Ideas came up frequently under the collective efforts, and Chongzhen adopted the more practical ones one by one. Even if some were not adopted, Chongzhen was not stingy with his praise as encouragement.
The meeting lasted for two hours like this. All things in the city were distributed and everyone performed their duties.
Seeing that the discussion was almost complete, Chongzhen made a decision. He wanted to set common goals and hopes for everyone.
"I have only one request for everyone here, work together to hold on to Datong for thirty days! As long as it takes thirty days, I will be sure to defeat these rebels."
Such a request is not too harsh in everyone's eyes. Datong has been run by the imperial court as a military town for many years. The city has thick walls and a moat. Even according to what Your Majesty said before, Jianlu's ability to attack fortresses is much better than in previous years.
Different, it can’t be broken by just saying it, right?
Sun Xuanhuai sat closest to Chongzhen, and when he heard the thirty-day request, he felt relieved.
As the only minister in charge of logistics in Chongzhen, he has control over all arrangements for money, food and materials, both military and civilian, and he has a good idea of the amount of stock in the city.
Taking into account the money raised from other states and counties and the contributions from major households in the city, and then using the centralized distribution method, it is almost enough time to feed 70,000 to 80,000 people for more than a month.
If His Majesty had not provided food relief to the civilians fleeing the city, there would have been more food and grass. Although Sun Xuanhuai had his own opinions on this matter, in the face of this kind of real "benevolent government", he had no choice but to accept it and follow it.
Similarly, Chongzhen knew very well that thirty days was the logistic limit in the city, and every day beyond that, morale would drop infinitely.
"Jiang Xuan, there is only so much I can do." Chongzhen said to himself in his heart.
Chongzhen did not tell anyone about the overall strategy he had formulated, and Jiang Xuan, who was the key to winning or losing, still had a long way to go.
Manba did not dare to delay for a moment, changing horses and driving quickly, one hundred and twenty miles a day. It was already three days before he brought the news back to the Xuan Mansion.
Seeing that Manba was exhausted from all the work, Hedu hurriedly ordered his beautiful maid to take Manba down to have a rest. If anything happened, he would discuss it the next day.
Manba snorted, pushed the smiling maid away, and said in Manchu: "Manba has something urgent to report. Please and Du Beile get rid of these cheap slaves." He Du, who was busy enjoying himself, was a little unhappy for a moment, but
Seeing Manba's serious face, he had no choice but to clear the place.
Although Manba was nominally Mele Zhangjing under Hedu, in fact he only obeyed the orders of his father Heshuoying Prince Azig.
"Commander Manba, I, Amma, said you have always been calm, why are you so out of your mind?" Hedu asked.
"Manba has not lost his composure. The military situation at the front has changed. Please leave with Du Beile immediately." When He Du heard that the military situation had changed, he immediately panicked. If something went wrong, Ama would peel off a layer of his skin.
Manba told Hedu everything he saw and heard in Datong. After hearing this, Hedu clicked his tongue in disbelief.
"You said that was Emperor Chongzhen? But Emperor Chongzhen is already dead!"
Man Ba raised the corner of his mouth with some disdain and said: "Even if it is not Emperor Chongzhen himself, it is definitely his descendants!"
"Hmm... That's somewhat possible. I heard rumors that the prince of the Ming Dynasty has disappeared."
Thinking of this, Hedu smelled the smell of military success and was eager to order the army to set off. He also did not forget to ask Manba if he would follow him.
"He and Du Beile will leave first. Manba has to go to the capital to meet the prince." Manba thought that it would be difficult to attack Datong with the current strength, and was ready to ask Azig to come out in person.
He Du didn't take Datong's Ming army seriously at all, he only thought about how to monopolize the military exploits. Manba's departure was just what he wanted, so the two parted ways.
The Jianlu prisoners who escaped from Datong followed the two sides of the army carefully, and each took the rugged trail to the southeast to report the news.
Shunjun's detailed operations arrived at Taiyuan Prefecture where they were stationed first. After reporting at various levels, the news was passed to Chen Yongfu, the guard of Taiyuan Prefecture.
