Chapter 21 3. Anti-indirect strategy, wisdom to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan

Nurhachi led the Manchu army to fight in Ningyuan City, and was injured by the red cannon set by Yuan Chonghuan on the city, and died soon after.Soon after Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, Yuan Chonghuan adopted peace talks as his strategy of delaying troops in order to buy time to rebuild the defense line centered on Jinning.After many negotiations, both sides refused to make concessions.In May of the first year of Tiancong, the two sides kicked off the prelude to the tug-of-war in western Liaoning.Huang Taiji led the Eight Banners army westward to Jinzhou. Zhao, the general who defended Jinzhou, guarded the city to death, and Huang Taiji could not attack for a long time.In the end, Huang Taiji transferred his troops to Ningyuan, ready to fight Yuan Chonghuan to the death.The two armies fought for seven days, and there were many casualties. Huang Taiji ordered the troops to retreat on the pretext that the weather was too hot to fight.

The news of Huang Taiji's retreat reached Beijing, and the imperial court celebrated it, calling the battle "the victory of Ning Jin".However, at the celebration meeting, Yuan Chonghuan was not rewarded. Instead, he was framed by the traitor Wei Zhongxian, saying that his crime was "too old-fashioned", and Yuan Chonghuan resigned angrily.Soon Ming Xizong died, and his younger brother Chongzhen succeeded to the throne.After Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he killed Wei Zhongxian and appointed Yuan Chonghuan as the right servant of the Ministry of War.A few months later, Yuan Chonghuan was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War and ordered to guard Ningyuan.

Yuan Chonghuan defended Jinzhou, Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan.After much deliberation, Huang Taiji decided to temporarily abandon Ningyuan and go west to search Hal. In the sixth year of Tiancong, Huang Taiji led the army to break through Chahar, and then led the whole army to enter the Great Wall five times.After Huang Taiji captured Dunhua, he broke through Jizhou, Sanhe, Shunyi, and Tongzhou in a row, and the team drove to the edge of Beijing. Yuan Chonghuan and other departments hastily transferred their troops back and camped at Shawomen.Emperor Chongzhen ordered that all armies obey Yuan Chonghuan's orders.

Huang Taiji stationed his camp in Tongzhou, which is the closest place to the city of Beijing, and the Shawo Gate not far from the city of Beijing has been blocked by Yuan Chonghuan, which is the only way to the city of Beijing.On November 16, the Hou Jin army fought a battle with Yuan Chonghuan's troops outside Shawomen.Huang Taiji fought hard and could not win, and Yuan Chonghuan was supported by artillery fire from Beijing.In desperation, Huang Taiji had no choice but to withdraw his troops first and make another plan. As a last resort, Huang Taiji had to be stationed in Nanyuan on the 24th.He didn't say a word in the camp alone, thinking hard about how to deal with Yuan Chonghuan.

"What's wrong with the emperor today, why are you so bored?" The person who spoke was Daishan. Huang Taiji shook his head and smiled wryly: "How can I not be bothered if the battle is like this?" He turned his head to look at the city of Beijing, and then said: "We have become old scalpers on the farmland, and we still can't get rid of him." Dai Shan immediately understood when he heard it, and said with a smile: "The emperor is talking about Yuan Chonghuan? This man is indeed very good, with both wisdom and courage. As long as he guards a city, that city will be safe and sound. He is a very strong man. Shen, we guessed him so many times like we did, and tried so many methods, but none of them worked. It’s just that no one is perfect, no matter how deep the city is, there are times when calculations are wrong. Do you still remember that he negotiated peace with us? thing?"

Huang Taiji disagreed: "What are you talking about peace talks? That's just a pretense. At that time, neither side had time to attack the other, and they both wanted to use peace talks to stabilize each other. They didn't have the sincerity of peace talks at all. Talk to him There is no way out." Dai Shan still had a smile on his face, and he said: "We and Yuan Chonghuan both know the reason for this, but others may not know it. Think about it, your majesty, since we started the army, the warlike generals of the Ming Dynasty have died in their own hands." Is there still less in it?"

Huang Taiji suddenly realized: "This is a good idea. As long as Yuan Chonghuan is eliminated, there will be no one in the Ming Dynasty who can stop our army." Dai Shan said: "Our soldiers captured two eunuchs, who are said to be the purchasers of the imperial dining room. I wanted to kill them at first, but then I thought, maybe they can be of great help to us." "Treat them well, find a chance to put them back after eating and drinking enough. Our success or failure depends on the two of them." Before Huang Taiji finished speaking, Daishan had already stepped out of the camp to summon his confidantes .

