As soon as Chunxiang left, Chang Yu glanced at the middle-aged man standing next to him who looked cautious.
"The last general Tang Tong met with the Governor"
Tang Tong was surprised in his heart. The rumors were true. He was too young. How could he be so young?
"Commander Tang, please take a seat in the hall." Chang Yu extended his hand to invite him. Tang Tong quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Governor, please."
The two of them sat down separately in the hall, and a fan came in to make tea and serve him carefully. Chang Yu waved his hand to let him go, looking back and forth at Tang Tong.
Records of Tang Tong began in the seventh year of Chongzhen. At that time, he was a garrison in Yulin. After several years of hard work, he finally climbed up to the position of commander-in-chief. In these more than ten years, he fought in the north and south, fought against Zhang Xianzhong with Governor Chen Qiyu, and also fought against the Qing Dynasty.
The most famous one was one of the Eight General Soldiers who followed Hong Chengchou in the Songjin War. Last year, Chongzhen adopted Chen Yan's suggestion and withdrew the Miyun General Soldier. He was appointed as the Chief Soldier of the Chinese Association in Jizhen, referred to as the General Soldier of Jizhen.
In the Battle of Songjin, nearly a hundred civilian and military soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were killed, and the losses were heavy. Not to mention Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou, Zu Dalue surrendered, Qiu Minyang was killed..., even the Eighth General Army lost more than half, Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao died in the battle.
Wang Pu was killed for his crimes, Bai Guangen surrendered, and Ma Ke was withdrawn. Now he and Wu Sangui were the only ones who could be used.
Tang Tong felt uncomfortable being looked at by Chang Yu. Although the eunuch in front of him was young, the aura he exuded was generally unbearable. Although he seemed kind, he was definitely a ruthless character.
"Lord Governor, the general received an order the day before yesterday saying that he will go with you to Shanhaiguan to supervise the war. Is it possible that there is a situation in the north?" Tang Tong frowned deeply and brought the topic to the topic. He was stationed in Changping recently, and the military situation in the north was so bad.
Haven't heard of it yet.
Chang Yu withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly: "The Qing army goes south."
Ah! Tang Tong was shocked, his brows furrowed even deeper, and his face looked extremely ugly.
Chang Yu secretly sighed, this guy had been working for Song Jin and the Qing Army for two years, and after a big defeat, he had a shadow, and he seemed to be suffering from fear of Qing cancer.
"General Tang is afraid?"
Chang Yu raised the corner of his mouth, half-smiling but not smiling.
"Why do you say this, Lord Governor? Dogs of the Qing Dynasty are coveting our country and harming our people. It is my duty to protect my family and country as an Ming general, and I will not hesitate to die on the battlefield and be shrouded in horse leather. What the Lord Governor said is too small."
That's it." Tang Tong said slightly angrily.
Chang Yu waved his hand slightly: "You are just telling the truth, the general of the Tang Dynasty does not need to be serious." But he was still satisfied in his heart. Judging from the current situation of the Ming Dynasty generals, Tang Tong was pretty good. Although his loyalty was not as good as that of Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong, and his courage was not as good as that of Wu Sangui and Gao Jie.
But they are not as arrogant and domineering as Liu Zeqing and Zuo Liangyu. On the contrary, they are very obedient.
Seeing that Tang Tong still seemed a little angry, Chang Yu quickly changed the subject: "This governor has never dealt with the Qing army, but the Tang general soldier has rich experience. I dare to ask what the Qing army's combat strength is like. I hope Tang will do it."
The commander-in-chief does not brag or make lies, and seeks truth from facts."
Tang Tong was silent for a moment, frowned and said: "The Qing army is brave, good at bows, horses, riding and shooting, which is unmatched by the ordinary Ming army. Their fighting style is fierce and powerful, and they are unstoppable in the field." He sighed slightly: "After the Battle of Songjin, how dare you
Instead of directly facing the enemy, the only ones facing him were General Wu’s troops from Ningyuan.”
Chang Yu nodded silently and agreed very much with what Tang Tong said: "However, the Songjin battlefield is mostly mountains, rivers and rivers, and the terrain is rugged and uneven, which is not suitable for cavalry to fight in the field. Moreover, the Ming army mostly defended the city and fought, but returned with a disastrous defeat. It can be seen that the Qing army did not
He is just good at field warfare and has a complete set of tactics for siege."
"Artillery" Tang Tong raised his eyebrows: "Since Kong Youde surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army's artillery has been improved, and its firepower and quantity are far greater than ours. When attacking the city, it uses heavy firepower to cover it, and strong troops ascend the city, including Songshan and Xingshan.
Dengjun is a small town, so it’s hard to resist…”
Tang made no secret of making excuses for the defeat in the Battle of Songjin during the phone call, but Chang Yu didn't care about this. A defeat was a defeat, and there were many reasons for failure. It was meaningless at this time.
As for when he said that the Qing army's firepower was even more powerful than that of the Ming army, Chang Yu really couldn't help but have a toothache and secretly lamented that God's will has played a trick on people. More than ten years ago, Yuan Chonghuan, a man with a straight heart, killed Mao Wenlong regardless of it, causing Ming Ming's death.
The Liaodong army was in great disarray, and its subordinates Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming rebelled and occupied Dengzhou City.
