On the twelfth lunar month of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Wu Shigong led an army of more than 34,700 troops out of Shanhaiguan again and began a military operation to rescue Songshan.
After the Runing Army marched north to Ningyuan, they received the supplies sent from Ningyuan City and merged with the 2,000 soldiers and horses that Wu Sangui was embarrassed to send. However, they did not go further north. Instead, they marched westward for about fifty miles.
The camp was set up parallel to Ningyuan City. This location was carefully selected by the Runing Army to build the stronghold of the Runing Army in Liaodong.
Wu Shigong looked at the scenery here. A frozen river circled in front of him like a white belt. The place chosen by the Runing Army to build the city was at the bend of the river, which could block the movement of the army on both sides. The only drawback was that
, this place is relatively close to the grassland to the west, and the Mongolian tribes there are easy to invade, so when the Ningjin Defense Line was originally built, this location for building the city was not selected.
"Is Lao Ha here?" Wu Shigong turned around and asked around.
Hardanbaatar, who was hiding behind, heard Wu Shigong calling him, and immediately stepped forward, nodded and bowed and replied: "Master! I'm here! Do you have any orders?"
"Is this your slave guard?" Wu Shigong asked, pointing around with his riding whip.
Hardanbaat'er turned his eyes and immediately categorically agreed with Wu Shigong: "Exactly, from here to the east, there are all the master's slave guards."
"Oh? Is it that big?"
"Of course! How big the master's heart is, how big the slave guard is."
"Puch!", Wu Shigong was immediately amused by Hardan Bartel's cute words. This is what Wu Shigong has always heard in modern times. "How big the heart is, how wide the sky is; and how wide the sky is, how wide the earth is."
How wide!" and so on. Unexpectedly, Hardanbaatar, an illiterate Mongolian, was quite literary.
"That's good! Let's build Gannuwei's acropolis here! Let's call the name of the acropolis Zhenyuan!"
"Zhenyuan! What a good name! Your Excellency is so talented!" Wu Shigong's ears suddenly rang with flattery.
While Wu Shigong was enjoying the flattery around him, he was secretly amused in his heart. As a person who has traveled from modern times, don't you still know the name "Zhenyuan"?
At that time, the Ming Dynasty court awarded Hadan Bater the official position of commanding the Qiannu Guards. In fact, it was a false title and did not designate the territory of the Gannu Guards at all. Now, Wu Shigong is about to turn the Gannu Guards from a virtual title to a real one.
The Ming Dynasty's military bases outside the pass were basically along the Bohai Sea, not close to the grasslands to the west. Of course, there were still three Duoyan guards on the grasslands, but at this time the three Duoyan guards had also defected to the Manchus, which was basically the same as the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, when Wu Shigong wanted to enclose the land for Gannuwei outside the customs, he wanted to encircle it as large as he wanted, as long as Wu Shigong had the ability to protect it.
Of course, the matter of enclosing the territory is still too far away, and the Runing Army does not have such great strength outside the Pass. The strategic focus is not here. Therefore, Wu Shigong just wants to establish a foothold in Liaodong first.
The Runing Army first used Hardanbaat'er's status as a slave guard to build Zhenyuan City first, leaving a force in Liaodong that could threaten the Qing Army so that it could not go around the Great Wall into the Central Plains unscrupulously. For the Runing Army
The decisive battle in the Central Plains gained time and a head start for the subsequent decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty.
Moreover, the behavior of the Runing Army will not arouse the resentment of the Ming court. After all, these territories were originally terra nullius and did not harm the interests of the court and the Liaodong generals. Moreover, with the two ghosts guarding Ningyuan City and Zhenyuan City, the general
To make Shanhaiguan safer, the imperial court and the civil and military officials in Liaodong should have a welcoming attitude towards the Runing Army's city-building behavior.
After the Runing Army built Zhenyuan City, they would also cultivate wasteland and graze livestock near the city, gather the military households and herdsmen who had taken refuge, and strive to establish a basic logistics system to make Zhenyuan City self-sufficient.
Therefore, this time the Runing Army's northern expedition rescue, rescuing the Ming Army from Songshan Hong Chengchou has become a secondary task, and the primary purpose has become the construction of Zhenyuan City.
"Ye Chao! Today is the 25th. The army will be stationed here until the Chinese New Year. In these days, the entire army will build the prototype of Zhenyuan City. When the army moves north, I will give you two battalions, plus those
Craftsmen and military households, you will be in charge of the construction of Zhenyuan City." Wu Shigong ordered.
"promise!"
Now that they have gone on an expedition, the Runing Army must work hard to save Songshan. However, those craftsmen and military households have no combat effectiveness at all, and it is a burden to bring them with them. The Runing Army will also receive one person each in Xingshan and Tashan.
Thousands of people and horses gathered together and headed north to Songshan City. Therefore, these craftsmen and military households might as well stay in Zhenyuan City to help build the city.
Although the Runing Army did not receive the allocated troops this time, it was protected by Xingshan and Tashan on the way north. It was nothing more than a battle with the Qing army at the foot of Songshan City. Therefore, from a safety perspective, it was
It was much safer than when the Runing Army withdrew from Songshan. As for this time going north for rescue, Wu Shigong will also have the mentality that success is the best, and even if he doesn't succeed, he can retreat safely.
