Ao Bai looked around on the mountain and saw a group of black in the vast white wilderness a few miles to the south. That was the Ming army's array. It was roughly estimated that there were more than a thousand people, which was almost the same as what the scouts had reported.
But what they were doing and what they wanted to do left Ao Bai confused. The scout cavalry reported that the troops first went to Xingshan and then moved outside Songshan without moving, but they did not allow the Qing army's scout cavalry to approach. , but even so, it was discovered by the Qing army's detective cavalry that this troop belonged to the Black Eagle Battalion of the Dongchang Guards.
No wonder he is so arrogant and dares to go deep here alone.
Ao Bai's expression changed again and again. Even though Dongchang Wei's reputation was great, it couldn't scare me. What's more, you came here alone. I don't believe you have three heads and six arms.
Although he was not afraid in his heart, Oboi did not act arbitrarily. As the saying goes, there must be monsters when things go wrong. The great eunuch of the Ming Dynasty was good at playing monsters, and he also suffered losses more than once, which made him We have to act cautiously, not to mention that the Eagle Camp only has 300 cavalry, but there are more than a thousand soldiers and horses here. It is impossible to guarantee that there is a powerful character in it. Who could it be? Could it be the great eunuch? If he is here, then It must be a trap, deliberately trying to lure me in...
Just when Obai was making random guesses, Hong Chengchou who was beside him suddenly said, are they collecting corpses? Hong Chengchou had been observing here for a long time. Although he couldn't see clearly, he always felt something strange. He suddenly thought of Tu Lai going to support Xing last night. That's where Shan was attacked. At this time, the place where more than a thousand troops of the East Factory Guard were located was the battlefield last night!
Collect the corpse? Obai was confused again.
Came here early in the morning just to collect corpses? This is unscientific, it must be a ghost!
By the way, everyone doubts this matter. After all, even if it is a war in later generations, if the war fails, no one will clean up the battlefield and collect the corpses. The corpses will really be thrown into the wilderness. After the war, the victor will clean up, which is nothing more. They dug a hole together and buried them hastily.
So when the guards from the East Factory came to collect the corpse, it seemed particularly strange and weird to them!
Oboi didn't believe they were here to collect the corpse.
Hong Chengchou also thinks it's not that simple.
Why don't we send out troops to test it? Oboi squinted his eyes, raised his telescope and looked around. They were the only group of people in the vast wilderness, but where did they have the courage to act in front of my eyes? Could there be an ambush?
Thinking of this, I looked towards Songshan Fort to the west. No matter it was windy or rainy, the construction work was still going on. Apparently the guards inside had also discovered the Ming army and stood on the top of the city to look around.
Could it be that he wanted to lure away Songshan soldiers and horses, and then attack Songshan Fort?
Ao Bai wanted to send troops to test, but was persuaded by Hong Chengchou not to move rashly. Maybe the other party also wanted to test. If you take advantage of him, it is best to stay still and wait and see.
Hong Chengchou was famous for his stability and would never take risks, so he just stood still and saw what the Ming army wanted to do! Obai thought about it again and again but held it back. On normal days, he would have sent troops to test it out, but when he thought about his opponent It's that scheming eunuch, and he doesn't feel at ease. What's more, the higher-ups are preparing for a big move, so don't startle the enemy at this moment, so just be patient, it depends on what tricks you want to play.
Ji Jike stood up with his sword drawn and squinted at the Songshan Mountain in the distance. Next to him, Ma Ke looked blank, sometimes looking around and sometimes looking up at the sky. Behind them were hundreds of horsemen in a semicircular array, and behind them was Lu Dacheng's men are digging through corpses in the snow. More than 20 people from the Black Tiger Camp were killed here yesterday.
"The Tatars have been peeking at Jinzhou for a long time. If we count it since the fourth year of Chongzhen when General Ancestor built a city on the Daling River to defend Jinzhou, it has been more than ten years. And the Songjin War that caused Jinzhou to be lost took three years to let them
We finally succeeded. Now both the imperial court and the governor intend to regain Jinzhou. General Ji, how long do you think we can achieve our wish?" Ma Ke suddenly asked.
Ji Jike glanced at Ma Ke and smiled calmly: "The last general doesn't know, but the last general knows that General Zu has been in Ningyuan for a year and has advanced to Tashan Fort, so it won't take more than ten years anyway." Then
Asked rhetorically: "In Chief Ma's opinion, how long will it take?"
Ma Ke took a breath and shook his head slightly: "There are too many variables, maybe three years or two years, or one and a half years, or... who knows?" Ji Jike smiled again: "If Mr. Ma
The variable Bing said is the Governor. If the number is the Governor, the final result will be quite optimistic."
Ma Ke was startled when he heard this, and then smiled: "Tell me about it."
