In the main hall of the stone city on the top of Rufeng Mountain, the civil and military generals of the Ming Dynasty's aid army to the Liao Dynasty gathered together to discuss the strategy to break the siege of Jinzhou.
Just then, Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan regiment, had introduced to everyone the retreat of the Qing army at Rufeng Mountain and the Nvhe River at the southern foot of Shimen Mountain.
It turned out that just yesterday morning, before it was fully light, the sergeant responsible for patrolling at the foot of the mountain rushed to report. When the Ming army generals heard about it, they were all surprised.
Even Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was surprised. He led his generals to the observation tower and leaned down to look down. Sure enough, the Qing army camp at the foot of the mountain was completely empty, as if it had never appeared before.
Everyone thought that the sudden disappearance of the Tatars must be a conspiracy, so they did not dare to go down the mountain to investigate. Until noon, there was still no movement. Then they sent a small group of cavalry to test and found that the Tatars had really retreated.
Dorgon's 20,000 to 30,000 Tatar thieves actually withdrew and set up camp more than 30 miles away. At the same time, all the pontoon bridges on the Nerv River were burned to the ground by the Qing army.
Everyone, including Governor Hong Chengchou, was puzzled by this, so they summoned all officials and generals to discuss countermeasures.
Because Wu Sangui was in charge of the defense at Shimen Mountain, and Hong Chengchou wanted to support him, he ordered him to introduce the military situation here to everyone, so as to show his face in front of Wang Chengen.
After listening to this, everyone in the lobby looked thoughtful. Some of them shook their heads in confusion, while others had serious expressions on their faces. Of course, there were also some people who didn't take it seriously.
For example, Chen Jiugao, the commander of the front camp of the Shenji Battalion, responded carelessly: "Isn't it because the Tatars retreated because they were afraid? Let me tell you, we can take advantage of this opportunity to cross the river and go north to liberate Jinzhou.
siege."
He picked up the tea cup on the small table next to him, drank it in one gulp, and said happily: "I can't believe that not only did we relieve the siege of Jinzhou, but we also captured the Tatar chief Hongtai alive. Wouldn't the emperor be worried from now on?"
Everyone in the lobby had different expressions when they saw that he spoke easily. Some shook their heads and smiled bitterly, while others ignored him. Of course, there were also those who cheered.
Even if Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, was like this, as soon as Chen Jiugao finished speaking, he immediately continued: "Here. We just killed Duduo a few days ago. If we can capture the slave chief Hong Tai again this time, how can we
Wasn't the Liao chaos settled in one fell swoop?
The way I see it, we might as well just hit Shenyang City in one go and destroy the Tatars’ lair.”
"Hahaha……"
Everyone in the lobby was amused by their mutual compliments and made them burst into laughter.
Supervisor Wang Zhizhen was eager to show off in front of Hong Chengchou and Wang Chengen. After thinking for a moment, he immediately said: "Supervisor, prince, the reason why the slave thieves retreated is because they failed to attack our Xingshan on the Western Front, and the slave generals and soldiers were defeated instead."
There are so many people that you can retreat and stand firm?"
As expected of someone who has been in the officialdom for a long time, his words were clearly discussing military matters, but secretly he was claiming that Xingshan had contributed to defeating the slaves. He did not mention whether the credit belonged to him or to Zhang Cheng.
I am just trying to say that Xingshan’s persistence in defeating the slaves is a meritorious service. This is the fact of the past few days and is irrefutable!
However, Zhang Dou, the commander of Ningqian Bingdao, did not fully agree with this. He only heard him say: "Duduo was killed by General Zhang of Xuanfu. Several days have passed since this incident, and our army confronted the slaves in Shimen Mountain.
Although we have a geographical advantage, we are unable to defeat the slaves by fighting. How come the whole army retreated today?"
He added at the end: "It is unreasonable for slaves and thieves to behave like this, but we must be on guard."
The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were all old foxes in the officialdom. They did not speak directly and only used roundabout ways to convince others.
Zhang Dou's words were openly talking about the retreat of the slave thieves, but he secretly retaliated against Wang Zhizhen. He bluntly said that Duduo was killed by Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army and had nothing to do with Wang Zhizhen.
It is even more clear that even if the Tatars were defeated by Duduo, it did not affect the battle situation on the Shimen Mountain side. Dorgon was still able to fight on a par with Hong Chengchou under the unfavorable terrain, and even had a slight advantage.
.
All of this has nothing to do with the victory or defeat on the western front in the direction of Xingshan.
Since someone started the conversation, everyone in the hall started talking about it.
It went on like this for a while, and they didn't argue with each other to come up with a reason. However, Wang Chengen seemed a little impatient, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table next to him from time to time.
Seeing this, a smile appeared at the corner of Hong Chengchou's mouth. He raised his hand and waved it in the air a few times to stop everyone's argument. After everyone in the hall became quiet, he asked: "General Zhang Cheng, what do you think?
