In the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Forbidden City, Yang Sichang stood up in a hurry to receive the memorial. He didn't have time to thank Cao Huachun who sent it. He read the imperial manuscript first and saw the ink written on it, "You are still planning and thinking carefully to make everything perfect."
I read it several times and determined that there were only ten words. This was already the second memorial to ask for an order. It was necessary to determine how to arrange the two troops. The emperor's reply in the first one was unclear, but in the second one, the reply was even more detailed.
ambiguous
But, he said almost nothing.
He raised his head and looked at Cao Huachun and said, "Mr. Cao, did the emperor have an oral instruction? Should the supervisors and supervisors jointly pursue the south, or should we still follow the original plan, one pursues in the south and the other stays in the north?"
Cao Huachun shook his head, "The emperor has never given an oral instruction. If Mr. Yang can't get the point, it's better to get another one." Yang Sichang was so anxious that he pulled his hair out, but Cao Huachun, the chief of etiquette and admiral of the military affairs of the capital, was there, and he didn't
Dare to express dissatisfaction, he could only lick his dry lips, raise his head and say to Cao Huachun, "Xuan Da, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Liao Town are waiting for orders outside the city.
, Jiannu has already gone south, I don’t dare to delay it any more, I dare to ask Mr. Cao to wait a moment, I will write another book right now.”
Cao Huachun waved his hand and said, "At this critical moment, Mr. Yang doesn't have to worry about these false courtesy. It's because the military affairs are urgent, so we came here to wait in person, so as not to be delayed due to the lack of care of the servants."
Yang Sichang quickly thanked him, then hurried back to his seat, picked up his pen, wrote a few strokes on the submission paper, paused for a moment, rubbed it, changed another sheet, continued writing, and then rubbed it out again. "Mr. Yang, don't be in a hurry, hurry up.
Otherwise, it will not be achieved." Cao Huachun thought for a while and then said, "But if there is a successful strategy, I might as well say it bluntly. I will only understand when the emperor makes a decision. Furthermore, I still need to read the Holy Spirit more carefully for the first two imperial approvals of the emperor.
meaning."
Yang Sichang took a breath. Cao Huachun seemed to be hinting to him that the emperor's intention was not to pursue the south and stay in the north. If Yang Sichang could not understand this meaning, he would not get the result.
In Lu Xiangsheng's letter on the night of the fourth day of November, he proposed that Xuanda's troops should go south and Liao Town's troops should stay in Jingtong, so as to prevent the enemy from coming and cut off the enemy's return route. This was an important decision for King Qin, and Yang Sichang was unwilling to make the decision himself.
, so he waited until the morning to write the request. His first request was also in accordance with Lu Xiangsheng's wishes. He originally thought it was just a formality, but the emperor's reply was "still under the supervision of the governor".
"Supervise and obey the edict and work together with one heart to restrict and exterminate, and no more violations will be allowed" can be understood as approval, or it can be understood as the two groups going south together. Literally, the emperor's meaning is more in favor of the two groups going south together.
Yang Sichang's original intention was not like this. In both Andingmen military conferences, it was confirmed that the two supervisors were chasing south and staying in the north, but they were not determined who they were. At that time, they were also reported to
The emperor, Chongzhen, did not raise any different opinions, but when the matter came to pass, the emperor changed his mind. Yang Sichang did not dare to make decisions based on this, so he sent people outside Andingmen to seek Lu Xiangsheng's opinion again, while reading the second book, which was just collected.
The copy that received the approval hinted that western Liaoning was heavily guarded. If the newly arrived third-line slaves could not grab anything, they might continue to invade the border to intimidate the capital, which meant that they would still stay in the capital. But he did not say it clearly.
The abacus was made by the emperor himself, so that he would not become his own person when investigated later.
As a result, the emperor didn't accept his tactics at all. Yang Sichang hinted that the emperor was just pretending to be confused. This time, the reply became more and more vague. It only had ten words in total and said nothing. It wasted an entire afternoon and two people.
Personal memorial is delayed
A whole day, that is, there was no daytime marching time on November 5th. Whoever wanted to set off on the two routes had to wait until tomorrow morning. It took a whole day, but Yang Sichang still had not received the result.
