Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 117 Three Eagles with One Arrow

Fang Zhenghua quickly turned his head when he heard the sound, and was shocked.

Emperor Chongzhen was seen holding a cannon in his hand. It was probably weighing over a thousand kilograms and was already lifted above his head, like an overlord carrying a cauldron, reappearing in the world.

Everyone who saw this scene was shocked: How could there be such a powerful person in this world?
The retreating officers and soldiers of the imperial court immediately found a way out, revealing the spear array of Liu Fangliang and his men.

Every Dashun soldier with a spear in his hand was stunned when he saw a man standing in front of them holding a thousand-jin artillery piece.

Not only them, but also the soldiers of the Dashun Army who were heading here for reinforcements, and the soldiers of the Dashun Army who turned around when they heard the noise below the city, were all shocked.

Wearing armor and lifting a thousand kilograms of artillery, he is like a god appearing in the world!

Emperor Chongzhen saw that his soldiers had given way to the spear formation, so he shouted "Go".

He threw the thousand-jin cannon towards the spear array.

Although the spears were as dense as a forest, they couldn't stop this thousand-jin artillery from hitting!
The long artillery immediately knocked over many unlucky soldiers of the Dashun Army. The remaining soldiers of the Dashun Army who were not hit all fled in a panic, and the spear array was broken in the blink of an eye.

Fang Zhenghua was overjoyed and immediately shouted: "Long live my emperor!"

While shouting, he rushed over, rushed into the gap of the spear formation, and fought hard.

Seeing this, other officers and soldiers of the imperial court also shouted "Long live my emperor" crazily, and then chased after Fang Zhenghua and charged in to fight.

At this moment, the emperor's unparalleled bravery was like giving endless chicken blood to the officers and soldiers of the imperial court, giving them inexhaustible strength. They were fearless and fought bravely in the face of the enemy.

But the morale of the soldiers of the Dashun Army fell to the bottom. They could not stop the attack of the imperial officers and soldiers, and they were defeated like a mountain.

Emperor Chongzhen held a bright silver spear in his hand. He originally wanted to go forward and fight, but he found that more and more of his soldiers were passing him, pushing the battle line far away, and there was no chance to fight at all.

Therefore, he did not persist and immediately stood on the top of the city to check the overall battle situation.

Wherever Emperor Chongzhen could see, the imperial officers and soldiers were basically dominant, killing the Dashun army and retreating steadily.In the area where the fighting was taking place near the city gate, the soldiers who sneaked into the city first were being watched by enemies several times their size and were still on the defensive.

However, with the overwhelming defeat of the Dashun army on the top of the city, it also affected the morale of the Dashun army in the city.Some of the imperial officers and soldiers had already marched down the city along the horse road to meet their comrades and open the city gate at the same time.

More and more soldiers of the Dashun Army did not choose to face the enemy, but fled to the south gate where there was no siege.Emperor Chongzhen even discovered that many soldiers of the Dashun Army were running for their lives with packages on their backs.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen understood that Zhending City had been captured.

So, he turned around and issued an order: "Instruct the cavalry outside the city to prepare to pursue the fleeing bandits!"

Of the more than 1 cavalry troops, about 5000 dismounted and participated in the siege, but there were still more than [-] cavalry troops on standby outside the city.

The rain kept falling, but for Gao Guiying, bad news came one after another.Just when she was still trying to save her life, she heard her subordinates reporting that Li Zijing had escaped first.

This time, she was so angry that she almost lost her breath.

Because she knew very well that there were originally more defenders in the city than the attacking imperial troops. If they continued to fight based on their numerical advantage, it would be useless no matter how high their morale was when the imperial troops ran out of strength.At this time, it depends on who can persist.

Unexpectedly, Li Zijing escaped.Once he escapes, others will inevitably follow him. The whole army will fall apart and the army will be defeated like a mountain. This is how to describe this moment.

