On the west tower of Tongcheng Station, Pang Ding held up his telescope and watched a group of Qing cavalry marching north two hundred steps away.
The soldiers on the top of the city were all pointing and talking. This was the third Qing army today. Everyone was speculating whether the Qing army was going to retreat.
Ponting put down his telescope and turned to look at the top of the wall. The stones, ash bottles, fire bottles, and coal on the wall were piled up like mountains. Hanging curtains were set up at the crenellations. A straw mill was built on the side of the parapet. Even the knocking poles were
It was quickly made. Under the guidance of the Anqing camp, the soldiers practiced for several days and it was ready for use in city defense operations.
The dock was right next to Ponting. He opened his mouth and looked at the telescope in Ponting's hand, and said flatteringly, "Little Pang, are the Tatars going to leave?"
Before Pang Ding could speak, a tall and thick soldier from the Tongcheng Posthouse next to him said a little disappointedly, "The Tatars are leaving now. We can just fight for a few more days..."
The head of the dock turned his head and rolled his eyes at him, "What's the point of just thinking about the little money every day and fighting in chaos? The Tatars will surrender to the Tatars without fighting, and the safety of everyone's property is the most important thing."
Pang Ding put down the telescope, and the dock man hurriedly reached out to pick it up, but Pang Ding put it away directly. He turned to the soldier and said, "If you still want to receive military pay, you can go to the Transport Department to sign up for the Anqing camp and fight against the Tartars.
I will destroy the bandits and find a future for myself."
After that, Pang Ding walked north along the city wall. The Anqing soldiers he saw greeted him and called him Mr. Pang. Pang Ding smiled and responded all the way, and he roughly imitated Pang Yu's behavior.
Arriving at the North Gate Tower soon, Pangding glanced at the Horse Temple out of habit. There was the Tatar Army with a red flag. Today, the flag was gone.
After entering the gatehouse, Pang Yu was sitting at the top with a calm expression, Zhuang Chao was standing at the bottom, and Tu Dianli was reporting to him.
"Yesterday, the Rangers of the Second Cavalry Division entered the city from the east gate. They followed General Chen Qian to raid Boping. It is consistent with what the cavalry who arrived earlier said. Chen Rulie was attacked last night. The number of Tatars in each group was not large, but they came
Dozens of groups besieged Chen Rulie, unable to march, so he broke up the brigade and divided it into flag troops to break out individually. Currently, there are forty people all the way from the west gate to Tongchengyi, and the other groups should have returned to Dong'e." Tu Dianli turned over.
The book continued, "Today in Nancheng, all the enemy troops in the West Wall Pass have withdrawn. The West Wall has visually observed three groups of Tatars returning north, with a total strength of about 500 horses. The North Wall has observed the withdrawal of the enemy flags, and the Zan Painting Room has judged the Tatars.
I will not attack Tongchengyi, and will start returning to Liaodong soon."
Pang Yu stood up and said to several people, "That's because we were well prepared. Tongchengyi united as one, and the destroyed city turned into a city. Jiannu had to give up the attack. If the Tatars retreat, does Zanhuafang have any follow-up plans?"
Tu Dianli coughed and said, "My subordinates have repeatedly estimated in the past two days that the Tatar banner can reach as many as two thousand cavalry on the border. If we include the Mongols from outside the vassal and the horsemen and coats, the cavalry may be as many as 3,000. We
The battalion's rangers have suffered serious losses, with only seven or eight men left capable of fighting in the city, and half of them are wounded. The regular cavalry has suffered heavy losses in every round, and it is uncertain how much combat power they can retain after being gathered together."
Zhuang Chaozheng looked at Pang Yu and said, "My subordinates believe that Tatars and bandits are completely different. Without ranger reconnaissance, it is like fighting with blindfolds. If you rush to catch up, if you are attacked by Tatar vests during the march, it will be difficult to resist. That is
Surrounded in the open air, we are freezing to death in this cold weather."
Tu Dianli agreed, "If there is reliable friendly cavalry, our battalion can fight again."
Pang Yu listened to the two men and was quite afraid of the Qing cavalry. They were shocked by the mobility of the Qing army. Its overall command was flexible and its reactions were very sensitive. In comparison, the rogue bandits could only run fast and were completely incapable of tactics.
compared to.
