"Oh?" Fulin realized that something big was going to happen, and his expression became serious. "What did you say?"
"Wu Sangui said that we shouldn't focus all our attention on the Guanning Army! Although the Guanning Army may not be able to defeat the Eight Banners Army, it can still protect itself." Man Dahai replied seriously.
Everyone in the court lowered their heads, thinking about the meaning of the words.
Fulin asked Man Dahai: "What do you think is the meaning of Wu Sangui's words?"
"I thought the Ming court was going to counterattack Liaodong!" Man Dahai answered with his head down.
"Oh? Tell me more!"
"Yes," Man Dahai nodded, "Wu Sangui means that the Guanning Army and the Eight Banners Army are fighting. The Qing Dynasty has no plans to attack the Ming Dynasty in the near future. In other words... the Ming court wants to take the initiative to go to war with the Qing Dynasty. They want to counterattack Liaodong, and the first step in the counterattack is to attack the Liaoxi Corridor!"
"The two sides will meet on the battlefield, and Wu Sangui hopes that the Eight Banners soldiers will show mercy."
"That makes sense!" Fulin nodded heavily. "Does anyone else have any other interpretation?"
After a moment, Jirgalang spoke up: "I think Wu Sangui only said half of what he said."
"Half?" Hauge frowned. "What's the second half?"
"Yes," Jirgalang said slowly under the gaze of everyone, "Wu Sangui's second half of the sentence means that the primary goal of the Guanning Army on the battlefield is to protect itself!"
"Is this all right, Prince Zheng?" Haoge took a step forward in displeasure. "Your explanation is the same as no explanation at all!"
"No," Jirgalang shook his head. "The superficial meaning of self-preservation is to protect one's own forces, but the other meaning is to watch them die without helping! In other words...if other Ming troops were in danger on the battlefield, Wu Sangui would not send troops to help them, but would watch them die!"
"The more other Ming troops die, the more important Wu Sangui and the Guanning Army will be to the Ming court! Wu Sangui wants to use us to help them establish their authority in the court!"
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