Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Rival of Genius

In the 42nd year of Jiajing (1563), Sun Chengzong was born in Gaoyang, Baoding Prefecture, North Zhili (now Gaoyang County, Hebei Province). It's not a good thing to be born in this place. As part of the four major defensive areas of the Ming Dynasty and the Jizhou defense line, Sun Chengzong basically grew up on the front line. This place is not good, or it is too good. When the Mongols were strong, they often came. When the Jurchens were strong, they often came. Later, it was renamed the Kingdom of Jin, and they often came to grab it. Come once, grab once, hit once. This is really not a place suitable for human beings to live in. Other children are afraid of it, but Sun Chengzong is not.

Not only not afraid, but also very nourishing. He likes war and likes to study war. When he was young, others read four books, and he read military books.When he became an adult, he ran to the border when others ran to the interior, not for anything else, but to see the border. In the sixth year of Wanli (1578), Sun Chengzong, a talented scholar in Baoding Prefecture, made a decision-go out to study.This year, he was sixteen years old.In the following ten years, Sun Xiucai traveled all over the world, worked hard to learn, and developed the ability to protect the country. Of course, this is the official statement in the historical materials.

In fact, for the past ten years or so, this man has spent most of his time traveling instead of studying. You must know that the reason why he took the exam for a scholar back then was not to serve the country.Don't need to eat? Fortunately, Sun Xiucai found a better job——teacher. From then on, he began to struggle on the education front, and the harder he struggled, the better he got, so good that his reputation spread to the capital. In the 20th year of Wanli (1592), at the invitation of an official of the Ministry of War, Sun Xiucai came to the capital and became an excellent private teacher.

But slowly, Sun Xiucai became more active in his thinking. He found that it is not enough to teach other people's children. It is the right way to find others to teach their own children. So in the second year (1593), he entered the Guozijian and studied hard. One year later (1594), he finally passed the Juren examination. This year, he was thirty-two years old. Generally speaking, if you are admitted to Juren, you must either go to Jinshi or become an official, but what is puzzling is that Sun Juren still feels at ease as his teacher. No one knows the specific reason, but his salary is probably relatively high.

But it turns out that it was this strange decision that led to his strange life. In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli (1599), Sun Chengzong's employer was ordered to go to Datong and became the governor of Datong.The official cannot be lost, nor can the children's education, so Sun Chengzong followed. I remember that in a talk show, a criminal said: No matter how many legal education sessions are given, it is useless. As long as everyone goes to prison for two days and practices it by themselves, they will stop committing crimes. I agree with this statement, and Sun Chengzong should also agree.

In that place, Sun Chengzong discovered a strange but familiar world, desperate fights, bloody battlefields, competitions of wisdom, and tests of courage. War is the most mysterious, unpredictable, cruel, difficult, and IQ-testing game in this world.On the battlefield, the art of war is useless, and the rules are useless, because here, the best art of war is actual combat, and the only rule is that there are no rules. Teacher Sun in Datong has no practical experience, and he can't go into battle to kill the enemy.However, the occurrence of one thing is enough to prove that he has understood war.

In the Ming Dynasty, being a soldier was a job, and it was a job, so you had to get paid, and if you couldn't get paid, you would naturally have trouble.Ordinary people make trouble, nothing more than blocking the road and yelling a few words. It is different for soldiers to make trouble. If they have a guy in their hands, they will make trouble to death. Whoever encounters this kind of thing is unlucky. The governor of Datong was unlucky and caught up.Once the wages were paid a little late, the soldiers quit, and someone provoked them, so the soldiers ran to his house without saying a word.

The governor was in a panic, the inside and outside were tightly blocked, and the door couldn't get out. After much deliberation, there was no way out, and he wanted to die. At the critical moment, his tutor, Mr. Sun Chengzong, came out. Teacher Sun didn't say anything, looking at the magnificent scene in front of him, full of anger and gleaming swords, he just said calmly: "The salary is very sufficient. Please go outside to collect it one by one. If there are any fraudulent claimants, they will be killed." The soldiers scattered. Simplifying complex issues is the basic quality of an excellent general.

Sun Chengzong's calmness, calmness, and fearlessness show that he has the ability to use the most appropriate method to deal with the most chaotic situation and deal with the most vicious enemy. In Datong, for as long as five years, Sun Chengzong saw the war, understood the war, understood the war, and finally mastered the war.His mastery comes from his talent, theory and every perception. In Liaodong, Nurhachi, who was three years older than him, was on his way to crusade against the Jurchen Hada tribe. At this time, he was already a general who was proficient in war. His proficiency came from hacking, charging, and every desperate adventure.

Two gifted people, in their own different ways, entered the mysterious field of war and learned its mysteries. Twenty years later, they will meet and test their talents and achievements in practice. In the thirty-second year of Wanli (1604), Sun Chengzong bid farewell to his employer and embarked on the road to the capital.His goal is the imperial examination.This year, he was forty-two years old. After decades of ups and downs, scholars, down-and-out scholars, teachers, excellent teachers, juren, military observers, witnessing the devastation of war, listening to helpless wailing, and experiencing helpless pain, Sun Chengzong finally determined his own path.