Pang Ding added, "The villain feels that the friendly forces in Linqing are not reliable. As long as they have one or two troops to fight, the Tatars will not chase them across the river so quickly."
This time, Tu Dianli nodded repeatedly. There were about 40,000 troops in Linqing City. The Qing army bypassed such a large city from the outside. If there was a slight attack by troops in the city, the Qing army's actions would be greatly restricted. It would never happen.
Crossing the canal so quickly.
Pang Yu nodded, "Without cavalry, we should not pursue the Tatars. If there are not enough rangers, we should not send out sentinels, at least leave some seeds. Stay alert in the past few days, and first respond to contact southward to Dong'a.
, gather the broken troops, improve the combat records, and wait for the situation to be clear before deciding on the next step. Do not relax the defense of Tongchengyi in these two days to prevent the Tatars from making a false shot."
After Tu Dianli and Zhuang Chaozheng saluted and left the tower, Pang Ding slowly walked over and whispered to Pang Yu, "Lu Du
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If Tang Ru is indeed killed in battle, Gao Qiqian is the person with the highest official position. Once we follow the Tatars to the north, we will encounter Gao Qiqian sooner or later. The Liao Town he led is unreliable. In the war, we must send people from other towns to win.
Such was his record, it would not be a pity if he died."
Pang Yu smiled and said, "Compared with fighting, they are more unreliable in this regard, but Gao Qiqian may not have the highest official position. After all, he is just a eunuch. It is his duty to supervise the army in charge of the troops and horses in Shanyong, Liao Town. Lu Dutang
He is an inspector with the rank of Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and he is not qualified to do so. The only ones the imperial court can use are Chen Xinjia and Sun Chuanting. Chen Xinjia is the governor of Xuanda, and this level is the most suitable to serve as an inspector. Sun Chuanting is the governor of Shanxi, and his actual combat experience is more
There are many Chen Xinjia, so it is possible to take up the post of governor, or Yang Sichang can go to the capital in person to lead the troops. Yang Sichang, the elder of the pavilion, may lead the troops more smoothly. We can only go when the news is confirmed and King Qin's army gathers."
"Then are we really going to wait at Tongcheng Station?"
"I need to wait and see. The order given to me by the Ministry of War is to go to Jinan. Now the Tatars are heading north. Liao Town is unreliable. There are no available troops in Shandong. It will be inconvenient to go too far north. It happens that the Tatars have retreated.
Send the report to the Ministry of War again, and let’s see the court’s reaction clearly.”
"Tangma was sent out ahead. At that time, there were Tatars in the direction of Dongchang Prefecture. I don't know if the news came out smoothly."
"As soon as we are sure that the Tatars have retreated, we will immediately send out the second batch of Tangma. The Tatars will go north. There should be no enemy conditions west of Dongchang Prefecture. Let Tangma go to Dongchang across the river and go around the direction of Zhendingfu to the capital. It will be better than last time.
Report more heads. When you get to the capital, inform Zhang Mazi, pay close attention to the news about me from the capital, and then decide whether to continue going north."
Pang Ding took a long breath after agreeing, "Master, I asked the border troops from Xuanfu. Lu Dutang marched all the way from the capital. No state or county gave him food and grass. Chen Rulie was fighting in front of the magistrate outside Dong'a City.
If we fight, we can only let the wounded soldiers enter the city. If we really go north later, we don’t know what the situation will be like, so we must prepare more food and grass."
Pang Yu snorted, "In other words, they are bullying our military attachés. Lu Dutang is a civil servant, but he is also a civil servant from other places. These civil servants in Zhili prefectures and counties look down on foreign officials. If they meet the ministers of various ministries in the capital, or even the elders of the cabinet,
, see if they dare not open the door!"
…
"The chief assistant, Liu Zhongtang, ordered Chen Hongxu, the magistrate of Jinzhou, to open the city gate and let the army enter the city to rest their horses. They should immediately replenish their supplies of food and grass. There must be no further delay, otherwise military law will be engaged..."
