Chapter 2365

"Aren't you here to declare a challenge?" Chen Yixin thought for a while and then asked: "Among the prisoners we have captured recently, are there any special persons?"

Wei Lin understood the meaning of Chen Yixin's words and shook his head again: "The last time our army captured an enemy prisoner was more than fifty days ago. If any special person was captured, the enemy would not wait.

It took me so long to think of exchanging prisoners with us."

Chen Yixin had figured out the key at this time, nodded and said: "If we really catch a big shot, they will definitely try to keep a low profile and get through, send people over and ask to see me, but it will attract our attention. The Qing army

You shouldn’t make such a stupid mistake.”

The two armies faced each other on the front line in Jinzhou for several years. During this period, they fought hundreds of times. Naturally, some people were captured, especially those captured by the Qing army. At first, the Qing army would deliberately kill prisoners in front of the battle line to vent their anger.

He tried to use this to frighten the Haihan army, but later Haihan followed suit and organized several large-scale shootings of prisoners of war in front of the battle line in retaliation.

The number of prisoners in the hands of the Haihan army was much greater than that of the Qing army, so the number of prisoners killed by both sides was completely disproportionate. For as many people as the Qing army killed, the Haihan army retaliated with several times the number of prisoners.

The Haihan Army even shot nearly 500 prisoners of war at one go. Seeing so many Qing soldiers fall in rows and being executed like melons and vegetables by the Haihan Army also created a very strong psychological impact on the Qing Army.

impact.

The Qing army soon realized that if they continued to adopt such a strategy, more prisoners would be sacrificed, and the other party's retaliation would inevitably seriously shake their own military morale, so they actively stopped this approach and turned to Haihan for help.

Exchange prisoners of war.

This kind of exchange of prisoners of war is usually arranged during the truce period. Unless there are special people involved, Chen Yixin usually does not need to personally intervene. At most, he will sign the document releasing the prisoners of war after his subordinates submit their approval.

From this point of view, it is indeed unlikely that the Qing envoys came to exchange prisoners of war. If the two possibilities of issuing a letter of war and exchanging prisoners of war are eliminated, it seems that there is only one seemingly absurd situation left.

"Isn't Azig suddenly thinking about starting peace talks with us?" Although Chen Yixin also thinks that this possibility is slim, it seems that there is no other explanation at present.

"Perhaps they really feel that they can't defend it any longer." Wei Lin analyzed: "The Liaodong coast is attacked by us almost every year. This is unsolvable for the enemy. They either have to cease the war or have no choice but to

Continue to be plundered by us."

For the Qing army, Haihan's difficulties were not only the garrison in Jinzhou, but also the looting operations that might occur on the Liaodong coast at any time around winter. The Haihan army would suddenly land on the coast of a certain place, and then attack

Nearby villages and towns carried out looting, and after taking away all the people and supplies, they also burned all the local houses to the ground.

This kind of armed robbery against civilians is actually very similar to the actions taken by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties every year in the northern border areas of the Ming Dynasty. As a passive party, the Manchu and Qing Dynasty's response was not much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. The long coastline made the Qing army

Without the ability to form effective defenses, usually when we receive news of the presence of the Haihan Army in a certain place, it is too late to send troops to rescue the area, and we can only sit back and watch the Haihan Army come and go freely from the sea.

The number of people snatched away from the Liaodong coast by the Haihan Army during each operation ranged from 1,800 to 1,000 people. In this operation two months ago, several thousand people were robbed at once. Although the number was not as high as that of the Qing Army.

The results of plundering in the Ming Dynasty were comparable, but for the Qing army stationed on the east coast of Liaoning, it lost the source of nearby supplies, and the logistical pressure would also increase greatly.

After three years of confrontation on the Liaodong Peninsula, the Qing army basically did not take any advantage. Not only did they pay the price of thousands of casualties, but the heavy troops stationed here also consumed a lot of military expenses and supplies.

If the Qing Dynasty could deploy these tens of thousands of garrison troops in other directions, such as to deal with the Ming Dynasty, then they would have made good profits in three years. But now these troops are forced to be stationed on the front line of the Daheishan Mountains, not only gaining nothing but also

They had to always rely on the rear to provide supplies. And maintaining the garrison of tens of thousands of people for a long time had probably become a burden to the Qing Dynasty from a certain perspective.

In comparison, the population resettled by Haihan in Jinzhou is increasing year by year, and social production is slowly recovering. Jinzhou's dependence on foreign countries has been greatly reduced, and it is even close to achieving self-sufficiency in food supply. In this way

Once this happened, it became obvious which side needed a ceasefire more urgently.