He decided to give up a stable and comfortable life, he decided to commit himself to the country. So after decades of half-lived life, Sun Chengzong, a veteran of the examination room, planned to take the exam seriously. This seriousness is a bit too much. On the day when the rankings were released, Sun Chengzong learned of his ranking in the exam—second, second in the country. In other words, he was second. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the second place must be a good scholar, and must be Hanlin, so after the induction training, Sun Chengzong entered the Hanlin Academy and became a regular seventh-rank editor. As I said before, the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty was all about family background. Except for a few exceptions, if you want to enter the cabinet, you must be of Hanlin background. Otherwise, no matter how hard you work and how outstanding your ability is, it is useless.This is a recognized unspoken rule. But please pay special attention, to enter the cabinet, you must be a Hanlin, but you may not be able to enter the cabinet. After all, there is not only one person in the Imperial Academy, there are so many bachelors, apprentices, lectures, revisions, and reviews, and there are only a few people in the cabinet, and they have to wait in line. Sun Chengzong was one of the people waiting in line. He was unlucky and waited for ten years without any results. In the eleventh year, the opportunity came. In the forty-second year of Wanli (1614), Sun Chengzong was transferred to Zhan Shifu Yude. This is a small official, but has a great future, because its main duty is to give lectures to the prince. Since then, Sun Chengzong has become the teacher of Prince Zhu Changluo, and what awaits him ahead is an extremely bright future. Bright for a month. In the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620), Ming Guangzong Zhu Changluo, who had only been on the throne for one month, died. But for Sun Chengzong, this has no effect, because he has found a new student-Zhu Youxiao. After teaching the father to teach the son, it can be said to be tireless. Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao had never read any books in his life, so he just wanted to be a carpenter, so except for the master carpenter, he didn't like other teachers very much. Sun Chengzong is the only exception. Since Mr. Sun has been engaged in children (private school) education for a long time, he has always had some methods for children who are stupid, stupid, and hardworking. Therefore, after teaching a few lessons, His Majesty the Emperor immediately fell in love with Mr. Sun. Sun Chengzong's name was replaced by a fixed title: "My teacher". His Majesty the Emperor called this title for seven full years until his death. He has always maintained his trust in Teacher Sun, no matter who, in what way, provokes or slanders, it will be useless. The "who" I mentioned refers to Wei Zhongxian. Because of the tight relationship and strong background, Mr. Sun's official career progressed very quickly, almost like flying. In one year, he was promoted from a fifth-rank official to minister of the Ministry of War, entered the cabinet, and became a scholar of Dongge University. Therefore, when the small report letter was delivered, Tianqi found Sun Chengzong and asked for his opinion. But Comrade Sun Chengzong's answer was beyond the emperor's expectation: "I don't know how to decide." Fortunately, there is another sentence behind: "Let me go and see." In the second year of Tianqi (1622), Sun Chengzong, Shangshu of the Ministry of War and a scholar of Dongge University, came to Shanhaiguan. Sun Chengzong didn't know Wang Zaijin well, but after visiting Shanhaiguan and Balipu, he had an intuitive and clear judgment on Mr. Wang—this man is an idiot. He immediately found Wang Zaijin and started a very famous conversation in history. At the beginning of the conversation, the atmosphere was harmonious, and Sun Chengzong's tone was very polite: "After your new city is completed, are you going to pull the 40,000 troops from the old city to garrison it?" Wang Zaijin thought Master Sun was here to make trouble, but he didn't expect to be so friendly, so he immediately replied: "No, I plan to mobilize another 40,000 people to defend the city." But Mr. Wang didn't know that Mr. Sun was a teacher. He never beat stupid people to death with a stick, and he always tossed slowly: "According to what you said, there are 80,000 defenders within a radius of eight miles, right?" Mr. Wang has not come to his senses, and happily agreed: "Yes, that's right." So, it's time for Mr. Zhang to settle the accounts: "There are only eight miles, but there are 80,000 defenders? You build the new city in front of the old city. Are you going to let us go to the mines and horse-traveling pits in front of the old city?!" "The new city is so close to the old city, if the new city can be defended, why do we need the old city?!" "If the new city can't be defended, and the 40,000 defenders retreat to the old city, are you going to open the door to let them in, or close the gate and watch them die?!" Mr. Wang was probably stunned by the beating. He was speechless for a long time. After thinking for a long time, he finally choked out a sentence: "Of course we can't open the door, but we can let them in through the three gates outside the pass. In addition, I also built three military