On December 26, on the official road one mile outside the west gate of Jinzhou City, North Zhili, thousands of soldiers were sitting or lying on the road. Even the Chinese flag was drooped. It was difficult to tell where they came from.
's camp.
Two Tangma stood outside the west gate of Jinzhou, looking up at the gate tower, holding a roll of paper high in their hands, signaling to the people upstairs to put down the hanging basket to get it.
There was a row of heads on the crenellations on the tower. Someone was holding a bow and arrow, and one person in the middle was wearing an official hat. When Liu Zhongtang heard this, the people on the tower became commotion. That was Liu Yuliang, the highest civil servant in the Ming Dynasty and the chief minister of the cabinet. This time he came out.
Jing came here to supervise the battle.
The man wearing an official hat stuck his head out from the battlement, looked at the pond horses below and said loudly, "Go back and tell Liu Zhongtang that since you have been ordered to inspect the division, you naturally have to supervise the war and defend against the enemy. Now there are bandits everywhere in Zhili.
Why should we go into the city to escape when we are about to attack head-on? What's the rationale for this? If there is a shortage of food and grass, the officials should be held responsible. It is not the fault of Jinzhou, not the fault of me, the governor of Jinzhou. The whole city's soldiers and people have sacrificed their blood to defend the city, and they have also pledged their blood not to delay the attack.
As a soldier, Chen doesn’t dare to break his promise to the gentry and people of Jinzhou. I’m in charge of your first and second auxiliaries. If you want to lead troops into the city, Chen doesn’t dare to obey orders.”
After saying that, he turned around and left. There was an awkward silence as people above and below the city looked at each other. After a while, the cheers of the soldiers sounded from the top of the city.
The two pond horses retreated in disgrace, arrived in front of their own team, and reported in a low voice to Zhou Yuji, the deputy general of the Beijing camp who was leading the army. After Zhou Yuji heard this, he went to report to the chief assistant with a dark face.
"This is unreasonable. You, Chen Hongxu, are simply unreasonable!"
Liu Yuliang, the chief minister of the cabinet, blushed and pointed at the Jinzhou Tower with trembling fingers. He was speechless for a long time.
The highest civil servant in the Ming Dynasty liked to wield swords and swords, and he prided himself on his talents. However, he was almost self-defeating. He almost replaced Lu Xiang and was promoted to the supervisor. Fortunately, Yang Sichang took over, and the emperor changed Liu Yuliang to the supervisor.
, can be said to have saved Liu Yuliang’s life.
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Liu Yuliang walked slowly after leaving Beijing. He only passed Baoding on December 16. On the way, he received news of the defeat of Xuan's army and immediately turned around and returned to Baoding.
On the 19th, information from the front line came one after another, and Liu Yuliang confirmed the situation. Xuan's army was defeated and Lu Xiangsheng was killed. At this time, Lu Xiangsheng's body was found by his subordinates and sent to Xinle County, Zhending Prefecture for storage.
Due to the defeat of Xuan's army, Liao Zhen retreated to Linqing and stood firm. News about the Qing army was almost completely cut off. Various rumors spread widely, and the newly arrived Qinwang soldiers from all walks of life were panicked.
The defeat of Xuan Da's army shook the whole of Northern Zhili. The whereabouts of the Qing army were unknown. Liu Yuliang did not dare to move in Baoding. It was not until the 21st that he received news that Sun Chuanting had garrisoned in Jinzhou.
Reinforcements from Wu Xiang's troops also arrived.
Liu Yuliang reported the news of the defeat to the Ministry of War one after another. At this time, the states and counties where Zhending Mansion had fallen were basically confirmed. Liu Yuliang became more and more frightened. The emperor's anger could be imagined. Lu Xiangsheng, who could have taken the blame, was already dead. Now if he continues
If he stayed in Baoding and watched, the emperor's wrath might fall on him.
Since we can't stay in Baoding, we can only find strong support. At this time, the remaining troops of Beizhili are under the command of Sun Chuanting, including Shanxi Governor Biaoying, Liao Town Wu Xiang's Department, Baoding Commander-in-Chief Liu Guangzha's various departments, and Qianqiu.
Xuanda's troops were routed in great numbers, totaling nearly 10,000 people.
