Shang Yi's troops arrived in Luzhou on the second day of the seventh lunar month. At this time, Wu Di was waiting for him, so he was tired of waiting.
Although Wu Di set out more than half a month earlier than Shang Yi, Beijing was further away from Luzhou, and the Central Plains area was occupied by Li Zicheng, so he had to go around the road. In addition, Wu Di deliberately slowed down his journey.
The speed of the march was reduced, so he arrived at Luzhou only seven days ahead of Shang Yi.
The reason why Wu Zong's southern expedition was placed in Luzhou was because the area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was occupied by peasant armies, especially the fall of Wuchang, which caused a tight situation in Nanjing. What Chongzhen was most worried about was that the peasants would move down the river in one fell swoop.
Conquering Nanjing swept through all areas south of the Yangtze River. Nanjing was not only the second capital of the Ming Dynasty, but also the barrier for the entire Jiangnan region. Now 70% of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue came from the Jiangnan region. Therefore, once Nanjing was lost, it would not only mean
The second capital was lost, which completely cut off the Ming Dynasty's source of financial revenue.
In this case, Wu Zong's primary purpose when he went south to supervise the army was to protect Nanjing first. Then he could talk about other things. Luzhou is the gateway to Nanjing, Zuo Liangyuji was stationed in Jiujiang, and Wu Zong was stationed in Jiujiang.
If we continue to defend Luzhou, we can basically ensure the safety of Nanjing.
However, in the process of going south, although Wu Di did not move fast, he did not do anything at all. He also tried his best to recruit local troops and horses along the way to expand his team, bringing the number of troops to more than 50,000. At the same time, he also issued orders
Liu Liangzuo and Huang Degong's troops stationed in Anqing Mansion also had to rely on Long, stationed in Lu'an Prefecture and Lujiang respectively, to protect the southwest entrance of Luzhou Prefecture. And in this way, with the addition of Liu Liangzuo and Huang Degong's troops, at least in terms of reputation, Wu
He already had an army of nearly 100,000 in his hands.
At the same time, Wu Di also knew that it was not enough to have only men and horses, because people needed to eat, horses needed to be fed, and money was needed to make the soldiers fight hard. Without food and money, nothing could be done. Therefore, he asked the Ministry of War in Nanjing to
Shangshu Shi Kefa prepared grain, grass and military supplies and transported them to Luzhou for military use, so that after the troops arrived in Luzhou, they would at least be fully guaranteed in terms of logistical support.
In fact, at this time, it was not unreasonable for Chongzhen to choose Wu Zong to supervise the army in the south. Although Wu Zong was a bit cunning, he was still quite capable. As early as the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), he had suppressed bandits.
Regarding the matter of subjugation, it can be said that at present, no matter whether Wu Zong can take on the important task of supervising the division to quell the rebellion, he is the most suitable candidate.
Shi Kefa was also a very conscientious official, and he and Wu Di belonged to the same camp - they were both members of the Donglin Party. Therefore, he was also very concerned about quelling the chaos. He personally persuaded the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan to join the wealthy families.
Support money, food and materials.
The fall of Wuchang was a big shock to Nanjing. Zhang Xianzhong was a famous murderer. Some people in the whole Jiangnan area were panicked, but they were worried that Zhang Xianzhong would go down the river and go straight to Nanjing. Moreover, the area south of the Yangtze River was basically a fertile land.
, is the largest and most important grain-producing area in the country. Although it is the late Ming Dynasty and the Little Ice Age, generally speaking, Tiaowu is still much better than Henan, Shaanxi and other regions. Therefore, a batch of money and grain was quickly raised
.And Shi Kefa also personally escorted the first batch of 70,000 stone meters and 300,000 taels of silver to Luzhou.
Just at this time, Wu Di's army also arrived. After receiving this batch of money and food, Wu Di felt a little more confident. However, Wu Di also knew that although he had an army of nearly 100,000 people, he still had to be brave.
It is simply unreliable to expect this group of people to fight Li Zicheng. Moreover, on the way, he also received news that Shang Yi was sending troops from Qingzhou. Therefore, after arriving in Luzhou, he was not in a hurry to send troops, but waited patiently for Shang Yi.
The arrival of Yi. Just as Chongzhen placed all his hopes on Wu Di, Wu Di's hopes all rested on Shang Yi.
When he heard that Shang Yi's men had arrived, Wu Di was also very happy and immediately went out of the city to meet Shang Yi. At this time, Shi Kefa had not left Luzhou yet. He had also heard of Shang Yi's name and was quite interested in him.
He went out to greet him together with Wu Di.
After seeing Shang Yi's men arrive, Wu Di finally felt at ease.
Wu Di had not seen Shang Yi's achievements in Shandong with his own eyes, and was still a little skeptical. However, after seeing the performance of Shang Yi's men and horses during the military parade in Beijing, Wu Di had to admit that Shang Yi's men and horses had great success in the Ming Dynasty.
He said that it was definitely a powerful force, no worse than Guan Ning's cavalry, so he made a strong request in front of Chongzhen to mobilize Shang Yi's troops to go south. He also placed all his hopes on Shang Yi for this time.