strongholds on the mountain to meet the retreating troops." Mr. Sun probably hasn't seen such a stupid child before, so he really got angry: "Before the battle is fought, you are going to meet the defeated army? Don't you let them lose the battle? And our army can enter the military camp, but the enemy can't? The situation is so critical now, I don't want to restore the country, I just want to hide in the pass , There will never be peace in the capital!" Classmate Wang was completely speechless. Facts have proved that Mr. Sun is right. If the new pass is breached, the old pass must be lost, because the two places are only eight miles apart, and the deserters have nowhere to escape. , You don't need to hit, just squeeze, you can squeeze the door open. This fully shows that Wang Zaijin, who came up with this plan, is an out-and-out fool. But the smart Mr. Sun didn't seem to be a kind person. He didn't have the patience to help the dull Wang Zaijin, so he immediately wrote a letter to his other student, His Majesty the Emperor, and directly transferred Wang Jinglue to Nanjing for retirement. After driving away Wang Zaijin, Sun Chengzong remembered the letter, and ordered the following things to the people around him: "Call the person who wrote the letter criticizing Wang Zaijin." Soon, he met the person who gave the report to his superiors. He had a long talk with this person all night, hit it off right away, and admired this person's talent, courage and qualifications. This is the first meeting between the undisputed national hero Sun Chengzong and the controversial national hero Yuan Chonghuan. Sun Chengzong admired Yuan Chonghuan very much, and he firmly believed that this was a figure who would surely shake the world, although Mr. Yuan at that time was just a regular fifth-rank soldier. In fact, Wang Zaijin was not Yuan Chonghuan's enemy. On the contrary, he had always liked Yuan Chonghuan and trusted him, but Yuan Chonghuan still reported him without hesitation. Yuan Chonghuan's answer to this question is very simple: "Because his judgment was wrong, Balipu cannot hold Shanhaiguan." So Sun Chengzong asked the second question: "Where do you think you should choose?" Yuan Chonghuan replied that there was only one choice. Then, his finger pointed to the only place - Ningyuan. Ningyuan, now Xingcheng, Liaoning, is located in the center of the western Liaoning corridor, more than 200 miles away from Shanhaiguan. It is an important stronghold in western Liaoning, and its location is very dangerous. Although almost everyone thinks that Ningyuan is very important and dangerous, almost everyone also thinks that sticking to Ningyuan is a stupid decision. Because at that time, the Ming Dynasty had already lost the entire Liaodong, and the only thing left in its hands was the Shanhaiguan Pass. Outside the pass, there were enemies. They ran for more than 200 miles to open up base areas in front of the enemy. It's not brave, it's heartless. I didn't understand it at first, but after I went to Ningyuan, I understood it. Ningyuan is a small and inconspicuous city, but when I climbed the tower and saw the terrain around me, I finally decided that this is a place destined to make Mr. Nurhachi want to cry. Because it is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the other side is the sea. It is not an exaggeration to say that Ningyuan is a mountainous area.To the east of it is Shoushan Mountain, to the west is Kulong Mountain, and the road in the middle is very narrow, which is a typical terrain of closing the door and beating dogs. It is very hard for Mr. Nurhachi to attack here from the north. Of course, some people will say, since it is difficult to go, why not go to the head office. It's a pity that although walking here is disgusting, it is impossible not to be disgusting, because although Liaodong is big, if you want to attack Shanhaiguan, you must go from here. It is distressing that the road is blocked, and if there is no other way, you can only hit the wall. Yes, some people will say that Liaodong is lost and this is just an isolated city. Nurhachi has the advantage and has a strong military force. Tens of thousands of people were mobilized to surround the city. Just besieging the city can starve people to death. This is a theoretically possible solution, just a theory. If Mr. Nurhachi did this, then I can be sure that he must be the first to be dragged down. Because the most desperate place in Ningyuan is not the mountains, but the sea. In order to conquer Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty built warehouses in the Dengzhou area of ​​Shandong. If the enemy besieged the city, the fleet could continuously send food and equipment to coastal areas, including Ningyuan of course. And Mr. Nurhachi can only watch all this happen. You know, there is no navy in his army. More importantly, there is Juehua Island not far from Ningyuan. On the island, there is a logistics warehouse of the Ming Army, which can support Ningyuan at any time. The reason why the warehouse was built on the island is very simple. Everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew that Houjin had no navy and no wings, so it couldn't fly. But some things are uncertain. Last month, I took a boat from Ningyuan to Juehua Island (now called Chrysanthemum Island), only to find out that the so-called not far is quite far, and it took more than half an hour to get there by sea. After