Just like the original Battle of Songjin, there was still the strength to fight, but when Wang Pu escaped, he led other general soldiers to flee for their lives, and the main field force of the Ming Dynasty was ruined in one fell swoop.

Gao Guiying was helpless, so she had no choice but to flee for her life.

Perhaps this is the reason why soldiers are more valuable than more elites!
The imperial officers and soldiers became more courageous and relaxed as they fought. Eventually, they encountered no resistance at all.Wherever they went, the rebels either ran away or knelt down and surrendered.

The fighting lasted for more than an hour, and there was no longer any resistance from Zhending. The imperial army fully occupied Zhending City.

However, Emperor Chongzhen still did not change his wet clothes at this time. Instead, he led his subordinate Biao Battalion to rescue the wounded soldiers under Zhending City and collect the bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle.

In this battle, most of the casualties suffered by the imperial officers and soldiers occurred during the initial siege.After the city was attacked, the casualties quickly decreased.

The rain had stopped, but blood could be seen flowing everywhere on the muddy ground.

Siege warfare is a meat grinding battle, and it is the time when human life is least valuable.

Most of the soldiers were injured, and not many died in direct combat. This was due to the fact that Emperor Chongzhen personally led this army. Although the armors were of various types, they were all assigned to them.

That is to say, among those who were later transformed from prisoners into imperial officers and soldiers in Baoding, many of them did not have real armor. The cotton armor they wore was probably passed down for several generations, patched again and again, and they were worn as ordinary clothes until they died in battle. Quite a few.

But no one was sad, including the wounded soldiers, who were all cheerful and happy for the victory.

In troubled times, human life itself is cheap; not to mention, the emperor has promised that all the comrades who died in the war will be able to enter the Hall of Loyalty and Martyrs, enjoy the incense of the Ming Dynasty, and live with the country forever, so what is there to be sad about!You know, this is a rare victory!
When they saw the emperor coming, they all struggled to salute.After seeing the emperor pass, they all discussed the key to breaking the city.

In siege warfare, the greatest achievement is the first kick.

Everyone knew that the first person to step onto the city this time was the emperor's direct subordinate Biaoying.It has been rumored that Fang Zhenghua took advantage of Emperor Chongzhen's throw to reach the top of the city. Emperor Chongzhen led his soldiers and threw them onto the city one by one.

But what they talked about the most was the scene where the emperor lifted a thousand-jin artillery to defeat the enemy at the top of the city.Surprised and shocked, he was also filled with pride.

About an hour later, all the generals who used to be the Yamen of the Zhending magistrate, later the palace of the Empress, and now the palace of the Ming Emperor, gathered to report the specific results of the siege to Emperor Chongzhen.

More than 300 officers and soldiers of the imperial court were killed in the battle, about [-] were seriously injured, and nearly [-] were slightly injured. Among the generals in the lobby, Ma Ke, the newly arrived commander of the Beijing camp, all had arm injuries, but they were protected by armor. , only minor injuries.

The bandit army killed approximately 1 people, of which at least 7000 were killed by the cavalry outside the city.There were 3 prisoners who surrendered, of which about [-] were wounded.

However, all the main generals of the rebel army were run away by them.When he said this, he heard Zhou Yuji say with a smile: "They are all rabbits, and they are best at escaping!"

Hearing what he said, everyone in the lobby laughed: But no, since the initial rebellion of the bandits, those who were not good at escaping have long since died. The remaining ones are the best at escaping!

All the grain and grass that Li's army had hoarded in the city were seized. Because of the rainy weather, they did not even set fire to it.

Of course, maybe it was not easy to set fire on a rainy day, or maybe they never thought that they would be captured by the imperial army in one fell swoop.

In short, all the food and grass are cheap for the imperial officers and soldiers.After hearing the news, Zhou Yuji was the first to come out, his face became serious, and he clasped his fists and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty is so brave that you can defeat the thieves on a large scale. General, I would like to congratulate my emperor, long live, long live, ten thousand age!"

