In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 160 The Emperor's Order Must Not Be Violated

With Yang Sichang also agreeing to withdraw the [-] border troops, there was a consensus of opinion for the first time in the Ming court.

This made Emperor Chongzhen, who was already indecisive and lacked courage and responsibility, no longer hesitate and immediately ordered people to go to the grasslands in the north of Yanghe to deliver the edict.

Since a special eunuch was sent to deliver the order this time, it took ten days and did not arrive until mid-August.

When the emperor's imperial edict arrived, Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Pu and other generals did not dare to neglect it. Although conditions were limited and they did not have a bath, setting up a case and burning incense was still a must.

Lu Xiangsheng was still a little worried about His Majesty's sudden decree. He was worried that His Majesty was impatient and would be deceived by the courtiers into urging him to fight Jiannu.

However, he never expected that this was an imperial edict to withdraw troops and return reinforcements, and he was stunned on the spot for a moment.

Even Wang Pu and others opened their mouths in surprise. After all, it was almost the Mid-Autumn Festival. If they persisted for at least one month, Jiannu would definitely withdraw its troops.

"Governor Lu, take the order!" The eunuch who delivered the order had to remind him when he saw that Lu Xiangsheng had been kneeling on the ground for a long time without responding.

"I have defeated Lupp. Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of the Datong army, has accepted the order. Long live my emperor!"

Wang Pu rolled his eyes and kowtowed first.

"Your Majesty Lu Xiangsheng accepts the order, long live my emperor!"

Lu Xiangsheng then respectfully accepted the imperial edict.

Naturally, the eunuch who delivered the edict would not give the imperial edict to Wang Pu. Instead, he gave him a meaningful look before passing the imperial edict to Lu Xiangsheng.

At this moment, Lu Xiangsheng was holding the imperial edict with an extremely heavy heart. He had no intention of paying attention to Wang Pu's small thoughts. Instead, he looked at the eunuch who passed the edict and asked: "Eunuch, I wonder what happened in the capital? Will Your Majesty suddenly call the army back?"

"My family doesn't know about this. Our family is only responsible for delivering orders. I wonder when Governor Lu will withdraw his troops?"

"This...the two armies are now facing each other, only more than ten miles apart. A hasty retreat can easily cause panic among the soldiers. Moreover, the army still has tens of thousands of stones of food and grass, so it needs to be carefully planned." Lu Xiangsheng hesitated and told the truth. said.

The eunuch who delivered the order suddenly frowned. When Zhang Han saw this, he had no choice but to step forward and said: "My father-in-law has been tired from traveling and traveling. The governor has already prepared a banquet. I hope that my father-in-law and you all will not dislike the poor conditions in the army..."

"Haha, then there is Governor Laolu!" The eunuch who delivered the order said with a smile.

Eating wine is not important, what is important is the filial piety at the banquet.

Immediately, Zhang Han invited a group of people into the big tent next to him. Lu Xiangsheng returned to his tent because he was busy with military affairs. Wang Pu and the other eight guerrilla generals followed them.

Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu thought about it and followed suit.

The banquet lasted from afternoon to dark. It was not until Lu Xiangsheng became impatient with waiting that Zhang Han opened the curtain and walked in, smelling of alcohol.

"Sir, half a month ago the [-]-strong Beijing camp was almost completely wiped out in Miyun, and the border troops in Ji Town were defeated by Jiannu. At this time, Jiannu was preparing to lay siege to the capital, so His Majesty issued an order to summon you back to Beijing for rescue! "

"what?"

Lu Xiangsheng was also shocked. He had reminded him repeatedly that the slaves could only build 3 troops. How could they be defeated again and again and so miserably?
No matter how miserable the Beijing camp is, there are still more than 20 troops. Including the Jizhen border troops, the entire [-]-strong army is waiting for work.

"Even so, you shouldn't have called me back to Beijing for rescue. Isn't this a petty loss?"

Lu Xiangsheng really couldn't understand that with so many troops and horses in Liaodong, just transferring one or two of them would be enough to ensure the safety of the capital. Even if the troops and horses were transferred from the south, it would be more appropriate than sending them back.

"My lord, I heard from the prince that almost all the courtiers unanimously suggested that your majesty send you to return to the army for rescue." Zhang Han lowered his voice, leaned over and whispered.

"Traitors, they are all treacherous villains. Such a group of treacherous villains are harming the country and the people. How can the situation in Ming Dynasty not be bad?"

"hateful!"

When Lu Xiangsheng heard this, he punched the desk hard, smashing the desk all over. Finally, he let out a long sigh, feeling powerless from the bottom of his heart.

Zhang Han also sighed, speechless.

Originally, as long as they defended the Great Wall and only needed 50 million stones of food and grass, they could easily force the Jiannu to retreat, and then form an alliance with the Lin family army to completely eliminate the threat from the north. But now it is good, seeing that they will succeed in another month. , who would have thought that His Majesty would retreat under the instigation of a group of civil servants.

