"Your Majesty, in this battle we killed more than 20,000 enemies, including 3,000 Mongolian Tatars. We captured more than 20,000 mules and horses, more than 20,000 loads of grain and grass, 50 cannons, and countless weapons and armor..."
Zhou Yuji held the brochure and handed it over with excitement on his face.
The generals on the side also had excitement on their faces. This kind of achievement was even greater than that of the imperial concubine.
At this moment, everyone was full of confidence in defeating Jian Nu.
"good!"
"Haha, this battle was beautifully fought. It showed the majesty of our Ming army. It also proved that the Jurchens are invincible if they don't have ten thousand soldiers. It's all bullshit!"
Zhu Cihong took the booklet and laughed happily, finally letting go of the bad breath in his heart.
"Ha ha!"
The generals in the hall also burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty, please tell me how to deal with those war horses, mules and horses!" After everyone laughed, Zhou Yuji asked for instructions again.
"Well, there is not much fodder in the city, so let's kill all the mules and horses so that everyone can have a good meal. After all, everyone has not eaten meat for some days."
"As for the war horses... just send them to Tongzhou together with the fodder."
Zhu Cixiang said after thinking about it.
There is no place to place the war horses in the city, let alone use them. It is not safe to keep them outside the city, so it is better to send them to Tongzhou.
Although the generals were a little disappointed, they didn't say anything.
Zhu Cixi then distributed the spoils of war, and naturally the fifty red cannons were placed at the top of the city in a condescending manner.
Fifty percent of the captured armor was given to Zhou Yuji, 10% to Xungui, 10% to Tang Tong, and the remaining 30% and weapons were also sent to Tongzhou.
After all, Tongzhou is the main force in the decisive battle with the Tatars. One more war horse and one more piece of armor means more fighting power and a better chance of winning.
Anyway, the capital city has a city wall, and those pots of dung and sticks of wood are more effective than armor and long knives.
This time both princes felt that His Majesty was too partial.
However, those who were really fighting last night were Zhou Yuji's men and the Royal Forest Army. The two of them could only hold their noses and recognize each other. Who told them that they lost the battle that day?
Everyone had just resigned, and when Zhu Cihong was about to fulfill his promise and choose his disciples, the civil servant came to see him again.
Zhu Cixiang thought that they had guarded the city all morning yesterday and had killed more than a hundred people and injured more than three hundred, so he patiently received them.
"Kowtow to Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live your Majesty!"
"Everyone get up!"
"Chief Assistant, what's the point of mobilizing people like this?"
Seeing that the cabinet ministers and the six ministers and ministers were all there, he asked directly, obviously not wanting to waste any time.
"Your Majesty, I am here to pay tribute to Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, and other officials and scholars who died for the country. I hope that your Majesty will issue an order to commend the officials and scholars who died for the country..."
After Chen Yan finished speaking, he knelt down, holding a list of names in both hands. Others also knelt down to second their opinions.
"After the war is over, I will commend the soldiers and officials who died for the country one by one. But it seems that Zhang Jinyan escaped and was beheaded, right?"
Zhu Cixiang immediately understood the purpose and plan of these guys and said with a sneer at the end.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that as the Minister of the Ministry of War, how could Zhang Jinyan escape from the battlefield? He must have been accidentally killed by a soldier. I hope that your Majesty will return justice and set the record straight!"
"I hope Your Majesty will do justice to Zhang Butang and set the record straight!"
Everyone knelt down and worshiped together again.
In fact, no one wanted to tell lies in front of the emperor.
However, Zhang Jinyan, as the Minister of the Ministry of War, escaped from the battle and was hacked to death by a small soldier. This was not just a disgrace to him, but to the face of the entire civil service.
His Majesty has already begun to re-employ military generals. It is conceivable that once this matter comes out, it will further aggravate the military commanders' turnover. In the future, if civilian officials want to intervene in military affairs, this matter will become a major obstacle.
"What? Do you want me to call that soldier and confront him on the spot in the Imperial Palace?"
Although he had long been used to the shamelessness of these guys, Zhu Cixiang was still disgusted so much that he didn't even give him any face.
Everyone looked at each other in shock, never expecting that His Majesty would be so ruthless and not give him any room to return the favor.
After all, they defended the city for half a day and suffered hundreds of casualties, okay?
Wouldn't it be enough to change the reputation of Minister of the Ministry of War?
"Many soldiers have witnessed this with their own eyes. There is no need to discuss it further. I still have things to do, so please step aside!"
"I wait...resign!"
Everyone resigned and left with disappointed expressions on their faces, not daring to say any more.
I thought that this performance would make His Majesty change his views on them. Who would have thought that they still haven't changed. It's really chilling.
After the civil servants left, Zhu Cixi also got up and went to the Imperial City Campus. The 30,000 people who fought out from the north gate last night, except for those who died in the battle, had already lined up and waited for a long time.
