After entering May in the third year of Chongzhen, it can be said that the situation in Henan has affected the hearts of many people. Henan is the Central Plains area and the granary of the world. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, although it is an exaggeration to say that, half of the food in the Ming Dynasty came from
It comes from here. This is the center of the Ming Dynasty. Once there is chaos in Henan, the surrounding areas will inevitably be affected.
After Nanyang was besieged, the imperial court was really panicked. This time not only Chongzhen was anxious, but Cheng Jiming, Qian Qianyi and others were also really anxious. In the past, rogue bandits troubled Shaanxi and attacked Shanxi, even if the Tatars blocked the pass
, some people in the court may not have really worried about it. When things have nothing to do with their own interests, it is really difficult to worry about it. But the situation in Henan will not only affect Jingxiang, if it is difficult to cause chaos, South Zhili and Jiangnan
Will not be spared either.
For a long time, the northwest of the Ming Dynasty has been plagued by disasters and devastation, but all this seems far away from Jiangnan. The Ming Dynasty is really big, and Jiangnan and the northwest are like two different worlds. But if Henan is in chaos, Jiangnan will soon feel it.
Troubles in the Northwest.
Luoyang, Henan Prefecture, once the ancient capital of several dynasties, has become panic-stricken. Since the peasant army attacked Nanyang City, gentry and common people from Ruzhou, Yongning and other places began to pour into Luoyang City. Before the peasant army came, many people were already panicking.
Frustrated, he dragged his family into Luoyang, hoping that Luoyang City could be defended and protected from military chaos. Due to the surge in population in the city, the pressure on Luoyang City has increased sharply. Now Henan Prefecture not only has to find ways to rescue Nanyang, but also has to worry about Luoyang City.
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The current magistrate of Henan Prefecture, Yu Chenglong, is a very capable man. He was born as a top-ranking Jinshi. He once served in Datong Prefecture and is no stranger to military affairs. Since Nanyang was besieged, Yu Chenglong gathered the generals of Henan Prefecture and sent out troops.
Strengthen the defense of Funiu Mountain and Ruzhou, and also discuss the use of troops with the capital commander Li Zhengqian.
Speaking of which, the situation in Henan is very special. The Chief Secretary of Henan can be said to be a special Chief Secretary of the Ming Dynasty. Henan is a central plain area and is related to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. The imperial court was afraid that a certain official in Henan would have too much power and threaten the imperial court. So,
Several important yamen in Henan were divided into two parts. The Henan Police Department and the Chief Envoy Department were in Luoyang, while the Capital Command Department and the Water Transport Department were in Kaifeng. This was originally a good thing, but it became a big problem at this time.
The prefect Yu Chenglong wanted Li Zhengqian to send troops to support Nanyang, but he was blocked by Min Zhengyuan, the prefect of Kaifeng. Now that the peasant army was coming fiercely, Nanyang had to protect it, but Kaifeng Prefecture also had to protect it. Now, Li Zhengqian was at a loss to advance or retreat.
On the surface, the prefect of Henan can control matters that are difficult to control, but in fact, Yu Chenglong has no orders to move the Kaifeng Prefecture. Everything stems from the particularity of Henan, the separation of yamen, which also leads to the relative independence of the Kaifeng Prefecture. From very early on,
If anything happens in Henan Prefecture, it is directly reported to the Sixth Department without going through Henan Prefecture at all. Over time, everyone has become accustomed to it. Now it is naturally not easy for Yu Chenglong to order Kaifeng Prefecture.
Yu Chenglong and Min Zhengyuan were competing, and Li Zhengqian, who was caught in the middle, felt the most uncomfortable. The military situation was urgent, and Li Zhengqian was very anxious, so he went directly to the prefect's Yamen. In the lobby, he said anxiously: "Master Min, now that bandits are causing trouble in Nanyang, we need to send troops as soon as possible.
If the rogue bandits are allowed to break through Nanyang, the whole of Henan will be in chaos."
Min Zhengyuan pushed the tea cup in front of him and motioned for Li Zhengqian to sit down and talk. He frowned and said with a helpless smile: "Commander Li, do you think we don't want to trap the bandits in Nanyang? But have you ever thought about it? By mobilizing the capital and commanding the troops and horses to rush into Nanyang, can you really stop the group of bandits? If you have this confidence, I will prepare the food and grass and open the door to send the army to Nanyang."
"This..." Li Zhengqian was at a loss for words. As the commander of the Henan capital, no one knows the situation of the soldiers in the Henan garrison better than him. The Central Plains has been at peace for a long time, and the soldiers in the garrison have not gone through war, plus training Insufficient, their combat power is extremely poor. On the other hand, those bandits have traveled to northern Shaanxi in the past two years and fought countless battles with the border troops. The border troops were unable to do anything to them. How can the soldiers of the Henan Guards station withstand their attack? If they rely on In Jiancheng, Li Zhengqian still had the confidence to fight, but when he came to Nanyang, Li Zhengqian really had no confidence that he could stop the rogue bandits.
