Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty
Chapter 746: The Battle between Civil and Military Affairs
Chapter 746: The Battle between Civil and Military Affairs
Chen Xinjia's plan and everyone's reaction were all in Zhu Shenzhu's eyes and ears. Zhu Shenzhu admitted that Chen Xinjia was indeed proficient in military affairs and had a great understanding of border affairs. He was a rare military talent among civil officials. Moreover, the plan he proposed was also quite feasible. Judging from the current situation of both sides, including the situation in Liaodong, Chen Xinjia's plan was the most reliable.
This is also true in history. This is what Hong Chengchou did. When Emperor Chongzhen learned that Jinzhou was under siege, he was shocked. He transferred Hong Chengchou back to the capital from the local area, regardless of the fact that he was still encircling and suppressing the bandits, and asked him to lead the army to rescue Liaodong.
Hong Chengchou also saw the problems with the situation in Liaodong, including the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, so he put forward the same view as Chen Xinjia today, which is to mobilize heavy troops to defend instead of attack and to advance steadily and step by step in the rescue. A total of 150,000 troops were mobilized to rescue Jinzhou, and after leaving Shanhaiguan, they advanced step by step along the Liaoxi Corridor, giving Huang Taiji no chance to take advantage of. The entire army worked together like a turtle that the other side could not bite.
Although this method does not seem very good, it is indeed effective. After sending troops, Huang Taiji tried to lure Hong Chengchou many times, but Hong Chengchou just wouldn't be fooled. Along the way, many wars of varying sizes broke out between the two sides. Huang Taiji could never do anything to Hong Chengchou. He could only watch the army led by Hong Chengchou gradually advance to the Songshan area. Songshan was only a stone's throw away from Jinzhou, and it seemed that it would not take long to reach Jinzhou. As long as the reinforcements arrived in Jinzhou, Huang Taiji's plan would completely fail and the siege of Jinzhou would be lifted.
But no one expected that Emperor Chongzhen could not sit still under such circumstances. When he learned that Hong Chengchou's advance was slow, he only walked more than ten miles a day, and had been marching north from Shanhaiguan for more than a month without reaching Jinzhou, and that Jinzhou was already in sight, but Hong Chengchou suddenly stopped moving his troops, Emperor Chongzhen was extremely anxious. He wished that Hong Chengchou's army would reach Jinzhou in an instant, rescue Zu Dashou's troops from the siege of Jinzhou, and end the war.
For this idea, Emperor Chongzhen could not help but send people to urge Hong Chengchou to send troops quickly. He even personally issued an order to Hong Chengchou not to delay the opportunity to fight. If Zu Dashou was not rescued immediately, Hong Chengchou would be dismissed from his post and punished, and replaced by someone else.
At this time, Hong Chengchou was actually on the verge of victory, but he knew that he had to be more careful at this time and must not be careless. Originally, he planned to continue to confront Huang Taiji for a while, relying on the strong military force in his hands to slowly advance and not give the other side any chance.
As long as he was given more time, the siege of Jinzhou would have been lifted, and Huang Taiji would have returned empty-handed. But at this time, the order of Emperor Chongzhen came down. After repeated urging, Hong Chengchou had no choice but to take a risk and plan to raid the Qing army to rescue Zu Dashou. However, he did not expect that it was because of his adventure that the originally invincible army became disconnected. In addition, the fear of fighting and the escape of a certain unit led by Hong Chengchou suddenly made his army vulnerable, and Huang Taiji, who seized the opportunity, defeated him.
Although the total loss of Hong Chengchou's army was not great at this time, the problem was that the defeat was so severe that Hong Chengchou could no longer effectively command other troops. He could only retreat to Songshan with nearly 10,000 central troops. In the end, not only did he fail to rescue Zu Dashou, but he was besieged by Huang Taiji's Eight Banners first, and finally ran out of ammunition and food and was defeated and captured.
When the news of Hong Chengchou's defeat came, Zu Dashou of Jinzhou was completely disappointed. Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Zu Dashou had no choice but to face the facts and surrender the city under the persuasion of Huang Taiji. As a result, Jinzhou was lost and Liaodong suffered a disastrous defeat.
The consequences of this battle in history were extremely serious, even more serious than the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Sarhu.
First, nearly 200,000 elite Ming troops were lost in Liaodong. Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou surrendered to Huang Taiji successively, resulting in heavy losses in the Ming army's military strength.
Secondly, in order to rescue Jinzhou, Emperor Chongzhen mobilized a large number of local troops, which gave the dying local bandits a rare chance to catch their breath and thus escaped the fate of being completely encircled and suppressed. In addition, the loss of military strength of the Ming army made the encirclement and suppression of the bandits weaker and weaker. The bandits took this opportunity to develop rapidly, which eventually led to an irreversible situation.
As for the final surrender of Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou, especially after the former surrendered to Huang Taiji, Huang Taiji continued to grow stronger with the help of Hong Chengchou, and even formulated new national policies, thus making the Qing Dynasty develop from a slave dynasty since the Later Jin Dynasty to a true dynasty.
Hong Chengchou helped Huang Taiji improve various political systems, strengthen the centralization of power, and make progress in other aspects. Although Huang Taiji did not wait until the day when he entered the pass to conquer the world, his son took advantage of the last civil strife in the Ming Dynasty, occupied the north of the Ming Dynasty, and then continued to move south, making great progress all the way and finally conquered the world.
