There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

North Zhili, Baoding Prefecture.

Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Xuanda, who was the governor of the world, was reading the imperial edict from the court under the dim oil lamp in the tent outside the city.

The edict stated two things. First, Emperor Chongzhen severely reprimanded him for fearing the enemy and avoiding war, allowing the Tatars to ravage the capital. He ordered that his title of minister, Fang Jian, be taken away, and he ordered Dai Zui to stay in office and perform meritorious service.

Another thing is that the emperor sent his chief assistant Liu Yuliang to supervise the armies on behalf of the emperor. Lu Xiangsheng knew that Liu Yuliang did not understand military affairs, and he was not usually the one who took charge of the Qing army. Now he asked himself to supervise the armies, just to win the favor of the emperor by pretending to be "Lin Rong" on behalf of the emperor.

Lu Xiangsheng deeply felt that his situation would become even more difficult if Liu Yuliang was added to Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian to restrain him.

The key is that his troops no longer have food and wages. The money and wages issued by the court are all controlled by the supervisor Gao Qiqian, and none of them are allocated to him. The food collection from the prefectures and counties along the way is also not smooth.

Lu Xiangsheng wrote a handwritten edict and sent it to the magistrate of Qingyuan, in which he wrote: "If the issue of food and wages is delayed any longer, causing the army to starve and cause trouble, I will definitely deal with it according to military law!"

The county magistrate named Zuo of Qingyuan relied on the power of the General Supervisor Gao Qiqian. Not only did he still ignore it, he also instigated the Senior Supervisor to write a letter blaming Xiang Sheng, saying: "Governor Lu stationed troops under Baoding Jiancheng and refused to advance or retreat. He also sent troops to surrounding counties. Asking for salary, what do you want?"

Lu Xiangsheng had no choice but to lead his hungry and tired soldiers to Zhending Mansion and send a letter to the governor, hoping to get some relief.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Qiping, the governor of Zhending, saw that both Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian were ostracizing him. He refused to let anyone from the Lu army enter the city on the pretext that he was afraid that the soldiers would disturb the people.

The army is almost out of food. The soldiers can only eat one porridge a day, and sometimes they can't even eat one meal. They have to rely on grass roots, tree bark and very few miscellaneous grains to satisfy their hunger.

Because of the lack of food and pay, the army was alone and without support, and its morale became increasingly shaken. Especially among the middle and lower-ranking sergeants, there were people everywhere sighing and cursing at the court, private robberies occurred from time to time, and some soldiers could not stand hunger and simply deserted.

Lu Xiangsheng's camp was set up in a ruined temple outside Zhending Mansion. He and Yang Tinglin lived together in a Tukang room.

Yang Tinglin was originally a Hanlin official. Because he agreed with Lu Xiangsheng's main war strategy and criticized Yang Sichang's strategy of pacifying the captives, he was expelled from the center of the imperial court and sent to Lu Xiangsheng to praise military affairs.

Yang Tinglin originally came to the army with enthusiasm and wanted to help Lu Xiangsheng, but he was at a loss for several days.

He knew more things than when he was in Beijing, and was more disappointed and dissatisfied with the court. He often asked in his heart: "In times of crisis, Lu Gong, the only one who can fight, was treated so harshly. The soldiers and generals could not find enough to eat. How could it be that the Ming Dynasty Is your strength about to end?"

Lu Xiangsheng was sitting on the Tukang, handling some official matters, and suddenly looked at him and said: "Boxiang, do you understand? We are almost at a desperate situation. I have led troops for many years and have experienced hundreds of battles, and I have never encountered such a situation. You Look, the brothers are as skinny as a stick. They have to fight every day and march tiredly.

Everyone knew that they were waiting to die, either from a sharp edge or from hunger and exhaustion. What keeps everyone from scattering now is a little desire to serve the country. Instead of encouraging morale, the imperial court uses various methods to undermine the morale of the military and discourage the soldiers' enthusiasm for serving the country. If this continues, some people will take desperate risks. As long as one group of troops makes a noise and leaves, the whole army will fall apart. "

Yang Tinglin jumped down from the Tukang and said: "If the food and grass are not available, the morale of the army will inevitably be unstable. At present, there is only one way, which is to move troops to the three prefectures in the south of Jinan, raise food and grass, rest the soldiers and horses, and wait half a month to find the enemy for a decisive battle. Otherwise, we will fight with the enemy." A hungry and tired soldier will be defeated by tigers and wolves without fighting."