Back in his barracks, Dai Shan immediately asked for Deputy General Gao Hongzhong, Counselors Bao Chengxian, Ning Wanwo, and Ba Keshi Dahai to tell them the specifics of the operation and let them prepare separately. The three of them acted separately.Bakshidahai first came to the place where the two eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were imprisoned, and asked the soldiers in charge to step aside, and said to them: "You don't need to look after this place, you just go down and get some delicious food and drink." The two princes who were locked inside listened to someone talking outside, and were so frightened that the officer who came was going to send them "on the road". When Bakshidahai stepped in, he knelt on the ground desperately beg for mercy.Bakshi Dahai kicked them: "You don't need to be so afraid. Fighting is a matter for soldiers. What does it have to do with you eunuchs? Our Dajin warriors don't bother to embarrass you. But now the two armies are at war. At this critical moment, it will be difficult to let you go back. You can just stay here in peace, and when we break through the city of Beijing, you can go wherever you like."

"Thank you...thank you, General, for not killing us. You can do whatever you want us to do, as long as we are left alive." The two of them stammered their thanks when they heard that they still had a chance to live. "You don't need to do anything, as long as you stay honest, I guarantee that you will eat and drink well and will not suffer any harm." While talking, Bakshidahai casually pulled out half of the saber from his waist , with blood stains on it: "If you have any other ideas..." "General, please spare your life. We will stay here honestly. General, please spare our lives!" The two eunuchs who had just stood up saw the blood-stained saber, their legs went limp, and they both knelt down in the Bakshida sea before.

"Hmph! I forgive you for not daring to do so!" Bakshidahai snorted, then turned and entered the next tent. After Bakshidahai walked for a while, the two eunuchs who were kneeling on the ground stood up tremblingly, wiping the fine beads of sweat from their foreheads.After a while, the two soldiers who were originally guarding the door entered the camp, holding good wine and meat in their hands, put the things in front of the two of them, and retreated out without a word.The strange thing is that this time he didn't stay outside, but walked straight to the distance.These two eunuchs were in charge of the imperial dining room in the Ming Dynasty, and they were usually used to eating and drinking.Today I was arrested by the Qing army, and I was frightened and frightened for most of the day without water or rice. Now I saw good wine and good meat, only to realize that I was already hungry.After eating and drinking enough, the courage of the two became stronger again.Seeing that there was not even a guarding soldier outside, he wondered if he should find a chance to escape.Thinking that those Qing soldiers were masters who killed without blinking an eye, staying here would be in danger of dying at any time.The two were discussing in low voices, when they suddenly heard footsteps approaching from far outside, they were so frightened that they quickly lay down and pretended to be asleep.The footsteps passed by outside the camp, but did not stop, but turned into a nearby camp, and after a while, they heard the noise of pushing cups and changing dishes from the camp of the officer who was talking to them just now, accompanied by Shi Gao Shi low voice.The two quickly got up quietly to listen to what they had to say.