?”
Zhang Cheng was meditating alone at this moment. In his opinion, the sudden retreat of the Qing army must be related to the failure of Duduo on the Western Front. However, he shared the same concerns as everyone else, but the failure on the Western Front was not the case.
Therefore, when the Qing army retreated at this moment and switched from attack to defense, there must be something hidden. However, he could not understand the mystery of why.
But at this moment, Hong Chengchou asked him by name in front of everyone, but he had to answer. Zhang Cheng could only smile apologetically and said: "Reporting to Governor Hong, Zhang Cheng thought that the Tatars' retreat must be related to the failure of their Duduo unit on the Western Front.
.
However, Zhang Cheng believes that the Tatars' retreat was not entirely due to Duduo's death and their retreat on the Western Front. There may be hidden secrets unknown to us, and more detailed investigation is needed."
As soon as Zhang Cheng finished speaking, everyone in the hall shook their heads. Because of the ambiguity of what Zhang Cheng said, they couldn't help but feel a sense of contempt in their hearts. So it turned out that Zhang Cheng was just like that?
But Governor Hong Chengchou, who was sitting at the top, nodded slightly. Even Wang Chengen, who had closed his eyes and said nothing next to him, nodded endlessly. He even sighed in his heart, Zhang Cheng had a clear mind, it was not easy!
Hong Chengchou didn't seem to want to let Zhang Cheng go. His face was as dark as water, and he asked softly: "General Zhang, according to your guess, what is the hidden secret of the Tatar thieves?"
"Oh. This..."
Zhang Cheng was stunned when he heard this. Although he had some conjectures in his mind, they were all imagined out of thin air. How could he say them out in front of everyone? He couldn't help hesitating.
Hong Chengchou seemed to have guessed his concerns, and with a smile on his lips, he said to him: "General Zhang, I just have something in my mind, so just tell me. We are just guessing now, and it is not necessarily accurate information.
"
Seeing that Hong Chengchou had spoken like this, Zhang Cheng couldn't refuse any more, so he stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Report to the Governor, since this is the case, Zhang Cheng will talk about all the speculations in his heart, please tell me.
Let’s figure it out together.”
After Zhang Cheng sat down, he immediately said: "The reason why the Tartar thieves behaved like this was certainly due to the defeat of the Duduo tribe on the Western Front. However, in Zhang Cheng's view, the Tartar thieves must not switch from offense to defense because of this.
Just imagine, it has been more than a year since the Tartar thieves besieged the Jin Dynasty. This shows the depth of their plans. Now they have gathered the strength of the whole country to come. On the battlefield, slaves under the age of sixteen or seventeen are frequently seen on the battlefield.
witness."
When he said this, he glanced at everyone with bright eyes, and then said: "Just imagine, everyone, the Tatar thieves are like this. The battle of Jinzhou is a life and death battle, how can they give up so easily.
As for the defeat on the Western Front, the Tartars only lost Duduo and a few other princes and generals, and their army losses were less than 10,000. However, they held a stalemate with our division at the foot of Shimen Mountain and on the other side of the Loess Ridge, without any difficulty.
Under such a situation, it actually took the initiative to shrink its defense line, and even burned down all the pontoons on the Nuer River, blocking its way to re-attack. In Zhang Cheng's opinion, it must be due to something unexpected happening within it."
As soon as Zhang Cheng finished speaking, everyone in the lobby began to discuss. Although they had argued before, they did not expect that there would be problems within the Qing army.
It can be said that Zhang Cheng opened up a whole new way of thinking for them!
But what problems would arise within the Qing army, this stumped the officials and military officers of the Ming Dynasty in the hall. They knew very little about the internal intelligence of the Qing Dynasty and had no clue at all.
After arguing for a while, they still couldn't come up with an answer. Hong Chengchou couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Wang Chengen. Seeing that he was also giving a slight nod to him, he waved his hand again to stop everyone's argument.
The lobby of the governor's residence became quiet again, but Hong Chengchou once again asked Zhang Cheng: "General Zhang, can you tell us what you are thinking so that we can participate together?"
Zhang Cheng smiled bitterly in his heart. It seemed that Hong Chengchou was being targeted today and he couldn't even hide away.
Although Zhang Cheng wanted to hide because he was repeatedly questioned by Hong Chengchou, he still couldn't help others feeling jealous of him.
But at this moment, his humility and retreat, in the eyes of others, all turned into full of pretentiousness and manipulation. It was completely intentional on his part, and his intention was to respect his identity.
Just like Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan who had never said a word, he looked at Zhang Cheng with mixed feelings in his eyes. In his heart, he also really wanted to be friends with Zhang Cheng, make money together, and be able to rely on each other and work together.
Warming.