Just now Cao Huachun hinted that the emperor wanted to pursue the south together, but the Ministry of War had to propose it first and then the Emperor decided, rather than the Ministry of War implementing the decision after the Emperor decided, otherwise Yang Sichang would not get a clear answer.
I don’t know whether Cao Huachun couldn’t help but remind him out of public conscience, or the emperor asked him to remind him, but Yang Sichang had to voluntarily fall into the emperor’s routine. While waiting for the approval of the second book, Lu Xiangsheng’s intention also came back and expressed
The emperor repeatedly asked for joint efforts to suppress the enemy. It was okay for the supervisors and supervisors to go south together, but they had to be confirmed as soon as possible. Yang Sichang could not afford to be clever anymore, otherwise the Qing Dynasty
The army went far away and wreaked havoc in Jinan, but he, the Minister of War, was still held responsible for the crime.
As soon as I started writing, I leaned down and blew a few breaths on the paper. When I saw that the ink was roughly dry, I quickly raised my hands and put them in front of Cao Huachun.
"I clearly wrote in this book that the two supervisors each raised 20,000 troops and went south together. If you can, my husband will make another trip."
After taking it, Cao Huachun glanced at it, blew on the paper twice, and hurried out with the submission paper in hand.
Yang Sichang turned around and said to the scriptwriter next to him, "First prepare the order according to the supervisor's wishes and go south. The emperor will send it out as soon as it is approved." Several cabinet ministers in Wenyuan Pavilion were restless. The Qing army went south yesterday.
The news has been confirmed, but King Qin's two mobile troops are still wasting away in the capital. The officers from the Ministry of War are waiting at Wenyuan Pavilion, and tens of thousands of King Qin's soldiers and horses are waiting outside the city.
A written reply.
Yang Sichang no longer cared about propriety. He was anxious and walked back and forth in front of the chief assistant Liu Yuliang, like a trapped beast in Wenyuan Pavilion. The chief assistant Liu Yuliang looked serious and sat upright in his position. He looked at Yang Sichang in front of him and said, "
Don't be anxious if you are weak. The first thing for our soldiers is to stabilize their morale. Only then can their morale be stable. Yesterday, Jiannu was still at Xizhimen. He can't go far in one day.
, it won’t be too late until the Emperor makes complete plans.”
"That's what the old gentleman said." Yang Sichang bowed towards Liu Yuliang. What Liu Yuliang said was nonsense, but Yang Sichang could only express that he was taught. He returned to his seat and sat for a while, then couldn't help but stand up again.
King Qin was mainly concerned with the affairs of the Ministry of War, and several other pavilion elders were watching. Although they were anxious on the surface, no one expressed their opinions all day long. Yang Sichang was like an ant on a hot pot. News was constantly passed back and forth in Wenyuan Pavilion.
The people brought the situation around the capital, most of which were for Yang Sichang. He endured anxiety and checked the approvals one by one. Some needed to be signed by the cabinet, and most of them were related to the affairs of the Ministry of War.
He, the elder, could not help. The Qing army was moving very fast, and most of the news they received was bad news, which made Yang Sichang even more anxious.
More than half an hour later, someone outside the door shouted, "Husband Cao is back."
Yang Sichang came to the door and saw Cao Huachun trotting over. As soon as he saw Yang Sichang, he waved the paper in his hand and shouted, "The emperor has made up his mind. According to his own military strategy, the governors and generals will each lead 20,000 troops to go south and suppress them. .”
Yang Sichang breathed a sigh of relief and finally got an answer. He immediately turned to the waiting officers and shouted, "Immediately send the order, supervise and supervise the troops to go south together, join forces in Zhuozhou and suppress the enemy's southward advance." The two officers picked up the gun. When he was about to go out, Shen Xun from the Ministry of War appeared in front of the door again. He didn't care about his decency and shouted as he entered, "I know this soldier knows that Liangxiang has arrived. Urgent report. The slave-building army did not stop to attack the city and crossed the city to the south." Yes, the slave-building team
The end has passed the city of Liangxiang."
