Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 235: Very Open (Two Chapters in One)

The appearance of the Qing army's vanguard in Jinzhou meant that the Beiwei army was defeated and there was no one left to stop the Tartars' southward advance.

However, the time bought by the Beiwei Army at the cost of their lives was not in vain. Tens of thousands of civilians were resettled south of Jinzhou, and reinforcements from other sources also arrived in southern Liaoning one after another.

Even if we cannot defend the areas outside Jinzhou and Lushun, it is more than enough to recover the many islands along the coast of southern Liaoning.

At this time, the total number of government troops in Jinzhou and Lushun exceeded 20,000, and this number was still growing slowly.

Civilian ships dispatched under the order of Governor Li of the Black Flag Camp also arrived in Dengzhou one after another, providing daily necessities for tens of thousands of refugees.

Countless Liao people spontaneously joined the army, hoping to return to their hometown in Liaodong as soon as possible.

This scene of military-civilian cooperation and the flourishing of all things brought tears to one's eyes. Chen Jinghe also felt that the recovery of Liaodong was in sight.

It's a pity that the times are different now. The originally smooth battle to recover Liao was ruined by a group of fools who underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and the Beiwei Army was forced to risk their lives to contain the Jiannu.

Damn those stupid teammates!
Marshal Zhang and his deputy marshals may have died in the chaos, or they may have been captured by the slave chief and tortured day and night, and then corrupted with money and beauties to force them to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

Those elite soldiers may have also suffered tortures that ordinary people could not bear, and finally had to shave their heads and surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and finally turned against the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Jinghe felt it was a pity. The Beiwei Army had great potential. Their prestige among the Liao people was growing, and it would be easy for them to permanently control Liaodong...

Chen Jinghe was still hoping that the Beiwei Army could escape back by boat.

As long as the Beiwei Army can keep one or two thousand elite soldiers, it will be able to recover to its peak condition in time.

It’s a pity that the few brave warriors who dared to fight were trampled to pieces by the Tartars.

The spark of "Recovering Liaodong" was extinguished. Chen Jinghe thought in despair that even if the gods came down to earth to help, Liaodong could not be recovered...

But the dream shattered too quickly. Before Chen Jinghe had time to enjoy everything he had longed for, reality hit him hard and woke him up.

It has been decades since we have found such brave soldiers who dared to fight the Tartars in the field. He hoped that God would give him another chance, the opportunity to meet a "wise leader" and recover Liao.

Dignity and freedom are gone. Chen Jinghe is now facing a major test in his life. The choice between life and death is waiting for him.

The news of the Tartars' southward advance spread throughout Jinzhou, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were so frightened that they continued to flee south.

Some people also persuaded Chen Jinghe to escape together, but he refused.

When the Tartars reached Shenyang, he fled. When the Tartars pursued him to Gaizhou, he fled again. When the Tartars captured Fuzhou, Jinzhou, and Lushun, carrying out massacres one after another, he still fled.

Now he led his troops to fight back with the Beiwei Army, recovering hundreds of miles of mountains and rivers along the way.

Although the Beiwei Army was destroyed by their stupid teammates and the lost territories they recovered were snatched away one by one by the Tatars, he did not plan to leave this time.

A real man will eventually have to endure enough humiliation to get to the end. This time, even if he is the only one defending the city, he will fight to the last moment.

More than 10,000 government troops escorted the people to continue fleeing south, but not only Chen Jinghe and his troops remained in Jinzhou, but also Lou Ting, who was promoted to the general of Dengzhou.

Chen Jinghe was quite surprised. He didn't expect that in addition to the Liaodong official army, there were people willing to stay and face the main force of the Qing Dynasty.

The two men were dozens of steps apart on the wall, but they smiled at each other silently, and both admired each other's ambition to "die".

The Ming Dynasty is not without soldiers who dare to fight.

The Tatar vanguard arrived in Jinzhou a long time ago, and the subsequent main forces also arrived one after another. Nearly 100,000 infantry and cavalry almost covered the entire land outside the city.

Even though Chen Jinghe was prepared to fight to the death, his arms trembled and his legs became weak.

"Raise the flag!" The black flag with a white border was raised high.

Although the owner of this flag has been destroyed, Chen Jinghe hopes to continue fighting with the will of the Beiwei Army.

Even if the 6,000 government troops left in Jinzhou cannot stop the Qing Dynasty for half a day, they will use blood and fire to tell the Tartars that the abandoned people of Liaodong have not given up on recovering their homeland!

Perhaps the Tartars had no intention of attacking Jinzhou from the beginning, or perhaps the black flag raised high on the wall had an unexpected effect.