So Liu Yuliang left Baoding with more than a thousand troops from the capital, and marched southward cautiously. He finally reached Jinzhou, but Sun Chuanting had already gone east.
Now the whereabouts of the Qing army were uncertain, and they were raging in Zhending Mansion more than ten days ago. Liu Yuliang was frightened on the march, fearing that the Qing army would suddenly jump out of nowhere, so he thought it would be safer to enter the city, but the magistrate did not open the door.
Only a few hundred miles away from the capital, the first civil servant of the Ming Dynasty finally encountered an iron fist from a low-level civil servant in the state and county. He intuitively experienced Lu Xiangsheng's feelings. If Pang Yu had been present, he would no longer be unbalanced mentally.
Previously, Sun Chuanting stayed in Jinzhou for ten days, also staying outside the city. But after all, Sun Chuanting was just a foreign governor. It was understandable that he was frustrated in Zhili Prefecture and County. After all, Lu Xiangsheng, the governor, did not receive good treatment, but he did not expect that the chief minister would come in person.
, Chen Hongxu, the magistrate of Jinzhou, still closed the door tightly and dared to be sarcastic in his words.
"I want to impeach you! I want to impeach my cabinet... I want to impeach you, the emperor. I think you are disobedient."
Liu Yuliang tugged on his collar fiercely. He was so angry at this little magistrate that he couldn't breathe smoothly. There was also a civil servant next to him with an equally angry face. He was the Minister of Household Affairs who was responsible for the salary assessment. The ordinary local official was Wan.
I didn't dare to offend him. Yang Sichang knew that the local government was not happy with the supply of money and food. It was not good to rely on the chief minister to do such small things, so he specially asked the emperor to appoint a minister from the Ministry of Household Affairs. Because the Ministry of Household Affairs accounted for a high proportion of performance appraisals, his words worked.
Unexpectedly, there are still times when it doesn’t work.
But no matter how he impeached him, Liu Zhongtang had nothing to do with this fifth-rank official. Zhou Yuji could only arrange to set up camp in the capital. The soldiers on the official road suddenly complained and there was a lot of noise everywhere.
Zhou Yuji found a large house on the roadside and planned to arrange for Liu Yuliang and other civil servants to go in for a break. Liu Yuliang's face was livid. Not only was he embarrassed in public today, but he also had to spend the night in a dangerous environment. It was difficult to feel good.
While he was still waiting, the curtain friend came close to him. This curtain friend was taller, but Liu Yuliang was short and small. The curtain friend bowed skillfully and said, "Sir, when Zhou Yuji's family members met two sentry horses on the official road, they were from Nanzhili.
The deputy general sent him to the capital."
Liu Yuliang said angrily, "What's there to say about the soldiers and horses in South Zhili?"
"It was said that the Tatars were defeated in Tongchengyi and Dong'e counties, and hundreds of people were beheaded. Niulu Zhangjing was among them."
Liu Yuliang was not surprised at all. He had been an official for decades, and the people below him would dare to make up anything, but he would not really write a letter based on this. Previously, Wang Pu, Gao Qiqian reported the so-called great victory, and others did not know what he was doing.
The chief minister of the cabinet must understand.
"There are armor flags as proof..."
"Is there a flag?" Liu Yuliang turned his head, and the friend came closer and said, "There are still prisoners alive."
Liu Yuliang frowned. If there are survivors, the credibility will be very high, because once sent to the capital, the false records will be easily exposed. The secret agent whispered, "If it is true, I can take this team."
I'll go with you and have one or two more hours
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If you win, I will be impregnable."
Liu Yuliang's eyebrows widened. Most of the recent bad news was relayed to the Ministry of War. He understood very well what good news at this time meant to the emperor and the court.
"Call Tang Ma here, I want to ask questions." Liu Yuliang stopped his friend, "Go and write a report right now. It is not for the Ministry of War, but for me to report directly to the emperor."
…
On December 29th, late at night in the Forbidden City, the lights in various palaces and buildings were extinguished, and the night watch lanterns fluttered like ghosts. Snowflakes slowly fell from the night sky, covering the square in front of the Jinshui Bridge.
