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

In the west of Datong City, Qianhusuo.

"Lord Qianhu, it's bad, the Zhenming Army is attacking the city!" A Baihu came in and shouted.

Jiang Jian, who was still in a daze after drinking all night last night, suddenly woke up and shouted quickly: "What! The Zhenming Army is attacking the city! Quick, you guys go and resist!"

"It's too late, the south gate has been broken!"

"Ah! What should we do?" Jiang Jian immediately thought of the Zhenming Army's methods of dealing with traitors, and sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Quick, pack up some horses, let's run away!" He immediately made the decision to run away.

Jiang Jian led a few die-hard boys and took advantage of the chaos to open the west gate and prepare to escape from the city. As soon as he ran out of the city gate, he ran into the Zhenming Army who was intercepting outside the gate.

Datong General Military Mansion.

Jiang Xiang was also woken up by a burst of noise, and just as he was about to get angry, a loud bang was heard on the door.

"What are you doing! It's so noisy!" He shouted angrily.

"Sir, something big has happened! There is a Zhenming Army attacking the city outside the city!" the guard outside the door shouted back.

"What! The Zhenming Army is attacking the city! Why don't you change your clothes quickly! If you miss it, I'll take your head." Jiang Xiang immediately changed his curse.

While Jiang Xiang hurriedly put on his armor and rushed to the south city gate, he encountered the defeated Ming army defenders head-on.

"Sir, the South City Gate has been lost!" a guard reported loudly.

"What! We lost control so quickly, what do you do for food! Cut me down!" Jiang Xiang was ready to vent his anger on him.

His general military battalion immediately stepped forward to take the men and killed the guard as he requested.

"Brothers, this Jiang Xiang usually doesn't treat us as human beings. He deducts military pay and leaves everyone with insufficient food. Now he wants to kill us. We are rebelling!" the guard shouted loudly.

"Reverse! Reverse!"

The retreating defenders, whose morale was already low, immediately began to resist after hearing the words. The two teams crowded into the streets and started fighting.

"Sir, the situation is not good. It seems that Datong City cannot be saved. Let's escape quickly." The leader of the personal guard suggested.

Jiang Xiang's mind went blank at this time. Hearing this, he immediately agreed: "Yes, run away quickly!"

They immediately turned their horses and fled to the east gate, preparing to leave the city from there.

Before reaching the east gate, I met Fan Yongsheng and others who were turning back.

"General Jiang, the east gate has been lost, let's go to the north gate." Fan Yongsheng shouted. He also wanted to join Jiang Xiang's Biao camp and escape together, so that the safety would be higher.

"Go, go, go to the north gate immediately!"

The group of people rushed to the north gate and found that they could not get out. The Zhenming Army was already guarding the gate. They had no choice but to withdraw to the Fan family manor.

History is always strikingly similar.

The last time the Ming army made a sneak attack on Datong City, Luo Kai, the general of the Zhenming military camp, and his brothers retreated to the Fan family manor. This time it was Jiang Xiang and others' turn.

Datong General Military Mansion.

"Have all the key points in the city been occupied?" Lu Xiangsheng asked after arriving at his former public house in Datong City.

"Back to the Governor, several major places such as the General Military Mansion, the Governor's Office, and the Ordnance Storehouse have been occupied. The people in the city are very supportive of our Zhenming Army. Everyone is rushing to lead the way. The siege of the city went smoothly." Yang Lukai replied.

"It's all Governor Lin. Now it's the prince who has formulated good policies. Only then can we get the sincere support of the people!" Lu Xiangsheng said with emotion.

"Yes, when the imperial court fought in the past, the common people were afraid of the soldiers, so they were not willing to come to help." Yang Lukai also sighed with emotion.

"Have you caught the traitor who surrendered the city to the enemy?" Lu Xiangsheng asked.

"The traitor Jiang Jian and others who opened the city gate tried to escape through the west gate, but we have caught them." Yang Lukai replied.