Zhu Shenzhu was aware of this situation, and he certainly understood that Chen Xinjia's suggestion was the best solution at the moment. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu was not Emperor Chongzhen, and he would never urge Hong Chengchou like Emperor Chongzhen in history, which ultimately led to failure.
But no matter how good the plan is, Zhu Shenzhui will not use it, because although this plan is a good idea from the perspective of the Liaodong war, it has many hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty as a whole.
Firstly, the encirclement and suppression of the bandits is still going on. If troops are withdrawn from local areas to rescue Liaodong at this time, it will inevitably weaken the military operations against the bandits.
These bandits are like weeds. If you don't completely eradicate them and give them a chance, they will soon recover and grow stronger again. Secondly, the large-scale deployment, assembly and rescue of troops are very costly, and the food and grass alone are not a small amount. Although the economic situation of the Ming Dynasty has improved, the overall finances are still on the verge of bankruptcy. With an empty treasury, such a huge expenditure is simply not something the court can afford. Even if Zhu Shenzhui sells his pots and irons, it is difficult to do it. What's more, the rescue strategy of defending instead of attacking takes a long time, and the cost is astronomical. Unless Zhu Shenzhui and Emperor Chongzhen once again ignore the people's livelihood and increase taxes and levies, it will not be able to sustain it.
As for the overall layout in the end, to be honest, Zhu Shenzhu would rather lose Jinzhou and Zu Dashou be captured than take such a risk. Once he did so, all his previous efforts would be in vain, and a series of arrangements could not be carried out.
But after weighing the pros and cons, Jinzhou must be rescued. Just as Yang Sichang and others said, if Jinzhou is not rescued, the consequences will be equally serious, and it will have a huge impact on Zhu Shenzhui.
"Ning Shanbo!"
"Chen is here!"
"Tell me, how should Jinzhou be saved?"
Wang Jinwu bowed and said, "I think Lord Chen's plan sounds good. If we can use defense instead of attack and step by step to rescue, this method may be a bit stupid, but the possibility of success is very high. As the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp, I am willing to lead the troops to Liaodong to rescue Jinzhou!"
"No!" As soon as Wang Jinwu finished speaking, Yang Sichang objected. Wang Jinwu frowned and looked displeased.
Yang Sichang said: "Marshal Wang is stationed in the capital and cannot move without authorization. In addition, we need to mobilize troops from all over the country to form a reinforcement army to rescue Jinzhou. Although Marshal Wang is the general, he is only the commander of one army. According to the court's rules, the elected civil officials should lead the three armies. Therefore, it is not appropriate for Marshal Wang to lead the army."
"Lord Yang is right." Wen Tiren could no longer care about his grudge with Yang Sichang and agreed, "This rescue of Jinzhou is different from the last battle at the Great Wall. If we don't send a selected civil official to lead the charge, I'm afraid we won't be able to suppress the arrogant soldiers and generals from all over the place, especially in the battle in Liaodong. The Guanning Army has always been arrogant and conceited. It's really inappropriate for an outsider to go to Liaodong. In my opinion, it would be most appropriate to send an important official as the commander."
"I second the motion!" Zhang Zhifa believed whatever Wen Tihen said. Moreover, his attitude towards this matter was the same as Wen Tihen's. He felt that if Wang Jinwu was allowed to lead the troops again and won the battle, not only would Wang Jinwu's position be consolidated, he might also become the number one in the Ming army.
Since the Battle of Tumu, the status of military generals in the Ming Dynasty has been declining, and civil officials began to rise. By the Chongzhen period, it had become a common practice for civil officials to command troops, especially in Liaodong. Whether it was the initial Xiong Tingbi or the later Wang Huazhen, or Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan, which one of these people was not a civil servant?
If Wang Jinwu was in charge of the troops, it would directly break the tradition of civil officials commanding troops. Moreover, this time was completely different from the Battle of the Great Wall. The Battle of the Great Wall took place shortly after Zhu Shencui had just entered the capital, and his position as regent had not yet been completely secured. In addition, the Battle of the Great Wall was fought in Jizhou Town inside the Great Wall, not far from the capital. The main force commanded by Wang Jinwu was Zhu Shencui's new army. At that time, there were many people in the court and the public who stood idly by, and many people planned to wait and see the outcome of this battle before deciding whether to truly defect to Zhu Shencui. This led to the subsequent situation.
The Battle of the Great Wall solidified Zhu Shenzhui's position and made Wang Jinwu famous in the army, and he became the Earl of Ningshan. After the war, under Zhu Shenzhui's operation, the new army annexed the elite troops of the original Beijing camp, including the Ming army around the capital, which greatly increased its strength. Wang Jinwu also became the first person in the Ming army, a newly-minted nobleman.
If Wang Jinwu is allowed to go again this time, it would be fine if he loses the battle, but if he wins, wouldn't Wang Jinwu be famous and powerful throughout China? Moreover, his title will definitely rise, and there will be no problem from Ningshan Bo to Ningshan Hou, and he may even be promoted to Duke directly because of Zhu Shenzhui. If this is the result, not only Wang Jinwu, but also the status of the entire military, including the nobles, will be completely changed.
Although Wen Tiren and others were all Zhu Shenzhui's men, and were no different from Wang Jinwu, there was a difference between civil servants and military officers, and they did not want a military hero that the civil officials could not control, just like Xu Da and Chang Yuchun during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang. Having such a person in the court was not a good thing for the civil officials. Once Zhu Shenzhui took advantage of the situation to restore the full powers of the Five Military Commandery, the civil officials would have no chance of intervening in military affairs in the future.
(End of this chapter)
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