Episode 50 Secret Peace Talks

On the morning of the 26th, Emperor Guangwu sat alone on a sofa, staring at the map on the wall with bloodshot eyes. The cigarette on his mouth was still smoking strongly, and the ash was already hanging down.

The conference room has not been cleaned up yet, and it is obvious that after the meeting is dismissed, Guangwu wants to stay alone for a while. There is an ashtray in front of each seat at the bench, some with no cigarette butts in it, and some with only one or two cigarette butts. But in this ashtray in front of Guangwu himself, cigarette butts have accumulated a pile.

The thick smoke in the conference room will make people who have just come in and don't know the inside story think that the meeting has just ended. However, this room was opened last night. In Beijing, it was urgently opened after learning that the Ming army had seized the pontoon bridge and entered Shanxi.

From the end of the meeting, I knew that until now, Guangwu has been smoking here all night. No one dared to persuade him. Everyone below knows the emperor's temper, and whoever comes to persuade him at such a time will definitely be unlucky. It has happened several times before.

This whole night, Guangwu kept smoking, staring at western Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi on the map, standing up and pacing for a while, kicking over a few chairs to vent, and then calming down and continuing to sit down to smoke and look at the map. A large piece of western Henan on the map is already filled with red villains, cars, and tanks. The density is so dense that it is in stark contrast to the blue figures in the north and west.

Red represents danger, warning, and aggressiveness, and on military maps it mostly represents the color of the enemy. Blue represents security and trustworthiness, and is generally used to represent oneself.

But now, the colors of the enemy have been densely distributed on the portals of Guanzhong and Shanxi. What's worse is that the two most important "gateways" - Hangu Pass and Longmen Pontoon Bridge have also fallen into the hands of the enemy. Now people only need to do one thing: increase the number of troops, and that's it. may not even have to fight a big battle, and you can easily take the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi.

And all I can do is just watch.

He first spent two hours thinking about all the possibilities to save Shanxi. …… Unfortunately, none of them can be achieved.

Then, he spent another two hours, forcing himself to admit that the southern part of Shanxi was irretrievable, forcing himself to be realistic, and considering the situation after the loss of the southern part of Shanxi, how to deploy.

Preserve the northern part of Shanxi at all costs.

With the loss of southern Shanxi, the North China Plain alone will be threatened at any time. But without the loss of northern Shanxi, even Beijing will be threatened at any time. In addition, the Zhangjiakou Tank City and the Hetao Railway connecting the west will also be threatened at any time.

The Wutai Mountain, Heng Mountain and Xishan Mountain at the northern end of the Taihang Mountains are close to Beijing. It is equivalent to the mountain up and down the mountain. Once in the hands of the Ming army, the Qing Dynasty would have to consider moving the capital. At that point, Guangwu was almost certain that his dominance would be upended.

Hirotake slowly strangled the cigarette in the ashtray and then pressed the electric bell.

A staff officer immediately came in to greet him. Guangwu asked:

"How's the army on the Shilu Highway doing?"

The staff officer immediately went out to ask questions. A few moments later, several generals came in, and immediately after saying goodbye, they marked on the map of the conference room and played a report.

On the map, Guangwu intuitively saw that the reinforcement Shanxi troops composed of 5 Eight Banner Divisions and 15 Han Army Divisions were repeatedly blocked on the Shilu Highway across the Taihang Mountain.

Moreover, judging from the marks on the map, since Shijiazhuang got off the train and entered the mountain, even one-third of the mountain road in the first stage has not passed.

These generals only dare to say this, and there are many more that dare not say it. Guangwu knew what else they wanted to say.

He asked coldly:

"Is it that during the day, it will still be attacked by the Ming army?"

Several generals breathed a sigh of relief, looked at each other, and all nodded.

"Summon," Guangwu said, tapping his fingers on the table, "immediately let the troops withdraw the way they came, and re-board the train in Shijiazhuang and head north." ”

Several generals stared wide-eyed, not knowing what the emperor meant.

Guangwu got up and came to the map, took a pencil and drew on it, and said:

"Don't stop in Beijing, continue to the northwest, along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway through Juyong Pass to Zhangjiakou, get off the train at Zhangjiakou, and then take the road to enter Shanxi from the north."

Several generals looked at each other and said slowly:

"This ...... Phew. ”

A young staff officer boldly asked:

"The Emperor...... Your Majesty, the slave is brave and dares to ask the emperor to solve his doubts...... The army withdrew to the north, that ...... The southwest side of the mountain, Taiyuan or something...... Don't we want it? ”

Several of the generals glared at him. Guangwu also slowly moved his gaze to his face.

The young staff officer immediately turned pale with fright, lowered his head, trembled, and said in a dry voice:

"Your Majesty...... Minions damn ......"

Guangwu held back his seizures, smiled, and said as kindly as possible:

"What's your name?"

"Slave...... The slave is called ...... Harmony ......"

"Well, Heli, which flag?"

