Li Xiao went eastward. After two days, Jirgalang led the main infantry team to the bottom of Tukula Cliff.

However, when they were about to reach Tukula Cliff, Jirgalang and all the Qing army were immediately smelled of corpse and almost fainted.

Jirhalang endured his severe disgust and ordered his subordinates to go to Tukula Cliff and bury all the Qing cavalry, whether they were men or horses, intensified their burial.

When watching the Qing army, covering their mouths and noses with thick cloth, clearing out all the bodies in the valley, and then calculating and scattering them together, Jiergalang's face turned pale.

It's so hateful. It's so hateful that when the Tang army returned east, they were able to design an ambush against the Qing army that was coming to pursue. It was really beyond Jiergalang's expectations.

Soon, a large number of bodies were arranged to be buried, and when Jirgalang heard the statistics reported by the soldiers, he frowned deeply.

According to statistics, there were only two thousand Qing army bodies in the valley, which means that at least more than two thousand Qing army members became prisoners of the Tang army and were eventually taken away.

The body of the main general Suo Hai was not found at all. From this point of view, Suo Hai should have surrendered voluntarily and then collectively surrendered to the Tang cavalry with more than 2,000 remaining Qing cavalry.

Jirgalang regretted it too much and was deeply helpless because he had mistakenly believed Suo Hai's plan.

But now, there is no regret medicine.

Jirgalang already thought of Huang Taiji's rebuke of himself

Just as Jirgalang led all the infantry back to Shenyang with dejectedly, Hong Chengchou, commander-in-chief of the Ming army on the western Liaoning front, was in a state of turmoil.

Because he had just received an urgent imperial edict from the court.

This is a letter written by Emperor Chongzhen himself, urging Hong Chengchou to launch an attack on the Qing army as soon as possible.

Seeing this imperial edict, Hong Chengchou sighed to the sky.

It turned out that after Hong Chengchou was appointed as the governor of Ji Liao, he was extremely vigilant and afraid of the Tartars. He did not dare to advance rashly, so he stationed in Ningyuan to spy on the situation in Jinzhou. He also told the court: "The enemy is ahead, and the soldiers are in danger of fighting. It is difficult to rescue Jin. The dead are buried and the injured are not yet arose. Within half a month, the decisive battle will be supervised to relieve the urgent needs of Jinzhou."

Hong Chengchou's attitude of being a turtle was very dissatisfied with the court. Like Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, advocated a quick battle and decisive decision on the grounds that there were too many soldiers and was struggling to urge Hong Chengchou to advance. Emperor Chongzhen was also anxious and ordered Hong Chengchou to "advance the troops in the first time" and then assigned to Ma Shaoyu. Zhang Ruoqi was the head of the Ministry of War and served as the doctor of Fang, and went to Ningyuan to supervise the decisive battle.

Hong Chengchou had no choice but to symbolically lead the army away from Ningyuan. Under his command, the seven Ming army had a total of 130,000 people. They were north of Songshan and west of Rufeng Mountain, and arranged seven camps in between, guarding each other and surrounding them with long moats, thinking that they had a long-term foothold.

Even so, the court was still extremely dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou's attitude of fearing the enemy and fighting, and strictly ordered him to march immediately without delay.

Hong Chengchou finally cried and finally decided not to continue to take the defensive stance, but to send a vanguard to attack Xishimen, Jinzhou first, and ordered General Yang Guozhu to lead his troops to attack. As a result, Yang Guozhu was unfavorable to attack and was killed by arrows. Shanxi General Li Fuming Daizhi was appointed as General Li Fuming.

Seeing that the Ming army finally dispatched, Huang Taiji was very happy. He immediately ordered his Qing army to dig trenches on site, including Wangbaoshan, Zhuangzhentai, Zhaiershan, Changlingshan, Liu Xitun and other places, and tightly surrounded the Songshan area, "cut off the important roads in Songshan."

When he met, he had become an isolated army. Hong Chengchou had no choice but to fight the Qing army in Songshan and Jinzhou areas. He dared not say that he could defeat the Qing army. He could only hope to maintain an unbeaten situation and explain to the court.

However, the Ming army, which had been attacking with the nerve to attack, was soon found by Huang Taiji. He secretly ordered Ajige to lead the elite Qing army to raid Tashan and seize the twelve piles of food and grass accumulated in Bijia Mountain when the tide fell.

As a result, Ajige sent troops very smoothly, and defeated the unprepared Ming army. The twelve piles of food and grass fell into the hands of the Qing army. The Qing army was so motivated, but the Ming army was extremely depressed and panicked.

Subsequently, the Ming army "decided to go back to Ningyuan for food due to lack of funds" and decided to break through and flee south early tomorrow morning. As soon as the general of Datong, Wang Pu, led his troops to break through the siege at night, and then escaped. As a result, "the generals competed and fought, and the horses and stairs were ravaged by each other." In the dark night, the Ming soldiers "fighted and broke through, and the soldiers were scattered and chaotic, and it was difficult to recognize them at night." General Wu Sangui, Wang Pu and others fled to Xingshan, while General Ma Ke, Li Fuming and others rushed into Tashan.

