This city with a population of over a million has finally emerged from the atmosphere of panic and unrest these days.
King Qin’s troops from all over the country finally arrived one after another.
The plundering activities of the Later Jin Tartars were also effectively curbed, and they no longer dared to divide their forces to plunder.
A few days ago, they suddenly started to retreat, leaving Fangshan, and there were signs of returning to Liaodong along the original route. This made everyone in the court breathe a sigh of relief, and the biggest crisis had been resolved.
The four city gates of the capital have also been opened, commercial activities are allowed to proceed, and the flow of people and logistics has resumed smoothly.
But this is not something to be happy about.
Because there is no one left.
Many villages, markets and towns around the capital were reduced to ruins and ashes, and turned into ghost lands, with survivors crying out in grief day and night.
Even within the capital, there are many families who have lost relatives and friends. They have hung up white flags, and their mourning and crying can be heard throughout the city. Thousands of white rituals are held every day.
It's like returning to the second year of Chongzhen, but this time the losses for the people of Gyeonggi seem to be even more severe.
After crying and feeling sad.
Then came complaints, overwhelming complaints from the people against the imperial court:
"What is the purpose of this court?"
"The Tatars are raging, what are our civil and military officials doing? What are our troops doing? What is our Majesty doing?"
"The local dogs are still guarding the house, so what do they get from the money and food we pay every year? Do they have common people like us in their hearts?"
"Why aren't those high-ranking and powerful people dying, and why are we, the common people, always the victims?"
“It’s hard to survive even in the capital city. In this vast world, where is our paradise?”
"Since this court can't do anything, why should we hand over money and food to support those useless wastes?"
"..."
Public opinion was fierce and resentment was so high that not only the civil servants and officials could hear it.
Through the eyes and ears of Jin Yiwei and others, the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian in the palace also heard a little bit. Even if Jin Yiwei specially selected some gentle and euphemistic remarks, Zhu Youjian felt very uncomfortable and heartbroken, and felt extremely embarrassed.
I even dare not face certain questions directly.
In the past two days, the direction of public opinion has changed again.
There were many more words boasting and praising Xujiazhuang.
Because Xujiazhuang also sent troops.
As soon as the 8,000-strong Xu family army arrived in Tongzhou, they won a great victory in Tongzhou and wiped out 5,000 Tatar cavalry.
Then he began to sweep the surrounding areas, annihilating countless small groups of slave-building troops who massacred and plundered in the Gyeonggi area, and rescued an unknown number of young and strong people.
Xu Jiajun, this indirectly prevented more people from being harmed.
It can be said that this time it was Xu Jiajun who saved the people who were in deep misery. It was Xu Jiajun who became the great savior of countless people and played a role that even the imperial court could not play. Moreover, for the majority of people who suffered, Tianxiatong Bank also announced that it would provide
Low-interest relief loans are willing to help them rebuild their homes and get through the most difficult period.
Therefore, this time when the slaves entered the country and were raging, Xujiazhuang and Xujiajun became the ray of salvation and the light of hope.
Recently, public opinions such as this have become more popular among the people:
"Have you heard? Xujiazhuang sent Xu Jiajun here to help this time, not for King Qin, nor to save any common people, but mainly to protect the market in the north."
"Protecting the market? How to interpret this statement?"
"Because a large amount of Xujiazhuang's goods are sold to the north, Xujiazhuang has benefited a lot. If the Tatars often wreak havoc and the northern market falls into war, Xujiazhuang's interests will also be affected. Therefore, in order to protect this market, elite troops must be sent
The army is coming."
"You mean that Xujiazhuang is so active in sending troops to help to ensure that it can make money?"
"Yes, it's mainly for their own benefit."
"Hey, even businessmen like Xujiazhuang are willing to send out large armies to fight with the Tatars in order to make money in the long term. What about our court? It's not even as good as a businessman!"
"Uh...that's the truth."
After Zhu Youjian learned about these public opinions, he immediately couldn't sit still.
The imperial court is not even as good as a businessman!
This sentence was not very harmful, but it was so insulting that not only Chongzhen, but also all the officials in the court could not accept it. They felt like they were being slapped in the face.
Immediately, some civil servants said: These rumors must have been created by someone behind the scenes. They must be strictly investigated, a few people who deceive the public with their evil talk should be found out, and they should be severely punished! Only then can people stop people from slandering the imperial court.