"Back to ...... Back to the emperor, the minions are white flag ......"

Guangwu nodded and smiled:

"White flag, okay...... Heli, and you...... You must know that now that our Qing Dynasty has reached an eventful season, there are both internal and external troubles, and it is precisely because of the concerted efforts of those of us who are in the banner to protect our country...... Nanming in the south, as well as the Han people and ordinary people below, they all want to pull us down, liquidate us, and let us die without a place to bury...... The more we get to this time, the more we flag people must unite like one person......

"When Emperor Tianfang (Nurhachi) and Emperor Tiancong (Huang Taiji) raised troops against the Ming Dynasty, the situation was a hundred times more severe than we are now. At that time, the situation in the Qing Dynasty was ten times more severe than now. Didn't they all come here? As long as our flag people are still as united as they were then, what is this little difficulty at the moment? Can it really ruin our Qing Dynasty?

"Heli, if you want me to solve your doubts, I will come to explain your doubts. It's not that I don't want the south of Shanxi anymore, but now that the air supremacy in the south of Shanxi is in the hands of Nanming, and the control of the Taihang Mountain in the south is also in the hands of the guerrillas, it is unlikely that we will transfer troops from the south into Shanxi. I have taught you that when it is obvious that one path does not work, you must give up decisively and find another way to go. Now, the only way to go is to enter Shanxi from the north.

"Of course, the Ming army is mobile, so the southern part of Shanxi will definitely be occupied by them first. But when they seized the southwestern part of Shanxi, we also bought time in the north, and had time to hold some important mountain passes to ensure that the northern part of Shanxi was not lost. To ensure the northern part of Shanxi, it also ensured that the flank of the Beijing-Tianjin defensive ring was not threatened, and also ensured that the Hetao Railway was not threatened, and that the connection between the eastern and western parts of the Qing Dynasty was not cut off. In this way, as long as our Qing Dynasty fights a big victory in the Central Plains, we will be able to turn defeat into victory and drive Nanming back again. Only southern Shanxi, Shaanxi, Guanzhong, western Henan, and Jianghuai were able to recapture. Do you understand? ”

The young staff officer never expected that not only would he not be punished, but he would be able to hear the emperor say these words with his own ears, and he was so excited that he burst into tears for a while, and his throat rolled, and he could only say intermittently:

"The Emperor...... Emperor...... You...... You...... Minion...... Minion ......"

Several other generals were also very surprised, and they immediately all pretended to be grateful, and they all swore to show their loyalty.

Guangwu also smiled, looked at everyone with a pleasant face, and nodded, indicating that he understood, let everyone get busy.

Guangwu knew that as the battle situation continued to deteriorate, his position in the clan was also shaking little by little. I'm afraid it's no longer possible to be as aggressive and domineering as before. From now on, he will use all means to unite the majority of the people as much as possible.

But those generals have their own ghosts. At least two or three people are thinking: what you say now, 'the flag people are united like one person', why didn't you say this when you came to power in the first coup? In the clan, you killed several iron hat kings, and you didn't even let go of the fourteen grids, forcing them to flee to Nanming's side. The fourteenth Gege is a rare talent in the clan, and now it's okay, I'll give Nanming ideas to Nanming in the south all day long, give the Qing Dynasty a lot, and do some things that are happy for relatives and enemies...... Who is to blame?

…… If you are moody all day long, you know that you kill people and arrest people, so that no one in the command department dares to speak, and you are all the one who makes the idea...... The Eight Banners Division and the Guards Division, in order not to let others get involved, can actually let your two hairless younger brothers take care of it...... The sticky rod is even more outrageous, and you actually let your youngest son who is a few years old be the chief, and the newspapers of Western countries have made fun of this, making the Qing Dynasty almost a laughing stock all over the world...... The sticky rod used to be a tiger in the hands of Fourteen Grids, but now it's only been a few days? I'm about to become pigs...... If the fourteen grids were still in charge of the sticky rod, how could the Great Qing Dynasty not let Nanming attack so successfully......

……

Guangwu sent away a group of generals, and asked people to find the two deputy chiefs at the sticky pole.

"You two listen up," Hirotake lowered his voice and stared at them rather sternly, "what I am saying to you now is something that must be kept secret. This involves the Jiangshan Sheji of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the lives of our banner people. I found you because no one else could trust you, so I could trust you...... Do you hear me? ”

The two deputy chiefs glanced at each other, nodded with divine expressions, and said in unison:

"Your Majesty, rest assured!"

The left deputy chief said again:

"Slaves risk their lives to keep it a secret!"

The right deputy chief immediately followed:

"Even if a slave dies, there is no place to bury, and it must be kept secret!"

Guangwu smiled, waved his hand and said:

"Okay, okay, don't say such depressing words. If I don't believe you, I won't come to you. …… Listen, I have a top-secret task for you, and that is to arrange secret contacts with Nanming's side to test the possibility of a truce in peace. ”

"Ahh

"Ahh