Emperor Chongzhen, who was far away in the capital, probably had a vague understanding of the fact that Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were used by the Qing Tatars to blackmail the Ming Dynasty people into withdrawing their troops through the eavesdropping seeds in Wu Zhong. I only know that something like this happened, but I don’t know the specific circumstances.
The first battle was won, and the words "Wansheng" could be seen from the eavesdropping seeds, but then it ended like this. I have to say that this made Emperor Chongzhen a little depressed. He thought that the more than 200,000 livestock that were plundered by the Manchu and Qing Tatars could be saved in this war!
While he was depressed, the brutality and unscrupulous tactics of the Manchu Tatars also made Emperor Chongzhen very angry. They plundered the people, and then used the people of the Ming Dynasty as a threat to deal with the imperial officers and soldiers. What bottom line did they have?
But looking back and thinking about it, it seems that it is not surprising that this kind of thing happened!
The cruelty of the Manchu Tatars was condemned by everyone even in later generations. It's strange that people like them, who kill the city at every turn and don't treat the people of the Ming Dynasty as human beings, treat the people of the Ming Dynasty well!
In their eyes, the people of the Ming Dynasty are not human beings at all, they are treated like pigs and dogs!
The imperial army is an imperial army, not bandits, let alone Manchu Tatars, but an army that protects the country and the people. If they ignore the casualties of the people and do not care whether the people live or die, then they are not the imperial army.
The ferocious Tatars obviously understand this very well. Using this to blackmail the governors of the three sides and the governor of Shaanxi, two civilian commanders with Jinshi origins, was to seize their Achilles heel.
It is true that whether it was Sun Chuanting or Hong Chengchou, they showed no mercy when suppressing the bandits, and even killed all the captured bandits. At this time, they have an excuse, because these people are not the people of the Ming Dynasty, but the thieves who harm the people of the Ming Dynasty. They can kill them without much burden.
But even so, there was another theory in the court, saying that they were just hungry people, and that Sun Hong and the two men had a terrible heart for killing them like this, and they were violating the teachings of the saints.
Now for Sun Hong and the two of them, the people being threatened by the Tatars are still the people of the Ming Dynasty. It can't be said that they are already Tatars, right? As far as the imperial court was concerned, it would be fine if the officers and soldiers did not rescue them, but they would forcefully attack and kill them. They could not afford to bear this responsibility anyway. Even if the emperor can keep them, their reputation will be ruined under the attack of political opponents.
Which civil servant has the same name? There are even civil servants who specifically ask for the royal staff, just to gain the reputation of being a straight minister! Whether it is Sun Chuanting or Hong Chengchou, they absolutely do not want their reputation to be notorious among scholars!
In this way, they chose to retreat rather than fight. Emperor Chongzhen could understand their choice even if he didn't know the specific battle situation!
If the people leading the war at that time were just general soldiers from all walks of life, a group of warriors, with little regard for political matters, then maybe they would only judge whether to attack or not based on the probability of winning or losing the war at that time. If they felt that they could take advantage of the opportunity to invade If he goes to the city and saves more people in one fell swoop, or achieves some military exploits by annihilating the enemy, he might be able to ignore the Tatar threat.
It is said that kindness does not lead the army, and when the soldiers are in the field, their hearts are hard. As long as the war can be won, the methods can be used to any extent. This is the most common saying among military strategists.
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen thought of Qi Jiguang, the military god of the Ming Dynasty. If it were him, how would this battle be fought?
It just so happened that during this period of time, he had been reading Qi Jiguang's military books and related materials, and had a relatively complete understanding of Qi Jiguang.
In Volume 14 of Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Jixiao" "Bian Du Dushou", there is this view: Soldiers and horses are regarded as tools for safeguarding the country and protecting the people, and they focus on the people and society. It can be seen from this that although Qi Jiguang was just a military general, he understood that the real purpose of the imperial army was to secure the country and protect the people, and put the people first in everything.
During his battle in Changsha, when he learned that thousands of Ming people were imprisoned in Japanese pirate lairs, he issued two military orders: prohibiting arbitrary killing and prohibiting fire attacks.
