Chongzhen was more concerned about the casualties of the new army.
Chongzhen asked: "The casualties of the new army should not be small, right?"
"Yes." Xu Yingwei responded solemnly, "In the Battle of Seoul, the 3,000 new troops led by King Ding suffered more than 2,100 casualties, including more than 900 killed in action and more than 100 who died of serious injuries."
"Seventy percent." Chongzhen sighed, "The casualties exceed seventy percent."
"Seventy percent?!" Zheng Zhilong's face showed an inexplicable look of shock.
It was even more surprising than when I heard that 3,000 new troops had annihilated 3,000 guards.
Is everything the Holy Spirit said true? Is the new army's ability to withstand death really more than 50% or even 80%? Is such an army really the army of our Ming Dynasty?
"Zheng Qing, are you surprised?"
"Back to your Majesty, I can't believe it."
"But it's true." Xu Yingwei said solemnly.
"There are more than a hundred Qinwang scholars among the three thousand new troops."
"Among Prince Qin's disciples, there are three from the Supervision Department."
"So, no one dares to lie about military merit, and no one will lie about military merit."
"Of course, I know this is true." Zheng Zhilong quickly explained.
"It's not that I don't believe it, I mean, it's so shocking."
"Zheng Qing, this is actually not surprising." Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Because this new army is fundamentally different from any army in history. It is an army with faith and an army with a military spirit."
"Faith? Military spirit?" Zheng Zhilong heard these two words for the first time.
Xu Yingwei was also brought back to the suffering march in the Shizi camp by these two words from Chongzhen.
Looking back now, those few months were really hard, but spiritually fulfilling.
It was that march that forged the firm belief of more than 6,000 diligent scholars in the scholar camp.
After a long while, Zheng Zhilong asked again: "May I ask Your Majesty, what is faith and what is the military spirit?"
"Youzhen." Chongzhen turned to Xu Yingwei and said, "You answer this question from the Duke of Fujian."
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"Accept the decree." Xu Yingwei responded respectfully, then turned to Zheng Zhilong and said, "The belief of the new army, that is, the belief of the Shiziying, is to fight for parents, wives and children, to fight for the clothes of the Han family, and to fight for the Chinese ancestral temple.
, the soul of the New Army is the soldiers, and the diligent soldiers who lead the army are the spiritual pillars of the New Army officers and soldiers."
"If the Qinwang soldiers refuse to retreat, then the officers and soldiers of the new army will fight to the death and refuse to retreat."
"The diligent princes and men of the new army will march forward bravely despite the swords and mountains and seas of fire."
After a pause, Xu Yingwei said word by word: "If Prince Qin fights to the last man, the new army will also fight to the last man, even if his body is shattered to pieces, he will have no regrets."
Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong suddenly understood.
"Your Majesty, I have disgraced the Holy Order." Zheng Zhilong suddenly knelt down.
"Zheng Qing, what did you do wrong?" Chongzhen did not come forward to help him this time.
"I did not instill faith in the students of the Naval Academy." Zheng Zhilong said sincerely, "Therefore, the future Ming Navy will not be able to become an army with faith and military soul like the New Army."
"Zheng Qing, just realize your mistake." Chongzhen said happily, "Then do you know what to do now?"
"I know," Zheng Zhilong said, "When I return to Nanjing, I will invite Qin Wang Shizi from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to give lectures at the Naval Academy. I will also imitate the scholar camp and organize the students of the Naval Academy to conduct a march of suffering."
"It can't just be a simple march of hardship." Chongzhen Ruo pointed out, "During the march, we must also take time to help the people along the way, help sweep the floor, help cut firewood, help carry water, and even help plant crops. Let students We have experienced hardships and know how difficult people's lives are, and how difficult people's livelihood is."
"From now on, this kind of hardship march and assistance will become a tradition for all students in the Naval Academy, the Imperial College and the Medical College, twice a year, and each march lasts for one month."
Each year, there are nine months of study time, two months of social practice, and one month of annual leave.
"We must let the students of the Imperial College, Naval Academy and Medical College deeply understand that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the most important. The mission of the students should not be blind loyalty to the emperor, nor should it be blind loyalty to the emperor. Simply protecting the country, their mission should be to let everyone in the Chinese nation live a life without worries about food and clothing."
"The Book of Rites says that in the conduct of the Great Dao, the world is for the common good. We must select the wise and capable, be trustworthy and cultivate harmony. Therefore, we should not only kiss our relatives, nor only our children, so that the old will have their end, the strong will be useful, and the young will be successful." , the widowed, widowed, lonely and disabled are all supported; men have a share, women have a home, there is no need to hide the goods if they are abandoned on the ground, and there is no need to hide the goods if they are abandoned on the ground; if the strength is not from the body, there is no need to do it for oneself, so there is no need to seek closure. "Thieves and thieves do not commit crimes, so the outside of the house is not closed. This is called great harmony."
"The highest mission of students should be to strive for world harmony."
After saying this, Chongzhen said again: "It is not about protecting the world of one family and one surname."
Hearing this, Xu Yingwei looked at Chongzhen with unabashed admiration in his eyes.
Yes, that's right, Xu Yingwei admired Chongzhen, because Chongzhen didn't just talk about it, he also did it. What Chongzhen pursued was never the Zhu family's dominance, but the unity of the world!
Just for a word of faith, the Holy Father can even give a lighter sentence to those who seek to usurp the government.
Although he conspired to usurp the government and did not sin against his family, he is the only one in the past and present.
