Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 226: Choice is a Skill (Two Chapters in One)

The autumn wind danced wildly in the mountains, and the bright yellow armor swayed freely in the cold wind.

The Qing emperor looked into the distance through a telescope and saw the camps of tens of thousands of Ming troops located between Song Mountain and Rufeng Mountain.

A dark trench started from the bottom of his feet and curved to the seashore at the southern foot of Songshan Mountain. It was like an arc-shaped ink line drawn by a giant, trapping groups of ants in the valley.

Nearly 100,000 Ming troops were trapped and killed between Ru and Song by his move.

The tactic of digging long trenches in front of the enemy to block the retreat route is not smart, it can even be said to be stupid.

However, for some reason, the Ming army formed a top-heavy formation and reacted very slowly.

They neither retreated nor sent troops to interfere, allowing the Qing troops to dig deep trenches dozens of miles long to block their retreat.

He judged that the Ming army did not have the ability to fight a decisive battle from the beginning, or they were frightened by the news that he would lead the army in person and lost the courage to fight in the field.

He sent Jirgalang to capture the food supply at Bijia Mountain, further tightening the golden hoop around the Ming army's forehead.

With their retreat cut off and their food supplies looted, the silent Ming army finally woke up from their dream and planned to organize their soldiers to withdraw to Ningyuan to replenish food supplies.

Unfortunately, Wang Pu escaped first, and Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, Tang Tong, Bai Guangen and others also broke through and fled, disrupting the retreat rhythm of the entire army, and nearly 100,000 people were in chaos.

However, Huang Taiji had anticipated that the Ming army would break out from the rear, and had already set up ambushes in the Xingshan and Tashan areas.

Wang Pu, Wu Sangui and others were defeated and fled back to Ningyuan with less than 30% of their troops remaining.

During the breakout, the Qing soldiers beheaded more than 30,000 people and captured more than 10,000 horses. The tens of thousands of Ming troops who failed to break out could only retreat to Songshan and be trapped in an isolated camp.

The army that the Ming court had organized with all its might fell apart in an instant after being hit by his series of combined punches.

A peak showdown between the enemy and our side, each with a 100,000-strong army, finally came to an end. It was only a matter of time before the defeated soldiers of Songshan, Xingshan and Tashan were defeated.

Heavy artillery cannot take down the mountain city, and sending troops for a strong attack will only result in heavy losses.

Huang Taiji therefore adopted a long siege strategy. As long as the Qing Dynasty was given a few more months to deplete the food reserves of the defenders, the Liaoxi Corridor would be in its possession.

We can also obtain the soldiers and horses of these defeated infantry and cavalry as reinforcements, and the fortunes of the Qing Dynasty will be further elevated. In the future, it will be easier to bypass the customs and even seize Shanhaiguan and control the Yanyun area!

Thanks to the officials of the Ming court who urged the main force of the Ming army to march north to recover the lost territory, they did not expect that the lost territory was not recovered, but they were defeated and retreated step by step, resulting in the loss of morale and the siege of Jinzhou.

Jinzhou was surrounded and the Ming court had to rescue it. It could only continue to tear down the east wall to repair the west wall and continue to urge Hong Chengchou to send troops to rescue. In this way, nearly 100,000 elite border troops were sent under Huang Taiji's nose, and most of them were eaten up by him.

Huang Taiji couldn't help but look up at the sky, feeling that God blesses the Qing Dynasty. He was getting closer and closer to his dream of ruling the Central Plains!

However, a thick layer of lead-colored cumulus clouds floated in the distance, and the sky became dark. For some reason, Huang Taiji suddenly felt uneasy.

In the field of vision, hundreds of galloping horses with yellow-bordered flags held high passed through the Qing army camp. The sound of horses' hooves became louder and louder, and even Huang Taiji, who was standing halfway up the mountain, could hear it clearly.

Huang Taiji was full of doubts, his eyes fixed on an armored soldier who was quickly climbing the mountain.

The armored soldier desperately climbed up the mountainside, barely catching his breath before he pounced at the emperor's feet. His face was filled with anxiety and fear, his dry lips cracked with bloodshot lines. "Your Majesty!"