If another general had killed those Ming civilians as Japanese pirates, since they were all in the Japanese pirates' lair anyway, even if only some of their heads were taken to repay their merits, they would still be able to get more rewards. I don’t even think about killing good people and taking credit for it, but if I issue a military order prohibiting reckless killing like Qi Jiguang, I will be constrained in the battle, and this military order prohibiting reckless killing will not be issued; if it is more labor-saving to attack with fire, it will be more effective. If you can reduce your own casualties, you will probably use fire attacks without even thinking!
If these Japanese pirates were not defeated, those people of the Ming Dynasty who were robbed by the Japanese pirates would be sold as slaves by them. They would also be tortured and tortured, and would be in dire straits, but they would not die in the same way. Isn’t it enough to have such a reason?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen felt that Qi Jiguang was really different. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he could become the God of War while other generals could not!
Thinking about this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly discovered that there were many similarities between what happened back then and what is happening now. In this case, if Qi Jiguang came to lead the army, according to his past practice, he probably would not attack the city immediately, but would find another plan to rescue it.
However, the situation today is different from Qi Jiguang's time.
At the time of Qi Jiguang, he had trained the strongest army at that time, and he was sure that he could defeat the Japanese pirates. Therefore, when he saw that there was no chance at the moment, he could choose the next one; in this war, when he was threatened by the Tatars, he There is no problem if he chooses to withdraw. He can find another opportunity because he is confident that his military strength can defeat the Tatars.
But now, it has been reversed. The Tatar army is more powerful. This time, the Tatars again divided their forces, and Lu Xiangsheng attracted another part of the Tatar army. It can be said that the Tatars guarding the people of the Ming Dynasty had reached the minimum number, about 20,000 horses. However, the Qin soldiers suddenly arrived and unexpectedly got the best chance to defeat the enemy. If this opportunity is missed, will there be another opportunity to rescue so many people again?
In history, there are many examples of the weak defeating the strong. However, such fighting is rare. When it comes to fighting, it's more about crushing with strength. Otherwise, you can only take risks and use strategies to make up for your shortcomings!
And if you want to use a strategy, you must first do it, that is, know yourself and the enemy!
It's okay to know one's friends, but knowing one's enemy is too difficult for Ming Dynasty's current frontline generals!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt refreshed. Don’t you just have an eavesdropping system? If the eavesdropping seeds were thrown on the Tatar generals, wouldn't they know every move they make? In this way, wouldn't the premise of knowing oneself and knowing the enemy be achieved?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen could no longer sit still. If we don't save the two hundred thousand people of the Ming Dynasty, you can imagine the fate that awaits them! As people of later generations, every human life must be respected, let alone these two hundred thousand lives!
Now that Wu Zhong's level is too low, just relying on him to learn enemy intelligence is of little use! Whether it was for the 200,000 people of the Ming Dynasty in front of him, or to eliminate the Manchu Qing Dynasty and regain Liaodong in the future, Emperor Chongzhen felt that it was very necessary to throw the seeds of eavesdropping on the Tatar general!
At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen made a decision about what he had been considering for the past two days. No matter what, this time, I must go to the front line. It is not feasible to go blatantly, not to mention that all the courtiers and generals in the capital will stop them. Even if they go to the front line, if the Tatars know that their emperor has arrived, they will attack with all their strength. With the current combat power of the Ming Dynasty's army, it is estimated that they It is absolutely impossible to become the two unlucky emperors of Song Huizong and Song Qinzong.
This means that there is only one way to go now, secretly go to the front line, throw the eavesdropping seeds to the Tatar general, and then eavesdrop on the Tatar general's deployment, look for opportunities to defeat the Tatars, and rescue the people!
Having made up his mind, Emperor Chongzhen began to think about how to sneak out without anyone in the court knowing. It seems that someone must cover this matter.
While he was thinking about this matter, soon an urgent memorial jointly signed by Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting arrived in the capital. Suddenly, there was an uproar in the court, with everyone talking about this and having their own opinions.
Generally speaking, there are several views, but they are all in conflict with each other.
The first view is that Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were indecisive. Given the situation at that time, they should have taken the opportunity to rush into the city, eliminate the Jianlu, and rescue more people. Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting would not settle this debt. It was obvious that they were not responsible. Afraid of being blamed for killing the people of Ming Dynasty.
