In the first month of the twenty-sixth year of Chongzhen, most areas of the Ming Dynasty were not peaceful! However, people's mood was different from previous years regarding this great turmoil. This was probably the final battle in the Ming Dynasty's transformation from chaos to rule.
In the past, most people may not understand or be informed. Now, due to the role of newspapers in spreading public opinion, many rural villagers understand and pay attention to the progress of this war. The people from top to bottom are working with
The country of Ming Dynasty developed empathy, which is the achievement of national consciousness building.
The name of Luzhou in later generations is Hefei. It has been an important town in the Jianghuai River since ancient times and a battleground for military strategists. Throughout the ages, not many important wars that took place around Nanjing are remembered, but there are countless wars around Hefei. Shoujiang
We must defend the Huaihe River. Among the important cities along the Huaihe River, Hefei is the first to bear the brunt. There is even a public opinion that whoever controls Hefei controls Jiangnan.
Zhou Yuji was in the Luzhou official office, watching several civil servants sitting at the top discussing the war situation in fear, and he felt bored for a while. The army was approaching the city, and these people were still fighting over whose idea was correct.
If you have such a leisurely mind, you might as well pay more attention to the military pay. A big war is about to begin, and the soldiers guarding the city can't even get their full pay, so this battle is a waste of time!
"Commander Zhou, what do you think of the countermeasures we have discussed? We should fortify ourselves along the river, and we must not let the enemy troops get through the water." Shi Kefa, the warlord of the Hefei war, saw several people arguing endlessly, and finally withdrew Zhou Yuji into the debate.
I want him to help me stand firm.
"How can we set up defenses along the river? To set up defenses along the river is to defend everywhere and lose everywhere! It is better to defend according to the city. As long as Hefei City is in our hands, they will have no chance to enter the hinterland of Nanzhi." The supervisory army held different opinions.
, and quickly retorted.
Zhou Yuji stood up and took a look at both sides of the dispute. He took a deep breath and said, "If you don't defend the river, you won't defend the city!"
"What does General Zhou mean by this? If you don't defend the river, you don't defend the city. Do you want the city to fail?"
“That’s really what I meant!”
"Bold! You are a warrior, how dare you talk nonsense? Give up the city? Once Luzhou City gives way, the entire Jiangnan gate will be opened. Nanjing City is in danger. You can't do it if you want to."
"In danger? The city of Nanjing has been in danger for a long time. With the trouble caused by you gang of rebellious officials and traitors, when will the city of Nanjing be safe? At such a time, you are still stubbornly resisting His Majesty's anti-rebellion army? You are really stubborn! Nanzhi and others
What harm have you done to me in the past year?
I will definitely not follow you around this time! The right way is to welcome Wang Shi into Nanjing as early as possible, and to bring peace to the people of Nanjing and the Ming Dynasty. As for you, the right way is to just surrender and wait for the grace of God."
At a time like this, Zhou Yuji naturally didn't want to be indifferent anymore. If he didn't express his position anyway, he was afraid that he would lose the chance.
"Wu Fu, you are such an ignorant white-eyed wolf. Your Majesty has treated you with great kindness, but you want to turn your back on him in the middle of the battle, betray your master and seek glory, and do disobedient things?" Shi Kefa was so angry at Zhou Yuji's statement that he asked openly.
"Shi Xiancheng, put away that gentlemanly face of yours. It's you who are seeking glory behind the Lord's back! Back then, because you were reprimanded by the saint in the temple, you joined forces with Donglin to lure traitors and generals to kill the king. What happened?
After his defeat, he encouraged the young King Yu (Zhu Cixiang was canonized as King Yu by Ming Dynasty) to stand on his own initiative. His crime should be punished. I am too lazy to argue with you, so I will lead the army back to Nanjing today to escort His Highness King Yu back to Shenjing.
."
"Hmph! I've known for a long time that your heart is not in the government! Do you think we have no other arrangements? In addition to your troops and horses, the other generals in Hefei City will let you do whatever you want?" The people in power in Nanjing have always been wary of Zhou Yuji. This
When he was sent to the front line in Hefei for the first time, he also deployed several restraining troops to prevent Zhou Yuji from defecting in battle.
"With those people, can you stop me? I want to give it a try! You can do your own thing, but I will not accompany you." After saying that, Zhou Yuji signaled his own soldiers to escort him out of the government office and to the headquarters camp.
When they arrived at the camp, the three thousand soldiers and horses who had been prepared immediately obeyed Zhou Yuji's order and raised the flag anyway. Yes, although Zhou Yuji was the nominally highest military attache guarding Hefei City this time, he only had more than three thousand soldiers and horses.
In the past few years since he went south, Zhou Yuji's strength has remained like this. The authorities tried their best to prevent Zhou Yuji from expanding his strength. However, they did not dare to weaken Zhou Yuji's strength.
Three thousand troops may not sound like much, but in the old military system of the Ming Dynasty, it was really not something that could be manipulated at will. No one could guarantee that they could absolutely control it if they really fought hard. With these direct troops,
Zhou Yuji is enough to protect himself.
Anyway, when Zhou met Ji's troops later, they drove directly out of Luzhou City. They did not encounter any obstruction from other soldiers and horses along the way. It was obvious that other generals in Luzhou City also had other thoughts and did not attack Luzhou City.
The civil servants in the city took it seriously.
When Zhou Yuji led his men out of Luzhou City and marched towards Nanjing, other soldiers and horses from Hefei City behind him also left Luzhou and also moved towards Nanjing. These soldiers and horses externally stated that they were pursuing Zhou Yuji, but in fact
What exactly are they going to do? No one knows, anyway, Zhou Yuji has not encountered any obstruction. As for defending Hefei City? Whoever wants to defend it will defend it. Their task is to pursue Zhou Yuji.
As they chased after each other, the number of teams grew, and the defenders of the city along the way naturally joined the team chasing Zhou Yuji's army.
When Ren Shuangyou and Ma Xu rushed to Luzhou City, they found that this important city had become an undefended place.
"Commander Ma, we must gather the cavalry and move south quickly to catch up with General Zhou's team as soon as possible. It is best to enter Nanjing City with him. Otherwise, something may happen to King Yu." Ren Shuangyou has received detailed military information.
, knowing that Zhou Yuji was raising the flag, he was marching quickly towards Nanjing City in order to protect Zhu Cixiang.
The so-called protection of Zhu Cixiang was actually to prevent him from being kidnapped, which would cause some moral difficulties for the imperial troops going south. After all, he and the Nanjing palace were direct relatives of the Beijing emperor. If they were kidnapped, the frontline generals would really
Somewhat difficult to handle.
"Can we keep up with our speed? Also, if we go deep alone, will there be any unexpected dangers?" Ma Xu was worried about the dangers of such a risky use of troops.
"There is no other good way now. The situation has developed like this, so we can only speed up the progress. It's a pity that Wang Er is not in our army, otherwise it would be more reliable to let him take people to Nanjing to protect King Yu." Do this.
When it comes to special operations, Ren Shuangyou first thinks of Wang Er. In the Ming Dynasty, Wang Er is indeed an expert in doing this kind of thing. Apart from him, it is really not reassuring for anyone else to do this kind of thing.