stubborn thief

Noon on August 12th.

The marshal's army entered the city from the east and west, while the Ming army inside Yulin City continued to fight.

Zhang Yong, who was in the city to oversee the battle, kept sending his Imperial Guards back to report every quarter of an hour, reporting the street fighting in the city to Zhenbeitai.

In the military intelligence reports, Liu Chengzong saw how the last elite forces of the Ming army in Yansui were being gradually depleted.

Li Yingxiao, a dismissed military officer, was originally guarding the East Gate. After the city fell, he returned home and set it on fire. He led his wife, children, servants, and more than forty men, carrying bows and arrows, to prepare for battle. When Ma Xiantu's Ningxia army saw the fire and rushed towards them, they ambushed them with arrows. When they ran out of arrows, he charged into the enemy lines with his spear and was killed.

Cui Chongguan, the commander of Yulin without any real authority, had already spent all his family wealth to recruit brave men before the war even started. He had nothing at home, and after the city fell, he did not return home as promised. Instead, he gathered more than a hundred men, collected the abandoned guns and cannons from the city walls and streets, and defended the Guandi Temple.

Wu Xiucai Zhang Lianyuan and Zhang Lianjie originally guarded the southeast corner tower. After the city fell, they injured Yizhangqing by throwing a stone at the breach. Later, they retreated into the city with the army. The soldiers went home, and the Zhang brothers also went home to bid farewell to their mother, wife and children. They took some cloth and intended to hang themselves at the Guandi Temple. They then joined Cui Chongguan's troops.

Ma Mingjie was three years old when his father died in battle in Fushun. The imperial court granted him the position of centurion with his full salary for thirteen years. When he was sixteen, he inherited the position of centurion.

After the city fell, he returned home, donned full armor, and led his wife and children to kneel before the portraits of his father and ancestors in the main hall. He then gathered wooden boxes and utensils around his wife and children, set himself on fire, and just as the fire started, he heard the sound of the marshal's army approaching his home on the street. He jumped out of the fire, grabbed a bow and sword, and went out into the alley to fight.

Shot three arrows and two swords, wounded and exhausted, he refused to surrender and fought his way back to his courtyard. There, he saw the house engulfed in flames and threw himself into the fire to his death.

Liu Guangyu, a military officer, rode his horse through the streets with a bow and arrow, shooting left and right. Zuo Liangyu originally wanted to recruit him, but Liu Guangyu cursed him while beating him. When the Changping soldiers beat him, he cursed in Chinese, and when the Batu soldiers beat him, he cursed in Mongolian. Liu Guangyu was surrounded by his relatives. The supervising officer, Yulin Lang, could not stand it, so he spurred his horse to meet him and killed him in the street with a flintlock pistol.

Commander Huang Tingzheng, who was defending Kaige Tower, refused to surrender three times and was killed by a grenade thrown by Wang Ziqi. His brothers Huang Tingyong and Huang Tingbi rushed out of the smoke and fought downstairs with knives and spears, but both died.

Last words: We can go down and follow Grandpa now.

The three men's grandfather was Huang Yan, the deputy commander-in-chief who died in battle at Qinhe in the first year of the Longqing reign (1568) defending against the Tumed invasion.

He Shikui, the commander of a thousand households, was more relaxed than others. He had been wounded by iron bullets during the earlier artillery battle and had returned home to recuperate. He was eating when the city fell.

Upon hearing news of the city's fall from the street, he asked his wife to give him another bowl of rice, and then she helped him take a bath and tidy his clothes.

He placed the family inheritance certificate on the table in the main hall, burned incense and bowed twice towards the east where the emperor was, neatly arranged his armor and official robes in the courtyard, and changed into plain-colored dark robes with his wife, Lady Liu, before calmly hanging himself in the courtyard.

The Marshal's Army in charge of this street was under the command of Ma Ke, Second Tourist Battalion. The officer in charge of the unit was named Li Congqian. They entered three houses in a row and burned them all down.

When Li Congqian broke into He Shikui's house, he saw the situation and ordered his men to leave. He then sent his soldiers to a coffin shop to seize a coffin, and selected a few of his men who were presentable to follow him into the house to pay their respects to He Shikui and his wife who were in the tree.