Huang Taiji caught the details of sadness on the soldiers' faces. He waved his hand and dismissed his attendants, leaving only the princes, beile, and some trusted guards.

"explain."

"The Southern Expedition Army was defeated! Prince Xushun was killed. Prince Duolowu was captured alive by the enemy!"

"?" Huang Taiji's face darkened, and his tightly furrowed brows looked like two clashing knives.

"How is this possible!" Dorgon was anxious. He grabbed the armored soldier by the neck and pulled him up. "How could the Southern Army with 40,000 soldiers be defeated by the southern barbarians?"

The armored soldier narrowed his eyes slightly, enduring the spit of Dorgon. With his neck strangled, he could only speak briefly and intermittently, "It's absolutely true. Our people are running everywhere. The Han dogs are chasing the southern army all the way north and are approaching Gaizhou City..."

"No matter how strong the Beiwei Army is, they only have two thousand men, and the other Han dogs only have thirty or forty thousand men in total. My Qing warriors are invincible. How can they possibly win in a one-on-one match? You are disrupting the morale of the army! You deserve to die!"

Dorgon exerted force with both hands, almost squeezing the armored soldier's soft neck.

The armored soldier let out a hoarse, gasping sound, his face flushed and purple like a fat pig's liver, his eyes kept rolling back, and he was about to suffocate and die.

"enough!"

Huang Taiji let out a low shout, and Dorgon loosened his grip. The armored soldier gasped for breath as if he had been pardoned, and then coughed violently several times.

"How many troops are there in the Beiwei Army?" Huang Taiji glanced over coldly.

Even though the armored soldier was coughing, he still endured the discomfort and added information, "The prince and the master both said that the Beiwei army has no less than 5,000 elite soldiers."

No less than five thousand!
It was as if a bolt from the blue exploded above his head, and Huang Taiji couldn't help but close his eyes and think.

The calculation formula of "one black man against five captives" is fully reflected at this moment.

Five thousand elite Beiwei soldiers are equivalent to twenty-five thousand armored bannermen. Apart from these necessary responses, the Southern Army only has fifteen thousand "living forces", among which are mixed armed baoyi, Koreans and other miscellaneous soldiers of varying strengths.

It was indeed a bit difficult for 15,000 Qing soldiers to deal with 30,000 to 40,000 Ming troops, and it was understandable that they suffered a defeat.

What’s worse is that the Ming army is moving north and approaching Gaizhou. Once Beiwei’s elite troops capture Gaizhou and Haizhou, they will approach Liaoyang and Shenyang!
By then, the Beiwei Army will use its best river boat maneuvers to penetrate deep into the heart of Liaozhong, causing a shock in Liaozhong. The bannermen and slaves will become shaken and cause chaos, and his Qing Dynasty's rule will collapse.

Once the Outer Mongolia and Joseon realize the weakness of the Qing Dynasty, they will immediately break away from the "alliance" and become independent. At that time, the Qing Dynasty's peripheral strategy will regress ten years, and the overall national strength will regress to the Tianqi period!
hateful!

Huang Taiji closed his lips tightly, and his teeth rubbed back and forth in his mouth, making a squeaking sound.

Sending another reinforcement would only lead to the same mistake as Ajige. Huang Taiji could only lead the main force to provide reinforcements in person to severely defeat the Ming army.

But what to do now that the duck is cooked? He spent so much energy and effort, almost taking over the Liaoxi Corridor, and also annexing the elite "blood and bones" of the Ming Dynasty.

Is such a generous reward going to be lost like this?
Unwilling!

Huang Taiji clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his palms and drawing blood.

Why did the Beiwei Army repeatedly try to ruin his grand plans!
Wouldn't it be better for them to just be separatist warlords? Why do they like to work for Zhu Ming so much?

If they were willing to work for the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji would be willing to give southern Liaoning and even Korea to the Beiwei Army, and then marry his daughter to the commander of the Beiwei Army, so that the two sides would form an eternal brotherhood.

If the commander of the Beiwei Army had a daughter, he could even make the heir to the Qing Dynasty have mixed blood from both sides to reconcile the differences between the two.

