Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

123 Marriage
"The general will obey the order!" Zhou Yuji responded quickly after hearing this.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the others and said: "The rest of the generals will follow me to escort the grain and grass to save the people of Jin. There must be no mistakes!"

The troops He Zhen left behind were mainly composed of injured soldiers who had not yet recovered.The bandit army has gone far, and they can continue to recuperate in Zhending.After all, when we first attacked Zhending, as many as 5000 people were slightly injured.Although it has partially healed, there are still many people whose wounds have not fully healed.

As the decree was issued, the armies immediately began to prepare.

The current army of Emperor Chongzhen had 1 cavalry and [-] infantry when it came out of Jin. Later, after the Battle of Baoding, the army was expanded, and Ma Ke was newly added to the army, so the strength reached There were [-] cavalry and [-] infantry;
However, in order to support Baoding, Emperor Chongzhen asked Liu Jiuqing to lead [-] infantry troops to garrison Baoding. Now he asked He Zhen to lead [-] cavalry troops and [-] infantry troops to garrison Zhending, so he only had [-] cavalry troops. , the infantry numbered [-].

If more territory is occupied, this army will be more dispersed. This is why Emperor Chongzhen was unwilling to chase after Li Zicheng's army to regain the lost territory.

Considering that Li Zicheng's army had penetrated deep into Shandong and was far away from the capital, Emperor Chongzhen finally issued an order to recall Liu Jiuqing's [-] infantry troops stationed in Baoding.Let him return to Jin as a defender of the army.In addition, Liu Lanyu's Lanling camp was also recalled and set off with the army.

When the decree arrived in Baoding, almost all the people in the city spontaneously came to see the army off.

If it weren't for this Beijing camp, they would have been living in fear of being captured by the bandits at any time.If possible, the people of Baoding would really be reluctant to leave this army.

Now that the rebel army has gone far away, and the emperor issued an order to recall this Beijing army, Baoding has no reason to retain it and can only come to see him off.

Liu Jiuqing was unwilling to stay in Baoding at first, but seeing the enthusiasm of the people in Baoding, the governor of Baoding led the local civil and military officials to see him off. He couldn't help but be moved. The original reluctance in his heart had long disappeared. When he arrived at the city gate, He immediately clasped his fists and said to Shao Zongyuan and others: "I don't dare bother the Governor to see you off, so please stop!"

When Shao Zongyuan and others faced the generals in the Beijing camp, they did not have the airs of civilian officials. They immediately smiled and said: "Without your confidence in Baoding, we Baoding people would not dare to feel proud, ah, haha!"

When everyone heard it, they immediately understood and burst into laughter.

Although Baoding City successfully defended the city during the siege battle by Li's army, the casualties were not small.But the last time they saw Li's army passing by, the people in the city cursed each other happily and let out a sigh of relief.

If it weren't for Liu Jiuqing's elite troops stationed in Beijing, they might not have dared to scold the bandits so much.

After hearing this, Liu Jiuqing also laughed. He stopped talking, got on his horse, said goodbye to Shao Zongyuan and others, and followed the team.

Liu Lanyu, the general of Lanling Camp, saw this and got on his horse. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Lu Yingjiao, the commander-in-chief of Baoding, stepping out of the crowd. He held his fists and saluted her solemnly. He said sincerely: "Thanks to the wonderful hand of Lanling Camp, the soldiers of Baoding have rejuvenated. Most of the soldiers have recovered, and I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the soldiers!"

Liu Lanyu was a little surprised when he heard this. After he came back to his senses, he felt a sense of accomplishment. He immediately smiled and said, "This is what one does, and it should be like this!"

However, Lu Yingjiao did not care and solemnly completed the etiquette.Even the other Baoding generals behind him, including Zhang Datong and others, saluted together.

When Shao Zongyuan saw it, he also smiled and said: "I never expected that female soldiers in the army would be so useful. Those wounded soldiers who were rescued had seen blood, and they will all be veterans in the army in the future." Lanling Camp , will definitely leave its name in history!”

People were being carried in sedan chairs. Lanling Camp was established by His Majesty's decree. Liu Lanyu was the wife of His Majesty's first loyal and brave Bo Zhou Yuji. Moreover, Lanling Camp did do a lot of good things in Baoding. Therefore, even though he was the governor of one party, he could not Mind saying more nice things.