Because He Shikui had carefully organized his family's valuables and food before committing suicide.

For Marshal Jun, this was a rare officer who handled both his personal affairs and his final affairs well.

As for those generals who burned down their family property and grain reserves, they obviously did not receive this treatment; their remains were not even collected.

Most people could only find out about their condition before they died by having the Imperial Guards knock on doors in the streets where troops were stationed, asking those who had not resisted.

For example, Liu, the wife of centurion Yang Kun, was killed in battle outside the city. After finishing her unfinished work at home, she set fire to the house and hanged herself.

Professor Xu Kezheng's students, all scholars, went to the city walls to defend it. He himself was old and unable to defend the city, so he took his wife, Pan, to the Confucian Temple in the north of the city and hanged himself.

Qiao Guoyun, the deputy military commissioner, was killed when he led his troops out of the city at the beginning of the siege. His wife, Liu, received the news at home in the city and committed suicide out of grief.

Even after the Marshal's army controlled the streets, there were still people like Zhong Maoxian, the commander of Suide Guard, who had been injured and disabled during the suppression of rebellions in his early years and could not defend the city, so he stayed at home.

His two sons, one died in the battle to meet the enemy outside the city, and the other was killed by cannon fire from the city walls.

Zhong Maoxian did not burn down his house at home. Instead, he prepared food and drink to entertain the troops. He secretly hid a dagger and stabbed a platoon leader of the Second Brigade to death while people were eating. He was then killed.

There was an eighty-year-old woman surnamed Yang, the widow of Wu Shouzhong, the former prefect of Guangping. She had managed the household for many years and had accumulated considerable wealth. When the siege began, she urged all her sons and grandsons over the age of fifteen to carry spears and bows to the city walls. She herself baked pancakes and steamed buns day and night, and led the women in her household to deliver food to the soldiers guarding the city.

When news of the city's fall reached the family, the old lady, leaning on her cane, walked silently to the well and went down into it.

Liu Yongchang, the commander of the central army, fought a bloody battle on the city wall until the last moment. Only when the inner city gate was blown open by the Changping army did he run home. He originally did not want to fight anymore and planned to escape with his wife and children, but unexpectedly, his wife, Gao, had already committed suicide. He had no choice but to turn back and charge towards the marshal's army entering the city.

There were also officers of all ranks, hereditary guards, civil and military officials, and scholars who fought, ambushed, or hanged themselves in the city, and were irreconcilably opposed to the marshal's army.

As for the merchants and common people, those who had no official positions and did not receive salaries, few of them fought to the death. Most of them had volunteered to defend the city earlier, and after the city fell, they all went home and hid.

If you encounter the Marshal's army and try to steal their things, fight to the death.

Those who encountered soldiers with good discipline would honestly register their names. Of course, the wisdom of ordinary people was also indispensable, and many people registered using pseudonyms they came up with on the spot.

They feared that if the Ming army inside the city drove out the marshal's troops, they would retaliate against them.

A few ordinary people also had the heart to die for loyalty and righteousness. For example, there was a stonemason named Taiyuan, a native of Yan'an, who built the glazed pagoda in Yan'an Prefecture and later settled in Yulin.

He carried two stone locks, climbed onto the hanging flower gate of the deserted courtyard, hid on the inside, and planned to smash one of the marshal's soldiers to death when they entered the courtyard.

As a result, his neighbors, fearing they would be implicated, conspired to tie him up and lock him in their house.

The situation for the Marshal's Army wasn't much better.

When Liu Chengzong saw the report from the Imperial Guards that the generals of Yulin were fighting desperately, he knew in his heart that the discipline of the Marshal's army in this battle was not good.

In a proper battle, even the discipline of surrendered troops can be guaranteed. But the situation in Yulin City is too chaotic. If the city falls and the battle is lost, they will fight to the death to wear you down. There are even cases where they first surrender to reward the troops with food and drink, and then suddenly assassinate them.

His mixed army was treated like Tartars by the officers and soldiers of Yulin. Not to mention maintaining military discipline, the fact that they didn't burn Yulin to the ground and cause a greater disaster was thanks to the efforts of the Imperial Guards on the front lines.

