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

Early July.

In Datong City, all teachers go to the palace.

An army follower from the Northern Shanxi Corps, Zan Hua, came in with two documents and reported: "Master Superintendent, we have just received a battle report from the Zhou Division of the Shanxi Combat Division. They defeated Ming Tingxin in the Meiyusuo area of ​​​​North Zhili. One hundred thousand new troops were organized and trained.

These new troops have just been trained for more than half a year, and their weapons are very poor and their combat effectiveness is not strong. But his physical fitness is pretty good and he can run very fast, so even if he defeats them, he won't be able to annihilate many enemies wherever he goes. Zhou Shishuai asked for instructions whether to continue the pursuit. "

Lu Xiangsheng came to the map, carefully looked at the terrain near Meiyu, and then asked: "How far did Zhou Shishuai and the others go deep into Zhili, Mingbei?"

"About forty or fifty miles."

"We can't go any further. If we go further into the Ming Dynasty, we may encounter the Ming and Qing coalition forces and be surrounded and eaten by them. Order Commander Zhou to lead the Shanxi Combat Division to return to Datong Prefecture and set up defenses."

"Yes!" Zanhua followed the army and went out to deliver the order.

About an hour later, Suijun Zanhua came in again.

"What's wrong? Are there any new changes?" Lu Xiangsheng asked.

"Superintendent, I have just received an urgent telegram from the prince from Xiangyang. First, all Category A divisions are quickly expanded to 20,000 men, and Category B divisions are renamed garrison divisions. The Second Division orders you to lead the First Cavalry Division to fight in Shanxi. The first division will recruit five thousand cavalry from the left and right banners of Ordos and go out from the grassland to attack the Manchu and Tatar enemy rear," Zan Hua replied.

"Oh, give me the order quickly!" Lu Xiangsheng said anxiously.

Zan Hua handed over the order he had just received, and Lu Xiangsheng looked at it while planning the route on the map.

After reading the order and thinking for a while, Lu Xiangsheng ordered: "Deploy one cavalry division and one brigade to go out of the grassland to summon the Ordos cavalry. The ten thousand of them will serve as the front army and be responsible for early reconnaissance of the enemy.

The two brigades of Zhou Shishuai were transferred back to Datong City first, and together with the First Cavalry Division, they completed the task of expanding the army by 5,000. The 1st Shanxi Combat Division left a brigade to continue monitoring the movements of the Ming and Qing coalition forces in the Yuzhou area.

After completing the army expansion, the remaining 15,000 men of the 1st Cavalry Division plus the 10,000 men of the two brigades of the 1st Shanxi Division formed the central army of the Tartar Regiment.

The remaining 10,000 people from the Shanxi 1st Division will form the rear army and follow the front army and the middle army, and will be commanded by Commander Zhou. "

"Understood, I will go and deliver the order immediately," Suijun Zanhua responded.

By mid-July.

The First Cavalry Division and the First Shanxi Division had completed their expansion, and the Fugu garrison division sent by Lin Feng to take over Datong's defense arrived first, and they were the closest.

Two days later, the First Mobile Combat Division led by Yang Heng also arrived in Datong City.

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng had already commanded the Tartar Corps to make all preparations before departure. The former army had penetrated more than a hundred miles into the grassland.

After Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Heng handed over the defense of Datong Mansion, they led the Chinese army directly to the grassland. The rear army led by Zhou Rui also headed directly from Yuzhou to the grassland.

After Yang Heng took over the defense of Datong Mansion, he ordered Cao Xiong to lead the renamed Datong garrison division to garrison Datong. He was also responsible for recruiting and training 5,000 people as a reserve army to assist in defending the city.

He himself led the First Mobile Combat Division to the Yuzhou area of ​​Datong Prefecture, preparing to resist the attack of the Ming and Qing coalition forces.

At this time, the Second Henan Combat Division led by Deng Hao was attacking cities and villages, replenishing troops along the way, and had already arrived in the Zhending Mansion area where Mingting's northern combat power was located.

Now the entire southern part of the Ming Dynasty's capital is empty of troops, and because of Lu Xiangsheng, the Zhenming Army has a high prestige in the three prefectures in the south of the capital, so it encounters almost no resistance, and the people warmly welcome them into the city.

Therefore, when they arrived at Zhending Mansion, they barely reduced their numbers, expanding their troops to more than 20,000 people, and also took in about a thousand reserve troops.

Xuanfu, Baoan Prefecture.

Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty, led Wu Shangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, Cao Bianjiao, the commander-in-chief of the ASEAN Association, and an army of 50,000 troops to arrive near Datong Prefecture.

They were preparing to send people to accept the 100,000 new troops that the imperial court had just trained. Suddenly, they received a military report saying that the 100,000 new troops had been defeated by the Zhenming Army.

This was like giving Governor Hong a head-on blow on the spot. He had originally hoped to receive these 100,000 people and rely on his superior strength to compete with the Zhenming Army in northern Shanxi. The hope was dashed before it even started.

Baoan Prefecture, the governor's residence.

Hong Chengchou was convening several generals for a military meeting. He asked a close aide: "How are the defeated troops of the new imperial army being consolidated?"

The staff replied: "This time the court's 100,000 new troops were mainly defeated by the Zhenming Army, and the casualties were not very large. More than 60,000 people have been gathered so far, and some defeated soldiers scattered among the people are also coming back one after another. It is expected that they can be gathered Over seventy thousand.

