Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 250 Funny (Two chapters in one)

Before the attendees arrived, Li Mu sat quietly on the main seat, wearing a set of heavy armor like fish scales. Golden patterns started from the collar and covered the entire chest and shoulders. The "tiger head" on his belly tightly bit the belt around his waist.

A golden helmet was placed on his head, and the smoothly polished surface reflected a cool metallic luster. A red tassel on the top of the helmet swayed slightly as his head swayed.

The winter sun shines into the house like flowing amber, and tiny dust particles dance in the light.

Li Mu looked at the flying dust particles and thought that Huang Taiji had really given him a difficult problem.

He didn't know exactly how many main Tatar troops there were, but he knew one thing.

There was not much difference in combat capability between the Ming and Qing dynasties, but there was a huge difference in their will to fight and morale. For the Tartars to be able to trap the 60,000-strong Western Route Army, they must have had 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers, or even more.

Li Mu thought to himself that he only had 35,000 soldiers at his disposal, and if the Beiwei Army transferred 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers, the total force would be only over 50,000.

Fifty thousand people against one hundred thousand Tartars, the advantage is on the enemy's side.

An ordinary person might kill the scout who reported the news, then pretend not to have received the intelligence, watch the Western Army suffer a crushing defeat, then stabilize the cities in Liaodong, do his best to repel the Tatar counterattack, and then take advantage of the chaos when the emperor is dead or a "student abroad" to seize the world.

But Li Mu did not choose so.

Zhu Youjian was impatient, killed governors and governors-general indiscriminately, and repeatedly increased taxes to oppress the common people. He was sorry for the loyal officials who worked for the Zhu family and for the people of the world, but he was the only one who was worthy of Li Mu.

Even though Zhu Youjian promoted him with the intention of "taking advantage of" him, he was promoted to the rank of Left General and given the seal of General Suppressing Bandits in a short period of time. He had to at least rescue the emperor once to repay the favor. As for how the situation would develop in the future, we will talk about it later.

Moreover, the Western Route Army also has old brothers from the "Tongxin Society". We can't share the good times and not share the difficulties.

What do the uncles and aunts in the "Tongxin Society" like Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu think about this?

Moreover, the 60,000-strong Western Army was defeated and incorporated by the Tartars, and tens of thousands of able-bodied men could be replenished in an instant.

If Huang Taiji holds the card of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty again, it is equivalent to the player fighting several battles in vain.

Of course, the war-crazy players hope that the chaotic battle will continue. Why not kill the Tartars?

But rather than letting the Liaodong military and civilians suffer twice or three times, it is better to rush up and fight with the Tartars for our lives while the Western Army has not yet been defeated and the Tartars have not recovered.

He has 120,000 destiny points in his hand, and the validity period of the previous battle flag has not yet expired. He is fully capable of fighting the Tartars head-on.

The world can be seized at any time, but now Li Mu must cripple this hungry wolf that has been plaguing China for hundreds of years.

The Tartars must die!
Marshal Li's summons was quickly passed on to every invited civil and military official, and dozens of civil and military officials quickly rushed to the Gaizhou Weicheng Yamen.

Civil and military officials sat in two rows perpendicular to Li Mu, and dozens of Black Flag Battalion soldiers wearing heavy armor stood close to the wall.

Two hundred standard soldiers were guarding outside the hall, and the corridor with a guard every five steps was silent. The entire yamen and hall were guarded tightly by elite soldiers. Even a mouse could not sneak in.

Li Mu looked at the civil and military officials sitting on both sides. Even though there were a lot of empty seats in the row of civil officials, the military generals were unwilling to sit there. Instead, they moved their chairs to the backs of other generals.

Li Mu thought that the contradiction between civil and military officials in the late Ming Dynasty was really sharp. Even if the military officers were almost full, they had to be clearly distinguished. In the future, the Beiwei Army would take advantage of this.

Putting this thought aside, Li Mu took a sip of warm tea to moisten his throat, and then announced the official start of the military meeting.