landing, Ningyuan could only look at it, so I asked the locals a question: You are so far away from the land, it is very troublesome to ship daily necessities. He replied: We also use cars to pull, no trouble. Then add: In winter, the sea will freeze. I asked again: Can such a wide sea (I estimated it is about ten kilometers long) be frozen? He replied: Under normal circumstances, it cannot be frozen. Then I added: Last year, it was frozen. Last year, in 2007, the winter was very cold. So, I remembered the earth-shattering war that took place here three hundred and eighty-one years ago. I know that the winter of that year was also very cold. Sun Chengzong accepted Yuan Chonghuan's opinion, and he decided to build a city in Ningyuan. He handed over the task of building the city to Yuan Chonghuan. But these are not enough to prepare for the coming war, there is much more to do. One of the first things Sun Chengzong did was to train soldiers. At that time, there were more than 70,000 soldiers under him. The number was quite large, but it was only a number. After checking, it was found that there were tens of thousands of soldiers who had no vacancies at all, and the old leaders took all their salaries. This is a dummy, and the real people left behind are useless. Many soldiers are old soldiers. They take the lead in charging when they are paid, and in running when fighting. Can't keep up. For this group of people, Sun Chengzong dismissed them all with one word: get out. He dismissed tens of thousands of retreating vanguards, because he had found a group with great combat effectiveness—refugees. Refugees are people who lived well, but were suddenly evicted, their land was taken, their houses were burned, their wives and children were killed, and they could not survive or die.There is no need to mobilize such a person to join the army and fight. Sun Chengzong selected 7,000 people from the refugees and incorporated them into his own army. Four years later, their hatred will become the force to defeat the enemy. In addition, he also did a lot of things, roughly as follows: Repair nine big cities, forty-five castles; train 110,000 troops, train bowmen and artillerymen 50,000; set up 12 barracks, 5 water battalions, 2 fire battalions, and 8 forward stamina battalions; manufacture armor, military equipment, bows, arrows, and cannons There are tens of thousands of stones, quda (the stone for defending the city), halogen shields, etc.In addition, he expanded land for four hundred miles; recruited more than 400,000 Liao people and trained 30,000 Liao soldiers; I don't know the details, but it does seem like a lot. It should be said that the work done by Sun Chengzong is very important, but by no means the most important. What was most important in the seventeenth century?It is talent. In the second year of Tianqi (1622), Sun Chengzong was already sixty years old. He knew very well that although he was familiar with war, proficient in war, and had the ability to save the crisis, he was old after all. For the great Ming Dynasty, for the peace of the people, and for the ideal of serving the country, Sun Chengzong, who has been a teacher all his life, decided to accept the last student, and put his strategy, tactics, fearless belief, and courage to never give up hope to all. Pass it on to him. He is very relieved, because he has found a suitable candidate - Yuan Chonghuan. In his opinion, although Yuan Chonghuan was not a general (Jinshi) and had never fought much, he was a person with outstanding military talent and could make correct judgments in complex situations. More importantly, he has the determination to die on the battlefield. Because on the battlefield, those who seek the living die, and those who seek the dead live. In the following time, he focused on cultivating Yuan Chonghuan, took him on inspections, took him on military training, and even allowed him to participate in confidential decision-making. Of course, in addition to giving Yuan a small lesson, Mr. Sun also made him a class leader.It took only three years from Ning Qian's deputy envoy of military preparations, Ning Qiandao, and then to the senior reserve cadre (governor) of the Ministry of Personnel (Ministry of Officials). Yuan Chonghuan proved with practical actions that he is an out-and-out top student.In three years, he successfully completed his work and mastered all the skills, tactics and strategies taught by Sun Chengzong. In the past few years, apart from studying, Yuan Chonghuan's main job was to build Ningyuan City and strengthen its defenses. However, one day, he suddenly realized a problem: The post-Jin army was dominated by cavalry, good at running, quick to move, and could run away if robbed, while the Ming army was mainly infantry, and the quality of cavalry was not good. In the end, they could only stick to the city. If the enemy retreats, I will not chase after him. If this goes on, where will he reach? Yes, defense is not enough, it is far from enough to rely on cities and infantry to hold on. The only way to completely defeat the enemy's powerful cavalry is to build an equally powerful cavalry. Therefore, with the help of Mr. Sun, he began to gather refugees, carefully select them, and conduct strict training. Only the bravest, most bitter and bitter soldiers have the right to join this army. At the same time, he raised high-quality horses, manufactured a large number of the most advanced