When Zhao Han expanded the military system, Huang Taiji was doing the same thing.
July.
After Wu Sangui surrendered at Songshan Fort, Huang Taiji personally led the army to bypass Jinzhou. Faced with the heavy siege, the deputy general of Xingshan Fort secretly surrendered to the enemy and cooperated inside and outside to help the Manchus occupy the castle.
At the same time, Hauge and Duoduo led five thousand cavalry to cut off the passage between Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan.
Although there are more than 10,000 people in the Ningyuan garrison, most of them belong to the rural brave regiment. There are troops recruited by Liaodong officers and troops recruited by landlords and wealthy businessmen. The ranks are mixed and the orders are different.
Jin Guofeng and Wu Xiang were both general training soldiers of the Ningyuan regiment.
Wu Sangui and his servants came to persuade him to surrender, and Wu Xiang was immediately ready to make a move.
Jin Guofeng was from Shanxi and was quite marginalized in Liaodong. Although Ningyuan used him as the main general, he could only command dozens of servants and cavalry.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Jin Guofeng fled with his servants and was surrounded by cavalry led by Duduo.
Jin Guofeng would rather die than surrender, so he charged at more than 2,000 Manchu cavalry with only a few dozen servants. The entire army of the servants was wiped out, and Jin Guofeng and his son died heroically.
When Jin Guofeng died, Wu Xiang surrendered the city, and Ningyuan was captured by the Manchus.
Tashan Fort, sandwiched between Jinzhou and Ningyuan, also chose to surrender.
When the news came out, from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan, the forts along the way either surrendered or fled collectively towards Shanhaiguan.
Jinzhou.
Zu Dashou has been holding on for almost a year. The outer city has been lost and the inner city has run out of food.
Many buildings in the city were chopped into firewood and burned, and countless people in the city starved to death.
The personal guard rushed over with a letter. Zu Dashou opened it and looked at it carefully, and then sighed with relief.
In the entire east of Shanhaiguan, only his ancestor Dashou was still guarding the city, and all his relatives, nephews and relatives had surrendered.
"Surrender and follow me out of the city." Zu Dashou had no other choice.
The entire Liaodong has fallen!
Due to the large number of surrendered Liaodong soldiers, mixed combat effectiveness, and extremely chaotic command structure, Huang Taiji began to reorganize.
Select 10,000 Liaodong troops, plus the Han troops that had surrendered before, and organize them all into the Han Army Banner.
The rest of the Liaodong soldiers were thrown away to farm the fields.
During this reorganization, the Eight Banners system was improved. Under the Eight Banners were the Manchurian Flag, the Mongolian Flag, and the Han Army Flag.
In the entire Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners Army had about 100,000 soldiers, which was not a large number. Moreover, they usually had to farm, unlike Zhao Han's regular army who was completely out of work.
The structure of each flag is as follows -
So-and-so flag—Manchuria flag (Mongolian flag, Han military flag)—Jia La—Niulu.
Those pure Manchurian banners are the same as Zhao Han's troops. Each banner has about 7,500 troops. The total of the eight Manchurian banners is only about 60,000.
The banners are not directly divided by ethnicity. Mongolian nobles are classified as Manchurian banners, Mongolians with Han surnames are classified as Han military banners, and Manchurians are classified as Han military banners.
It is estimated that Huang Taiji will not fight again within half a year. He must digest the new territory and at the same time tighten control of the reorganized Han army.
The Ming court was already numb to this.
Now there are three governors, Hong Chengchou is responsible for the defense of Liaodong, Sun Chuanting is responsible for the defense of Shanxi, and Chen Xinjia is responsible for the defense of Henan.
The only territories that Chongzhen really controlled were Beizhili and Shandong.
Although provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan were still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, they had long been disconnected, and money, grain, and taxes could no longer be transported to the capital.
All eunuchs in the various armies were recalled by Chongzhen, and eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in the military anymore.
However, the supervisory army still had to be dispatched, so civilian officials were chosen as the supervisory army.
Historically, Zhang Ruoqi, the key figure in the fall of Liaodong, had no chance to harm Liaodong and Hong Chengchou this time.
