Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 401 They Will Help Cover It Up

When the various rebel armies rose up, they all flew under the banner of the old King Chuang. Later, Zhang Xianzhong even joined forces with Li Zicheng several times to fight against the imperial court.

If you think about it this way, Li Dingguo and He Zhen are more or less from the same family, so they shouldn't use such a blunt attitude when the other party shows goodwill.

But things in this world are always unpredictable.

After Li Zicheng became powerful, he launched a fatal attack on other rebel armies. When Zhang Xianzhong occupied Sichuan, he even set his sights on the city of Hanzhong. So after all these events, the Dashi Army, which suffered a loss, naturally would not have a good face towards He Zhen.

This is not because He Zhen and Sun Shoufa are poor and generous.

In essence, Hanzhong was a place that was fought over by military strategists. Apart from the military supplies stored in the granaries by the Qing army, there was not a single grain of food to be found inside or outside the city.

In contrast, Xing'an's strategic position is much lower. Once Hanzhong is lost, most of the people here will flee directly.

Under such circumstances, although the situation in Xing'an could not be said to be very good, it was not that difficult to collect some emergency food. In addition, with Zhu Cilang's order and their judgment of the current situation, they naturally decided to do something that would go against their will.

But then again, although Li Dingguo was full of resentment towards He Zhen because of what happened that year, food shortage was also a difficult problem facing him.

When the other party delivered the food and supplies directly to the outside of Hanzhong City, his toughness was reduced a little.

"Please go back and thank the two generals. If we meet again on the battlefield in the future, I will definitely let them go."

Hearing Li Dingguo's rather inappropriate words, the Ming army lieutenant who came to escort the grain responded with a sullen face and turned away.

"General, these grains..."

"Tonight, let's send some out first and store the rest."

Originally, Li Dingguo wanted to let the soldiers have a full meal, but when the words came to his lips, he changed his words.

When it comes to the relationship with the soldiers, those of them who come from ordinary civilian backgrounds are naturally more compassionate than other military generals. However, after so many years, he also knows that a man of great kindness cannot command an army. Thinking of the impregnable granary, he has to make some further preparations for the future.

By this time, he already knew that the Hanzhong defender had been doing his best to restore the city's defenses since arriving in the city.

But I don't know whether I should be thankful or sad. Hanzhong is a place that has been warred on four sides. After several wars, nine out of ten houses in the city are already empty.

As a result, although the Qing army defenders failed to restore all the city defenses, the civil engineering equipment arranged by Li Dingguo to seize the granary was also delayed in completion.

After taking over the outer city, the two sides launched a brutal fight over the tiny granary.

"Let's go and have another look."

Seeing that the food and grass had been transported into the city under the escort of soldiers, Li Dingguo took his personal soldiers to the granary in the city.

This has become his habit these days, so that he can make a detailed assessment after each day's siege so that the next day's attack can be more targeted.

In about half an incense stick of time, Li Dingguo appeared near the Hanzhong granary.

At this time, the troops responsible for the siege had already withdrawn, and except for the occasional wailing, there was almost no movement around, as if those soldiers standing or sitting were just clay sculptures.

Li Dingguo was naturally quite familiar with this situation.

After all, although Zhang Xianzhong was able to build a great foundation in central Sichuan, since he started his rebellion, he has been chased after by the government troops most of the time, and it is common for the soldiers to have low morale.

Of course, he knew that this was not a solution, and the low morale would sooner or later have an irreversible impact on the war.

However, the Hanzhong granary was extremely difficult to attack due to the reinforcements provided by the defenders, and he was slow to build the necessary fortifications and equipment.

Faced with such a situation, he wanted to boost morale but was somewhat frustrated.

If we can join forces with them
No.

He Zhen surrendered to the Qing Dynasty at one time and returned to the Ming Dynasty at another time, while Sun Shoufa's origins were unknown.

What's more, the Emperor Ming is right behind Your Majesty, and he always has some ulterior motives. If an accident happens in Sichuan, Hanzhong will be the only retreat for Daxi.

Thinking of this, Li Dingguo immediately dismissed the idea in his mind. However, when he was about to change direction to check the situation of the granary, a dusty soldier bowed in front of him.

"Greetings, General Anxi."