It’s a pity that the Beiwei Army has always been blindly loyal and would not listen to any advice from the Qing Dynasty.

Pedantic!

Wouldn't it be nice to join forces to divide up the Ming Dynasty? Do you have to end up like the cunning rabbit is dead and the running dog is cooked, and only feel comfortable after achieving future fame?
Huang Taiji's eyeballs rolled rapidly under his eyelids. He closed his eyes and thought for a long time. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. The leaden cumulus clouds drifted away, leaving behind an autumn sun.

The high spirits and excitement in his eyes just now disappeared immediately, leaving only a trace of lament and sorrow.

He raised his trembling right hand and tried to grasp the sun, but he felt that his five fingers were too weak to close tightly.

"Return to support southern Liaoning." The emperor's order was concise and his heavy tone seemed to vomit out half of his soul.

"Master, you can't do that!" Aobai's knees softened and he knelt down on the spot. "Master, you have spent so many years and so much effort to seize Liaoxi. How can you just abandon it like that?"

"Your Majesty, please wait a little longer!" Dorgon also knelt down to advise, "As long as Duoduo can stop the Beiwei Army, everything will be fine..."

"Your Majesty! Let me lead the charge into Songshan once more. As long as we capture the heavily armed forces at Songshan, it won't be too late for us to return to aid Liaonan!"

Huang Taiji shook his head. "It's too late! We underestimated the Beiwei Army and misjudged that they only had two thousand elite soldiers. This was a huge mistake. Now we still hope that the enemy can't take Gaizhou. It's simply wishful thinking!"
If we make a mistake once, we will pay the price of more than 20,000 lives. If we make a mistake again, will we lose half of the territory of the Qing Dynasty?

Return to southern Liaoning!
Unless we completely annihilate the Beiwei Army, we won’t be able to extinguish the courage of the southern barbarians!
The Beiwei Army was able to inspire tens of thousands of southern barbarians to march north together. If they were given a few more months, wouldn't an army of 100,000 troops be able to penetrate deep into Liaozhong?

If they dare to attack Gaizhou today, they will go to Haizhou tomorrow, and threaten Liaoyang and Shenyang the day after tomorrow. Do we have to wait until they take over Liaozhong before we go back?

A true man can bend and stretch. Today we can surround the Nanman army, tomorrow we can defeat the Beiwei army, and even make a comeback to seize Liaoxi!"

The emperor's words dispelled everyone's desire to persuade him, as they knew that they would not be able to eat the duck dish in western Liaoning.

Huang Taiji arranged some brave warriors to stay in Jinzhou and Songshan to cover the retreat, and the rest of the infantry and cavalry moved carefully at night and rushed to Gaizhou overnight.

The Qing army took advantage of the night to march out of Jinzhou and cross the Daling River.

The sky was just getting light, and Huang Taiji, with a tired face, looked back towards Jinzhou, his expression full of regret but also mixed with some determination.

Jinzhou, he will come back again.

……

One day, Hong Chengchou stepped out of the camp to observe the enemy camps on all sides. Rows of tents stood quietly on the ground.

Ever since the Qing soldiers dug trenches and cut off his food supply, he climbed to a high place and looked into the distance as usual, then looked at the ocean behind him, hoping that even a warship or a grain ship would arrive.

However, the Ningyuan defenders and civilians were all afraid of the Tartars, and no soldiers came to Songshan to provide assistance.

If they continue to be trapped, they will probably have to eat horses, mules, donkeys and other livestock. Once all these mounts are eaten, they will have to eat humans.

When the imperial court ordered him to go out and recover the lost territory, he submitted a memorial saying that the soldiers were not well trained and the weapons were out of date, and it was not the time to recover the lost territory. Even though the Beiwei army was extremely brave, there would be a time when they would be defeated.

It would be better to wait until the Beiwei Army has gained a foothold and recuperated for some time, and the elite troops on the border have been trained, and then launch a two-front offensive to prevent the Qing army from being distracted.

Unfortunately, Your Majesty and the other gentlemen did not listen. They seemed to be dazzled by the victory of the Beiwei Army and thought that the time had come to recapture Liaodong.