In the tent next door, Gao Hongzhong, Bao Chengxian, Ning Wan, I, and Bakshidahai sat around the table.Wine and meat are placed on the table, and several people are drinking one cup after another.Gao Hongzhong picked up a bowl of wine and cast a wink at the others. Bao Chengxian asked Bakshi Dahai with a loud voice, "Those two people settled it?" "Them? Two trash, not worthy of dirtying my treasured sword. I'll keep it, and wait for when my heart is not going well, so I can cut it off." Bakshidahai put a mouthful of vegetables into his mouth, and said while chewing.Although it was a bit vague, it was enough to make the two people next door feel terrified. "No, we passed by the tent where they were detained just now, why is there no guard at the door?" Gao Hongzhong asked again. "Where are those two pustules still being guarded? I just saw half of my sword and I was so frightened that I knelt on the ground. Even if the door is opened for them now, they may not be able to get out." Bakshidahai's voice was still Disdainful. "Most people in the Ming Dynasty looked like this, and I'm used to it." Ning Wan, who had been silent all this time, interjected at this moment. "Not necessarily all of them, this Governor Yuan is very good. If he hadn't joined us now, we don't know how many warriors we would have sacrificed!" Gao Hongzhong lowered his voice when he spoke. "That's true. We have suffered a lot from him these years. But since the peace talks started six years ago, our life has become much easier." Bao Chengxian lowered his head and took a sip of his wine, echoing. "Then he is too disrespectful! They are all a family, and they are still fighting with us outside the Shawo Gate, which made the emperor restless for several days." Bakshidahai poured a bowl of wine into his mouth, and The sword in his waist was pulled out loudly.The legs of the two eunuchs who had been eavesdropping went limp again, almost lying on the ground. "Brother, I don't know. Our emperor's retreat this time is a strategy discussed with Yuan Dushi. That battle was also fought for Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing. If Yuan Dushi doesn't win the battle ', how can he get into Beijing? If he can't get in, wouldn't we be able to get in too?" Gao Hongzhong said these words in a mysterious way. "Why didn't I know about this?" Bakshi Dahai's tone was somewhat suspicious. "Brother, you are jealous when you see blood. At that time, you only cared about killing people everywhere. How could you care about anything else? Just when you were killing the enemy army, our emperor personally went out to meet the two soldiers of Governor Yuan before the battle." I was by the emperor's side at the time, and I heard everything he said. The envoy said that as long as we pretend to retreat, he will find a chance to enter the city. When he enters the city, it means that we have entered the city. The emperor even I have already thought about the title for Governor Yuan. What is it called Wang... I can’t remember.” When Bao Chengxian said this, he was obviously drunk, and he was talking a little too much. "Come on, drink! Who cares about the king, as long as we can enter Beijing, it will be a good thing." Bakshi Dahai greeted the others and poured down a bowl of wine. Several people at the wine table were already "drunk" very quickly, snoring like thunder.One eunuch yelled at them, but when there was no response, he immediately called the other eunuch to escape from the tent in a hurry.They didn't dare to stay here for a moment, the guy with the blood on the knife might come and cut off their heads at any time, and they got such confidential information, if they could escape back, they would definitely be rewarded by the emperor.They sneaked out of the camp quietly, and nothing happened.After the two escaped from the camp of the Manchu army, they fled straight to Beijing. Looking at their distressed figures, Bakshi Dahai and others who were "drunk" just now couldn't help showing a bit of complacency. "Now we can go back to work. I really drank too much just now." Bakshidahai rubbed his swollen head. "It's just a pity that Governor Yuan, a hero, will die in the hands of his own people." Gao Hongzhong shook his head and sighed as he walked back. When Chongzhen received the report of fleeing back to the eunuch, he was furious, and he couldn't help breaking out in cold sweat.He thought to himself that it was fortunate that they had such an experience that they could collect such important information, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.Now I have handed over almost all the military power to Yuan Chonghuan, as long as he rebels, Daming's country will be handed over to others.No, no matter it is true or false, Yuan Chonghuan cannot be reused.Chongzhen made up his mind. On the first day of December, Chongzhen called Yuan Chonghuan into the palace, tied him up on the spot, and put him in a prison.Many people in the imperial court hated Yuan Chonghuan. Some even said that Huang Taiji was seduced by him, and some said that he took 20,000 soldiers and horses back to Beijing because he acted without authorization and cooperated with Huang Taiji to attack Beijing. After Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned for nearly a year, the court listed his crimes, saying that he made peace with the Manchu army without authorization and advocated killing Mao Wenlong without authorization. He was convicted of treason and executed Ling Chi!Huang Taiji used countermeasures to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan, and let Emperor Chongzhen kill his most powerful general with his own hands. Yuan Chonghuan, as the number one general in the late Ming Dynasty, has been the nemesis of the Manchu army since the time of Nurhachi.During the years of confrontation with him, the Manchurian Army never took advantage of anything. Just like what Daishan said, they thought of everything about Yuan Chonghuan, and used all strategies, but it just didn't work.You can't fight for it, and you can't take advantage of it by fighting hard.At this time, if you want to get rid of this serious trouble, the only way is to ask others to help you.The helper must have the right to decide Yuan Chonghuan's life and death, and must be suspicious by nature.And for these two points, apart from Emperor Chongzhen who sits in Beijing, there is no other person to be found.So in the camp of the Qing army, a Ming and Qing version of the "Heroes' Meeting" was staged. The two eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty lived up to expectations and brought the fake news to Chongzhen. The hero Yuan Chonghuan was finally sent to a dead end .