Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 875 Fall Out of Favor
After coming out of the palace, Lu Xiangsheng looked for Wu Sheng with a gloomy expression, and told Wu Sheng about Chongzhen's attitude. Jiannu is easy to fight, and I can't listen to bad advice at all..." Shaking his head again and again, although he is not afraid of fighting against the Manchurian Eight Banners, it doesn't mean that he likes to go to Liaodong in this freezing weather He was not optimistic about the prospect of this Chongzhen imperial conquest, fighting against Jiannu, who had the home court advantage.

Lu Xiangsheng also sighed: "The matter has come to this point, and there is nothing we can do. We can only fight with all our strength. With the combat power of the new army and God's mercy, there is still hope to win this battle."

Wu Sheng said: "That's the only way!"

Lu Xiangsheng refused to be the commander-in-chief of the army, and his pessimistic attitude toward the Northern Expedition angered Chongzhen. Within three days, he issued an imperial edict appointing Gao Qiqian, who had distinguished himself in the battle to suppress the Denglai rebels, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies. .As soon as this order came out, the new army was in an uproar.In the eyes of the New Army, Lu Xiangsheng is the best candidate to be the commander-in-chief of the three armies. Even if Lu Xiangsheng is not willing to be the commander-in-chief of the three armies, wouldn't there be Wu Sheng? Wu Sheng also participated in pacifying the Denglai rebellion, and even rose to prominence in the Battle of Lushun. I don’t know how strong this gelding is!However, now that Chongzhen has handed over the army to such a eunuch, the new army is very angry, and they all angrily curse: "What kind of ability does that dead eunuch have? He can actually ride on our heads!"

The new army only obeys those generals who have fought with real knives and guns on the battlefield, and they are not birds of the others.

And Gao Qiqian did not disappoint everyone. After he became the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, his first order shocked the whole army:
Order Dongjiang General Li Weiluan to lead [-] elite soldiers across the sea to meet up and participate in the Northern Expedition!

Wu Sheng yelled: "Reckless! It's just reckless! What can the Dongjiang army do with thousands of people coming to Beijing? Wouldn't they launch a diversionary offensive in Lushun to southern Liaoning to contain Jiannu's troops and create opportunities for the army? To actually transfer such a surprise soldier to participate in the frontal attack, will he know how to fight!"

It is useless to scold, under the strict order of the Ministry of War, Li Weiwan led Shang Keyi, Huang Yulang and other fierce generals and [-] elite soldiers to Tianjin, ready to leave the customs with the army and attack Shenyang... This not only means that they will have more The injustice of running for hundreds of miles meant that the main force of the Dongjiang Army was withdrawn and lost the ability to contain the Qing army.

It was not wise for Chongzhen to appoint Gao Qiqian as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, and it was even less wise for Gao Qiqian to turn the odd soldiers into a regular army and make the Qing army lose control in the direction of southern Liaoning. From the very beginning, the Northern Expedition cast an ominous shadow, and the originally high morale of the Ming army was vented.Chongzhen didn't know anything about this. Since he decided to drive the soldiers, the attitude of the officials towards him has changed 180 degrees. No one deliberately finds fault with him. On the contrary, even the most vitriolic The speech officer also sang praises to his decision, calling him comparable to Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Tang Zong and Song Zu. These flattery words made him a little smug. Lu Xiangsheng wanted to see him many times and explained clearly to him about the Northern Expedition. He refused to see his own opinion.Like many ministers, he agreed that after being blocked by Ming Dynasty for two years, Jiannu had been severely injured, and everyone had betrayed their relatives. As soon as the army led by him arrived, the Qing army would surrender in anticipation, and it would be easy to conquer Shenyang!

It has to be said that people are arrogant and arrogant. If there was no victory in Port Arthur, even if the ministers blew the flowers, Chongzhen would not have the courage to conduct a personal expedition.

