Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 128: Field Battle Invincibility
If I remember correctly, Dorgon seemed to have only one daughter, no son, and no second daughter.

From this point of view, this daughter must be Dorgon's baby daughter.

Because of the famous Deer and Cauldron in later generations, Emperor Chongzhen once checked that the daughter-in-law married to Wu Sangui's son was Huang Taiji's No. 14 daughter, the so-called Princess Jianning.At this time, Huang Taiji was dead, and the daughter he left behind was certainly not as precious as Dorgon's daughter.

Although Zu Dashou said this in the tone of this letter, it was clearly Dorgon's intention. He even offered his own daughter as a price tag, which shows Dorgon's eagerness for Shanhaiguan.

Could it be that the Manchu Qing Dynasty's all-powerful troops are coming to attack Guan Nei?

Who has the strongest military power in East Asia at this time?There is no doubt that it is the Manchu army.

Li Zicheng's army had just begun to transform from the traitorous traitor. Neither Li Zicheng himself nor his generals and civilian officials had completely transformed from the traitor mentality to the mentality of fighting for the world.Otherwise, he would not have been chasing bribes and subsidies, but would have deliberately reorganized the army and recruited scholars for his own use.

Even Li Zicheng had just established his own home base and did not have his own arsenal or anything like that. Everything still depended on robbing.

However, the Manchu and Qing dynasties were different. Liaodong was their territory, and they would plunder the population from within the pass to enrich Liaodong from time to time.After conquering the Mongolian grasslands and forming the Eight Mongolian Banners, they also recruited many Han troops to form the Eight Banners of the Han Army. The Manchus and Qing Dynasties were able to make the existing muskets and artillery in the pass, and the firearms they made were very sophisticated.

In terms of military affairs, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties used their own troops to drive the Mongolian and Han armies of the Eight Banners. In terms of civil affairs, they were also assisted by Hong Chengchou, Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwo and others.

Those in power, starting from the wild boar Pinur Haci, to Huang Taiji, and then to Dorgon, are the most astute in the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Such a force is definitely much more powerful than Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others.

Not to mention, they are entrenched in Liaodong, watching the fights among the pass and staying out of it, and come in to take advantage when there is benefit.

At this time, if the Manchu and Qing dynasties invaded the Pass with all their troops, even if Wu Sangui did not offer the Pass in the original history, it would still be a force enough to change the forces within the Pass.

If we really want to talk about shortcomings, the only shortcoming of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is that the population is too small!
But this cannot actually be considered a shortcoming, because in history, the empires established by Liao, Jin, and Temujin all had small populations at the beginning. They grew by annexing other tribes and were enough to threaten the Central Plains.

Emperor Chongzhen carefully recalled the history in his memory, combined with the current situation, and finally decided that no matter what, treat it as the worst-case scenario that the Manchu Qing Dynasty would gather troops from all over the country to invade the pass.

So, he immediately asked Fang Zhenghua to draft an edict and issued an edict to Shanhaiguan, the capital, and northern Shanxi.

On his side, Emperor Chongzhen immediately accelerated the formation of local troops, moved all the Beijing camp troops that had been dispersed back to Taiyuan, and took the time to train the Beijing camp.

He still needs to sit here in Taiyuan, watch as northern Shanxi confiscates the supplies from the eight major Shanxi merchants, and transfers some of them to central Shanxi for relief, until Wei Jingyuan completely takes over the central Shanxi area.

………………

On the capital side, Prince Zhu Cixiang, the superintendent of the country, quickly received the imperial edict from Emperor Chongzhen.

In the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Cixi asked the eunuch beside him to read the imperial edict, and then said to the cabinet ministers and the six ministers below: "Did you hear that my father is rescuing people in Jinzhong, so you should not let Gu Zhuanzhang go to save Shandong again. , Father can't escape at all. Now that the Jianlu invaders are still invading, it's impossible for Father to lead his troops to capture it again!"

After a pause, he continued: "Father said that as long as the army and the people are united, the bandits will run out of food and grass, and they will leave if they can't defeat them. What you need to pay attention to now is the invasion of the bandits!"

Fan Jingwen and others were helpless after hearing this.

They had to admit that what the emperor said made sense.

