Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 674: The Invincible Lu Xiangsheng

"Brothers! Follow me to kill the enemies!"

"Kill! Kill the enemy!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Li You shouted, and the supervisory team shouted at the same time.

The enemies kept falling to the ground like cut wheat. The fierce bravery of the supervision team instantly frightened the enemy and quickly stabilized the battle situation, allowing the defenders who were almost collapsed just now to regain their confidence.

The enemy's momentum was curbed, and the dozen or so white-armored soldiers in the lead were killed in a few shots by the supervision team. The other enemies were forced to retreat step by step by the supervision team. Seeing this, the morale of the defenders was immediately boosted, and they followed the supervision team to counterattack with all their strength. After a while, dozens of enemy soldiers who broke into the gap were killed, and the rest fled in embarrassment.

After the enemy was defeated, everyone couldn't help but cheer. The look they showed towards Li You and the supervisory team was no longer filled with fear, but with a bit more admiration and closeness.

Similar scenes occurred not only in Xifengkou, but also in the Northeast Highlands. However, unlike Xifengkou, the troops stationed in the Northeast Highlands today were Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army. A battle had already been fought in Dongjiang Town yesterday, and Wang Jinwu deliberately withdrew the troops from Dongjiang Town to rest. He originally planned to have the Shandong Army take over the battle from Dongjiang Town, but Lu Xiangsheng, who had been silent since he arrived at the front line and even ignored Wang Jinwu, took the initiative to stand up and said that his Tianxiong Army would be stationed in the Northeast Highlands today.

Among all the armies involved in this battle, Lu Xiangsheng and his Tianxiong Army was the most special one. First of all, the Tianxiong Army did not belong to the sequence of Ming army officers and soldiers. It was neither a frontier army nor a garrison army. It was just a militia army organized by Lu Xiangsheng in Zhili that year, and its original purpose was to deal with the rebellion of bandits.

Secondly, Lu Xiangsheng was the governor of Huguang, but he did not serve as the governor for long. Before that, he was only the prefect of Daming and the military governor. Because he defeated Gao Yingxiang's troops who intended to go north in Zhili, Emperor Chongzhen specially issued an order to promote Lu Xiangsheng. Because Gao Yingxiang fled eastward and intended to attack southern Zhili, Emperor Chongzhen asked Lu Xiangsheng to lead troops to cooperate with Shandong Governor Xu Xiancheng to fight against the bandits and prevent Gao Yingxiang from crossing the Yangtze River to attack Nanjing.

Afterwards, Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Xiancheng worked together in perfect harmony and defeated Gao Yingxiang's troops south of Yangzhou, forcing Gao Yingxiang to give up his plan to cross the river. They then followed Gao Yingxiang all the way west and finally escaped from the Nanzhili area.

After Gao Yingxiang moved to the Central Plains and once again sneaked into Henan, Xu Xiancheng led his troops back to Shandong because of his garrison. At that time, Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army was unable to enter Henan to pursue him, so he could only lead his Tianxiong Army to Huguang, intending to mobilize troops after entering Huguang to cooperate with Chen Qiuyu to continue to eliminate Gao Yingxiang's troops.

So from these circumstances, although Lu Xiangsheng was the governor of Huguang, he actually never stayed in the position. In particular, after he became the governor, he never stayed in Huguang for a few days, and he was always leading troops outside to fight against bandits.

After Gao Yingxiang was surrounded and intercepted by the Ming army and had no choice but to flee to Sichuan, Lu Xiangsheng planned to return to Huguang. But at this time something happened in the capital. He learned that Zhu Shenzhui had suddenly raised an army in the north, and attacked the capital under the banner of clearing the court and pacifying the national crisis. The court ordered all places to come to the defense of the country. How could Lu Xiangsheng, who had always been loyal to the court, sit idly by? He immediately led his Tianxiong Army to the capital day and night, and did not dare to delay at all despite the dusty journey.

But the problem was that Lu Xiangsheng had just arrived in Henan and had not yet entered northern Zhili when a shocking piece of news came from the court.