"Are you Wenxiu's personal soldier?"

"That's right. I brought a handwritten letter from my general."
-
Thirteen miles south of Qipan Pass
"Your Majesty, there are still more than ten miles to Qipan Pass. Should we enter the pass to rest or set up camp here?"

"Snapped!"

Looking at the soldiers bowing in front of him, Haoge felt a sudden surge of anger in his heart, but when he whipped the horse whip hard, he couldn't help but regret it.

As the most beloved prince of the late emperor, Haoge's temper was naturally not good.

However, when Huang Taiji was alive, he had warned him several times to control his temper. After Huang Taiji's death, Haoge lost in the battle for the throne. Only then did Haoge truly control his rather violent temper.

But this time he really couldn't help it.

Although they defeated the Dashi Army, they fell into the trap of the Ming Army in the end, and a good victory turned into an embarrassing escape.

If we only consider the military strength, the Qing army did not suffer much loss. In fact, it only lost about 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers.

In comparison, the losses caused by the two night attacks by the Dashi Army were ten times greater.

But the value of soldiers is not calculated in this way.

Those who died at the hands of the Dashi Army were all surrendered soldiers. Within three or two months, Hauge would be able to form another army of the same size. However, those who died this time were all genuine bannermen. For the Qing Dynasty, they were both the foundation of its rule and a non-renewable resource. They were not cannon fodder that could be squandered.

After being played like a monkey and suffering such a loss, Hauge's sudden outburst was understandable.

"What kind of question are you asking?! We have already spent the night in the terminal, how can we let the soldiers sleep outside again tonight?!"

In response to Hauge's reaction, Luo Luohun did not try to persuade or admonish him. After he scolded the soldier sternly, he let his horse move forward with the crowd without saying a word, and silence fell between the two of them again.

After about one or two cups of tea, the team's pace gradually slowed down, and when the soldiers in front were about to make way for the two princes, Hauge suddenly said something.

"When my father was alive, he always said that I was too impatient. Now I finally understand."

"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" It was obvious that Haoge had reflected on himself over the past two days and was not just immersed in his own emotions. However, to his surprise, Luo Luohun, who knew him quite well, looked confused after hearing these words, as if he did not understand what they meant.

"After I captured Zhang Xianzhong, I should have acted cautiously and steadily. If I hadn't fallen into Liu Wenxiu's trap because of my greed for merit, I wouldn't have suffered such a great defeat."

"Great defeat? Why do you say that, Your Majesty?"

As Luo Luohun's voice fell, the fire of ignorance in Haoge's heart seemed to be ignited again, but the reflection of a general was not completely useless. After only one or two breaths, his mood calmed down again.

"We were made a fool of ourselves and lost so many soldiers. If this is not considered a major defeat, then I'm afraid it's beyond the reach of justice."

What Hauge said was certainly correct, but compared with Duoduo and Ajige, his words were nothing.

After all, in the central and eastern routes, one was completely wiped out, and the other lost Nikan. Although Hauge was defeated, he only lost some soldiers and no royal family members were killed.

If we put it another way
"Your Highness, you are mistaken," Luo Luohun laughed when he saw Haoge's mood getting more and more depressed. When a trace of anger flashed in Haoge's eyes, he explained: "Although you had to lead the troops to withdraw due to the unbearable heat, you pacified the two areas of Shanxi and Shaanxi that the Heluo Society had been unable to settle for a long time when you first took charge of the army, and then you defeated Zhang Xianzhong and more than 200,000 Dashi troops in one battle. If such a record can be considered a defeat, then who in my Qing Dynasty can be said to have won?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the anger in Hauge's heart immediately disappeared, and was replaced by shock that was beyond words.

Many things have two sides.

Just like Hauge's somewhat impatient temperament, if one wants to criticize him, one can call him reckless, but if one wants to praise him, one can also call him upright.

Although he could understand every word uttered by Luo Luohun at this time, he still felt something was wrong when they were put together.

"Isn't this just deceiving yourself? But who can you hide this from?"

After asking the question in a daze, Haoge waited for Luo Luohun's explanation with a puzzled look on his face.

In his opinion, just as he had his people on Duoduo and Ajige's side, there were also people from various parties mixed in this group of people.