Another point of view similar to this is that if the 200,000 people were plundered by the Tatars, not to mention how many people would die on the way, but after plundering Liaodong, they would farm for the Tatars and strengthen the Tatars. Rather than doing this, it would be better not to worry about their life and death, which would be beneficial to Ming Dynasty. Besides, if you die now, you can suffer less punishment. If you die in the land of the Ming Dynasty, at least it will not be counted as death in a foreign land!
Some people even suggested that if Sun Hong and the two rescued all these people, what would happen after the war? How could the imperial court find the spare capacity to support them? If left alone, once they become thieves, wouldn't it cause more chaos to the court. Therefore, in this battle, we should not worry about them and attack them right then and there.
Naturally, some people refuted this, saying that the Tatars used the flesh and blood of the Ming people to block the attack route of the army. If the Ming army wanted to enter the city, they would have to kill those people with their own hands. Is the military morale good? Saving the small but protecting the big, do you know whether your wishes will come true after this war?
Also, the memorials of Hong and Sun stated that although Jianlu lost the first battle, they still had strength. And the losses I suffered before were just due to carelessness. What's more, the Tatars did not rely on fortified cities in the first place. They were more adept at field warfare and fought hand-to-hand with the Ming army. Even if Sun Hong and the two ordered to attack the city at that time, so what? Once again, we were in close combat with the Tatars, and again inside the city. Without the advantage of a cavalry surprise attack, it was unclear who would win and who would lose!
In the court, the debate was heated to the point of excitement, and some people even raised the point of view: If according to what you said, these people will strengthen the strength of the rebels, and the court is now unable to provide disaster relief, then will all the local people be killed? In this way, we can prevent them from becoming rogue thieves, increase the strength of rogue thieves, and avoid causing chaos to the court?
"Suffer a peaceful death from hunger, and imitate the mantis with its arms full of strength!"
…
Generally speaking, in this debate, the Yushi Yanguan generally spoke from a moral high ground, and basically agreed with Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou's retreat. Some pragmatic officials, as well as military generals, have different opinions on this, whether it is light or serious.
Facing the noisy court, Emperor Chongzhen gave the opinion that the people of the Ming Dynasty must be saved and the Tatars must be destroyed.
As for such a difficult thing, how should we do it? Emperor Chongzhen had no regulations and seemed to have a headache. He made a decision on the spot. He just issued an order to immediately tell the world about the bottomless cruelty of the Tatars and warned all places that if they did not work together to defend, and if they had money, they would pay. If you have the strength to exert force, once the city is defeated and falls into the hands of the brutal Tatars, it will be treated like pigs and dogs.
In the eyes of the ministers, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be so angry and troubled by the brutality of the Tatars. When he retired from the court, the emperor seemed to be rubbing his head constantly. When the ministers saw this, they all secretly sighed in their hearts. After all, the emperor still lacked experience. Facing the complicated government affairs, it must be nerve-wracking!
As for themselves, based on their respective butt issues, they have already taken a stand where they should. As for how things really need to be resolved properly, then leave them alone.
Naturally, they didn't know that Emperor Chongzhen's behavior in the court was actually done for them to see. After retiring from the court, he went directly to the harem, dismissed the palace maids and chamberlains, and wanted to communicate with Queen Zhou alone.
However, Emperor Chongzhen had just begun to speak. Empress Zhou, who was usually solemn and paid great attention to her appearance, stared at Emperor Chongzhen in shock and said, "What, Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
She was really frightened. The emperor was a man of wealth, and the Liaodong captives were tigers and wolves. If the emperor left the protection of the tall walls of the capital, he would be in danger, and he might not be able to come back. How could she not be so shocked by this kind of consequence!
When Emperor Chongzhen saw her reaction, Qiankun first said decisively: "I have already decided, and the queen does not need to persuade her."
After all, Empress Zhou had to cooperate. Emperor Chongzhen then softened his tone and said: "But don't worry, Empress, how can I ignore my own life! I thought about it. I went out incognito, and Jianlu didn't know that I was there. In Qin There will be no problem with safety among the army!”
At this point, his face became a little more serious and he said: "When Taizu fell asleep, he said that the country has reached its most critical moment. If I don't even have the courage to face Jianlu, how can I preserve the foundation passed down by our ancestors? My queen, if the Jianlu are so raging and unstoppable, our Ming Dynasty will surely be destroyed one day!"
. m.
