A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 464 Ningyuan Controversy

In July of the 14th year of Chongzhen, the army of aid passed through Shanhaiguan and entered the frontier of Qiantunwei in Guangning, Liaoning.
Walking on this land, the general feeling of desolation and desolation comes oncoming, and there is also an unspeakable tragic pride in it.Since the Wanli year, how many heroes have come here?They fell one after another, falling on this land continuously, and their corpses were buried here.
In the desolate and mysterious Liaodong region, how many thrilling stories have been performed by the ancestors here. This desolate land has shed too much blood of loyal soldiers.
In Liaodong, the most impressive thing is the endless black land, but that is only in the middle of Liaodong, not the long and narrow mountainous land in the west of Liaodong.Moreover, during the Lengbinghe period, there was no such thing as black land. No wonder the Qing Dynasty occupied a large area of ​​land in Liaodong, and could not feed its own people, so they had to enter the customs and plunder one after another.
As soon as he entered Liaodong, what impressed Wang Dou the most was that there were many piers and abutments here, and the hills and mountains in the west of Liaoning were undulating, so the establishment of Yandun was uniquely advantageous.
The construction of Huoludun in Liaodong Town also ranks first among the towns on the nine borders of Daming.But everywhere in Xuanfu Town, there are only five miles and one block, and ten miles and one block.But now, many piers are abandoned, only some remnants are left here.
Desolation is another impression of Wang Dou. Most of the fortresses in the territory are dilapidated, and the official roads are dilapidated. I really don't know where the huge Liao salary goes every year.
Looking at the people around him, Wang Pu muttered, "Shanhaiguan and Ning paid several million yuan a year ago, and these dilapidated cities are left? I heard that there are only eight castles left in Liaodong? Go, if you give them to us Xuan Dajun...cough, give some to Ji Town, so bandits won't often break in through the walls of Ji Town and Xuan Town."
Fu Yingchong, deputy general of Shenji Battalion, said together: "That is, throwing most of the country's rations here, still can't stop the thieves and slaves from entering from other places. Too biased."
During the march, Fu Yingchong and Wang Pu got into a fight, both of them felt that the other's temper was very suitable for them, they were already brothers, they almost cut off the chicken's head and burned the yellow paper.As a general of the Shenji Battalion, what does it matter to me in the Nine Borders?However, if you cooperate, you won't lose anything, and you will get a favor for nothing. Fu Yingchong is shrewd and good at exploiting, how can he not know?
Sure enough, when Wang Pu heard it, he ticked more vigorously.
Zhang Ruoqi, the superintendent, heard the muttering of the two of them and pretended not to know.
The Liaodong issue is actually not a simple partiality issue, but has extremely complicated political and interest considerations in it, that is, how much benefit does Zhang Ruoqi and everyone in the Ministry of War get from it every year?Liao pay, he also supports.
Although the generals of Yu Zhen complained about the injustice, the voices of the generals in Liaodong were equally loud. They said: "The thieves and slaves have breached several times, but they did not enter from the west of Liaoning. It can be seen that the soldiers in the west of Liao are capable of defending the land. Every town needs to find itself. The reason is, don’t always complain about the soldiers of Liao Town who fought bloody battles, lest all the loyal and brave soldiers feel disappointed!”
Wang Dou also believes that the consumption of national power and wealth of the Guanning line of defense is not proportional to its effectiveness.
Fu Yingchong is right in saying that the use of finance, food and salaries should start from the overall situation, rather than partiality.Although the Qing soldiers could not enter from Liao Town, they could break through from Yu Town. What is the use of the defense line established?Nine sides should be a whole.
However, Liao's salary, just like the gentry's payment of grain, is a huge power and interest issue, and it is not something that Wang Dou can shake now.
He just listened to Wang Pu's complaints.
Cao Bianjiao, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Association, and Wang Tingchen, the former commander-in-chief of the garrison guards, also heard Wang Pu's words. The two of them have been in Liaodong for a long time, so they naturally understand the key points. Cao Bianjiao sighed: "General Wang, the inside is too complicated. You are still……"
He shook his head and said nothing.
Wang Pu was startled, but also kept silent.
He is smart, how can he not know the internal relationship?If I spread my words to the ears of those who care, I am afraid that I will not know how I will die, so I will just let it go.
After that, there was nothing to say on the march all the way, and the arrival of the aid army, whether it was the former Tunwei officer or the Ningyuan guard officer, expressed their welcome to reduce weight.Wherever he went, the sound of gongs and drums, and the cheering of soldiers and sergeants lined up, fully expressed the enthusiasm of the people of Liaodong.
The arrival of the mighty reinforcements, wherever they went, was like a shot in the arm, making the Ming troops in all parts of Liaodong full of confidence in the coming war.
Chongzhen 14th July July [-]th, Shenshi.
In the outer city of Ningyuan City, the Yongqing Gate at the south gate, and the defenders on the city tower, they first noticed some Ming troops appearing in front of them at night.
They rode on their horses, several miles away, and quietly looked at their own city. Slowly, more and more cavalrymen and Ye Bushou behind them looked at their own city like the soldiers before.
When the reinforcements arrived, the defenders on the tower beat the gongs and drums loudly to announce the good news to Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, and others in the city.
Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, and Qiu Minyang, governor of Liaodong, were informed of the news. Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, and Cai Maode were in charge of the army, Zuo Guangxian, general of Shanxi, Tang Tong of Miyun, Bai Guangen, and Shanhaiguan. Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke, Liaodong Commander-in-Chief Liu Zhaoji, Liaozhen Dongxie Commander-in-Chief Meng Dao, Ningyuan Regiment Training Commander-in-Chief Wu Sangui, and countless other generals rushed up to the tower and gazed excitedly to the south.