When Liu Lanyu heard this, he was very happy and quickly replied: "Thank you very much for your kind words, the Governor. The Lanling Camp in Baoding has been expanded to 150 people with the support of the Governor. The general will definitely report it to His Majesty."

In Baoding, maybe because they saw what the female soldiers were doing, some women from poor families finally signed up to participate. They basically took care of the wounded.In addition, there were three women who were in romantic places. They were already in their forties, and they were the type that would be eliminated due to old age and sex. They finally signed up to participate. They were indeed slippery, so the government came forward to symbolically give them money to redeem them. Free agency.

As for most women in romantic places, although they could take advantage of this opportunity to redeem their freedom, most of them did not want to suffer the hardships of being in the army, so they did not take advantage of this opportunity.

After Liu Lanyu finished speaking, he got on his horse and went to chase the team.

Shao Zongyuan looked at her back and said nothing.

To be honest, he actually didn't think so highly of Lanling Camp. After all, even the women from Fengyue Chang were wanted. He didn't think Lanling Camp could accomplish much!
………………

Besides, in Shanhaiguan, ever since a mistake was made and almost deceived by the bandit army, all civil servants and military generals have been paying close attention to what is going on in the Gyeonggi area.For this reason, they even secretly sent some night guards to go deep into the capital to inquire about the situation.

Therefore, the news from Shanhaiguan has always been relatively well-informed.

The emperor led the army to eliminate the [-] bandit army that attacked Baoding, and then captured Zhending where Li's bandit army was hoarding grain and grass, forcing Li's bandit army to abandon the capital and go south.This news immediately refreshed their understanding of the current emperor leading troops in war.

The civil and military officials of Shanhaiguan all had a feeling: It turns out that the emperor is indeed an emperor who knows how to fight!
Even Wu Sangui asked himself, I am afraid it is impossible for him to lead an army of [-] to [-] people to accomplish the things that the emperor accomplished!Of course, although he believed that most of this was probably due to Zhou Yuji, but after all, the emperor was nominally leading the army himself. If he did not understand military affairs and interfered randomly, no matter how powerful Zhou Yuji was, he would not be able to accomplish these things.

With these thoughts, almost imperceptibly, the civil and military officials in Shanhaiguan began to respect the capital.

In this context, Wang Chengen, the eunuch in charge of the Li Supervisor and the governor of the East Factory, suddenly arrived at Shanhaiguan. Everyone was taken by surprise. They did not dare to neglect and rushed to the governor's Yamen.

They all know that this Wang Chengen was promoted when Emperor Taizu appeared and the current emperor suddenly became wise and powerful.It can be said that among all the eunuchs at present, he and his accompanying Fang Zhenghua are the most favored.

No matter who he offends, he cannot offend the eunuch in the palace.

However, what everyone didn't expect was that this great eunuch was very kind. He always had a kind face and was harmless to everyone he met.

However, no one dares to look down upon this great eunuch. If he really treats this great eunuch as a sick cat, he will definitely suffer a big loss.

In a short period of time, all the civil and military officials from Shanhaiguan arrived.

Li Yutian, the governor of Liaodong, was accompanying him. Wang Chengen was sitting on his seat. He looked at the officials below and said with a smile: "Our family has been ordered to come to Shanhaiguan to stay for a few days. Mainly for two things..."

Hearing this, many people were a little uneasy.

Massacres were carried out in the capital city. From the internal minister to the chief minister of the outer court, from the commander of the royal guards to the hereditary prince, no one knows how many people had their homes confiscated and their clans exterminated.Some of the crimes, such as withholding military pay and corruption, were shared by everyone present.

This new eunuch, the eunuch in charge of etiquette, also holds the post of admiral of the East Factory. Who knows if he has come to Shanhaiguan to arrest people?
However, before they could think of any way to deal with it, they heard Wang Chengen already saying: "First of all, our family came here with an order to verify the armament accounts of the Guanning front line, the payment of wages, etc. To put it simply, , just to verify the payment arrears..."

