the "Destiny Khan", and made Hetuala the capital.
In April of the 46th year of Wanli Dynasty, taking advantage of the fierce internal party strife in the Ming Dynasty and the relaxation of border defenses, Nurhaci sent troops under the "Seven Hatreds" and captured the important towns of Fushun and Qinghe in Liaodong, killing Ming people wantonly.
In February of the 47th year of Wanli, the Ming court mobilized elite troops from all over the country, plus the servant armies of North Korea and Yehe, totaling 140,000 troops and more than 40,000 horses. Liaodong Manager Yang Hao Responsible for the command, four troops were sent out to attack together, trying to attack Hetuala... At that time, the Jurchen side had only 60,000 troops, less than half of the Ming army.
However, Nurhaci was extremely cunning and adopted the strategy of "You come in several ways, I will only go all the way". He used the complex terrain in Liaodong to concentrate superior forces and defeated each of the four Ming armies. Because the main battlefield was located in the capital city of Houjin - The Salhu area near Hetuala is therefore called the Battle of Salhu! '
In this battle, the Ming army suffered more than 100,000 casualties, more than 300 generals at all levels were killed, and countless losses of food, grass, ordnance, horses... and they lost the right to take the initiative in military offensive from then on!
After the war, Yang Hao, the Liaodong manager, was imprisoned for his crimes and beheaded in public.
Although Yang Hao died, the debate about the Battle of Sarhu has never stopped in the past ten years. From the heights of temples to the distances of rivers and lakes, countless people have discussed this topic and published various opinions. Some of his opinions are true insights and some are empty words.
…
The troubles of the Ming Dynasty originated in Liaodong, and the situation in Liaodong was so critical. It all started with the Battle of Sarhu ten years ago. In that battle, Jiannu was victorious and our army was defeated. We lost troops, generals, cities and territory... Every time When talking about this world, there are no people in the country who cannot help sighing. This exam is based on this question. If you and I were the Liaodong managers at that time, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, could you have a strategy to turn things around and eliminate the slaves?
While talking, Yang He had someone fetch a huge map of Liaodong. The mountains, rivers, terrain, cities and fortresses were all clearly visible, and then he hung it on a high platform.
Qin and Lei stared at the map, both in deep thought and silence.
After about a meal, Lei Dapeng took two steps forward confidently: "I'll tell you, the Governor, I already have the answer."
"Oh, try it!"
"Nuo, in my opinion, the reason why our army ended in a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Sarhu is that Yang Hao, the former Liaodong manager, bears the unshirkable responsibility:
Our army of 140,000 troops was drawn from all over the country. The soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers. There is no tacit understanding at all. Under such circumstances, it is time to reorganize and practice the skills of attacking, killing, and defending. , so that the soldiers and generals can get to know each other well before they can go out to fight, but Yang Hao ignored it and rushed to launch an attack without waiting for the army to be reorganized. This was a mistake.
The way to use troops is to first look at the weather. If the weather is unfavorable, you cannot send troops.
Yang Hao didn't understand the weather, so he actually chose to send troops in February. At that time, there was heavy snowfall and freezing weather in Liaodong. Many of our soldiers were drawn from Sichuan, Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang... and were not suitable for it. In the cold weather in the north, there has been no fighting, numerous frostbites have occurred, and the combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced. These are the two mistakes.
The way of using troops is to be strong when gathered together and weak when divided. This is the same method from ancient to modern times. Yang Hao did not understand the art of war and divided his troops into four directions to attack. They could not respond to each other, so that Jiannu seized the opportunity and defeated them one by one. These three mistakes were also .
With these three mistakes, even if our army is far more powerful than Jiannu, we will not be able to escape the outcome of defeat! "
After speaking about his thoughts on the defeat in the Battle of Saarhu, Lei Dapeng took a few breaths and began to describe his tactics again.
"If the general is the commander-in-chief, he will first organize the troops and horses from all walks of life to make them familiar with each other and unite, and then wait until the ice and snow melts and spring is warm and the flowers bloom, then the troops will be sent out. All 140,000 troops will be gathered together, forming a camp step by step, slowly Push forward, in this way, I dare not say that we will be able to defeat Jiannu, and we will also be in an invincible position!"
…
Next, Lei Dapeng pointed to the map of Liaodong and talked about how to march troops, how to station them, how to choose battlefields, how to arrange troops... The logic was clear and coherent, showing extremely high military ability.
After listening to it, everyone present, including the governor Yang He, all nodded secretly and praised, Lei Dapeng is indeed a talented general. This answer is a high score.
Next, it's Qin Feng's turn.
"Qin Feng, what do you think about the Battle of Sarhu?"
"Replying to the governor, in my humble opinion, the battle of Sarhu was defeated. Although Yang Hao, the former Liaodong manager, was responsible, he also had his own reasons. Therefore, the responsibility for the defeat cannot be entirely attributed to Yang Hao! "
"Wow!"
As soon as Qin Feng's words came out, there was a huge uproar.