While speaking, he knelt down on one knee.

Hearing his words, the other generals quickly knelt down on one knee and saluted Emperor Chongzhen with clasped fists, shouting in unison: "General, congratulations to my emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

When did the imperial officers and soldiers have such a heart-warming victory?

Even the generals present were in despair.Unexpectedly, the emperor personally led the army and led them to such a huge victory.Not to mention, the emperor played a very key role in it.

Under such circumstances, how could they not feel emotional!The congratulations of "Long live my emperor" are really sincere!
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately smiled and stretched out his hand to signal: "All the ministers, please be equal!"

He was very happy and felt the sincerity of these generals under his command, which was very beneficial to him.After all the generals stood up, he said with a serious expression: "This battle was not due to me alone. It was all due to the concerted efforts of all the soldiers in the army to win the battle. I will write down the credit first. After defeating Li Thief's army, my squadron will return Go to court and give rewards to all the officers and soldiers for their merits!"

Zhou Yuji and others were all happy. After they stood up, it was Zhou Yuji who said: "Your Majesty, Li's army will attack Zhending soon. What should we do with the prisoners in the city?"

The nearly 3 prisoners were definitely not a small number.

Perhaps because he was afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would not understand his worries, Zhou Yuji quickly reminded: "These prisoners of war are not comparable to the previous prisoners. Most of them are thieves whom Li can trust."

Thinking about it, the army that guards the important areas of food and grass and the small family must be an army that Li Zicheng can trust.Most of the previous prisoners were miscellaneous troops under Li Zicheng, and they had no attachment to Li Zicheng.

Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's frown after hearing this, Ma Ke suggested: "Your Majesty, once Li's army arrives, there will be a big battle. It is difficult to say whether we can take care of so many prisoners in the city. Rather than leaving it with hidden dangers, it’s better to dispose of it in time!”

Although he didn't say it clearly, everyone understood that what Marco meant was to simply kill him.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen did not nod in agreement, but just said to them: "You go and prepare for war, I will take a look first and then talk!"

Not to mention that he was an emperor rather than an ordinary commander-in-chief, but his bravery impressed the generals. Therefore, after they heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, no one objected. They just clasped their fists and responded: "General, I will obey the order." !”

Watching them exit the lobby, Emperor Chongzhen turned to Fang Zhenghua and said, "Put it on for me, I want to see the situation."

It was the third month of the lunar calendar, and it was still a bit cold here in the north. After the heavy rain, Emperor Chongzhen had some free time, and he had already taken off his armor and changed into dry clothes.He even issued a decree that soldiers in the army should drink more boiled water and ginger water to drive away the cold, so as not to catch cold again after a fierce battle.

After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua immediately served Emperor Chongzhen and put on his armor again, and then accompanied him to the place where the prisoners were held.

There were nearly 3 people, which was too many to be held in a normal place, so these prisoners were all held in the open space of the original school grounds.Just like sugar-coated haws, a group of people are tied to a rope.In this way, there will be much fewer soldiers in custody.

When Emperor Chongzhen arrived here, the soldiers in custody were full of excitement and greeted him one after another.

The victory of this war and the emperor's heroic scene spread, which made them regard the emperor as a god descending to earth.

Emperor Chongzhen was also very happy to feel the sincere respect for him from the soldiers below.This is what you want when you lead an army in person to fight a war.In this way, no one should try to take away the military power in his hands.

To put it bluntly, even if the generals like Zhou Yuji and others were to rebel, these soldiers would definitely not follow.

This is the military power he won with his actions!

When the prisoners saw this scene, they naturally knew that the person coming was the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. They were slightly disturbed, but they quickly calmed down.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the scene in front of him and looked at the [-] prisoners. At just one glance, he was a little shocked.

It had just rained heavily and the ground was muddy.The prisoners just sat on the dirt floor, huddled together to keep warm. Many of them were shivering, their faces were pale, and their lips were purple from the cold.

