Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Don't be sad. As long as I am here, such a situation will never happen again in the Ming Dynasty." Zhang Shikang comforted Zu Dashou.

In terms of military achievements, Zu Dashou commanded troops for decades but actually did not have any outstanding records.

In the Battle of Dalinghhe, the rebels held out for more than three months, eating war horses, corpses, the old and the weak, until there was nothing left to eat. They failed to break out and surrendered to the Jianlu, but immediately tried to find a way to return to the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Taiji was fooled by Zu Dashou's false surrender, so he was naturally furious. He personally led two expeditions to attack Jinzhou and Ningyuan in order to capture Zu Dashou and vent his anger, but unfortunately he returned empty-handed both times.

In this way, Zu Dashou defended the city for the Ming Dynasty for another ten years.

During this period, Huang Taiji entered the pass from outside the Guanningjin Defense Line many times and plundered the capital as if it were an empty land. However, no matter how many times he entered the pass, he would just rob and leave, with no intention of occupying cities and expanding territory.

Why? Because Guan Ningjin is still firmly controlled by the imperial court.

As long as Guan Ningjin was there, Huang Taiji would have to transport supplies from the more distant Mongolian region, but the national strength of the Qing Dynasty could not support a supply line that was too long.

As long as Guan Ningjin is there, the Qing Dynasty will not dare to defend the cities within the pass even if it captures them. Guan Ningjin will always be a thorn in the side of the Qing Dynasty.

The Battle of Jinzhou took place eleven years after the Battle of Dalinghhe. In that battle, Huang Taiji mobilized the entire country to besiege Jinzhou, and the siege lasted for a year.

Hong Chengchou led an army of 130,000 to support, but was quickly defeated and surrendered.

Later, the tragedy of cannibalism occurred again in Jinzhou City. Zu Dashou ran out of ammunition and food and was exhausted from fighting, so he had no choice but to surrender again.

Some people have speculated that Zu Dashou had long intended to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and the reason why he returned to the Ming Dynasty after the fall of Dalinghhe City was because most of his relatives were still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

This actually doesn't make sense. He also has a large number of family members in the hands of Huang Taiji. If he was only concerned about his family, he could have just taken over Jinzhou City instead of waiting for it for ten years.

The difficult situation, the distrust of Emperor Chongzhen, the sudden killing of the commander-in-chief, the destruction of the reinforcements, the capture of his clansmen, the running out of ammunition and food in the city, and even the magnanimity of the enemy, bound such a general like ropes and finally formed a big net, making him unable to move. The only things left for him were suicide and surrender.

If he had put the sword across his neck at that time, the evaluation of him in history books would probably have been different.

Later generations could not know exactly why Zu Dashou chose to surrender at that time, whether it was because he felt it was not worth dying for Chongzhen, or because he did not want to die, or because he was afraid that Huang Taiji would harm his people and massacre the people in Jinzhou City.

do not know.

But one thing is certain, he is not doing it for personal glory and wealth.

He lived until the 13th year of Shunzhi's reign. God gave him 15 years to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty. All he had to do was turn his gun around and kill his compatriots, and wealth and glory would come, just like Hong Chengchou.

But he didn't do it.

Zhang Shikang was unable to judge Zu Dashou's integrity, but he thought that under the circumstances at the time, Zu Dashou had done a very good job and did not live up to the salary given to him by the court.

Zhang Shikang could also understand Zu Dashou's inner pain regarding the killing of He Kegang. He had also led troops in battle and understood how sad it was to kill one's comrade.

He admired He Kegang's courage, but if he were to belittle Zu Dashou because of this, it would seem a bit hypocritical, as if he had not experienced anyone's suffering but was trying to persuade others to be kind.

It took Zu Dashou a long time to gradually recover from the pain. Zhang Shikang was not in a hurry and continued to read Huang Taiji's letter.

After looking for a while, Zhang Shikang's eyes suddenly lit up and he said:

"General Zu, how long has it been since you last wrote back to Huang Taiji?"

Zu Dashou didn't know what was going on, so he thought for a moment and said:

"Replying to the Marshal, I wrote back two years ago, asking about the situation of my family there."