However, at this moment, Wu Sangui felt more and more that Zhang Cheng seemed to be the stumbling block in front of him. Just imagine that if Zhang Cheng did not exist, then he should be sitting at the top of the military commanders at this moment.
God is unfair. Since you gave birth to me, Wu Sangui, why bother giving birth to another Zhang Cheng?
Then there was Ma Ke, who had committed a crime and tried to redeem himself, and looked at Zhang Cheng with even more vicious eyes. He even blamed Zhang Cheng for the collapse of his Shanhai Town troops, and he wanted to eat him in his heart.
Meat is average.
This is really true, when people sit at home, the pot comes from the sky!
I'm afraid Zhang Cheng, as smart as he is, would never have imagined that Marco's resentment towards him would be so great that he could even blame Zhang Cheng for all his faults in this world.
There were also a few civil servants, such as Supervisor Wang Zhizhen, who also had some opinions on Zhang Cheng, but they just couldn't see the good generals, and they couldn't stand Zhang Cheng's domineering attitude.
However, if there is jealousy and resentment, there will naturally be people who admire him. For example, Wang Pu of Datong, Chen Jiugao of Beijing Camp and others who are attending the meeting today are Zhang Cheng's biggest supporters.
Wang Pu was originally just because he and Zhang Cheng belonged to the Xuanda University Department, so they were naturally closer. As for Chen Jiugao, it was because he was familiar with Zhang Cheng at the earliest. The two had experience in suppressing bandits in Henan Province, and they left Beijing and entered Liaoning together.
, and naturally are very close.
But as they interacted with Zhang Cheng for a long time, they found that as long as they were with Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army, their safety was greatly guaranteed, which further strengthened their desire to move closer to Zhang Cheng.
Now, although they are not Zhang Cheng's subordinates, they have been closely united with Zhang Cheng, and Zhang Cheng makes decisions in everything. Together with Li Fuming, who is sitting on the Hekou grain road, they have formed a team.
The prototype of new military interest groups.
In addition to the generals, the civil servants present, such as Zhang Ruoqi and Zhang Dou, also supported Zhang Cheng. There were also several people including Yao Gong, the deputy envoy to the inspection, Zhu Tingxie, the grain minister, who also had very good opinions on Zhang Cheng.
Zhang Cheng is not fully aware of the opinions and opinions of everyone here today about him. After all, he is only a living person, not a living god in this world.
At this time, seeing Hong Chengchou asking questions again and again, knowing that he could not escape, he calmed down. After thinking for a while, he immediately replied: "Master Governor, Duduo has an extraordinary position among the Tatar thieves.
But now that the flag owner of the white flag has died at the foot of Changling Mountain, there may be some changes in the position of the flag owner."
Wu Sangui had been in Liaodong for a long time and was a man with great ambitions. He always paid great attention to the information about the Tatar rebels and knew a little more than others.
At this moment, he continued: "The banner leaders of the Eight Banners of Slaves and Thieves are mostly the puppet kings appointed by them, and they are hereditary. Now that Duduo died in the battle, it stands to reason that his son should inherit this position."
Zhang Cheng turned to Wu Sangui and smiled, saying: "General Chang Bo, as far as I know, Duduo is not very old, and his son is also young compared to him. Therefore, I guess that the slave chief Hong Tai will take advantage of this opportunity."
Incident, we will change the flag owner."
He turned to the leaders, Hong Chengchou and Wang Chengen, and continued: "You must know that the Tatar thieves only have eight banners. Each banner leader has equal strength, and each controls one-eighth of the Tatar thieves' strength.
Nowadays, the slave chief Hongtai holds two flags, and his son Hauge holds another flag; then there is Daishan, who also holds two flags; and finally there is Dorgon, and Duoduo, the brothers, each holds one flag.
, combined into two flags.
Just imagine, is there a possibility that after Duduo's death, Mrs. Hong wants to replace the leader of the white flag, and Dorgon will naturally strongly oppose this."
Just when everyone started to think about it following Zhang Cheng's analysis, they heard Zhang Cheng say again: "Furthermore, I heard that the slave chief Hong Tai seemed to be in poor health. It was said that when he left his hometown and came to Jinzhou,
But the nosebleeds continued all the way, so much so that someone had to ride beside him and catch them with a bowl."
Zhang Cheng glanced at the crowd again and said in a deep voice: "So, please think about it boldly. Is it possible that the slave chief Hongtai is ill, or even has a sudden illness? Dorgon is like this."
Evacuate in a hurry?"
Under Zhang Cheng's inspiration, everyone's ideas instantly broadened. They spoke one after another and continued to discuss strength according to Zhang Cheng's ideas.
"Snapped!"
Suddenly, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, slammed his palm on the table. He shouted with horror on his face: "Oh my God, did Dorgon suddenly withdraw and go back to fight for the throne?"