Chapter 75: Which is more important? The Horse Leather Shroud
Update time:2012-10-27
Although Sun Chengzong was senior and had the highest official position, he was the youngest. Seeing that Zhang Chun was so angry that his beard was standing up, he was afraid that the old master would get angry and delay the rescue, so he hurriedly advised: "Mr.
Don't be angry, don't say you are angry, why are the students not? After the siege of Daling River, the students wanted to have the 10,000 stone pillar soldiers who participated in the construction of the city return to rescue, but the imperial court transferred them back to the pass, saying that
Protecting the capital. It is really unreasonable. Jiannu is thousands of miles away, so what kind of capital is he protecting? This is obviously an excuse for not wanting to send troops to me. It is really infuriating."
After hearing this, Qiu Hejia didn't take it seriously, secretly thinking, wasn't it you who reported to the court that the slave builders would join the bandits through Guanqiang? The court then transferred the Shizhu soldiers to the capital. Why are you blaming others now?
If it were you, those 10,000 stone pillar soldiers would also be transferred to the capital. After all, the intelligence at that time was wrong, and everyone thought that Jiannu was going to enter the bandit. Compared with Daling River, the capital is naturally more important. Transferring those who are good at fighting
It makes sense for Shizhu soldiers to protect the capital.
However, although he was dissatisfied with Sun Chengzong's actions in his heart, he could not express it and casually echoed: "The lower official also thought that the court's actions were too cold-blooded. I remember that during the Ningjin War, Xi Zongshang transferred two general soldiers from the pass.
And 30,000 troops were stationed in Shanhaiguan for the use of Liaodong. However, this time to rescue Dalinghe, the imperial court did not dispatch a single general soldier from the pass to rescue. It only asked Mr. Zhang to bring a few deputy generals. Does this mean that the imperial court had no control over Daling River?
Linghe doesn’t take it seriously?”
Hearing this, Zhang Chun shook his head quickly and was angry, but he still had a sense of the overall situation. He said: "You can't say that. Now there are rogue bandits everywhere in the pass, and there is an urgent need for troops everywhere. During the reign of Emperor Xizong, rogue bandits posed a threat to the imperial court.
It is not very big, but since the third year of Chongzhen, a large number of Qinwang sergeants who participated in the "Ji Si Change" mutinied and joined the bandits midway due to lack of pay. As a result, the problem of bandits has become more and more serious, and their combat power has become more and more serious.
It is getting stronger and stronger. Nowadays, it is difficult to wipe it out with the guards from all over the country. We can only rely on the nine-sided army. Therefore, it is really difficult to mobilize a large army to support Liaodong. I am just angry with the people of You Shiwei.
, he is obviously a coward, but he has made ridiculous excuses. The Ministry of War does not deal with it, so it is unbearable no matter what."[
Sun Chengzong nodded and said: "What the old gentleman said is that in fact, it is not only the thieves in the pass who need to be exterminated by soldiers and horses, but there is another point. In the eyes of the court, the Daling River is more important than Ningyuan and Jinzhou. Ningyuan, Jinzhou
, is the core of Ningjin's defense line. If it falls, the Jin army will approach Shanhaiguan and threaten the capital. Therefore, both the late emperor and the emperor will use all their strength to protect Ningjin. However, the Daling River is different. To be honest, you and I
Everyone knows that Dalinghe City is just an advanced fortress in Jinzhou. Even if it is lost, the impact on the Ningjin defense line will not be fatal, and the imperial court will naturally not hesitate to spend money to rescue it."
Hearing what Sun Chengzong said, Qiu Hejia seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly said: "Yes, I heard that the imperial court was originally dissatisfied with the construction of the city on the Daling River. When Liang was on stage, people kept clamoring to abandon the Daling River. Still.
After a large amount of manpower, the city insisted on building the Daling River City. Now that the Daling River is under siege, some people in the court naturally think that it is you and me who have brought it upon ourselves. In their view, it was you and me who clamored to build the city on the Daling River in the first place.
Then the task of rescuing the Daling River should be solved by ourselves in Liaodong."
"Solve it on our own?" Sun Chengzong smiled bitterly, "Hong Tai's overwhelming troops came this time. There are 70,000 to 80,000 troops from Manchuria and Mongolia. Our army is not just fighting in the field, I am afraid we must have more than 100,000 troops to support it.
Only through rescue can victory be possible. If we only use thirty or forty thousand people to rescue, it is very likely that the Jin army will successfully rescue us. Originally, I advocated the rescue of Daling River to protect both the city and the people, but now it seems that I am afraid that
We can only protect the people but not the city, otherwise, both the people and the city will be lost." After saying that, he glanced at Zhang Chun, wondering if the latter agreed with his idea. After all, he was the commander-in-chief of the army, and it was Zhang Chun who made the final decision.
Rather than my own experience.
The disastrous failure of Song Wei and Wu Xiang's rescue greatly shocked Sun Chengzong. In addition, Zhang Chun had fought with the Jin army a few days ago, and the 40,000-strong army could not break through the Jin army's defense line. If they did not retreat quickly, they would have to attack again.
He was severely defeated by the Jin army. As a result, he gradually tended to adopt a confrontation strategy, accumulating troops while looking for flaws in the Jin army. When the chance of victory was greater, he would send troops to rescue.
Qiu Hejia didn't think so. He knew that the food and grass in Dalinghe City were in short supply. If no rescue was carried out, the entire army and people in the city might really be doomed. In addition, he originally had no hope for the strength of the reinforcements, but since Zhang Chun led his troops and
After Jiannu fought, he gained confidence again. He believed that the Jin army needed a certain amount of troops to besiege the Daling River. There would be no more than 40,000 people who could fight in the field. If the Ming army was commanded properly, it might not be impossible to fight.