The theme of the meeting was very clear: the emperor's troops were surrounded by the main force of the Tatars in Dujiatun, about two or three hundred miles away. Li Mu decided to join forces with the Beiwei Army to rescue the emperor.

No one is allowed to oppose sending troops, and we can only plan how to win this battle.

Although many civil and military officials had heard some clues on the road, it was not until this moment that they confirmed the urgent news that the emperor was surrounded.

The news of the emperor's siege caused an uproar, and the room was immediately filled with noise and discussion. The civil officials beat their chests and stamped their feet, blaming the emperor for taking such a risk.

If a second emperor falls into the hands of the enemy, the Ming Dynasty will be over.

The southern army has only 30,000 to 40,000 combat troops. How can they defeat the main force of the Tatars?
"Silence!" Li Mu snorted angrily. "Stop talking nonsense that has nothing to do with the military deployment! The Western Route Army is currently under siege by the Tartars. The Tatar leader has captured Your Majesty and is determined to march south to annihilate us all! If one loses the other, the other's teeth will be cold. Saving the Western Route Army is saving ourselves!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and the discussions stopped abruptly.

The many victories won by the Black Flag Battalion have invisibly elevated Li Mu's prestige, and the young man in the main position has become their backbone.

Right now, only the Black Flag Battalion commander has the ability, prestige, and authority to lead them out of this predicament.

Someone opened his mouth, seemed to want to say something, but finally lowered his head and kept silent.

Li Mu keenly caught this detail and thought that the other party would definitely say "Just don't save the emperor."

However, rescuing the emperor was one of the political correctness of the ancient dynasties. Unless the emperor had already fallen into the hands of the Tartars, the generals could still evade the Tartars and flee to the grasslands, making it difficult to search.

Whether to save him or not would be an indelible stain. If the emperor were still alive, he would definitely punish the "traitors" who planned not to save him.

"How many troops does Commander Li plan to send to rescue the emperor?" Bingbeidao stood up and raised his doubts first.

Before troops move, food and fodder must go first. If you want to gather troops, the first thing you need to do is to collect food and fodder supplies and baggage horses and mules.

"The Southern Army has 45,000 auxiliary troops. The Beiwei Army has dispatched 20,000 troops, totaling 65,000 men, along with 14 large and small caliber artillery pieces..."

Li Mu had already prepared a draft in mind.

He ignored the auxiliary troops of other generals and the newly trained Liaodong militia, and only trusted the militia he had organized.

Even if the combat effectiveness of 10,000 militiamen is average, it is a good thing to drag them to the battlefield and follow the players to see some blood.

"What should we do if the slave chieftain surrounds Your Majesty but does not fight, but instead gathers his main force to attack our support troops, and then sends light cavalry to cut off our army's rear food supply?" Another civil servant raised a doubt.

Li Mu replied fluently, "I plan to march north along the coast. Even if the Tartars surround us with a heavy force, we can still use the Repulsive Moon Formation with our backs to the sea. The coastal area hasn't frozen yet, so ships can pass unimpeded. Our food supply routes will be secured by both seagoing ships and supply carts. Even if one route is cut off, we can still transport food by water."

"Commander-in-Chief Li is wise. However, the Beiwei army is three hundred miles away from us. If we cannot link up in time and are ambushed by the Tartars, wouldn't that mean we'll repeat the mistakes of the Battle of Sarhu, where we failed to coordinate our troops effectively?"

"The Beiwei Army is formidable. The Tartars would need double or triple their numbers to annihilate them. If the Tartars deploy 60,000 troops to fight them, we will have more than enough to support them and deal with the remaining Tartars."

Li Mu suddenly felt like a university monk defending his thesis, constantly answering questions raised by various teachers.

One by one, civil and military officials pointed out problems and raised doubts, just like a heated accountability meeting, eager to stump Li Mu, but Li Mu was not bothered.

Instead, he felt that in this simulated battle, both sides used words as swords and spears to reveal obvious flaws, gradually correct strategic loopholes, and ultimately formulate a relatively complete strategic plan to increase the Southern Army's chances of victory.

"I wonder how long the Western Army's food and fodder will last?"