Nearly 100,000 Tartars retreated one after another, heading towards Hongzui, Guifu, and Xiaojiaguan, leaving only 10,000 to 20,000 troops to monitor the Jinzhou defenders.

The Tartars did not completely surround Jinzhou, but instead sent their bondservants to dig a trench to block the road, as if to cover the rear of the main army and resist the powerful enemy.

The mouse was frightened when it saw the cat, and the cat was also frightened?
Who is afraid of whom?
"What happened?"

Chen Jinghe and Lou Ting looked at each other, and both saw puzzled expressions reflected in each other's eyes.

Since the Tartars went south to Jinzhou, it meant that the Beiwei Army had been destroyed. Why didn’t the Tartars quickly take back more “lost territory”?
If the Tartars wanted to recapture southern Liaoning first, they should have sent their main force to attack the main fortress of Jinzhou, while their auxiliary forces should have swept through the surrounding fortresses and camps.

The Tatars' fighting style is puzzling, and they always look like a defeated general desperately looking for a way out.

However, the Tatar army's way out is through Gaizhou, so why should they go around Xiaojiaguan, which is a long road that stretches for thousands of miles and is surrounded by mountains.

Unless some terrifying existence blocks the shortcut back to the north, the Tartars will be forced to take the long way and risk walking through the mountains.

Chen Jinghe thought of the Beiwei Army for a moment, but quickly dismissed the idea.

The Beiwei Army sent out a total of 4,200 elite soldiers. How could such a small number of people stop the Tartars who came out in full force?
Not only did the 4,200 people survive, but they also forced the 100,000 Tartars to find another way out. Just thinking about this "possibility" made Chen Jinghe feel that he was daydreaming. He was going crazy wanting to recover Liao and go home.

It was too horrifying that four thousand people defeated one hundred thousand. Unless every member of the Beiwei Army was born with extraordinary strength and could defeat a hundred people alone, how could they possibly defeat one hundred thousand Tartars?

Could it be that the government troops from Jinzhou attacked Liaozhong and sent people to block Gaizhou?

Chen Jinghe boldly inferred that the Beiwei Army might not have been completely destroyed.

The remaining Beiwei troops fled to Haizhou and joined forces with the main force of Jinzhou. Together they defeated the Nu chieftain's personal expeditionary force, forcing the Nu chieftain to take a detour back to Liao.

In this way, the hope of recovering Liao has not been completely shattered, and the Beiwei Army will have a day to regroup!
With an uneasy mood, Chen Jinghe waited quietly for a day.

He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the main force of the Tatars and the rearguard troops completely disappeared from his sight and the threat of death was finally lifted.

At this moment, more than ten cavalrymen suddenly rushed from the south, several of them holding high black flags.

Chen Jinghe suddenly felt a premonition that was about to burst out, and he didn't know whether it was good or bad.

The news at this time was either that more reinforcements had arrived in Lushun, or other official documents from the court to mobilize troops.

His heart was pounding, and it seemed as if the executioner's sword was hovering above his head, waiting for the order from the executioner to cut off his head.

The leading rider quickly rushed into the wide-open city gate, and as soon as he entered the city, he waved the black-bordered battle flag vigorously and made a loud announcement.

Great victory at Xiongyueyi!
The 4,200 Beiwei soldiers recruited a group of "surrendered soldiers" and accumulated 6,000 men to repel the Tatar attacks four times in a row, successfully forcing the chieftain to turn back north...

Beiwei Army!
Chen Jinghe was shocked to hear the name of his "idol", and the figure of the main force of the Tatars who had just passed by his face verified this exaggerated news.

Ahhhhh!
Chen Jinghe felt like he was about to suffocate with excitement.

The Beiwei Army actually won!

Relying on the 6,000 men they had gathered from various sources, they boldly ran to the rear of the main force of the Tartars and set up a camp to hold their ground. Not only did they resist the Tartar grain transport team heading south from Gaizhou, they also defeated the invincible slave chieftain who personally led the expedition!
Those were not 100,000 Tartars, but a full 130,000 Tartars.

The Beiwei Army, with only 6,000 men, dared to confront 130,000 Tartars head-on, and not only that, they also won the final victory.

This is a miracle!

At that time, all the soldiers and civilians thought that the Beiwei Army had embarked on a dead end, but the Beiwei Army proved themselves with their actions that they could really fight ten Tartars with one.

One black man can defeat five captives, which is outdated. Now it’s one black man can defeat ten captives!

I believe that those civil officials who have always despised and suppressed warriors must have been shocked when they heard about the great victory at Xiongyueyi, and would have doubted the authenticity of the victory.