Seeing that Li Zhengqian was silent, Min Zhengyuan sighed: "It seems that Commander Li already has the answer in his mind. Alas, although I have quarrels with Mr. Yu on weekdays, at this critical moment, I am not confused about priorities. Master Yu didn't know the details, so he naturally thought that the more troops and horses rushing to rescue Nanyang, the better. However, he never thought about what would happen if the bandits could not be trapped in Nanyang. By then, Kaifeng Mansion's troops and horses would be trapped in Nanyang and unable to do anything. When we come back, the entire Kaifeng Prefecture will be depleted of troops. The rogue bandits can enter Kaifeng Prefecture and capture the city, as if they were entering an uninhabited country. By then, there will be more than one Nanyang, and the entire Kaifeng Prefecture will be devastated."
"You and I have served our country loyally and deserved to die, but don't forget that if His Royal Highness the King of Zhou falls into the hands of bandits, you and I will be responsible for our death!" Min Zhengyuan said helplessly. The vassal kings from all over the country represented the Ming Dynasty. If the vassal king is captured, the face of the Ming Dynasty will be gone, which will be a devastating blow to the entire Ming Dynasty.
Li Zhengqian was horrified. Only then did he think of this terrible consequence. If Kaifeng Mansion is not protected and Zhou Wang's Mansion is destroyed, then Li Zhengqian will be nailed to the pillar of shame, and future generations will be implicated. All the ancestors had to be exhumed and whipped to death by His Majesty.
King Zhou of Kaifeng Prefecture and King Fu of Luoyang, these two vassal kings must not fall into the hands of rogue bandits. At this moment, Li Zhengqian really realized it. He said goodbye to Min Zhengyuan hastily, returned to the capital to command the Si Yamen, and hurriedly gave it to Yu Chenglong Wrote a letter.
The capital commander Li Zhengqian refused to send troops and insisted on defending Kaifeng Mansion. No matter how angry Yu Chenglong was, there was nothing he could do. After all, he had no right to control the Henan Capital Command, let alone the Kaifeng Mansion. Otherwise, why would he want to fight with Li Zheng Discuss? In anger, Yu Chenglong rushed to send an official document to the capital. However, the military situation was urgent. How could Nanyang be able to withstand it?
Nowadays, Nanyang City only has 7,000 soldiers and horses, and these 7,000 soldiers and horses are still mixed together, and they are forced together. General Gu Tongjun has tried his best, and with the help of Nanyang Magistrate Ren Xiangshan, he has gathered many young people from the gentry. Zhuang helped defend the city. But even so, the loss of Nanyang City was still shocking.
Outside Nanyang City, banners blocked the sun. After days of siege, the sky became gray. Strong winds rose and dust flew. Countless peasant soldiers carried ladders and rushed towards Nanyang City again. Until now, rolling logs, tung oil and other objects have been All was exhausted. In order to defend the city, many houses were demolished and the beams were used as rolling logs. However, there were too many peasant soldiers, and the dense crowd was like a gray sea.
The people of Nanyang City have heard many messages. Most of them heard that rogue bandits were wreaking havoc in the northwest, leaving no trace behind wherever they passed. Out of fear, many people took the initiative to help defend the city, just to avoid being poisoned by rogue bandits.
A young man was carrying a hoe, and his originally weak eyes became ferocious and terrifying. In four days, this young man who had never killed a chicken suddenly turned into a cold-blooded butcher. In two days, he had already killed
There were five people. However, those rogue bandits seemed to be killing them endlessly, attacking one after another and killing continuously. However, the number of people attacked by the peasant army was increasing every day.
There was another wave of offensive. Several peasant soldiers crouched down and rushed up the ladder. As soon as a guard stuck his head out, he was shot to death by an arrow. The young man rushed over to take up his position. This was
The peasant soldiers on the ladder had already secured the city wall. The young man roared angrily and swung his hoe. The man broke off several fingers in an instant and screamed in pain. But despite the pain, the peasant soldier did not fall.
Going down, maybe because of the instinct of survival, the other hand holding the knife grabbed the city wall, and with a fierce force, he jumped up directly. His left hand was dripping with blood, and three fingers were missing, but the man's eyes glared, "Wow
Yeah...I'll chop you to death..."
The steel knife fell, and the young man raised his hoe to block it, but the hoe was instantly cut into two pieces, and the steel knife slashed downwards. The young man did not have time to scream, and was killed on the spot.
More and more peasant army soldiers rushed to the top of the city, and the battle at the head of Nanyang City became more brutal. People kept rushing up, and people kept dying. When the battle was over, the peasant army temporarily retreated, but Nanyang City was in a mess.
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Many people were slumped on the ground leaning against the city wall, breathing continuously and their chests rising and falling violently. It was unclear whether they were tired or because of fear.
There was a shout on the long street, and a group of people hurriedly came over. In the center of the crowd were two men in ragged clothes. They were both about forty years old, and they were wearing robes. Unfortunately, the robes were in tatters, like the rags worn by beggars.