"Three years ago, the Tatars were attacking and we were defending. Now, it's the other way around. Three years ago, the Tatars had strong soldiers, strong horses, and sufficient food and grass. But last year, a tragic defeat left them with broken bones and muscles. Their vitality is far less than before. Three years ago, we had eight soldiers.
There are hundreds of thousands of troops, but the good and the bad are mixed, and the morale of the troops is also uneven. Although there are only tens of thousands of soldiers and horses at the moment, it is indeed the only Ningyuan Army, and they share the same enemy from top to bottom!"
"Three years ago, the coach was Hong Chengchou, and now he is General Zu. I dare not say that General Zu is more capable than Hong Chengchou, but Hong Chengchou was a civil servant after all, and there were too many constraints at the time, but now the government has not given any restraint to General Zu.
”.
At this point, Marco couldn't help but interject: "It's not that there was nothing. There were a lot of voices in the court urging troops to be sent out a while ago, but they were all blocked by the Governor. He asked General Zu to do it at his own pace."
"Oh, I don't know about this junior general, but as the Commander-in-Chief said, even if there are constraints from above, they will be blocked by the Governor. In this way, General Zu can roll up his sleeves and let go without any scruples.
Done, and besides, although General Zu is the commander-in-chief, the governor is still the governor. I dare not say that General Zu is better than Hong Chengchou, but Hong Chengchou is certainly better than the governor in terms of fighting ability.
Yes, Li Chuang has been causing trouble for more than ten years, and the court has been fighting for more than ten years without being able to pacify it, but the Governor only fought for two years, hehe."
Ma Ke nodded: "When it comes to marching and fighting in today's world, no one would dare to talk about first place if the governor said he was second. However, Hong Chengchou is not an incompetent person. He still has some abilities, otherwise he would not have grown from a small
The principal went to the three governors of Shaanxi Province and then to the Minister of War, and then to the governor Ji Liao."
Ji Jike smiled slightly: "I heard that Hong Chengchou was also promoted from suppressing bandits. He defeated Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng. He was originally a subordinate of Yang He, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi Province, but his methods were much more vicious and effective than Yang He's. He was the best at killing prisoners!
"
Ma Ke snorted: "In the first year of Chongzhen, there was great chaos in northern Shaanxi. Governor Yang He was ordered by the three imperial courts to "suppress and appease as well as to appease, focusing mainly on appeasement." The next year, there was a rebellion in Hancheng, and Yang He had no generals and had to resort to force.
He took advantage of the situation and let Hong Chengchou, who was still involved in politics at the time, lead the troops into the war. However, he became famous in one battle and killed more than 300 enemies. He was subsequently promoted for meritorious service and was appointed governor of Yansui the following year. From then on, he became Yang He's general. At that time, Yang He was very aggressive towards the thieves.
The policy was in accordance with the imperial court's wishes: "Suppress at the same time and appease at the same time." However, those thieves were capricious. They surrendered when they could no longer hold on, and then rebelled again after they recovered. As subordinates, they should have implemented the orders and policies of their superiors.
But Hong Chengchou had already gone on a killing spree at that time, not only encircling and suppressing but also killing and surrendering. It is said that he killed and captured tens of thousands of people at that time, which was no less than the governor, and his methods were also comparable. And after he succeeded as the governor of the three sides,
Directly "Combate with all your strength, eliminate the strong and pacify, first suppress and then pacify." Here Ma Ke sighed. Although he lost against the Tatar Hong Chengchou, don't judge the hero based on success or failure. He still did a pretty good job in suppressing thieves, and he has a lot of potential.
meritorious”.
It can be seen that Marco's feelings for Hong Chengchou are quite complicated. Maybe Hong Chengchou was once a person he admired, or something else, so even if Hong Chengchou is surrendered now, he is not completely trampled on.
But Ji Jike looked disapproving: "Master General, do you know what the Governor's evaluation of Hong Chengchou is?"
Ma Ke was startled: "I've never heard of it, I'm all ears."
"There are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkey is the king!" Ji Jike chuckled, with a hint of disdain in his expression. Ma Ke was startled again, but he heard Ji Jike continue to say: "Master Du Gong once said that Hong Chengchou has
He is somewhat capable, and even appears to be very capable for a period of time, but in fact it is not how capable he is, but that he relies entirely on his peers to support him. Lord General, since Han Yanglu, Yuan Sun, you see, there are many people in the court.
What kind of stuff!"
It is true that the strong general's men are not cowards, which is something most people would not dare to say.
Marco was startled again and again, then smiled bitterly.
The Han in Ji Jike's mouth is Han Xu, Yang is Yang Sichang, Yuan is Yuan Chonghuan, Lu is Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun is Sun Chuanting. These are all elders of the Chongzhen Dynasty and really capable people.
However, after these people die, who else is there in the court? Only Chen Xinjia and Hong Chengchou can use them to prop up a facade. Yes, they can only prop up a facade. The rest of them are not even qualified to support the facade, such as
Wei Dezao, Zhou Yanru and others are all out of line.