Zhending, where the bandit army was hoarding food and grass, was captured by the emperor. Without food and grass, the bandit army could only constantly move to replenish food and grass. If it stayed in one place for a long time and the logistics supplies were not available, it would inevitably collapse because the army was hungry for food.As long as Yanzhou Prefecture can hold on, the rebel army will retreat!

Therefore, Fan Jingwen quickly changed his attention, with a stern expression on his face, and reported to Zhu Cihong: "Your Majesty said that Jianlu is very likely to invade the pass. I thought that we should send people to find out the news immediately, so that we can have a proper response!"

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he quickly asked: "What is the appropriate response?"

He knew that Fan Jingwen, the first assistant, was knowledgeable about military affairs and should be able to listen to what he said.

Fan Jingwen immediately responded: "If the Jianlu could really know about the Jianlu invasion in advance, they should strengthen the defenses of the cities in the capital and implement the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness. The Jianlu came from afar and would retreat if they were not supplied with food and grass. .”

In the original history, Li Zicheng also adopted the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the field after his defeat in Yishi.However, he just continued to give this order. Instead of executing this strategy, his men rebelled against him and surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. As a result, they were defeated again and again. There was no chance to regroup the army and breathe, and they were killed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty. .

At this time, after Fan Jingwen said what he said, without waiting for the prince to speak, he immediately explained: "Under the policy of fortifying the wall and clearing the wilderness, the villagers will destroy the houses outside the fortified city, and their own losses will be huge. Even if the captives retreat later, the disaster relief It will also cost a lot to rebuild our homes!”

Zhu Cixi finally understood and confirmed: "So we need to confirm whether Jianlu really has to enter the customs?"

"Your Highness the Holy Ming!" Fan Jingwen heard this and immediately replied.

The other ministers of the cabinet and the six ministers all had very serious expressions on their faces, and they all started admonishing him, fearing that the prince, who was too young and ignorant, would act indiscriminately.

"Your Highness, Jianlu is invincible in the field, so don't underestimate him!"

"That's right, Your Highness, when the prisoners enter the pass, they are all invincible. They must strengthen the walls and clear the country!"

"The imperial court's victory over Jianlu was all about defending the city. In a field battle, Jianlu is invincible!"

"..."

Zhu Cixiang was very dissatisfied when he heard what they said. He frowned and asked unhappily: "Jianlu is so powerful, can't he just defeat Jianlu?"

Having said this, he picked up a document from the imperial case and said: "My father wiped out [-] bandits outside Baoding City in one battle. The bandits hoarded grain and grass in one fell swoop. Zhending City, which was heavily guarded by soldiers, was alone. He rode through the pass and captured the pass without spending a single soldier! Even my father couldn't defeat Jianlu?"

Along with the imperial edict, there is an introduction to the deeds of Emperor Chongzhen.This document introduces the bravery of Emperor Chongzhen from the perspective of Fang Zhenghua.Of course, this must have been approved by Emperor Chongzhen himself.The meaning is also very obvious, to boost morale and establish the emperor's prestige.

When Fan Jingwen and others heard what he said, especially when he said that the emperor had broken through the barrier alone, he didn't believe a word of it.How long has it been since then, and you still managed to pass the level on your own!

But the Battle of Baoding and the Battle of Zhending are real, this is a fact.

Perhaps Zhu Cihong guessed it by looking at their expressions, so he asked the eunuch to pass the documents to them, and at the same time said proudly: "I know you don't believe in my father's bravery, see for yourselves!"

Fan Jingwen was the first to look. At first glance, what he saw was not the emperor's military prowess, but the emperor's prestige in the military and popular support.After reading it, he handed the document to Jiang Dejing beside him, and then said to Zhu Cixiang with a look of admiration: "The army led by your majesty should be able to fight against Jianlu!"

As a civil servant who knows military skills and has read many books, Fan Jingwen can be sure that the officers and soldiers under the emperor's command will definitely die for the emperor.

When you are desperate, the most fearful thing is risking your life!Not to mention, this army is led by Zhou Yuji and other brave generals who can fight, and has a record of protecting Zhending. Under the command of the emperor, the execution of orders and prohibitions is not a problem.

