There is no such thing as secrecy about the actions of tens of thousands of troops.
When the units of the New Army assembled in eastern Shandong, court officials from all over the country were shocked, and urgent memorials were sent to the capital as if they were flying.
When they learned that there was going to be a big move in Shandong, all the officials in the court were panicked.
Chongzhen had no choice but to send Li Kangxian, the Minister of Rites, to negotiate with Shandong and find out the whole story.
Li Kangxian did not need to go into danger alone and run to Shandong.
Because right in the capital, the sign of the Shandong Representative Office in the capital hangs openly.
Wang Zesheng, Director-General of the Gyeonggi Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received Li Kangxian.
"Director Wang, you and I have made a covenant in black and white, and we will live in peace from now on. But I don't know what your intention is in mobilizing the army?"
Wang Zesheng had already been informed and laughed when he heard this.
"Master Zongbo has misunderstood. This time I send troops from Shandong, but it is not for malicious reasons, but for the sake of the imperial court."
"Hmph, why did you say that?"
Li Kangxian instinctively didn't believe it.
Shandong's repeated attempts to break through the agreement have caused the imperial court to be in a state of disarray.
Wang Zesheng doesn't care whether he believes it or not.
"Does Mr. Zong Bo know that the northwest bandits have set out from Yingzhou to raid Fengyang? This is the land of Longxing, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. If it is destroyed by the bandits, it will only damage the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. The world will be shocked and the people will lose their hearts. It is said that the imperial court
The ministries are far out of reach, and I'm afraid they won't be able to protect Fengyang's safety. I, Shandong Shangxia Fist, would like to ask Mr. Zongbo to convey the message on my behalf."
Li Kangxian didn't remember what Wang Zesheng said at all.
Thunderbolts exploded in his mind, and five thunders struck his head.
Are the northwest bandits planning to attack Fengyang?
This terrible news made Li Kangxian completely lose his composure, and he felt a bone-chilling chill rush straight from the soles of his feet into his mind.
If what Wang Zesheng said was true, he knew very well what it meant to Ming Dynasty.
But it was because he knew it that he was afraid.
"Director Wang, I take my leave."
After receiving a huge piece of bad news out of thin air, Li Kangxian was no longer in the mood to explore why Shandong sent troops.
Nothing should happen to Fengyang!
He ran back to the palace and told Chongzhen the news.
Chongzhen was also numb.
No matter what, I never thought that the ancestral graves would not be saved.
As the emperor, once his ancestral graves are dug up by rebels from the northwest, how should the people of the world view him?
You must know that the Ming Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, but failed to protect the tombs of the ancestors and encountered ruthless thieves. This is the greatest unfilial piety.
This will severely damage his legal system.
"What is Hong Chengchou doing? What is Yang Yipeng doing? What is Lu Xiangsheng doing? Where is Zuo Liangyu? What do they do for food? Send an order quickly and let them march quickly. If Fengyang makes mistakes, I will never spare them."
In extreme panic, Chongzhen completely lost his sense of proportion and began to give random orders.
Hong Chengchou has just arrived at Tongguan. He is thousands of miles away and it is too late to fly.
As for Lu Xiangsheng, who had just been appointed governor of Xunyang and was far away in Huguang, he was also helpless.
The only people who really had anything to do with this matter were Yang Yipeng, the governor of the river, and Zuo Liangyu.
Even Yang Yipeng is actually a bit innocent.
Because the River Governor's Office was far away in Huai'an, Yang Yipeng had no time to rush over after receiving the news.
As for Zuo Liangyu...
He would never dare to fight against the 200,000 to 300,000 northwest rebels with just a lone army.
It can be said that all the orders issued by Chongzhen fell into vain.
Shandong doesn't care what he thinks.
When Zhang Xianzhong set out from Yingzhou, all units of the New Army also embarked on the journey.
The Fifth Division of the Third Army was the vanguard, marching south along the flat official road in a dusty road, and arrived at Suzhou City three days later.
As it happened, there was no chief official in Suzhou now, and his colleagues were indifferent. Faced with the powerful new army, everything was in complete chaos.
The artillery mounts of the New Army only fired two shells, and a white flag was raised on the city.
It can be said that the new army opened the north gate of Fengyang without any loss.
Then the new army slowed down and headed south to Guzhen.
Even a big city like Suzhou can't stop the New Army's offensive, let alone a small town like Guzhen.
The merchants in Guzhen even cooperated with others and helped open the city gate.
After entering the city, division commander Ai Wenkun established a headquarters on the spot.
While sending all the investigation forces south to check the situation in Fengyang, they also sent messages to the back.
Knowing that the passage was completely opened, Huang Sanhu gave an order and the main force of the Third Army marched out to Suzhou to coordinate with the Fifth Division and march into Fengyang at any time.
Compared with the actions of the Third Army, the First Division was also invincible.
Starting from Xuzhou and going down the Yellow River, Pizhou, Suqian, and Qinghe fell into the hands of the new army one after another.
After arriving at Qinghe, the First Division faced Huai'an Prefecture across the river.
Lianghuai is shocked!
In Huai'an City, Yang Yipeng, the governor of the river, Wang Changshi, the prefect of Huai'an, and other officials were in a mess and panicked.
Because it is the seat of the governor of the river, there are still some soldiers and horses here.
But looking at the tens of thousands of troops across the river and the artillery, the people in the city knew that they would lose if they started fighting.
"Prefect Wang, do you want to become a thief and offer the city as a gift?"
Faced with Yang Yipeng's questioning, Wang Changshi couldn't laugh or cry.
However, Yang Yipeng’s question was not random.
Just because Wang Changshi was from Yizhou, Shandong.
Nowadays, everyone in Shandong is rebelling. Maybe Wang Changshi has something up his sleeve.
"Lord Bingxian, the bandits in Shandong are very powerful, and the subordinates never join the bandits. Huai'an still cannot be defended."
This is what Wang Changshi said from the bottom of his heart, but it is even more heartbreaking.
Yang Yipeng fell to the top of the city, his eyes blank.
Are you going to die for your country here today?
Just when many officials in Huai'an were feeling sorry for themselves, envoys from the New Army came down from the city.
"Yang Bingxian, Wang Zhifu, my Lord Commander-in-Chief is just across the way, and I invite you to cross the river to have a talk. The swords and soldiers are dangerous, how can the people deserve it? I also ask you, for the sake of the people, that those who know the current affairs are heroes."
When they heard that Zuo Mengeng had come in person, Yang Yipeng and Wang Changshi trembled even more.
Since Zuo Mengeng is here in person, he must be determined to win the Huai'an Mansion.
Things have come to this, and there is no way back.
Yang Yipeng thought for a while and comforted himself.
"Don't be afraid. I had a relationship with Zuo Mengeng once. Even if I can't show him justice and make him repent, you and I won't be in danger."
Yang Yipeng recalled his meeting with Zuo Mengeng in Xuzhou.
At that time, he had many accusations against Zuo Menggeng, but Zuo Menggeng did not have murderous intentions towards him.
I didn't kill him then, and I probably won't kill him now.
Under the eager eyes of everyone in Huai'an, Yang Yipeng and Wang Changshi went out of the city to cross the river and met Zuo Mengeng, who was leisurely and at ease.
"Old Tomo, I saved your life, how should you thank me?"
When they met and heard Zuo Mengeng's words, Yang Yipeng was baffled.
"How do you say this?"
"Don't you know, Mr. Dayou? The northwest bandits have captured Fengyang and destroyed the royal ancestral tombs. As the governor of the river, Mr. Dayou, I'm afraid he can't absolve himself of the blame."