"Okay! Such traitors must be punished severely! And where are the Ming army commander Jiang Xiang and that Fan Yongsheng?"

"They couldn't escape and hid back in the Fan family compound. Commander Zhou's troops were organizing an attack!" Yang Lukaihui reported.

"Let's go and take a look!" Lu Xiangsheng said as he walked towards the east of the city.

Arriving at the gate of the Fan family compound, Zhou Rui was making arrangements to debug the artillery and prepare for the attack.

Seeing Lu Xiangsheng coming over, Zhou Rui immediately stepped forward and saluted: "I've met the Governor! I haven't congratulated the Governor on being promoted to the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion!"

"Haha, it's all the prince's grace. You will have a chance soon." Lu Xiangsheng also just received a document from Xi'an in the past few days. He learned that he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army and was promoted to the rank of general. The leader of the Zhenming Army, the general, was naturally very happy.

"Superintendent, General Jiang Xiang of Datong led his standard battalion of about a thousand people and followed Fan Yongsheng of the Fan family to escape into the Fan family compound. We are all familiar with this courtyard and it is very strong. I am going to use cannons first. Blow down their courtyard walls." After seeing the ceremony, Zhou Rui immediately turned back to the matter of fighting.

"Okay, this battle will be left to Commander Zhou to command, I will only be a spectator."

"Then please ask the Superintendent to supervise the battle. Let's defeat these evil thieves! Come on, give the order to fire!" Zhou Rui ordered.

More than twenty fine steel cannons at the entrance of the Fan family compound instantly spurted out fury, and the hot projectiles hit the courtyard wall with powerful kinetic energy.

"Bang bang bang!"

Amidst a series of loud noises, the walls of the Fan family compound could not withstand it even though they had been reinforced. They began to crack and then collapsed with a loud bang.

The officers and soldiers of the 1st Shanxi Combat Division were preparing to rush in. A group of Ming troops with white flags came out first, shouting: "Stop fighting, we surrender, we surrender!"

"Stop!" Zhou Rui saw the Ming army surrendering and immediately ordered a temporary ceasefire to see the situation.

A small leader of the Ming army who surrendered was brought over. He knelt down and said, "Sir, spare your life. We, Mr. Jiang, are willing to surrender. He has already ordered the capture of Fan Yongsheng and others from the Fan family. I'm sure you, sir, will give us a way to live." ”

"A way out? Jiang Xiang has only one way to surrender completely. Go back and tell him that within a quarter of an hour all of you will throw away your weapons, walk out of the Fan family compound, surrender, and wait for my Zhenming Army to fall. Otherwise, we will continue the bombardment. I I want to see whether your bones are stronger or my cannonballs are stronger." Zhou Rui said straightforwardly.

"Yes, yes, I will go back and report immediately." The little leader of the Ming army replied tremblingly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, overwhelmed by the powerful firepower of the Zhenming Army, Jiang Xiang took off his helmet and took the lead in escorting Fan Yongsheng out of the compound and surrendered. "Master Lu, Master Lu, for the sake of our acquaintance in the past, please forgive the guilty general! The last sneak attack on Datong really had nothing to do with me. It was all done by this Fan Yongsheng who colluded with Jiang Jian." Jiang Xiang immediately came up to him when he saw Lu Xiangsheng. Begging for mercy and shirking responsibility.

"Jiang Xiang, will it be okay if you surrender in the future? You allowed our merchants to smuggle military supplies to the Qing Dynasty. You are also a traitor. You can't run away. I will take the first step and wait for you in the underworld. Hahaha!" Fan Yongsheng knew. There was absolutely no chance of him being spared, and he was immediately thrown into the sewer.

"You, you're talking nonsense, shut his mouth!" Jiang Xiang became anxious.

"Take them all down and interrogate them carefully!" Lu Xiangsheng ordered.

"Master Lu, Master Lu, spare your life!" Jiang Xiang still tried to save himself.