Chen Yixin and his party rushed to the frontline headquarters. After getting off the bus, Wei Lin summoned the Qing envoy to see Chen Yixin.

Chen Yixin only waited for a moment, and Wei Lin came back with his men. When the Qing envoy saw Chen Yixin, he cupped his fists and said, "I, Shang Qing, have met the general."

"Are you Han?" Chen Yixin asked him as soon as he heard the accent. This person seemed to speak with a Central Plains accent, which was obviously different from the Manchu's muddy Chinese pronunciation.

The man who called himself Shang Qing responded: "My ancestor is from Shanxi."

When Chen Yixin saw that this man was a Han who served the Qing Dynasty, he felt a little unhappy and said coldly: "I heard that Azig doesn't like to use Han people."

Shang Qing's face was very calm, and he replied calmly: "I am not a subordinate of Prince Wuying."

"Then who are you here on behalf of?" Chen Yixin finally became slightly interested after hearing this.

Shang Qing said: "I am working for King Zhishun."

"King Zhishun?" Chen Yixin hesitated for a moment before remembering who King Zhishun was.

Due to their mixed origins, Huang Taiji's men are not monolithic and have multiple hills. Azig, who has always been placed by Huang Taiji as the commander in Liaodong, is an independent hilltop. However, Azige is in Liaodong.

He has made few achievements in the past few years, and he must not be very popular with Huang Taiji. Otherwise, he should have been transferred to lead troops elsewhere, instead of being pinned near Jinzhou all the time.

Azig has been unable to solve the problem in Jinzhou. Maybe Huang Taiji will try to let others handle the matter. And the "Sanshun King" who has been highly appreciated by Huang Taiji in recent years is very likely to be selected by him.

The so-called "Three Shun Kings" refer to the three rebel generals Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi who defected to the Qing Dynasty in the early years of the Ming Dynasty. After Huang Taiji changed the name of the country to Qing Dynasty in 1636, he named these three people as King Shun Shun and King Huaishun.

, King Jishun.

Before Shang Kexi, the Han Army Banner commanded by Geng Zhongming had fought against the Hai Han Army on the Jinzhou line. However, the Qing Army was already on the defensive at that time. Geng Zhongming learned Azige's lesson and allowed his troops to

The Montenegrin defense line could not be defended. Although there was no outstanding record, it did not suffer any losses at the hands of the Haihan Army.

Afterwards, Huang Taiji conquered Korea eastward and took away all the troops of King Sanshun, leaving Azig stationed in Jinzhou. In the winter that just passed, the Liaodong Peninsula once again suffered from the Haihan Army.

A large-scale looting was carried out, but Azig failed to respond promptly and effectively. Perhaps this is the reason why Shang Kexiang appeared here.

Chen Yixin pretended to be puzzled and said: "If I remember correctly, King Zhishun's fiefdom should be in Haizhouwei, hundreds of miles away from Jinzhou. The war here should have nothing to do with King Zhishun directly, right?

"

Shang Qing responded: "General Chen has a good memory! My prince's fiefdom is indeed a bit far away from here, but this move is to share the worries of the king and to alleviate the country's troubles. It actually has nothing to do with where the fiefdom is."

"What are the worries and what are the worries?" Chen Yixin asked again.

"Our country's worry is the border war." Shang Qing finally got to the point: "The war that broke out between our two countries is now about to enter its fifth year. Although your country has occupied Jinzhou, it has not yet

We can make further progress. Since we have now reached a state of confrontation where no one is willing to go to war, why not sit down and discuss how to end the war."

Chen Yixin said: "If there is no more war, do you think your prince can be a prince of peace?"

Shang Qing's face changed slightly, but then he squeezed out a smile and said: "General Chen is joking. Although my prince has been in the army for half his life, he has always hoped that one day he can be disbanded and return to his fields and live a peaceful life. If we can promote an armistice between the two countries, what will happen to my prince?"

It’s a huge blessing for me.”

Shang Kexi defected to Houjin back then. Although the cause was the internal power struggle in Dongjiang Town, he took away tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians and a large amount of military supplies and equipment at that time, which greatly weakened the strength of Dongjiang Town. In any case, he could not

Maybe we can get understanding from Daming and Dongjiang Town again.

Although Shang Kexi was crowned king after his defection, his life was actually not smooth. He and the other two rebel generals of the Ming Dynasty were collectively known as the "Three Shun Kings", but in fact he had almost no contact with those two people.

