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Volume 6: Yin Whip Points to the East to the End of the World Chapter 501: Discussing War on a Snowy Night

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    On the evening of the fourth day of November, under the twilight sky, a single-coach carriage drove into the Zhengyang Gate in the wind and snow, dragging long tracks straight into the Dashi Yongfang. At the gate of the residence of Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet  Stopping in front, a man wearing a round hat and fox fur got out of the car and entered the gate of Fang Mansion. The carriage was waiting outside the door. The horse driving it stamped its four hooves on the spot from time to time, blackening the white snow on the ground.  ——

    The groom sat cross-legged on the shaft of the carriage, his sleeves and hands curled up, and his hands fell silently. Time passed slowly in the cold air. About an hour later, the man in the round hat came out and got on the carriage. The groom  Without waiting for instructions, he immediately turned the horse's head and drove towards Qianbu Corridor, but heard the man say: "Go to Li Ge Old Alley."

    The groom agreed and drove the carriage in a circle, out of Dashi Yongfang, across West Chang'an Street, along Shichang Street to the east end of Lige Old Hutong. At this time, the curfew had begun, and the area around the imperial city was under control.  It was an important inspection area, so a sergeant on night patrol stopped the car and questioned him. The man in the car showed a waist plate. The interrogating sergeant immediately bowed and stepped back to let him go. However, the coachman asked the sergeant: "Excuse me, sir, where is the residence of the number one scholar?"  A family?”

    Zhang Zhuangyuan, of course, refers to Zhang Yuan, the sergeant said: "It's the fourth gate from the street entrance."

    The man with the round hat in the carriage let the carriage take shelter from the snow under the eaves on the street. He walked alone to Zhang Yuan's apartment. As soon as he arrived at the golden pillar gate, he saw two people rushing towards him from the West Street.  Walking forward, the slightly shorter man on the right holding a lantern and wearing a round hat smiled slightly and thought to himself: "What a coincidence." He cupped his hands and said: "Xiao Wu is in charge -"

    The person carrying the lantern was Wu Ling. Hearing this, he raised the lantern and looked at it. He suddenly opened his eyes and said, "It's Master Yang from Shangqiu. Master Yang, this is my young master."

    Zhang Yuan, who was following Wu Ling, stepped forward and bowed: "Mr. Feng Yun, Zhang Yuan is polite."

    Feng Yun is the nickname of Yang Hao. Yang Hao also became famous at a young age and was ranked as a Jinshi. He is fifty-seven years old this year.  His career was full of ups and downs. He was impeached due to the defeat at Ulsan, dismissed from office and lived in seclusion for nearly twenty years. Now he was reinstated due to the crisis in Liaodong. After visiting Fang Congzhe in the stable, he visited Zhang Yuan, which shows that Yang Hao attached great importance to Zhang Yuan.  The letter Zhang Yuan asked Wu Ling to bring four months later worked.

    Although Yang Hao is nearly sixty years old.  But he looks quite strong, with a small square face, thick eyebrows and black beard, and slightly narrowed eyes that are energetic and lively.  Looking at Zhang Yuan, he was very curious about this young champion who had mixed reputations and reputations. He returned the courtesy and said: "Master Zhuang Yuan, Yang Hao is here to ask for advice."

    Zhang Yuan said: "Don't dare, please come in, Mr. Fengjun." He looked around and asked, "Mr. Fengjun is coming in the snow. Where is your honor? Xiaowu, go and ask Mr. Yang's groom to come in and have a cup of hot tea to keep out the cold."  , the horses are also fed some grass beans.”

    After entering the hall and sitting down, after a brief exchange of greetings, Yang Hao said bluntly: "In July, I received a letter from the Zhuangyuan Gong to teach me. Yang Hao admired me. Yang Hao has been living in idleness for twenty years after he was convicted. I never expected that the Zhuangyuan Guild would give me advice in a long letter."  "

    Zhang Yuan said humbly: "Mr. Feng Yun, please don't call me the number one scholar. I am young and immature. I am lucky enough to be released. How dare I be proud of being the first in front of my seniors?" I went to North Korea as an envoy, and along the way I heard many North Korean people praising Feng Yun.  For his meritorious service in those days, the Korean scholars felt deeply sorry for his injustice and built a shrine for him. The king wrote a plaque saying "Rebuilding the feudal state" in his handwriting. Although the battle of Ulsan was unfavorable, how could the victory of Jishan be wiped out?  There are some bureaucrats among us. They don’t know the dangers of war and have never experienced it personally. But they talk eloquently, regardless of merits, and only focus on faults. I read the newspaper of that year in the Hanlin Academy, and I am very unfair to you."