Ren Quan'er's Second Brigade, after entering Yulin City, had a mediocre performance in terms of military discipline, and was more like a proper army.

But they were also the most confused, and what angered Liu Chengzong the most was that the sergeant who was stabbed to death was punished by having his superiors, Lieutenant General Ma Ke and Captain Li Fengji, punished by being whipped in the city—drinking alcohol during wartime, and drinking the enemy's alcohol at that.

Isn't this courting death?

The other units—Xu Yong, Liu Fangming, Ma Xiantu, Zhou Qing, Hui Dengxiang, and even the smaller groups led by Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu—had poor discipline and were all in a frenzy of fighting. The guerrilla battalion led by Ma Xiantu, with only about a thousand men, surrendered their hands.

This was something the supervising officers of the Imperial Guards could handle. As long as it wasn't something the Grand Marshal himself said about "killing surrendered soldiers, burning houses, humiliating soldiers and civilians, and seizing spoils of war," such minor matters as taking food and other valuables could be stopped with a verbal warning.

Because they knew very well that Liu Chengzong's purpose in sending them to supervise the army was not to kill or cut off hands, but to let the soldiers know that violating military law would result in having their hands cut off or being killed, in order to enforce military discipline.

The owners of these two hands had committed a capital offense. Ma Xiantu pleaded for their lives, asking that their hands be cut off, but the two men refused and drew their swords against the Imperial Guards.

This nearly scared Ma Xiantu to death. He quickly ordered his guards to kill the two men and nail them to the street as a warning to others, and then cut off their hands and sent them to the Imperial Guards to be taken away.

The situation was similar in other units. Some people went crazy during the battle, and the military judge Yu Linlang cut off their hands or killed them. The rest became sober and rational.

The only exception was when Zhang Xianzhong personally returned to report.

"General, it's bad! The centurion Zhang Tianlu and battalion commander Zhang Tianfu burned down four houses and attacked Liu Fangming and Hui Dengxiang's troops, killing a general and a deputy general who had been captured in the battle, and wounding another deputy general."

Liu Shizi blinked, thinking he must have misheard.

He had a general idea of ​​military discipline, and disturbing the people was unavoidable.

After all, it was a war, a street battle with open and covert attacks. Soldiers were on high alert. It was not surprising that they might accidentally injure people while trying to steal something or even mistaking civilians for enemies.

He can understand as long as it's not a deliberate act of killing someone for no good reason, but rather some property damage or unintentional harm that can be reversed.

But attacking friendly forces and killing surrendered prisoners, especially high-ranking officers like generals and deputy generals.
This is truly insane.

Liu Chengzong asked in bewilderment, "There are a lot of generals and deputy generals in that city. Why don't these two cowards go and capture them themselves? What are they doing cutting down other people's prisoners?"

He was so angry he laughed: "Where are those two brothers? Daring to charge friendly forces, I think they're tired of living! Liu Fangming and Hui Dengxiang, are they just standing there and letting them charge?"

Liu Shizi remembered the two brothers; after all, there was a Zhang Tianlin in the Marshal's Mansion, so it was hard not to remember such a name.

However, Zhang Tianlin had no connection with these two. They were from Yulin. In the final stage of the Ningxia Campaign, after Ding Zizhen's death, Zhang Tianlin, as a centurion, led the defeated soldiers to coerce Hong Chengchou, Ding Qirui, and others into surrendering to the marshal's army.

They defected on the battlefield, but according to the rules of the Marshal's Office, their official positions remained unchanged; one was still a battalion commander and the other a lieutenant commander.

However, Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu were originally in the Ming army system. They had already risen to the rank of deputy commander during the Hehuang War. They were dismissed from their posts but retained in their positions after a defeat and a few years of suppressing local militias and bandits. Only then were they promoted again.

Zhang Xianzhong said, "Originally there was nothing wrong. Sun Long of Liaoyang Camp arrested and detained the two of them, saying that he would escort them to Zhenbeitai for the commander to decide their fate. But after they arrived, Liu Fangming was fine, but Hui Dengxiang made a fuss about killing the two of them in the city."

