Chapter 117: Great Qing loyal minister Hong Chengchou and Ming loyal minister Wu Sangui
On the Baigou River, ice floes were floating. The soldiers of the invading army dug through the glacier overnight, causing half of the tens of feet of ice to crack, and the cold water shimmered, which was frightening.
Although Wu Sangui noticed that the intruders were cutting ice at night, the fierce fighting throughout the day had already caused Guan Ning's army to suffer heavy casualties and was exhausted. The "final word" of the Qing army's defeat made Gao Di and Liu Zeqing even more worried.
There is a lot of dissatisfaction with Abate.
Even within the Ming army, Li Fuming felt deeply that he had been betrayed by his friendly forces and suffered unnecessary and excessive losses in the Battle of Baigouhe.
The generals had different opinions and the conflict was fierce. Abatai set up another camp and was determined not to participate in the military discussions of the Ming generals. This made Wu Sangui feel powerless. He knew clearly that the invading army was cutting ice at night and would definitely be killed.
There will be a big move, but you can only rest and reorganize your troops and horses in the camp, silently waiting for the sun to rise, and let the destiny of the Ming Dynasty be decided.
After daybreak, the scenery of the Chuangjun camp on the south bank of the Baigou River had changed suddenly. Not only had most of the ice surface been cut open, but on the other side of the river bank, the Chuangjun had also built a solid line of field fortifications overnight.
At this time, Abatai finally realized that something was wrong. The intruders cut ice and cut off the river overnight. The purpose was obvious, which was to prevent the Ming and Qing allied forces from continuing to move south and cut off the connection between Abatai and the outflanking Qing army southward.
However, Abatai only had thousands of soldiers and horses at his disposal. Even if all the Manchus were indeed warriors who could equal ten, he would never be able to break through the front line of defense of the intruders by himself.
With no other choice, Abatai had no choice but to put down his body, and at dawn, he took Gao Qiqian and Hong Chengchou to the Ming army camp in person, trying to persuade Wu Sangui to join him in sending troops south to rescue the outflanking troops.
Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou met again in such an embarrassing situation. They had been separated since the Songjin War. Wu Sangui probably could not have imagined that the two would meet again during the Ming and Qing allied forces.
In the middle, when they join forces to suppress thieves, things and circumstances in the world change, and sometimes they are so abnormal.
After being away for a long time, Hong Chengchou's appearance did not change much, but the black hair on his head had turned into a braid, which made Wu Sangui sigh.
Not long after dawn, the sun just came out. It was as big as a wheel and as red as a discus that was about to melt. It reflected the surrounding clouds blood red. According to Manchurian shamans, this was a very unlucky sign.
The cold wind blew, and the horns sounded in the camp of the Ming army. Among the horns, there were human voices and horses neighing. Hong Chengchou saw Wu Sangui, Gao Di, Li Fuming, Liu Zeqing and other generals, as well as the nominal commander-in-chief.
Bachelor Li Jiantai and others were waiting for the Eight Banners soldiers in front of the camp, and suddenly felt a chill in their bodies.
He wrapped his cloak tightly around his body and thought of the changes in world affairs. He couldn't help but feel sad in his heart. He hissed with emotion and said to Abatai in the Manchu dialect he had barely learned:
"Master Beile, among the generals of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui is the only one who should be taken seriously."
The eunuch Gao Qiqian on the side couldn't understand their Manchu conversation, and he was very dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou. He betrayed his father and was willing to be a traitor but was not punished. Today he can still rely on external connections.
In order to gain strong support, the Hulu were able to run rampant in the pass. It can be said that they were jealous and resentful.
However, Gao Qiqian also knew that the Eastern Division was powerful and the imperial court had to attach great importance to it. As long as Chen Xinjia's national policy of "borrowing divisions to assist in suppression" did not change, no one could touch Hong Chengchou in the slightest.
He could only suppress the jealousy in his heart, dismounted first, and then met with the superintendent, Grand Scholar Li Jiantai, Ningyuan Town Chief Soldier Wu Sangui, Qiantun Town Chief Soldier Officer Li Fuming, Shanhaiguan Town Chief Soldier Officer Gao Di, Shandong Town Chief Soldier Officer Liu Zeqing and others , lined up and bowed their heads together to welcome the arrival of the great Qing Duo Luo Yu Beile.