However, most of these new troops threw away their weapons when they fled, and some even sold them for food without permission. Their current combat effectiveness is quite worrying. "

Hong Chengchou also had a headache after hearing this. The Ming Dynasty was extremely poor, and he, the governor, had no spare money. How could he have the money to equip tens of thousands of people with weapons?

So, he said to Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, "General Yang, how many more people and weapons can your Xuanfu squeeze out?"

"Master Zhu Tai, Xuanfu still has about 20,000 ordnances in stock, but they are all cold weapons and there are very few firearms." Yang Guozhu replied. Xuanfu is a military town and there is still some ordnance in stock.

"Let's bring them out first to equip these new troops, and hurry up before requesting them from the court. The Zhenming Army is strong, and our army must do our best to expand it. The lack of quality can only be made up for by quantity." Hong Chengchou thought in his mind , brought 50,000 main troops from Liaodong, plus 10,000 Xuanfu troops, and reorganized 70,000 new imperial troops. Together with 13 troops, they should be able to fight against the Zhenming Army.

"The general will send someone to mobilize immediately." Yang Guozhu responded.

"Where are Dorgon's Qing troops?" Hong Chengchou continued to ask.

"They have arrived outside Huailaiwei City, about 50 miles south of Baoan Prefecture. They have just asked us for a supply of grain and grass for people, otherwise they will have to get it themselves." Wu Sangui, who is responsible for contacting the Manchus report.

"Didn't these barbarians just give them food and grass in Liaodong when they set out! They asked for another month of food and grass! How greedy!" Hong Chengchou complained, but he did not dare not to give it, so he could only cut down on clothing and diet, squeeze out money and food to give Tatars.

"Master Tai Tai, how should we march into Datong Mansion next?" Cao Bianjiao, the general of the ASEAN Association, asked.

"We will rest in Baoan Prefecture for three days to reorganize the defeated new troops. Each of you three generals will select some capable soldiers to take control of the new army. The governor is considering dividing the new army into three parts and assigning them to you respectively.

So don't be picky about arranging the backbone. Once these new armies are built and strengthened, they will all be at your disposal. "Hong Chengchou knew the nature of the Ming Dynasty's general soldiers, and it would be extremely difficult to get them to support him without any advantage.

"Yes!" the three said happily.

"In addition, some capable new troops will be selected to add to the governor's supervision, and the number will be expanded from 3,000 to 5,000." Hong Chengchou ordered his staff.

The staff took orders.

"Three days later, our imperial army took the northern route from Baoan Prefecture and invaded Datong Prefecture. Contacted Dorgon and led the Qing army to take the southern route, passed through Meiyu and invaded Datong Prefecture. Finally, we joined forces in Datong City to strive to annihilate the forces in northern Shanxi. The main force of the Zhenming Army," Hong Chengchou continued to order.

"Yes!" the generals replied.

Outside Huailai Guard City, the Qing army camp.

"Commander, Prince Yu Duoduo led troops to plunder a village in the Ming Dynasty again. Do you want to remind him of military discipline?" A staff member carefully reported to Prince Rui Dorgon.

"The people of the Ming Dynasty don't dare to say anything about this trivial matter. We Qing warriors are here to help them destroy the Zhenming Army, so naturally we have to relax." Dorgon said disapprovingly.

"Commander, Ming Governor Hong Hongchengchou sent some food and grass, and asked us to take the southern route from Meiyu to attack Datong Mansion, and then join forces in Datong City." The staff continued to report.

Dorgon looked at the very rough map hanging in the tent and said: "It's business to deal with the Zhenming Army. Let the whole army prepare for war immediately and set off tomorrow to march towards Datong Prefecture!"

Wherever the Qing army went, the surrounding villages were in chaos, money and food were robbed, people were killed, and young women were abducted and humiliated.

The government office where he worked was so frightened by the force of the Qing army and the strict orders of the court that he did not dare to say a word.

The people looked up to the sky and sighed:

"What kind of court is this? It's inviting wolves into the house!"

"Oh my god, open your eyes and kill these traitors who are crawling inside and outside!"

"King Zhenming, when will you come to rescue our people!"

……

Several martyr sons, whose families were ruined, and the common people begged and rushed to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to beat drums and complain, but were kicked out of the Yamen by Shuntian Prefecture.

In despair, several people set fire to themselves outside the government office and kept shouting:

"The sky is dead, the Ming Dynasty must die!"

"The sky is dead, the Ming Dynasty must die!"

All the people watching were in tears, and public opinion criticizing the imperial court continued to gather.

At this time, the latest issue of "Zhenming Daily" was widely circulated in the capital and Gyeonggi.

The front-page news published above, "The imperial court lured wolves into the house, and the Tatars ravaged the capital" focused on the tragic story of the people who were massacred by the Tatars, and vigorously criticized the evil government of the imperial court in coordinating with the Manchu Tatars.

The capital was strictly controlled, and the people could only circulate the "Zhenming Daily" privately. When government officials came to inspect, they hurriedly hid it.

In the counties of Gyeonggi Province, especially the counties that had been plundered by the Tatars, in almost every street and teahouse, the people read the proclamations in the newspapers aloud and cursed the imperial court in public.

Seeing the public outrage, county officials from various places did not dare to order the arrest.

Even if I give the order, I guess the government officials won't listen. They still have to live in this county.

The Ming court colluded with the Qing court and lured the Manchu Tatars into the pass to attack the Zhenming Army. The negative consequences continued to show, and it can be said that they lost the support of the people around the capital.

(End of this chapter)