"Take it away!" Lu Xiangsheng gave him a disgusted look. Both the Zhenming Army and himself were very disgusted with the traitors who collaborated with the Tartars.

Datong General Military Mansion.

"Master Superintendent, after all the interrogations, Jiang Xiang's story about Tong Tatar is true. Not only did he condone the Fan family and other profiteers to smuggle Manchu Tatars, but he also recently expressed his intention to surrender to the Manchu Qing Dynasty and prepared to give Datong Mansion to the Tatars." Yang Lukai replied. Report.

"Damn! Damn traitor! I don't want such a surrendered general, and the Zhenming Army won't want it either. We must kill him as a warning to others!" Lu Xiangsheng said.

"Superintendent, after all Jiang Xiang is the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty. Do you want to ask the prince for permission first before killing him?"

"No, the prince has entrusted Datong affairs to me before he left, and specifically stated that traitors and traitors must be severely punished. We must accurately understand the prince's intentions and do not have to ask for instructions every time." Lu Xiangsheng is still very decisive.

"Yes! In addition, the traitors who presented the city when Datong fell last time have also been identified. It was indeed Fan Yongsheng who incited Jiang Jian, the original commander-in-chief of our Zhenming Army, to open the city gate on the night when the Ming Army attacked the city, causing the death of Magistrate Li." Yang Lukai continues to report.

"These people are even more hateful. They must be executed without mercy in order to vent the hatred in my heart, to avenge the officers and men of the Zhenming Army, and to comfort Magistrate Li's spirit in heaven!" Lu Xiangsheng said three words in a row to express his inner feelings. of extreme resentment.

Especially the loss of Datong City last time resulted in the death of Li Wanxiang, the governor of Datong, who would be the future abbot. Although Lin Feng didn't say anything at that time, if the concubine's pillow wind was exposed and the person responsible at that time was to be held accountable, they would all be responsible.

If you don’t punish these traitors in the most severe way, how can you explain to King Zhenming and Concubine Li!
after one day.

The square outside the Datong General Military Mansion.

An execution platform about one meter high was erected, and Lu Xiangsheng prepared to publicly execute these traitors and traitors to warn the world, especially the Ming army to surrender.

On one side of the execution platform were Zhenming officers and soldiers, especially those who surrendered. They were all brought to receive a bloody education. On the other side were the people in Datong City. There were many people pouring in. Everyone wanted to see the fate of these traitors.

Lu Xiangsheng came to the center of the stage and took his place, and the execution officially began.

Zhou Rui served as today's executioner. He shouted: "Bring the prisoner!"

Former Datong generals Jiang Xiang, Jiang Jian, Fan Yongsheng and some of their accomplices were dragged out. They all looked frightened and were muttering something silently.

In particular, Jiang Xiang originally thought that surrendering would at least save his life, so he was not mentally prepared and was so frightened that he almost went crazy. When he was pulled to the execution platform, when he saw Lu Xiangsheng in the audience, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed and shouted: "Master Lu, please spare your life! Please spare your life!"

Lu Xiangsheng ignored it and made a waving gesture. The Zhenming Army soldiers responsible for the escort immediately dragged Jiang Xiang away and stuffed a piece of smelly cloth into his mouth, so that he could only make a "whimpering" sound.

At this time, Zhou Rui walked up to the stage and announced loudly: "Jiang Xiang, the former commander-in-chief of Taiyuan, colluded with profiteers, smuggled military supplies to the Manchu Tatars, and planned to dedicate the city to the Tatars for glory. He is an unpardonable crime and is sentenced to death and will be executed immediately. . If you surrender before the battle, you will be spared and beheaded!"

"Kill the traitor!" the people in the audience shouted.

Two Zhenming Army soldiers took Jiang Xiang and pressed his head on the guillotine despite his crazy twisting. The executioner raised his big knife and cut off his head with the knife. A stream of dirty blood spurted out. Later, he surrendered to the Qing army in history. Jiang Xiang, the commander-in-chief of Datong who rebelled again, was decapitated and died.

