But can Sun Chengzong turn the tide?
Yes, Sun Chengzong performed admirably after taking over from Yuan Keli in Shanxi, but Sun Chengzong himself is from Shanxi and is very familiar with the situation in Shanxi and knows the roads well.
And to be honest, although Yuan Keli failed to completely reverse the situation in Shanxi, the main reason was the inaction of Chai Guozhu and Yang Yuan. There was also the factor that Shanxi Town was too weak. Yuan Keli just carried it out.
Just a pot.
After Sun Chengzong left, Liu Dongyang led the northwest army to Shanxi Town, and the situation was immediately different.
Especially in the battle of southern Shanxi, Liu Dongyang instigated the rebellion of Qiu Zixiong, the main leader of the rebels, reversed the situation in one fell swoop, and annihilated 100,000 southern Shanxi rebels.
This battle can be said to be a shocking move, and southern Shanxi was completely pacified. Liu Dongyang also became the most dazzling general in the entire Zhou army by virtue of this battle.
Qiu Zixiong, who was born in the rebel army, was also promoted to deputy commander-in-chief. Of course, even Zhang Huaichang felt that Qiu Zixiong deserved this reward.
Can Sun Chengzong's victory in Shanxi be replicated in Liaodong?
Xiong Tingbi was pretty good in the Southwest and Shandong campaigns, but it turned out to be like this in Liaodong. Will Sun Chengzong also...
Moreover, Sun Chengzong was already in his fifties. When he went to the bitter cold land of Liaodong, what if he contracted the epidemic like Xiong Tingbi?
Feng Ziying has no such worries. Firstly, he has been to Liaodong and is very adaptable there. Secondly, he is also very familiar with the generals and geographical conditions of Liaodong. Thirdly, he has extremely high prestige in Liaodong and is no stranger to his opponents.
It can be said that he is the most suitable candidate, but is it suitable to come to Yi Shuai now? Is it too late?
Now Feng Ziying is still actively preparing for a battle against the White Lotus rebels in the central part of the country. This battle is no small matter. As long as this battle is won, most of Bailian's troubles in North Zhili can be eradicated. As for the White Lotus rebels in the western and southern parts of Henan,
In Zhang Huaichang's opinion, those white lotuses are second best.
With a long sigh, Zhang Huaichang put away all his emotions and was about to get up when he heard the voice of Chang Sui outside: "Master, there is another military report."
Zhang Huaichang's heart tightened and he quickly asked: "Where did it come from? Let them send it in."
"It was sent by Governor Xiao Feng. It seems to be a good news from Henan." Chang Sui understood his master's mood at this time and quickly reported the good news through the door to comfort Zhang Huaichang's mood.
"Oh? From Ziying's side? Okay, bring it in." Zhang Huaichang finally breathed a sigh of relief, good news, that's good, he really can't stand the fright now.
The battle report sent in was also very brief.
"On September 25, Jiangbei Town defeated the White Lotus rebel army in Ningling, killing four thousand and taking nine thousand prisoners. On September 27, Suizhou defeated the White Lotus rebel army again, killing two thousand and taking five thousand prisoners. September 30,
We defeated Qi County, killed more than 3,000 enemies, and captured more than 8,000 people. On the seventh day of the tenth month, we returned to Germany and fully recovered in Kaifeng."
The restoration of Kaifeng and Guide means that Henan's White Lotus rebel army no longer has an organized presence south of the Yellow River. The rest can be left to the Henan Guards. Now Jiangbei Town can be free to deal with the south of the Yellow River.
The armies of Wei Hui, Shunde and Huaiqing prefectures broke out.
This is really good news. It also means that the army and the army have formed a pincer attack from the south to the north, and it is difficult for the rebel army to escape.
Hey, how wonderful it would be if there was no such bad news about Liaodong?
Zhang Huaichang gathered up his emotions and walked quickly towards Wenyuan Pavilion. He was about to face those twisted old faces.
Several people in Wenyuan Pavilion were already on pins and needles.
There is no doubt that it is bad news. If it was good news, Zhang Huaichang would have been here long ago.
And it is definitely bad news that is quite difficult and even difficult to deal with, so much so that Zhang Huaichang had to deal with it for a long time after hearing it for so long. It is hard to say whether he has dealt with it successfully or not.
So when Zhang Huaichang stepped into Wenyuan Pavilion with heavy steps, all eyes focused on Zhang Huaichang's face.
"Huaichang, what happened?" Li Sancai revealed his inner anxiety in just one sentence.
Being a cabinet minister in charge of military affairs has never been easy. I have had mixed joys and sorrows in the past few years, but everyone is happy about the good things. But when it comes to bad things, I, the cabinet minister in charge, bear the greatest pressure.
Now bad things have happened again, and they are certainly not minor.
"Something happened in Liaodong." Zhang Huaichang said concisely and to the point.
He wasn't going to hide it, and he couldn't hide it. He even refused to report the great victory in Henan for the time being. He would wait until everyone learned from the pain before speaking out to give everyone a comfort.
"Something happened in Liaodong?" Everyone's heart skipped a beat. It was really Liaodong. This was everyone's biggest worry. They were thinking about it, but it actually happened.
"What happened?" Li Sancai asked first, "Is it Shenyang, Guangning, or Jiuliancheng?"
The scope of Greater Liaodong is too large and generally refers to three directions.
One is Little Liaodong, which includes the direction of Shenyang and Liaoyang, the other is Liaonan, but now it mainly refers to the direction of Dongjiang Town, and the other is Liaoxi and Guangning directions.
