Under Xiping Fort, Fan Yongdou raised his head and looked at the somewhat dilapidated fortress, feeling a little better.
At least it looks like a popular place. From the moment you enter the realm of Qing Dynasty, you feel like you've entered a ghost world.
Fan Yongdou knows this place. There is a very famous person here, his name is Luo Yiguan.
In the first month of the second year of Tianqi, a feud between Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen led to the complete collapse of Liaodong.
After several consecutive defeats, Houjin soldiers swarmed in and more than 50,000 people surrounded Xiping Fort.
Later, the Jin army dispatched all siege equipment, chariots, ladders, iron hooks and other siege equipment to prepare for a large-scale attack on the city.
After careful observation, Nurhaci found that the castle here was very strong and the damage would not be too small if hit hard.
The Eight Banners had few people and could not withstand a war of attrition.
So he ordered his consort Li Yongfang to lead the Ming Dynasty surrender troops that had been collected in recent years to attack the city.
Li Yongfang had seen many generals who had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and he didn't think Luo Yiguan was any different.
As a Ming surrender general, he sent a messenger to the city with a white flag, trying to persuade Luo Yiguan to surrender.
The envoy shouted loudly: "We know that General Luo is a good man. Our Great Khan has always admired the general. Please surrender quickly, so as to save the lives of innocent soldiers and civilians in the fortress. The Great Khan is willing to share the wealth with the general!"
Luo Yiguan was very angry. He hated the traitors who betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy. He stood on the tower and cursed Li Yongfang: "Bitch thief! Why did the Ming Dynasty never treat you badly? Why did you surrender to the enemy? Don't you know that I, Luo Yiguan, am a loyal minister?"
He ordered the soldiers to also raise a big flag and shouted: "The traitor Li Yongfang, come down quickly, I will save you from death!"
Li Yongfang was furious and ordered an immediate attack on the city. For a while, the Han surrender troops were climbing the city in front, and the Eight Banners were shooting arrows from behind. Arrows rained down suddenly.
Xiping Fort is a fortified city with numerous firearms, including a large number of French cannons and cannons.
Luo Guanyi relied on the power of firearms to defend the city and counterattacked with fierce artillery fire.
At this time, Hou Jin did not know much about firearms and lacked experience. The soldiers lined up in a dense formation and were densely spread on the flat ground on all sides of the castle.
The piles of soldiers gathered together became the best targets for accurate artillery fire. Every time a shell hit the ground, with a deafening roar, a large area of Houjin soldiers fell to the ground, and the queue was beaten into a bloody alley.
Under the ricochet attack of the Franco machine cannon and the spherical lead bullets of the cannon, the thick and dense infantry array was continuously penetrated.
The large shield erected in front of the shield vehicle, made of hardwood, filled with sand and stones, and covered with quilts, was bombarded at extremely close range by the large-caliber Franco machine gun.
Pieces of wood spikes flew all over the sky, killing and injuring a large number of infantrymen behind.
Luo Guanguan ordered that the artillery should mainly deal with the Eight Banners soldiers hiding behind the shield vehicles, and the three-eyed muskets and bows and arrows should deal with the surrendering troops below the city.
Not long after the war started, the enemy suffered heavy casualties, and there were so many corpses under the city that the trenches were filled!
Nurhaci knew the importance of Xiping Fort. Xiping Fort was the only fortified city on the straight line between Shenyang and Jinzhou. It was a barrier to the southeast of Shenyang. It must be taken down.
Under his coercion, the Hou Jin soldiers braved artillery fire and fought desperately to attack the city. They were about to break the city three times, but the soldiers and civilians of Xipingbao resisted desperately, and the Jin soldiers were repelled three times. The dead bodies of the Hou Jin soldiers outside the East City were almost as high as the city wall.
Luo Yiguan's army was small, with only 3,000 men.
In order to boost morale, he went to the front line in person and commanded from the tower.
During the fierce battle, a stray bullet flew in and hit Luo Yiguan's eye. Luo Yiguan pulled it out with his bare hands, but blood surged out for a while, causing him to lose the ability to command.
At the critical moment, the entire army did not panic and collapse. The officers and soldiers still fought independently until the gunpowder was used up and the lost stones were used up.
There was still no news of reinforcements, and Xiping Fort fell into despair.
