weaving

The more than [-] armies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties confronted each other under the city of Jinzhou. Although small-scale sentry cavalry clashes continued, no major battles occurred again.

The Qing army has been mobilizing troops and horses from various places, and has been stepping up to build shield vehicles and other attacking equipment, while the Ming army has been digging deep trenches and piled up earthen walls.

Today's Jinzhou battlefield has changed drastically. The Ming and Qing have changed their offensive and defensive positions. From the Qing army besieging Jinzhou to death and taking a defensive position against the Ming army's aid to the Liao king, the Ming army is guarding the city of Jinzhou and waiting for the Qing army. to attack.

The only thing that remains the same is the ditches and earth walls outside Jinzhou City, which were excavated and piled up by the Qing army before to prevent Zu Dashou and others in the city from breaking out, and there are also moats and earth walls dug by the Ming army to defend against the counterattack of the Qing army.

Especially in the wilderness to the southwest of Jinzhou City, there are criss-cross gullies and earthen walls. If you look down from the tower at the southwest corner of Jinzhou City, the scene is really spectacular.

Tens of thousands of civilians, Ding Zhuang, were digging with picks and shovels, while carrying soil boxes or carrying soil bags, and many Ming soldiers also joined them.

Fortunately, although the weather is already very cold at this time, the earth is not completely frozen, otherwise, how could human beings be able to dig it?
But even so, the people who dug trenches and built walls in the wilderness worked very hard. They chanted in unison while exerting their strength, and they were really full of enthusiasm.

Fortunately, the Ming army no longer has the pressure to break the Jinsiege, and only needs to defend the position under Jinzhou City, so everyone is more concerned about digging trenches and building walls.

What's more, from their point of view, the Jiliao Army and the Xuan Da Army were the horns of each other outside Jinzhou City, they could support each other in case of trouble, and the artillery on the top of Jinzhou City could continue to bombard the attacking Tartars.

In this way, the Ming army cooperated with infantry and cavalry to defend, with the infantry firmly guarding the defense line of the trench and the earth wall, while the cavalry waited for an opportunity to find a gap to fight, and reinforcements were nearby at any time.

In addition, there are hundreds of large and small cannons above and below the city, forming a three-dimensional defensive artillery array. How can slaves break through with only shield chariots and fine cavalry?

However, apart from the harassment of a small group of Tartar sentries, there was no massive attack by slaves for several days. This made the Ming army, from Governor Hong Chengchou to ordinary soldiers, secretly suspicious.

…………

In fact, when the Ming army was wildly suspicious of the Qing army's movements and worried that it would not know when it would attack, the Qing army was very calm inside.

Even Hauge and Azig, who believed Dorgon's counterattack words a few days ago and were in full swing to build shield vehicles and other offensive equipment, have all died down.

There is no other reason, except that Dorgon and Daishan, two people who are qualified to make decisions, are not firm in their determination to counterattack the Tucheng stationed by the Ming army. There is also a bigger problem that is food and grass, which is already stretched.

For the battle in Jinzhou, the Qing army mobilized the whole country. In addition to the armored warriors in the banners who were recruited to fight, even the young and strong men in their banners were also recruited to follow the army.

Of course, when the war required them, these followers would go to battle like armored warriors to kill the enemy, while the rest of the old and the weak and the women would assist in transporting food and grass.

However, the land of the Qing Dynasty was limited after all, and the land area that could be used for cultivation was very small, and it was located in the permafrost zone. It could only be cultivated for one season every year, precisely because the grain in the family was insufficient.

For this battle, the Qing Dynasty had to squeeze the various ministries of Mongolia to deliver grain and grass, especially North Korea, the brotherly country it conquered, became an important source of grain for it.

Today, nearly [-] soldiers and horses gathered under the city of Jinzhou in the Qing Dynasty, which made their food and grass supply suddenly tense. Can not be hydrolyzed near thirsty ah.

In Yizhou City, dozens of miles north of Jinzhou, there is a large amount of grain and grain stored. It is the granary of the Qing army, and almost all the grain and grain transported from various places are stored here.

However, it will take time to transfer to the front line. For example, places such as Damao Fort, Dasheng Fort, Liushui Fort, and Baimiao Fort, which are completely controlled by the Qing army, have stored some food and grass in advance.

However, there were not many grains on the front line of Jinzhou. After all, it was not expected that the army would suddenly gather under the city of Jinzhou, and the transportation of grain and grass was not easy, so it was impossible to have enough grain anywhere.

Regarding this, although Haoge, Azige and others were full of complaints, they did not dare to disobey Dorgon's military orders. Let alone Haoge, who is a nephew, and even Azige, who is the eldest brother, treat Dorgon with respect. It's like a chilling cicada.

