Chapter 315 The Han Nation

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Forced to fight?

Jiang Hongfei smiled coldly.

"If the Jurchens have less than 10,000 men, they are invincible if they have more than 10,000 men" is an indisputable fact, after all, it is backed by historical facts.

But that also depends on who their opponent is.

If the opponent is the declining Liao army, or the Northern Song army that values ​​culture over military, it can be like this.

But there are a few more sentences that Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zongwang and other Jin people who came out of the ravines may not have heard of.

One sentence: One Han can defeat five Hu!

Another sentence: If the Ming army has less than 10,000 men, they are invincible if they have more than 10,000 men!

Since the day of its birth, our great Han nation has been an extremely warlike nation. Which of the Xiongnu and Turks in the Han and Tang dynasties was not as good at fighting as the Jurchens, but they were beaten out of the stage of history by our Han people?

In terms of results, the fact that our great Han nation has been able to stand on this land of China for thousands of years is the best proof.

Even if we have encountered setbacks in a certain corner of history, we have never been truly defeated. Every foreign invasion and every foreign oppression was eventually resolved by our indestructible national will and invincible bravery.

When the Han nation was strong, the Five Hus were all there, so what?

And the saying "The Ming army is not full of sound, and the full sound is invincible" is a true portrayal of the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. Although the Ming army was affected by internal corruption and external invasions in some periods, their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. In the war against the Later Jin, the Ming army showed amazing courage and determination, which made the Later Jin feel unprecedented pressure.

Later, after the Ming army surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, everyone was brave and good at fighting.

Rather than saying that the Han nation was defeated by the Qing Dynasty, it is better to say that it was defeated by its own hands.

Why is this so?

In fact, the Ming people themselves were also puzzled.

So, after a battle in the late Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa personally interrogated the captured Qing Han army and asked them why they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty?

The answer he got made everyone silent.

Simply put, the Qing dynasty gave too much.

According to historical records, as long as the Ming army surrendered, even ordinary soldiers, the Qing dynasty would first give them a wife, eight cattle and sheep, and a donkey.

Some people may think that distributing wives is incredible, contrary to human ethics, and shatters the three views.

But don't forget that this is a feudal society, and women have no status. Which of the nobles, wealthy families, and gentry families does not have a group of wives and concubines?

And the poor, including those who are poor soldiers, which woman is willing to be with them?

Therefore, distributing women to them is a huge temptation for them.

What's more, eight cattle and sheep and a donkey were a huge sum of money in that era.

The key point is that in addition to the meeting gift, the monthly military pay of the Qing army is also floating. Specifically, the amount paid by the Southern Ming side is doubled by the Qing side, and it is paid immediately, without any credit. There is also a pension of 150 taels for death, which is paid to the family immediately. In addition, there are additional funeral expenses and family subsidies for meritorious personnel.

And people like Wu Sangui and Kong Youde were generals in the Ming Dynasty and could not see the emperor at ordinary times because their ranks were not high enough. But when they arrived at the Qing Dynasty, they were directly made kings, and the troops they brought were not disbanded, but still under their command, with sufficient food and pay. Most importantly, they reported directly to Huang Taiji, Dorgon, Shunzhi, and Kangxi when they had something to do, without middlemen making a profit from the price difference.

With this treatment, people like Wu Sangui and Kong Youde would never get it in their eight lifetimes in the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, in the Ming Dynasty, which had been established for more than 200 years, military households had no status at all. There was a song at that time that ten out of ten military households were poor, and even the farmers looked down on them. It was common for military pay to be in arrears. If you died in battle, you would only get a few taels of pension, and you might not get it. You had to get a discount, or else you had to look at the generals' faces. Moreover, as an ordinary military household in the Ming Dynasty, if you had no background or connections, it was impossible to get promoted by military merit, unless you worked as a servant in the homes of those generals, and then recognized a foster father after doing a good job, then you might have a chance to get ahead.