firearms of the Ming Dynasty, the three-eyed blunderbuss, and distributed them to everyone, and repeatedly practiced cavalry tactics, sprinting, slashing, and killing, meticulously. Because what he needs is such an army: no matter facing desperation or being surrounded, this army can fight to the last moment and never surrender. He succeeded. He finally trained such an army, an army that Nurhachi, Huang Taiji and his son spent their entire lives until the Ming Dynasty fell, but they could not be completely defeated. In history, the name of this army was Guanning Cavalry. Yuan Chonghuan's growth has far exceeded Sun Chengzong's expectations. Whether it is training, defense, or tactics, he has been impeccable.Although at this time, he is just a nobody. Teacher Sun is very satisfied with this student. But he finally discovered a shortcoming of Yuan Chonghuan, a seemingly insignificant shortcoming, from a seemingly insignificant matter. In the third year of Apocalypse (1623), Yan Mingtai, the governor of Liaodong, received a report that Du Yingkui, the deputy commander-in-chief, pretended to lead the army's salary. In normal times, this is not a big deal, but Mr. Sun has just rectified, and some people dare to commit crimes against the wind, so they must be strictly investigated. So he sent Yuan Chonghuan to verify the matter. Yuan Chonghuan was very responsible. After arriving at the place, he worked tirelessly and began to check the accounts and count the number of people. After the calculation, it was true that Du Zongbing had indeed been corrupted. When he called for a conversation, Du Zongbing also admitted. According to regulations, Commissioner Yuan's duties have come to an end, and it's time to go back and report the situation. But Mr. Yuan seemed to be too active. Just after the conversation, he didn't even say hello, and chopped Du Zongbing on the spot. When he was chopped, Du Zongbing was still crying and confessing. The incident happened so suddenly that everyone present was dumbfounded. After everyone recalled it, some of Zongbing Du's subordinates were already fucking and preparing to run towards Mr. Yuan. After all, you are an official ordered by the court, and you are not directly subordinate to the chief. If there is no order, you will be chopped off when you go to the place, what is the matter? Fortunately, Zongbing Du was only the deputy commander-in-chief, and the leader was still there, so he calmed down the mood of the masses by talking about it, and Commissioner Yuan returned safely. The first treatment after returning was Sun Chengzong's scolding: "Before the murder, you didn't ask for instructions! After the murder, you didn't report it! The soldiers almost mutinied, and you didn't report it! Until now, I still don't know who you killed! Why did you kill him!" "It is said that when you killed people, you only said that you were following the orders of your superiors. If you can kill people according to your superiors' orders, then why do you need Shangfang's sword (one specially approved by the emperor Sun Chengzong)?!" Yuan Chonghuan didn't say anything. As far as the matter itself is concerned, it is not big, but it is quite bad. It is too arrogant to dare to commit suicide without a direct leader and without a sword. But talent is rare at this moment, and it seems unrealistic to let Yuan Chonghuan do it for such a matter, so Sun Chengzong suppressed this matter, and he hoped Yuan Chonghuan could learn a lesson from it: It is absolutely wrong to kill people indiscriminately with emotion. It turned out afterwards that Yuan Chonghuan had indeed learned his lesson. Of course, his understanding was different from Mr. Sun's: It's not right for a leader to commit suicide without Shangfang's sword, but it should be right for a leader to commit suicide without Shangfang's sword. From a certain point of view, his whole life has been planted on this understanding. But the part obeys the whole, and Du Zongbing dies as well, it doesn't matter. In fact, the situation in Liaodong is quite good at this time. Ningyuan and the nearby Songshan, Zhongqian, and Zhonghou are already connected. The famous Guanning Line of Defense (Shanhaiguan-Ningyuan) was preliminarily completed, with 110,000 Ming troops stationed there, food supply for more than three years, and more than 200 kilometers of land outside the pass fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty again. Sun Chengzong repaired the city, reorganized the army, found students, and restored the country, but all this was not enough. To deal with the coming enemy, Yuan Chonghuan alone is not enough, and a few more capable assistants must be found. When Yuan Chonghuan first arrived in Ningyuan, what he saw were broken walls and bricks, and the barrenness, he couldn't help but sigh a lot. However, someone soon told him that it had just been repaired. In fact, a general had already built a city here for more than a year. After more than a year of cultivation, Yuan Chonghuan was very annoyed to achieve such a broken appearance, so he called this person over and scolded him to death. Unexpectedly, this man did not have the consciousness of the Du Zongbing who was hacked to death at all. Instead of admitting his mistake, he even jumped up and scolded Mr. Yuan. He opened his mouth to say how many years I have fought. Kind of gossip. This was the first appearance of Zu Dashou, the lazy guerrilla general at