Chapter 2: The Battle of Songshan

  Jian Nu fled, and the two armies won a great victory, reuniting triumphantly. The officers and soldiers cheered thunderously.

  A tall and handsome young general, surrounded by dozens of personal guards, came before Wang Pu, clasped his fists and bowed, saying: "You must be the Commander-in-Chief of Datong, Wang Pu?"

  "Wang Pu hurriedly returned the courtesy with a bow and said: 'I don't dare, it's beneath me.'"

  Na Wu Jiang smiled and said: "I, Yu Tian Cao, have transformed into a dragon, and I have come to respond to the order of Director Hong of Jiuliiao, please forgive me for being late."

  "It's nothing, it's nothing." Wang Pu hastily said, "General Cao arrived just in time, thank you for your timely assistance, General Cao."

  "Hmph." Cao Bian said calmly, "We are both generals of the Great Ming, helping each other is what we should do, why must General Wang thank me?"

  Wang Pu said solemnly, "No matter what, this time thanks to General Cao's timely rescue, our Datong army was not completely annihilated. I will remember this kindness and will definitely repay it in the future."

  "General Wang said so, it's an outsider."

  Cao Bianjiao said this, and then continued: "Jian Nu may return at any time, it's not suitable to stay here for long. General Wang, you'd better hurry up and tidy up your troops to follow me to Songshan, Director Du is still waiting for news inside the city of Songshan."

  Wang Pu turned around and said to his deputy Zhao Wuzhu: "Zhao Wuzhu, quickly tidy up the troops and advance towards Songshan."

  "Yes."

  Zhao Wuzhu responded with a "yes" and left to carry out the order.

  Wang Pu asked Cao Bianjiao: "General Cao, have all the troops from various routes arrived?"

  Cao Bianjiao nodded and said: "With you, General Wang, all eight town generals are now present. We can now prepare for the final battle with Jian Nu."

  "Is everyone here?"

  "Hmm, hundreds of thousands of troops have all gathered outside Songshan City."

  Wang Pu's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

  Wang Pu's past life was a history enthusiast, especially fascinated with the history of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

  According to Wang Pu's understanding of the Ming-Qing War, Hong Chengchou originally had a good chance of winning the Battle of Songshan. However, due to Chongzhen Emperor's incorrect command, Hong Chengchou was forced to abandon his plan for a protracted war and hastily advanced on Songshan to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy, ultimately losing this strategic battle that determined the fate of the Ming Empire.

  At that time, Jianzhou had the advantage of cavalry mobility. Hong Chengchou learned from Yang Hao's lesson of advancing separately and striking together, and being defeated at Salhu. He ordered the 130,000 Ming troops to stick together as one unit, not giving Jianzhou a chance to defeat them one by one. However, he made another mistake, gathering all his main forces outside Songshan City without leaving enough troops to protect the grain and supplies in the rear.

  Jian Nu bypassed the main force of hundreds of thousands of Ming troops and captured Bishan Mountain, where the Ming army's grain depot was located. The Ming army's supply line was cut off, and they were suddenly plunged into a desperate situation.

  Hong Chengchou was unwilling to withdraw his troops, wanting a quick battle with Jianzhou. However, six of the eight generals under his command had ulterior motives. That night, Wang Pu, who feared death, led the retreat, followed by Ma Ke, Tang Tong, and Wu Sangui, who did not want to be left behind. The Jianzhou army took advantage of the situation and counterattacked, causing the Ming army to suffer a crushing defeat.

  Thinking of this, Wang Pu could no longer hold back, turned his head and ordered Xia Qi: "Xia Qi, prepare the horse."

  Xiao Qi didn't dare to slack off and quickly led over Wang Pu's white horse.

  Cao Bianjiao was taken aback and said: "General Wang, what's going on here?"

  "Wang Pu said in a low voice: 'General Cao, hundreds of thousands of troops have gathered outside Songshan City, but the rear's Xing Mountain, Taishan and the heavily fortified Penjishan are lacking in heavy protection. If Jian Nu finds out about our army's emptiness and sends cavalry to occupy Penjishan, then our grain supply will be cut off, and the consequences will be unbearable! I think we should hurry to Songshan to report to the Governor.'"

  "Good heavens, yes! If Jian Nu cuts off our army's grain supply, that would be a big problem." Cao Bian's face changed greatly as he said, "This matter is not trivial, I'll go with you."

  At that time, the two men each arranged for a deputy general to lead the army to advance on Songshan. Then they abandoned their main force and brought only over ten personal guards to rush to Songshan urgently.

  ■■■

  Songshan Castle, General Government of Jilin Province.

  Hong Chengchou was pacing back and forth anxiously, occasionally turning his head to glance at the door outside. His trusted steward, Tang Shijie, had warmed up a bowl of ginseng soup several times, but Hong Chengchou hadn't taken a single sip.

  A sudden rapid footsteps sounded outside the door, Hong Chengchou hastily turned his head and asked: "Is General Cao back?"

  "It is just as I expected."

  In the midst of loud voices, Cao Pi hastily entered.

