Xie Ming

Chapter 158: Details of Baoding

Chapter 158: Talking about Baoding (Part )

There were roughly three points about what Xiao Lang said that surprised everyone.

1. Predictions and analysis of the war in eastern Jidong by Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui and the Jiannu.

Second, we can predict the general trend in advance and make early deployments.

Third, plan to occupy Baoding and swallow the surrendered soldiers, let Li Zicheng return to the west, and then occupy the city and start a war with the Jiannu soldiers!
After hearing what he said, the prince couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingchuan with new eyes!
However, regarding the third plan, Zhu Cilang secretly complained and had different opinions.

"This... General Xiao!"

"The rebel generals and surrendered soldiers are all disloyal and unrighteous. Once they surrender, it will be difficult to prevent them from rebelling again in the future!"

"If we are afraid that these treacherous villains will help the enemy, it is better to cut the Gordian knot and eliminate them all to prevent future troubles. What do you think?!" the prince retorted.

Hearing this, Xiao Jingchuan smiled bitterly.

"kindness"

"Your Highness is right!"

"Rebellious generals can be dealt with according to the facts, and those who betray the country and harm the people should be executed immediately without mercy!"

"But, if we are forced to do so by the circumstances, my Lord, we should stay!"

"If I don't ask why, I'll just chop them all off with one blow. That's going to be a relief!"

"But, I'm afraid that those who want to come back in the future will not dare to come again! It will be disadvantageous to the army!"

"We must give these people a way out, so that we won't have to fight to the death with the enemy in the future!"

"Furthermore, Your Highness may not know that according to Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong)'s report, there may be 4,000 to 5,000 surrendered soldiers in Baoding Prefecture!"

"Even if we want to kill all these people, we can't do that!" Xiao Lang said tactfully.

After hearing this explanation, Zhu Cilang did not comment. After pondering for a moment, he did not elaborate on it and instead turned to another reason.

"Ugh!"

"Also, General Xiao!"

"As the ancients said, to fight against foreign aggressors, we must first stabilize the country!"

"Li Zicheng, a great thief who brought disaster to the country!"

"They occupied my capital and forced my father to hang himself!"

"The hatred of the country and the family is so great that I wish I could eat their flesh and sleep on their skin. Even if I grind their bones and scatter them into ashes, it would not be enough to relieve the hatred in my heart!"

"How can we just let him go?!"

When Zhu Cilang said this, his blood boiled, and he looked filled with hatred, and his eyes seemed to be spewing fire!
"Your Highness!"

"Don't worry, my prince. The crimes of this thief are too numerous to list. Even a thousand deaths cannot atone for his sins!"

"Sooner or later, I, Xiao Jingchuan, will capture this thief alive and present him to you!"

"But, at this critical juncture, even if I, Xiao Jingchuan, wanted to kill the enemy, I'm afraid Li Zicheng wouldn't wait to be killed!"

"Moreover, if my plan is correct, the Jiannu will soon occupy the entire capital and northern Zhili!"

"If we don't try to stop them now, we can put an end to the Jiannu's arrogance!"

"I'm afraid that from now on, these grandsons will be even more careless."

"By then, if they decide to go south without any hindrance, instead of heading west, they will lead a large army to invade the south. What can we do?"

Xiao Lang's explanation was not satisfactory.

When Crown Prince Zhu Cilang heard this, he was also quite dissatisfied.

"Your Highness, the bandits must be eliminated!"

"But in the current situation, if the Jiannu really enter the pass and move from north to south, the terrain is open and trampled by iron hooves, and there is no place to defend!"

"Your Highness, by then we may not be able to defend the southeast half of the country anymore!"

"Li Zicheng's return to the west will also be of use to our Ming Dynasty!"

“Although the Dashun enemy troops were defeated in the capital, they had many followers, and the old nest in the northwest of Shanxi was not seriously damaged.”

"If he can return from this trespassing, he can contain the Jian Nu!"

"In today's chaotic situation, our army has been able to temporarily hold the southeastern half of the country to protect itself, forming a three-legged tripod, which is already not easy!"