The imperial court issued a decree that because Emperor Chongzhen was unable to handle state affairs due to health reasons, the government was temporarily under the regentship of Prince Jiaocheng Zhu Shenzhu. Zhu Shenzhu's regent status was based not only on the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen, but also on the imperial decree of Empress Dowager Li, as well as the approval and ratification of the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department, which was issued in writing by the imperial court and was legally impeccable.

However, Lu Xiangsheng saw clearly what was going on. He knew that the situation in the Ming Dynasty had changed. With Zhu Shenzhu's entry into the capital, Emperor Chongzhen and the entire court fell into Zhu Shenzhu's hands. Zhu Shenzhu now held the emperor hostage to control the princes. His actions were no different from Cao Cao's. As for the title of regent and the so-called imperial edict, who was the one who issued it? Need we say more?

In addition to this imperial edict, there was also an order for the troops stationed in various places to return to their garrisons. In addition, a series of edicts to appease local government offices were also issued one after another.

Lu Xiangsheng, who had always been upright in character, sneered at this. In his opinion, these were nothing more than Zhu Shencui's tricks. Moreover, when Zhu Shencui issued the decree, he did not forget to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. He directly attacked several troops that had entered Zhili to support the king. When the other party was hesitant or still intended to support the king, he suddenly sent troops. With absolute advantage, he eliminated the threat of these troops to the capital, and also dealt with the officials and generals who led the troops.

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng was in a dilemma. Especially after most of the officials in Henan expressed their obedience to the court and appeased the local area after receiving the imperial edict, Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army was in an awkward situation. If he continued to serve the king, not to mention that he would not have the upper hand in legal terms, he would directly violate the order of the court. Even if Lu Xiangsheng insisted on his own way, he could not leave, because the king's service was hasty, and his army did not bring much food and grass. All the way north, he relied on the allocation of local officials. But now that the local officials have expressed their obedience to the court, it is naturally impossible to give him food and grass. Without food and grass, what would his Tianxiong Army eat? Not to mention fighting.

Even if he wanted to withdraw to Huguang, it would be impossible. Lu Xiangsheng did not expect that the court would give him an edict in less than two days. This edict removed him from the post of Governor of Huguang, but retained his post as Right Censor-in-Chief. In addition, the court asked Lu Xiangsheng to stay in place and wait for the court's other arrangements. Faced with this situation, Lu Xiangsheng could not even go back to Huguang, and had no choice but to stay where he was.

Lu Xiangsheng was suddenly in an awkward situation, not knowing how the court or Zhu Shenzhu would treat him next. Logically, Lu Xiangsheng was very dissatisfied with Zhu Shenzhu. In his view, the relationship between the emperor and his subjects was that of a father and son. Zhu Shenzhu, as a member of the royal family, dared to imprison the emperor and establish himself as a regent to control the government. He was simply a traitor.

But as a scholar and an official, Lu Xiangsheng was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and had the ideal ambition to save the Ming Dynasty, quell rebellions and revive the country. Moreover, Lu Xiangsheng did not have a good impression of Emperor Chongzhen. He naturally understood that Emperor Chongzhen was not a wise ruler, and that Emperor Chongzhen should bear most of the responsibility for the Ming Dynasty's current state.

But what can a minister do? The idea of ​​monarch, minister, father and son is deeply rooted in Lu Xiangsheng's heart. Even if he is dissatisfied, he still insists on being loyal to the emperor, the court, and the Ming Dynasty. This complicated mentality makes Lu Xiangsheng very distressed and even a little at a loss.

Just when Lu Xiangsheng stayed in Henan, not knowing where his future would go, the court suddenly issued another imperial edict. After receiving this imperial edict, Lu Xiangsheng could not believe his eyes, because this imperial edict actually transferred Lu Xiangsheng to the north.