.
"We must fight. If we don't fight, the saliva of those officials will be enough to drown the three of us. The emperor will definitely not allow the Daling River to be abandoned without a fight. So whether the imperial court has any new
We must mobilize our troops and horses. We must fight this battle. It is not just a question of when to leave the city for a decisive battle. It would be best if we can win. If we really can’t win, we can only follow the military strategy and protect the people but not the people.
The city is here."
Qiu Hejia directly pointed out the important point. There was no cavalry required, and there was no reason to wait any longer. The date for the battle should be decided. They could wait, but Zu Dashou could not wait any longer.
When Sun Qiu and Sun Qiu were talking, Zhang Chun was also thinking about it. He believed that both Sun Qiu and Sun Qiu's ideas had some truth, but due to the lack of military strength, no matter which plan was implemented, they should go all out and no compromise should be adopted.
If we really want to go all out to rescue the siege, we should keep as few troops as possible in Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, and only keep the most basic defensive troops in Jinzhou, and concentrate as many troops as possible to rescue Daling River.
The entire Liaodong garrison totaled about 70,000 to 80,000 people. If 10,000 people were left to defend the Ningjin defense line, and the remaining 60,000 people plus the 40,000 troops brought by themselves were used to launch a desperate attack on the Jin army, there would still be some hope.
Chances of winning.
If we want to abandon the Daling River, we should quickly gather all the soldiers and horses from all over the country to Jinzhou, and help Zu Dashou's troops leave the city before the Jin army has completed setting up camp. The movement must be fast, otherwise, there is still the risk of the entire army being annihilated.
Both strategies have certain risks. If the former fails, Ningjin will be in danger. Even if the latter succeeds, it will bear the responsibility for losing the Daling River.
However, the atmosphere of the court is such that there is absolutely no room for mistakes. Officials often grasp the slightest mistakes made by the generals in front, let alone lose their troops and abandon their territory.
After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind and said to Sun Qiu and the others: "On the premise of ensuring that Ning Jin is not lost, I will lead people to rescue Zu Dashou. As for whether I can break through the Jin army's encirclement, I can only leave it to fate."
."
"Then it's settled?" Sun Chengzong glanced at Qiu Hejia.
Qiu Hejia nodded. As the governor of Liaodong, Ning Jin's safety was naturally more important, but he said to Sun Chengzong: "This battle is of great importance. It would be better for Song and Wu to lead their troops to fight together. In this way, the chance of victory will be
Bigger.”
Sun Chengzong hesitated, then said hesitantly: "The last time he and I went out to rescue, most of them were injured. Now we only have a thousand or so cavalry. I'm afraid they won't be of much use if they go."
Zhang Chun said from the side: "It is always good to have more people."
Hearing what Zhang Chun said, Sun Chengzong couldn't say anything more, so he nodded and said: "That's fine, then let the two of them listen to the old gentleman's command."
Zhang Chun hurriedly clasped his hands and saluted, "Thank you so much, Mr. Sun."[
Sun Chengzong hurriedly returned the gift, stood up, walked two steps, and looked back to ask Zhang Chun: "I wonder what day the old gentleman thinks is the best day to go out to fight? Before that, the students should provide the old gentleman with as much convenience as possible."
Zhang Chun thought for a while and said: "It's not too late to do it, why not set it in ten days."
"Ten days from now?" Sun Chengzong calculated slightly, "August 17, um, okay, just ten days from now."
After setting a date for the war, Zhang Chun and Sun Chengzong had to leave separately to handle military affairs and coordinate the supplies needed for the war.
Just as he stepped out of the steps, Zhang Chun stopped, turned around and said with concern to Qiu Hejia who was seeing him off: "By the way, Mr. Qiu, how is the injury of your favorite general Shi Dayong?"
When he heard that he was asking about Shi Dayong's injury, Qiu Hejia couldn't help but feel sad and sighed: "I'm sorry, Sir Zhang, but Dayong is still in a coma."
Zhang Chun also said "Alas" and said with emotion: "Such a good general is something I have never seen in my life. I hope God can bless him and enable him to turn disaster into good fortune, and then he can hold the sword for the emperor and guard the country."
"
Qiu Hejia nodded slightly: "This is what this brave man has wished for in his life."
Zhang Chun said "hmm" and asked again: "The emperor gave him a calligraphy, do you know?"
Qiu Hejia knew about this and hurriedly said: "I know, it's the word "horse leather shroud"."
Zhang Chun lamented: "It seems that the emperor also knew that Shi Dayong was seriously injured and difficult to treat. This horse-leather corpse may be a tribute to him after his death. Since the founding of our country, Shi Dayong is the first person to be able to obtain a horse-leather corpse with a handwritten letter from the emperor. It seems that Shi Dayong is
The Emperor really values him very seriously. You should choose a good doctor and treat him well. If you can save his life, it will do great good to the country and the people."
"That's natural." Qiu Hejia felt inexplicably sad.
"I have written a memorial about Shi's bloody battle under the city and reported it to the court. I am afraid that the court's reward will arrive in the next few days. I hope Shi Dayong can live to receive the order."
After Zhang Chun finished speaking, he shook his head and left the governor's office with a look of regret.
Behind him, Qiu Hejia stared sadly at the sunset for a long time.
………
(Author's note: There was a custom in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty. If the person you are talking to is a peer of yours, or has a position slightly lower than yours rather than a direct subordinate, you can respectfully address the other person as "Mr. Old" regardless of how old or young you are.