"Sir, as the saying goes, you will be away from home, and your orders will not be accepted..."

"Nonsense. It's hard to disobey the emperor's order. How can we not accept it? Don't mention this matter again!" Zhang Han said tentatively, but Lu Xiangsheng immediately stopped him.

As if Zhang Han had expected such a reaction, he smiled bitterly and chose to shut up.

"For the current plan, we can only quickly send people to notify the Lin family army to retreat south immediately. I will try to delay it for a few more days. Although I cannot retreat completely, I can minimize the losses. I will wait until next year to slowly retreat. Picture it."

After a while of silence, Lu Xiangsheng said slowly.

As long as he holds back Jiannu here and allows the Lin family's army to withdraw first, the Lin family's army is covered by [-] cavalry. Facing Jiannu's [-] cavalry, it is still very easy to return to Datong. At most, he will lose some supplies, women and children. That’s all.

But as long as the cavalry and infantry of the Lin family army can return to Datong, even if Jiannu leaves a heavy defense in Guihua City, they can make a comeback next year.

It doesn't matter if Jiannu continues to send reinforcements, the worst he can do is to retreat to the Great Wall. After a few years of back and forth, Jiannu will definitely be forced to give up the Loop.

"That's all we can do, but depending on the prince's attitude, we may only be able to delay it for three to five days at most."

Zhang Han nodded. As for whether the Lin family army would withdraw to Datong, he was not too worried. After all, if they did not withdraw to Datong, they would have nowhere to go.

Lu Xiangsheng wanted to delay for a few more days and transport the remaining food and grass in the camp back first to buy the Lin family army a few more days to retreat. However, Wang Pu was not willing to wait a day longer.

Lu Xiang had been pent up for the past two months. Now that there was Emperor Chongzhen's intention to withdraw, his thoughts suddenly changed. At this time, he was also secretly discussing with eight guerrilla generals.

"Everyone, the losses in this Northern Expedition are almost all our troops. Once we retreat, the man surnamed Lu will definitely let me wait for the rear."

"That's right, mother. That guy named Lu has always looked down on us. Maybe he will use this retreat to get rid of us all."

"Brother Liu, don't scare me. I'm a coward, but I can't stand being scared by you!"

"Yes, it's true that the man named Lu looks down on us, but he won't trick us all to death, right?"

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. Although Lu Xiangsheng looked down upon them, he didn't look like a villain after their contact during this time.

"Hmph! Why not? Is it possible that they will cover us to retreat first? Even if they don't let us retreat, if we all retreat together, then the Jiannu will definitely choose to hunt us down. Can you guys stop it? Or Do you expect someone named Lu to lead the cavalry to rescue us?" Wang Pu snorted coldly.

Everyone was right after thinking about it, and their expressions became solemn. After all, once the army retreats, there will be holes everywhere, and Jiannu will definitely take the opportunity to chase them.

Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei not only have five thousand cavalry, but the infantry is also more capable than them. As long as Jiannu is not blind, he will know who to chase.

"Brother Wang, what should we do?"

"You should come up with an idea quickly!"

Everyone looked at Wang Pu anxiously.

"For the current plan, we have to withdraw first and let them take the backseat, so that we can safely bring all the troops back to Yanghe." Wang Pu said in a deep voice.

"But...I'm afraid Governor Lu won't agree, right?"

"Isn't this difficult to handle? Let's all make preparations when we get back. We will evacuate quietly at midnight tonight. This place is only about a hundred miles away from the valley. There is a flat plain on the way. Let's put our feet down. We can escape into the valley at noon tomorrow! "

Wang Pu said with a sinister smile, obviously planning to take the opportunity to trick Lu Xiangsheng and the others.

When everyone heard this, they all understood Wang Pu's plan, and their hearts tightened.

One of the guerrilla generals said with some anxiety:
"Brother Wang, isn't this a bit too much? If the man surnamed Lu is convicted afterwards, we can't afford it!"

"Yes, if he reports to His Majesty and pursues one of us for escaping without permission, then it will be easy for him to be dismissed from office."

"You don't need to worry. I am the deputy commander of this expedition. I will explain it clearly to Your Majesty when the time comes. No matter how strange it is, I can't blame you!"

Wang Pu waved his hand. He had already inquired with the prince. Almost all the civil servants supported the withdrawal this time. When the time came, he would just report to His Majesty, saying that Lu Xiangsheng was delaying deliberately and refused to withdraw. He was worried about the safety of the capital, so he took the lead in withdrawing. .

When everyone saw what Wang Pu said, they were relieved. Anyway, Wang Pu would hold up the sky if it fell, and they were just following Wang Pu's orders.

(End of this chapter)