"There should be enough food in stock for seven days. If the horses and mules are eaten up, they can last for several more days." Another general who had served under Hong Chengchou interrupted.

"Since the Western Army can hold out for more than ten days, we can reunite with the Beiwei Army and then march north. I don't believe the Tartars can defeat the 60,000-man Western Army in these few days."

Hu Dawei, standing by, slapped his thigh. "How can you expect the enemy to follow your strategy? Deputy General Zhao, you are foolish!"

Li Mu did not ask any further questions, but he also made his position clear through his words, "Since the Tartars have traveled hundreds of miles to surprise attack the Western Route Army, they will definitely attack day and night...

The Tatars lost a large number of people after several bloody battles. This time, they may even mobilize the last remaining people, and the whole family will join in the fight to gamble on the fate of the country.

If we can capture the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in one battle and disrupt the Ming Dynasty, no matter how many lives are lost, it will be worth it."

"The slave chieftain will not join the battle with the real Manchus. I estimate that those fighting in the battle are all bannermen and slaves. After they have exhausted the elite of the Western Route Army, the real Manchus will fight us to the death."

"You're right."

Li Mu lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said:

“If the Tartars send out all their forces, over a hundred thousand auxiliary troops, and consume tens of thousands of bondservants, they will still have 70,000 to 80,000 main forces. Although they are slightly stronger in numbers than our army, we also have the Black Flag Battalion and the Beiwei Army, which are both strong enough to defeat the Tartars.

The Nu chieftain had come from a long distance and would not have brought any heavy artillery with him. He must have been quite exhausted after fighting with the Western Army for several days. He had lost almost half of the Liaodong territory that he had seized, and he did not have a stable supply of food, fodder, and ammunition.

"Regardless of how much strength the Western Army still has left, we can cooperate with them. With the decline of one, our army is now evenly matched with the Tartars." Li Mu paused after speaking. These words of "disparagement" of the enemy were also meant to cheer up the civil and military officials. After all, most of them were facing the main force of the Nu chieftain head-on for the first time, and they had to be reassured.

"Do you have any other suggestions?"

Yang Guozhu smiled and said calmly, "The Tartars have suffered great losses at the hands of the Black Flag Camp and the Beiwei Army. They are wary of us. I suggest that you replace all your flags with black flags or flags with black borders, so that the Tartars will be terrified by the sight of them."

Li Mu nodded. "This is a brilliant plan! The Art of War also says that attacking with weapons is inferior, while attacking the heart is superior."

Li Mu then repeated, "Are there any other questions?"

Looking at the utter silence in the room, Li Mu nodded. "I will now make the following arrangements: Commander Hu Dawei's infantry and cavalry will lead the army for twenty miles as the vanguard. I will personally lead the Black Flag Battalion's auxiliary troops, following closely behind. Yang Guozhu and Li Fuming will serve as my left and right wings. Hou Guoan and Zhao Shuming will escort the baggage carriers as my rear guard. Wang Chengdong will oversee the grain ships and ensure they remain closely connected to our main army..."

Li Mu then ordered several civil officials, "Quickly dispatch troops from Liaoxi to mobilize the garrison troops in the Songjin area. Instruct Zu Dashou to dispatch troops from Liaoxi to capture Guangning in ten days and cut off the Tartars' retreat."

However, the civil officials bluntly stated, "Zu Dashou also holds the seal of a general, and Governor Li has no right to transfer him. Moreover, he always obeys orders but not orders, even when Your Majesty summoned him to the capital several times, he refused."

"Yes, I understand." Li Mu nodded. "When the emperor is under siege, loyal ministers and righteous men all have the duty to defend him. If he continues to procrastinate and hasn't sent troops in ten days despite your kind words, tell him that if his inaction leads to heavy losses for the people of the Ming Dynasty, someone will lead troops to Jinzhou to demand an explanation from him."

In the winter of the 12th year of Chongzhen, the vanguard of the Southern Army left Gaizhou and headed towards Dujiatun. At the same time, the Beiwei Army completed the defense tasks in Shenyang and Liaoyang, and then gathered 20,000 elite troops to march south.

