Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 819 Assault on Xinye
In the Baihe Valley, although winter was hanging in the sky, the cold wind blowing from the north poured into the valley, blowing the flags fluttering, making the soldiers walking in the valley shrink their necks.

On both sides of the valley, the snow has not yet melted, and the mountains and fields in the distance are covered with thick snow, and the trees are covered with long icicles, all telling the winter is not over.

At this time, a team of miles long was advancing in the winding valley. From time to time, wild wolves howled hungry. Under the snow-covered mountains, the land looked extraordinarily cold and desolate.

It is seventy or eighty miles away from the entrance of the Baihe River in the south, and when it reaches the border of Henan, more than [-] Ming infantry marched in line. Each soldier wore a white cloak to resist the cold wind. Also let them blend in with the surrounding snow scene.

In addition to the infantry, there is also a cavalry of more than 5000 people galloping ahead, and is rapidly advancing to Xinye County in the north.

This army defeated Qing General Xu Erxian's 1-strong Zhongyong Town, Hengchong Horse Army, and Eight Banners surrendered soldiers at Hekou. Advance northward, preparing to take advantage of the Qing army's unpreparedness to seize Xinye.

Xinye is located in the south of Nanyang, on the strategic artery between Henan and Huguang, and is an important passage between the north and the south.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Wancheng is now Nanyang. Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao. Liu Biao of Jingzhou arranged Liu Bei in Xinye in order to resist Cao Cao.

For the Ming army, taking Xinye is also a crucial step. Not only can the Ming army's defense line be pushed forward from Xiangfan to Xinye, Henan, the hundreds of miles of land that Jiangbei was forced to give up can be reused, and In this way, the southern gate of Henan can be opened, and the Ming army can then attack the Nanyang Basin and use it as an important base for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

This time the Qing army entered Huguang from Henan to plunder. The reason why they brought [-] infantry into Nanyang and Xinye was to ensure that this vital point was controlled by themselves, so that the Qing cavalry who invaded Huguang would be trapped in Huguang and unable to get out.

The time is at the end of December, the Chinese New Year is about to begin, the beginning of spring is about to begin, the weather is bound to warm up, the upper reaches of the Han River will soon thaw, and the Qing cavalry that went deep into Huguang to plunder must retreat to Henan before the ice melts, although Dai Zhifan has already notified Hao Yao Flag, let him send troops to block the entrance of the valley, but Dai Zhifan is not sure whether he can stop the more than 5000 Qingqi, so he must take Xinye as soon as possible.

The army marched quickly for two days, and had already entered Henan from the Huguang border. This was the first time since the fall of the Hongguang Dynasty that the Ming army set foot in the Central Plains after four years.

At this time, the Ming army scouted the horse and informed that the army had arrived [-] miles south of Xinye. Dai Zhifan saw that the soldiers had been exhausted after two days of continuous running, so he let the soldiers rest on the spot.

The [-] horses and horses were exhausted, and the soldiers couldn't make a fire, lest the Qing soldiers sent to Xinye would find them. They could only grab a handful of snow and eat some dry food, and then set up a simple tent. People huddled together to keep warm and slept soundly. Dai Zhifan called more than a dozen generals, including the surrendered generals of the Qing army, to discuss how to attack Xinye City.

Several personal guards nailed a few wooden sticks on the ground, surrounded it with cloth to block the cold wind blowing from the north, pushed a cart in, and laid a map on it, which became the temporary command post.

Many generals formed a half circle around the car, and the conditions were limited, so they could only bow down to see.

"According to the information from the captives, there are 5000 green battalion soldiers in Xinye City, and [-] soldiers from Nanyang. Let's not think about Nanyang now. The key is how to take Xinye? Although we have an advantage in strength, But this time the march did not carry siege equipment, not even the Franji, and the hard attack could not be taken down for a while, and it is not known whether Hao Yaoqi can block Azig, so this battle can only be done. A quick decision can only be made by outsmarting."