In mid-December, just as Yang Menglong's injury was gradually improving, the Ming army had roughly completed its assembly. Dongjiang Army, Tianxiong Army, Denglai New Army, Changping Army and Ban Army from Shandong and Henan totaled 5000 people. The entire Beijing-Tianjin area was transformed into a military camp of astonishing scale.However, the Heluo New Army still refused to follow the order and come north to participate in the Northern Expedition. The Ministry of War issued fourteen fire votes in succession, but they ignored it.In addition, the Sichuan army has not yet arrived because the road is too far.Chongzhen originally wanted to wait a little longer. Even if the Heluo New Army did not come, the Ming Army's combat power would be greatly increased when the Sichuan Army came. After all, the Sichuan Army's reputation for being good at fighting was already world-famous, and it was worth waiting for him.But the government and the public have no patience to wait any longer. With nearly [-] mouths, they can eat up a mountain in one day. If they stay in Beijing for a long time and have to deal with eating, drinking and urination, the court will have to deal with it. Who can bear it? The common people agree and have some opinions. Not all troops have as good discipline as the New Army. For example, the squad troops in Shandong, Henan and other places have poor combat effectiveness and even worse discipline. Stealing chickens and dogs is commonplace. The people have great opinions. Both the government and the public are urging Chongzhen. Hurry up and go out, don't waste time here. As for the Sichuan Army and the Heluo New Army, you can let them speed up and go north. Anyway, this battle can't be fought in a day or two. Are you afraid that they won't be able to catch up with this battle? Chongzhen felt It made sense, so he issued an order to hold a flag-sacrifice ceremony on the outskirts of the capital on December [-]. He also used a large sum of money from the internal funds to reward the three armies and vowed to go to war.

Nearly [-] troops embarked on a mighty journey, with flags covering the sun and swords and guns filling the fields. The queue stretched for dozens of miles, which was extremely spectacular.The people who came to see him off were very excited. They all said that they had never seen such a prosperous military appearance since Tumubao.Wherever he went, all the states and counties were full of food and welcome, which greatly encouraged the Northern Expeditionary Army. Chongzhen was even more confident: I have such a powerful army and the full support of hundreds of millions of people. How can I not? The principle of conquering Shenyang and annihilating Jiannu!
The army marched to the Shanhai Navy, and Wu Xiang led 4000 people to join the Northern Expedition Army, which made the Northern Expedition Army even more powerful.After arriving in Jinzhou, Zu Dashou came ten miles out of the city to meet him. The number one officer of the Guanning Army knelt on the icy road, his forehead touching the ground, and he was completely gone. In his eyes, Yuan Zonghuan had to write a letter to persuade him to re-lead the army to enter the war. His attitude was extremely humble, and he said: "The emperor traveled thousands of miles, and the imperial conquest was a major event that had never happened before in the country. The majesty of the emperor is far inferior to that of the emperor of Qin and the Han Dynasty! With the emperor personally supervising the battle, the three armies use troops to attack Shenyang, and the veterans wish you a complete victory and capture the slave chiefs alive!"

Chongzhen was very satisfied with such a humble attitude, he helped Zu Dashou, and said: "Aiqing, please stand up! I don't know the art of war, and I need Aiqing to take a lot of care in this battle!"

Zu Dashou said with emotion: "Your Majesty has an order, how dare the old minister refuse to obey? If you don't want this old bone, you will also take Shenyang, and take the head of the slave chief Hong Tai, to vent your anger on His Majesty, and to die in the hands of Jian slaves." Revenge the Liaodong Han people and Guan Ning officers and men here!"

The officers and men of the Guan Ning Army roared in unison, like thunder: "Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"

Chongzhen was greatly appreciative, and clapped his hands and shouted: "Good! This is my tiger! With this determination and morale, why worry about building slaves forever!"

Chongzhen was very satisfied with the high morale of Guan Ning's army, and ordered the army to temporarily station in Jinzhou area, take a short rest, and then move on.It’s not enough to take a break, the weather is freezing, many civilians have been frozen to death and frostbite along the way, and even many soldiers in the army have lost their fingers from the cold. The army is already quite exhausted. A dead end.

After all, Zu Dashou was old, even if he wanted to participate in this battle, he probably had more than enough energy, so he appointed Zu Dacheng to lead 30 elite troops to act as the vanguard of the army, and strive to win the battle.This made the strength of the Ming army break through the [-] mark. If you count the civilian husbands, [-] will not be able to fight.

This is indeed a conquest of unprecedented scale.

After taking a short rest and regaining his strength, Chongzhen eagerly summoned his generals to formulate a battle plan.