Well, he caused trouble to Sun Chuanting.
Zhang Ruoqi's official position is that of a doctor in the Ministry of War.
He may not seem to be a big official, but he is a powerful figure!
The evaluation of rewards and punishments for military merit, the transportation of military supplies, the reorganization of the army, the training of soldiers, the conquest and garrison...all are under the direct jurisdiction of this guy!
Now, he has been sent to serve as a supervisor for Sun Chuanting.
It only took half a month for Zhang Ruoqi to sideline Sun Chuanting. Generals such as Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu must listen to him.
This guy made his fortune by fighting for the party, and rose to power by currying favor with Yang Sichang. He doesn't understand military matters at all.
As soon as he arrived at the front line, he vacated the commander, and then eager to make a contribution, ordered all departments to take the initiative to attack.
Yang Guozhu's food route was cut off and he surrendered directly to Li Zicheng.
Li Fuming's lone army was deeply surrounded and died in a fierce battle. The entire army was wiped out.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Wang Pu led his troops to run very fast and blocked the Jingxing Passage, preventing Li Zicheng from advancing straight to Beijing.
Zhang Ruoqi, who was responsible for all this mess, originally stayed with Wang Pu's army, but Wang Pu abandoned him when he was running for his life.
Seeing Li Zicheng's army approaching, Zhang Ruoqi led the remaining soldiers to surrender.
…
Qianqing Palace.
Chongzhen held the battle report in his hand and was shaking with anger.
His Ministry of War officer Fang Si Langzhong, the confidant he sent out to supervise the army, surrendered to the bandits after destroying the army!
"The whole family is being searched, Zhang Ruoqi's whole family is being searched!"
Chongzhen's face was ferocious, as if he were crazy, and he tore the battle report into pieces.
The next day, there will be a court meeting.
"What other methods can you use?" Chongzhen asked.
No one answered.
The party struggle is gone. With Zhao Han occupying Jiangnan, a large number of southern officials fled the capital, and the remaining Donglin Party has completely lost its right to speak.
Now Xue Guoguan's family is the only one, firmly occupying the position of chief minister.
There was deathly silence in the main hall.
Chongzhen waited impatiently and asked, "What can Xue Qing do?"
Xue Guoguan's scalp was numb and he replied: "We must organize and train a new army, otherwise it will be difficult to resist the bandits."
"Where's the money?" Chongzhen asked.
Xue Guoguan said: "We still need Li Shangshu to think of something."
Li Daiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, was from Guangdong. His whole family was killed by a coalition of Guangzhou businessmen. His family was destroyed and he did not dare to return to his hometown, so he could only stay in Beijing and serve as an official.
Li Daiwen came out and said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Household Affairs has no silver taels. Even if there are silver taels, there is not enough food to buy. After this summer's harvest, the price of rice in the capital has barely dropped to two taels per stone, and countless people in the city have starved to death. If we add more To train the new army and forcefully purchase grain, I am afraid that half of the people in Beijing will starve to death. Moreover, the civil and military salaries of the Manchu Dynasty will no longer be paid next month."
"Where's the Changlu salt class?" Chongzhen asked.
Li Daiwen replied: "He has been deported to Beijing and sent out as military pay."
It was summer at this time, and Chongzhen was sitting in the palace, feeling chilly all over his body.
The emperor was silent and the ministers were silent.
After a long time, Chongzhen said in an almost pleading tone: "The current situation is indeed extremely dangerous. All the ministers are ministers of the country, and my internal funds are no longer sufficient. Can you donate money to serve the country? I don't want too much, so I will donate three Ten thousand taels is the best."
"His Majesty!"
"woo woo woo woo……"
The ministers knelt down and cried bitterly.
It seemed that they were mourning for the Ming Dynasty, but no one mentioned donating money to save the country.
Chongzhen was so upset by crying that he retreated to the Qianqing Palace and asked the factory guards to speed up the raids. Zhang Ruoqi, who surrendered to the bandits, bought a mansion in the capital even though his hometown was far away in Shandong.
That night, the factory guard came back and reported that Zhang Ruoqi was indeed a corrupt official, and more than three thousand taels of silver were found in his home.
