The second year of Chongzhen finally ended in a storm.
This year, a lot of things happened.
The first thing to bear the brunt was the "Edict to decide the counter-case". In the first month of the first month, the emperor summoned the cabinet ministers, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Zuo Du Yushi and other important ministers to order Wei Zhongxian to counter-case. Chongzhen personally made the ruling. Since the death of Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family,
, and the remaining rebel party members will be sentenced to the sixth degree.
Since then, the powerful Wei Zhongxian and his era have officially come to an end.
One of the most interesting consequences of this case is that after this time, self-castration was prohibited among the people in the Ming Dynasty. You must know that Wei Zhongxian castrated himself to enter the palace, which can be regarded as completely cutting off this way out.
In February, the imperial court inspected the officials in the capital. One hundred people were found to be careless in their conduct and were idle. Forty-six people were demoted one level and transferred to foreign posts. Seventeen people were demoted one level and transferred to external posts because of their incompetence. Ten people were old and were promoted to official posts.
Of the three people, eight were ill and became official, nine were old and ill and were dismissed from their posts, eight were dismissed from their posts due to greed, three were idle and idle, and twenty-four were scavengers.
The decadence in the entire officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was swept away, and the Ming court seemed to be prosperous.
In April of the same year, there was a great famine in Shaanxi and civil unrest broke out. Soon after, Jiang Wan led the Nanhai Guards into Shaanxi, where they have been till now.
In late October, the troops of the Later Jin Dynasty were divided into three groups. They attacked Da'ankou all the way, and the general Zhou Zhen died. They attacked Longjing Pass all the way, and attacked Hongshankou all the way. The Ming general Zhang Ande and others were defeated and fled. Zhang Wanchun surrendered. Jizhou was besieged.
In November, the capital was under martial law.
In December, Governor Xuanda and the governors of Xuanfu, Baoding, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi, hearing of the martial law in the capital, all reported that they would lead their troops to defend. Shanxi Governor Geng Ruqi and the commander-in-chief Zhang Honggong also led 5,000 troops to assist. The army had
The order said: "Tomorrow when the soldiers arrive, the flood areas will be settled and then they will be paid." Shanxi reinforcements have arrived. Today, they are ordered to guard Tongzhou, tomorrow they will be transferred to Changping, and the day after tomorrow they will be transferred to Liangxiang. The garrison was tired and the troops were not paid for three days.
A mutiny occurred.
Jiang Wan looked at the court papers one by one, her brows furrowed.
He thought that after this winter passed, everything would be fine and everything would be fine. Shaanxi would gradually get on a stable track, and he would be able to leave calmly and submit a perfect answer to the emperor.
However, unexpectedly, the thieves in Shaanxi did not become a problem, but the Houjin Tatars outside the customs did not stop as always, and this year they even arrived directly at the capital city. The situation was much more serious than imagined.
Under the emperor's order, the imperial court had summoned reinforcements from all walks of life to the capital to fight against the enemy. Even the Shanxi side mobilized an army of 5,000 people, but there was no movement at all from the Shaanxi side. It was not known whether the emperor felt that he
The troops of the Nanhai Guard are not allowed to be mobilized without authorization, and I still feel that the troops of the Nanhai Guard are of no use at all.
From beginning to end, Jiang Wan did not receive any orders.
"Man Gui died in battle!" Xu Caining sat next to him and said in a low voice: "He was the general of Datong. Now he died under Desheng's sect, and the imperial court lost another tiger general!"
"There is no such news in the Di newspaper!" Jiang Wan raised his head: "Is this your source of information?"
"How could the imperial court's newspaper say this? But when the next newspaper comes, the news of his posthumous title should appear in it!" Xu Caining said softly: "It is said that the imperial court repeatedly sent people to urge him to go to war, and he replied
His Majesty's suggestion that "we are outnumbered and powerful, we cannot fight lightly" was regarded as an act of fear of war. At this point, Man Gui knew that the odds were stacked against him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to war!"
"What does Yuan Chonghuan do for food!?" Jiang Wan put the newspaper on the table angrily, "Your Majesty thinks so highly of him, but look at what is written in the newspaper. There are places everywhere that have been invaded by Hou Jin.
The news of the attack is everywhere, and the news of the death of our loyal ministers and generals of the Ming Dynasty is everywhere!"
"In Zunhua, all three camps were defeated by the Hou Jin Army. Zhao Lijiao was also killed in the battle of Zunhua. Governor Wang Yuanya and commander-in-chief Zhu Guoyan committed suicide and died! Under Desheng's sect, Datong commander-in-chief Mangui died in the battle.