The more self-righteous a scholar is, the more difficult it is for him to accept the achievements of others he despises, as if this will destroy the noble person's good self-image.

However, this suspicion is meaningless, because the fact witnessed by thousands of officers and soldiers in Jinzhou is the best proof that the Tartars took a detour!
"Hahahahahaha!"

Chen Jinghe felt extremely happy when he thought that the Beiwei Army not only did not collapse, but instead won a great victory that shocked the court and the country.

The Beiwei Army avenged their anger on behalf of all the dead and living Liao people.

Not only did they win a bloody battle, they also had enough time to send people by boat to Liaozhong and Xiaojiaguan to make the next strategic deployment.

Who says the Liao people only have the three Shunwang rebels from Dongjiang Town? Who says the Liao people can't kill the enemy with great enthusiasm!

As long as the Tartars retreat hundreds of miles, he can lead his troops north to support the Beiwei Army and return to their homeland with them!
It’s time to go home. Liaodong, which has been lost for more than ten years, is right in front of us!
Ah ah ah ah ah!
Chen Jinghe's brain was trembling. If he wasn't surrounded by a group of personal soldiers, he would probably dance to celebrate on the spot.

The Liaodong soldiers who were also stationed in Jinzhou raised their arms and shouted, holding high the black-rimmed flags, and ran around the wall freely.

While shouting the names of the Beiwei Army, they were like happy children running after kites in spring.

The Beiwei Army is the role model of the Liao people! They are the heroes of the Liao people! They are the future of the Liao people!
Although alcohol was prohibited in the army, Chen Jinghe couldn't help but open a jar and have a few drinks with his personal soldiers.

He held the wine glass tightly and clinked glasses with his personal soldiers one by one. The wine in the glass reflected excitement, emotion, homesickness, and tears of sweetness after bitterness.

He gripped the wine glass tightly and drank it all, happy that he had grasped the future of Fu Liao!
……

In the empty and silent Yangxin Palace, eunuchs and palace maids stood quietly in various places in the palace, waiting to be summoned by the emperor at any time.

It was already night, and the candlelight in the hall flickered, reflecting Zhu Youjian's furrowed brow and the anger in his eyes.

Bad news was sent back to the center one by one——

The beggar bandits have seized prefectures and counties again. The prefectures and counties of Shaanxi are in urgent need of relief money and food due to drought. The Yao rebellion in Guangdong and Guangxi is becoming increasingly difficult to control...

Even though Li Aiqing, who was firmly in power in southern Henan, achieved another great victory - he personally led the army to fight several fierce battles with the "Eternal Thieves", and finally recaptured the four counties of Macheng, Huangan, Huangpi and Luotian, and stabilized the situation in Huangzhou Prefecture, it was overshadowed by the series of negative news.

Perhaps it was Li's unwavering success that had raised Zhu Youjian's expectations of him, and reclaiming a few counties was no longer enough to excite him. He always felt that Li Aiqing should be able to do more.

It seems that the top student can clearly get full marks, but he is stuck at 95 points and cannot make any progress, which makes both the teacher and the parents dissatisfied.

Even worse are the rebels and the Western bandits.

The western bandits who rebelled again at the beginning of the year have become increasingly powerful. Recently, they suddenly jumped out of the encirclement woven by Lu Xiangsheng and rushed into Huguang, breaking through several prefectures and counties.

Prince Rong of Changde was killed, but Prince Ji of Changsha ran fast and took refuge in Prince Gui's mansion, thus escaping the disaster.

Zhu Youjian could allow the princes to temporarily take refuge elsewhere due to force majeure, but he could not tolerate his subjects losing their close vassal states.

He immediately ordered Lu Xiangsheng to be removed from all his posts and arrested him in the capital to be punished. He also ordered Ding Qirui to encircle and suppress the beggars while also pursuing the roaming western bandits.

The great victories in Lushun and Jinzhou interspersed among the bad news made Zhu Youjian feel relieved. At least the state affairs in the world were not too bad. God would always give him a piece of honey candy after giving him a few blows.

The Beiwei Army's successive victories meant that the Ming Dynasty had another powerful army available, and Zhu Youjian no longer had to rely solely on Li Aiqing.

Although the Beiwei Army also originated from the Black Flag Camp, the commander and his soldiers had been separated for a long time, and were mixed with Liao troops recruited from Shandong, so the traces of the Black Flag Camp had long been erased.

It is human nature to "prefer to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix". Since the commander-in-chief of the Beiwei Army has become an "independent" general, there is no need for him to shamelessly run back to be a "dog" for the Black Flag Camp.