"Why did it happen so quickly? Is there any mistake? Maybe it was just the vanguard passing by." Shen Xun said anxiously, "Jiannu passed by without attacking. He must have been heading south. He must have gone to attack Wubei Prefecture County in the south. Maybe Zhuozhou also If we don't attack, we have to go straight to Baoding. If the supervisors meet at Zhuozhou in Ding, I'm afraid the slaves will have passed here long ago.
You can't copy them in front of them." Yang Sichang hurriedly took over the emergency report and browsed it. He did not expect that Jiannu would move so quickly. After setting off from Shunyi, he was in a hurry and chose a route that Yang Sichang did not expect at all. The command system of the Ministry of War could not keep up at all. The opponent's
Rhythm, within two days, the invading Qing army had got rid of the interception and entanglement of the Ming army and rushed towards the heartland area south of Gyeonggi. There were still military deployments to the north of Baoding, while the south of Baoding was completely undefended, and the official army All the main forces were concentrated around the capital, and most of them could not be assembled. In the end, Nuo was a large country with only 40,000 mobile troops.
Available.
He looked up and saw that the officer was still waiting, and immediately said angrily, "Why are you still standing? Send an order first and let the supervisors separate their camps to pursue the attack." The two officers quickly left, and Yang Sichang returned to his desk. He went up, looked at the map for a while and then said to Shen Xun, "If Jiannu has really passed Zhuozhou, we will send an order to the supervisor tomorrow to change the place of joining forces to Baoding. You can draft a letter to
Sun Chuanting, order him to rush to the capital and command all the troops left behind in the capital. Then you personally go to supervise the camp and tell Governor Lu and Director Gao that they must move forward to stop the enemy from running south, and don't let the thieves get past Baoding."
…
On the eighth day of November, there were military camps everywhere outside Zhuozhou City. Lu Xiangsheng's face was full of dust. He received a clear order from the Ministry of War on the evening of the fifth day of November, and he broke out of camp before dawn on the sixth day to pursue because the army could not pass through the city. , we could only bypass the capital and pursue south, and only arrived at Zhuozhou today.
The tail of Jiannu's team had already passed Zhuozhou on the sixth day of the lunar month. They passed Liangxiang and Zhuozhou without attacking. They didn't even try, and focused on marching south at high speed. The Qing army showed a capability that far surpassed that of the officers and soldiers. Mobility, the two sides broke away from contact. Now Lu Xiangsheng didn't even know where the main force of the Qing army was. He only knew that it was heading towards Baoding and had to find out the information from the refugees he met on the road.
The information currently available is rough. It is roughly known that the Qing army in Zhuozhou is divided into three groups, one heading to Yishui, one heading to Xiongxian via Xincheng, and the other heading in the direction of Dingxing. Lu Xiangsheng can only follow the dispatch of the Ministry of War and go to Baoding and high
Although they are heading in the same direction, the distance between them and Jiannu has long been widened. Yang Sichang's policy of 'not letting thieves cross Baoding' can no longer be realized. "Master Du, people from all the towns have come to ask questions again, and the military rations have not been received."
In addition, there was a lot of damage during the past two days on the road. Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei only had less than ten days of food left. Wang Pu said that they had run out of food. Someone in the middle camp just now said that they saw Wang Pu's Yiding in the countryside.
...Fetching food." Lu Xiangsheng had no expression on his face, neither getting angry nor asking further questions. Xu Deshi could only stop and say nothing. He had followed Lu Xiangsheng for some time, and such things were common among the officers and soldiers during the Central Plains' suppression of bandits.
, Lu Xiangsheng has no choice
Put an end to it, but it is different after all at the feet of the capital, and the enemy they face is the much more ferocious Qing army. The army is already afraid of it, and now that it is out of food, it gives the towns an excuse to avoid fighting. North wind outside Zhuozhou City
The roar blew the linen towel hanging on Lu Xiangsheng's head. People were fleeing everywhere in front of him. They could not enter the city and did not bring enough food. Many people huddled against the roots of the city wall, hugging each other.
They were squeezing around to keep warm, and some were already lying on the ground not knowing whether they were alive or dead.