My loyal ministers and generals of the Ming Dynasty are not leeks, they can grow another one immediately after cutting one!"
He snorted heavily: "It was agreed upon in Pingliao five years ago. Now, everyone has attacked the capital. Apart from killing Pi Dao Mao Wenlong and breaking his own arm, he, the supervisor, has done a lot this year."
What?"
"Your Majesty thinks highly of him!" Xu Caining said calmly, "That's enough. Now, your Majesty will entrust all reinforcements to the capital to his command. If our Nanhai Guards rush to help the capital, this person will also be your immediate boss. Please be careful."
Yan, if he knows that you are so disdainful of him, this may not be a good thing for you!"
"One general is incompetent and the three armies will be exhausted!"
Jiang Wan let out a long sigh, feeling very depressed.
He knew clearly what happened to Yuan Chonghuan, but it was from the perspective of a bystander that he saw the stories that happened in history. At this moment, he himself was in the middle of history and experienced these things personally, so he knew,
No matter how talented Yuan Chonghuan was, or whether it was a stratagem used by the Tatars of the Later Jin Dynasty to alienate him, it was not unfair at all for Zhu Youjian to kill him after this battle.
As the governor of the border army, after taking office, in order to establish his prestige or seize power, he first killed Mao Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Pi Island. You know, every time Hou Jin invaded the Ming Dynasty, Mao Wenlong and his Pi Dao officers and soldiers were killed.
A nail in the rear of the Hou Jin Dynasty. As long as the Hou Jin Dynasty sent troops to the Ming Dynasty, Mao Wenlong's troops would definitely send troops to harass the towns and grain roads in the rear areas of the Hou Jin Dynasty, and even pushed as far as more than ninety miles away from Shengjing.
Not to mention besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao, at least having such a force behind the enemy's rear played an unparalleled role in containing the enemy.
But once Mao Wenlong died, Mao Wenlong's tactics basically lost their effectiveness. Not only did Yuan Chonghuan despise this tactics, but he did. He wanted to send generals to lead the defenders of Pi Island to fight like Mao Wenlong. Basically
It's impossible.
The so-called morale has plummeted, people's hearts are divided, you killed someone else's commander in chief, and now you expect someone else's subordinates to work for you, how can there be such a good thing in the world.
This is also one of the reasons why the Hou Jin army dared to come out in full force this time.
When he discovered that the enemy troops were invading and advancing in multiple directions, Yuan Chonghuan led his troops into the pass. The cities they passed through were Jizhou, Funing, Yongping, Qian'an, Fengrun, and Yutian, and they all divided their troops to stay behind. Houjin Shang knew how to gather strength.
Attacking the city all the way, Yuan Chonghuan defended everywhere and divided his troops everywhere. The result was that the Ming army, which was originally numerically superior, was helpless in this battle, no matter which battle it was.
Face something they don't want to face.
The enemies they face are always more numerous than they are.
The troops of the Hou Jin Dynasty attacked the city all the way, just like fighting monsters and leveling up, all the way to the feet of the emperor. But at this time, Yuan Chonghuan was still calmly arranging the big chess game he had in mind.
Many people in later generations said that at that time, Yuan Chonghuan showed weakness at all times, and then lured the Hou Jin army to rush into the capital city. Then he prepared to mobilize the Ming army inside and outside the pass and reinforcements from all over the Ming Dynasty to completely annihilate the main force of the Hou Jin Dynasty under the capital city.
Jiang Wan sneered at this statement. In his opinion, Yuan Chonghuan did not expect that the Hou Jin people would attack the Ming Dynasty in three groups. After discovering the actions of the Hou Jin army, he hurriedly mobilized his troops and generals. As a result,
He was at a loss at every turn, and when the enemy troops gathered outside the capital city, he was afraid of losing the emperor's trust, so he still used his lies to deceive the emperor to reassure him.
Show weakness everywhere and lure the enemy deeper! Damn! Those people who say such things easily know how many lives and good ministers and generals are behind these few words. These people are facing the overwhelming Tatar cavalry. They are desperate.
When the ground resisted until the last moment, they were still waiting bitterly for reinforcements from the court.
"I don't know what the situation is like in the capital now!" Xu Caining said with some worry: "The last news I got was that Man Gui died in battle."
"If it was bad news, the world would have been shocked!" Jiang Wan said: "Don't worry, now that the emperor is wise and young and promising, if the Tatars want to conquer Beijing, don't count on it in this life!"
"How about I go back and ask Yanran!" Xu Caining nodded: "Sometimes I know that she is just pretending to be a ghost, but she can guess some things quite accurately. By the way, you
Don’t you really plan to meet her? You haven’t seen her since I brought her back to Yan’an Mansion!”