But Dengzhou City is not simple. It is the base for the Ming army to manufacture new artillery and train artillery. There are nearly a hundred Portuguese and other foreign artillerymen and craftsmen, as well as a large number of trained artillery. In the end, when the counter-rebellion army arrived, I had a premonition that I could not support it.
Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming went down together, leaving the remaining men to guard the water city of Dengzhou. They surrendered to the Qing Dynasty with more than 3,000 horses, more than 20 red cannons, more than 300 Western cannons and countless firearms, gold and silver. In exchange for
Huang Taiji's thirty-mile journey to welcome...
So after more than ten years of development, the artillery strength of the Qing army was at its peak, while the Ming Dynasty, which was trapped in the quagmire and in financial collapse, was declining day by day.
Lao Yuan, ten years ago you impulsively killed Mao Wenlong and it was great, but now I have to pay for your impulsiveness, I am miserable!
"Superintendent, do you know how many soldiers and horses of the Qing army have invaded this time?" Tang Tong took a long breath and asked, secretly calculating that from the second year of Chongzhen, when the Qing army first entered the pass to now, more than ten years have passed.
After entering the pass five times, whenever there was a shortage of money, food and people, they would enter the pass on a large scale and plunder, and even go deep into the hinterland. The Ming Dynasty always suffered heavy losses. Not only ordinary people suffered, but also people and property were swept away.
, even the princes were not spared. Zhu Youshu, the virtuous king of Shandong, and Zhu Yi, the king of Lu, were captured and killed...
What is deplorable is that every time the Qing army entered the pass, they plundered and even marched to the capital, while the Ming army either fled upon hearing the news or followed from afar. After all, the frontier troops did not dare to resist such powerful troops easily, and the inland troops were even more powerful.
It's courageous.
But this was just one of the many humiliations at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, these shames can only be washed away with blood.
"It is reported that there are as many as one hundred thousand," Chang Yu said softly.
Tang Tong couldn't help but exclaimed again, his face was extremely defeated, and he sighed to the governor: "Do you know how many troops there are in the Ming army in the north?"
Chang Yu shook his head: "I don't know the details, please let Mr. Tang know."
"General Wu has about 30,000 soldiers in Ningyuan City, Shanhaiguan General has more than 10,000 soldiers, and including the junior generals, the total is only 60,000 troops," Tang Tong said and sighed heavily.
If the fighting power is inferior to others, the troops are inferior to others, the morale is inferior to others, and the situation is inferior to others, how can we fight this battle? Tang Tong, a veteran, already has the answer in his mind.
"Ningyuan, Ningyuan..." Chang Yu muttered, and suddenly smiled: "General Tang, do you still remember the Ningyuan battle in the sixth year of Tianqi?"
"Could the Governor be talking about the time between Governor Yuan and Nurhaci?" Tang Tong was silent for a while.
This battle was called the Great Victory of Ningyuan by the Ming court, and it was the first time the Ming army defeated the Qing army (called Houjin at the time)
Chang Yu nodded slightly: "At the beginning, Governor Yuan only had more than 10,000 troops in Ningyuan City, while the Qing army had more than 60,000. But in the end, the Qing army was defeated and fled?"
"Governor" Tang Tong smiled bitterly. He knew that Chang Yu wanted to encourage him: "But at that time, there were only 11 red cannons in Ningyuan City, which was invincible to the Qing army at that time."
"But you have forgotten that at that time Nurhaci claimed to command 130,000 Eight Banners troops, but in reality he only commanded 60,000." Chang Yu smiled faintly.
Tang Tong remained silent. Of course he understood what Chang Yu meant. At this moment, the Qing army is also known as an army of one hundred thousand. In fact... it may be almost the same as the Ming army. If the strength is equal, and the Ming army resists the enemy in the city, it is still unknown who will win.
, and I heard that this little eunuch has a good way of fighting. In Taiyuan, he was able to defeat the intruders who led several times the bandit army and fled. He might also be able to file the Qing army.
If so? Chang Yu appears as calm as a breeze, but is mentally miserable.
The imperial court suppressed bandits for more than ten years, and the more they suppressed, the more they suppressed, but the victory was evenly divided, but the bandits were just amateurs. The Ming and Qing Dynasties also fought for more than ten years. This time it was an actual battle between professional armies, but the Ming Dynasty
After repeated defeats, repeated defeats, and even being pushed into the house five times, I calmly left after feeling satisfied... In the past ten years, I have only won a handful of victories, and the few times I have won,
They were all the special forces of the Ming Dynasty...Guan Ning's cavalry fought. Unfortunately, this special forces only had a little flame left at this time.
In the end, Li Zicheng, an amateur player, defeated the professional team of Ming Dynasty, and then was completely destroyed by the professional team of Qing Dynasty. This comparison made the difference.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty's financial and military resources were at the end of their strength, and they were unable to compete with the Qing army at its peak. More importantly, because of the defeat in the Songjin Battle, the Ming army was afraid that Qing cancer was terminally ill and its military morale was exhausted.
With insufficient troops, insufficient combat power, insufficient logistics, and low military morale, how can we fight this battle in the face of the fierce and arrogant Qing army? Chang Yu is also asking himself. (To be continued)