Besides, the Beiwei Army was paid by the imperial court, so they should obey the imperial court.

The country had two elite and brave warriors, forming the left and right ends that restrained each other and stabilized the order of the Ming Dynasty.

This is a blessing for the Zhu family and for all people.

However, it seemed as if God could not bear to see Zhu Youjian happy, and bad news came like summer hail.

Jinzhou was surrounded by the Nu chieftains, the Liaonan government troops were suddenly ambushed and defeated, the Beiwei army embarked on the official road where their life and death were uncertain, and the rebels revived again.

The rebels broke away from the coalition of bandits and hid in northern Sichuan. Recently, they took advantage of the lack of troops in southern Shaanxi to break through Hanzhong and kill King Rui's family.

The rebels used the wealth of the princes to deceive the people. They already had 3,000 elite soldiers and 20,000 followers, and were attacking the prefectures and counties of Fengxiang.

The beggars in the Central Plains have not been eliminated, and the bandits in southern Shaanxi have risen again!
Damn!

Zhu Youjian secretly cursed the incompetence of Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three border areas, and wanted to arrest him and bring him to the capital to be punished on the charge of "losing the vassal state", but then he changed his mind and thought that he had punished too many governors and governors recently.

Hong Chengchou, who came to Jinzhou to provide assistance, was demoted by one level, and the governor of Liaodong was directly dismissed by him. Lu Xiangsheng had not yet been arrested and brought to the capital.

If he continues to punish in this way, I'm afraid there will be no one left to use.

So he allowed Zheng Chongjian to make amends for his crime and pacify the rebels within three months, and then cooperate with other government troops to encircle and suppress the beggars.

After reviewing today's memorials, Zhu Youjian lay depressedly on the throne with his eyes closed, resting, and occasionally letting out a helpless sigh.

All the civil and military officials in the court were included, and they finally found two useful talents in the Black Flag Camp and the Beiwei Army, but they were impeached day and night by a bunch of good-for-nothings.

They said the Black Flag Camp and the Beiwei Army were arrogant and lawless, plundering the gentry, interfering with county affairs, gathering for fornication, and intercepting local taxes...

Zhu Youjian kept all these impeachments in his pocket and did not issue them.

Nowadays, there are not many warriors who can rob money, have affairs with women, avoid killing innocent people and make real contributions to the country. Most of them take the money and food but do nothing and continue to harm the people.

The more "trouble" the Black Flag Camp and the Beiwei Army caused, the more peacefully he slept.

Li Aiqing has not yet married a wife and only has a concubine who sleeps with him. The fact that he is not interested in sex is enough to make Zhu Youjian sweat.

Which general doesn’t have a group of wives and concubines around him?
Li Aiqing only has one woman by his side, which is no different from "not pursuing sex".

Zhu Youjian would rather see Li Aiqing be an arrogant, greedy, lustful and powerful general who can make great achievements than see him be pure and unselfish.

He was eager to pick a decent princess from Uncle Wang's family to marry Li Aiqing.

In this way, the Zhu and Li families became relatives, and their offspring could continue to serve the Ming Dynasty.

But he found it difficult to start this matter for a while, as he didn't know which uncle had a daughter who was ready to get married.

Age, appearance, alertness, and moral character all need to be considered one by one.

Of course, a princess must be the legal wife, and it is impossible for her to be a concubine to a military man.

Zhu Youjian thought about it and decided to send someone to collect some beauties. He heard that Qinhuai Skinny Horse was very beautiful, so he let the Governor-General of Nanzhili do this job.

However, it was too embarrassing to tell others about his ministers' exploitation of women, so Zhu Youjian planned to let his trusted eunuchs convey a few oral instructions. As for whether the Governor-General of Southern Zhili would do it or not, and whether he did it well or not, that was not a big deal.

If a few beauties can be successfully obtained, they will be handed over to experienced palace maids for training, and finally sent to Li Aiqing to corrupt his "ambitions". Secondly, they can also act as "mouthpieces" to report Li Aiqing's every move.

Apart from their "shortcomings" of being less greedy for money and less lustful, the Black Flag Battalion, as military men, interfered with county politics and withheld local finances and taxes, and they indeed deserve some attention.

Although the status of military men rose, they were ultimately unable to interfere in local government affairs.

If you allow military generals to seize financial power, administrative power, and personnel power, and your trusted and beloved generals become military governors and vassal statesmen, it will be too late to regret.

However, Zhu Youjian was unwilling to listen to the impeachment alone, so he still wanted to send some soldiers to southern Henan to investigate.

Alas, these were just random thoughts in his mind.

National affairs are difficult and chaos is frequent.