"Your Highness!"

"Don't rush into anything!"

As they were talking, Xiao Lang could no longer sit still, so he stood up and knelt.

Even though Zhu Cilang was still dissatisfied, he glanced at all the generals in front of him and no one had any objections.

Then he felt that there was nothing more to say.

"Okay, that's all!"

"General Xiao, please get up quickly!"

"Sit down and continue with the next topic!"

The prince finally gave up and stopped being so stubborn, and used words to push the meeting forward.

"Ah, thank you, Your Highness!"

After hearing what was said, Xiao Jingchuan sat back down on the stone pier behind him.

Looking up, I felt that at this moment, all the generals surrounding the fire had awkward looks on their faces!
With the prince like this, no one else dared to speak or interrupt.

Xiao Lang felt the atmosphere was dry, but there was nothing he could do so he had to bite the bullet and continue speaking.

"Next, let's talk about the recent situation!"

"A quarter of an hour ago, Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong) received the report."

"It is said that there is a letter from Baoding Prefecture, starting from the evening drum tonight, the people entering the city of Baoding will be strictly checked for their directions!"

"No one is allowed to enter without a guide!"

"Originally, I have also told Feiyu that this time we want to follow the same method used in Yi County, bypassing the city near the foot of the mountain, and have a few hundred militiamen disguised as farmers and villagers, and sneak directly into Baoding City."

"Then, based on the situation in the city, we will coordinate internal and external forces to capture Baoding!"

"Attack from both sides and occupy the entire city!"

"But now, something unexpected has happened. I'm afraid this plan will be difficult to implement!"

"Well, Feiyu, you know the current situation in Baoding Prefecture best, so why don't you tell us about it!"

While speaking, Xiao Lang turned the words to Zhizhong.

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong was slightly startled, but did not shirk responsibility. After straightening himself up, he continued the conversation.

"okay!"

"I'll have the latest news tonight."

"Speaking of Baoding Prefecture, after careful investigation, we know that all the Dashun troops in the city have been transferred north!"

"As for the former Ming soldiers who surrendered in the city, there may be four to five thousand in total. The exact number of soldiers is still unknown, so it is possible that there are more!"

"Old Xiao had originally planned to bypass Mancheng and go to Baoding first to avoid alerting the enemy."

"These two places are mutually supportive and very close!"

"The city walls are small and the soldiers are pitifully few."

"So as long as we can capture Baoding as soon as possible, we can turn around and capture Mancheng, and it will be much easier!"

"Baoding Prefecture has high walls and deep moats, so it's not easy to take it by force!"

"So, Lao Xiao wanted to disguise himself and enter the city to deal with them from inside and outside!"

"The person in charge of the city right now is the treacherous and treacherous Li Jiantai!"

"This old man is always a person who can't accomplish anything but always makes trouble. He is a disaster to the country and the people. He is extremely hateful!"

When Zhizhong said this, Xiao Jingchuan echoed his suggestion.

"Yes, that's right, Feiyu, you should focus on Li Jiantai!"

"I know very little about this person before. Tell me about it and we'll see if we can find a way to break through this person!"

Hearing this, Zhizhong nodded and continued speaking.

"it is good!"

"This Li Jiantai is fifty-two years old this year. His courtesy name is Fuyu and his pseudonym is Kuacang. He is from Quwo, Shanxi."

"This thief passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1625) and was promoted to the position of Jijiu of the Imperial Academy. He was quite famous at the time."

"In May of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen in this dynasty (1643), I was promoted by the late emperor to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"In November, he will concurrently serve as the Grand Secretary of the Dongge!"

"In the first month of this year, when Li Zicheng's troops entered Shanxi, the late emperor wanted to lead the army in person, but the ministers in the court did not want the emperor to take risks, so they tried their best to dissuade him."

"But at this moment, this villain Li Jiantai took the initiative to ask for permission to lead the army to war on behalf of the emperor!"

"Your Highness, I'm sure you know this too!"

(End of this chapter)

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