The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 395 The curtain

Chapter 395 The curtain
time.

I won't stop because of anything or anyone.

The wheel of history is rolling forward.

The trend of the times is unstoppable.

The fourteenth year of Chongzhen.

February 24th.

Liaodong land.

Thousands of miles are frozen, and thousands of miles are snow drifting.

Governor-General of Ji-Liao, Hong Chengchou, met with the eight generals and 130,000 troops in Ningyuan.

The eight generals are:
The supporting troops included Cao Wenzhao, the Ningyuan commander-in-chief Wu Sangui, the Shanhaiguan commander-in-chief Ma Ke, and the Miyun commander-in-chief Tang Tong.

Liu Zhaoji, the general of Liaodong, Bai Guangen, the general of Dongxie, Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu, and Jiang Ge, the general of Datong.

The positions of the ASEAN General, the Aid and Suppression General, and the Datong General deviate from the original history.

Historically, the commander-in-chief of ASEAN was Cao Bianjiao, and the commander-in-chief of the aid and suppression campaign should be Bai Guangen.

However, due to Chen Wang's interference, Cao Wenzhao did not die in the battle of Qiutou Town.

After the Wuyin Rebellion, Cao Wenzhao recommended Chen Wang and Cao Bianjiao to Yang Sichang to go south to suppress the bandits.

Therefore, Cao Bianjiao did not become the commander-in-chief of the East Alliance, but instead pursued Zhang Xianzhong in the south.

The joining of Cao Wenzhao changed the separatist rule of the eight generals.

Cao Wenzhao was originally the commander-in-chief of the suppression campaign, so it was naturally impossible for Bai Guangen to replace Cao Wenzhao's position.

Therefore, Bai Guangen became the commander-in-chief of ASEAN.

And Wang Pu was originally supposed to be the general of Datong.

In the previous battles of Cheng and Jie to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng, he was defeated by Li Zicheng.

This allowed Li Zicheng to cross the mountains and enter northern Sichuan and break out of the encirclement, leaving the pursuing Ming army far behind.

In anger, Hong Chengchou took away Wang Pu's official position and wiped him out.

This incompetent person who caused the Ming army's retreat to defeat in Songjin did not have the opportunity to appear in Songjin.

The one who replaced him now is Jiang Ge, who came from a military family in the north.

February 27th.

Ordered by Hong Chengchou.

Wu Sangui and Liu Zhaoji's troops were still stationed in Songshan and Xingshan.

He led his 15,400 officers and soldiers to garrison between Qiantunwei and Zhonghouso.

The 16,000 officers and soldiers stationed in Jizhou are still distributed in the boundaries of Zhongxie Silu, Dongxie Jianchang, Lengkou, and Liangxie Qiang Road.

Zhu Guodong, the governor of Shanhaiguan and Yongping, was stationed in Shanhaiguan.

The general of Shanhaiguan, Ma Ke, was sent to Zhonghousuo and Qiantunwei.

Cao Wenzhao, the general commander of the rebellion, Tang Tong, the general commander of Miyun, Wang Tingchen, the general commander of Liaodong, and the troops of the three towns joined forces to rush to the assistance of Song and Xing.

General Bai Guangen of Dongxie, General Yang Guozhu of Xuanfu, and General Jiang Ge of Datong stayed in Ningyuan as reinforcements.

This is the end.

The Battle of Songjin determined the fate of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Thus kicked off.

……

Wuping City Wall, on the east city wall.

Chen Wang wore armor inside, a red robe outside, and a felt hat on his head, and walked on the horse path on the city wall.

At his side, Chen Gong and Zhao Huailiang were both wearing robes and belts, holding knives.

Behind him, a group of armored soldiers, all wearing swords and holding guns, followed closely.

Outside Wuping City.

March is the month of spring when flowers bloom.

But looking around, everything is still bleak.

Layers of tents blocked the view, and rows of flags blocked the vision.

"Liaodong Tang reported that on March 3, the vanguard moved to Shimen near Songshan City and encountered the Qing troops besieging the city."