the time and later the famous Liaodong general. Zu Dashou was a very famous person, so famous that even Zu Kuan, the servant who worked in his house, was included in the Ming History Biography, but the biography of this celebrity himself was included in the Qing History Draft, because he eventually changed his boss. But the strange thing is, compared with Wu XX, Shang XX, and Geng XX who had the same experience, his reputation is quite good, and it seems that there are not many people who say that he is an adulterer.The reason is that almost everyone thinks that he has done his part. Zu Dashou, courtesy name Fuyu, was born in Ningyuan, Liaodong, grew up in Ningyuan, and joined the army in Ningyuan.This man has a bad temper, a vicious character, and is good at stabbing people with a knife. With years of chopping performance, he was promoted and became a guerrilla. Xiong Tingbi admired him very much when he was around. After Xiong Tingbi left, Wang Huazhen came and appreciated him very much, and appointed him as a guerrilla in the Chinese army to guard Guangning City. Later, Sun Degong rebelled, and Wang Huazhen fled. At the critical moment, Zu Dashou also ran away without saying a word. But he did not run back, but led the army to Juehua Island and continued to hold on. Adhere to the principle, but don't suffer immediate losses. Judging from the things he has done in the next ten years, this is his consistent philosophy of life. For a person who has visited the Palace of the Underworld several times, Yuan Chonghuan, who was born as a Jinshi and has never even fought a battle, dares to show his prestige. The process of this scolding is not clear, but the result is clear. Although Mr. Yuan has never been a soldier, his temper is worse than that of a soldier. Just like his famous saying: "You know that this department is a scholar, and this department is a scholar. But it's a general!" The two sides fought back and forth, and after several rounds, Zu Dashou conceded. Since then, he has become Yuan Chonghuan's loyal subordinate, an excellent general of the Ming Dynasty, and an insurmountable iron wall for the post-Golden Cavalry. Zu Dashou, Yuan Chonghuan's first assistant. In fact, the name Zu Dashou is very flattering, because if you use the local accent, you will pronounce it as Uncle Zu if you are not careful.In order not to mess up seniority, regardless of superiors and subordinates, they only call their positions, not their names. There was only one person who steadfastly called him Uncle from the beginning to the end. The reason was very simple. Zu Dashou was indeed his uncle. This person's name is Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui was only eleven or twelve years old at the time, and was underage. Since he was underage, I won't say much about it.In fact, back then, his father Wu Xiang was a much more important figure than him. Wu Xiang, a native of Suizhong, Liaoning, was originally from Gaoyou, Jiangsu, and a native of Wuju. In fact, according to historical data, Mr. Wu Xiang's ancestors were originally businessmen who came to Liaodong from Jiangsu to do business.But in his generation, it was estimated that the war was in turmoil and business was difficult, so he gritted his teeth and went to take the martial arts exam. From then on, he joined the army and embarked on the path of Qiu Ba. Because Mr. Wu is of high quality and educated (at least literate), he is different from those fools in the barracks. Zu Dashou appreciates him, deliberately promotes him, and even marries his younger sister to him. Wu Xiang lived up to Zu Dashou's trust, and he and his son would become the pillars that Daming relied on during the next ten years of fighting. Wu Xiang, Yuan Chonghuan's second assistant. Before fleeing to Ningyuan, Wu Xiang and Zu Dashou were Wang Huazhen's subordinates, and before Wang Huazhen's arrival, they were Mao Wenlong's subordinates. Now it seems that Mao Wenlong is neither famous nor important, but at that time, he was a very famous and extremely important person, at least much more important than Yuan Chonghuan. Yuan Chonghuan in the early years of Tianqi was Ning Qiandao and Mao Wenlong was the general soldier of Pidao. To be precise, Yuan Chonghuan is the guardian of the Ningqian area and a fourth-rank civil servant of the imperial court. And Mao Wenlong is the governor of the left, the first-rank military attache of the imperial court, the general of Ping Liao, the holder of Shang Fang's sword, and the highest-ranking military commander in the Liaodong region. In other words, General Mao was several grades older than Master Yuan, and Yuan Chonghuan was just an insignificant unknown compared to Mao Wenlong, and the two sides were not at the same level at all. Because Mao Zongbing is not an ordinary Zongbing. The general army of the Ming Dynasty is a general term, roughly equivalent to a commander, but those who manage several provinces can be called commanders, and those who manage a county can also be called commanders.For example, Du Yingkui, who was emptied and embezzled, was also a deputy commander in chief, but Yuan Tepai said to cut him off, so he cut him off without blinking his eyes or writing a review. All in all, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty was divided into levels, such as the commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief, etc., and the highest level was the commander-in-chief of