Lu Xiangsheng looked heavy, and Xu Deshi whispered, "If we still can't replenish the military rations, we are afraid that the morale of the army will be unstable, the horses will be too weak to fight, and the military orders will not work."
After a long while, Lu Xiangsheng said, "Can Zhuozhou provide some military rations? I can buy them with silver."
"The governor of Zhuozhou said that the city is not enough for his own use. There is no extra supply for the army, and soldiers are not allowed to enter the city to purchase." Lu Xiangsheng's face was full of disappointment. His rank was the Minister of the Ministry of War, but he had little effect in front of these low-level state and county officials.
, Lu Xiangsheng couldn't do anything to them without opening the city gate. At most, he would give the cabinet an impeachment order, but even if he impeached
Success will be of no use to the current predicament.
Xu Deshi hesitated and then said, "On the contrary, Mr. Feng Quan asked someone to send a message, saying that he is willing to bring some squires to help support the army. I wonder if Mr. Du is willing..."
"I wish!" Lu Xiangsheng perked up and turned to Xu Deshi excitedly, "Invite him to see you immediately." Xu Deshi raised his head and looked at Lu Xiangsheng, with a worried look on his face.
The government recognized him as an eunuch, and his support for the army was just to gain popularity for his revival. Although Du Ye was relieved of his temporary difficulties,
His reputation has been hampered all his life, and the current war situation is unfavorable. Suspicions are everywhere in the capital. Meeting Mr. Feng at this time is tantamount to giving a ready handle to the science and education in the capital. Please think twice." "How can you still care about those things and build slaves to advance?
With great speed, they have already entered Baoding Prefecture. All places must be eagerly looking forward to reinforcements. They all rely on the large army and horses led by this governor, and they must not delay the division due to food and salary. No matter who this governor is, at this time
Anyone who is willing to help support the military is a righteous citizen. If Ke Dao is impeached, I will take charge of it."
"There are 20,000 soldiers and horses here, and I don't think Feng Quan can help him for a few days..."
"Even if it lasts a day, don't say anything more to Xuecheng. Go and invite her immediately."
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Xiangsheng came to the camp gate in person and saw from a distance that the Zhuozhou city gate was wide open, and a group of gentry led the way out, followed by carriages and civilian workers carrying grain bags.
Lu Xiangsheng adjusted his linen clothes, smiled from a distance, and held his hands to greet the visitor...
At the same moment, in Dingzhou City, Baoding Prefecture, three hundred miles south of Zhuozhou, the crowd on the city wall was terrified, and the forward cavalry of the Qing army's right wing army had appeared in their sight.
…
More than 1,300 miles away from Zhuozhou is the capital of Xuzhou.
Another famous eunuch, Ruan Dacheng, was raising his head outside the Xuzhou City Gate. Next to him was a middle-aged man wearing a Taoist robe. The two of them were shouting towards the city. In an inn not far away, Pang Yu was laying out maps.
Walking around the desk, he had lived here for ten days. He had used up all the provisions he had brought. He bought some from nearby counties and barely supported the army for a few days. When the Qianbing Qian headquarters arrived in Xuzhou,
The accompanying carriage replenished the cavalry with some military rations, but it was still not enough for the subsequent journey. It was still necessary to get the stored rations from Xuzhou City. Otherwise, let alone King Qin, Pang Yu would have to go all the way back to Anqing.
Take it back. Fortunately, Ruan Dacheng arrived today and brought a friend of Zhu Dadian's to see if he could persuade Xuzhou to open the door.
Pang Yu glanced at the other people at the table. In addition to Zhuang Chaozheng, who arrived later, there were also the general governor Jiang Guoyong, the deputy chief clerical officer of the clerical team Wu Dacai, and the officers of the Qin Wang Army were all present.
"The secret sentry reported that the messenger left the capital on November 2nd. As of the second day of November, the Qing army was camped in Shunyi and seemed to be moving from the north of the capital to the west. It was announced that large forces were fighting with it."
Pang Yu frowned and said, "Today is the tenth day of November, there is no further news?"
The clerk of the Zan Painting Department shook his head, "The Secret Sentence Department said that there are only about ten people in the capital, and four of them can carry messages on horseback. Two of them have been sent here. If there is no serious matter, they may not send people there."