For example, Zu Dashou had an adopted son named Zu Kefa, who got promoted in this way.

But the probability of such a thing was too small and had no universal significance.

But the problem was that even if you became a military general, it did not mean that you could be proud of yourself.

You should know that although the Ming Dynasty was not as serious as the Song Dynasty, it always valued civil officials over military officials.

Even a famous general like Qi Jiguang had to curry favor with civil officials like Zhang Juzheng in order to do what he wanted to do.

To sum it up, it was too difficult for military officers and soldiers to survive in the Ming Dynasty.

But it was different in the Qing Dynasty. In order to enter the pass and to rule the country, the Qing Dynasty offered all kinds of good treatment as long as you surrendered. Not only were the salaries and benefits high, but the most important thing was the high status. The main forces of the surrendered Ming army were basically incorporated into the Eight Banners and became the Eight Banners Han Army. In theory, they were at the same level as the Manchurian Bannermen and the Mongolian Bannermen. Especially those incorporated into the upper three banners, the banner owners were all emperors, and they were all considered the emperor's personal soldiers and the ruling class. To put it bluntly, they were the children of the Eight Banners, the iron-clad crops, and they were qualified to carry cages and bird cages in the future.

With this treatment, no emperor in the Ming Dynasty could give it.

So, how could this combat effectiveness not be explosive?

One is in the sky, the other is underground.

Although during the Qianlong period, the Manchus were a little full and scolded the cooks, crossed rivers and demolished bridges, and laid off a large number of the Eight Banners Han army, that is, raising the flag, but that was also a hundred years later. At least the wave of Ming troops who surrendered to the Manchus in the early Qing Dynasty was He got what he was supposed to get, nothing less.

"The Jurchens are invincible if there are not even ten thousand." The Jurchens do have strong fighting power. They are good at riding and shooting, and they are brave and good at fighting. However, they are not invincible.

Not to mention, in the Southern Song Dynasty, when the Han nation got used to war, the Jurchens became ineffective. Even if they were faced with an extremely weak emperor like Zhao Gou, the Song army could still fight the Jin army at a 50-50 ratio. The Jurchens in the Jin army suffered repeated setbacks and even suffered defeat due to the tenacious resistance of the Yue Jiajun, Han Jiajun, Wu Jiajun, and Eight Character Army.

History is always surprisingly similar, but the results are often different.

The history of the Han nation is a history full of war and peace, setbacks and victories.

We have encountered countless difficulties and challenges, but we have never given up or backed down.

Therefore, it is true that "the Jurchens are invincible if there are not even ten thousand Jurchens", but we must remember that as long as there are no problems with the above policies, our Han nation has been a nation that is good at war since ancient times. We have an indomitable national will and an invincible brave spirit. No matter how powerful our opponents are, we have the ability to defeat them and protect our homeland and national dignity.

Jiang Hongfei believed that his policies were absolutely correct. He changed the status of soldiers, gave them wives, gave them adequate pay and generous rewards, and gave them a sense of national pride. He also had many Liangshan heroes, such as Yue Fei and others. A large number of famous Han generals.

Let me ask, why is Jiang Hongfei afraid of the Jurchens?

Therefore, after patiently listening to Wu Xie and Dadi Wu's explanation of Jin Guo's thoughts, Jiang Hongfei pressed his hands and signaled those who wanted to stop the sudden flood to calm down.

Then, Jiang Hongfei said very calmly: "If the two dynasties do not tolerate each other, they will have to fight. Since you two are here, I will not specially send people to inform Aguda. In this way, Dadiwu, you go back and tell Aguda, I'll wait for him. Just let him come. Wuxie, you stay, and I'll trade you for my brother Chai Jin later."

Wu Xie and Dadi Wu never expected that Jiang Hongfei would be so stubborn and directly escalate the matter to the level of war. They couldn't help but think: "Hasn't he heard of my reputation as Dai Jin?"