The two of them dared to say a few words about Dorgon behind his back, but they didn't dare to speak to him in front of him, especially when they encountered such important military affairs.

Especially Prince Su Hauge, originally he was careless and had no intentions, but after receiving Huang Taiji's instruction in Dalinghe Fort last time, he seemed to have restrained himself a bit.

Although he was not quite used to it for a while due to his habit, he was indeed much more mature and stable than before. Even though his voice was still as loud as before, his words were much less than before.

…………

The two sides of the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been facing each other under the city of Jinzhou in this way. In the end, the sentry cavalry of both sides stopped fighting. They just looked at each other from a distance and shot a few arrows for meaning.

Until the heavy snowfall on the day of "Lidong", Dorgon and Daishan finally made the decision to withdraw their troops and go to various castles to eat.

Regarding this decision, not to mention those outer Mongolian princes and Taiji who were already tired of this war supported it very much, even the banner owners of the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Gushan Erzhen were very happy.

And Hauge and Azig no longer had any voices of opposition. After all, they saw the warriors in their banners suffering from hunger, especially those horses getting thinner and thinner. Don't say that they went out to attack the Ming army at this time.

If it goes on like this for a long time, I am afraid that there is no need to fight the Ming army, and there is no need for the Ming army to come to attack me, so I will lie down hungry first!

In the end, Dorgon, Daishan and the others agreed that the whole division would withdraw their troops before the snow had completely fallen, and go to the surrounding castles to eat separately.

However, the besieging Qing army in the north and east of Jinzhou City did not retreat for the time being. After all, their camps were strong, with sufficient reserves of food, grass and firewood, and after heavy snow blocked the roads, the Ming army would not easily come to attack.

…………

On the night of October 14th in the [-]th year of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the stars were like lamps. Even if you didn't light up the lanterns and held a torch, you could clearly see the road under your feet.

Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan Regiment of the Ming Dynasty, is currently walking in the grand mansion of his ancestor's family in Jinzhou City, accompanied by Zu Dabi.

"Its structure is magnificent, with armor in the city, double doors and rooms, showing off gold and jade, bricks and stones, carved odd shapes, Wenyuan and whitewashed walls, extremely gorgeous, and the Dashou House is particularly extravagant."

This is the record written by Li Cheng, the eldest son of the king of Joseon, when he followed the Qing army into the customs and visited the former residences of Zu Dashou, Zu Dale and other brothers via Jinzhou City.

Li Cheng, courtesy name Chengji, was the concubine prince of the No.16 King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty, and was named Chongshan King in Joseon.

In the original history, he once lived in Shenyang as the hostage of North Korea, and then entered the customs with Dorgon and lived in the Shenyang Pavilion in Beijing.

Li Cheng recorded everything he saw and heard about living in the Qing Dynasty, and finally recorded it in the book "Shen Guanlu". In this book, he also recorded: "'There are more rich families in the Central Plains than this.' However, although our country is the most honored residence, it cannot be as gorgeous as it is. It is absolutely true to say that it is rebellious and defeated."

Li Cheng thought that the former residence of his ancestors in Jinzhou City could not even be compared with the palace where the king of Joseon lived, which made him feel unbelievable!

But such a surprising comparison comes from the mouth of the king's son of Joseon, so it cannot but be convincing.

Zu Dashou was located in Liaodong, where alarms and battles were frequent. Normally speaking, Zu Dashou, as the commander in chief of defending the city, would have the thought to build such an exquisite luxury house?
Of course, it may be that war has long been commonplace for them, so that they can pursue endless enjoyment as usual, and spend huge amounts of money on food, clothing, housing, transportation and other aspects, showing their amazing wealth .

At the same time, it also allows people to see how extravagant the ruling class in the late Ming Dynasty lived, and the extremely corrupt social atmosphere has penetrated into the entire society.

The Wu family can be seen from the situation of the ancestor's family. It is not difficult to imagine that the Wu family's wealth will not be inferior to the ancestor's. Then look at the entire Liaodong generals, which general will not search?

And which powerful general's family is not rich?
The only difference is that their power and wealth are different!

But it is also because of these Liaodong generals, they have completely planted their roots in the land of Liaodong, and put their wealth and interests here.

They were able to resist the slaves so hard, no matter how the slaves besieged and beat them hard, they would unswervingly stick to every city, fighting with the slaves with their lives.

Soon, Wu Sangui came to the inner house of the ancestral family compound, and stopped in front of a slightly quiet courtyard. It was not the first time for him to come to the ancestral house, and he was no stranger to this small courtyard.