Pang Yu looked at Chen Rulie and said, "Has the Ranger reported back?" "I just received the report today. The Rangers found the troops of Shandong Commander-in-Chief Ni Chong on the road to Linqing Post in Wenshang County, Shandong Province. They were marching slowly.
While waiting and watching, some Shandong local soldiers and horses are gathering at Linqing and Dezhou.
The place is peaceful and there are no large numbers of refugees fleeing."
Wu Dacai also gathered at the table. Because Pang Yu was there, Wu Dacai deliberately did not have a crutch, and leaned his crutch on the edge of the table next to him. The arrow of the Qing army on the map was passing directly above the capital. He did not expect that the Qing army invaded this way.
In the past, the Qing army immediately attacked after entering the border, trying to grab as much money and food as possible in a short period of time, and then withdrew before the Ming army reinforcements could be assembled.
Bianwai. This time, Jiannu entered the customs for more than 40 days and did not conquer a single city. Except for the Ji Town border guards, he did not defeat any officers and soldiers. He looked unhurried. But everyone agreed with Pang Yu's judgment.
, that is, the Qing army would never
It was a waste of time. Pang Yu said as he walked, "If the Qing army wants to enter the southern part of Beizhili, why doesn't Shunyi's west road go to Tongzhou, so that it can go south directly from Tongzhou? Now heading west from Shunyi, it is Xuanda University
Isn't it the direction of heavily deployed troops that is She Yi?
Difficulty?"
Chen Rulie raised his hand first and said, "My subordinates believe that Jiannu still wants to lead a large-scale battle with soldiers and horses. He will defeat this elite frontier army first, and then divide his troops to plunder with peace of mind."
"Gao Qiqian was camping in the south of Tongzhou. Why didn't Jiannu defeat Liao Town first?"
"My subordinates think that the rumors in the capital may be true, that is, Jiannu and Liao Zhen have an appointment, and they will not fight each other to the death."
Zhuang Chaozheng raised his hand and pointed at the map and said, "Jiannu went west to confuse King Qin's officers and soldiers, thinking that he was going to announce the general direction. Perhaps he also wanted to lure Liao Town to pursue him. After all, he wanted to fight with the officers and soldiers."
Pang Yu put his hands on the table, "If Xuanda or Liao Town are defeated, how will Jiannu go and how long will the robbery last?" said the official of Zanhua Fang, "According to your previous analysis, I think Jiannu has
There are two options. One is to attack fortresses around the capital, such as Changping, Liangxiang, Zhuozhou, Miyun, Tongzhou and other places. The advantage is that you don’t have to go far and are close to the border wall, making it easy to get out. However, these cities are difficult to navigate because they are close to the border.
They were quite vigilant, and after entering the border, they sent more soldiers and horses to guard the city. In addition, the city was tall, and the slaves who built the city were bound to suffer heavy casualties. The second option was to go south of the capital, as Xuanda had already been robbed by them.
However, there is not much money and food left on that road. Only the south of the capital is rich. If the Ministry of War transfers all the troops and horses to the capital, these places will be defenseless. However, it is a long way and it will not be easy for the children to exit the border wall with a lot of money and food.
.”
Pang Yu glanced at Wu Dacai who was silent and said, "Wu Dacai, please tell me." "This... This subordinate thinks what Tu Dianli of Zan Painting Room said is reasonable. Jiannu is here to rob things, and when he comes there are all soldiers and horses.
He walked fast and took his carriage and people with him when he returned, so he walked slowly. By then King Qin’s troops and horses had arrived, and Jiannu felt certain that
I’m still scared. I think it’s just Baoding and Hejian Prefectures… I just mentioned how many prefectures and counties are in Baoding Prefecture?”
Tu Dianli said without reading the manual, "Twenty in Baoding and eighteen in Hejian." "These are the more than thirty prefectures and counties in North Zhili, which are rich and prosperous, and have not been robbed by rogue bandits. If we can break through half of them, I'm afraid we can rob them."