Abatai listened to Hong Chengchou's advice, and he asked for help at this time, and did not do anything extraneous and stupid. He walked into the Ming army generals, took off his helmet, and revealed the strip that shocked Li Jiantai. Then he asked the interpreter around him to express his sincere friendship and sincere feelings to the generals.
Then other Eight Banners soldiers carried a large number of heads of bandits that the Qing army had captured in the fierce battle at Baigou River to the Ming army camp. Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and explained to the generals:
"The Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are countries of brothers, and the military exploits of the Eastern Division are the military exploits of the generals. These heads of thieves are all old men among thieves. Mr. Baylor knew that the Ming Dynasty valued the merits of the heads, so he took the lead. This credit goes to all of you."
When the generals saw Abatai's kind act, their hearts warmed up, and they somewhat let down their wariness against the Manchus. However, Wu Sangui understood Abatai's intention of coming here. He analyzed the situation of the fierce battle at Baigou River yesterday, and already He judged Abatai's roundabout move to divide his troops, and knew that his coming here must be to persuade the Ming and Qing armies to act together for rescue.
However, Wu Sangui had his own strategy and would never be willing to be the vanguard for Abatai. He whispered:
"Superintendent Hong...Mr. Hong has thought carefully. The Eastern Division assisted in the battle yesterday and was of great help. It's just that the bandits are outnumbered and the Eastern Division's army seems to be divided into many troops. The bandits have been cutting ice all night, and the river is across the river. It is inconvenient to go south. Earlier I He and Gaozhentai both sent some soldiers and horses to try to attack the south, but they were all easily blocked by bandits. I'm afraid... I'm afraid, the situation is not optimistic for the divided troops of the Eastern Division."
Hong Chengchou smiled calmly and said in Chinese:
"You and I are very aware of today's situation. Since the rise of the army to suppress the bandits more than ten years ago, except for me and Bai Gu, none of the supervising ministers have had a good end. The bandits are also fierce and cunning, and they have also been defeated in one day. One day, Commander Li and Uncle Chang, we are all old acquaintances, and I think we can explain things clearly. Without the help of the Eastern Division, Guan Ning will not be able to break through. If the Eastern Division's roundabout troops are defeated, the imperial court will join forces. The strategy of conquering the invaders may also change, so what method will be used to suppress the invaders at that time?"
Hong Chengchou's words left Li Jiantai and Wu Sangui speechless. Gao Di and Li Fuming also sighed, feeling deeply confused and hopeless about the embarrassing and embarrassing situation of the court today.
There were only two people, Liu Zeqing and Gao Qiqian, who had no expression on their faces, but secretly smiled in their hearts: If the imperial court can't suppress the Chuang army, and the Eastern Division can't fight against the Chuang army, then we can't defeat the Chuang army, why not join them directly? Paying for someone is not the same as being paid for, and working for someone is not the same as being an errand?
"The Emperor has always had good intentions, Mr. Hong, Mr. Hong, just ask the Eastern Division to work hard, and we will be able to defeat the bandits." Li Jiantai said very weakly, "I saw that the bandits were exhausted from yesterday's battle. Let's fight again today. We will definitely achieve a devastating victory."
Wu Sangui finally said realistically: "Baoding is the gateway to Jifu, and this battle is related to the success or failure of the world. The east division's roundabout division of troops is indeed a clever move, but the prince of your army never communicated with us properly before using the troops. We and other generals will do our best.
No one knows the inner secret of the Eastern Division's use of troops. The two armies are called coalition forces, but in fact they are just doing their own thing. How can we suppress the bandits with this kind of use of troops?"
After the interpreters translated the words of Li Jiantai and Wu Sangui to Abatai, he continued to speak obscure words in Manchurian.
Wu Sangui had been fighting the Manchus for a long time and could hear them more or less clearly. His face changed slightly, and he understood Abatai's intentions, and he became even more hopeless about the prospects of this battle.
Hong Chengchou helped Abatai explain to the remaining Ming army generals:
"What Mr. Baylor is saying is that the Eastern Division that went south to make a roundabout attack are all elite soldiers that are rare outside the Pass. This elite army is now operating behind the bandits, and it will definitely not fail to achieve military success. Now it is just because the bandits cut the ice
Cutting off the river cut off the news from the north and the south, so we could not get the information of outflanking the army to win. Judging from the actual situation, the Eastern Army's Ma Duo must be raiding the enemy's rear and cutting off the thieves' food routes. As long as we are not afraid of difficulties,
Don’t be afraid of death. The two armies will work together and advance together. The food route for the thieves has been cut off, so it will not be difficult to break it."