At this time, he could use words to cover up the defeat as Luo Luohun said, but how could he deceive Dorgon and Daishan?
Instead of waiting for the other parties to expose his lies, he might as well admit it directly. He suffered the least defeat among the three factions. Is he afraid that those people in Beijing will take advantage of this to cause trouble?

Luo Luohun had some guesses about Hauge's thoughts, but one of them was good at military strategy, while the other was good at political struggles, so their perspectives on such matters were naturally different.

"Your Majesty, why do you think the Qing Dynasty has come to this point?"

"Since we, the Jurchens, have strong soldiers and horses."

"wrong."

When saying these two words, Luo Luohun did not use a too deliberate tone. He just said it lightly and waited for the other party to respond.

But Hauge's mind has always been on military affairs, and he doesn't care much about such political aspects. After hearing this, he frowned again.

Luo Luohun had expected such a reaction, so he started to explain it directly.

"The reason why the Qing Dynasty is able to sweep across the world is, firstly, that the Ming Dynasty has lost all the support of the people, and secondly, that we have demonstrated the ability to sweep across the world."

"Isn't the ability to sweep the world just the strength of the army and horses?"

It is obvious that the two do not have a unified understanding of the "ability to sweep the world."

In Luo Luohun's eyes, this ability is not just about having strong soldiers and horses, but also involves many other factors. Otherwise, over the years in China, many dynasties would not have been able to rule the world.

However, in response to Haoge's questioning, Luo Luohun just smiled and did not make any further excuses. After a brief thought, he changed his strategy directly: "Your Highness is right. We are indeed strong in both military and cavalry. At this time, our Central and Eastern Armies have both been defeated by Emperor Ming. If we lose another round, who will be considered strong in military and cavalry in the eyes of the world?"

"What do people in the world know? Although we were defeated this time, it's not because our army is weaker than the Emperor Ming. If the soldiers were not already exhausted and Aha was not in the army, I'm afraid his musket soldiers wouldn't be able to withstand even three or two rounds of attack."

"."

To be honest, Luo Luohun was somewhat helpless.

Hauge is good at everything except that he places too much emphasis on military force and ignores everything else.

If this kind of temperament is placed on an ordinary general, it is nothing. After all, when fighting the enemy, you only need to focus on the present. But if it is placed on a person who aspires to the throne...
Alas~~~~~~.

With a slight sigh in his heart, Luo Luohun explained to Hauge the importance of public opinion. In order to make Hauge fully realize that this was not illusory and insignificant, he even used Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong as examples.

It was true that Haoge had great trust in Luo Luohun, and after this long speech, he finally gave up the idea of ​​arguing.

After seeing that he remained silent, Luo Luohun directly put forward his most important argument.

".So, we cannot lose. Mafa and Dorgon will not let us lose."

"You mean they'll cover it up for us?"

"Ah."

After all, Haoge was just impatient, not dull. Under Luo Luohun's guidance, he roughly understood what was said. After thinking about it for a while, he was able to draw inferences about other situations.

"When Li Zicheng fled, the garrisons of Lanzhou, Liangzhou and Xining all seemed to have fled together. Why not send troops to occupy these places at once?"

Looking at Haoge with great joy, Luo Luohun wanted to praise him a few more times, but before he could speak, Haoge seemed to have thought of something and added something.

"Oh, by the way, there is also the Khoshut. Didn't Gushri Khan send people to Beijing? This is also our credit."

After saying this, although Hauge was still upset about the last battle, he also realized that this was not what he had originally imagined.

At this point, Hauge's mood gradually improved, and he immediately told Luo Luohun what happened next.

"There are still about 100,000 or 200,000 surrendered soldiers in Shanxi and Shaanxi. It wouldn't be a problem to recruit 70,000 or 80,000 of them to help."

"As for the Mongols, since the Khoshut have been annexed by the Qing Dynasty, they will have to take some action when I go south again."

"Oh, yes, and firearms."

With these intermittent conversations, Qipan Pass finally appeared in Haoge's sight after several hours. But when he just stepped into the pass, he saw a soldier with an anxious face waiting at the city gate.

"Your Highness, Hanzhong was attacked some time ago. My Shangshu resisted several times, but he was outnumbered and retreated to the granary to defend it."

(End of this chapter)