"Li Ying, the general who protects the country, bows to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
"My beloved, there is no need to be polite, please get up and sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The call of "Ai Fei" made the red lady tremble all over, her cheeks immediately became hot, but she couldn't find a reason to change her title, so she had no choice but to stand up and sit on a small stool beside her, lowering her head.
"You all stand down!"
Zhu Cihong waved his hand, and after the eunuchs and guards had retreated, he said to the red lady again: "My beloved, come sit here. It's too far away to talk."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The red lady had no choice but to get up again, move a stool to sit next to the dragon table, and then she was surprised.
Ever since I first entered the palace with my husband and met the young emperor, he had left a very deep impression on me.
That is, every move he makes exudes strong confidence and calmness. Even if he is surrounded by a million troops, there is no trace of panic or fear on his face.
In front of him, you and your husband are really rebels.
Although he is a bit immature, one can feel the majesty and firmness in every word he speaks, making people have no choice but to believe what he says.
At that time, she felt that this little emperor was a hundred times more powerful than King Chuang, and more like the kind of good emperor in her mind who loved the people like a son and saved all people.
That's why I followed him into the city along the steps, and after I surrendered, I assisted him wholeheartedly.
But who would have thought that after seeing him for more than two months, this little emperor would look tired and decadent, his eyes were bloodshot, and his body no longer had the vigor it had when we first met him.
Somehow, seeing him like this, I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart.
"My beloved concubine, when I was in a hurry to obey the authority, I directly made you a noble concubine without consulting you. Do you have any resentment in your heart?"
Seeing her hanging her head all the time, Zhu Cixi couldn't help but say.
"I don't dare."
"I don't dare, you just have to?" Zhu Cixiang smiled bitterly.
The red lady raised her head and opened her mouth, wanting to discuss with him the matter of canceling the title of imperial concubine after repelling the Jiannu.
But thinking that by now he must have been put on hold by the Tatars, which made him exhausted, physically and mentally exhausted, he finally endured it and didn't want to bother him with these things anymore.
"My dear concubine, how long can the food and grass in the camp be maintained?" Seeing that she didn't speak, Zhu Cixiang also calmed down.
When the red lady heard this, the blush on her face disappeared instantly, she raised her head and said in a very solemn tone: "Your Majesty, it can last for another month at most."
"What?"
"How could it be consumed so quickly?"
Zhu Cixiang was so frightened that he stood up directly with a blank look on his face. This was a full month less than he expected.
"Your Majesty, the main reason is that those war horses eat too much, and the soldiers have to train every day, so..."
The red lady explained helplessly, and then tried to ask: "Your Majesty, is there food and grass in the city...?"
"well!"
"My dear concubine, I won't hide it from you. The food and grass in the city can last for two months at most."
Zhu Cixiang fell back onto the dragon chair.
"What?"
This time it was the red lady's turn to stand up in shock again.
How could she not be surprised that there was only two months of food left in the huge capital?
"Your Majesty, it's been so long, haven't you ordered the food to be transferred from Jiangnan?"
"bump!"
"Why not? As soon as the intruders were defeated, I sent an imperial envoy..."
It's okay if I don't mention it, but when I mention Zhu Cihong, he frowns, punches the dragon case hard, and talks about Jiangnan with gritted teeth.
After hearing this, the Red Lady was shocked and angry, and finally understood why the little emperor was tortured like this. It was really difficult for him.
But it's too late to say anything now.
He stood up in a hurry and said with a determined look on his face: "Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, the only option is to take the initiative. I am willing to lead Tongzhou's 300,000 soldiers to fight to the death with the Tatars in order to repay Your Majesty's grace!" After saying this, he knelt down.
"I am very pleased that my beloved concubine has such a determination. However, Jiannu has already been prepared. When the time comes, the infantry will be stationed in the camp and the cavalry will be watching outside. Together with Wu Sangui and other generals, they will pay more attention to the soldiers and horses than anything else and take the initiative to attack. The chances of winning are terrible. Less than 10%!”