There is absolutely no need to underestimate the combat power of such an army. Even if they fight Jianlu, they will not necessarily lose.If the weapons and training can keep up, it is not impossible to recreate the style of the Ming army at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty!
If Fan Jingwen was still worried about the emperor when he first led the army on the expedition, at this time, Fan Jingwen could already see the two most capable emperors of the Ming Dynasty in the emperor.

These civil servants in the Wenhua Palace were all fine people. Just like Fan Jingwen, they saw the impact of the things the emperor did on the morale of the military and the people.

Of course, they were also very surprised by the emperor's bravery.When did the emperor become so powerful that he could capture the general alive in one round in a duel with a general?
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Wenhua Hall regained some relaxation from the previous solemnity.

Jianlu's strength seemed to be engraved in the hearts of these high-ranking officials, making their faces change when they heard about him.However, no matter what, the Ming Emperor has already commanded an army that can also fight. Perhaps the current emperor will be able to defeat the myth of Jianlu being invincible in the field, right?
After gaining confidence, other officials except Fan Jingwen began to speak actively. The final measures discussed were to prepare the capital in advance, reorganize the army, distribute military pay, and strengthen defense for the Great Wall defense line.On the capital side, the city defense is also strengthened.

All of a sudden, the entire capital was moved to prevent possible attacks by Jianlu.

And stories about the emperor began to spread in the city, giving everyone in the capital confidence.Some people even looked forward to it, hoping that the current emperor would show his power and defeat the Jianlu who entered the pass.In this way, in the future, the capital will no longer have to be as worried as before. It is not known when the Jianlu will break through and plunder the capital.

Of course, this hope only exists in the expectations of a very small number of people. After all, the image of Jianlu's invincibility has penetrated into the hearts of every people in Gyeonggi after so many years.

At the same time, at Shanhaiguan, Emperor Chongzhen's decree also arrived. It was clear that Wang Chengen and Wu Sangui's previous actions were correct, and Wu Sangui was asked to contact Jianlu to find out their true and false facts. If possible, lead them to the Liaodong Corridor. Stroll around and consume their food and supplies.As long as Wu Sangui can do this, he will be credited with a great achievement.

On the Yanzhou Prefecture side, no matter how slowly Li Zicheng worked, he could not withstand the consumption of food and grass and captured Yanzhou Prefecture.Thanks to Li Zicheng's slow attack, King Lu and some local squires managed to escape to Jiangnan.

In fact, Li Zicheng didn't care whether he had captured King Lu or something. He cared about other aspects. No, he was getting angry: "Why is there so little food and grass in Yanzhou Prefecture? Isn't Shandong very rich? Where is food and grass?" ?”

Li Zicheng cares most about two things.

The first thing is to mobilize the Emperor of Ming's troops and annihilate them in the wild. That would be the best.

The second thing is that food and grass supplies must be guaranteed. Therefore, when he went south, he did not stop and needed to replenish food and grass supplies.

As a result, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty saw no sign of him pursuing Shandong; and he originally thought that Yanzhou Prefecture must have more food and grass than other places, but it turned out that there was unexpectedly less.

It can be said that everything was not going as he wanted, and he finally got angry.

Seeing this result, Song Xiance finally remembered and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Highness, Shandong must have been plundered by the Jurchens from Liaodong, so there is not much food left!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng also came back to his senses. This must be the reason.However, he doesn't want to know the reason, he just wants food and grass!

No, I heard that he was angry at Song Xiance: "Since you know, why didn't you tell me beforehand? And the idea of ​​going south was also yours, so what should I do?"

Upon hearing this, Song Xiance quickly replied: "Your Highness, this plan has not failed yet. Our original main target was the Kong family in Qufu!"

At this point, he saw that Li Zicheng seemed to be a little more rational, so he quickly reminded: "Ming Dynasty officials may not care about the life of someone in the Kong family, but they definitely care about the safety of the Kong family in Qufu. If a saint's disciples, even the saint's queen, are It doesn't matter, he will definitely be attacked by his political enemies. If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty wants to govern the world with scholar-bureaucrats, he must also pay attention to their ideas."