After walking through the long street and walking around the city wall, both of them had gloomy looks on their faces and their hearts were filled with despair.
Gu Tongjun has been fighting on the top of the city. I don't know how many rounds of attacks by the bandits have been repelled. It can be clearly felt that the bandits' attacks are constantly strengthening. It seems that the bandits did not use all their strength before. Ren Xiangshan, a scholar, has now begun to
He killed someone with his own hands. The day before yesterday, when I was patrolling the city, I happened to encounter thieves attacking the city. I had no choice but to join the battle group. In that battle, I personally killed a thieves.
Climbing to the top of the city again, looking at the smoke in the distance, Ren Xiangshan patted the battlements and murmured to himself: "General Gu, how long can we hold on? One day? Two days?"
Gu Tongjun grinned, and the corners of his mouth were a little painful because of the dryness. He frowned and wanted to comfort Ren Xiangshan, but he couldn't bear it, "Now we have suffered heavy losses and are seriously short of supplies, and the rebels seem to have a large number of reinforcements. According to today's
The situation is such that I’m afraid we won’t even be able to survive tomorrow.”
"Tomorrow?" Ren Xiangshan showed a miserable smile. He was smiling, but turbid tears flowed from his eyes, "It would be great if we could have reinforcements. Nanyang, such a wonderful place, has to be left to this group of bandits...
....I don’t know what Nanyang will become..."
"Reinforcements? Sir Ren, are you still confused? There are not many soldiers and horses near Nanyang now. The only ones who can really fight are the soldiers and horses of Xiangyang City, but they are blocked in Xinye. As for Henan Mansion and Kaifeng Mansion
Even if our troops and horses arrive, they may not be able to break the siege of Nanyang. What's more, Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture are more important than Nanyang. If it were you, would you give up Luoyang and Kaifeng?"
"Is that so?" Ren Xiangshan stroked his forehead and closed his eyes in pain. Although it was cruel, no matter who it was, he would choose to sacrifice Nanyang and save Kaifeng and Luoyang, right?
On the seventh day of May in the third year of Chongzhen, a light rain suddenly came. There was a severe drought in the Central Plains, and I was eager for rain. But who would have thought that the rain in Nanyang would fall on this day. This rain did not bring any warmth to the land of Nanyang.
, some are just coldness and haze.
On this day, Li Yangchun attacked from the east with an army of 10,000. In order to break through Nanyang City, he also specially asked someone to make the recommended trebuchet. Under the crazy attack of the peasant army, a gap was finally opened in the struggling Nanyang City.
Then Yingshan Honghua Xiaorong and Guifeng Wangyan led their troops to fight from two directions. The Nanyang City defenders suddenly collapsed and their morale was completely exhausted.
In order to capture Nanyang City, the peasant army fought hard for several days, and they were simmering with anger. After conquering Nanyang, many people began to lose their minds, and Wang Yan, a gust of wind, took the lead in attacking the wealthy households, burning, killing and looting. They broke open the door and
When he saw the young woman, he rushed towards her, and if she was slightly blocked, he would use his sword and ax to attack her.
Screams and fighting filled this ancient city. The light rain fell, but it could not wash away the blood in the mud. In many corners, women in ragged clothes were lying down, no longer breathing. Tens of thousands of peasant soldiers poured into Nanyang, and they
He turned into a beast and turned the city into a purgatory. The cries of the people in the city did not move God, but more cruel killings were waiting for him.
In the Nanyang government office, a wounded Gu Tongjun was sitting in the lobby. In front of him, there were more than a dozen corpses lying, old and young, male and female. One of them was Ren Xiangshan, the prefect of Nanyang.
The city of Nanyang was destroyed, and Ren Xiangshan did not want to be humiliated, and he did not want the women in his family to be harmed by the bandits. There was no hope of escape, but Ren Xiangshan did not have the courage to commit suicide, nor did he have the courage to kill the women in his family, so he asked Gu Tongjun to take action. Just a moment ago, Gu Tongjun asked someone to
Blocking the hospital door, he started killing people with a knife. He killed Ren Xiangshan's family, his wife, children, and children.
When Yingshan Honghua Xiaorong led people to break into the government office and broke into the lobby, they saw Gu Tongjun with a smile on his face.
Gu Tongjun smiled, crazy and painfully. The only consolation in his heart was that his beloved eldest daughter was not in Nanyang. His only wish now was that his daughter would live well and never have any thoughts of revenge.
"kill......"
The disheveled Gu Tongjun rushed forward without any hesitation. More than a dozen feather arrows flew towards him. He groaned and lay down on his wife.
...
Li Yangchun finally stepped into Nanyang City, but when he saw the scene on the long street, his heart trembled. The rain washed his cheeks, but it could not wash away the sadness in his heart. For some reason, he thought of what happened in Qingyuan City before.
.What a wonderful city, but it turned into a hell, a piece of rubble and a loss of life.