    The defeat of Ulsan was a stain on Yang Hao's life. If it had not been for the rescue of Zhao Zhigao, who was the chief minister at the time, Yang Hao would have been imprisoned. However, Yang Hao was very dissatisfied and angry about this stain. The Ming army did suffer a major setback in the Battle of Ulsan.  , but it was not the "big defeat" that some officials accused. So now when Yang Hao heard Zhang Yuan's fair evaluation of his merits and demerits, how could he not be moved and said: "The flying birds have all the good bows and hides. The Japanese have withdrawn by then, and the court  There is no need for Yang Hao to lead troops in the vassal state. The three major conquests consume the country's strength, and the increase in military pay has caused the people's resentment to boil. Someone must quell the people's resentment. If Yang Hao is defeated, it is natural for him to be punished and demoted."

    This was something he said from the bottom of his heart. Although it was the first time they met, Yang Hao felt that Zhang Yuan could have a heart-to-heart conversation with him. Yang Hao carefully read Zhang Yuan's "Traveling is Difficult - Ding Si's Journey to Korea" and knew that Zhang Yuan had extraordinary knowledge.  But what puzzled him was: Zhang Yuan would not send someone a long way to discuss the situation in Liaodong with him for no reason. How could Zhang Yuan know that he would come back? Just now when he talked with Fang Congzhe, he learned that Fang Congzhe's suggestion to resurrect him was Fang Congzhe's on the 21st of last month.  It was proposed on the same day that there had been no rumors about his comeback in Beijing before -

    Yang Hao hesitated for a while, and finally expressed his doubts, but Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "Mr. Fang Ge recommended Mr. Fang to come back, but there were few objections in the court. Why? Mr. Wei is familiar with Liao affairs and has commanded  The Great Campaign to Resist Japan and Aid Korea - I went to Korea as an envoy and shattered the slave chief's conspiracy to ally with Korea. I also learned about the ambition of the old slave in Jianzhou from the slave chief's envoy Nalan Bakshi. It was expected that there would be a war in Liaodong, and according to reports  As I can see below, the Ming army in Liaodong is in a state of lax combat readiness and it is really difficult for them to fight against the Eight Banners Army. Last month, the city of Fushun fell and General Zhang was killed in battle. This is the result of years of weakness. Now that Liaodong is in danger, Mr. Fei is unable to take charge of the overall situation. I will follow this  After returning from North Korea,It is expected that Mr. Ding will make a comeback.  "

    Yang Hao thought to himself: "This is simply Kong Ming's resurrected divine plan." Although Zhang Yuan's divine calculation was very strange, he was in a happy mood.  Yang Hao can turn the tide with the help of everyone.

    Yang Hao remained calm and said slowly: "Zhang Zanshan is as wise as the sea, and I respect you. I am nearly sixty years old, and have been in the field for many years. I have become alienated from Liaodong, Jiannu, and Mongolia's border affairs. Time has passed and the situation has changed. Today's Liao affairs have  It’s not like the Liao Dynasty happened twenty years ago, when the court gave Nurhaci an official position, who would have thought that this person would become a big problem for our Ming Dynasty!"

    Zhang Yuan nodded secretly, Yang Hao was still very clear-headed and self-aware. Later generations of armchair strategists only knew how to judge heroes based on success or failure. Yang Hao was demoted to nothing after his defeat in Sarhu——

    Only to hear Yang Hao say again: "The emperor issued an urgent summons, and he came here at Xia Xingye. In the evening, he just entered the inner city. The first person he visited was Mr. Fangge. He came out of Mr. Fangge's house and came to visit Zhang Zanshan. He just wanted to hear about it.  Zhang Zanshan’s high opinions on Liao affairs.”

    Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Mr. Feng Yun should know that Zhang Yuan and Mr. Fang Ge have some disagreements. If Mr. Feng is too close to me, he may be criticized by some people."

    Before Yang Hao could say anything, Zhang Yuan changed his subject and his tone became deeper: "But if I have any evil intentions, I must tell you to my husband. Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country. Party grudges should not be involved in the military and political affairs of the imperial court. Sir  The strategy in Liaodong is facing a huge difficulty. May I ask what your strategy is?"