the town. Mao Wenlong is the commander-in-chief of the town. In fact, he is the only commander-in-chief of Daming outside the pass. The commander-in-chief of the town, in today's terms, is the commander of the large military region, with a very high status, generally with the title of general (equivalent to honorary titles, such as Ping Liao, Polu, etc.), and very few also serve as the minister of defense (Ministry of War Shangshu). In the Ming Dynasty, there were 20 people in the general town and general army of the whole country, 14 died in the pass, and there are 6 people left, Mao Wenlong counts as one. But among these survivors, Mao Zongbing is quite special. Although his rank is very high, the territory he manages is very small-Phi Island, which is an island. Phi Island, also known as Dongjiang, is located at the mouth of the Yalu River. It is located in a dangerous position. It is fifteen miles long from east to west and twelve miles wide from north to south. Mao Zongbing is stationed on it and is the owner of Mao Island. This is a very strange thing. Generally speaking, the commander-in-chief of the town has a large area under its jurisdiction. It is not the commander of the provincial military region, but also the commander of the regional military region. Only Mao Zongbing is the commander of the island military region. But no one thought it was strange, because the sites of other general soldiers were taken over, and the site of general soldier Mao was snatched by himself. Mao Wenlong, born in the fourth year of Wanli (1576), was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. His main entertainment in childhood was to go around and eat. Because his family was too poor, Mao Wenlong couldn't eat enough to eat, so he couldn't afford to go to a private school, and he couldn't get a Jinshi.And according to the historical data I found, he doesn't seem to be a ruthless master, and he is not good at fighting, and he can't take exams, and he can't make trouble. He is useless, worse than a scholar. But it would be wrong to say that he did nothing. To make a living, he started to engage in the service industry - fortune-telling. Fortune-telling is a technical job, even if you really don't understand it, you have to be able to fool it, so Mao Wenlong began to study linen physiognomy, word testing, gossip and so on. But we have reason to believe that he has not mastered the knowledge in this area, and he has been counting his fate for decades, but he has not taken care of fortune telling for himself. However, his attainments in another aspect are definitely worthy of recognition - the art of war. In ancient my country, where only Chinese was taught and only composition was tested in exams, subjects such as fortune-telling, military art, and astronomy were all miscellaneous studies, and they were often clustered together. Due to his livelihood, Mr. Mao usually reads mostly such miscellaneous books, so although he has never attended a private school, it is not that he has never read books.It is said that he is not only proficient in the theory of the art of war, but also often used in practice-to brag when chatting. Counting all the way, blowing all the way, until I was thirty years old. I don't know which day, which string is wrong, Mao Wenlong suddenly decided to end his current life, and resolutely went north to find a job. He went all the way to Liaodong, and met Wang Huazhen, the then governor. Wang Huazhen hit it off with him and thought he was an outstanding talent, so he immediately appointed him as the capital and served in the army. There seems to be no such good thing in this world. Yes, the previous two sentences are just to tease you. The reason why Mr. Mao Wenlong made up his mind to go north to seek a job was because his uncle had a lucky turn of events and became the chief envoy of Shandong. He had a good relationship with Wang Huazhen and recommended his nephew to Governor Wang. Governor Wang saved face and helped Mao Wenlong find a job, that's exactly what happened. From Wang Huazhen's point of view, he earned a favor from Uncle Mao Wenlong for arranging the job, but it turned out that he earned a favor from Daming for doing this job. In this way, Mao Wenlong went to work in the army. Although he was only a capital officer, he was regarded as a senior cadre in terms of locality. He could at least have dinner with the county leaders. He is a related family, and everyone knows that he has never fought, so everyone looks down on him. Until that day came—March 21, the first year of Tianqi (1621). On this day, Liaoyang fell, Yuan Yingtai, the governor of Liaodong, committed suicide, and tens of thousands of defenders were annihilated. So far, apart from Guangning, the Ming Dynasty has no place to stand in Liaodong. The refugees brought their families with them, the soldiers discarded their weapons, and everyone fled to the pass. Except Mao Wenlong. Mao Wenlong didn't run away, but it must be explained that the reason why he didn't run away was not because of his high morals, but because he really couldn't run away. Because Liaoyang fell too quickly, Mr. Mao didn't react fast enough, and he didn't have time to run. He fell behind and was blocked by the Houjin army. If he was the only one, put on makeup and put dirt on his face, maybe he could get through.Unfortunately, he still has two hundred soldiers under his command. With such a group of burdens, if you want to slip, you can't; if you want to fight, you can't.The Ming army was busy running, and the Jin army was busy chasing him. The enemy didn't care about him, and his own people didn't care about him.Mao Wenlong's situation at this time can be perfectly summed up in one word-abandoned pawns. When everyone wailed and decided that there was no way out, Mao Wenlong found a way - to go to the sea. 