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, there was an inexplicable look in his eyes. He didn't expect it. He really didn't expect that the Holy Emperor was not just talking about it. He really agreed with Mencius that the people are more important than the king.
Today, Zheng Zhilong also has a first-class heartfelt respect for Chongzhen.
At that moment, Zheng Zhilong straightened his clothes and said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, I would like to be taught."
After sending Zheng Zhilong away, Chongzhen summoned Xu Yingwei, Zheng Sen and dozens of other scholars together to discuss the upcoming Liaodong War, which was equivalent to a pre-war preparation meeting.
Looking at the map, Chongzhen said: "As for why we gave up the fortified city and chose to fight with Jiannu in the field, I have told you before, so there is no need to discuss it again today."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After a short pause, he added: "Today we will only discuss the choice of battlefield."
A scholar asked in surprise: "Do we still have to choose a battlefield? Shouldn't we fight outside Shengjing City?"
Xu Yingwei said: "The initiative in the Liaodong War is in our hands. Naturally, we have to choose the most advantageous battlefield. We will fight Jiannu outside Shengjing City. If we lose, we can quickly retreat into the city. This is an advantage, but it also has disadvantages.
On the one hand, it is easy for the slaves to be trapped in Shengjing City and unable to break out."
"Brother Youzhen is right." Zheng Sen nodded in agreement, "Shengjing is too far from Gaizhou."
Another scholar questioned: "But if we abandon Shengjing and return to Gaizhou Guard, will Jian Nu give up fighting with me? After all, after our army captured Gaizhou Guard at the beginning of the year, Jian Nu made little noise."
"Then don't go back to Gaizhou." Xu Yingwei said, "Choose another battlefield."
After saying this, Xu Yingwei pointed to the map and said: "I think Haizhou is an excellent battlefield."
Zheng Sen said: "Haizhou Guard is really good. Once the field battle fails, not only can we retreat to Haizhou Guard City and hold on, we can also get support from Gaizhou, and our logistics supplies are guaranteed."
"That's it." Xu Yingwei nodded and said, "If we guard Shengjing, it will be easy for the Jian Nu to cut off the logistical supplies. The consequences will be disastrous. Although the Haizhou Guard has the same danger, the risk is much smaller."
The reason is very simple. The difficulty of bringing reinforcements from Gaizhou to Haizhou is completely different from that of fighting from Gaizhou to Shengjing.
Because the distance from Gaizhou to Haizhou is only 150 miles, but the distance from Gaizhou to Shengjing is more than 400 miles. It is time-consuming and laborious to send reinforcements all the way. Once the Jiannu also mobilize reinforcements, the situation will be dire.
It is very likely that it will evolve into a strategic decisive battle in advance. This is something Chongzhen does not want to see. He does not want to have a decisive battle with Jiannu at this time.
At this stage, Chongzhen just wanted to use small means to win big and consume Jiannu.
Gu Yanwu said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that the battlefield be chosen on the line of Dongchang Fort and Dongsheng Fort between Haizhou and Hunhe."
"Dongchang Fort, Dongsheng Fort?" Chongzhen looked at the map and asked thoughtfully, "What's the reason?"
Gu Yanwu said: "Because there are ancient Great Walls along the Hun River and the east bank of the Liao River from Dongsheng Fort to the north, which is not conducive to the Jiannu army quickly crossing the river, so the Jiannu will definitely not choose to cross the river north of Dongsheng Fort."
"The section of the Liaohe River south of Dongchang Fort is too wide, so the ice in the center of the river is not thick and may not be able to withstand the weight of thousands of kilograms of Hongyi artillery. Therefore, Jiannu's heavy artillery can only go from Dongchang Fort to Dongsheng
The line of forts crosses the Hun River to the east. If our army deploys along the line from Dongchang Fort to Dongsheng Fort, we don’t have to worry about being attacked by Jiannu in a roundabout way."
Zheng Sen immediately raised questions: "Although the Liao River is wide and the ice is thin, there is absolutely no problem for people and horses to pass through. Why does Brother Ning Ren assert that our army will not be outflanked by Jiannu?"
Gu Yanwu said: "As long as Jiannu's Hongyi artillery can't cross the river, and they can only cross the river on foot and on horseback, even if they attack in a roundabout way, what's the point of fear? The hollow square formation is enough to resist them."
The Battle of Guting Town gave the Ming army great confidence.
Of course, this confidence is based on the premise that the slaves did not have cannons.
Once the Jiannu used artillery, the hollow phalanx of infantry alone would never be able to withstand it.
At this time, Chongzhen suddenly said with a smile: "Don't worry about the Hongyi cannon. Even if Dorgon brings the Hongyi cannon, he may not be able to reach Liaodong in a short time, because the roads in western Liaoning are already very bad, and now
It is the winter rainy season again, and it will rain for at least ten days and a half in western Liaoning, making the road even more difficult to walk."
"In this case, there is nothing to worry about." Gu Yanwu said.
"If the Jiannu didn't carry the Hongyi cannon, it wouldn't make any difference where they fought in the field."
Xu Yingwei suddenly said: "But the line from Dongchang Fort to Dongsheng Fort is the only way for Jiannu to reinforce Shenyang. Our army's formation on this line is equivalent to strangling Jiannu's seven inches, and Jiannu cannot go around.
Or avoid fighting."
"Yes, you can also blast ice." Lu Xiangtong, who had participated in the Huai'an Mansion War, suddenly said.
"Drill holes in the ice and bury gunpowder in advance, and then blow up the ice when Jiannu crosses the river."