The problem in southern Liaoning is not big. The new Dongjiang Town is still being formed. Because the Northwest Army failed to make up for it, the construction of Dongjiang Town is slow.
But it is not the main core. Even if there are any mistakes, they can be made up for. The purpose of establishing Dongjiang Town is to use offense instead of defense from this direction, attack the Jianzhou Jurchens' back from south to north, and hold back the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Liaodong and Liaoxi are different. You can't ignore them anywhere. If you make a mistake, it will be earth-shattering.
The last time Anle Prefecture was lost, and the last time Fushun Pass was breached, both caused a huge earthquake in the middle of Beijing, and had to immediately mobilize reinforcements from the pass.
This time everyone has realized that Nurhaci may make big moves, so they formed Dongjiang Town, and then used Ji Town reinforcements to go to Liaodong in advance. For this reason, Xiong Tingbi was specially appointed as the head coach and based in Liaoyang.
There can be no problems in western Liaoning. If there is a problem, the connection between the entire Liaodong and the pass will be cut off by land.
Although the sea route has now been opened, the role of the Liaoxi Corridor cannot be completely replaced by the sea route, and once Liaoxi is lost, Liaodong may fall into a bad situation of being attacked from both sides.
"Something happened in Shenyang." Zhang Huaichang swallowed with some difficulty. Although he had been mentally prepared, he still felt suffocated and depressed when facing the pressure of seven people's burning eyes.
"Shenyang?" Li Sancai's eyesight went dark and he almost fell down. He took a deep breath and calmed down, "What about Tielingwei, Fanhesuo and Yilusuo?"
"Tielingwei was captured on the second day of October. Fanhe Station and Yilu Station were caught off guard and fell one after another on the fifth and sixth day of October." Zhang Huaichang replied dully.
"What's going on? Didn't Zhao lead the teacher to guard the Tieling Guard a long time ago? That's the key, how could it be breached? The Jurchens in Jianzhou can't do it even with a sneak attack. Didn't the Ministry of War allocate funds to strengthen the Tieling Guard line? ?Moreover, the garrison has been increased. Zhao Ledjiao should be killed!" Li Sancai said sternly: "Where is Pulu Station? Could it be that Pulu Station has also fallen?"
The last time the Tieling Guards were surrounded by Jun Jun for so long, they were not breached. Later, the Ministry of War specially urged Liaodong to strengthen the defenses of the Tieling Guards. At the same time, a fairly complete defense line was established behind the Tieling Guards at Fanhe Station and Yilu Station. , especially strengthening the cavalry’s protection of this front line.
Puhesuo is an important protection point on Shenyang's right flank. Once it is breached, Shenyang will become a naked woman and be ravaged by others.
Zhang Huaichang stopped playing riddles and said directly: "Shenyang has fallen."
Immediately after this sentence, the entire lobby was in an uproar.
If the Tieling Guards, Fanhe Station, Yilu Station and even Puhe Station were lost, it was only Li Sancai and all the cabinet ministers in charge of military affairs who were very familiar with and understood the importance of these guard stations, while others had only a partial understanding.
Especially people like Fang Congzhe, Gu Bingqian, Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi were at a loss. Even if they knew a name roughly, they knew nothing about its specific location or function.
The last time the Tieling Guards were surrounded, Jun Song held on. If Feng Ziying hadn't personally commanded the battle and used a trick to hide the enemy, Mao Wenlong's troops attacked from the flank and broke through the Jurchen encirclement in Jianzhou. The Tieling Guards would have fallen last time, so this time Everyone is still mentally prepared for the fall.
But Shenyang is different.
This is the core of Liaodong Town's defense.
It can be said that the defense system of Liaodong Town is two-fold, Liaodong Anlezhou (Liaohaiwei) - Tielingwei - Shenyang Zhongwei - Liaoyang (Liaodong Dusi, Liaodong Town, Dongningwei, Dingliaozhong, left, front, Defender) - Haizhou Guard line, Guangning center, left and rear guard in Liaoxi - Yizhou Guard, Guangning rear guard - Guangning center, left and right guard - Ningyuan center left guard - Ningyuan Guard—Ningyuan’s center right post—Ningyuan’s center and rear post—Ningyuan’s front garrison—Ningyuan’s front post—Shanhai Guard.
The former mainly targeted the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the latter targeted the Chahar people. However, as the power of the Jianzhou Jurchens increased greatly, Guangning’s center, left, and rear guard—Yizhou Guard, and Guangning’s rear guard—Guangning’s center and left , the Youtun Guard line has also been exposed to the front of the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Even Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi, who are least familiar with military affairs, know the status and importance of Shenyang. Once Shenyang is lost, how long can Liaoyang be able to defend it?
If Liaoyang cannot be defended, the entire Liaodong Town, except for the Liaoxi Corridor, and even the existence of Dongjiang Town will be questioned.
"How could Shenyang be lost? How is this possible?" Li Sancai roared, and couldn't help but stand up and walk to Zhang Huaichang, "This is impossible! If Shenyang was lost, would Zhao Shujiao still have the nerve to report the news? He wouldn't
Should I commit suicide to apologize?"
Indeed, even Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe and Qi Yongtai did not expect that Shenyang would be lost. They knew the situation was not good when they saw Zhang Huaichang's expression before, but they also thought that it might be the Tieling Guard and some nearby pass forts.
Shenyang may even be besieged.
But Shenyang is such a strong city, with high walls, thick walls, and abundant supplies. How could it be lost?
Even if the Jianzhou Jurchens were extremely capable, they would not be able to capture Shenyang in just one or twenty days even if they had one hundred thousand armored soldiers.
This chapter has been completed!