Everyone nodded after hearing this. In fact, a consensus was reached on this point before. Seeing this, Dai Zhifan went on to say: "This time we sneaked thousands of miles, and the plan was a surprise. Since the Qing army at the entrance of the valley was defenseless against us, we were caught As for the surprise attack, the Qing army in Xinye City must have a very relaxed defense, and they would not have expected us to attack suddenly. Everyone thinks, how should we outsmart them, let’s talk about it.”

Outsmarting is nothing more than using tricks and deceit. This is actually very obvious, and everyone's eyes are on the few surrendered generals of the Qing army.

Seeing this, Dai Zhifan also looked at Zhang Cunren and Tan Tai, "General Zhang, tell me!"

Zhang Cunren is a Han Chinese. Why did he betray the nation and surrender to the Manchu Qing under the influence of infamy? There are two things. One is that he was afraid of death at the time, and the other is that he has enough interests. People who believe in these two things can also betray them again because of these two things. Qing court.

They served the Qing court before, and they never rebelled against the Qing court despite the many benefits promised by the Ming Dynasty.

The performance of the Ming Dynasty was too decadent, and the Qing Dynasty wanted to win the world. Even if the Ming Dynasty promised dukes and kings rewards, they would not get on the car, and they would not be able to poach them, because they were unwilling to follow the Ming Dynasty for immediate benefits. The dynasties perished at the same time, but at this time, the situation is different. Once Nanjing is over, the national situation will be reversed. If you follow the Ming Dynasty, you will not necessarily be finished. As long as their safety is guaranteed and they have certain interests, then they are not for the world or for the people's livelihood. , It's not a big problem to change the boss just for yourself.

Besides, Tan Taihe is partly full of the Eight Banners. In fact, the above two can also be used. Manchus are also human beings, and there are scum in any nation. Besides, the Eight Banners, this system, is not a nation, not a combination of culture and thought. It is an interest monster that the old slave binds with interests to create a monster that is above the nation.

These banner people are also human beings who are also afraid of death. Moreover, a nation that has just come out of fluff drinking blood still maintains the habits of many primitive tribes, and its ethical concepts are still very chaotic. More than ten years ago, wives and concubines , sons and brothers can inherit, women and children are regarded as property, tribes are often merged, and they have little family and country feelings. More simply.

The family members of Zhang and Tan were killed. It is not easy to say how sad they are. Historically, many people surrendered and their family members were killed, and not many people committed suicide because of this.

The reason why the two of them, and many bannermen are now serving the Ming Dynasty, is that Hong Chengchou can't live no matter what, and they have no way to turn back.In East Asian culture, or in this area influenced by Chinese culture, even if you are defeated and captured, and have contributed to the country, people will ask you why you don’t die, and most people don’t understand it, let alone surrendering to the enemy.

In the current situation, Dorgon must kill Tan Tai to frighten people's hearts. Of course, as the situation changes, when the Manchu Qing is about to end, the Qing court's attitude towards Tan Tai will definitely change again, just like history. Just as the Shangyongli Dynasty kept writing letters to Wu Sangui, Dorgon or the Qing court would also keep coming to win over Tan Tai, but as mentioned earlier, just like Wu Sangui, since the Qing court was about to end, Tan Tai would be even more reluctant. May play for the Qing court again.

At this time, on the side of the Ming Dynasty, although Wang Yan used a bit of ingenuity towards Bo Luo and the others, he treated the Qing generals who really chose to surrender very preferentially.

He did this to set a good example for the generals of the Qing court. The Tong family was known as the Tong Banchao in the Qing Dynasty. The most important thing is to divide the Qing court.

As far as the soldiers of the Eight Banners are concerned, no matter what Wang Yan's purpose is, for them, firstly, they don't have to die, and secondly, they can still be rewarded for meritorious service, that's enough.

After hearing Dai Zhifan's words, Zhang Cunren bowed quickly and said: "Mr. Hui, the Qing army will transport the looted materials from Huguang to Xinye every few days. The humble officer thought that he could pretend to be a Qing cavalry and take the opportunity to defraud the city."

Dai Zhifan also meant the same thing, immediately nodded happily and said: "Then the town will leave this matter to you!"

(The editor just contacted me. If there is no accident, there will be recommendations in the near future, so wait for Sunday to add updates, let me save some manuscripts!)
(End of this chapter)