The powerful official in charge of the transportation of military supplies and the rewards and punishments for military merits only had more than 3,000 taels in his family.
Chongzhen could only choose to believe it. Could it be that he went to ransack the house himself?
More than three thousand taels was considered an income, so Chongzhen sent factory guards to go door to door to urge officials to donate.
In the next few days, many stalls suddenly popped up in the streets and alleys of Beijing.
Noble relatives, civil and military ministers, one by one, went to the streets to set up stalls and sold pots and pans in their houses in exchange for money to donate money to serve the country.
This feeling and scene moved heaven and earth.
Those who hear it are sad, and those who see it cry.
You have dozens of taels, and I have hundreds of taels. The honorable men, civil servants, and military officials donated enthusiastically, and their determination to serve the country with fists and fists is known to the world.
The eunuch came to Zhou Kui's home and said with a smile on his face: "Brother-in-law, your Majesty is going to make you a marquis. Take a bath and fast quickly, the imperial decree will arrive in three days!"
Zhou Kui was so happy that he talked to the eunuch and asked him to give him some money as a thank you gift.
The eunuch suddenly said: "Master Zhang, the official donation is too little. Your Majesty would like to ask you to set an example. How about one hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Zhou Kui cried bitterly in an instant: "Rotten old minister, how can I get so much money? Nowadays, rice prices are so expensive that my family can't even afford to eat, so they can only buy moldy rice and cook it..."
The eunuch interrupted quickly: "Master, please tell the truth. Our family is also acting under orders. If you tell me accurately, I will go back and report to Your Majesty."
Zhou Kui stopped crying again and raised a finger: "The most I can take out is ten thousand taels."
The eunuch went back to report, but Chongzhen was extremely aggrieved.
After all, he was his father-in-law, so Chongzhen couldn't push him too hard, so he said, "Go and tell the father-in-law that ten thousand taels is too little, why should you donate 20,000 taels?"
The eunuch went to send a message again, but Zhou Kui saw that he could not be fooled, so he quickly went into the palace to find his daughter.
Empress Zhou urged: "Father, the Ming Dynasty is in such crisis. How can we train troops and suppress thieves without money? As the head of the country, my father should understand the righteousness and set an example for the rich and powerful in the city. My daughter still has some money, so my father can
Take them all, and at least twenty thousand taels of silver will be collected."
Empress Zhou gave her father five thousand taels, and Zhou Kui could collect another five thousand taels.
After returning home, Zhou Kui thought about it and was still reluctant to donate 20,000 taels. He directly picked out 2,000 taels of the 5,000 taels given by his daughter and went to donate with 13,000 taels of silver.
Inside and out, I only spent 8,000 taels, so it was a good deal no matter how you thought about it.
After the father-in-law set an example, the distinguished ministers should follow suit, so they all took out money and donated money, ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands taels each.
After donating, I felt that I had donated too much and it would spread like a corrupt official, so I posted a note on the door of my house: This house is for sale.
After a farce, Chongzhen had hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
Then, he didn't know what to do.
Shanxi, Henan, and Liaodong are all surrounded by bandits.
That bastard Zuo Liangyu is entrenched in Shandong, saying all day long that he is fighting bandits, and does not listen to the court's instructions at all.
Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are just a way to survive.
Chongzhen summoned Wang Tiaoding and asked in a calm tone: "Is Zhao Han still willing to take in the royal descendants?"
Wang Tiaoding was too lazy to pretend, and directly changed his title: "Captain Zhao said that when the royal family fell into the hands of bandits, it was not only the Zhu family who lost face, but he also felt disgraced."
Chongzhen stood back and said in a low voice: "You take the prince and princess out of the capital and leave the city at night without making any noise. I will give you another imperial edict and canonize Zhao Han as king. After you leave the capital, this imperial edict will also be given to you.
The cabinet and the six ministries are aware of it."
Chongzhen thought about it carefully and then said: "I will take a few clan officials to the south. I will marry my daughter to Zhao Han and make him the consort of the Ming Dynasty. None of the nobles in Beijing, including Wen and Wu, are trustworthy. I hope that Zhao Han can keep his promise."