The Southern and Northern Armies did not encounter any battles along the way.

Perhaps the enemy's scouts had a smaller coverage area, or perhaps the Tartars were concentrating on attacking the Western Army's positions and had no spare time to set up ambushes and block other routes. The two Ming armies successfully met at Dujiatun a hundred miles away.

……

Tens of thousands of Ming troops were about to march north, but the main force of the Qing Dynasty outside Dujiatun was stopped outside the enemy's mule cart formation and the garrison defense line.

Huang Taiji looked up at the sky. Lead-colored clouds were pushing over from afar. The sky darkened in a few minutes, and it seemed that heavy rain would pour down in the next second.

It is difficult for crows to find food in winter, but the fierce fighting that broke out in Dujiatun provided them with a rare gift.

Hundreds of crows followed the smell of rotting corpses and landed one by one on the dead trees around Dujiatun. The cries of the black crows one after another sounded like the howling of evil spirits.

It was not until the human war was temporarily suspended that hundreds of crows that had been waiting for a long time swooped down from the dead trees, dived into the pile of corpses outside the garrison, and gnawed on the carrion, savoring the delicious food that the war brought them.

Dujiatun has become a desperate place shrouded in death. People inside want to get out, while people outside want to get in.

Standing on the makeshift wooden platform, Huang Taiji picked up the telescope and looked towards the south, then looked towards Jinzhou in the west. No reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty had arrived in several days. Instead, his Qing Dynasty's reserve troops kept coming from Liaobei, escorting a lot of baoyi "cannon fodder" to consume the enemy troops.

If the cannon fodder consumed in the attack on Dujiatun is excluded, he still has 80,000 main forces at his disposal, but this is also the last "essence" of the Qing Dynasty.

He ordered his men to dig deep trenches and set traps outside the garrison. If enemy reinforcements arrived, he could rely on the fortifications to attack from inside and defend from outside.

However, seeing that the enemy had not yet received reinforcements, he wanted to speed up the capture of the garrison, so he took the risk of "exposing" the flaws, leaving gaps on the east and west sides to attract the Ming army to break out.

After being trapped for several days, the Ming army suddenly discovered the Tatars' weakness. They no longer had the intention to remain trapped, and more than 20,000 soldiers "broke through" at once.

These troops who had separated from the main force and intended to break out were originally intent on fleeing and had no intention of fighting. Their organization was extremely poor. Huang Taiji simply sent out more than 10,000 cavalrymen to divide them up, surround them, and defeat them one by one.

According to the confessions of the captured Ming soldiers, the emperor's personal expeditionary force consisted of only 60,000 men. Excluding those who were killed in the previous day's battles, those who died while trying to escape, and more than 10,000 who were captured, there would be no more than 15,000 men left in the garrison.

The large array of mule carts outside the garrison was successfully cleared, and the road leading to the garrison was opened.

Huang Taiji firmly believed that as long as he mobilized the Eight Banners soldiers and fought for two days at most, he could capture the emperor of the Southern Dynasty and achieve the strategic goal of "resurrection".

Zhu Youjian, standing on the tower of the Tunbu, looked through the telescope and saw the Qing emperor standing on the wooden platform. The emperor could also see his figure.

Both sides lamented that the other was not as good as they had imagined.

Zhu Youjian thought Huang Taiji looked like a fat landlord in luxurious clothes, while Huang Taiji thought Zhu Youjian looked handsome and not like an emperor, but more like a frivolous young wealthy businessman.

Huang Taiji slowly raised his hand, as if holding a long sword and pointing it at Zhu Youjian. That silent action seemed to say, you will soon be my prisoner.

Zhu Youjian froze when he saw this, as if a piece of ice and snow was irritating his skin through the gap in his collar.

Although looking at each other wouldn't hurt anyone, Zhu Youjian didn't dare to look at Huang Taiji again.

The number of soldiers guarding him was decreasing, from 60,000 to 13,800, and the number was still decreasing.