But Zhu Youjian did not adopt this official's suggestion. He defended the people more than Fangchuan. This is a truth that people in ancient times understood. How could he learn from King Li of Zhou?
After October 3rd.
More and more news is coming from the front line.
First, Xu Jiajun took the lead and established a so-called 'Alliance to Destroy the Jin Army' to specifically deal with the Later Jin Army. He declared himself the leader of the alliance and declared that he would allow any army willing to resist the Jin Dynasty to join.
What kind of alliance leader do you want to be, and you want to command the imperial army? You don’t know how high the sky is!
But then there was a series of good news sent to the capital, which was dizzying:
"Report! A great victory in Tongzhou, the Xu family's army came to help, and the formation killed five thousand golden cavalry!"
"Report! A great victory at Daxingzhuang. The allied army of the Jin Dynasty killed 5,000 Mongolian cavalry and beheaded 18,000 elite troops of the Eight Banners headquarters. Our side has won a great victory! The backbone of the Jin army seems to have been broken."
"Report! A great victory in Changping. Our Jin-destroying coalition forces broke through the Houjin material camp, killed 7,000 Mongolian cavalry, surrendered 5,000 to the Han army, and surrendered 43,000. Our losses were slight."
"Report! A great victory at Juyong Pass. I destroyed the Jin coalition forces. It only took one day to break through the Xiong Pass at Juyong Pass. I beheaded 3,000 Jin Eight Banners elites and 20,000 soldiers who surrendered to the Han army!"
"Report! Lu Xiangsheng's army recaptured Yanqing Prefecture, killed 800 Jin Tatars, rescued 20,000 young and strong people, recaptured 5,000 livestock, more than 70,000 shi of grain, and 10,000 taels of gold and silver."
"Report! Lu Xiangsheng recaptured Longmenkou, killed 300 Houjin Tartars, rescued 5,000 young and strong people, recaptured 3,000 livestock, more than 30,000 shi of grain, and countless other properties."
"Report! Lu Xiangshengtian's army broke out in a bloody battle with the Houjin Tartars on the grassland outside the Great Wall, killing three thousand elite Eight Banners, and losing two thousand himself. He was unable to fight anymore and was returning. However, the Houjin army had been expelled from the Ming Dynasty.
The total loss of troops exceeds 100,000. After this battle, for at least ten years, the Jiannu will no longer have the strength to enter the pass and plunder!"
I have received so many good news in a row.
Millions of people in the capital cheered and congratulated three times a day.
However, Emperor Zhu Youjian and the civil and military officials in the court all had expressions of disbelief on their faces, seriously doubting the authenticity of these good news, or in other words, they were unwilling to believe it and could not accept it from the bottom of their hearts.
Jinluan Hall, above the court meeting.
Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet, said: "Your Majesty, although the Xu family's army is strong, the Jiannu army is even stronger. When the two are fighting, I still feel that the Xu family's army may have a small victory, but it is impossible to win a big victory! Fake, these good reports are all fake.
Yes, the real situation is definitely not like this.”
Academician Wu Zongda also said: "The Jurchens are absolutely invincible. The Xu family's army abandoned their advantages in firearms and instead fought bloody battles with Jiannu. This was a stupid move that could lead to death. The Xu family's army may have been wiped out, but in order to cover up and bewitch the capital,
The human heart has created many great victories."
Yang Sichang, Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty! These great victories cannot be fully believed, but they are not all fabricated out of thin air. At least the Battle of Tongzhou was witnessed by many soldiers and civilians, so there must be no possibility of forgery. As for other great victories, even if they are squeezed out by 70%
Moisture, I'm afraid there are many real gains. Compared with the previous performance of the imperial army, even if only about a thousand people were beheaded in each battle, it can be called a great victory."
As Minister of War, Yang Sichang received far more intelligence information than ordinary ministers. No matter how you look at it, there is a high probability that these great victories created by the Jin-Destroying Alliance are true. There are many sources of information that can confirm it.
, the gains were also very astonishing. The combat effectiveness of the gold-exterminating coalition led by Xu Jiajun was astonishing. All the imperial troops who joined had a completely different outcome. But he could not tell these facts, otherwise his position as Minister of War would soon be lost.
When it's over.
Censor Zhang Yandeng immediately scolded him: "Yang Sichang, what benefits did you get from Xujiazhuang? Do you believe these fabricated victories? Is it possible to kill thousands of Tatars in every battle? Which Ming army can do that?