Commander-in-chief Hong Chengchou and others failed to break through and eventually trapped Songshan City (Songshan Town, Songshan District, Jinzhou). They organized the breakthrough several times, but failed. Soon, "the road to transfer money was gone, and the food in the whole city was gone." Songshan deputy general Xia Chengde sent someone to secretly surrender to the Qing Dynasty, thinking that it was an internal response, and he used his son Xia Shu as the master.

Three days later, the Qing army climbed the city walls that were abundant in Xia Chengde. General Qiu Minyang, Wang Tingchen and others were killed. Hong Chengchou, guerrilla Zu Dacheng, Zu Daming and others were defeated and captured. They were later sent to Shenyang.

In addition, there were one soldier in the city, ten deputy generals, guerrillas, ministry, guards, red flags, thousand generals, and more than a hundred officers, including 3,600 soldiers. These people were massacred by the Qing army to avenge the people of Manzhou who were buried alive by Li Xiao in the whole city of Hetuara City.

After Hong Chengchou and others were taken to Shenyang, Huang Taiji, who had left Jinzhou and returned to Shenyang, was overjoyed and immediately ordered people to persuade them to surrender with all their might.

It is said that when he was still in Songshan City, someone persuaded Hong Chengchou to surrender, but he firmly refused. After being captured because of the rebel general Xiancheng, the Qing soldiers took him to the commander Haoge and forced him to kneel down, but he said contemptuously: "I am a minister of the Celestial Empire, how can I kneel down in front of the prince of the small country!" It was obvious that I had put life and death aside. So why did this stern man change his mind later?

In history, there are two versions that persuade Hong Chengchou to surrender.

After being escorted to Shengjing, Hong Chengchou was locked in the Sanguan Temple in the palace. He had already made up his mind to die, and he disheveled his hair and barefoot every day, without eating or drinking, and scolded Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji was not only not angry, but also mobilized all the mobilized forces in Shengjing to persuade surrender. Most of these were Hong Chengchou's previous colleagues in the Ming Dynasty, and asked them to show up. Unexpectedly, Hong Chengchou looked very honest and never surrendered.

When most people's persuasion to surrender was invalid, Fan Wencheng appeared.

Fan Wencheng showed the demeanor of a famous scholar. When he faced Hong Chengchou's furiousness, he was not angry, but instead talked about the past and the present with the wind and drizzle, which forced Hong Chengchou to reflect: Confucius said to be benevolence, and Meng said to take righteousness, but only the righteousness was complete, so benevolence was the most important. What did you learn when reading the books of sages? People are afraid of being calm and afraid of whether it is worth it. Once they emerge from the horns of the bull and find that the world is so big, they will not be determined to die.

Just then, the dust accumulated on the beam of the house fell down and fell on Hong Chengchou's clothes. Hong Chengchou couldn't help but gently dusted it off with his hands. Fan Wencheng saw this subtle movement, and he smiled secretly, then said goodbye, and reported directly to Huang Taiji: "Chengchou will not die. At this time, he even cherishes his clothes, let alone life."

Huang Taiji came to the Sanguan Temple to visit Hong Chengchou in person, and took off the sable fur on his body and put it on him. He said kindly, "Sir, don't you feel cold, do you?" Hong Chengchou looked at Huang Taiji for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "You are the true emperor!" He surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

At this point, we should understand that Hong Chengchou doesn’t want to surrender, but he cannot surrender! On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty has told the world that he is a national hero and has sacrificed his life for the country! At this time, if I, Hong Chengchou, want to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, your Qing Dynasty must give me a very good explanation and let me give an explanation to the Han people all over the world!

What is this explanation? The only excuse is: Huang Taiji is the true emperor, and I, Hong Chengchou, is a good minister, finally met the wise master and could surrender.

Of course, as for Hong Chengchou's surrender, the one that makes people talk about the most is another version. It is also a widely circulated version among the people, that is, Concubine Zhuang persuaded Hong Chengchou to surrender.

The process of this version is roughly like this: Hong Chengchou lay motionless on the bed of light, enduring the torment of hunger and thirst, hoping to die quickly. Suddenly, a strange fragrance came to his nose and filled the entire cell. He was energetic and opened his eyes slightly. In front of him was a Manchu lady, graceful, with a shiny head of black and shiny hair, with her tall cloud bun, her sleeves were like tender lotus roots, her hands were as white as green onions, and her slim figure was like willows, and she came out of the water. Hong Chengchou only felt that the entire cell had become brighter, as if she had forgotten even her hunger.

Concubine Zhuang said, "I heard that General Hong has an old mother who is over 60 years old. If you leave, who will respect her? I heard that General Hong has a wife with a hair in his boudoir and a beautiful concubine in his side room. Are you willing to let them stay alone in the empty boudoir?" After hearing this, Hong Chengchou was extremely sad and said, "Concubine Zhuang felt that the time had come, so she quickly took out the jade pot from the bamboo basket she brought, and two wine cups were filled with ginseng soup and said, "General Hong is determined to die. I dare not let General Hong ruin his reputation. This is a farewell wine. Please drink it."