"Even if we take a step back and the Ming Emperor still hasn't come, the Kong family in Qufu is a thousand-year-old family, much older than the Ming vassals. If what I know is correct, the last time the Liaodong Jurchens came to Shandong , even the Yanzhou Prefecture was captured, but they did not harass the Kong family in Qufu. So, Wei Chen has an idea!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng, who had regained a lot of sanity after venting his anger, asked angrily: "What else do you have in mind?"

Song Xiance replied respectfully: "The Confucian family in Qufu is the queen of saints in the minds of scholars. Their views represent the views of saints to a large extent and can influence most scholars. Therefore, His Highness sent troops to Qufu to let the Confucian family in Qufu spread their influence to the world. Declare that His Highness is the Son of Heaven to whom destiny belongs, and it is God's will that the Great Shun should lead to the Ming Dynasty. In this way, scholars all over the world will have a different impression of His Highness, and thus be used by His Highness!"

After hearing this, Li Zicheng's complexion really improved.

He himself knew very well that he was born as a postman and had been chased by the Ming army after the rebellion, causing him to run away for so many years.His reputation among scholars is probably bad.

Nowadays, if you want to dominate the world, you must use talents.But nowadays, there are still not many scholars who seek refuge with him.If the Kong family in Qufu could follow what Song Xiance said, that would of course be the best.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little worried, and immediately asked: "But what if the Qufu Kong family refuses to do this? After all... after all, they are the queen of saints!"

After hearing this, Song Xiance couldn't help showing a trace of disdain.However, in order to avoid Li Zicheng's misunderstanding, he immediately restrained his contemptuous expression and explained to Li Zicheng: "The Confucius family in Qufu is only a descendant of a saint, but does not have the virtues of a saint. Over the past dynasties, there have been many dynasties and generations, but the Confucius family has never failed. Because they follow the wind and turn to their new masters, even if the new masters are barbarians, as long as they keep their glory and wealth, they will still be willing to take refuge!"

Although he knew how to read, he lived a very hard life and traveled all over the country to tell fortunes, so he did not regard himself as a Confucian at all, and naturally he had no intention of respecting the Confucian family in Qufu.Instead, they peeled off the sage-like skin that the Kong family in Qufu wore, allowing Li Zicheng, the postman, to see clearly what they were.

When Li Zicheng heard this, he suddenly realized: "Before the Ming Dynasty, there was the Yuan Dynasty. The Mongols occupied the Central Plains, and the Kong family also took refuge, right?"

"Your Highness is wise!" Song Xiance praised, and then continued, "If the Confucius family in Qufu understands the situation and supports His Highness, they can use a small amount of food and grass to supplement the military. But if they do not understand the situation, the wealth of the Kong family will be enough for our army for a long time. By the way, put the knife on their necks and let them support His Highness again!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng was very satisfied. He immediately restored his smile and said: "As expected of Gu's military advisor, this method is good, so let's do it!"

Therefore, the army led by Li Zicheng personally rested in Yanzhou Mansion for only one day, and then advanced to Qufu.

Along the way, looking at the fertile fields, Song Xiance introduced to Li Zicheng: "Your Highness, please see, this Qufu and the surrounding grain fields all belong to the Kong family. It is said that the entire city of Qufu is also a member of the Kong family. "

Li Zicheng heard this. Even though he had led his army for most of the Ming Dynasty, he had never seen such a thing, and he couldn't help but clicked his tongue.

Niu Jinxing was born in Juren, so he still had some respect for the Kong family in Qufu.He was busy with logistics before and did not participate in the discussion. Now listening to the conversation between Song Xiance and Li Zicheng along the way, he couldn't help but asked with a little doubt: "Your Highness, are you serious about coming?"

He knew Li Zicheng very well, and one look at his expression told him that he seemed to be going to eat fat.

After hearing this, Li Zicheng looked at him sideways and said, "Otherwise, why would you come all this way just to see the beautiful scenery of the grain fields?"

After hearing this, Niu Jinxing was a little hesitant, but finally said: "Your Highness, those dignitaries can be moved, including vassals and emperors, but the Kong family in Qufu..."

Li Zicheng was a little impatient after hearing this, and immediately said: "What's wrong with the Kong family? They don't have one head and two arms? If they want to know each other, they will naturally be polite to them. If they don't know how to do it, just because they occupy such a If there are many grain fields, I will do justice for the heaven!"

(End of this chapter)