"Oh, that is to say, Huang Taiji has not received a reply for two years.

Tell me, if you reply to his last letter now, will he be very excited? "

Zhang Shikang said with a wicked smile.

Huang Taiji must have hated Zu Dashou to the core, but this hypocritical guy had invested a huge cost in keeping silent in the past ten years.

Even though he hated him, he still licked Zu Dashou tirelessly to show his kindness and magnanimity.

Zhang Shikang didn't believe that Zu Dashou didn't have the idea that one day he would be moved and surrender to him.

If that’s the case, then there must be something to be done here.

"I will listen to you, Marshal. I will do whatever you tell me to do." Zu Dashou said sincerely.

Zhang Shikang frowned and pondered for a moment before asking:

"Are your generals Zu Zeyuan, Wu Sangui and others reliable? What do they think of Jianlu?"

“Replying to the Marshal, they are loyal to me, but this is wrong. If you want, I can teach them to come and pledge allegiance to you.

The Jianlu are the mortal enemies of our Liao soldiers, and there is not a single Liao person who does not hate the Jianlu."

"There's no rush for loyalty. You haven't told anyone else about your loyalty to me, have you?"

“Replying to the commander, I am stupid and I have talked to Zukuan before, but I didn’t understand it clearly at that time, so I just told him to pretend to surrender first.

Apart from this, no one else was mentioned.”

Zu Dashou thought for a while and said.

"That's good. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Come closer and listen."

Zhang Shikang narrowed his eyes and muttered to Zu Dashou. Zu Dashou was stunned at first and then nodded.

The two conspired in the house for a while, and soon Zhang Shikang's angry voice came from the room:

"Zu Dashou, you are so arrogant and domineering, I have disliked you for a long time!

How do you explain the withholding of soldiers’ pay?

Humph, nothing to say, right?

Considering your contribution in defending the city, I will spare your life for now. However, you can escape the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living punishment!

Come, drag him out, or he will be beaten with twenty military sticks!"

Following Zhang Shikang's order, the commander of the personal guards, Hong Xiucheng, immediately led his men to drag Zu Dashou out.

The execution took place in the military camp inside the city, in front of Zu Kuan and other soldiers.

Zhang Shikang personally supervised the execution. While torturing Zu Dashou, Zhang Shikang continued to accuse him arrogantly.

"You have a history of surrendering to the Jian Lu. I think you are a traitor, the number one sinner in the Ming Dynasty!

You'd better be obedient to me and protect Guan Ningjin well, otherwise... don't blame me for being ruthless.

I only need a few words in front of your majesty to destroy your family!"

Zhang Shikang was born into a wealthy family, so this kind of performance cannot be said to be easy for him, but it can be said to be a true portrayal of himself.

Zu Kuan, who was standing by, watched his master being punished and also endured Zhang Shikang's verbal insults. He was extremely sad and angry, and he clenched his fists, almost ready to fight Zhang Shikang to the death.

But since Zu Dashou didn't give the order, he could only endure it.

Twenty military sticks was a heavy punishment for a young man, let alone Zu Dashou, who was over sixty years old.

But Zu Dashou just showed a sad and angry expression and didn't say a word the whole time.

After the execution, Zhang Shikang left the venue in a leisurely manner, and Zu Kuan hurried forward to support Zu Dashou.

That evening, Zu Dashou summoned Zu Kuan and said to him:

"It's hard. Zhang Shikang has seen through our tricks. If we stay here, we will only wait for death."

Zu Kuan had been holding back a lot of anger in his heart for a long time, and he said upon hearing this:

"Master, we have been here for ten years, even if we have not gained any credit, we have worked hard.

Zhang Shikang is just a playboy, but he wants to ride on the head of the master of the house and pee and shit on him.

I am here to speak up for the master of the family. Since this person cannot tolerate us, we need to make a decision as soon as possible and must not sit and wait for death!"

"Well, the Governor has already written the letter. Please send a capable person out of the city to Shenyang as soon as possible and make sure to hand the letter to Huang Taiji in person."

"Your humble position is worthy of your order!"

……