Urge for war, urge for war. Military secrets are so important that they cannot be taken lightly. Even the slightest flaw may lead to the complete defeat. What's more, how can we rush into battle without being prepared?
Ugh.

These tens of thousands of elite soldiers are the few assets of Your Majesty. Even the emperor does not show any pity to them. Why should he, as a minister, worry about it? The worst that can happen is that he will sacrifice his life for the country, which can be regarded as repaying the emperor's kindness.

Once these tens of thousands of elite soldiers are killed by Huang Taiji, the Ming Dynasty will no longer dare to engage in a head-on battle with the Qing Dynasty. The gap in strength between the Ming and Qing dynasties will rise to another level, and then everything will be over.

The terrifying prospect of the Tartars taking over the Central Plains seems not far away...

However, Hong Chengchou, who was looking far away from a high place today, saw some clues from the enemy's camp.

The number and frequency of Tartar patrols had decreased significantly, suggesting a significant dispersal of troops. Could it be that the Tartars had undergone a treasonous change, or were they deliberately setting up a decoy formation to draw the defenders out for a fight?

Hong Chengchou was hesitant for a moment, but the brave Cao Bianjiao volunteered to lead 800 brave soldiers to find out the truth.

"Good!" Hong Chengchou immediately approved General Cao's heroic feat.

Cao Bianjiao, determined to die, led his elite troops to rush out quickly, but found that the enemy camp offered almost no resistance. The tents were all empty and the furnishings inside had been cleared away.

Even the guards who stayed behind were cavalrymen. When they saw that the Ming army had discovered their "tactic", they quickly retreated on horseback.

Even though Cao Bianjiao chased them hard, he managed to capture three people alive and escort them to Hong Chengchou.

When the news that the main force of the Qing army had retreated four days ago was revealed during interrogation, Hong Chengchou was shocked.

He didn't expect that the slave chief would use the "empty camp plan" to trap him for four days!

Hong Chengchou realized that there must be a deeper meaning behind the chief's giving up the fat meat he had obtained.

Otherwise, when tens of thousands of Ming troops were about to be destroyed, why would the Qing troops, who had such a huge advantage, withdraw?
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and Hong Chengchou remembered the old information about the previous victory in Lushun in southern Liaoning.

Could it be that something "accident" happened in southern Liaoning, forcing the Nu chieftain to lead his troops there himself instead of sending a small force to provide support?

Hong Chengchou thought it was bad!
If the Liaonan army wins the battle but continues to advance northward with light troops, it is likely to run head-on into the main army of the Nu chieftain who is rushing towards it!
The situation in western and southern Liaoning changed rapidly, and the army in southern Liaoning did not even realize that Huang Taiji had changed the direction of the main attack!

Finished!

Even if he sent the Clippers to Liaonan to warn the police, it would be too late!

Once the fierce soldiers of southern Liaoning are annihilated by Huang Taiji, the important cities in southern Liaoning will be lost again. At that time, the Qing army will come back again, and the western Liaoning Corridor will still be in danger!

The tens of thousands of soldiers still under his command had already run out of food. They had neither the strength to pursue nor the desire to recover the lost territory. Almost 80% of the soldiers were deeply suffering from "fear of the enemy."

The moment he knew the siege was lifted, he couldn't wait to rush to the safety of Ningyuan.

Hong Chengchou closed his eyes in disappointment. The Ming Dynasty no longer had any soldiers who dared to fight the Qing Dynasty in the field, and there was no possibility of recovering Liaodong.

……

At the same time, in the southern Liaoning Corridor, 26,000 government troops marched north along the official road.

They pursued many fleeing soldiers along the way, and captured many heads of baoyi and Koreans, and even chopped off some heads of real Tartars. It was a considerable harvest.

More than 10,000 Tartars just fled along the way and did not dare to gather together to fight back, so the government troops chased them all the way, beheading them along the way. It took them several days to reach the border of Gaizhou.

There are many hills and ravines here, making it easy to set up ambushes.

However, the government troops were overwhelmed by the many small victories, and the Tangma they sent out kept reporting back the military situation of the enemy's rout in the front. They were not worried at all that the Tartars would set up an ambush and counterattack.

