At this time, Wu Sangui felt extremely bitter. He found that he was involved in the internal fighting of the Qing Dynasty. No matter whether he answered "yes" or "no", he would definitely offend someone.
If Wu Sangui answered truthfully and said 'yes', he would be helping A Gu beat him. This would be tantamount to betraying Daishan and Nurhaci. After all, Nurhachi had already hinted at him.
But if he lies and says otherwise, he will completely offend Wanyan Aguda and Wanyan's family.
Whether it was Nurhaci or Aguda, Wu Sangui could not afford to offend either one.
In an instant, Wu Sangui had made a decision in his heart. Although the Wanyan family had great power in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they were not the royal family after all. Only the Aisin Gioro family was the royal family, so he only had to follow Aisin Gioro's footsteps.
"Reporting to your Majesty, the order to withdraw the troops was not given by the second prince, but by the last general."
Wu Sangui clasped his fists and said with a serious face, but in his heart he thought: Nurhaci should reward himself for taking such a big blame for Ti Daishan.
"What?"
The generals of Wanyan's line all screamed, obviously not expecting Wu Sangui to take the initiative and shoulder all the faults that were not his own on behalf of the good generals.
"Wu Sangui, please think clearly. You cannot bear the responsibility of disobeying military orders and withdrawing troops without authorization, causing Jia Fu to escape."
Wanyan Honglie reminded him with a serious face. It was said to be a reminder, but in fact it was a threat. However, Wu Sangui, who was determined to be a licker, obviously would not accept this.
Wu Sangui glanced at Wanyan Honglie and said in a deep voice: "It is indeed the order given by the general. The second elder brother only retreated with the general after listening to the general's persuasion."
Seeing this, Nurhaci nodded secretly in his heart, but asked indifferently: "Tell me, why did you retreat without fighting?"
"The reason why the general did this was because he believed that His Highness King Jin's order was unreasonable and that he was simply gambling with the survival of the 20,000-strong army.
With King Jin’s 30,000 cavalry, if we want to annihilate Jia Fu’s 3,000 easily, one hour is indeed enough, but can we kill Jia Fu in one hour?”
Hearing Wu Sangui's words, all the generals present looked thoughtful, including many people from Wanyan's group.
Yes, the three thousand Qin army is easy to destroy, but Jia Fu is difficult to kill.
With Jia Fu's five men, even in two hours, not to mention one hour, the 30,000-strong army might not be able to kill them, and they might even be able to break through on their own.
If the 30,000 cavalrymen were delayed too much because of Jia Fu alone, the 20,000 cavalrymen might have been wiped out.
At this thought, everyone looked at Wu Sangui with a hint of contempt. After all, what Wu Sangui said made sense. This was no longer retreating in fear of battle, but a strategic retreat.
The people from Wanyan's group questioned him a few more times, but Wu Sangui had a rough idea in his mind. Although he had already answered fluently and his answers were watertight, which made the Wanyan group gnash their teeth in anger, they could do nothing about his shameless behavior.
Nurhachi also didn't expect that Wu Sangui would make up such a perfect excuse in such a short period of time. He couldn't help but think highly of Wu Sangui, but he said: "Wu Sangui, although your analysis is reasonable, but
After all, these did not happen, and it cannot cover up the fact that you disobeyed military orders."
Wu Sangui knelt down decisively and confessed his crime: "I will eventually be guilty and willing to accept any punishment."
Nurhaci nodded with satisfaction and said: "Although you made a mistake, your crime will not lead to death. Let's do this. You will be demoted to three levels and be beaten with an eighty-year-old military stick as a punishment."
"What?"
Wu Sangui was so frightened that he screamed, never expecting that Nurhachi would punish him so severely.
You must know that he is being blamed for Daishan. Nurhachi doesn't reward him, but he actually wants to demote him by three levels and give him an eighty-year military stick? What's the point of this?
After being demoted three levels in a row, what's the difference between him and an ordinary captain? The other 80 military sticks can kill people.
Wu Sangui slashed at Daishan for help. Daishan thought that Wu Sangui was taking the blame for himself, and immediately prepared to stand up and intercede for Wu Sangui, but was stared back by Nurhaci and did not dare to say another word.
Nurhachi looked down at Wu Sangui and asked with a cold face: "Why, are you dissatisfied with my punishment?"
Wu Sangui suppressed the grief and anger in his heart, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty is wise, I will not have any dissatisfaction, and I will be willing to accept punishment."
"Push it down and execute it."
Nurhachi waved his hand, and Wu Sangui was dragged away by two soldiers. Then Wu Sangui's painful screams were heard outside the tent.
"Ah, ah..."
After hearing Wu Sangui's scream, a trace of guilt flashed across Dai Shan's face, while the faces of Wanyan and the other generals were full of joy.
If you, a slave like you, open your eyes and tell lies, I should beat you to death.
Nurhaci didn't care about this and said to the generals below: "If anyone dares to disobey military orders in the future, Wu Sangui will be your fate."
"We don't dare." All the generals said in unison.
The reason why Nurhaci punished Wu Sangui severely was actually to appease the Wanyan family. Wu Sangui stood up and kicked him to attract hatred. The Wanyan family's dissatisfaction with him has been transferred to Wu Sangui.
At this time, let alone what Wu Sangui said was a lie, even if it was the truth, Nurhachi must punish him in order to appease the hearts of Wanyan and his generals.
Sacrificing Wu Sangui could appease the Wanyan clan and bring stability and harmony to the Manchu and Qing dynasties, which Nurhaci did not need to consider at all.
As for whether Wu Sangui would be resentful, Nurhaci obviously didn't care. After all, he was just a surrendered general of the Han army. At most, he would try to appease him afterwards.
"Your Majesty, since all this is Wu Sangui's fault, can the punishment for His Highness King Jin be handed down from now on?" Wanyan Jindanzi said.
Nurhaci shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Although the main blame lies with Wu Sangui, Aguda is not without responsibility.
As the commander-in-chief of an army, he did not think well and did not know people well. He mistakenly used Wu Sangui, and then Jia Fu escaped, causing the operation to fall short. This is an unshirkable responsibility and must be severely punished."
Hearing this, the generals of Wanyan's line were immediately speechless.
Now Nurhachi does not say that all the responsibility lies with Aguda, but wants to punish him for his lack of thinking and unclear understanding of people. As a general, Aguda cannot get rid of this responsibility no matter what.
What else can Aguda say about this? Nurhaci has already made clear arrangements for him. He even asked Wu Sangui to take the blame for Shan, but also dragged him into the water and reduced his military power. Isn't it strange for him to hand over the crime?
As for the power of the cavalry, there will definitely be many political conspiracies waiting for him in the future, and he may not even be able to retain the power of the infantry.
"Your Majesty, Aguda accepts the punishment and is convinced that he is willing to hand over the command of the cavalry." Aguda kowtowed and thanked him.
Nurhachi showed a victorious expression. Without the cavalry power, Aguda would naturally no longer be able to pose a threat to him in the future.
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After returning to the camp where he was guarding, Aguda couldn't swallow his breath. He was so angry that he couldn't even eat, and he even overturned the dining table.
"It's too much to bully others, it's too much to bully others..."
Wanyan Daguda didn't dare to shout, because he was afraid that if Nurhachi knew about it, he would be more dissatisfied with him, so he could only hide in the tent by himself and secretly sulk.
At this time, a man in black walked out from behind the screen and said coldly: "His Royal Highness, King Jin, you are also a hero of the generation. Nurhachi has humiliated you so much. Are you willing to continue to serve him?"