The two sides fought fiercely until noon, when the firearms on the walls of Xipingbao finally stopped bombarding. Nurhachi knew that Luo Yiguan had no gunpowder.
He hurriedly ordered the Hou Jin soldiers to quickly push out all the remaining shield vehicles, enter the city regardless of casualties, set up ladders, and climb the city from all directions to attack.
At this time, more than half of the Ming soldiers were injured and lost their ability to fight. They could only watch helplessly as Hou Jin soldiers surged up like a tide. Xiping reached its final moments.
Luo Guanyi would rather die than surrender, and was determined to die for his country. He faced the direction of the capital, bowed, and said angrily: "Your Majesty, all the ammunition and reinforcements are exhausted, the city has been destroyed. The minister's strength is exhausted, I will try my best!"
After saying this, he raised his sword and killed himself.
Dusi Chen Shangren, Wang Chongxin and others followed closely and committed suicide one after another.
Not one of the three thousand soldiers guarding the city surrendered, and they all died in the final street fighting.
Later, tens of thousands of Jin soldiers attacked the fortified city defended by 3,000 people, killing and wounding 6,000 to 7,000 people. They were both ashamed and angry.
In this small castle, more people died than in the Battle of Saarhu.
The angry Jin soldiers killed all the people who fled into the city.
Although Fan Yongdou is a businessman, he is different from other businessmen. Since he was a child, he has been deeply concerned about major events in the world.
He believes that real big businessmen make great fortunes by relying on their insight into the general trend of the world.
What happened in Xipingbao made him very sad.
The blood of loyal ministers and martyrs is admired and respected no matter what era or camp they are in.
However, reason told him that a pure businessman should only have one thing in his heart, and that is money.
Only pure businessmen can achieve the achievements of Shen Wansan and Tao Zhugong. This has also been his ambition since childhood.
In front of the city gate of Xipingbao, several people were waiting, led by a young man who was a few years younger than himself.
Fan Yongdou squinted his eyes and looked carefully. Under the light of Xunxun's torch, this young man was tall and majestic. He was six feet (186 centimeters) tall and his appearance was even more majestic.
Fan Yongdou thought for a moment and already understood who this person was.
So he quickly dismounted and walked quickly to the man. He said loudly: "Fan Yongdou, a descendant of the Fan family in Gaoping, Shanxi Province, has met his younger brother."
The young man was also looking at Fan Yongdou, and he saw that Fan Yongdou was of medium height, with delicate features and a strong bookish air. He looked more like a scholar who had read a lot of poetry. He was very happy in his heart.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This bitter cold land in Liaodong has always been a cultural desert. For more than 200 years during the Ming Dynasty, the number of Jinshi in Liaodong was the lowest among all districts in the country, with only 72 people. But
They are all very outstanding talents. Basically, they have achieved high official positions.
Therefore, in Liaodong's eyes, scholars have a high status.
"My descendant of the Fan family in Gaoping, Fan Chengyin, the 18th grandson of Fan Wenzhenggong in Pizhou Fang, has met my clan brother." Fan Chengyin said with a smile on his face and a friendly hand.
Both the Fan Wencheng family in Northeast China and the Fan Yongdou family in Jiexiu, Shanxi are considered to be descendants of Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty.
This time when Fan Yongdou came to Liaodong, he contacted the Fan family in Shenyang in advance and said hello before coming.
After all, both families have now separated from their ancestral homeland and formed their own system.
One family settled in Zhangjiakou, and the other settled in Shenyang.
But after all, blood is thicker than water, and clans were valued in ancient times. Fan Yongdou would not fail to take advantage of such a good relationship.
It's just that he didn't expect that the Shenyang branch would attach so much importance to his visit and let his eldest son and grandson come to greet him in person.
Fan Zhongyan's ancestor was Fan Lubing, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, who lived in Pizhou (near Changwu, Shaanxi).
Fan Zhongyan's great ancestor Fan Sui and Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty crossed the Yangtze River and went south to serve as the magistrate of Lishui County. During the war in the Central Plains, they settled in Wu County (now Suzhou City).
During the Five Dynasties, both his great-grandfather and grandfather served as officials in Wuyue, and his father Fan Yong also served as an official in Wuyue in his early years.
After the founding of the Song Dynasty, Fan Yong followed Qian Chu, King of Wuyue, and surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and served as Secretary of the Military Festival in Wuning.