At this point, he paused deliberately, looked at the row of generals, and then continued: "...Then we will settle the arrears like other places, and the arrears will be paid on time in the future, and there will be no more arrears! "

When Wu Sangui heard this, he felt mixed emotions.

Fortunately, he has now withdrawn from Ningyuan to the pass, which is equivalent to abandoning all the grain fields from Shanhaiguan to Ningyuan. As a result, how to support the army has become a problem, and he is worried about it. As a result, the court has to calculate the arrears and no longer Arrears in military pay would be tantamount to solving the problem.

The worry is that once the imperial court takes over the matter of raising the army, its control over the army will inevitably weaken. Even once the settlement of outstanding pay and the monthly payment of military pay are implemented, the soldiers may really only recognize the imperial court. .

To be honest, he was quite confused at this time.

On the other hand, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Gao Di didn't have so many ideas. He was very happy when he heard that the outstanding wages could be settled.He belongs to the guest army, and the army in his hands is no different from other places. He cannot have additional money and food to support the army like Wu Sangui. Therefore, his strength is very weak, and he does not have as much trouble as Wu Sangui.

Just listen to Wang Chengen continue to say: "Long Live Master once calculated the arrears of wages in the Xuanda and Dafus, and chopped off the heads of many generals who cheated. We don't like killing people, and I hope that all of you here will never cheat and get paid. You should You also know that our family has brought more than 200 Dongchang fanzi this time, so it is not difficult to check the roster."

After hearing this, Wu Sangui, Gao Di and others, no matter what they thought, came out to express their feelings in unison, saying that they would never cheat and get paid.

Wang Chengen seemed very happy and praised them a few words, and then said: "The second thing our family did when we came to Shanhaiguan was to supervise the city defense of Shanhaiguan. Long live the Lord's decree, the Jianlu are likely to be out in force, and they must be awakened." Two points of vigilance, do you understand?"

Hearing this, the civil servants and military officers in the governor's main hall were all shocked.

They immediately understood that things like calculating wages and arrears were all preparations for war.When Jianlu came out in full force, the pressure was very great.

While they were thinking about it, they heard Wang Chengen call his name: "Where is Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan?"

"The general is here!" Wu Sangui responded as soon as he heard this.

He didn't know what Wang Chengen wanted to do by calling his name. He stared at Wang Chengen and felt a little uneasy.

As a result, I heard Wang Chengen smile and say: "Long Live Lord has mentioned many times that although General Wu has many relatives on the Jianlu side, he can always insist on being loyal. He is really a loyal person. Now our family is watching Wu I can’t help but admire the commander-in-chief’s facial appearance. He is so accurate!”

When Wu Sangui heard this, he was a little embarrassed. He didn't know whether he was praising him or hurting him. Too many relatives had betrayed him?
But no matter what, just take it as a compliment, otherwise, what else can you do!
So he burst into tears of gratitude and immediately thanked him.

Wang Chengen chuckled and said to several generals: "Our family believes that we should strengthen our vigilance, not only for city defense, but also to send more spies, so that we can be prepared. Of course, our family does not understand military affairs. What do you think, general soldiers? "

The more humble he was, the less the generals dared to look down upon him, and they quickly stated that they would send more troops to stay at night and be on strict alert.

In the governor's yamen, Wang Chengen discussed matters slowly and calmly. Many people couldn't hold back their urine or were hungry, so they started to "guck" in public, and then he seemed to come to his senses, as if the discussion took too long. , this is the end of this discussion.

Wu Sangui left the governor's office and hurried to his military headquarters.As a result, when he arrived at the door, he met his general and asked with a smile: "Commander, the court is going to settle the unpaid wages. Is this true?"

Although it is said that among all the border armies of the Ming Dynasty, the Guan Ning Army paid the most military pay.But no matter what, the military pay received by Guan Ningjun was not full every time.If the pay arrears can be calculated, each soldier can have a large income, and naturally everyone will be happy.

When Wu Sangui heard this, he was stunned.

He just learned about this from the big eunuch. How did his subordinates know the news?

So, he immediately frowned and asked, "Did you go to see the prince in private?"

Those close to him avoid meeting the people above him. If this really happens, he will never tolerate it.