At this time, some captives who were forced to shave their heads and surrender were taken to the front of the fort by the Tartars to persuade Zhu Youjian to surrender.

The captives claimed that the Qing Emperor only wanted peace between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and as long as Zhu Youjian agreed to peace talks, the two countries could form an eternal brotherly alliance.

However, in order to ensure the implementation of the peace negotiation strategy and obtain some annual tribute compensation, the Qing Emperor needed to detain the Ming Emperor for two or three years.

The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was well-versed in Chinese studies and would certainly treat the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty well in accordance with the traditions of the Central Plains and would not let the monarch of a friendly country suffer any humiliation.

The other party’s other proposals were even more absurd.

The chieftain actually asked him to sign a contract, acknowledging that all the territories outside the Shanhai Pass were the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and asked him to issue an edict to withdraw all soldiers outside Shanhai Pass, and even abandon all the Liaodong territories that had already been seized.

Putting aside the above unequal terms, the Nu chief's other plan is relatively simple.

The other side named the commander of the Black Flag Camp, Li Mu, and the head of the Wei Army general Zhang Xianzhong. As long as Zhu Youjian was willing to order these two to disperse their troops and then draw their swords to commit suicide, the Qing Dynasty was willing to maintain peace with the Ming Dynasty forever.

Faced with this outrageous proposal, some people actually thought it was worth considering. They could exchange the heads of only two people for the lives of more than 10,000 soldiers in the garrison and for peace on the Ming Dynasty's border.

Which is more important, the lives of two people or the lives of all the people in the world?
The general refuted these people's wild ideas, "Commander Li and General Zhang, two loyal ministers, fought bloody battles for their country, and in the end, they have to suffer unjust accusations and sacrifice their own heads for you?"

Other civil servants also felt that this statement was too foolish and should not even be considered.

If he really did it, it would be even more foolish than Emperor Xuanzong of Tang killing talented generals in succession, Zhao Gou ordering the death of Yue Fei, and Emperor Yingzong of Ming killing Yu Qian.

Although Zhu Youjian was afraid of death and humiliation, his self-esteem outweighed his fear of death and humiliation.

His Ming Dynasty had already experienced the humiliation of losing its emperor once, how could he let it happen again? How could he possibly be like the foolish Zhao Gou or Zhu Qizhen!

If he dared to agree, he would be torn alive when he met his ancestors in the underworld.

But rejecting the Tartars' peace terms meant a fight to the death, and Zhu Youjian was ready to die.

He also wanted to join the battle, but he was more afraid of being captured alive by the enemy soldiers.

So he ordered Wang Chengen to hang a piece of hemp rope on the tower for him. Once the Tartars broke into the garrison, he would hang himself and leave his body intact. He would rather die than be a prisoner of the Tartars.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chengen was also a die-hard fan, and he hung an extra noose.

Seeing that Wang Chengen shared his determination to die, Zhu Youjian could not help but sigh that true friendship is revealed in times of adversity and true loyalty is revealed in times of chaos.

Seeing that the emperor had made up his mind, other civil and military officials went to arrange the city defense according to their own ideas.

As the Tartar soldiers launched a more fierce attack, Zhu Youjian sighed, "The time has come."

A king and a minister, a master and a servant, the two of them stood on the wooden chair and put their heads close to the noose.

But just as Zhu Youjian was about to hang himself up, he suddenly heard a burst of enthusiastic cheers from downstairs. The personal guard who reported the news was stepping up the stairs while shouting, "Black flag, it's the black flag! Reinforcements are coming! We are saved!"

With a loud clatter, the emotional Zhu Youjian reflexively kicked the wooden chair away from under his feet. His entire weight was hanging on the rope, and he couldn't pull it free at all.

Wang Chengen, who had already kicked off the wooden chair, was so hung that he started rolling his eyes.

Zhu Youjian opened his mouth desperately to call for help, but found that he could not make a sound.

The strong feeling of suffocation was like a pair of big hands strangling his throat. Zhu Youjian's heart sank, and he cursed himself inwardly. Was he going to die before dawn when the reinforcements arrived?
(End of this chapter)