The two pillars of the country are now suffering disasters. One suffered heavy losses in repeated battles with the Changsheng bandits in southern Henan, and the other encountered the main force of the Tartar army in southern Liaoning and his life is uncertain.

It should have been time for a midnight snack, but Zhu Youjian was in a state of melancholy and confusion and could not swallow a single grain of rice.

Just as he was feeling tired and was about to go to bed, Zhu Youjian suddenly heard Wang Chengen's familiar joyful voice.

"Your Majesty is so happy!"

The shout startled the eunuchs and palace maids on guard so much that they shuddered all over. Several of them closed their eyes and dozed off, almost falling down.

Zhu Youjian looked eagerly at the palace gate, and seeing Wang Chengen's smiling face, he rushed up to him and knelt down.

Could it be that Li Aiqing captured the bandit leader?

"Read!"

Zhu Youjian suddenly felt a sense of pleasure condensed into a piece of honey candy hanging in front of his eyes, waiting for him to put it in his mouth and taste it.

Wang Chengen knelt on the ground, carefully opened the victory report, and read it aloud in a rhythmic manner. The eunuchs and palace maids beside him were also very excited and pricked up their ears to listen secretly -

The Beiwei Army in southern Liao fought bravely and cut off the retreat of the Eastern Tartars with only 6,000 brave soldiers.

The commander-in-chief of the Beiwei Army, Zhang Xianzhong, the deputy commander-in-chief, He Lusi, the lieutenant general Wang Tutu, and the lieutenant general Hong Xiuqing... were extremely brave and suffered thirteen wounds. Their battle robes were almost stained with blood, but they still fought bravely. The soldiers of the Beiwei Army fought with their lives and fought bloody battles for several days and nights.

The soldiers had eaten up all their food and weapons, and could only drink dew to quench their thirst, eat the flesh of the enemy to satisfy their hunger, and continue fighting with the captured Eastern enemy weapons and armor.

The Eastern Tartars were ferocious and brave, and at one point they broke through the Beiwei Army's positions. It was only when a group of brave soldiers wrapped themselves in gunpowder, rushed into the enemy camp and detonated the gunpowder, sacrificing their lives, that they were able to repel the Eastern Tartars' fierce attack.

Before these fearless warriors rushed into the enemy camp and committed suicide by exploding, they were all shouting, "Long live the Emperor," "We are infinitely loyal to the Emperor," "Loyalty that is not absolute is absolutely disloyalty," and "Fight for the Emperor"...

Reading this, Wang Chengen felt as if he was on the battlefield himself, seeing the brave and fearless soldiers voluntarily sacrificing their lives and blowing themselves up for the Ming Dynasty and for victory, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Loyal minister! Loyal minister!"

Zhu Youjian's eyes were red and his vision gradually became blurred. He could even hear the eunuchs and palace maids sobbing softly.

It turned out that everyone was moved by the heroic deeds of the Beiwei Army.

This emperor must be referring to him, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian did not expect that the Beiwei Army were shouting "Long live the emperor" before they died.

What a loyal warrior he is, even more loyal than the Black Flag Battalion!
The great victory in southern Liaoning is truly a blessing for the Ming Dynasty and the world!
Zhu Youjian lowered his head and examined his hands and feet.

Why was this "Emperor" as the Beiwei Army called him hiding in the palace? Why couldn't he lead the army in person like the Nu chieftain?!

He wanted to go to the front line of the battlefield in person and listen to the Beiwei Army shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
Wang Chengen, with tears in his voice, continued to recite the heroic deeds of the Beiwei Army.

After a bloody battle, they did not even want to rest, but instead went deep into Liaozhong to seize the entire Liaodong Plain for the emperor.

Recover Liaodong! Recover Liaodong! Recover Liaodong!

Zhu Youjian seemed to hear their thunderous shouts.

Loyalty, too loyalty, even Zhu Youjian felt that such loyalty could not be rewarded with worldly things.

The soldiers of the Beiwei Army paid countless blood and finally repelled more than 100,000 Eastern Tartars, beheading 43,215 of them in battle.

"More than 40,000 heads!"

When Zhu Youjian heard the specific results of the battle, he suddenly stood up and wanted to get closer.

As a result, he was so excited that he tripped over the imperial desk and fell forward, with his forehead hitting the ground hard and leaving a cut.

Blood was gushing out of the wound, and Wang Chengen and the other eunuchs and palace maids were so scared that they rushed over.

"Quick! Send the imperial doctor!"

Zhu Youjian, who was helped up by Wang Chengen, did not feel any pain. He had a happy and silly smile on his face, as if he had fallen and hurt his brain.

(End of this chapter)