That's enough. It's not too far from these two prefectures. My subordinates think that the way to build a slave is to go south to Baoding and Hejian Prefecture. On the way back, maybe to Tianjin, maybe to Shuntian Prefecture to attack several states and counties, and it's
Get out of the river before it freezes to avoid being blocked by the water. It is not easy to cross the river with so much money, food, and people. The latest is this... December, no, January
.”
Pang Yu looked at Jiang Guoyong, who waved his hands and said, "I can't tell you, my subordinates."
Pang Yu did not force him, because the chief governor did not need to know much, and Wu Dacai, a clerical officer, did not care about fighting, but after all, he had served as a serious chief executive before.
He looked at Chen Rulie and Zhuang Chaozheng, "Do you think Jiannu's goal is to go to Baoding and Hejian?" Zhuang Chaozheng thought for a moment and said, "It should be these two prefectures. If Jiannu's lone army breaks in like this, he must still be afraid of reinforcements.
We must gather together for a siege. It will be inconvenient to carry things when we return and we dare not go too deep. It is most suitable to go to Baoding and Hejian where we can grab things and make it easy to get out. If Jiannu has defeated Xuan Da's troops, we can start marching now.
It will take seven or eight days to reach Baoding. On November 20th, we divide our troops to attack the city for about fifteen days. We will go to Hejian Prefecture in early December.
We divided our forces to attack the city for fifteen days, and then returned to the frontier in mid-December. We still left Miyun at the end of December, and stayed in the frontier for a total of three months." Chen Rulie agreed, "It should be like this. After Jiannu left the border, he still had to go one step further.
The soldiers and horses have been out for more than five months, and the men and horses are exhausted. However, they may not necessarily go to Baoding first, but they may go to Hejian first. If Xuan's army and horses are defeated, they can divide their troops to attack the two mansions and seize them for a longer time. In this way, there is still time to leave the border.
It can be earlier. We still have thirteen days to travel from Dezhou, which is right next to Hejian Mansion. According to this itinerary, the cavalry will set off at the end of November, but the heavy armor will move slower.
We should set off at 20 and arrive in Texas in mid-December. After resting, we can catch up with the tail of the slave army. If we go too late, we might not be able to catch up." Pang Yu closed his eyes and thought, then praised Tu Dianli from the painting room for waiting.
After a while, he said, "Thank you to the official for reporting to Tang. Cao Cao, with a hundred thousand troops and five small camps, rushed into Fang County and Zhushan County and stationed himself in various places. He did not plunder the people, but he was not subject to them.
The military order did not disband the camp, but just said that they were being cared for. Xiong Duye strictly ordered the troops not to attack. At present, the eight bandit troops showed no signs of revolt, but were very restrained. Xie Sili believed that the number of rogue bandits in the vicinity had increased significantly, because Xiong Duye had strictly ordered
,
Since we cannot attack the Eight Thieves first, we are worried that only the Marine Warfare Department will not be able to protect ourselves, so we temporarily ordered the 2000 headquarters to stay in Mianyang Port. Please give me your instructions." "Reply to the letter, the journey is too long, so there is no need to ask for instructions for specific operations. Huguang Operation.
The goal is to give priority to the elimination of the Eight Bandits. Xie Zhaofa will serve as the chief officer of the Anqing Battalion in Huguang, responsible for executing operations to achieve this goal. Wang Zenglu, Yao Dongshan, and Blacksmith will serve as deputy officers. If there is a military order that all three of them object to, Yao Dongshan can summon the Qianqian Headquarters according to regulations.
The commander-in-chief, the governor, the clerk and the military will discuss the removal of the chief officer. Otherwise, the military order will only be issued by the chief officer Xie Zhao. Once the military order is issued, all ministries must strictly
implement."
Tu Dianli quickly wrote it down and handed it to Tang Ma for delivery. Pang Yu once again clarified the command system of Huguang. The distance was so far away that the communication capabilities at this time did not have the conditions to win a decisive victory thousands of miles away.
"Don't worry about Huguang's affairs, we just focus on building slaves." Pang Yu looked at the map attentively. The red arrow indicating "building slaves" in the north of the capital was very eye-catching, but Pang Yu didn't know how it would turn next. "Baoding, Hejian, Ten