Ningwujun, the name of Fangzhen in the Tang Dynasty. It was established in the late Tang Dynasty and governed the southeast of Huailai County, Hebei Province.
Fan Wencheng's branch should have gone from Hebei to Liaodong.
His great-grandfather Fan Rui served as Minister of War in the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. His grandfather Fan Chen served as the commander of the Shenyang Guard. His father was Fan Nan.
Fan Wencheng was born in the 25th year of Wanli (1597). His ancestral home is Shenyang and he comes from a family of officials.
Fan Wencheng's great-grandfather once served as Minister of War in the Ming Dynasty. Because he was upright in the officialdom, Fan Rui was dismissed from office for bluntly refuting the treacherous minister Yan Song. Everyone pushed him against him. As a result, he was ostracized by villains, causing the entire family to be exiled to the Northeast.
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Therefore, Fan Wencheng has been considered a Northeasterner since he was born.
Judging from his family's experience, his feelings for Ming Dynasty will not be very good.
Grandpa was upright throughout his life, loyal to the emperor and loving the people, but his end was not good. As the saying goes, he was as straight as a string and died on the side of the road, and as curved as a hook, he was granted a title.
Several generations of his family have suffered a lot in the Northeast, and his generation was completely ruined and lived in poverty. These personal experiences had a certain influence on many of his ideas.
Fan Yongdou, whose ancestral home is Jiexiu, Shanxi, was born in Zhangjiakou in the late Ming Dynasty.
As early as the early Ming Dynasty, the Fan family was doing business in Zhangjiakou and Mongolia. After seven generations, Fan Yongdou became a wealthy Han businessman in the Zhangjiakou area trading with Manchuria and Mongolia. People at that time called him "a man who lived in the border town and worked with integrity."
The Fan family of Zhangyuan Village in Jiexiu County was originally from Shaanxi and later moved to Zhangyuan Village in Jiexiu County.
It can be seen that both Fan families believe that their ancestral home is Pizhou, Shaanxi. They claim to be descendants of Fan Zhongyan, which is very likely.
According to the "Zhang Yuan Fan Family Genealogy": "The ancestor Zhi Ganggong moved from Shaanxi to Shanxi during the Chenghua period of the former Ming Dynasty, and lived in Jiexiu City, and later moved to Zhang Yuan Village."
From the time when Fan Ming passed his Zhi Gang to the sixth generation, he took his eldest son Yong Kui to do business outside the Great Wall and earned a lot of money.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the third son Fan Yongdou (also named Xiaoshan) inherited his father and brother's business and became one of the eight merchants who controlled the trade in Zhangjiakou. He mainly conducted horse trading with the Outer Mongolians and the Jurchens of Liaodong.
The Fan family is very powerful, and they say they can only be rich for three generations.
Fan Zhongyan's family has been prosperous for 800 years! He has produced 80 champions and 400 Jinshi. Over the past dynasties, there have been as many officials as crucian carp crossing the river. It is simply shocking.
Among his descendants, Fan Yongdou has achieved great success in the business world, but it is really nothing.
Fan Wencheng was the most powerful figure in the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty. In terms of personal ability, Hong Chengchou and his like were far behind.
His ruthless vision, accurate judgment of people, ability to predict events, and insight into world affairs and human feelings may only be matched by Jia Xu of the Three Kingdoms.
This man was also versatile in both civil and military affairs. He often went into battle and served as general and prime minister. He had Zhang Liang's talents in strategizing.
He was proficient in political power, clever in means, and knew the way of advancing and retreating as an official. He was favored by the four emperors of Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, and he was also a confidant of the inner dynasty who participated in the secret planning.
He has experienced countless civil strife, strife, conspiracies, coups, wars, and transfers of power in his life. Not only did he choose the right side to win every time, saving himself and his family, but he also had intensive marriages with four generations of the royal family, and the relationship was intricate and prosperous.
reached its extreme.
Personally speaking, he is undoubtedly successful.
It's just a pity that such an outstanding talent was not reused by the Ming Dynasty. If Chongzhen could reuse him, it's hard to say how history would be written.
"Brother Xiao Shan, the journey has been tiring. I have prepared a banquet to wash my hands. Please come with me into the city."
"Okay, okay, excuse me."
A group of people entered Xiping Fort through the dilapidated city gate.
This chapter has been completed!