Don't look at Zu Dashou who now has wealth that can rival the country, but he has always acted very low-key. He is not a person who pursues extravagance, but as the leader of his ancestors, he has to do so.

In the courtyard of the ancestral home, this place is the only place that Zu Dashou loves most. Surrounded by tall trees, it seems that this place is isolated from the world, and it is indeed a rare place for recuperation.

Although it is not a thatched hut, compared with the luxury elsewhere in the ancestral home, this independent small courtyard is indeed much more unpretentious, but it can be seen from the gate of the courtyard that it feels heavy.

Seeing Wu Sangui and Zu Dabi coming together, the four old gatekeepers greeted them very warmly. Wu Sangui, who had just entered the courtyard, immediately sensed a tense and dull atmosphere.

He frowned and thought for a while, but he didn't understand why, but he didn't ask any more questions, just thinking that he would understand everything when he saw his uncle.

There are not many guards in this courtyard, but even those old servants are old, but they are all strong and healthy, showing a brave spirit in every gesture.

Presumably they were servants who followed the ancestral family to fight in the early years, and they were too old to travel around to fight, but they all had good kung fu, and they were all loyal to the ancestral family, so they stayed in the ancestral house and became servants.

You know, in the land of Liaodong, it is extremely difficult to enter the ancestral home to be a servant. Although it is not as difficult as entering the imperial palace, it is not much worse.

It's not that just anyone can enter the ancestral family's mansion as a servant. If it is not from the family members of the ancestral family, it must be recommended by the generals close to Zu Dashou.

Many people who come and go in and out of the ancestral home are mostly family servants for the ancestral home for several lifetimes, or Liaodong elders who have planted land for the ancestral home for several lifetimes. In Liaodong, being able to work for the ancestral home is a status symbol. Not just anyone can come in and out of the ancestral home.

"Uncle Zhong."

Wu Sangui continued to ask an old servant who was about the same age as Zu Dashou: "Is uncle in better health?"

Uncle Zhong raised his eyes to look at Wu Sangui, and said to him: "The old commander is in the room. He has asked the general several times if he is here. Uncle Zhong, please come in quickly."

Because Uncle Zhong only mentioned that Zu Dashou was waiting for Wu Sangui, but never mentioned Zu Dabi's name, even though he was Zu Dashou's own younger brother, he did not dare to enter without authorization.

It can be seen from this that Zhongbo, an old servant, does not have a simple position in his ancestral home, and more importantly, how strict the rules of his ancestral home are, it can be seen that it is not unreasonable for him to stand out among many generals in Liaodong.

There is such a person as Uncle Zhong in the world. He has been a servant of Zu Dashou since he was a child, and he followed Zu Dashou's army all his life. It can be seen that he can survive hundreds of battles among thousands of horses, and he must have some skills in the body.

Regardless of military merits or closeness, Uncle Zhong is not inferior to anyone. It stands to reason that no matter what he says at this moment, he should be a lieutenant general, a general, and no matter how bad he is, he can still be a guerrilla general.

But this loyal uncle was unmoved, he was unwilling to leave Zu Dashou's side from the beginning to the end, and even for this reason he could not even give up his military post, and even Wu Sangui, as Zu Dashou's nephew, was the commander-in-chief of Daming's dignified town Officials, they should respectfully call him Zhongbo, which shows that his status in the ancestral family is not light.

Although Uncle Zhong is indifferent to fame and wealth, and only wants to be by his little master's side and be a loyal servant from beginning to end, his son is now a general in the military.

Now, Zu Dabi stayed in the outer room to wait, while Zhong Bo led Wu Sangui to the inner room.

…………

Zu Dashou looked very unwell, the original flushed face disappeared, and Wu Sangui saw a sallow old face instead, and the look in his eyes was obviously lacking.

"Uncle's complexion, how could it be so bad? It wasn't like this the day before yesterday?" Wu Sangui was very concerned about Zu Dashou's health, he stepped forward and asked hastily as soon as he entered the inner room.

Zu Dashou was lying on his back on the couch, leaning against the thick quilt behind him, he was also very relieved to see Wu Sangui caring so much for him, and he looked at the old servant Zhongbo with a wink.

Then I heard Uncle Zhong say on behalf of Zu Dashou: "The knife wound on the old man's body has healed in sevens and eighties, and it's not a serious problem. It's just an arrow sore on his right shoulder. Yuan didn't pay much attention to it. But it was a long time to see the scab.

In the past few days, it has festered and festered, with a foul smell, like a dirty arrow shot by a tartar. "