Among these prisoners, there were young men, women and children. They must have been from the thieves' families and had no time to escape.

When they saw the emperor walking by and looking at them, most of them had expressions of indifference and seemed numb, waiting for their end to come.

The iron boots stepped on the puddles and mire, making some splashing sounds.

Emperor Chongzhen heard a child crying quietly among the crowd.However, as he approached, the cries suddenly stopped.

In the middle of the square, a platform was set up. Officers and soldiers stood on this platform to monitor the surroundings.

Emperor Chongzhen stepped onto the stage, looked at the heads in front of him, and said loudly: "I have said that many of you rebelled because of natural disasters and man-made disasters. You are all my people. Stop being thieves and harm the world. , I am willing to give you another chance to forgive you."

The people near the stage who heard him speaking looked at him with incredulous expressions.Pardon them?No need to die?Could it be a lie?

Just when they were very surprised, they heard Emperor Chongzhen say loudly again: "I know that many of your family members are working under Li Thief. After pardoning you, you may still return to Li Thief's army. Then I tell you, The next time you encounter me leading an army to conquer Li Thief, don't resist, and you won't be killed."

"For his own selfish interests, Thief Li was able to sweep away the food and grass in Taiyuan, regardless of the life and death of the local people. If you follow him to help the tyrants, you will be reviled by the world, and you will go to the eighteenth level of hell after death. I hope you can advise you. Family members, please turn back as soon as possible and stop following Thief Li to help the evildoers, so that peace can come to the world as soon as possible!"

After Emperor Chongzhen said this, he loudly ordered Fang Zhenghua beside him: "Bake them steaming hot porridge, try to arrange it in the house, and light a fire to bake their clothes."

Fang Zhenghua hesitated to speak, but finally echoed loudly: "I obey the order!"

The prisoners looked at this scene and couldn't believe what they heard.According to the emperor's wishes, will they really be put back?
He is the emperor. If he says this in front of so many people, he can't be lying, right?
However, they know very well who they are, so will the court let them go like this?Or is this just to appease them, tell them not to cause trouble, and then poison the porridge?

This is impossible, right? With so many people, how could there be so much poison?
All of a sudden, the prisoners started whispering and asking their companions, just to confirm how much of what they heard the emperor said was true and how false?
When Emperor Chongzhen saw them like this, he spoke loudly again: "Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Thief Li's people are expected to come, and I will let you go then. But you must remember what I said, and never meet my leader again." Soldiers are suppressing thieves, don't resist, otherwise you won't die! You can also tell your family, remember this, the whole family is alive, isn't it good, right?"

After saying this, he left.

After walking out of the square and the prisoners could no longer see Emperor Chongzhen, Fang Zhenghua leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Long live Lord, are you really going to let them go then?"

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen did not look back. Instead, he walked away and said, "I said that except for Li Thief, all others can be pardoned, and they are no exception."

When Fang Zhenghua heard this, he wanted to speak again. As a result, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to know what he was going to say, so he continued: "If you let them go back, they will not have much fighting spirit; it will even disintegrate the stray thieves in Li's army." Fighting spirit is good for us in the battle to defend the city. In addition, Li Thief's army must not carry much food and grass. Thirty thousand more mouths will speed up the food consumption of Li Thief's army."

After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua finally understood that there were so many benefits to the emperor's release of these prisoners. He couldn't help but admire him very much, and immediately responded: "Long live this move, both want and want, it's like shooting one arrow at a time." Three Eagles, this slave is finally convinced!"

Gaining a good reputation and winning the hearts and minds of the people; dismantling the fighting spirit of the bandits, so that they will not fight desperately next time; consuming more of the army's food and grass, causing an early food crisis; these are not the three major benefits!
Thinking of this, Fang Zhenghua quickly said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live Lord, please go and keep an eye on me, lest the people below don't know what Long live Lord means and something happens!"

(End of this chapter)