"People say that a piece of mouse poop spoils a pot of soup. The first thing we need to do is not to guard against mouse poop, but to kill the mouse. Without the mouse, where would the mouse poop come from? "Vézé said calmly.
If the Manchu Qing had an intelligence network, and this intelligence network was able to find out about these words, they would undoubtedly understand that doomsday would soon befall them.
"Destroy the Manchu Qing, then take care of those people!" Ruan Xihao immediately expressed his support for Vézé's attitude.
The other generals were happy to be able to focus on the war, and everyone agreed with Ruan Xihao. In the end, they lowered their heads and asked Vézé to come to Beijing, hoping that Vézé could take over the civil affairs, so that everyone could focus on the war that they were good at.
"September is not a good time to send out troops. It's raining all over the north in autumn." Some of the comrades couldn't help but complain.
Ruan Xihao was unhappy after hearing this. He said in a deep voice, "This is my fault! If I had asked the commander-in-chief to come to Beijing earlier, things wouldn't have been delayed to this extent. "
Although he said that, Ruan Xihao glared at the commander who spoke. The commander knew that he had said the wrong thing, so he lowered his head and didn't dare to say another word. A few months ago, during the party committee meeting of the Northern Command, these people objected to Vézé coming to Beijing for various reasons. In fact, one of the main reasons was that they felt that they could finally be in charge of the north. But it turned out that they were wrong. Even though they couldn't help but say something after the fact, these people were still quite guilty.
Vézé really didn't want to criticize these people. The lack of cadres was a problem that all the regions were facing. In the 21st century, the government could select all kinds of outstanding undergraduates to become civil servants. The current civil servant system had raised the standard to the level of junior high school graduates. Moreover, the origin of junior high school graduates was very simple, and they were basically all from the south. It couldn't be helped. Those who could complete the nine years of education were basically from the first liberated areas in Guangdong. The four northern provinces had a large area and a large population, but they hadn't even established a primary school system yet. By the time they could mass produce junior high school graduates, it would be ten years later. With the hard standard stuck here, it was useless to say anything. Wei Ze also felt that it was quite a pity that there was nothing he could do about it.
"The war in spring next year will probably last until April. I'll be back in Beijing before then. Apart from conscription, the land reform team will also be opening schools in the villages during the slack season. Since we don't need the old scholars, we have to cultivate our own educated class. "Wei Ze continued to order.
"I think we can actually fight." Ruan Xihao gave his opinion. "Lv Shun and other coastal areas can use sea transportation. "Northern Qing, we can fight in the winter. if we can't fight in winter. We can of of of of of fighting. of of of of!"
"Northern Command will make the decision themselves. I'm mainly in charge of political and administrative work." Wei Ze didn't want to make things too awkward for his comrades in Northern Command.
On October 12th, the last rail of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway was laid. Vézé personally fixed the screw of the last rail. The first railway north of the Yellow River was completed. On October 12th, the last rail of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway was laid. Vézé personally fixed the screw of the last rail. The first railway north of the Yellow River was completed.
The locomotive had already arrived. Vézé took the train from Beijing to the port of Tianjin. It took him five hours to travel more than a hundred kilometers. In this era, the railway initially had to use heavy freight to "press the road." Beijing's coal mine had already been developed, and the high quality anthracite was used to supply the ships of Tianjin port.
Ruan Xihao sent Vézé to the dock. He asked, "Commander-in-chief, when will you come next year?"
"I will try to come north after the meeting," Vézé replied. The situation in the north was worse than Vézé had imagined, and the work of the five year plan in the southern provinces was very heavy. Vézé did not believe that the south would allow its elite soldiers to work in the north. At this time, they could only rely on political means to mobilize the masses.
As soon as Vézé left, Ruan Xihao immediately rushed back to Beijing. His first order was, "Attack Shenyang!"
The party committee did not object at all. They had already lost face once and did not want to lose it a second time. If they could take Shenyang before Vézé returned to Beijing, which was the current capital of the small Manchu Qing court, then Manchu Qing would suffer a second collapse. The only problem now was supplies, not fighting. The biggest difficulty was whether they could stand firm in Shenyang and survive the six months of ice and snow.
"No matter how difficult it is, as long as we take Shenyang before the Commander-in-chief returns to Beijing, we can get back all the face we have lost." Ruan Xihao mobilized before the war.
Shenyang was Shenyang. From October 22nd to 24th, the small Manchu Qing court in Shenyang received three reports. The Liberation Army suddenly attacked Shanhai Pass, Jinzhou, and Lushun. If the three places were attacked one after the other, the small Manchu Qing court would feel that it was reasonable. But the report stated that the three places were attacked at the same time on October 19th, and the number of troops attacking was huge.
Because they lacked a navy and had no experience in sea transportation, the Manchu Qing could not understand the fact that the Liberation Army could transport more than 50,000 people in the calm Bohai Sea with only ten ships. But this was not important. What was important was that the Liberation Army would attack Shenyang in two directions.
"We can no longer retreat. The ancestral land is in Shenyang. If we abandon Shenyang, how can we face our ancestors in the afterlife?" Prince Yi of this generation said loudly.