But Wu Di still had some doubts in his heart, because during Shang Yi's military parade, there were only 500 troops. Although it was an elite force, the number was too small after all. Wu Di even doubted whether these 500 troops could be
Shang Yi's servants. In the late Ming Dynasty, middle and high-level military generals and some local civil servants in Fuzhen would have their own servants, which were actually their private soldiers. The number of servants was determined based on the size of the individual's official position and financial resources.
, ranging from dozens to hundreds, or even thousands.
Although servants are not part of the official establishment of the imperial court, they receive the best treatment, use the most sophisticated weapons and equipment, and even use all the military weapons and equipment provided by the imperial court on their own servants. Therefore, the servants' combat effectiveness is far less.
It far exceeded the official army of other imperial courts. When Wu Sangui rescued his father, the 500 troops he brought with him were actually his servants. And the imperial court basically turned a blind eye to the appearance of servants, and acquiesced. If it was reviewed
All of them are Shang Yi's servants, so even though they are elite, their number is too small, so they may not be able to hold a big position.
But after seeing Shang Yi's army, Wu Di discovered that although Shang Yi's troops were not large in number and had not reached the 10,000 troops he had promised, and their armor was also a bit strange, their appearance was neat and their formations were neat. It was the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
At the beginning of the month, it is the hottest time of the year. They marched under the scorching sun. If it were any other Ming army, they would have complained long ago and would have been in chaos. But Shang Yi's entire army was unwavering.
Every one of them still walked with their heads high and full of energy. Not to mention complaining, there was not even one who bent down and slouched. It was obvious that they were under strict military discipline and had undergone rigorous training.
Wu Zong was naturally overjoyed when he saw it. Shang Yi's men and horses were indeed elite soldiers. It seemed that he was somewhat sure about going south to supervise the division this time. Even Shi Kefa couldn't help but feel a little moved because he didn't see it.
After attending Shang Yi's military parade, the shock he felt after seeing Shang Yi's troops was much greater than that of Wu Di. However, due to his different stance, Shi Kefa was not as surprised as Wu Di. On the contrary, he could be more objective and careful.
Observe Shang Yi's army.
The assembly of the merchant army is obviously different from that of other Ming armies. The proportion of musketeers in the entire army is obviously much larger than that of other Ming armies, and the number of cavalry is not large. Moreover, there are only spearmen and sword and shield soldiers. They are fully armored, while the musketeers only have an iron helmet with a rim and a vest-like iron armor that only reaches the waist. The left and right skirts are made of leather, and their calves are wrapped in white cloth. They wear multi-eared hemp shoes with a crossbody. Wearing a cowhide satchel. The cavalry's uniform is similar to that of the musketeers, except for the addition of iron arm guards and leg guards. In addition, the war horses only wear armor on the horse's head, neck and front.
Shi Kefa is also a person who has managed military affairs and understands some military affairs, so he can understand that Shang Yi did this probably to reduce the burden on the soldiers, because the musketeers are a long-range strike force and will not engage in combat with the enemy. In combat, there is no need to wear so much armor. As for the attire of the cavalry, Shang Yi probably paid more attention to the speed of the cavalry rather than the frontal impact, which is understandable. However, in Shi Kefa's opinion, Shang Yi's muskets The number of soldiers seems to be too much. What if the enemy troops rush closer after firing the guns?
What surprised Shi Kefa the most was that the soldiers of Shang Yi's army did not wear the mandarin duck war jackets that the Ming army used to wear, but a gray-green tight-fitting lining. This was clearly seen on the artillery soldiers. Because the artillerymen do not have any armor, they just use cowhide to make a cross-shaped strap and tie it around the body, and everyone wears an octagonal half-brimmed military cap with a red pentagon in the middle. Star. Very weird look.
However, the supervisor was not Shi Kefa, so although he felt strange, he didn't say anything. And Wu Di had nothing to say, as long as Shang Yi came, it didn't matter what they were wearing? Even wearing armor or animal skins. It doesn't matter.
Shang Yi arrived with a full set of standard armor and didn't even bring his own helmet. He came to salute Wu Gang and said: "I have met the governor, but I am a few days late because of the long journey. Please forgive me. "
Wu Di helped Shang Yi up and said with a smile: "Yi Heng, it's not too late, it's not too late, just come." He pointed to Shi Kefa beside him and said, "This is Shi Kefa, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. Shi Kefa Lord Xianzhi, please go and see the ceremony quickly."
Although Shang Yi had met many famous people in history in this era, and even personally changed the fate of two people, Shang Yi couldn't help being surprised when he heard Shi Kefa's name, because Shi Kefa was so important in history. Shi Kefa was very famous. Among the officials in the late Ming Dynasty, he was one of the few officials who appeared in a positive image. From a personal perspective, Shi Kefa was upright and honest. From a public perspective, he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty until he finally trapped the dangerous city. Sacrificing his life for his country is an almost impeccable and perfect image.
Although in later generations, some people believed that Shi Kefa made huge mistakes when handling Nanming affairs, including Shang Yi, but that was a problem of Shi Kefa's ability and had nothing to do with his character. Although Shang Yi also believed that Shi Kefa had many shortcomings , let alone Shi Kefa, but he also admitted that compared with most officials in the late Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa was still a respectable person. Therefore, he took two steps forward, saluted Shi Kefa and said: "I will finally meet Mr. Shi." , I have heard about Mr. Shi’s name for a long time, and I am really lucky to meet him today.”