There is an irresolvable hatred. In 1633, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming defected to Houjin and led troops to capture Lushun. However, Shang Kexi's hundreds of wives, concubines, family members, and maids all drowned in the war.

Of course, Huang Taiji cannot be credited with this gratifying debt, but he cannot let it go easily, so Kong and Geng naturally became his enemies. Those two people worked together in Dengzhou, and it can be said that they were destined to die.

Friendship will inevitably lead to a group fight with him.

Today, Huang Taiji still has many uses for Shang Kexi, but one day if Shang Kexi loses his military power, his enemies will look for an opportunity to liquidate him. Therefore, for Shang Kexi's situation, fighting is valuable only if there is a war, and if there is no war

But when it comes to fighting, it doesn't make much sense for the Manchus to keep him. The so-called eagle dog is destined to have such a fate.

After Chen Yixin was transferred to Jinzhou, he spent a lot of his free time studying famous Manchu figures, especially the generals who led troops in wars, which were the objects of his focus. Although he had not dealt with Shang Kexi, he had a deep understanding of this man.

However, the deeds are not unfamiliar to him, and he also knows a little bit about Shang Kexi's current situation, so his words made Shang Qing's face change color.

Why was Shang Kexilai responsible for the armistice agreement? Chen Yixin could only speculate that this was because Huang Taiji hoped to gain some communication advantages through his Han identity. Otherwise, if he sent a Manchu official over, it would be difficult to communicate smoothly just in terms of language.

The effectiveness of discussing business matters will definitely be greatly compromised.

As for why this errand was not handed over to the other two men of King Sanshun, Chen Yixin guessed that it was related to the fact that the two people defected from Dengzhou. Before Chen Yixin came to Jinzhou to take charge, he was in charge of Fushan County in Dengzhou. This is probably not the case.

It cannot be hidden from the Qing Dynasty. As long as Chen Yixin has a little understanding of the deeds of those two people, he will probably not have a good impression on them anymore, which may also affect the effectiveness of the negotiations.

But if we look at it from another perspective, Dongjiang Commander-in-Chief Shen Shikui, who forced Shang Kexi to defect, has now defected to Haihan and is working under Chen Yixin. If he knew that Shang Kexi, his enemy, was going to come forward to negotiate a truce with Haihan, he would probably

They will also jump out to object.

It's just that the Han military generals under Huang Taiji who are relatively familiar with the situation in Liaodong are only these few capable people, and there are no other candidates suitable for this job. Even if they know that there will be some unavoidable problems, they can only persist.

Pick one for your scalp and use it.

Of course, for such a big matter, it was impossible for Shang Kexi to show up in person from the beginning. He only sent a well-spoken confidant to test Haihan's attitude first. And in order to avoid deviations after the opinions were conveyed through layers of communication, Shang Kexi

When Qing arrived, he asked to meet Chen Yixin directly.

However, Shang Qing probably didn't expect that General Haihan didn't seem to be very interested in the armistice, and he knew his master well, and every word he spoke was extremely targeted. It seemed that this job was not that easy to complete.

.

Chen Yixin said: "Since it is your country that takes the initiative to request a ceasefire, what kind of conditions can you give to persuade me to accept this proposal?"

Shang Qing said seriously: "If General Chen can promote an armistice, our country is willing to give the general a thousand taels of gold and a hundred high-quality war horses. He will also be able to enter and leave our country at any time, and he will always be treated as a distinguished guest."

Chen Yixin said: "What you said is for my personal benefit, but you have to understand that this war is not my business alone."

Shang Qing misunderstood what he meant and thought he thought the benefits were too little and wanted more. Fortunately, he had prepared a plan before coming. He pretended to be embarrassed and said: "If the conditions make it difficult for General Chen, then

How about adding a thousand taels of gold as labor expenses for General Chen's troops?"

Anyway, this benefit is given to Chen Yixin. It is just one more name. As for whether Chen Yixin will distribute it to his subordinates or keep it in his own pocket, that is not something Shang Qing needs to worry about. As long as he can convince Chen Yixin to accept the conditions, then

That is a great achievement.

Chen Yixin smiled and said: "Everything you say, you just want to bribe me. Then have you ever thought about how to satisfy our country?"

Shang Qing was stunned, but fortunately his mind was quick, and he quickly added: "Our country is willing to use the Jinzhou Isthmus as the boundary and divide the territory with your country to rule."
Chapter completed!