"The Qing troops ambushed Wu Sangui, the general of Ningyuan, and he was trapped in a tight siege. The towns heard the news and came to his rescue. The bloody battle lasted from noon to dusk."

Chen Gong followed Chen Wang and reported to him the news that had come not long ago.

"The battle was at a stalemate, and the Qing troops wanted to retreat. Cao Wenzhao, the general who came to support the suppression, led more than a thousand armored cavalrymen and broke into the Qing army's formation. He killed a Qing army's Zhenglan Banner lieutenant and seized his general's flag."

"The Qing troops were routed and fled northwards. After the battle, we captured 267 heads and suffered countless casualties!"

Chen Gong clenched his fists, his eyes were red, and his face was flushed.

Things become more valuable away from home; people become less valuable away from home.

After the defeat in Guangning, they lost all of Liaoxi and had to leave their homeland.

Since the rise of the Jiannu, there have been few reports of victory. Now that victory is coming again, how can we not be excited?

"More than a thousand soldiers from Ningyuan were killed or wounded, and more than a thousand were killed or wounded in other towns."

Chen Wang stared at the newspaper in his hand, which clearly recorded the course of the battle.

Nearly three hundred heads were captured after the war, which was undoubtedly a truly great victory.

The Qing army's casualties in this battle were definitely over a thousand.

The course of the battle was naturally embellished to a certain extent, but the key information was difficult to conceal.

It is unrealistic to conceal a war of this scale with so many people involved.

The number of heads is absolutely certain and there is no falsification. In general, the number of heads actually captured by the Ming army is much greater than what is reported in the Tangbao.

The reason is simple, the rewards for taking heads are real achievements or silver.

The price of a Zhenyi head was fifty taels of silver, and this was the price reported directly to the imperial court.

If it were a private transaction, the generals of each town would be willing to pay a high price.

When he was still in Liaodong in the past, Chen Wang sold several heads and earned a lot of silver.

Chen Wang remembered that in the early days of Songjin, a fierce battle did break out on the outskirts of Songshan.

When there was an alarm in Jinzhou, Hong Chengchou ordered Wu Sangui and Liu Zhaoji to lead troops to Songshan for support.

When Wu Sangui advanced to between Songshan and Xingshan, he encountered a large number of Qing troops and was surrounded.

In the end, Liu Zhaoji led his troops to rescue him at the risk of their lives, losing thousands of soldiers.

Seeing that they had failed to annihilate Wu Sangui's troops, the Qing army subsequently withdrew from the area and re-stretched their defense line.

However, the current situation is very different from what happened in history.

This confrontation ended with a great victory for the Ming army.

Chen Wang frowned slightly. For some reason, he felt that the outcome of this Battle of Songjin was beginning to be a little confusing.

The combat effectiveness of the Ming army in the Nine Frontiers was actually not bad, but they had been in a state of lack of weapons and pay for a long time.

If the officers dare to fight and the governors are determined, they can also compete with the Jiannu.

This was reflected in the Battle of Zunyong, the Battle of Jiazhuang, and the Battle of Songjin in history.

In the early stage of Songjin, Hong Chengchou led 60,000 reinforcements to Songshan, and the Qing army led by Jirgalang fought against the Ming army in the northwest of Songshan.

But the final result was that the Qing army was defeated, and the camps of the two red flags and the bordered blue flag were even captured by the Ming army.

The outpost battle of Songjin, the Battle of Rufeng Mountain.

The Qing army deployed heavy troops to defend Rufeng Mountain, while the Ming army attacked the mountain from above.

The Qing army suffered a defeat in the first battle and was almost routed.

Several subsequent battles also ended in defeat for the Qing army.

This situation continued until August, when Huang Taiji rushed all the way from Shenyang to Jinzhou despite being ill and took over command.

The situation in Songjin was reversed.

There is a story in Zuo Zhuan called "Cao Gui's Debate on War".