Li Zicheng did not wait for Datong's reply in Taiyuan, and had already led his troops back to Xi'an, preparing to reorganize his troops in Shaanxi for later effect. Chen Yongfu led 20,000 people to stay in Taiyuan and was ordered to defend to the death.
There is also a telling story between these two people. Before Chen Yongfu surrendered to Li Zicheng, he was a general of the Ming army. In the 14th year of Chongzhen, he had many head-on confrontations with the Shun army in Henan. At that time, Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng for a long time.
He was shot blind in his left eye, and it was Chen Yongfu who did it. Kaifeng was breached, and Chen Yongfu led his troops to escape, passing by Li Zicheng.
In the 16th year of Chongzhen, Chen Yongfu was ordered to attack Li Zicheng with Sun Chuanting's troops. Later, due to the retreat of his troops, they were severely defeated in Jiaxian County. Chuanting died and Yongfu was captured.
Li Zicheng sent Bai Guang'en to persuade him to surrender. Chen Yongfu realized that he had a grudge against Li Zicheng and was unwilling to surrender.
When Li Zicheng heard this, he immediately broke his arrow and swore to him that he would never pursue the case, and Chen Yongfu surrendered.
Yesterday's enemy, today's loyalist, Chen Yongfu knew that he was in danger, but he was willing to stand alone for the Lord, just to repay Li Zicheng's kindness of breaking the arrow. The friendship here is touching.
Chen Yongfu was now the commander-in-chief of Shanxi in the Dashun Dynasty. Also staying behind at the same time were Han Wenquan, the governor of Shanxi Province in the Dashun Dynasty, and Li Ruoxing, the patrol commander. They carefully studied the news that was sent back and sat down to discuss it.
Han and Li were not sure whether the news was true or false, but they mainly wanted to hear Chen Yongfu's opinion about the process of escaping from Datong.
Chen Yongfu was hesitant because of his status as a general and seemed not to want to talk about it.
Han Wenquan had no choice but to say: "The lie that Chongzhen is still alive will not be believed even if you tell it to a dog. It is probably a random slogan created by a member of the Zhu family who was brought in by a dog named Jiang."
Li Ruoxing was more concerned about the latter paragraph and asked: "What does that person named Jiang mean by rebelling against us and wanting to fight against the Qing Dynasty with us?"
"Resisting his mother has cost the lives of my brothers. I will go and chop off this guy's head myself right now." Han Wenquan thought of Zhang Tianlin's misfortune, and he was so moved that he slapped the case and cursed.
Chen Yongfu hurriedly warned: "Han Jiedu is cautious. The frontal war is urgent at the moment. Your Majesty repeatedly warned us before leaving that there is no room for failure in Taiyuan."
"Then what do you think we should do?"
When Chen Yongfu heard this, it turned out that Han Wenquan was deliberately provoking himself to speak. After starting this way, it would be difficult to remain silent, so he had no choice but to express his thoughts.
As soon as Chen Yongfu finished speaking, Han Wenquan applauded and said, "Just follow what our General Chen said, I'm going to have a drink." After hearing this, Li Ruoxing also agreed and went with him.
Looking at the two people leaving the table to have a drink together, how could they feel worried?
Chen Yongfu couldn't help but fell into deep thought. If the Emperor of Heaven was really in Datong, how would he deal with it?
.......
Long before the Qing army arrived at Baishan Mountain, Datong had carried out a clearing of the country with strong walls. The wood that could be used to make siege equipment within a radius of fifty miles had long been cut down and destroyed.
Most of the trees on Baishan Mountain were too slender to be used, so Wu Weihua had to order the soldiers to transport wood and boulders from fifty miles east to prepare to build artillery carts, shield carts, ladders and other siege objects before the army arrived.
Atoning for one's sins.
During this period, Chongzhen observed the movements and sent his men out of the city many times to harass the city. However, due to the lack of cavalry, it was of little use. This chapter has been completed!