The Jiannu people are not that scary. They are just mortal beings who will die if killed.

The Beiwei Army was able to kill the Tartars, and they were able to kill the Tartars as well. The Beiwei Army and the Black Flag Army were not the only ones capable of fighting in this world. They could also achieve great things and recover lost territories.

Their fear of the Tartars in the past was just a mental illness, and a few great victories were the best medicine.

Now that the disease has been cured, their more than 20,000 people are enough to defeat more than 10,000 Tartars and recapture Gaizhou, and Haizhou is just around the corner.

If they could keep the land in southern Liaoning, they would all be "conferred" with hereditary military positions in Liaodong, and the military land that came with them would not be low, starting at at least 5,000 acres.

Even though the military farms were cultivated by the military households, they only indirectly controlled the land. They had the final say on the amount of "military supplies" collected and how to use them.

In those days, the military households in the garrisons were the serfs of the military generals. Whether they could fight or not was not important. The most important thing was to farm and produce more food for the generals.

Several generals flattered each other. Although they were only lieutenant generals and guerrillas, they were called deputy generals and generals, as if they were celebrating in advance as if they had captured several important cities.

As for attacking Gaizhou, would the Nu chieftain send troops to support?
It was several days after they left Fuzhou that they received the "delayed news" that the Nu chieftain had led the main force to besiege Jinzhou and that the Ministry of War was going to transfer troops from southern Liaoning to support western Liaoning.

The main forces of both sides were fighting fiercely, so the chieftain had no time to care about them.

Even when the chieftain heard about the incident in southern Liaoning, he sent a detachment to support Gaizhou.

If we send too few people, we won’t be able to pass this level.

If we send too many, they will just run away. Besides, unless the Ming army in western Liaoning is a bunch of idiots, will they allow the Nu chief to send heavy troops to support them without knowing how to fight back?
The Beiwei Army, which was stationed in the rear, also planned to take a boat to the Liaozhong Plain, just in time to contain the reinforcements sent back by the Nu chieftain. They were not worried about encountering the Nu chieftain's reinforcements at all.

"The credit for recovering lost territory cannot be taken by that Zhang guy! We cannot let them overshadow us!"

With the joy of advancing rapidly, more than 20,000 government troops rushed into a narrow mountain road between hills.

Just as Deputy General Fu Biao was wondering, he suddenly heard a fierce sound of trumpets and drums coming from the mountains and forests, and a large triangular banner belonging to the Qing Emperor suddenly appeared in front of him.

The flag was made of yellow satin, with a pole one foot six feet one inch high. A five-clawed golden dragon was embroidered on the flag, surrounded by flowing clouds.

The Ming army officers and soldiers immediately exclaimed, how could the Nu chieftain, who was supposed to be fighting fiercely with the border troops in western Liaoning, suddenly appear here!

There were shadowy figures in the mountains and forests, mixed with the sound of infantry footsteps moving back and forth.

Deafening shouts and cries of killing rang out one after another, as if two huge mountains were collapsing and pressing down on them.

The sudden ambush caught the government troops off guard, and the 26,000 soldiers who had originally had high aspirations were defeated in an instant.

"Run away!"

The sounds of swords breaking through the air and screams drifted through the narrow paths in the mountains and forests. The rear guard of the central army did not care about the safety of their allies and turned around to flee.

However, Huang Taiji carefully arranged the "strategy of luring the enemy" and would not allow the Ming army to retreat easily.

Tens of thousands of elite cavalry and mounted infantry followed in pursuit, killing more than half of the 20,000 Ming troops.

The remaining tens of thousands of defeated soldiers were like headless flies, not caring about the terrain and mountain roads, and rushed straight into a dead ravine.

While the enemy soldiers had not yet formed a deadly encirclement, the deputy commander of the battalion quickly ordered his men to place mule carts in front of the formation, dig deep trenches and set up chevaux de frise.

"Pride comes before a fall, pride comes before a fall! How could I not understand this simple truth? I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

A lieutenant general slapped himself desperately, but the fear in his eyes had not yet dissipated.

