***
"Your Highness, it's easy for Xia Chengde to disguise himself as a refugee and go south." Ning Wanwo added.
Duoduo had an idea and thought that this might be a good idea.
In fact, with so many patients, the army would be seriously hindered, and it would be difficult to return north safely under the pursuit of Li Jiu and others.
More importantly, these patients will seriously affect morale. Weapons are in short supply now. If morale drops to a lower level, it will be difficult to walk even a hundred miles, let alone five hundred miles.
Ning Wanwo hesitantly proposed the idea of dividing the troops, but in fact he just wanted to abandon these two or three thousand patients. The so-called division of troops was just an excuse that everyone could see through.
Duoduo knew that this idea was the only feasible solution at the moment, but he was unable to make up his mind.
Losing a lot of men and horses on the battlefield is passive; this so-called "division of troops" is completely different in nature. It is active giving up and leaving the patients to fend for themselves.
If this were to happen, perhaps morale would suffer a greater blow. How would the soldiers feel if their relatives, friends, and comrades were left behind? Even if they were not without family ties, they would inevitably feel grief for the loss of their loved ones.
Duoduo was silent for a while, and then he looked at Gong Acha, Malaxi, Aobai, Tulai and others, and finally asked Aobai: "Aobai, what do you think, should we divide our forces?"
Although Aobai had strong limbs, he was not a simple-minded person. He immediately replied, "It's all up to the prince."
Duoduo looked at Tulai again and asked, "Tulai, tell me!"
Tulai had the courage of a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. He stabbed Ning Wanwo with a dagger-like gaze and said, "Since Lord Ning proposed to divide the troops. How about this? Lord Ning is resourceful and will lead some of the brothers to stay and lure the enemy. Prince, if this is the case, I have no objection."
"Shut up!" Duoduo shouted coldly.
"Your Majesty, you asked me this yourself. Am I wrong?"
Duoduo said coldly: "Tulai, don't forget who is the commander of the army. I only asked you whether to divide the troops. I didn't ask you who to let stay to lure the enemy. How can you interfere in such a matter? Since you said so. Then you stay. If you dare to disobey orders, don't blame me for being ruthless in military law!"
Tulai glared at Ning Wanwo fiercely, then raised his head and said nothing.
This is exactly why Ning Wanwo hesitated to tell this plan at first. As the war situation became increasingly unfavorable to the Qing Dynasty, the contradictions within the Qing Dynasty became increasingly intensified.
Tuduo wanted to find a scapegoat, and Tulai and his men wanted Tuduo to bear the responsibility for the defeat. And it was obvious that this defeat had dealt a heavy blow to Tuduo's prestige, making Tulai even more dissatisfied with him.
Moreover, Duoduo's actions since the southern expedition were indeed unfair. He had been ostracizing people from Haoge's faction. Now he only asked Aobai and Tulai, not asking them. This was also intentional to let Aobai and Tulai bear the responsibility of abandoning the patients. Tulai naturally felt unfair. A few words of retort were still the least of his faults.
Ning Wanwo knew in his heart that if Duoduo really kept Tulai, this obvious factional attack would inevitably further widen the rift within the Qing Dynasty, and it might even become impossible to repair it.
He said quickly, "Your Majesty, please listen to me. We have no choice but to let those soldiers with limited mobility disguise themselves as refugees and return north. This is actually better for them and the entire army. However, since they are only disguised as refugees and dispersed to return north, there is no need to leave a general to lead them. Please withdraw your order, Your Majesty."
"Ning Wan me, no need for your hypocrisy, I will stay and share life and death with those brothers."
Tulai was clearly targeting Ning Wanwo, but in fact, wasn't he also mocking Duoduo? At least Duoduo thought he was mocking his selfishness. He was furious and suddenly drew his sword to chop Tulai.
Ning Wanwo, Zu Dale, Malaxi and others rushed to stop him. Duoduo pointed a knife at Tulai and shouted angrily: "Tulai, do you think I dare not kill you? Get out!"
After an unexpected internal conflict, Duoduo had no choice but to leave behind 2,000 soldiers with more serious illnesses. He asked these patients to hide in the mountains first, and after the army led away the pursuers, he let the patients disguise themselves as refugees and disperse back north.
These two thousand people were all seriously ill. Even if the Qin army did not pursue them, I am afraid that few of them would survive. The so-called staying behind was just a decent excuse, which meant that they were abandoned.
This would be beneficial to Duoduo's army, but it is hard to say whether it would cause any political crisis within the Qing Dynasty in the future.
As the Qing army was defeated one after another, the prestige of the regent Dorgon and the three brothers Dodo and Ajige who led the troops continued to weaken. Their ability to suppress the various factions of the Qing Dynasty must have become weaker and weaker. It is not impossible that someone would make a fuss about this matter.
***
Quality is more important than quantity. Liu Meng selected 25,000 elite soldiers from the 50,000-strong army and prepared to march north to attack Fengyang Prefecture.
Qin Mu ordered Zu Dabi to be brought up. When he first learned of Zu Dabi's identity, he ordered him to be captured alive, which naturally had ulterior motives.
Zu Dabi was as strong as an ox and looked like a black iron tower. His hands were tied behind his back and he was escorted into the tent by Niu Wanshan and Li Shi. Niu Wanshan kicked him in the ankle, making him lose his balance and his knees almost touched the ground. However, he was able to hold on and stand up straight again.
He shouted arrogantly, "Qin Mu, if you want to kill me, then kill me. If you want me to kneel down before you, forget it."
Qin Mu waved his hands to Niu Wanshan and Li Shi, then said calmly: "I know that you only kneel to the Tartars, not the Han people."