As a result, his subordinates heard it and immediately denied it: "No, it is spread everywhere, and my subordinates only heard it. They don't know whether it is true or not. Now let's ask the commander!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Sangui immediately came back to his senses and understood what was going on.

Those dead eunuchs were indeed sinister people.In the name of discussing matters, he kept them all in the governor's office for a long time, and then spread the news outside, giving himself no time to prepare!

Otherwise, think of a way, for example, if you fight for it yourself, you can also weaken the gratitude of your soldiers to the court.

But now, just looking at the confidants in front of me, I know that all the soldiers in the army may have a good impression of the imperial court!

This move is really cruel!
However, even if Wu Sangui realizes this, he is helpless because it is a conspiracy and cannot be broken.

Feeling a little more angry, I returned to the house and had a meal first.

As a result, before he had time to eat, a domestic servant came to see him quietly and said that a letter from abroad had been delivered.

Wu Sangui was shocked when he heard this. He quickly entered the back room of the back office and saw the person who sent the message.

It was the servant of his great-uncle Dashou, and he had also sent letters before.

As soon as they met, Wu Sangui immediately asked: "Is the Qing Dynasty going to invade the pass with an overwhelming number of troops?"

It is impossible for ordinary people to know this kind of thing. The visitor shook his head and just replied: "It seems that there are troops and generals deployed, but I don't know if the Qing Dynasty wants to do this?"

After Wu Sangui heard this, he ignored it and took Zu Dashou's letter. After checking the mark, he immediately started reading.

This letter is no different from the previous one, it is also a letter of persuasion to surrender.What was a little different from before was that this time the Qing Dynasty offered a higher price, granted him the throne, and not only promised him a hereditary inheritance, but also wanted to marry the regent's daughter to his son and form a marriage between them.

After Wu Sangui saw it, he fell silent.

The Qing Dynasty really meant what they said. Regarding the matter of being crowned king, at least Kong Youde and the others would not be lying.Now he wants to marry all the daughters of the regent to his son, so the treatment is higher than that of Kong Youde and others.Even if the Jurchens bully the Han people in the future, I'm afraid they won't bully the Wu family.

In the Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui was always just a general soldier.Now that all the troops under his command are not named Wu, their importance to the court is not as high as before.In the foreseeable future, the practice of trying to please both ends and monopolizing one place will definitely not work.

As far as these things are concerned, if you must choose, there is no doubt that Wu Sangui's choice of the Qing Dynasty will be more profitable.

For a moment, to be honest, Wu Sangui's heart was moved.However, he soon remembered the situation inside the pass.

Emperor Taizu's spirit appeared, and the current emperor became wise and powerful. He rectified the affairs of the court and led the army to repel Li's army of hundreds of thousands.Now he has sent his confidant eunuch to guard Shanhaiguan. The first thing he does is to calculate the unpaid wages and win over the morale of the army.

If he had taken refuge with the Qing Dynasty, it is estimated that the current emperor would have had many difficulties at the beginning, but in the end, could the Qing Dynasty destroy the Ming Dynasty and achieve the purpose of changing the dynasty?
Wu Sangui shook his head when he thought of this.

How many people did the Qing Dynasty have? Even if it was the most elite, so what?In this world, the surname is Zhu after all.At that time, if the Qing Dynasty sees trouble and cannot do anything, it will definitely retreat to Liaodong. At most, it will defend Shanhaiguan as the front line. The Qing Dynasty will also have the advantage. It can be said that the Qing Dynasty's purpose of sending troops has been achieved.

And what about yourself?They could only follow the Qing Dynasty and retreat to the bitter cold land of Liaodong.Without the support of Shanhaiguan, especially without the strength of the troops in hand, it is really hard to say how we will live and what will happen to our descendants if we only rely on the relationship between the regent's daughter!
Wu Sangui clearly remembered that the current emperor had specifically warned against such a situation in his secret edict.If he really does this, he may not have the means waiting for him!

If he had been following the current emperor, wouldn't it be difficult to get a title like Zhou Yuji with the military power he currently has?
That week Yuji had granted the title of Uncle Zhongyong, but now the world is still undecided.

It's really a bit like Jingnan back then, now the emperor is trying to conquer the world again!
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui made a decision in his heart.

(End of this chapter)