Wu Xie, who was about to be left behind by Jiang Hongfei, became a little nervous. He hurriedly pulled back his words: "Things between the two major countries must be discussed. Why is this so?"

Wu Yong said calmly: "The matter has come to this, what is there to discuss?"

Wen Huanzhang said: "If your family doesn't want to go to war with my family, it's not that you can't be accommodating. Just give the nine states behind the mountains and all the passes to my family, and your family and I will be able to do nothing wrong. We can even form an alliance to jointly arrest the Lord of Liao." , ending the rule of the Liao Kingdom."

Wu Xie and Dadi Wu did not dare to say anything. They only said: "You and I can discuss this matter slowly."

Jiang Hongfei waved his hand and said to Wu Yong and Wen Huanzhang: "You two go and discuss with them."

Wu Yong and Wen Huanzhang took the order and went down with Wu Xie and Dadi Wu.

Not long after, Wu Yong and Wen Huanzhang brought Wu Xie and Dadi Wu to the post house.

As soon as he arrived at the post house, Wu Xie couldn't wait to ask: "The Duke keeps saying to raise troops, what does he mean?"

Wu Yong replied: "Your family is aggressive and refuses to return the nine states and passes behind the Han people's mountains. There is no need to discuss it. The only way to resolve this matter is a fight between your family and our family. Later, my family will issue a formal letter of war." , Teach the deputy envoy of Diwu to take it back and issue a notice not to kill the people, but to spread the message. "

Wu Xie said: "You and I didn't have a good discussion, but we started fighting as soon as we came up. What's the reason?"

Wen Huanzhang replied: "It is only because of your insatiable greed that this is the case."

Wu Xie said: "Soldiers are deadly weapons, and Heaven is disgusted with them. Your dynasty swallowed the land of Yan, and it was only through the power of this dynasty that it was able to gain it. Now, once you and I, regardless of everything, raise our troops and start a war, how long will we fight in the future?" Are you sure? We are both big countries with a vast world and strong military and civilian influence. If we go to war, the impact will be huge. "

Wu Yong said: "If the Duke was afraid of this, he would not send a letter of war to your family. Now that the letter of war is coming, you will also see it."

Wen Huanzhang said: "Now that things are like this, what are we doing here to quarrel? If the deputy envoy can persuade the emperor to urgently petition, he can only cede the nine states of Yundi and pass the pass, and access the temple of the Jinzong, but he can Serve the country.”

Seeing that the people in Shuibo Liangshan had such a tough attitude, Wu Xie knew that it would be useless to continue talking. He could only say: "How easy is it to talk about this? It seems that your dynasty listened to the crazy words and regarded this dynasty as a ruined Khitan." Treat it, but I’m afraid you’ll bring trouble to yourself later!”

Wu Yong and Wen Huanzhang both smiled and said nothing. Obviously, they had great confidence in Jiang Hongfei and Liang Shanjun.

Seeing that he could no longer continue the conversation, Dadiwu had no choice but to return to Feng Shengzhou alone and gave a detailed report to Wanyan Agu on the attitudes of Jiang Hongfei and the people in Shuibo Liangshan.

Wanyan Aguda was shocked. He really didn't expect Jiang Hongfei to be so reckless and about to start a war. He immediately held an emergency meeting with Wanyan Xieye, Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zongwang and other senior officials of the Jin Kingdom to discuss countermeasures...

Let’s talk about Jiang Hongfei.

After declaring war on the Kingdom of Jin, Jiang Hongfei called Zhu Wu and Chen Xizhen and asked, "How is the recovery of Pingzhou going?"

Pingzhou, Luanzhou, and Yingzhou have been strategically located since ancient times. They are hundreds of miles in area and have more than 100,000 soldiers. The key is that the Liaoxi Corridor is known as the "Seaside Road", which is a very suitable passage for nomadic peoples and fishing and pastoral peoples to move south. It must be controlled. Otherwise, I am afraid that Zhang Jue will meet Yelu Yanxi in the west and Xiao Gan in the north, and they will become border troubles for Liangshan. Or Zhang Jue will simply surrender to the Jin Kingdom, which will be even more troublesome.