There was a soft pop, and a footprint was printed on the snow, and then it was lifted up and walked forward, leaving a deep imprint.
The footsteps were very gentle, and the footprints extended all the way, and stopped in front of a large copper vat.
Lin Dengwan rubbed his hands, first felt the temperature of the copper cylinder, then stood up on tiptoes and touched the water from the mouth of the cylinder to make sure there was no ice on it, and then he immersed himself in looking at the fire head inside the fire hole.
There are hundreds of copper jars in the Forbidden City, which are mainly used to store fire-extinguishing water. Large families in the south also have them. Generally, they can be made of stones. But in the north, it will freeze in winter. In case of fire, it will not be possible to extinguish the fire, so it must be kept continuously every day.
Heating, keeping the water in the copper vats from freezing, and lighting the fires are all the responsibility of the Xinxing Division. The night shift is the most difficult, so newcomers like Lin Dengwan are naturally assigned to the night shift.
They are still working in groups of three, but one group has to manage many tanks. The three of them have divided the labor to reduce the workload. However, there are eunuchs coming and going to check. If a water tank freezes, all three of them will be killed at dawn.
It's easy to fight, so no one dares to be careless.
He had just completed a round of adding firewood and could take a short rest. Lindenwan stamped his feet, leaned over and cleaned the inside of the hole, took out a small copper pot from his arms, and took out two sticks in the fire hole.
He put a piece of burning charcoal into a copper pot, held it in his hand and stuffed it back into his arms.
He spent two coins to buy this copper kettle from someone else. There is also a small society in the imperial city, and there are various markets. This is considered a necessity for him, otherwise the night will be even more difficult. Now with this small copper kettle, his torso can always
Feel the heat.
Then he stuffed new coal into the fire hole of the copper cylinder. Lin Dengwan squatted on the ground, opened his hands in front of the fire hole, felt the warm air coming from inside, and felt a sense of comfort.
A crisp ringing sound rang in the dark square ahead, and a trembling female voice came.
"Peace in the world!"
Lin Dengwan poked his head out from the side of the copper vat. A lantern was approaching. It was the maid ringing the bell in the palace.
The weak lantern light reflected the palace maid's face. She was about twenty years old, with big and beautiful eyes. The palace clothes on her body were light and elegant, and she looked very fit. There were two tears hanging on her thin cheeks, which were crystal clear in the firelight.
.
She saw Lin Dengwan next to the copper vat, turned her face away in a panic, and quickly wiped it with her sleeve.
Lin Dengwan stayed for a moment, then raised his head and said to the woman, "If you ring the bell with a trembling voice, you will be beaten."
The palace maid turned her eyes and looked away from Lin Dengwan immediately. Lin Dengwan turned around and looked around. The patrolling eunuch hadn't come yet. After carefully looking at the palace maid, he took the copper pot from the
He took it out of his arms and handed it over.
Lin Dengwan whispered, "Hold your hands to keep it warm, and your voice will stop shaking."
The palace maid stopped and quickly waved her hand to Lin Dengwan. Lin Dengwan said anxiously, "Hurry up and put it away, it won't be beautiful if others see it."
The palace maid hesitated for a moment, hurriedly took two steps over and reached out to take it, then quickly took two steps away and whispered, "Thank you very much, I will return it to you tomorrow. I don't know your name yet..."
Lin Dengwan was about to speak when suddenly there was a shout from the direction of the Meridian Gate. The palace maid was startled and quickly picked up the lantern and walked away. Lin Dengwan shrank behind the copper vat and carefully observed the direction of the Meridian Gate. After the palace gate was closed at night,
It is not allowed to be opened. If there is an urgent report, it must be squeezed in through the crack in the door, but it must be the most urgent matter for the emperor.
Recently, when the Tatars entered the border, the emperor was most concerned about the battle report. Lin Dengwan saw many lanterns lighting up in the direction of the Meridian Gate, and then a group of lanterns hurriedly headed towards the Qianqing Palace.
…
Note 1: Chen Hongxu, the magistrate of Jinzhou, was impeached and imprisoned by Liu Yuliang after the war because he did not allow his chief assistant Liu Yuliang to enter the city.