Zhu Cixiang had a look of relief on his face, and his eyes even turned red with emotion. He quickly helped her up, feeling that he had not done anything wrong after all.
But even if he is a military novice, he understands that in this situation, whoever takes the initiative to attack will suffer big losses.
Because this is the highest level of Han people's art of war, Yizhenghe.
In other words, when you are stronger than others, don't engage in any intrigues and tricks, just lead the army to crush them openly and openly.
In this way, the enemy has no chance to take advantage of it and can only be forced to fight.
And this only refers to the tactical level.
The strategy is simpler, that is, there is no need to fight, you only need to rely on strong national power to consume the opponent, which is completely unsolvable.
There are too many cases in history that prove this point. In the Changping Battle between Qin and Zhao during the Warring States Period, Qin State relied on its strong national power to force Zhao State to change its coach and choose to take the initiative to attack.
As for Zhao Kuo, he was a scapegoat on paper, because no matter who he was, he would end up the same.
The Qin army was already well prepared, but the Zhao army could not afford to delay it, and the countries did not lend food or troops. They only wanted both countries to suffer losses. What else could they do besides taking the initiative to attack?
During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang made several Northern Expeditions, but was dragged down by Sima Yi, and finally ended with hatred, using this same trick.
When two superpowers competed for hegemony in later generations, one of them also used this trick to bring down the other.
Now Hong Chengchou is using the same trick.
"Your Majesty, even if that's the case, let's take down those weak-willed people first, reorganize the army and then march forward to fight to the death. With the soldiers and horses from the capital, there is still a chance!" the red lady said through gritted teeth.
"oh?"
"Is it possible that my concubine is sure that after taking down those people, her troops will remain in chaos?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, according to your instructions, I have secretly won over many generals in the past two months. At most, my combat power will be reduced." The red lady nodded.
"Alas! Even so, I'm afraid the chances of winning are not good. My beloved concubine doesn't know something. Three days ago, Dorgon actually mobilized 50,000 Mongolian cavalry to support the battle. It is really hateful and shameless."
How could the red lady not know?
But what can we do if we don't fight? So he said: "Your Majesty, if you are brave enough to fight to the death, you will have a chance of victory. If you just sit back and wait for death, you will definitely lose!"
"Why don't I know this?"
"But I can't lose, and I can't afford to lose!"
"Tongzhou has assembled all the capable soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Once defeated, Jiannu will definitely take advantage of the situation and sweep across the entire north. In the end, I am afraid that not even Jiangnan and Huguang can be saved, and then the whole world will fall."
"So unless we are in an invincible position or can fight to the death of both sides, I would rather move the capital than fight a decisive battle. Even if I finally arrive in Jiangnan with only half of the troops left, I can still hold on to half of the country.
I believe that as long as I am given two or three years, I will be able to reorganize the army and carry out the Northern Expedition to regain the Central Plains."
At the end of his speech, Zhu Cixiang's face was once again full of confidence.
The Red Lady did not doubt this, but after thinking about it, she tried again: "But once Your Majesty moves the capital, what will happen to the more than one million people in the city? What will happen to the countless Han people in several northern provinces?"
"As the saying goes, a strong man has his wrist cut off. There is nothing we can do about it. We can only temporarily wrong them."
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand.
Except for soldiers, horses, and money, he would not take anything else with him and could not take it away. Once the army retreated, the Tatars would surely pursue it and fight fiercely.
"Your Majesty, is there really no other way?" the red lady said with a look of reluctance.
"Yes. Isn't it often said in the art of war that victory can be won by surprise? When the opponent comes in an upright and upright manner, we will win by surprise. But what is the surprise and what is the magic method? Our ancestors didn't explain it clearly?"
Zhu Cihong smiled bitterly, how could he be willing to do so?
In the past two months, he had been reading military books every day, almost going through all the ancient and modern military books and strategies, but instead, his mind was full of mud.