The meaning of the imperial edict was very clear. The court received a secret report that Huang Taiji in Liaodong had sent troops again, and this time he planned to repeat the old trick and attack the Ming Dynasty through Mongolia again. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world, the court decided to take the initiative to send troops to fight Huang Taiji in Jizhou. Zhu Shenzhu ordered Lu Xiangsheng to take his Tianxiong Army to Jizhou Town day and night and join Wang Jinwu's command to participate in the battle.

After receiving the imperial edict, Lu Xiangsheng was shocked and pondered for a long time. After consideration, he decided to put aside other things for the time being and repel the foreign enemies first. As the saying goes, to stabilize the country, you must first resist foreign aggression. Now the Jiannu are eyeing the Ming Dynasty covetously and intend to invade the Ming Dynasty again. Facing foreign enemies, how can he, Lu Xiangsheng, sit idly by?

As for the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty, whether it was Zhu Shenzhui's position as regent or other matters, they would be discussed after the foreign enemies were defeated. In any case, the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty would be solved by the Ming Dynasty itself, but they must unite in the face of foreign enemies. This was also the decision in Lu Xiangsheng's mind.

Lu Xiangsheng immediately replied to the court, saying that he was willing to lead the troops north. Then he led the Tianxiong Army all the way north to Jizhou.

After arriving in Jizhou, Lu Xiangsheng met Wang Jinwu. At this time, he already knew who Wang Jinwu was. Because of Emperor Chongzhen, he naturally would not be kind to Wang Jinwu. However, Lu Xiangsheng was a person who took the overall situation into consideration. Even with a powerful enemy at hand, he would not quarrel with the commander-in-chief because of himself.

Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng and his Tianxiong Army were the most special army in this battle, but even so, Wang Jinwu did not treat Lu Xiangsheng differently. Not only did he treat them equally, but he also specially invited Lu Xiangsheng to discuss the battle.

Faced with such an attitude, Lu Xiangsheng did not give up even if he could not stand Wang Jinwu, and did not do anything to hinder him. In yesterday's battle, Lu Xiangsheng paid close attention to the battlefield situation in the rear, especially after learning about the battle situation and arrangements on the front line, Lu Xiangsheng still had some admiration for Wang Jinwu. In his opinion, Wang Jinwu was a man who was valued so much by Zhu Shenzhui and allowed to command the entire army. He was indeed a capable person.

Since they were united against the outside world, Lu Xiangsheng could not stand idly by. In addition, he was very confident in his Tianxiong Army and believed that his ability to lead troops in battle was no less than that of others. So after the battle yesterday, when Wang Jinwu was preparing to replace the Dongjiang Town troops stationed on the northeastern highlands with the Shandong Army, Lu Xiangsheng stood up without hesitation and took the initiative to ask for his Tianxiong Army to fight the next day.

Facing Lu Xiangsheng's determination, Wang Jinwu agreed to his request after consideration, and also asked Sun Yuanhua's firearms unit to cooperate with the Tianxiong Army in defense. In this way, the battle of Northeast Highlands on the second day was fought by the Qing Army and the Tianxiong Army. After taking over the defense, Lu Xiangsheng personally went to the front line to command the Tianxiong Army and the elite Qing Army in a fierce battle.

When the battle was at its most intense, Lu Xiangsheng saw that the Qing army sent out white-armored soldiers to break through the defense line, so Lu Xiangsheng immediately rushed forward with his personal guards, holding a broadsword.

Although Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army is not as good as the new army supervision team led by Li You, the problem is that Lu Xiangsheng's personal fighting power is strong!

Although Lu Xiangsheng was a genuine Jinshi and a serious scholar, his personal martial arts skills were among the best in the world today. In a one-on-one fight, Wang Jinwu would probably not be Lu Xiangsheng's opponent. You have to know that the big knife in Lu Xiangsheng's hand weighs 140 kilograms, and it is like a wheel when it is swung. Anyone who is touched by it will be injured or killed. Even the white-armored soldiers wearing heavy armor are no match for Lu Xiangsheng. One blow from him can tear their armor apart, and his momentum is unstoppable.

(End of this chapter)