There is a sentence in it that illustrates a very important point in war.

Husband fights with courage.

There are many reasons why the Ming army was repeatedly defeated by the Qing army.

But the most important factor has always been the lack of courage to fight against the Qing army.

Since the rise of the Jiannu, the Later Jin Dynasty was established and then changed to the Qing Dynasty.

In large-scale battles, the Ming army almost never won.

The entire Liao Dynasty was almost in a state of total destruction.

The Jiannu invaded the capital several times, plundering the area.

There was even a rumor that if there were less than 10,000 Jurchens, they would be invincible.

This rumor further exacerbated the panic among the military and civilians.

Locally, Jurchen soldiers were described as having green faces, fangs, and immense strength, more like monsters than humans.

Many times, the soldiers of the various towns were already a little timid before the battle. So when they really encountered the Qing army, their morale often plummeted to the bottom.

The Qing army had always had the upper hand in all the previous battles, so it had a great psychological advantage when facing the Ming army. Even though they were outnumbered, their morale did not drop.

As one side gained strength while the other lost, the Ming army was constrained in many ways and burdened by military equipment and military pay, so naturally it suffered more defeats than victories.

Because we lost more than we won, this impression was constantly deepened, and our situation became worse and worse.

but now.

The situation is completely different from what it was in history.

"Through these days..."

Chen Wang pondered for a moment and gave instructions to Chen Gong.

"Do not."

"Bring here all the reports on Liaodong from the beginning of last year to today."

Although the close followers beside him didn't understand why, they still obeyed his orders.

The scale of Wupingwei City is not large. With the galloping horse, in less than half a quarter of an hour, a thick stack of Tangbao was handed to Chen Wang.

"Brother, what's the problem?"

When Chen Wang was carefully examining the newspaper that was delivered to him, Chen Gong came forward and asked in a low voice.

"Something is wrong in Liaodong."

"Is something wrong?"

Chen Wang nodded and wrote a newspaper.

"Look at this newspaper."

Chen Gong frowned and looked at it, frowning and relaxing, and then frowning again.

"What's the problem?"

"Think back to the Tangbao newspapers over the years, and then look at these Tangbao newspapers."

Chen Wang explained, but handed over a few more newspapers.

"This... seems to be the same as before..."

Chen Gong took the newspaper and scanned its contents.

He was a little confused at first, but soon his confusion turned into seriousness.

"That's definitely not right..."

"The nine border towns have taken the initiative to attack more frequently than before, and they have captured more heads. Most importantly, they have repeatedly asked the troops of each town to support each other."

“Moreover, the duration of the confrontation was much longer than that of previous years’ Tangbao.”

Chen Wang naturally noticed Chen Gong's progress.

The former Chen Gong could not see these details, or it could be said that the former Chen Gong was too lazy to even read the Tang newspaper.

Today, Chen Gong has become more mature in terms of strategic vision, tactical application, and control over his soldiers, and has begun to grow into a qualified commander.

As the size of the army under his command continues to grow, his power continues to grow.

Talent has gradually become an important factor hindering the development of the forces under Chen Wang's command.

"good."

Chen Wang put down the newspaper in his hand.

The impact of the battle at Qingshan Pass was far greater than he had imagined.

"It will greatly enhance China's prestige and sweep away the decadent decline of the Liaodong defeat..."

Chen looked towards the north, even though it was thousands of miles away.

However, one can also feel the lofty sentiments in these newspapers in his hands.

In the Battle of Songjin, Chen Wang thought the outcome was already determined.

"It really is... a complete sweep of the decade-plus of dejection from the defeat in Liaodong..."

This sentence is not just empty talk.

Judging from the current situation, it would be a grand battle.

Judging from the current morale and military spirit of the Ming army in the nine borders.

It is still unknown who will be the winner in the end.

only……

"Is there any news about the epidemic in Hebei?"

Chen Wang pondered for a moment and asked.

“It’s very bad.”

Chen Gong looked serious, shook his head and sighed.