Moreover, Jiang Hongfei is about to go to war with the Jin Kingdom and does not want to fight on two fronts, so he hopes that the battle in Pingzhou will end as soon as possible.

Let's go back to a month ago.

As soon as Han Shizhong arrived in Luanzhou, he drove away Zhang Jue's army and occupied Luanzhou.

Han Shizhong wanted to take advantage of the victory to advance to Pingzhou, but it suddenly rained heavily and he could not march, so he retreated to guard Hai Ru, followed the water and grass to rest, and sent troops to guard Luanzhou. At the same time, the surrounding counties that had not surrendered were not allowed to contact Zhang Jue.

Soon, Yue Fei also arrived. Seeing that Luanzhou was captured by Han Shizhong, he led his troops to attack Yingzhou.

Unexpectedly, Yingzhou City had been well prepared, and Zhang Jue had sent more than 10,000 soldiers to guard the city.

Yue Fei saw that the gates of Yingzhou were closed and the soldiers were standing on the city walls waiting for battle. He felt that he had few soldiers and could not win by force, so he retreated without fighting.

Zhang Qian, a general under Zhang Jue, thought that Yue Fei was afraid of him, and announced to the outside world that he had defeated the Liangshan army and killed and wounded many people. He also sent someone to Pingzhou with his handwritten petition to report the victory to Zhang Jue.

Who would have thought that Yue Fei didn't go far at all. While Zhang Qian was paralyzed and careless, he decisively sent Niu Gao to lead 500 cavalry to kill back and directly enter the city, and then the army pressed on.

Seeing this, Zhang Qian hurriedly withdrew to Pingzhou overnight with the remaining troops.

Yue Fei then occupied Yingzhou.

Han Shizhong was a little anxious when he saw Yue Fei easily occupied Yingzhou. In order to grab the credit, he led his army to quietly set out from Luanzhou and marched towards Pingzhou along the rugged mountain road in the southwest. He planned to attack Pingzhou and get the greatest credit for recovering Pingzhou in one fell swoop.

However, Han Shizhong did not expect that his marching movements had been learned by Zhang Jue, who quietly set up an ambush at Tu'er Mountain west of Funing.

Tu'er Mountain belongs to the remnant of Yanshan Mountain and is named because of its two peaks that are shaped like rabbit ears.

The terrain here is dangerous and it is a good place for an ambush.

Han Shizhong did not know that there was an ambush in front of him. He swaggered into the space between the two peaks without any preparation.

Suddenly, Han Shizhong's 10,000 infantry were fiercely attacked by Zhang Jue's 20,000 troops and were defeated.

Han Shizhong led the remaining troops to break out of the siege and fled back to Luanzhou in a panic.

After Jiang Hongfei learned about this, he was very angry and dismissed Han Shizhong from his post as commander. He asked him to be the current commander and continue to lead his troops to make meritorious contributions.

Chen Xizhen advised Jiang Hongfei: "Commander Han's subordinates are all infantry, and they were ambushed by Zhang Jue first, how could he not be defeated?"

Jiang Hongfei said angrily: "Am I angry that he lost the battle? I am angry that he underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly! He didn't think about how many years Zhang Jue had been operating in Pingzhou. Can his infantry attack be a surprise attack?"

Although he scolded, Han Shizhong was Jiang Hongfei's favorite general. Jiang Hongfei still supplemented Han Shizhong with 10,000 troops at the first time. Not only that, in view of Han Shizhong's failure this time, Jiang Hongfei allocated another 1,000 cavalry to Han Shizhong.

In addition, in order to prevent Yue Fei and Han Shizhong from competing for merit again, Jiang Hongfei also sent Chen Xizhen to serve as the commander-in-chief to recover Pingzhou.

Now, Chen Xizhen has been gone for a while, and Jiang Hongfei doesn't know how they are doing there...

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