You know, in the past ten years, although the world has had a lot of opinions on the War of Saar-Hu, they are surprisingly unanimous in criticizing Yang Hao. They all believe that Yang Hao was self-willed, commanded indiscriminately, and was eager for quick success, which led to the Sahar-Hu War. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Erhu was the first culprit of the defeat!
Now, Qin Feng said that Yang Hao had troubles and could not blame him blindly. This would inevitably attract everyone's sideways glances. They looked at Qin Feng like the village guard at the entrance of the village. This guy would not have well-developed limbs and a simple mind. A total military idiot, right?
Only the Governor-General Yang He's expression remained unchanged and he nodded inconspicuously.
"Qin Feng, tell me in detail."
"No, everyone knows that the defeat of Sarhu was caused by Yang Hao's stubbornness and eagerness to send troops. But have you ever thought about why Yang Hao was so eager to send troops?
The answer is only four words: insufficient food and salary!
Our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and abundant resources. However, between the 20th and 28th years of Wanli, our Ming Dynasty successively launched the Battle of Ningxia, the Battle of Korea, and the Battle of Bozhou.
After three wars, countless soldiers, horses, food, and ordnance were consumed, and money was spent like sea water. As a result, the national treasury was empty, people's livelihood was in ruins, and military expenditures were seriously tight.
In the forty-sixth year of Wanli, the imperial court was preparing to send troops to Liaodong, but suffered from insufficient military pay. In desperation, it issued a decree: the land in the world would be levied an additional three and a half millimeters of silver, and a total of more than two million taels of silver would be awarded. He barely scraped together the military pay needed for the expedition.
But have you ever thought about how much money 140,000 soldiers, more than 40,000 troops and horses, plus hundreds of thousands of civilians at the rear, consume in a day?
How long can more than two million taels of silver last? "
As Qin Feng narrated, the eyes of everyone present changed again. This guy was not a military idiot. Instead, he considered it very comprehensively, and then silently calculated...
This kind of huge military expenditure account is not something that ordinary people can understand, but the Governor-General Yang He happens to know it.
"In the forty-sixth year of Wanli, the governor happened to be serving in the Ministry of Household Affairs. I checked the accounts of military expenditures. In the bitter cold land of Liaodong, the grain production was limited and insufficient for personal use. It was impossible to provide supplies for the 140,000 troops and could only be transported from the interior. .
The imperial court recruited hundreds of thousands of civilians at that time, and first transported the grain from the Jiangnan area to Shandong through the Grand Canal, then by land to Dengzhou, and then by sea to the Liaodong area to supply the army... Because the journey was too long, every stone transported Food will consume 40,000 taels of silver, and 140,000 taels of silver will be consumed. Based on one stone of monthly ration for an individual, that is 140,000 dans of grain per month, and 640,000 taels of silver will be consumed! "
"Wow!"
Most of the people present were fighting for their lives. They only knew how to serve as soldiers, eat food, and go into battle to kill the enemy. However, they paid little attention to logistics and supply matters, and it was not their turn to care.
Now after hearing the explanation from Governor Yang He, I couldn't help but burst into an uproar. I didn't expect that the cost of sending troops to Liaodong would be so huge. The soldiers' rations alone cost 640,000 taels of silver a month.
In addition to the expenditure on military horses and ordnance, how much money should be spent, and how long could the Ming Dynasty sustain it with the national power at that time?
"Sun Tzu's Art of War" says: An army without equipment will perish; without food, it will perish... When an army goes out on an expedition, the first thing to consider is the logistics of food and grass. If there is no supply of food and grass, the army will be defeated without a fight!
If we follow what Lei Dapeng said, we should reorganize the troops first, and then wait until the spring comes, and then proceed step by step and slowly implement it... I am afraid that before the Jurchens can be seen, the 140,000 troops will not fight because of the lack of food and grass. Self-destructive.
Faced with this situation, the only option is to ignore it and make a quick decision!
This is what Yang Hao did. He went against all opinions and went out forcibly without waiting for the army to be reorganized or for the weather to get warmer. He also adopted the strategy of "sending troops in four directions and attacking separately".
Only in this way can the Jurchens' activity space be gradually compressed from different directions, forcing the Jurchens to fight decisively, and then achieving the goal of a quick victory.
It can be said that in that case, Yang Hao's strategy was not wrong.
I just didn’t expect that Nurhachi was too cunning and the Jurchen Eight Banners was too powerful, which led to the disastrous defeat of the Ming army. The main responsibility for the disastrous defeat lies with the Ming court, which failed to provide sufficient food and wages to the front, and kept urging troops to be sent. decisive battle.
In fact, the emperor and the ministers all knew about this matter, but they could not explain it. As for the former Liaodong manager Yang Hao, he became the scapegoat for this matter. Not only did he end up with his head missing, but he also suffered Countless abuses!
A bit unfair.
It’s not too unfair.
As a commander, winning a battle under favorable conditions is not a skill, but winning a battle under unfavorable conditions is a skill!
Obviously, Yang Hao did not have this kind of ability. He had no ability, and he refused to abdicate his position and make way for others. He forced himself to do things that were difficult to do. This is called not having self-awareness, so he died unjustly!