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head, smiled bitterly and said: "Boxiang, what you said is indeed the best policy. Unfortunately, I don't know it, and it really can't be used."

"Since it is the best solution, why can't it be used?" Yang Tinglin asked in confusion.

"A few days ago, the emperor has severely scolded me for being afraid of the enemy and avoiding fighting. He has taken away my title of minister, Fang Jian, and asked me to temporarily take charge of military affairs as a guilty person.

If he moves to the three prefectures of Jinan without permission, and is impeached by Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian to avoid fighting, the imperial guards will arrive within a few days. Instead of dying in the West Market, why not die on the battlefield? "Lu Xiangsheng said with a gloomy expression. "But even if the public does not hesitate to die on the battlefield, what is the benefit to the country? "

"But I want to have a clear conscience. I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of following Yuan Chonghuan's old path again, being chopped into pieces in the West City, and being labeled as a collaborator and traitor." Lu Xiangsheng's heart was filled with grief, anger and gloom, and he tried his best not to let tears fall from the corners of his eyes. Roll down.

Yang Tinglin punched his fist on the small table and said loudly: "What will happen to the court like this? Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty will perish at the hands of these treacherous ministers!"

"Boxiang, be careful. The walls may not be deaf. The emperor has sent Liu Shofu to supervise the divisions. I will write a letter and you can send it to me to see if I can get some support from Mr. Shofu." Lu Xiangsheng He said that his entire army was in a desperate situation. Yang Tinglin was a conscientious and capable minister, and there was no need to leave him to be buried here.

So I made an excuse and prepared to send him away. In fact, Lu Xiangsheng knew very well that Liu Yuliang had no real power. He could not command Gao Qiqi at all. Going to ask for help was just a personal matter.

"Sir, I heard that Lin Feng's Zhenming Army is near Longquan Pass in Zhending Mansion. Why not ask him for help?" Yang Tinglin asked.

"Longquan Pass is four to five hundred miles from here. It is difficult to quench thirst with water far away, and his troops are limited. A sneak attack on a small group of Tatars is okay, but fighting with a large force of the Qing army may not help. Besides, Lin Feng listens to the announcement but not the instructions. He may not listen to me either." Lu Xiangsheng replied while writing the rescue letter. In his heart, he actually still looked down on Lin Feng's Zhenming Army. He still couldn't help but feel ashamed to ask for help from an original rebel army.

"Hey, we can only see what Liu Shoufu can do." Yang Tinglin said helplessly.

Lu Xiangsheng quickly wrote a letter asking for help and sent two soldiers to escort Yang Tinglin to Liu Yuliang's location overnight.

Zhending Mansion, Longquan Pass.

Lin Feng is inspecting the construction situation in Guancheng. Due to sufficient money and food, the construction progress is very fast. The fort wall in the Shanxi direction has been built, and several rows of houses have been built inside. Most of the people already have a place to live.

There is also a row of shops built on the outermost edge of Guancheng, with more than a dozen merchants already settled in. Li's Cereals and Oils of Zhenming Group also came to set up a branch, and it has become more and more like a city.

"Sir, a thousand recruits have been trained. How do you think they will be distributed?" Cao Xiong asked while accompanying the inspection.

"How much have been the battle losses of the recent battalions?" Lin Feng asked.

"About three hundred people."

"Then first make up for the battle losses in each battalion, and the remaining 700 people, together with one battalion from the 1st Shanxi Combat Brigade and the 1st Mobile Combat Brigade, will form the Longquan Combat Brigade, with Zhou Rui as the brigade general." Lin Feng thought for a moment. Then he ordered.

In this way, the troops at Longquan Pass include two cavalry brigades with 3400 people, the second and third Shanxi Combat Brigades totaling 3200 people, the newly formed Longquan Combat Brigade with 1700 people, and the Guards Brigade with 600 people, the total force reaches 6 There are nearly people in this brigade.

"Sir, Guo Zheng is back and said he has new information." Fang Xiaoyu came over to report.

"Let's go back to the Guancheng garrison and summon everyone for a military meeting." Lin Feng ordered.

(End of this chapter)