“Sun Long’s Liao soldiers are protecting him, and even Zuo Liangyu’s mediation couldn’t resolve the situation. I’m worried it could escalate into a four-battalion melee, so I rushed over to ask the commander for a written order.”

The more Liu Shizi listened, the more his brows furrowed.

Now, the matter of Zhang Tianfu and Zhang Tianlu is no longer important.

"Brother, are you saying that the Ming army in the city has not yet been cleared out, yet those several adjutant generals are leading their troops in a standoff? Are they all tired of living?"

Liu Chengzong ignored Zhang Xianzhong and turned to Yue Wenkui, who was attending him, and said: "Take my order and go into the city immediately to find the commander of the Second Brigade. Order the Second Brigade to take full control of the front-line defense. Let all those rabble leave the city. How can four battalions fighting each other be enough? Bring the First Brigade over as well. I want to see how they plan to fight!"

"General, please calm down, please calm down, it's not that bad."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong was terrified and quickly explained, "With the commander-in-chief's order, none of them dare to rebel..."

In fact, Liu Chengzong had already understood that Zhang Xianzhong was afraid things would get out of hand and that he had no soldiers in the city, so he had run back under the pretext of sending a message.

Just then, a guard from the Imperial Guards climbed onto the city wall and reported, "General, General Sun has an urgent report."

"Say!"

"Your humble servant kowtows. Your Excellency is wise. The matter of the officers Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu charging into friendly forces and killing prisoners in the city has now been clarified. These brothers are from Yulin. They also have a younger brother, Zhang Tianxu, who is serving in the Yulin Garrison. Zhang Tianlu went home to find his brother as soon as he entered the city."

The Imperial Guard held Sun Long's letter and read aloud: "When he returned home, his younger brother Tianxu had already been ordered to burn down the house. He jumped into the fire in front of him. Tianlu and Tianfu went mad because of this and took their anger out on the neighbors who did not stop them. They ordered their soldiers to destroy the houses of four families."

"Later, it was learned that his younger brother was under the command of Wang Xueshu, the former general of Tianjin, and was ordered to burn his family property. Wang Xueshu was captured by General Liu Fangming and was being handed over to Liaoyang camp with General Hui Dengxiang. So he attacked the escort team and killed Wang Xueshu to vent his anger. During the incident, General Hui's captured deputy general You Zhaiwen was accidentally killed and his captured deputy general Hui Xian was accidentally injured."

"The two brothers have now been captured and placed in the Liaoyang camp. Their 730 soldiers are also under their supervision. The prisoners who were accidentally injured have been treated. What should be done with them? Please give your instructions, Commander."

Liu Chengzong's brows finally relaxed as he listened to the report sent by Sun Long.

It's clear that Sun Long is used to being a subordinate; he handles what he can, and keeps what he can't handle in his own camp awaiting further instructions.

Minister Zhang still has a lot to learn.

Liu Chengzong patted Zhang Xianzhong on the shoulder and asked the Imperial Guard inspector of Liaoyang Camp, "When Prime Minister Hui ordered the killing of those two brothers, did Liu Fangming make any unusual move?"

Yu Linlang nodded and said, "Yes, many of General Zhonghui's men were injured in the attack. We must get an explanation."

After hearing the whole story, Liu Chengzong had a better understanding of the situation.

It's not a big deal.

"The First Brigade should not be transferred. The Second Brigade will continue to take over the defense. Zhang Tianfu and Zhang Tianlu will be dismissed from their posts and sent to the Second Brigade to be punished. They will capture the two generals themselves to compensate Generals Liu and Hui. Their former troops will be compensated with 300 horses each for Liu and Hui's battalions. The soldiers will be sent to Liaoyang Camp."

"If their troops lack horses, they should be replaced with fully armored vehicles."

"In addition, the merit of capturing prisoners will be recorded truthfully for Generals Liu and Hui as before, and forty taels of silver will be allocated from the central army to compensate the neighbors of the Zhang brothers whose houses were burned down."

Liu Chengzong thought to himself that Liu Fangming's silence on this matter was an attempt to avoid the honor and reputation of capturing the general.

You're not getting away. (End of Chapter)