  Wang Pu followed Cao Bianjiao into the headquarters, and bowed to Hong Chengchou with his fists: "General Wang Pu, at your service, Director."

  "Hurry up and dispense with the formalities." Hong Chengchou repeatedly bowed his hands and asked Wang Pu, "General Wang, what are your casualties?"

  Wang Pao said: "It's okay, thanks to General Cao's reinforcements arriving in time, the casualties are not too heavy."

  "This is good, this is great." Hong Chengchou let out a sigh of relief and said with pleasure, "Now that all eight garrison commanders have arrived, our military strength has a slight advantage. It's time to let Jian Nu taste the power of the Great Ming border army."

  Wang Pu looked at Cao Bianjiao.

  Cao Zhen's expression changed, and he said: "Your Excellency, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."

  Hong Chengchou said: "Whatever you have to say, just say it."

  "Our army's grain and supplies are all stored on Bishan Mountain, and there is no heavy soldier protection. If Jian Nu sends a light cavalry to bypass Songshan and suddenly attack Bishan Mountain, our army's grain road may be cut off by Jian Nu. If that happens, the problem will be serious. Therefore, I think we should send heavy soldiers to protect the grain and supplies on Bishan Mountain."

  "Ah?" Hong Chengchou was shocked and said, "If it weren't for General Cao's reminder, I would have almost made a big mistake. Come quickly, come quickly."

  Tang Shijie hastily walked into the study and asked: "What are your orders, sir?"

  "Hurry up." Hong Chengchou said repeatedly, "Hurry to inform the commander of Ji Zhou, Bai Guangen, and let him lead 5,000 elite soldiers to rush to Bishashan as soon as possible."

  "Oh no, sir!"

  As soon as Hong Chengchou finished speaking, Deputy General Xia Chengde led a soldier covered in blood into the study. The soldier fell to his knees and wailed loudly: "Sir, Penjishan has fallen, all the grain and supplies on the mountain have been taken by the bandits, and Zhang Jianjun and the brothers who guarded the mountain are all dead... Wuuu..."

  "Huh?"

  Hong Chengchou fell back into his chair with a thud and didn't get up for half a day.

  Wang Pu also let out a long sigh, unexpectedly still late by one step, the grain and supplies on this pen holder mountain were still taken away by Jian Nu, losing the grain and supplies, the Ming army only had one way to go, that is, to fight quickly with Jian Nu, this idea was of course good, but the problem was how many town generals dared to fight a decisive battle with Jian Nu?

  It was a long time before Hong Chengchou came back to his senses and said to Tang Shijie, "Go, immediately send someone to invite the several General Lords."

  Tang Shijie took orders and left.

  About half an hour later, the various town generals rushed to the scene one after another. Bai Guang'en, the general of Ji Zhou, who was stationed not far outside Songshan City, arrived first, followed by Wu Sangui, the general of Ningyuan, Wang Tingchen, the general of Ningqian, and Ma Ke, the general of Shanhaiguan. Finally, Tang Tong, the general of Miyun, and Li Fu'ming, the general of Xuanfu, who were camping relatively far away, arrived. In addition to Wang Pu and Cao Bianjiao, all eight great generals under Hong Chengchou's command had arrived.

  Several generals on their way to Songshan City had already heard about the fall of Bishan, and one by one, they showed dejected and heavy expressions. The atmosphere in the study also became somewhat oppressive. Hong Chengchou's gaze swept across the eight senior generals, his voice low and solemn as he said: "You all know that Bishan has fallen and our grain and supplies are completely lost. Now, I want to hear your opinions on what we should do next."

  Cao Zhen said, "Although the grain and fodder on Biejia Mountain have been lost, there are still seven days' worth of dry rations in the army. As long as our army can defeat Jiankou within seven days, it's not a big deal."

  Cao Bianjiao, although young in years, was already a veteran general who had experienced many battles. In the northwest, he once fought for 27 days and nights without removing his armor, defeating the rebel Li Zicheng's army and almost losing his life. Cao Bianjiao was the leader of the eight great generals and also a trusted confidant of Hong Chengchou, so his words largely represented Hong's views.

  General Bai Guang'en of Ji Zhou nodded in agreement: "General Cao is right, at present we only have one way to go, that is to fight a decisive battle with Jian Nu!"

  Former General Wang Tingchen of Ningqiang, Wu Sangui, General of Ningyuan, and Ma Ke, General of Shanhaiguan, all remained silent.

  Mi Yun General Tang Tong couldn't help but speak up, saying to Hong Chengchou: "Director Hong, as the old saying goes, 'A large army doesn't move without grain and fodder.' This shows just how important grain and fodder are to an army. Now that we've lost our grain and fodder, I think it's best if we retreat back inside the pass for now and regroup. Once we've replenished our supplies, we can come out again and have a decisive battle with Jian Nu - it won't be too late then. What do you all think?"

  Xuanfu General Li Fu Ming nodded and said: "General Tang is right, this way is the safest."