No matter how strong Xu Jiajun is, he will never be a match for Jian Nu! You don’t need to encourage Xu Jia Zhuang’s arrogance anymore.”
Xu Yuqing, the spokesman, simply said: "Your Majesty, I suspect that Yang Sichang has an affair with Xu Jiazhuang, and there must be collusion in private. Please put this person in jail and try him severely!"
Yang Sichang immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I am sincere and loyal to Your Majesty. I will learn from it in the future!"
"Haha, are you loyal? Do you dare to say that your Yang family's shop has no business dealings with Xujiazhuang? It is said that in Tianxiatong Bank, you sent your family to deposit one hundred thousand taels of silver, and the deposit was fixed for five years. Yang Sichang, you
Do you dare to say that you and Xujiazhuang have no interest in each other?"
Xu Yuqing, the official in charge of the impeachment, said reluctantly.
"Okay, no need to criticize anymore!"
Emperor Chongzhen had to smooth things over so that the officials would no longer attack. On the one hand, Yang Sichang was outstanding in talent and gained Zhu Youjian's trust. Zhu Youjian would not do anything until he did something too big to disappoint him.
Lull him down, and secondly, these officials’ impeachment remarks also feel like slapping him in the emperor’s face.
Because the people who have the deepest cooperation with Xujiazhuang are the royal family.
The people with the largest deposits in Tianxiatong Bank are also members of the royal family.
If Yang Sichang was impeached for this reason, wouldn't it be more important for him as an emperor to be impeached?
However, after the entire court meeting today, in the face of so many great victories achieved by the Jin-Destroying Alliance, all civil and military officials unanimously agreed that it was fake, it was all fake, and it couldn't be true! They would never believe it.
But starting from October 7th.
Carloads of human heads that had been prepared with salt (including the harvest from the Battle of Daxingzhuang, which had also been snatched up and preserved intact), were sent to the capital and handed over to the officials of the Ministry of War for verification.
Groups of captives were also escorted into the capital and presented to the Ancestral Temple to celebrate victory.
Batch after batch of battlefield seizures, such as grain, cattle, sheep, horses, livestock, utensils, gold and silver goods, etc., were also sent to the capital, amounting to tens of thousands of carts and worth more than 500,000 taels.
There are also the weapons used by the slave army, the cotton armor worn by the slaves, and the money and rat tails, which can be proved to be true Tatar items.
Three days later on October 10th.
Professionals from the Ministry of War, after conducting inspections through the floating water method and observing the mouth of the teeth, had to admit that the gains made by the Jin-eliminating coalition forces were indeed huge.
The number of heads of Jiannu Zhentar alone is as many as 26,000, so there is no doubt that they are Zhentar!
In addition, there are as many as 30,000 Mongol Tatars who had their heads shaved and joined the Han army. They can be clearly distinguished and difficult to fake.
The remaining more than 20,000 heads had no obvious characteristics and were difficult to identify. They may have been killed for good deeds, or they may have been real gains, so they cannot be counted as gains.
even so.
There are as many as 56,000 achievements recognized and endorsed by professionals from the Ministry of War!
This proves that the great victories achieved by the Jin-Destroying Alliance are all true and are not excessively exaggerated or falsely reported.
Face these hard facts before us.
The military attaches in the court remained silent.
Officials from the Ministry of War also remained silent for a long time.
Emperor Zhu Youjian didn't know whether he should be happy or unhappy, or a combination of both emotions, but it was a good thing that the slave-building had caused such an unprecedented blow, and Zhu Youjian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Only the civil servants in the court were still stubborn and refused to recognize the results of the war.
"It's fake, it's all fake, I don't believe it!"
"They must all be killing good people and taking credit for their merits."
"I don't know where Xu Jiajun got these heads, but Xu Jiajun is not an imperial army, so there is no need to reward them."
"That's right, the silver reward is a different idea. The court has no money, so if you want a silver reward, go to Xujiazhuang to get it!"
"So what if the heads are real? They are clearly part of the imperial court's army, but they don't obey the imperial court's orders. Instead, they join some money-killing coalition. How is this move different from treason? When I want to reward the silver, I think of the imperial court again. I have to take advantage of both sides.
, How can there be such a good thing in this world? Anyway, the court can't come up with a reward of silver!"
Civil servants all said that the shamelessness of his remarks and the intention to destroy his promise were not appropriate even for the emperor Zhu Youjian.