"Fan Yongsheng and Jiang Jian colluded with the Ming Dynasty when our Zhenming Army fought bloody battles at the border to resist the Manchu invasion. They stabbed me in the back and opened the gates of Datong City, causing the fall of Datong and causing heavy casualties to our Datong soldiers and civilians.

Shanxi merchant Fan Yongsheng has been colluding with the Manchu Tatars for a long time, smuggling military supplies that the Tatars are in urgent need of, and providing intelligence about our military and civilians to the Tatars. He is a complete traitor!

Such traitors and traitors have committed many crimes that are outraged by heaven and earth. Their crimes are unforgivable. Killing them alone is not enough to anger the people. What do you think we should do? Zhou Rui asked loudly to the audience.

"Beheaded alive! Beheaded alive!"

The people in the audience shouted in unison, they all hated these traitors and traitors to the extreme!

"Okay, as the people ask for. Come here and chop these two traitors and traitors alive!" Zhou Rui ordered.

Several Zhenming officers and soldiers quickly erected a large wooden frame for holding Chi, and tied Fan Yongsheng and Jiang Jian to it.

When Fan Yongsheng was first arrested, he looked like he didn't care about life and death. Now he is pale with fear and his whole body is shaking.

Jiang Jian's face turned blue, his pants were dripping with yellow water, and he was so scared that he peed. There was only incomparable regret in his mind now, but it was too late.

The two men's shirts were opened, and two part-time executioners who had temporarily trained with chickens and sheep last night came on the stage, took out a sharp and thin short knife, and sprayed a mouthful of wine on it.

Then he started from the prisoner's chest, cut off a small piece of flesh with a razor blade, and began the live beheading operation.

"Ah! It hurts..."

From the moment the first piece of flesh was cut off, the two prisoners' screams never stopped.

After screaming for an entire hour until their voices became hoarse, Fan Yongsheng and Jiang Jiancai died of endless fear after being stabbed for more than 300 times.

The Ming soldiers who were watching the execution were also trembling with fear. It was deeply imprinted in their hearts that they would rather commit suicide than surrender, let alone rebel.

The Zhenming Army led by Lin Feng has now abolished most cruel death sentences such as intestine removal and skinning, and the general death penalty is direct beheading.

However, due to his extreme hatred for traitors and traitors, Lin Feng did not abolish the Ling Chi punishment for these two crimes. This was also to better deter the military and civilians from committing the crime of being a traitor.

But even if they were traitors and traitors, they usually only punished the culprits with lynching, and other accomplices, including several of Jiang Jian's die-hard men this time, were all beheaded.

This public execution also made the people in the city occupied by the Ming army and living in dire straits vent their anger. Lu Xiangsheng then announced the return of some of the people's property that had been embezzled by Jiang Xiang and others, and began to restore the city. The construction of Datong City has been warmly cheered by the people!

In the next few days, Lu Xiangsheng continued to organize the Northern Shanxi Corps to sweep the entire Datong Prefecture, regain control of various prefectures and counties, and complete Datong under the control of the Zhenming Army.

Subsequently, he drafted a battle report to recapture Datong and sent it to Xi'an, and asked Lin Feng for instructions on next steps and military expansion.

This is also Lu Xiangsheng's wisdom. You can make your own decisions when it comes to punishing traitors and traitors. When it comes to sensitive matters such as the direction of attack and military expansion, you must ask Lin Feng to make the decision.

The Ming army in North Zhili received the news that Datong City had fallen again, and symbolically sent a small number of reinforcements to Datong Mansion. After encountering the First Cavalry Division and being severely beaten, they immediately withdrew.

For the Ming Dynasty's border troops, if there is any difficulty, they should report it to the court immediately and let Emperor Chongzhen and the Ministry of War have a headache! Keeping yourself alive is the most important thing.

(End of this chapter)