Hong Chengchou was silent for a long time and drank it in one sip. Unexpectedly, as soon as the "wine" was in his mouth, Hong Chengchou realized that it was not wine or ginseng soup. He couldn't help but feel happy and couldn't help drinking several glasses.

Concubine Zhuang said again: "General Hong has not eaten for several days and is weak. Please drink a few more drinks!" As he said that, he pressed Hong Chengchou's shoulders with both hands. Hong Chengchou seemed to be hit by lightning, and he couldn't help but stretch out his hands and held Concubine Zhuang's hand tightly.

Concubine Zhuang deliberately said coquettishly: "Is General Hong even more about it?" Concubine Zhuang's words and actions aroused Hong Chengchou's longing for women and nostalgia for life. He was determined not to die anymore, and then turned around and overwhelmed Concubine Zhuang...

As for how the imperial concubine of the Qing Dynasty could be easily committed to others, this absurd legend has been spread because of the historical concepts and customs of the Manchu and Mongolian tribes in treating gender relations. In those uncivilized barbaric tribes, if a woman could subdue a hero, she would not only not be despised by her tribe members, but on the contrary, she would also be loved and respected by everyone like a hero.

In addition, the author also discovered another unofficial historical statement.

It is said that after Hong Chengchou was captured, he went on a hunger strike for nine days and only wanted to die quickly. Huang Taiji saw that the persuasion of surrender was ineffective and cherished that he was a talented person, so he released him. However, on the way to Hong Chengchou entered the pass, he met a servant in his family. The servant told him: Now the Ming Dynasty thought that he had died in the Battle of Songshan. If he went back alive, and "the three armies he commanded were all lost, the place was lost", the court would be punished, and he would not die alone, and his wife and children would be implicated. Hong Chengchou was in a dilemma, he hesitated for a long time and decided to return to Shengjing and surrender to Huang Taiji.

The credibility of this statement is that the Ming Dynasty did severely punish the defeated generals. The "Draft History of Qing Dynasty" records that after Hong Chengchou surrendered, Huang Taiji said to him: "I found that your Ming monarch was captured and the royal family members were captured but not rescued. The general was defeated and captured. If someone surrendered, the monarch would either kill their wives and children, or sell them to slaves. Is this an old system or a new system?" Hong Chengchou replied: "There was no such system before, which was only found in recent years." Huang Taiji said with great emotion: "The monarch is not wise, and his ministers deceived his superiors and concealed his subordinates, and the things that were killed in vain will occur one after another. Generals were captured in the death battle or were desperate to surrender. Why should they punish their wives and children? They were cruel and innocent and powerful!" Hong Chengchou burst into tears when he heard this.

In September of the fifth year of Tiancong (1631 AD), when Zhang Chun, the Minister of the Ming Taipu Temple, was defeated and captured, he also said to Dahai, Kubata Chan and others who came to persuade him to surrender: "If I die at your hands now, my five sons and three grandsons can survive." On the 25th day of the 10th lunar month of the same year, Zu Dashou, the guard of Daling River, was quite hesitant about whether to surrender because he was concerned about the safety of his second son who was far away in the capital. In his letter to Shi Tingzhu, deputy general of the Qing army, he had such words: "If I could design, I would rescue my second brother in Beijing, which is the great kindness of my brother to my ancestors."

Emperor Chongzhen severely punished the defeated generals and their family without any mercy, which was in great contrast to Huang Taiji's practice of surrendering to the Ming army.

Two years later, the Qing army entered the pass in a large number. In the process of pacifying the Central Plains, Jiangnan and southwest regions, Hong Chengchou played a huge role, demonstrating the broad mind and keen political vision of Huang Taiji, the Tartar emperor.

After Hong Chengchou surrendered, the Ming Dynasty did not know that he had turned against him. Emperor Chongzhen was shocked when he heard this. He stopped the court and specially offered sacrifices to the Nine Altars. When the sacrifices reached the Ninth Altar, he received a military report saying that Hong Chengchou had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and the capital was in a big uproar. Chongzhen had no face and could only give up in disappointment.

On the battlefield in western Liaoning, in addition to the defeat of the main force of the Ming army, Zu Dashou led his troops to Xiancheng and surrender, and the Qing army occupied Jinzhou. Next, the Qing army used red-clothed cannons to destroy Xingshan city walls, and deputy general Lu Pinqi led his troops to surrender without fighting. The three cities of Songshan, Jinzhou and Xingshan were all gone, and the Songjin War ended.

"This is a plan to kill 53,783 enemies, seize 7,440 horses and 9,346 armors. The Ming soldiers from Xingshan to Tashan south, and many died in the sea. The abandoned horses and armors were tens of thousands. The corpses floating in the sea were floating like geese and baidu."

The end of the Songjin Battle marked the complete collapse of the Ming Dynasty's defense system in Liaodong. The Ming Dynasty's last line of defense in Liaodong was only a lonely city in Ningyuan and a Shanhaiguan, and only the last remaining Wu Sangui's tribe and Zu Dalemen.
Chapter completed!