Li Jiantai, who lacked military experience, was quite tempted by Hong Chengchou's words. Even Gao Di and Li Fuming were beguiled by Hong Chengchou's words about this roundabout force fighting bravely behind the bandits, and they believed that victory was within their grasp.
Only Wu Sangui and Liu Zeqing had doubts about the combat effectiveness of the Qing army, and they were even more unwilling to use their own military strength to take risks in such a business that was likely to lose money.
Wu Sangui deliberately refused the proposal of joint operations and forcibly attacked the Chuang army's defense line, so he said:
"It's exactly what Mr. Hong said, but the thieves dug ice to fortify themselves and formed a formation overnight. Guan Ning's soldiers stayed up all night and forced the thieves to check close by several times. Their defense line is strong and stable. It is difficult to
It's easy to break through. What's more, the weather is cold now, and it's difficult to defend and attack. If we rashly attack the bandits' defense line, we're afraid we'll suffer a big loss."
Hong Chengchou waved his hand and said: "Otherwise. What Mr. Beile means is that since the bandits are digging ice for defense in front of them, it is inconvenient to attack by force. Then we can simply move to the east and the whole army approaches the east flank of the bandits. This way we can avoid the enemy's attack."
The defensive line can also force the bandits to move, making it easier for us to re-establish contact with the outflanking troops."
In fact, even Hong Chengchou himself disagreed with the eastward advance plan proposed by the Qing army. He had already explained his objections to Fan Wencheng in private, and asked Fan Wencheng to explain it to Huang Taiji, attributing all the responsibility for the use of troops to Ah
Batai alone.
Only Abate, who had a very weak sense of politics, was still dreaming of relying on unexpected troops to turn defeat into victory. His strategy of advancing eastward sounded ridiculous to Wu Sangui and others.
It's freezing cold now, and if the coalition forces suddenly make such a big change in the front line, it is very likely that they will be attacked by the enemy during the movement. It is entirely possible that the losses will be huge by then.
However, the opinions of Li Jiantai, Gao Di and Li Fuming were close to those of Abatai. Among them, Li Jiantai lacked military experience. Besides, the Qing army was so powerful in the past, so the idea of the Qing army generals must be correct.
Gao Di and Li Fuming were unwilling to fail. They both believed that Baoding was an important place for Jifu. If the Ming army was defeated in this battle, the capital would be shaken. Therefore, even though they felt that the eastward strategy was risky, they still wanted to fight against the Qing Dynasty.
The illusion of military combat effectiveness was pinned on Abate.
Wu Sangui sighed secretly in his heart. Just when he was about to speak out against it, he suddenly saw Liu Zeqing agreeing: "The Eastern Division is strong, which is known to everyone in the world. Since the prince of your army has decided to use troops in this way, then I should raise my hands to support it."
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How could Wu Sangui not know what kind of person Liu Zeqing was?
After he saw Liu Zeqing suddenly agreeing with this risky military strategy, he suddenly had a clear understanding in his heart, and he also agreed with Abate's opinion and said:
"Since the prince has made his decision, I am willing to work together with the Eastern Division to defeat the enemy."
Hong Chengchou looked at the different expressions of Li Jiantai, Gao Qiqian, Wu Sangui, Gao Di, Liu Zeqing, and Li Fuming, but what he was thinking in his mind was that he should quickly conspire with Fan Wencheng to get rid of this unscrupulous person Abatai.
Abatai was so reckless with his troops, and he was definitely responsible for the defeat of Baigouhe!
But Wu Sangui and Liu Zeqing have very good eyesight...
Although Abate's failure had somewhat affected the overall planning of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou thought that many of the generals who were defeated by Abate were members of the Dorgon brothers' Xiangbai Banner lineage. To a certain extent,
Above, it can be regarded as rebalancing the impact of the defeat of Dangshan on Huang Taiji's direct line Xianghuangqi.
No matter how the Baigouhe war develops, he must first win over these two smart men, Wu Sangui and Liu Zeqing.
Hong Chengchou secretly thought that Huang Taiji's ingenious scheme would definitely shock everyone in the world. Compared with Huang Taiji's skills, the thieves in front of him were really just ordinary people.