In this way, Wu Shigong spent his second New Year in Liaodong in Zhenyuan City. On the first day of the Lunar New Year in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the entire Runing army was fully equipped and prepared for the official northern expedition.
But just as the Runing army was leaving Zhenyuan City, several Ming troops galloped in from a distance. They were the imperial court's messengers, delivering the latest imperial decree to Wu Shigong.
When Wu Shigong opened the edict and read it, he felt a little unbelievable. Wu Shigong read these short lines several times. When Wu Shigong handed the edict to his side and let the generals circulate it, he shook his head and sighed.
: "Hey——! Songshan and Jinzhou are over, Liaodong is over, and the Ming Dynasty is over!"
When Wu Shigong's order for Runing's army to withdraw from the two prefectures was sent to Runing, Xue Yongli carried it out to the letter. After all, he had ordered Li Xin and Wu Chengying to be placed under house arrest for fear that Wu Shigong would be dissatisfied. So now there is another
Xue Yongli did not dare to act rashly any more, and would rather not send troops to defeat the Li and Luo coalition forces.
At this time, in addition to the scattered Runing Army troops in Junzhou, He County, Huanggang and other places, the Runing Army in Runing and Guide had surged to more than 80,000 people in accordance with the military expansion order.
It was about to overflow. However, Xue Yongli's immobility caused the Li and Luo coalition forces to have an illusion. They thought they were already powerful and attacked Runing. They did not dare to return to Germany for the time being, but around the area controlled by the Runing Army
If freedom is allowed, there will be no problem.
Therefore, after the allied forces of Li and Luo captured Dengzhou, they then sent their troops northward and attacked Xiangcheng in December. They immediately broke through the city and the defender Li Wanqing was executed. At the same time, the peasant army also captured Zhenping, Xinye, and Tang Dynasty.
A large number of counties, including counties, Biyang, Wuyang, Ruzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Xinzheng, Yanling, Weishi, Tongxu, Chenliu, etc., once again entered the city of Kaifeng and began the second attack on Kaifeng.
On December 23, the peasant army arrived at Kaifeng City. Li Zicheng's headquarters was set up in the garden of Yingcheng County Prince outside Tudi, and Luo Rucai set up his headquarters at Fanta Temple outside Kaifeng City. The original Ming governor Ding Qirui was deployed outside Kaifeng City.
As soon as the 3,000 official troops and peasant troops arrived, these soldiers who had no fighting spirit all surrendered. However, because the officials and gentry in the city organized the masses to cooperate with the official troops to resist desperately, the peasant army's attack was blocked.
After the news of the Li and Luo coalition forces rampaging across the Central Plains reached the court, it once again aroused the shock of Emperor Chongzhen and his ministers. Under such circumstances, Emperor Chongzhen's will was almost wavered, and he even wanted to adopt Wu Shigong's strategy.
, and promoted Wu Shigong to the position of premier of five provinces in an unusual manner.
But at this time, Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, pointed out a "new" path to Emperor Chongzhen. Chen Xinjia was very good at figuring out Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. He knew that Emperor Chongzhen wanted the Runing Army to rescue Songshan, but he refused to give in.
Wu Shigong had more troops. He and Emperor Chongzhen did not understand the true combat effectiveness of the Runing Army. They both believed that only the more than 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Runing Army could never break the siege of Songshan.
In the original plan, Emperor Chongzhen and the imperial court wanted Wu Shigong's Runing Army to fight the Qing Army in a fight where both sides would suffer. However, the rampage of the Li and Luo Allied Forces in the Central Plains made them reluctant to waste this official army. So in this way
Under such circumstances, Chen Xinjia came up with a bad idea.
Let’s talk about the Ming army besieged in Jinzhou and Songshan first! The Ming army besieged in Song, Jin and other cities were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements, but they never came, and it became increasingly difficult to defend the city.
Songshan City is located on a concave land with protrusions on all sides. The city area is only about 0.1 square kilometers, and the city walls are not strong. Hong Chengchou led more than 10,000 Ming troops stationed in this narrow small city. They ran out of food and grass and lacked gunpowder.
It is almost impossible to hold on for a long time.
Huang Taiji seemed to have expected that the Ming Dynasty would not send a large number of reinforcements. He returned to Shenyang in September, leaving only Dudu, Duduo, Azige and other kings to take charge of military affairs, and formulated a policy of siege but not attack.
, the policy of waiting quietly for the city to run out of food and collapse. Therefore, under such circumstances, the chance of the Runing army breaking through the Qing army's interception and rescuing the besieged Ming army was actually very high.
However, after all, there was no news in Songshan City, and Hong Chengchou gradually believed that the imperial court would not send reinforcements. He organized a forced breakout five times, but all failed. The weather was getting colder day by day, and the hearts of the soldiers in the city gradually became cold.
, everyone knows that the city will be destroyed sooner or later, and now it is just a matter of taking it one day at a time.
So at this time, both the Ming court and the besieged Ming army were actually just waiting quietly for the day when Song, Jin and other cities were finally conquered. With such psychological preparation, everyone was not impatient.
They became extremely patient. The old and young men were waiting to die together anyway. (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!