My life skills in Daming Liver - Chapter 680

c668 There always needs to be a decisive battle

For Li Chengliang, losing Liaodong was unacceptable, but it was better than losing troops and generals in Liaodong.

At this point today, Li Chengliang is already very clear. Shanhaoxian’s theory of quick war has occupied the public opinion of the entire Ming court. Even Li Chengliang understands that the Ming court has reached the moment of decisive battle.

Nanjing.

The General Staff conducted the last military intelligence exercise and reported the final conclusion to the Governor’s Office and the Cabinet that the final decisive battle would be fought in Shandong.

This news is only known to senior officials in the southeast. For ministers like Shen Shixing who do not understand military affairs, Shandong is the strongest, most conservative and stubborn region in the entire Ming Dynasty. Why choose to fight here?

The three directions of attack now are Shandong, Shanxi, and Dugu.

The first thing to be rejected was the plan to log into Taku.

At the beginning, there was a lot of discussion among the senior officials in the Southeast, believing that the rejection of the Dagu plan was an opportunity for the Navy and the Army to compete for the final decisive battle. Because the Army wanted to monopolize the entire conspiracy to destroy the Ming Dynasty, it vetoed the land and sea landing in Dagu. plan.

Later, the staff specially explained to the important ministers that this quick war method was abandoned. On the one hand, it was to consider the integrity of the political center of the capital. The governor did not want to destroy the ancient capital of the capital due to war. The north needed this political center.

On the other hand, when the war has reached this point, a decisive battle is needed to end the war.

However, both explanations are far-fetched and have been criticized by many officials.

Su Ze was sitting in the backyard playing with the machinery. After Shen Shixing reported what he was doing, he finally couldn’t help but ask:

“Grand Governor, why does a decisive battle have to be fought to end the Ming Dynasty?”

Su Ze tightened the screws, put down the machine in his hand and asked:

“Brother Rumo, if you look at the history books, does every dynasty end with a great war? Why is this?”

Shen Shixing was stunned for a moment.

Su Ze clapped his fingers and said: “King Wu defeated Zhou, the battle of Changping where Qin defeated Zhao, the decisive battle of Jiangdong where Han defeated Chu, Wei and Jin defeated Shu and Wu, do you still need me to talk about it?”

Shen Shixing lowered his head. Su Ze was indeed right. Every time a dynasty changes, there will be such a battle that will be passed down in history, that is, the final battle.

Shen Shixing also began to think about this question, but he still couldn’t get the answer.

Su Ze said: “The reason is very simple. The trapped beast still fights. Before the demise of any dynasty, it will accumulate all its strength for such a decisive battle, because the Ming Dynasty cannot afford to delay.”

At the same time, Li Chengliang also proposed a memorial for all mobilization for the final decisive battle at the court meeting.

This memorial was drafted by Shanhao first, and Li Chengliang read it directly in the court without changing a word.

Putting aside those decorative words, the main content of the entire memorial is what Hao Xian has always called for——

Mingting couldn’t wait any longer.

Shan Haoxian’s argument was still in “On the Six Kingdoms”. He used “the land to serve Qin, like holding firewood to put out a fire. The fire will not be extinguished until the firewood is exhausted” as the main point of view, and put forward the idea of ​​a deadline for the final decisive battle.

This memorial by Shan Hao Xian is quite in the style of a Southeast polemic article. Su Ze’s political view of “using data and facts to speak” not only affected the official system in the Southeast, Shan Hao Xian also used the same statement.

In this memorial, Shanhao Xian listed the only remaining war strength of the Ming Dynasty.

This includes military workshops in Shandong and Gyeonggi, coal mines in Shanxi, war horses and furs on the grasslands, and part of the profits obtained through maritime trade.

When Shanhao listed these first, those in the Ming court who opposed the final battle fell silent.

In Nanjing, Su Ze said to Shen Shixing:

“Now it’s not that we want to have a decisive battle with Ming Ting, but Ming Ting wants to have a decisive battle with us, because if we don’t have a decisive battle, they will never have the chance to have a decisive battle.”

“Rumo, if you do the math, there are only two industrial centers left in Shandong and Gyeonggi. Relying on the resources of Shanxi Province, even if it is supplemented by part of the smuggling maritime trade, how long can the Ming court sustain without a decisive battle?”

Shen Shixing fell silent.

Su Ze added: “When the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, Yuan Ting could still run to the grassland. Where can the Ming Dynasty run to now? The grassland or outside the customs?”

Shen Shixing said: “In this case, we can win as long as we delay, so why do we need to fight a decisive battle? We just need to continue to delay.”

Su Ze shook his head and said: “No, from a military perspective, it is true that the Ming Dynasty needs this decisive battle more, but politically, we need this decisive battle more.”

Shen Shixing was almost stunned, Su Ze said:

“First of all, it is our internal factors. The Army Department needs a decisive battle. In any case, officers are also a force in our southeast. This is their demand. Whether they are senior generals or junior officers, they are all eager for this final victory. Chance.”

Shen Shixing thought for a while and nodded. As a civilian, he opposed the intervention of military factors in politics. However, it would be too fantasy to completely exclude military influence on politics. Especially in the early days of a country’s establishment, the military is Quite a pillar of strength.

Although Southeast relied on Su Ze’s personal prestige and initial system construction to give the Ministry of War and the Navy a low voice in the cabinet, no one could deny the political influence of generals and soldiers.

This is why although Shen Shixing opposed the plan to decisively fight Shandong, he abstained from the vote during the cabinet vote.

Su Ze continued: “Of course, this reason seems far-fetched to you, Rumo. There is another reason. We also need a decisive battle to let everyone see the shattering of the old order and the new order we have established.”

Su Ze put down the things in his hands and said quietly: “Everything must end one day, and Mingting also needs such a funeral.”

“This funeral can give people from the old era a place to pay their respects, and it can be a last ceremony for those who are old and young. After that, if people from the old era are nostalgic about it, it won’t cause too much of a stir.”

“This funeral is also a tombstone for people in the new era, letting everyone know how a new life will come in the future, and a place to erect a monument to commemorate those who died before and during the final battle.”

“We need such a funeral, and so does Ming Dynasty. In this case, this decisive battle will definitely be fought.”

In the capital, after Li Chengliang finished reading the data and explained the situation, even Queen Mother Li already understood that if she continued to work hard, Mingting would have no future at all.

A decisive victory may not get Ming out of its predicament, but if it continues without a fight, there will be no chance for a comeback.

The Ming court and the Southeast Governor’s Office simultaneously issued orders for general mobilization.