"Commander Zhou, don't be like this... You and I didn't know the intelligence that the Nu chieftain had returned to reinforce us, and we were defeated. It was truly God's will."

"I told you not to act rashly. Let our friendly forces rest, then join the rest of the reinforcements from Baoding and Nanzhi, replenish our supplies and equipment, and then head north. Why would we be ambushed by the Nu chieftain?"

"I should have known this earlier. Don't say such hindsight nonsense anymore. It only annoys people... Didn't you join the main force here because you wanted to get more heads?"

"Alas! We've suffered a crushing defeat and are now trapped in a ravine by the slave chief. Our food reserves will only last for ten days at most!"

"We can also feed the mules and horses that pull the carts, which should last us twenty days."

"What's the point of holding on? The slave chief won't leave you stranded here. Once they bring in the red cannons, they'll be able to blow through the mule cart formation in a few hits. Then we'll... oh, a reckless advance will lead to failure. The Tartars' retreat was actually a trap to lure my light troops into a reckless advance. We've fallen into their trap..."

"I hope the soldiers who escaped can alert the Fuzhou defenders to come and provide reinforcements."

"The Fuzhou defenders and the Beiwei army only have 14,000 to 15,000 men in total. Even if the Beiwei army is strong, can one man defeat 20 men?
If the chieftain leads the army in person, he will surely have an army of 100,000 men with him. Fourteen thousand against a hundred thousand? Alas, we are all going to die here."

In fact, there is still a way out in the minds of the generals.

Surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

It's just that everyone has experienced a temporary devastating defeat and has not yet completely despaired and changed their mentality, so no one can say such words of persuasion.

If someone speaks out but no consensus is reached, the first proposer will be severely guarded against and may even be killed on the spot.

At this moment, they could only hope that the defeated soldiers would pass the message back and let the court know that there was still a "loyal army" waiting for rescue.

……

However, the fleeing defeated soldiers were almost all killed or captured by the Qing cavalry.

What surprised Huang Taiji was that not a single elite soldier of the Beiwei Army was among the enemy troops.

He personally led tens of thousands of Qing cavalry on a long-distance raid to Gaizhou, and then carefully planned a strategy of luring the enemy into an ambush in order to surround the Beiwei Army and annihilate it completely.

As long as thousands of elite Beiwei troops were ambushed and annihilated, the Qing Dynasty's national fortunes could continue to prosper.

Unexpectedly, the owner was not there, and only a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp were caught, and there was also a group of "henchmen" trapped in the ravine, looking stubborn to the end.

Beiwei Army, Beiwei Army, you defeated the Southern Expedition Army, why are you still so cautious and careful that you haven't left Fuzhou for several days?

He won a great victory without being arrogant, defeated the enemy without being reckless, looked ahead without looking back, did not care about the gains and losses of a city or a pond, and concentrated on killing the Qing Dynasty's vitality.

This aura that combines wisdom and bravery, caution and radicalism is simply like a monster!
But these are not problems. The subsequent infantry and cavalry are still coming, and the red cannons are also being transported in the queue.

As soon as the heavy artillery arrives, any city will gradually collapse under the shells, and all the cities in southern Liaoning will return to the embrace of the Qing Dynasty.

He personally led the army, plus some troops retreating from western and southern Liaoning, totaling more than 100,000 troops, in order to destroy the Beiwei Army in one battle.

He would not allow any warriors in the Southern Dynasty to dare to fight a field battle with the Qing Dynasty. If one battle could not defeat them, then he would fight two battles!

He ordered the release of dozens of Ming troops and allowed them to return to report the news.

Looking at the backs of dozens of defeated soldiers fleeing in panic, Huang Taiji looked into the sky to the south.

He wanted to see whether the few remaining soldiers of the Beiwei Army would, upon hearing that their friendly forces were surrounded, disregard their lives and march north to fight him to the death with the desire to "kill the captives and avenge them" in their hearts.

Or should he abandon Fuzhou and Jinzhou without caring about the safety of his allies and retreat to Lushun to wait for reinforcements from the imperial court?

He growled silently in his heart, Come on, Beiwei Army, get into the siege and reinforcement pocket prepared for you by the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)