  Li Fu-ming finished speaking and signaled to Wang Pu with his eyes, letting him say a few words. Li Fu-ming was the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, while Wang Pu was the commander-in-chief of Datong. Neither of them were direct subordinates of Hong Cheng-chou. Li Fu-ming thought that Wang Pu should be on the same side as him, but unfortunately, he was wrong. If Wang Pu was still the same cowardly young general who feared death, he would definitely strongly support Tang Tong's proposal. But now, Wang Pu was no longer the same person.

  Wang Pu turned his face away and pretended he hadn't seen anything.

  Li Fu-ming had just finished speaking when Cao Bian-jiao retorted: "Withdraw? That's easy to say, but what if the Jurchen slaves chase after our backsides and beat us? Moreover, if the great army retreats back inside the pass, what about the city of Jinzhou?"

  Tang Tong said, "Why bother? Just send a crack troop to guard the rear and that's it. As for Jinzhou City, we're already in a precarious situation ourselves, how can we care about others?"

  "No!" Cao Bianjiao said resolutely, "We can't withdraw our troops."

  Tang Tong grunted and stopped talking.

  Hong Chengchou's eyes fell on Wu Sangui and asked: "What does General Wu mean?"

  Although Wu Sangui was young, he was brave and good at fighting, and the Wu family was also a prominent family in western Liaoning, with power intertwined. The general of Jinzhou, Zu Dashou, was his uncle, and the generals Ma Ke and Wu Tingchen were his sworn brothers. As long as Wu Sangui supported the decisive battle, Ma Ke and Wu Tingchen would follow suit, and Tang Tong and Li Fu Ming would have no choice but to go with the flow.

  Wu Sangui cupped his fists and said: "Your subordinate will obey your orders, Commander."

  Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "This is good, all the generals will return to their garrison as soon as possible and prepare for battle. Tomorrow we will fight a decisive battle against Jian Nu!"

  "Yes."

  Eight generals responded in unison and withdrew in an orderly manner.

  As soon as they left the governor's office, Ma Ke and Wang Tingchen pulled Wu Sangui to a quiet place. Ma Ke asked: "Chang Bo (Wu Sangui's courtesy name), do you think our army can win tomorrow's decisive battle?"

  Wu Sangui shook his head and replied: "We can't win."

  Wang Tingchen said: "You clearly know that our army can't win, why do you still agree to fight a decisive battle?"

  Wu Sangui sighed, "Don't you two brothers see it yet? If the army withdraws back to Guan Nei like this, then Hong Du Shi and Ji Liao Du Shi will have succeeded in their posts. Do you think they would agree to retreat? Since Hong Du Shi has already made up his mind to fight a decisive battle with Jian Nu, what's the use of us few generals opposing it?"

  "Alas," Ma Chao sighed, "it seems that you and I, the three brothers, along with our five or six hundred thousand troops, will have to surrender at Songshan."

  "That's not necessarily true." Wu Sangui looked around and said in a low voice, "In my opinion, before tomorrow's decisive battle, Tang Tong and Li Fu Ming will run away with their tails between their legs. Once they flee, we'll also rise up and retreat. Even if the imperial court investigates afterwards, we can say that we were following Commander Hong's military order to pursue the fleeing generals Li Fu Ming and Tang Tong."

  Ma Ke said: "Isn't this a bit bad? If Director Hong reports back to the capital and tells His Majesty, won't everything be revealed?"

  Wu Sangui's face floated with a faint cold smile, and he said: "Does Second Brother think that Commander Hong can still return to the capital alive?"

  "Huh? Oh."

  Ma Ke and Wang Tingchen were shocked at first, then suddenly enlightened.

  In today's world, the emperor is very strict with his officials who have lost battles. Since the war in Liaodong began, many high-ranking officials have been executed. Xiong Tingbi was beheaded and sent to the nine borders, while Yuan Chonghuan suffered a brutal death by slow slicing. This time, Hong Chengchou's defeat at Songshan Mountain resulted in his death amidst the chaos of war, which might still earn him a reputation for loyalty and patriotism. If he had escaped back inside the passes, not only would he have been disgraced but also certainly put to death.

  Let's talk about Wang Pu again.

  Before leaving the governor's headquarters, Wang Pu thought of going back to remind Hong Chengchou several times, letting him be careful to prevent Tang Tong, Wu Sangui, Ma Ke and Wang Tingchen from escaping with their troops, but in the end Wang Pu still didn't dare to make a move because he had no evidence, without evidence it would be slander, why should Hong Chengchou believe him?

  Moreover, Wang Pu, the Grand General of Datong, was a sworn enemy of Hong Chengchou and a trusted subordinate promoted by Chen Xinyi, the Minister of War. Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, and Wang Tingchen were all trusted subordinates of Hong Chengchou. If Wang Pu spoke ill of them in front of Hong Chengchou, wouldn't he be asking for trouble? If things went wrong, he might even be counterattacked by Wu Sangui and the others.

  As soon as he left the command post, his trusted family members led Xia Qi to meet him, and asked in a low voice: "General, I heard that Pen Holder Mountain has fallen?"

  Wang Pu turned over on his horse and said in a low voice: "Let's talk about it when we get back to camp."

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