"If you think it's useful to you, just stay with you and help you. I don't need to see her!" Jiang Wan waved her hand: "I don't like this kind of pretentious guy at all. She helped you investigate the matter of the Sanji Sect.
How's the investigation going? I'm just wondering why such crooked things are always banned and killed?"
"Still investigating!" Xu Caining said: "First of all, we will start from the first, second, and third households. These people are all brought by us from the capital. Logically speaking, the people who have mixed up with the cult members are
Not many, but you have to be careful of someone being dragged into the trap by cult members!"
"Did you find it?"
"So far, three people have been found. However, after questioning and letting Yanran screen and determine, these three people are all the kind who joined the religion in a daze. They have not been there for a long time and have not caused any harm!"
"How to deal with it?" Jiang Wan asked.
"Leave it to the Jin Yiwei people!" Xu Caining said calmly: "What they do with it is none of our business!"
Speaking of the Jin Yiwei, Jiang Wan nodded: "The Jin Yiwei people sent to us from the capital are quite honest here, you can watch them! I don't want my people to have a group of Jin Yiwei running around everywhere every day.
!”
"You can see!" Xu Caining returned: "Everyone lives in the military camp. If they want to go out for business, they must report it to me and issue a voucher from me! Otherwise, they will be unable to move!"
She suddenly paused: "I really didn't expect that you would suddenly leave all these things to me. When it comes to spying on intelligence and doing things in secret, there are many people under you who are better than me!"
"You are going to quit the army after all!" Jiang Wan said calmly: "But you obviously don't want to quit. You want to continue to stay here without being an idler. After thinking about it, this is the way it is.
Things are best for you to do!"
"And by doing these things, you can not only help me, but also protect your brother!" Jiang Wan said: "If you are not satisfied, I will find someone to replace you in a few days!"
"I didn't say I was dissatisfied, I was just a little surprised!" Xu Caining glanced at him: "You know, I don't want to be an idle person!"
Because of this topic, the two of them suddenly fell silent for a while, and the atmosphere changed from just worrying about the country and the people to a bit awkward.
"First, second, and third, these three thousand households have been prepared for war after the screening!" Jiang Wan coughed and changed the topic: "If the capital transfers our support, these three
Qianhu can leave immediately. Shanxi soldiers and horses mutinied in the capital, and Datong soldiers died in the battle. The situation in Shanxi is not optimistic either. We must be prepared for contingency at any time!"
"What should we do here in Yan'an Prefecture?" Xu Caining asked: "If we really want to send troops, there will only be one fourth thousand household left in Yan'an Prefecture with some fighting strength!"
"If that happens, with Li Zicheng inside and Wu Sangui outside, and you come to take charge of Yan'an Mansion, I think there won't be any problems!"
Jiang Wan had already thought about this problem clearly: "You are qualified enough, and now I ask you to take over Wu Sangui's affairs. If there is any trouble outside, you can directly let Wu Sangui take care of it for you. If there is any trouble internally, Li Zicheng will also be there."
I have enough ability to help you! However, when spring comes, all the new crops we cultivate must be promoted and planted in Yan'an Prefecture immediately. As long as there is enough food, the problem in Shaanxi will not be a big problem!"
"It's best not to transfer Nanhai Guard to the capital!" Xu Caining's face became more serious: "If that's the case, then the situation will be serious!"
"It better be so!"
Thousands of miles away, under the city of Beijing, there is the camp of the Hou Jin Army.
The battlefield that had just gone through a fierce battle was in a mess, with corpses everywhere. The Houjin Brigade, which had just left camp, left more than a thousand corpses each after a fierce battle with the Ming army, and was slowly withdrawing at this moment.
Camp.
On a hillside behind the camp of the Hou Jin Army, a Ming army of several hundred people had quietly arrived at their position. After General Ren Shouzhong gave an order, the Ming troops all opened their doors.
Camouflaged by the vegetation and branches in front of them, cannons flashing with cold light were revealed one after another.
These cannons are of various kinds, and even include a few Franco machine guns mixed in. There are all kinds of them, no less than fifty. Just transporting these cannons to this hillside takes an incredible amount of manpower, let alone
In order to prevent the enemy from being discovered, the commander also had to constantly draw the enemy's attention by inviting the Ming army to fight.
No one knows how many Ming soldiers sacrificed their lives for this artillery position to function at this moment.
And now, after this fierce battle that exhausted both sides, it was finally the turn of these dormant cannons to make their own sound.
"Listen to my orders, target the enemy's camp, and reload everyone!"