On the plain to the south, more and more cavalry from the Ming army gathered. They rushed in groups and gathered several miles south of the city.
Looking back, I saw a sea of ​​flags, and large groups of infantry marched towards them. In the sea of ​​flags, several large flags pulled by carts were particularly eye-catching. "Wan Sheng!" In the voice, the cavalry converged, and countless troops marched towards Ningyuan City.
Looking at their army, the boundless, vast sea of ​​people, from the mountains to the sea, seems to cover the earth.
The reinforcements had indeed arrived, and they were so powerful, not to mention Hong Chengchou and others laughing, even the soldiers and military households in the city were all cheering.Their tidal cheers faintly coincided with the sound of "Wan Sheng" outside the city, forming an unstoppable mighty sound.
……
When Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, led all the officials and generals from Ningyuan out of the city to welcome them, Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Wang Chengen, Zhang Ruoqi and others came to the front of the army and took the opportunity to look at the famous Ningyuan city.
Ningyuan is the Acropolis of Ningyuan. It was first built in the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty. It was renamed Ningyuan Zhoucheng in the Qing Dynasty, and it was renamed Xingcheng in later generations.In the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, there were 96 steps in Wuli, the wall was three feet high, and there were four gates.
Since the Liaodong War, Ningyuan City has been continuously repaired. At this time, the city wall is three feet two feet high, and the pheasant is six feet high.There are bell and drum towers in the city, which echo the four towers of the city wall. When fighting, climb to the top of the tower, and you can have a panoramic view of the city wall and the city.
The city wall of Ningyuan is quite unique. When it was built, in order to make the city wall strong, a large number of irregular city stones were used to build the inner wall, and then the wall surface was chiseled flat, so it is called "rubber stone wall". The color resembles tiger skin, also known as "tiger fur stone wall".
It can be seen that Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang and others took great pains to welcome the arrival of the reinforcements. They went out of the city for a few miles, and amidst the sound of gongs and drums, they greeted the generals and supervisors into the city with great enthusiasm.
As for the soldiers who came to aid, they set up camp outside the city. Even Wang Dou and other troops now have as many as 10,000+ troops inside and outside the city of Ningyuan.
Most of the troops that arrived earlier, such as the troops from various places in Jimi, were stationed outside the city. Ganchai Ridge in Wuli, Zaoer Mountain in Bali northwest of the city, Huangtukan Mountain in the northwest of the city, Mahala Mountain and so on.
Before arriving in Ningyuan, Wang Dou and others also decided to move their camp to the Mopan Mountain, Jiucheng Mountain, and Jingtiao Mountain in the northwest of the city tomorrow to escape the heat, based on the investigation reports that they did not receive at night.
In the grand welcoming ceremony for the army and the people, Wang Dou each led guerrilla and above generals, as well as guards and generals into the city.There are four streets in Ningyuan, which are called East Street, South Street, West Street and North Street by local people.The perimeter of the city, the number of gates, and the number of streets are all even numbers, which is considered odd in Ningyuan.
Governor's Xingyuan is in the inner city, southwest of the Drum Tower. Everyone enters through the south gate Yanhui Gate and enters the Governor's Xingyuan.
Entering the wide hall, one can see that there are already tables and tables full of banquets, and the food is very rich, but before the army arrived, Hong Chengchou had received a report from the fast horse, and calculated the arrival time of the generals and officials, so as to let his cronies know The staff is ready to meet the matter.
Seeing such a situation, the military supervisor Wang Cheng'en, Zhang Ruoqi and others all expressed their satisfaction, and everyone sat down in a friendly manner.
In the seating arrangement, Wang Dou's status is rather peculiar. His official and military rank is lower than that of Hong Chengchou, Yang Guozhu and others, but his status is higher than that of them. He is neither a civil official nor a military officer.For such an embarrassing situation, in fact, Daming had expected it long ago, and made a regulation early on. If he was in the army, he would be the same level as the governor.
So at this time the seats were lined up, Wang Dou sat at the table with Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang, Wang Chengen, Zhang Ruoqi and others, in addition to Bingbeidao Zhang Dou, Yao Gong and Cai Maode.Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Fu Yingchong and others sat with the major soldiers who joined the aid, and the general soldiers of Liaodong.
Everyone under his command, guerrilla against guerrilla, general against general, one by one entered the table in the hall, and the rest of the guards and others were entertained by special personnel, and the army outside the city was also arranged by someone.
Hong Chengchou is still so gentle and refined, his every move has an indescribably graceful demeanor, the big red python suit on his body, and the three-fold long beard are all neatly groomed.
Perhaps all the things in Liaodong made Hong Chengchou worry and worry. Compared with when Wang Dou first met him in the 12th year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou's face was clearer and clearer.
Hong Chengchou raised his wine glass and stood up. First, he greeted Wang Chengen and Zhang Ruoqi with a smile, and then nodded to Wang Dou with a smile. Just be careful. The country is in danger and the master is worried. As a courtier, how dare you not lose your mind? Today, there are many saints and masters, and there are loyal and brave generals who have joined the army. There are also loyal and brave generals in this town. Lords praise the painting of military affairs, diligently send food and pay, why worry about things not going well, and slaves are not afraid? Gentlemen, please drink this cup to the brim, and congratulate me, and congratulate the generals!"
These words made everyone feel warm in their hearts, and they all said loudly: "Congratulations to the Great Ming, congratulations to the soldiers!"
Everyone drank and laughed.

(End of this chapter)