The first person to speak was Lu Xiangsheng. His opinion was not to move yet, but to stay here in Jinzhou and wait for the weather to get warmer before launching an offensive. Attacking Shenyang now would be too detrimental to the Ming army.His opinion was supported by several new armies, but Gao Qiqian was quite disdainful of it and said mockingly: "Marquis Suyi, your official position is getting bigger and bigger, but why are you becoming less and less courageous?" ?For this Northern Expedition, the Ming Dynasty mobilized 30 elite troops, three times the number of Jiannu. His Majesty even came to Liaodong without avoiding the wind and cold. All the soldiers were deeply inspired. It was time to strike while the iron was hot and conquered Shenyang in one fell swoop! If the army stayed here, it would take a long time. If the morale is low, how can we fight a war? In a war, morale is what we fight for!"

Wang Yingxiong, who accompanied the army, said: "Furthermore, Jinzhou is a barren land. It is extremely difficult to maintain a garrison of 2 horses. 30 soldiers have to be transported from the pass to eat horse chews. The manpower and material resources consumed are astronomical. Ten days and a half a month is fine, but if it lasts for a few months, even if Daming has a golden mountain, it will be eaten up!"

Chongzhen said: "Wang Aiqing is right!"

Zu Dashou said: "According to the old minister's opinion, it is best to resolve this battle quickly. After Hong Tai proclaimed himself emperor, there are still a lot of troublesome things that have not been dealt with, and he is so busy that he would never have thought that His Majesty would actually do it." Braving the cold wind like a knife and leading the army to attack him, our army will attack him decisively, and we will definitely catch him by surprise! If Jiannu reacts after staying in Jinzhou for a long time, this battle will be difficult to fight. Two years can't tell the difference!"

The generals of the new army frowned, stood up, and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, don't be greedy for meritorious deeds, it's better to be more cautious!"

The generals of the old army, represented by Guan Ningjun, all jumped up with a roar, knelt down on the ground, and roared loudly: "I implore your Majesty to attack decisively, fight quickly, and realize the dream of the Han people in Liaodong to regain Shenyang. Even if I die, I can rest in peace!"

Lu Xiangsheng was very anxious and shouted: "Your Majesty————"

Chongzhen interrupted in displeasure: "Marquis Su Yi, the morale of the generals is high, so you don't want to put cold water on everyone! I have decided to join forces and go straight to Shenyang, and cut down Hong Kong before Jiannu can react. Put on the thief’s dog’s head to comfort Shenzong and Emperor Xizong’s soul in heaven!” After a pause, he looked at Lu Xiangsheng, frowned and said, “Since Aiqing has no confidence in this battle, don’t join the battle and stay behind to escort the army Food, fodder and military resources! Without you, I can still win the battle!"

Lu Xiangsheng's complexion turned pale, his lips trembled, he wanted to say something but couldn't utter a single word.What are you talking about? The loyal words are harsh, the repeated objections, and the disappointing actions of pouring cold water on Chongzhen have caused him to lose the trust of Chongzhen. In the eyes of Chongzhen, he is no longer a pillar of the country, but a spoiled guy. Simply send him to escort food and grass, out of sight, out of mind!

The generals of the new army were very annoyed when they saw that Lu Xiangsheng had ended up like this, but they didn't dare to say anything more.Lu Xiangsheng's status is so respected, Chongzhen didn't just masturbate, let alone them!

Chongzhen learned the lesson of the scattered forces of the Ming army in the Battle of Sarhu, and was defeated one by one by Nurhachi. He listened to the opinions of Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang, and the 10 troops joined forces. The Qing army wanted to repeat the same trick and defeat them one by one. If you eat the Ming army, you will only lose your teeth.The Guan Ning army acted as the vanguard of the main army, several new troops were placed in the middle, and the squadron and civilian husbands with poor combat effectiveness were placed at the end. Tens of thousands of people drove out of Jinzhou against the wind and snow, rushed to Shenyang along the official road, and mopped up all the troops. big town.The Qing army seemed unprepared for such a swift and violent attack by the Ming army. The defenses of the major towns along the way were extremely empty. The brilliant victory made Chongzhen extremely satisfied, convinced that he had made the right bet this time, and caught Jiannu by surprise!
The ideal is full, but the reality is extremely cruel.Before the Ming army left Jinzhou, vital information such as their troop deployment, marching route, and food storage location were laid out before the Huang Taiji case...

(End of this chapter)