他找来了船只，将士兵们安全撤退到了海上。 然而很快，士兵们就发现，他们行进的方向不是广宁，更不是关外。 “我们去镇江。”毛文龙答。 于是大家都傻了。 所谓镇江，不是江苏镇江，而是辽东的镇江堡，此地位于鸭绿江入海口，与朝鲜隔江而立，战略位置十分重要，极其坚固，易守难攻。 但大家之所以吃惊，不是由于它很重要，很坚固，而是因为它压根就不在明朝手里。 辽阳、沈阳失陷之前，这里就换地主了，早就成了后金的大后方，且有重兵驻守，这个时候去镇江堡，动机只有两个：投敌，或是找死。 然而毛文龙说，我们既不投敌，也不寻死，我们的目的，是攻占镇江。 很明显，这是在开玩笑，辽阳已经失陷了，没有人抵抗，没有人能够抵抗。大家的心中，有着共同且唯一的美好心愿——逃命。 但是毛文龙又说，我没有开玩笑。 我们要从这里出发，横跨海峡，航行上千里，到达敌人重兵集结的坚固堡垒，凭借我们这支破落不堪、装备不齐、刚刚一败涂地，只有几百人的队伍，去攻击装备精良、气焰嚣张、刚刚大获全胜的敌人，以寡敌众。 我们不逃命，我们要攻击，我们要彻底地击败他们，我们要收复镇江，收复原本属于我们的土地！ 没有人再惊讶，也没有人再反对，因为很明显，这是一个合理的理由，一个足以让他们前去攻击镇江，义无反顾的理由。 在夜幕的掩护下，毛文龙率军抵达了镇江堡。 事实证明，他或许是个冲动的人，但绝不是个愚蠢的人，如同预先彩排的一样，毛文龙发动了进攻，后金军队万万想不到，在大后方竟然还会被人捅一刀，没有丝毫准备，黑灯瞎火的，也不知到底来了多少人，从哪里来，只能惊慌失措，四散奔逃。 此战明军大胜，歼灭后金军千余人，阵斩守将佟养真，收复镇江堡周边百里地域，史称“镇江堡大捷”。 这是自努尔哈赤起兵以来，明朝在辽东最大，也是唯一的胜仗。 消息传来，王化贞十分高兴，当即任命毛文龙为副总兵，镇守镇江堡。 后金丢失镇江堡后，极为震惊，派出大队兵力，打算把毛文龙赶进海里喂鱼。 由于敌太众，我太寡，毛文龙丢失了镇江堡，被赶进了海里，但他没有喂鱼，却开始钓鱼——退守皮岛。 毕竟只是个岛，所以刚开始时，谁也没把他当回事，可不久之后，他就用实际行动，让努尔哈赤先生领会了痛苦的真正含义。 自天启元年以来，毛文龙就没休息过，每年派若干人，出去若干天，干若干事，不是放火，就是打劫，搞得后金不得安生。 更烦人的是，毛岛主本人实在狡猾无比，你没有准备，他就上岸踢你一脚，你集结兵力，设好埋伏，他又不来，就如同耳边嗡嗡叫的蚊子，能把人活活折磨死。 后来努尔哈赤也烦了，估计毛岛主也只能打打游击，索性不搭理他，让他去闹，没想到，毛岛主又给了他一个意外惊喜。 天启三年（1623），就在后金军的眼皮底下，毛岛主突然出兵，一举攻占金州（今辽宁金州），而且占住就不走了，在努尔哈赤的后院放了把大火。 努尔哈赤是真没法了，要派兵进剿，却是我进敌退，要登陆作战，又没有那个技术，要打海战，又没有海军，实在头疼不已。 努尔哈赤是越来越头疼，毛岛主却越来越折腾，按电视剧里的说法，住孤岛上应该是个很惨的事，要啥啥没有，天天坐在沙滩上啃椰子，眼巴巴盼着人来救。 可是毛文龙的孤岛生活过得相当充实，照史书上的说法，是“召集流民，集备军需，远近商贾纷至沓来，货物齐备捐税丰厚”。 这就是说，毛岛主在岛上搞得很好，大家都不在陆地上混了，跟着跑来讨生活，岛上的商品经济也很发达，还能抽税。 这还不算，毛岛主除了搞活内需外，还做进出口贸易，日本、朝鲜都有他的固定客商，据说连后金管辖区也有人和他做生意，反正那鬼地方没海关，国家也不征税，所以毛岛主的收入相当多，据说每个月都有十几万两白银。 有钱，自然就有人了，在高薪的诱惑下，上岛当兵的越来越多，原本只有两百多，后来袁崇焕上岛清人数时，竟然清出了三万人。 值得夸奖的是，在做副业的同时，毛岛主没有忘记本职工作，在之后的几年中，他创造了很多业绩，摘录如下： （天启）三年，文龙占金州。 四年五月，文龙遣将沿鸭绿江越长白山，侵大清国东偏。 八月，遣兵从义州城西渡江，入岛中屯田。 五年六月，遣兵袭耀州之官屯寨。 六年五月，遣兵袭鞍山驿，越数日又遣兵袭撤尔河，攻城南。 乱打一气不说，竟然跑到人家地面上屯田种粮食，实在太嚣张了。 努尔哈赤先生如果不恨他，那是不正常的。 可是恨也白恨，科技跟不上，只能眼睁睁看着毛岛主胡乱闹腾。 拜毛文龙同志所赐，后金军队每次出去打仗的时候，很有一点惊弓之鸟的感觉，唯恐毛岛主在背后打黑枪，以至于长久以来不能安心抢掠，工作精力和情绪受到极大影响，反响极其恶劣。 如此成就，自然无人敢管，朝廷哄着他，王化贞护着他，后来，王在晋接任了辽东经略，都得把他供起来。 毛文龙，袁崇焕的第三个帮助者，现在的上级、未来的敌人。 天启三年（1623），袁崇焕正热火朝天地在宁远修城墙的时候，另一个人到达宁远。 这个人是孙承宗派来的，他的职责，是与袁崇焕一同守护宁远。这个人的名字叫满桂。 满桂，宣府人，蒙古族。很穷，很勇敢。 满桂同志应该算是个标准的打仗苗子，从小爱好打猎。长大参军了，就爱好打人，在军队中混了很多年，每次出去打仗，都能砍死几个，可谓战功显赫，然而战功如此显赫，混到四十多岁，才是个百户。 倒不是有人打压他，实在是因为他太实在。 明朝规定，如果你砍死敌兵一人（要有首级），那么恭喜你，接下来你有两种选择，一、升官一级。二、得赏银五十两。 每次满桂都选第二种，因为他很缺钱。 我不认为满桂很贪婪，事实上，他很老实。 因为他并不知道，选第二种的人，能拿钱，而选第一种的，既能拿权，也能拿钱。 就这么个混法，估计到死前，能混到个千户，就算老天开眼了。 然而数年之后一个人的失败，造就了他的成功，这个失败的人，是杨镐。 万历四十七年（1619），杨镐率四路大军，在萨尔浒全军覆没，光将领就死了三百多人，朝廷没人了，只能下令破格提拔，满桂同志就此改头换面，当上了明军的高级将领——参将。 但真正改变他命运的，是另一个成功的人——孙承宗。 天启二年（1622），在巡边的路上，孙承宗遇见了满桂，对这位老兵油子极其欣赏（大奇之），高兴之余，就给他升官，把他调到山海关，当上了副总兵，一年后，满桂被调往宁远，担任守将。 满桂是一个优秀的将领，他不但作战勇敢，而且经验丰富，还能搞外交。 当时的蒙古部落，已经成为后金军队的同盟，无论打劫打仗都跟着一起来，明军压力很大，而满桂的到来彻底改变了这一切。 他利用自己的少数民族身份，对同胞进行了长时间耐心的劝说，对于不听劝说的，也进行了长时间耐心的攻打。很快，大家就被他又打又拉的诚恳态度所感动，全都服气了（桂善操纵，诸部咸服）。 此外，他很擅长堆砖头，经常亲自监工砌墙，还很喜欢练兵，经常把手下的兵练得七荤八素。 就这样，在满桂的不懈努力下，宁远由当初一座较大的废墟，变成了一座较大的城市（军民五万余家，屯种远至五十里）。 而作为宁远地区的最高武官，他与袁崇焕的关系也相当好。 其实矛盾还是有的，但问题不大，至少当时不大。 必须说明一点，满桂当时的职务，是宁远总兵，而袁崇焕，是宁前道。就级别而言，满桂比袁崇焕要高，但明朝的传统，是以文制武，所以在宁远，袁崇焕的地位要略高于满桂，高一点点。 而据史料记载，满桂是个不苟言笑，却极其自负的人。加上他本人是从小兵干起，平时干的都是砍人头的营生（一个五十两），注重实践，最看不起的，就是那些空谈理论，没打过仗的文官，当然，这其中也包括袁崇焕。 但有趣的是，他和袁崇焕相处得还不错，并不是他比较大度，而是袁崇焕比较能忍。 袁大人是很有自知之明的。他很清楚，在辽东混的，大部分都是老兵油子，杀人放火的事情干惯了，在这些人看来，自己这种文化人兼新兵蛋子，是没有发言权的。 所以他非常谦虚，非常能装孙子，还时常向老前辈们（如满桂）虚心请教，满桂们也心知肚明，知道他是孙承宗的人，得罪不起，都给他几分面子。总之，大家混得都还不错。 满桂，袁崇焕的第四个帮助者，三年后的共经生死的战友，七年后置于死地的对手。 或许你觉得人已经够多了，可是孙承宗似乎不怎么看，不久之后，他又送来了第五个人。 这个人，是他从刑场上救下来的，他的名字叫赵率教。 赵率教，陕西人，此人当官很早，万历中期就已经是参将了，履历平平，战功平平，资质平平，什么都平平。 表现一般不说，后来还吃了官司，工作都没了。后来也拜杨镐先生的福，武将死得太多没人补，他就自告奋勇，去补了缺，在袁应泰的手下，混了个副总兵。 可是他的运气很不好，刚去没多久，辽阳就丢了，袁应泰自杀，他跑了。 情急之下，他投奔了王化贞，一年后，广宁失陷，王化贞跑了，他也跑了。 再后来，王在晋来了，他又投奔了王在晋。 由于几年之中，他到了好几个地方，到哪，哪就倒霉，且全无责任心，遇事就跑，遇麻烦就溜，至此，他终于成为了明军之中有口皆碑的典型人物——反面典型。 对此，赵率教没有说什么，也不能说什么。 然而不久后，赵率教突然找到了王在晋，主动提出了一个要求： “我愿戴罪立功，率军收复失地。” 王在晋认为，自己一定是听错了，然而当他再次听到同样坚定的话时，他认定，赵率教同志可能是受了什么刺激。 因为在当时，失地这个概念，是比较宽泛的，明朝手中掌握的，只有山海关，往大了说，整个辽东都是失地，您要去收复哪里？ 赵率教回答：前屯。 前屯，就在宁远附近，是明军的重要据点。 在确定赵率教头脑清醒，没有寻死倾向之后，王在晋也说了实话： “收复实地固然是好，但眼下无余兵。” 这就很实在了，我不是不想成全你，只是我也没法。 然而赵率教的回答彻底出乎了王大人的意料： “无需派兵，我自己带人去即可。” 老子是辽东经略，手下都没几号人，你还有私人武装？于是好奇的王在晋提出了问题： “你有多少人？” 赵率教答： “三十八人。” 王在晋彻底郁闷了，眼下大敌当前，努尔哈赤随时可能打过来，士气如此低落，平时能战斗的，也都躲了，这位平时特别能躲的，却突然站出来要战斗？ 这都啥时候了，你开什么玩笑？还嫌不够乱？ 于是一气之下，王在晋手一挥：你去吧！ 这是一句气话，可他万没想到，这哥们真去了。 赵率教率领着他的家丁，三十八人，向前屯进发，去收复失地。 这是一个有明显自杀迹象的举动，几乎所有的人都认为，赵率教疯了。 但事实证明，赵先生没有疯，因为当他接近前屯，得知此地有敌军出现时，便停下了脚步。 “前方已有敌军，不可继续前进，收复此地即可。” 此地，就是他停下的地方，名叫中前所。 中前所，地处宁远近郊，大致位于今天的辽宁省绥中县附近，赵率教在此扎营，就地召集难民，设置营地，挑选精壮充军，并组织屯田。 王在晋得知了这个消息，却只是轻蔑地笑了笑，他认为，在那片遍布敌军的土地上，赵率教很快会故伎重演，丢掉一切再跑回来。 几个月后，孙承宗来到了这个原本应该空无一人的据点，却看见了广阔的农田、房屋，以及手持武器、训练有素的士兵。 在得知此前这里只有三十八人后，他找来了赵率教，问了他一个问题： “现在这里有多少人？” 赵率教回答： “民六万有余，士兵上万人。” 从三十八，到六万，面对这个让人难以置信的奇迹，孙承宗十分激动，他老人家原本是坐着马车来的，由于过于激动，当即把车送给了赵率教，自己骑马回去了。 从此，他记住了这个人的名字。 就赵率教同志的表现来看，他是一个知道羞耻的人，知耻近乎勇，在经历了无数犹豫、困顿后，他开始用行动，去证明自己的勇气。 可他刚证明到一半，就差点被人给砍了。 正当赵率教撩起袖子，准备大干一场的时候，兵部突然派人来找他，协助调查一件事情。 赵率教明白，这回算活到头了。 事情是这样的，当初赵率教在辽阳的时候，职务是副总兵，算是副司令员，掌管中军，这就意味着，当战争开始时，手握军队主力的赵率教应全力作战，然而他逃了，并直接导致了作战失败。 换句话说，小兵可以跑，老百姓可以跑，但赵率教不能跑，也不应该跑，既然跑了，就要依法处理，根据明朝军法，此类情形必死无疑。 但所谓必死无疑，还是有疑问的，特别是当有猛人求情的时候。 孙承宗听说此事后，当即去找了兵部尚书，告诉他，此人万不可杀，兵部尚书自然不敢得罪内阁大学士，索性做了个人情，把赵率教先生放了。 孙承宗并不是一个仁慈的人，他之所以放赵率教一马，是因为他认定，这人活着比死了好。 而赵率教用实际行动，证明了孙承宗的判断，在不久后的那场大战中，他将起到至关重要的作用。 赵率教，袁崇焕的第五个帮助者。