It was October 26th. The small Manchu Qing court, which was anxious about the battles in Jinzhou, Lushun, and other places, was having a meeting. The timing of the Liberation Army's attack was unacceptable. In a few days, it would snow outside the pass. At that time, the march would become very difficult. Hearing Prince Yi's fervent speech, Prince Gong frowned.
The Empress Dowager of the East, Ci An, had already said to Prince Gong in private, "If we really can't hold on, then quickly retreat." But the timing was terrible. If it snowed while they were retreating, how many people could survive in the winter snow outside the pass was a problem. Moreover, if they marched in the snow, the possibility of the enemy catching up was very high. Discussing the sinister nature of the Liberation Army, Ci An, Cixi, and Prince Gong all frowned.
But what else could they do if they didn't retreat? There were only a few hundred thousand Manchu people outside the pass. Including the Manchu people who had escaped from Beijing, the total number was less than a million. All that talk about the Manchu people not exceeding 10,000 and not being able to defeat 10,000 was nonsense. If it was still the era of cold weapons, the Eight Banners might be able to fight with numbers. But in this era of hot weapons, when faced with the Liberation Army that was completely armed with cannons and rifles, no matter how many people there were, it was completely useless.
Facing the fervent speech of Prince Yi, Prince Gong did not have the slightest bit of praise. There were only a few hundred thousand people outside the pass. It was not realistic to rely on these people to maintain a complete city. Therefore, apart from Shengjing, most of the areas further north were just small cities. After Prince Yi arrived in Shengjing, in order to fight for mansions, he had many small conflicts with many other princes. These princes were all used to living in big mansions in Beijing and did not care about the mansions in Shengjing. If they retreated now, they would probably have to go to Qiqihar, where the Heilongjiang General was stationed. Qiqihar's residence was far inferior to Shengjing. If he did not even care about the houses in Shengjing, how could Prince Yi accept Qiqihar, which was several times worse than Shengjing?
"Shengjing has been greatly repaired this year. The provisions … are still okay, and the defensive preparations are adequate. There are still more than 200,000 people in the city. How can we not defend it? I feel that it is better to defend Shengjing, "Prince Rui said.
Prince Gong glanced at Prince Rui. This descendant of the princes whose ancestor had slept with Grandma Kangxi had done a good job in the trade with the "foreign devils" and had not made any mistakes. Moreover, the timber trade with the "foreign devils" had done well recently and had earned a lot of money for the court. But this person clearly did not want to leave Shengjing.
Prince Rui had a strong sense of unease about the Liberation Army's military actions this time. From past experience, the Liberation Army had been able to endure for five or six years after arriving in Guangdong in 1855. Even when fighting against the British, they did not rush north. But when they went north, they pushed the vanguard south of the Huai River. Then, another five or six years later, they drove the Manchu Qing out of Beijing and out of the Great Wall. Now, they had not moved for a year again. But after this move, they would not only be satisfied with Jinzhou and Lushun.
Before arriving outside the Great Wall, Prince Gong thought that the Great Wall was a place of prosperity and that it was a bit different. But when he arrived outside the Great Wall, he realized that this place of prosperity was a rural area. It was even worse than the rural areas inside the Great Wall. The mountains and forests outside the Great Wall were dense and the land was vast but sparsely populated. Back then, the ancestor of the Manchu Qing, Nurhachi, used the geographical advantage to fight mobile battles with the Ming army. The Battle of Sa Erhu heavily injured the Ming army and laid a foundation.
But at that time, the Manchu people could endure hardship and were used to digging into ravines. Now, this group of men from Beijing thought that the conditions in Shengjing, the largest city outside the Great Wall, were terrible. Rather than digging into ravines, they would rather die.
Looking at the other descendants of the Iron Hat King and the expressions of the other important officials, Prince Gong understood that it was an extremely difficult matter for this group of people to leave Shengjing. Just as he was preparing to persuade them again, someone rushed to the door of the Great Hall. The guards asked a few questions and brought in the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
The assistant minister immediately fell to the ground as soon as he entered the Great Hall. "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the Cantonese bandits have attacked outside Shengjing. They are still 20 li away from the city. "
It had only been seven days since they attacked Jinzhou on the 19th. The Liberation Army had attacked Shengjing. The time between the attacks was too short. Could it be that Jinzhou had been captured in only two or three days? That shouldn't be the case. It was more than 300 li from Jinzhou to Shengjing. If the Manchu Qing troops walked, it would take them seven days. And there hadn't been any warning along the way. What had happened?
"When did you receive the news?" Prince Gong asked the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
The assistant minister lay on the ground and answered with difficulty, "Less than an hour ago."
"What?" Prince Gong was surprised at the efficiency of this warning. If they had received the news less than an hour ago, how could they only know now?
But in the blink of an eye, Prince Gong understood. The rules of the Manchu Qing were strict. Even in Shengjing, they hadn't changed. Horse scouts didn't have the right to come and report directly. They had to go through layers of procedures and be passed on by the officials.
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