"The Daming Prefecture sent a report to the capital, 'There has been no rain in the spring, locusts have eaten all the wheat, plague has spread, and 50 to 60 percent of the people have died. This is a very bad year.'"

"An official reported: 'I arrived in Linqing from Jinghai and saw three people died of starvation, three died of plague, and four died of banditry. I paid 24 taels of rice and silver to feed the dead. I hope your majesty will take care of me.'"

"An epidemic broke out in Daming, Shunde, and Zhending in northern Zhili. People died the same day. The people fled in panic. The cities were empty, and everyone took refuge in the countryside."

"The epidemic has also occurred in Shandong's Dongchang Prefecture and other places. Infected people have been seen in the bordering prefectures of Zhangde and Weihui in Henan Province. Martial law has been declared in all cities."

Chen Wang frowned.

In the middle and late stages of the Battle of Songjin, Chongzhen repeatedly urged for war, largely because of the extremely unstable situation in the country at that time.

Rebels were rampant in the south, epidemics were rampant in the north, food and fodder were insufficient, and military pay was in short supply. The huge empire was in turmoil.

This plague began in the 13th year of Chongzhen, broke out in the 14th year, and reached its peak in the 16th year.

This plague is the plague.

This laid a huge hidden danger for the fall of the Ming Empire and indirectly caused the fall of Beijing and the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

After defeating Sun Chuanting, Li Zicheng headed north and encountered almost no decent resistance.

A big reason for this was the rampant plague, which severely damaged northern Zhili and various military towns along the border.

"Ming Ji Bei Lue" records that among the small households along the street, 50% to 60% were closed down, and the children in the streets were completely wiped out. There were more than 200,000 people with or without coffins in the nine gates."

"This epidemic is coming with great force and has begun to spread."

Chen Wang pondered for a long time and gave the order.

"I will return to the camp later and have the military clerk write a letter explaining the pros and cons and send it back to Kaifeng to inform Governor Gao of the importance of this matter."

Although Chen Wang has the final say on deploying troops, certain reasons are still needed.

"To prevent and control the plague, isolation should be the first priority. If we need to mobilize soldiers to impose martial law, we can quickly recruit 10,000 soldiers from the guard camps in various places. We can set up checkpoints along the river to prevent people from the epidemic area from going south, and then we can isolate the plague."

Preventing and controlling epidemics falls within the scope of people's livelihood. Gao Mingheng is still the mayor of Henan Province, so naturally we have to seek his consent.

"Natural disasters, man-made disasters, wind and clouds drifting..."

Chen Wang sighed. The towering edifice of the Ming Empire is still tall today.

But the inside was already riddled with holes and rotten, and a raging fire had already started from within.

Outside, the raging fire swept in again.

Just as Chen Wang was sighing, a group of cavalry came galloping from afar into his sight, bringing news from the east.

……

Southern Zhili, Huai'an Prefecture, Suqian.

Sun Chuanting led his troops into Southern Zhili and gathered troops from various towns in Suqian.

The imperial court decreed that Sun Chuanting be appointed as the governor of Southern Zhili, bestowed the Shangfang Sword, and appointed him to command all the towns within the Great Wall, in charge of the suppression affairs.

Fang Guoan, Hu Dawei, Xiao Shending, Zheng Jiadong and Yang Yufan were the main troops from the five battalions of the five towns.

He led 11 battalions of troops led by Zhou Yuji, Liu Zeqing, Jin Shengheng, Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang, Ma Jinzhong and others, with a total of 43,000 soldiers, and marched down the canal.

The three armies of the Wanmin Army are about to reach the canal!
curtain.

Rise again.

The weakened red tiger of the Ming Empire stood up with all its might.

The plague tortured its body.

Aging is sapping its energy.

Pain wears away its will.

Although the tortoise has a longevity, there is still time.

When the snake rides in the fog, it turns into dust.

Chihu was very clear in his mind.

The final moment has arrived.

It raised its head with difficulty.

Endure the pain.