    Yang Hao said: "I heard that Zou Zhiyi, the head of the Shanhaiguan Military Department, proposed to advance the army in three ways. Our army will be divided into three groups, each led by a general. One way will go straight from Guangshun Road to Ninggong to destroy their nest; the other will block the enemy's front from Kuoyang and Qinghe;  As soon as we leave Liaoyang, we can either go to Puhe or Wujing to contain the conflict. In this way, we can achieve a great victory. Mr. Fang Ge and the officials of the Ministry of War all agree with this strategy of dividing the advance and attacking together. I wonder what Zhang Zanshan thinks?"

    Zhang Yuan was silent for a moment, but then asked: "The imperial court is going to launch a large-scale campaign against Jiannu. I wonder how many troops and horses it can use?"

    Yang Hao muttered: "There are always 100,000 troops and horses to dispatch. The Ministry of War has mobilized troops and horses from Xuan, Da, Shanxi, Yan, Ning, Gan, and Gu towns. Another 20,000 troops and horses from North Korea will be recruited. A hundred thousand troops will be deployed.  It can be mobilized, but to the outside world it must be known as 400,000, in order to frighten the slave chiefs."

    Zhang Yuandao: "How many troops do you think Nurhaci can have, sir?"

    Yang Hao said: "Judging from the defeat of Fushun, the previous estimate of Jiannu's infantry and cavalry was too low. I originally thought that the infantry and cavalry would be no more than 50,000, but now it seems that the total number should be no less than 60,000."

    Zhang Yuandao: "When I was on a mission to North Korea, I heard a report from North Korea saying that the Jiannu slave army had 30,000 long-armored soldiers and 40,000 to 50,000 infantry and cavalry, all of whom were capable of fighting. Last month, General Zhang's entire army fell, and all 9,000 soldiers were defeated.  The war horses and 7,000 pieces of armor were all returned to Jiannu. With this, Jiannu could raise tens of thousands of cavalry. It is estimated that by the beginning of next year, there will be 40,000 Jiannu armored cavalry and the same number of infantry, with a total of nearly 80,000.  , and our Ming Dynasty used a hastily mobilized army of 100,000 to fight against the enemy's 80,000, and the soldiers did not have much advantage. However, if we divided our troops to resist, wouldn't we give the enemy every opportunity to defeat it?"

    Yang Hao was listening carefully to Zhang Yuan's analysis. When he heard that he would be defeated one by one, he smiled and said: "I know that Lao Nu is good at using troops, but where and when will our army attack? How can Lao Nu know in advance?"  You know, although his cavalry moves quickly, they cannot fly with wings, so how can they defeat them in the southeast, northwest and northwest?"

    Zhang Yuan really couldn't convince Yang Hao at this time, so he frowned and said: "The hundred thousand troops are divided into several groups. If they encounter the main force of establishing slaves, it will be a disaster and they will be defeated all the way. The other groups will be panicked and even  In the encounter between General Zhang and Jiannu, only a few hundred of the 10,000 soldiers escaped, while it is said that the Eight Banners Army only lost dozens of soldiers. The impact of Jiannu's cavalry was extremely terrifying."

    This is a fact that Zhang Chengyin's 10,000 troops were defeated. Yang Hao must pay attention to it. He said solemnly: "I will carefully ask the defeated soldiers in Liaodong about the actual situation of the battle at that time and understand the tactics of establishing slaves. In fact, dividing the attack into a combined attack is also a strategy based on local conditions. Each party  The army of the Route Army is not in the same place. Hetuala, the home base of the slave builders, is where our troops are massing. It is a pity that the armies from all the routes have not arrived yet. Otherwise, taking advantage of the heavy snow to march in, we can use our strengths and avoid weaknesses, and the snow can hinder the slave builders.  The cavalry charge.”

    Zhang Yuandao: "The various armies are separated by hundreds of miles. It is difficult to conduct unified command and it is even more difficult to ensure that they arrive at Hetuala on time. Jiannu has more geographical advantages than our army. I think the strategy of dividing the army and attacking together is very inappropriate."

    Yang Hao asked: "Will Zhang Zanshan's plan be implemented?"

    Zhang Yuandao: "There is no need to rush into the army in a hurry, but to plan it slowly. First send people to negotiate with the slave chiefs, and exchange Nalan Baksh for the Fushun guerrilla Li Yongfang who surrendered to the enemy. This person set a precedent for our Ming generals to surrender and establish slaves, and he also set a precedent for us.  The enemy's forerunner is in various forts and deceiving our soldiers and civilians to surrender, which has extremely bad influence. If we can replace this person and bring him to justice, from now on, the officers and soldiers of the Ming army will not dare to surrender to the enemy easily——"

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