Gao Di shook his head repeatedly: "You have some bad ideas elsewhere... Your idea is not good or bad..."
"Sir~~ Listen to what I'm saying. My lord, when I saw you looking at the sand table map, you kept saying that Liaodong is so big and there are so many guards. How can you...
Look, what happened last time was because there were too many people. Instead of doing this, we should withdraw our troops from Ningyuan, Jinzhou, Songshan, etc. Then there will naturally be fewer people. If there are fewer people, food and salary will not be enough.
Once you get it, you don’t have to worry anymore."
"Huh?" Gao Di snorted, his eyes lit up, he patted his forehead, and then he quickly lay down on the sand table, looking for the places that the bitch just mentioned.
"Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, Ningyuan, Youtun, Tashan, Xiaolinghe... Well, these are all strongholds outside the pass. Although they are easy to defend and difficult to attack, they do cost food and money...
Gaudi dragged his chin and nodded, "That's a good idea, not bad, then let's do it..."
...
Although the decision was made, Gaudi knew that issuing such an order would definitely arouse the collective opposition of the generals guarding the border stronghold. What's more, there are still some aborigines around the border stronghold, who have been here for generations.
If they live there, letting them go would be more difficult than climbing to heaven.
For this reason, after discussing with Goujizi, Gao Di decided to start with the Xiaoling River, which is far away from Shanhaiguan.
He first cut off the food and salary supplies in the Xiaoling River for no reason, and then sent people to spread rumors nearby, saying that the Jurchens would soon march on the Xiaoling River with a hundred thousand iron horses, and this place would definitely not be defended.
The guard general of Da Ling River is named Zhang Feng. Although this man is relatively tough, he is still a person who is afraid of death. When he heard that the Jurchens were coming with a hundred thousand cavalry, he didn't say anything, took his family and led them that night.
More than a dozen cronies left Xiaolinghe.
Early the next morning, when some of his subordinates went to Zhang Feng to discuss military matters, they were surprised to find that the general's home was empty.
The guards all ran away, and the soldiers were naturally scattered and scattered.
As for the residents near the Xiaoling River, no one cares about them at all, let alone cares about them.
...
When Gao Di learned about this, Zhang Feng, the guard of Xiao Linghe, was already kneeling in front of him. With snot and tears, he said that he had an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. It was really embarrassing.
I have no choice but, Mr. Manager, you must sympathize with our difficulties.
Gao Di was very happy. He didn't expect that the plan would be effective immediately. But on the surface, he pretended to be careless and scolded Zhang Feng.
But now that the matter was over, it would be unrealistic to disperse the troops and go back, so Gao Di just went with the flow and covered up the matter.
The loss of Big and Little Linghe in this way aroused the unanimous vigilance of the guards of other strongholds. At this time, a similar thing happened in Jinzhou, but the guard of Jinzhou was different from the guard of Big and Little Linghe Zhang Feng. He was not only a
A strong general, he is also a person who fully understands that once the garrison outside the pass is lost, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger.
It is a pity that no matter how much the guard general petitioned, Gaudi still insisted on his own way and insisted on his retreat.
...
In less than ten days, the large and small Linghe and Jinzhou strongholds had been abandoned by Gao Di. As the archenemy of the Ming Dynasty, Nurhachi naturally received this good news.
Some people suggested that Nurhaci should fight now, but Nurhaci shook his head and said: "I heard Lao Ba (Huang Taiji) said that there are some people in the Ming army who are more difficult to deal with now. If we go rashly now, we may still have to fight.
...The Han people have a saying, "You can't defeat an enemy without fighting. We just have to wait patiently. Besides, Lao Ba and the others have already given up on Guangming Mountain. They must have other ideas."
..."
One of his subordinates asked: "Great Khan, what is this matter about Guangming Mountain and what Ma Xiaoquan, the Eighth Prince, is talking about?"
Nurha Chidao: "That Ma Xiaoquan is a staff officer from the capital. Of course, I got the news that he is not in Shanhaiguan at the moment... But it is said that that person is treacherous, so I have to guard against him. There is also Yuan Chonghuan, the guard stationed in Ningyuan.
... Sometimes, it’s not just because of one person, we also wait for opportunities... Do you understand?"
"Understood."
...
Ma Xiaoquan drove all night and finally arrived at Shanhaiguan half a month later.
There were many defenders gathered in the pass, among them defender Ning Yuan and Yuan Chonghuan were also among them.
Seeing old acquaintances, Ma Xiaoquan and Yuan Chonghuan both smiled and said hello.
"General Yuan, what's going on? Why are there so many people?"
Yuan Chonghuan sighed and said: "Big and small Linghe and Jinzhou have been lost."
"What, lost it? Did the Jurchens come to fight? When I came here, I met refugees several times..."
Yuan Chonghuan smiled bitterly: "It would be better if the Jurchens were defeated. It was the Lord General who ordered us to evacuate."
"What? Gao Di's order? Is he showing off his brain?"
"Ahem..." A coughing sound came from behind Ma Xiao's body.
Turning around, he saw that it was Gao Di who Ma Xiaoquan had just mentioned was so smart.
Gao Di knew that Ma Xiaoquan was not easy to mess with, but he was Wei Zhongxian's man, so he felt confident and said: "Commander Ma, what's the matter? Why did you suddenly come out after disappearing for so long? What happened?"
Ma Xiaoquan said with a sullen face: "Gao Jinglue, was it you who ordered the evacuation of the border stronghold?"
Gao Di rolled his eyes and chuckled: "It's not that I have to do it. Look at Zhang Feng, ah... He just ran away from Xiaolinghe on his own... What do you think of me?
It’s hard to do a good job...”
"Oh, even if Zhang Feng ran away, the others didn't run away, right? Then you still gave the order?"
Gaudi said confidently: "There are so many people who need food and wages, but you say it lightly. If you have the ability, you can take charge of Liaodong."
Ma Xiaoquan sneered and said: "Then you should report to the emperor now, saying that you are incompetent and hand over Liaodong to me."
"You, Ma Xiaoquan, you~~"
"Humph, Gao Di, everyone knows that you, this old guy, have been in the imperial court for half your life, and they all know that you are Wei Zhongxian's eunuch's bastard. If you do this, you can continue to do it as long as you feel good about it."
Gao Di also said shamelessly: "I am the manager of Liaodong, and you are just a staff officer. I now declare that I don't need you as a staff officer. You can go back to the capital."
Ma Xiaoquan's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Seeing this, Yuan Chong quickly grabbed Ma Xiaoquan and pulled him aside.