Last night, nearly a thousand people were killed by the Royal Guards, and as many as three thousand were injured. It can be said that the losses were heavy.
Half of those who died in battle were killed by firecrackers on the charge, and most of the injured were shot by arrows and injured in the fight.
This shows the importance of armor. If these 10,000 people were not all wearing armor, and 60% of them were made of fine trivan armor, more than 1,000 people would have died in such a leading battle.
Although one thousand people died and three thousand were injured, which made Zhu Cixiang heartbroken, he knew that it was worth it and necessary.
After last night's brutal fighting, his imperial army has completely grown into an elite force that dares to fight.
Seeing His Majesty arrive at this moment, everyone excitedly shouted Long Live, knowing that His Majesty was really going to choose a disciple.
With so many people, it’s hard to tell who performed the best, so Zhu Cihong just went through the motions and it was generally reasonable.
For example, when the Royal Forest Army rushed to the front, Zhu Cixiang selected 80 of them who were the most powerful in curling swords.
Then from among the more than 20,000 people under Zhou Yuji's command, he selected the 20 people with the most blood on their bodies.
After a hundred people were selected, a teacher-student ceremony was held on the spot, and then Zhu Cihong threw them into the newly established martial arts hall to learn how to read.
Most of these one hundred people were ordinary soldiers, a few were low-level officers, and there were no senior officers.
After the news came out, the entire army was once again severely stimulated.
Especially after His Majesty announced that he would personally select disciples every year from now on, everyone worked hard and no longer seemed as confused as before.
Because everyone has seen the hope of becoming a general with glory and wealth. It doesn’t require you to be literate, smart, or connected, as long as you dare to fight and kill.
However, the civil servants and nobles also saw the intention of His Majesty's move.
Xungui is okay, he is just thinking about how to send his children to the martial arts hall.
But all the civil servants were so disheartened that they all wanted to do something evil.
However, after Chongzhen's rebellion, Zhu Cixi expelled all the eunuchs from the harem. They were not allowed to enter the harem without orders, and the maids were also changed.
Now the entire harem is guarded and garrisoned by a thousand female soldiers who were kidnapped from the Red Lady.
It can be said that no chance is given to those with ulterior motives.
Even when sleeping at night, the concubine must be prepared to stand guard at the bedside with a knife to prevent the palace maid from strangulating secretly.
I was so afraid of death.
………
In the days that followed, Zhu Cixiang always paid attention to the movements of the slave camp, but for half a month, the Tatars showed no sign of advancing.
Instead, they continued to reinforce the camp.
This made Zhu Cihong and Zhou Yuji, as well as the Hong Niangzi generals in Tongzhou, feel that something was wrong.
"Is it possible that Dorgon still thinks that I will send an army to attack him?"
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is indeed the case. From the various signs of the Tatars, it is obvious that they know that our army is short of food, so they want to consume our army's food and grass in order to achieve the purpose of defeating others without fighting."
Zhou Yuji said in a deep voice, his face more solemn than ever before, and the faces of the two princes were also very ugly.
Zhu Cixiang also frowned.
He is not afraid of the Tatars coming to attack. Whether they attack the capital or conquer Tongzhou, he welcomes them.
After being silent for a long time, he tried to say: "The food and grass in the city can at least last another four months, and the Tongzhou camp should be about the same. The Tatars have traveled thousands of miles to transport food, how can it last for three or four months? What's more, what about the Dorgun?
Are you sure the south won’t bring grain?”
"Your Majesty, according to the report from the scouting horse, the Jiannu sent a large number of troops southward to Hejian Mansion at night. They must be trying to cut off our army's food route by taking advantage of the advantage of cavalry and shooting in the field!"
Zhou Yuji replied.
Seeing His Majesty looking over, Li Ruolian quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the troops sent to Hejian Mansion to collect grain have indeed not received any news for several days."
"Damn it, why didn't you report such an important thing earlier?"
"I was negligent for a moment, I hope your Majesty will punish you!"
Li Ruolian quickly knelt down and apologized. The reason why he did not retaliate was that he was too busy, and he thought it was normal.
After all, there are not many manpower dispatched, and they have to be divided among the counties. It is normal for them to be unable to spare manpower to report the situation for a while.
"Immediately send someone to Hejian Prefecture to inquire about the situation, as well as Shandong. If you can raise food and grass, don't rush to transport it until I send cavalry to respond."
"It's your Majesty!"
After everyone left, Zhu Cixiang's face became heavy.
If the Tatars really want to fight this kind of war of attrition, it must be done by Hong Laogou again, because this is not the Tatars' past style.
And with Hong Chengchou's steady character, he dared to suggest Dorgon to use this strategy. If he wanted to get it with his ass, the food and grass for establishing slaves must be very sufficient.