Just this one sentence made Zu Dabi's dark face turn red, his whiskers trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.
Qin Mu continued, "You were captured last night, and you felt that we outnumbered you, so you must have been very unhappy, right?"
"So what? If anyone has the ability to fight my ancestor alone, I will only respect him if he beats me."
"Aobai is the bravest warrior in Manchuria, but even he couldn't defeat you, right?"
Zu Dabi immediately regained his pride and answered in a loud voice: "Of course!"
"Since no one in the Qing Dynasty can defeat you, why do you surrender to them?"
It's hard to imagine. This blind black bear changed his expression so quickly. Just now he was so pleased with himself, but suddenly he looked so depressed. Niu Wanshan and Li Shi couldn't help laughing. Zu Dabi was so anxious that he yelled, "Qin Mu, if you want to kill him, just kill him. If I frown, I'm not a human being."
"I know you are not afraid of me, you are only afraid of the Tartars."
"You...Qin Mu, I'm going to kill you!"
Zu Dabi was so ashamed that he wanted to solve the problem by force, but Niu Wanshan and Li Shi were on guard against him and kicked him hard at the bend of his leg. Zu Dabi couldn't hold on this time and fell to his knees with a bang. His knees must have hurt so much that his facial features twisted.
"Zu Dabi, you lost to the Tartars on the battlefield, so you surrendered and became their slave. This I can understand. But what I don't understand is that you have also lost to me on the battlefield, so why are you pretending to be a tough guy in front of me? I beat the Tartars and made them flee in panic, how am I not better than them? You knelt before the Tartars, but you pretend to be a hero in front of me. What's the reason for this? Tell me!"
“I… … … ..”
"What about me? You have nothing to say, right? Has the Ming Dynasty ever treated your ancestors badly? From the generals to the deputy generals, lieutenant generals, and guerrillas, your ancestors are all honored. Emperor Chongzhen of the dynasty even ordered the construction of a memorial archway in Ningyuan City to commemorate the merits of the four generations of the Zu family in suppressing Liao. Has your ancestors been treated badly in the slightest? How did your ancestors repay the great kindness of Emperor Chongzhen? You are a person who has betrayed your ancestors. Do you deserve the surname Zu
If you still have a conscience, you should not help the evil and help the Tartars kill my Han people and destroy my clothes. I think you are a man, so I will give you a chance to turn over a new leaf and become a new man. As long as you are willing to abandon the Hu people and return to the Han people, I will forgive you. If you can convince your ancestors to turn over a new leaf, I will also ensure that your ancestors will be rich and prosperous for generations. Think about it carefully."
Qin Mu took great pains to capture Zu Dabi alive. His bravery was secondary to his valor. The main reason was that the Zu family was still very powerful in the Qing Dynasty. Zu Dabi's peers included Zu Dashou and Zu Dale, and his sons and nephews included nephews Zu Zeyuan, Zu Zepei, Zu Zesheng, Zu Zefa, Zu Zerun, Zu Kefa, etc., including his nephew Wu Sangui, all of whom were capable and good at fighting.
Wu Sangui's entire army was wiped out, and his generals Hu Shouliang and Guo Yunlong led their people to surrender to the Qin Dynasty. Wu Sangui was still able to live a comfortable life after returning to Beijing because of the relationship with his ancestral family.
If we can convince Zu Dabi, this young and foolish man, even if we cannot make the Zu family rebel against the Qing Dynasty, at least the Qing Dynasty will be wary of the Zu family. If we let Ye Bushu instigate them in the future, it will not be difficult to force the Zu family to abandon darkness and join light, or at least it will not be difficult for the Qing Dynasty to take action against the Zu family.
Qin Mu talked for a long time, but Zu Dabi hung his head and did not answer. Although he was a little dazed, he was not a real fool. He also knew that if he surrendered to Qin Mu, it would most likely bring disaster to the Zu family.
Qin Mu smiled secretly. He didn't expect that just by saying this, this guy would bow down to him. But how difficult would it be to play with this guy at will
"General Zu, you can take your time to decide whether to submit to me or not. I respect you as a good man and would like to invite you to drink some wine. Do you dare to drink?"
As Qin Mu spoke, he brought up a jar of fine wine, opened the lid, and the tent was immediately filled with the aroma of wine.
"Hmph! Why not? I, the ancestor, am not afraid of death, so why would I be afraid of drinking your wine?" Zu Dabi looked at the jar of fine wine, his Adam's apple moving. He has always been addicted to alcohol, so drinking a jar of wine alone is no big deal for him.
"You can drink, but you can't call me by my name anymore. This is disrespectful to me. After all, you are a defeated general. Calling me the King of Qin is not too much."
"As you wish, bring me some wine."
"Wait, it's true that we are enemies on the battlefield, but when we sit together and drink, I treat you as a friend. You have to be more polite and give me some face. Is that okay?"
"It's up to you!"
"Okay, General Zu is indeed a straightforward person. Drinking in the tent is too suffocating. The snow has just cleared up and the scenery is just right. Let's go outside the tent and drink to our heart's content. Come on, untie General Zu."
For Zu Dabi, everything is easy to talk about as long as there is wine. It's just a matter of speaking politely. It's not surrender. What's the problem
He thought it was no problem, but in fact, it was a big problem, because he was not the only prisoner in the camp...
*****************
ps: On the 30th, the last day of June, brothers, please check your ticket folders to see if there are any missed monthly tickets? At the end of every month, my place is deserted. I hope that this month will be a change. I beg brothers to support me.
Please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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