Near Zhuozhou, on the vast North China Plain, a mighty army was walking. At this time, the wind was biting, and as December entered the end of the year, the weather in the north of the Ming Dynasty became colder and colder. However, the soldiers of this army were still in high spirits and marched with great strides. Even though most of the entire army was on foot, they were marching. The speed is still very fast.
I saw the army's lieutenants marching in a line-up formation that was rare in this era. On the left and right, in front and behind, there were Yebushou who were scattered dozens of miles away, riding horses whizzing by everywhere. Behind is the banner of the Chinese army, followed by the cavalry of the brigade. Behind them were soldiers marching neatly, each in a row of ten. The bright red flags of the team officers and flag captains in front of each team and each flag were fluttering in the wind. Everyone held their heads high, with proud expressions on their faces, as if no one in the world could stop their progress.
This time Liu Yan led his troops to help Julu, but Liu Yan did not lead his troops straight to Julu. One is because Lu Xiangsheng's troops have not yet arrived at Julu. According to time calculation, they are also halfway to Julu at this time. Furthermore, Julu is now surrounded by Qing troops. Although Liu Yan's more than 3,000 troops are powerful, the Qing troops are not in vain, not to mention that they still have an advantage in strength.
So Liu Yan made some calculations and estimated that Lu Xiangsheng's troops should still be in Zhuozhou and Baoding, heading south to Julu, so Liu Yan led his troops to detour north and come towards Lu Xiangsheng's troops, preparing to meet with Lu Xiangsheng's troops first. division, and then went to Julu to join the battle together.
At this time, Liu Yan was riding on a maroon horse and looked around the desolate wilderness. When he left Shandong, he was robbed by Qing soldiers everywhere. At this time, there were no people around, even if he saw Some village fortresses were either emitting light smoke or the residents abandoned them and fled.
In these areas, except for some fields around the cities and villages, the rest is an endless stretch of dry and flat yellow land. The rivers that can be seen are almost dry, and when the wind blows, dust rises all over the sky.
This place was supposed to be a place where shisha smoke curled up and houses were adjacent to each other. There were originally many villages in the surrounding area. However, after the Qing Dynasty, there was deathly silence everywhere, with broken houses and tiles, and scorched earth everywhere, just like the twilight of the apocalypse.
In a place like this, there is no need to talk about raising food and grass. Fortunately, my army brought a lot of food and rice during this trip. At least for these three months, thousands of soldiers will have nothing to worry about.
Liu Yan looked at the densely packed baggage trains and the five Tiger Gun artillery carts behind the guard post, with a look of satisfaction on his face. These baggage trains are the lifeline of his army. Of course, since most of the army's officers and men walked, it inevitably slowed down the march of the army. However, calculating the speed, the Xiahezhai new army under his command must move faster than Lu Xiangsheng's troops, so it should not be a problem to catch up with Lu Xiangsheng's troops.
It's just that it is no longer an internal march. Although it is within the territory of Beizhili, under the current situation, it can be regarded as going deep into the enemy's territory. It may encounter the Qing army at any time. Therefore, after Liu Yan's army left Shandong, They only walked sixty miles a day, and then set up camp to rest in order to maintain the strength of the army. The result of this was that the soldiers of the new army in Xiahe Village walked for two days on the more than 120 miles from Shandong to Zhuozhou.
The main force of the Qing army crossed Shandong in late October, captured Zhuozhou, and then divided into three groups to besiege Baoding. After the attack failed, they crossed Baoding and divided into eight groups and headed south. Therefore, in the past few days since Liu Yan left Shandong, he did not encounter large groups of enemies on the road. Qing army. I only occasionally encountered some small groups of Qing cavalry or sentry scouts, and were immediately besieged by the Xiahe Village's new army of Ye Bu Shu and cavalry. The journey was relatively smooth.
Along the way, Liu Yan calculated that after leading his troops through Zhuozhou, he would reach Baoding and meet up with Lu Xiangsheng's troops in another two or three days.
The army marched for another two days before finally entering the territory of Baoding Prefecture. It was not too far away from Baoding Prefecture City.
At this time, Baoding City was the location of the Fucheng and Baoding Town. Baoding City was more than ten miles in circumference. The city walls were very high and thick. There were four gates in the city, all of which were built with urns. Baoding City was square when it was built. However, because the southwest of the city protrudes hundreds of meters outward and is slightly arc-shaped, and it is straight to the north, it is shaped like a boot. Baoding City is also known as the Boot City.
In the town, there is a governor who is the governor of Baoding and other prefectures, the admiral of Zijing and other customs, and the governor who is also in charge of rivers. There are also tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from Baoding Fengying and other battalions, working together to defend this majestic city, which is known as the most important town in the world and protects Shenjing.
But at this time, under the majestic city, there were bloodstains everywhere, and not far from the city, there were also destroyed chariots and long ladders. The blue brick city walls were covered with scars, and many areas of the city towers had been burned. It turned out that the residents of many villages and towns around the city were also destroyed by the war, and the residents fled.
A few miles south of the city, not far from Qingyuan County, there was a tent set up. Outside the Chinese army tent, Lu Xiangsheng remained motionless, looking at the high Baoding City on the horizon, feeling extremely angry. He led his army to come to the rescue and relieved the siege of Baoding. Unexpectedly, the Qing troops retreated, but Zhang Qiping, the governor of Baoding, closed the city gate tightly and refused to let any of his troops enter the city. He even refused to provide food and grass on the grounds that there was no food in the city, and only ordered People threw thousands of taels of silver from the city and asked their army to buy food.
What's funny is that after the Qing Dynasty, all the villages and towns around Baoding City were deserted. Where could they buy food?
Lu Xiangsheng felt sad and angry at this time. He thought that when he led more than 10,000 officers and soldiers from Xuandasan Town out of the capital, there was already extremely insufficient food and grass. The soldiers were hungry and cold. They only hoped to have a full meal after arriving in Baoding, but they could not even get this small None of the wishes are fulfilled.
Now the remaining food and grass in the army can only allow the soldiers to eat one meal of porridge every day. Today, Lu Xiangsheng ordered his soldiers to dig up bark and grass roots. He never expected that this would be the result of his passion.
Lu Xiangsheng shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers every day these days. Although the soldiers complained, no one escaped. The more he thought about this, the more heartbroken Lu Xiangsheng became. He has already written to the Ministry of War, requesting supplies of food and grass. But after a long time, the memorial was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any response.
Looking at Baoding City in the distance, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly had a poem in his mind: "I am walking to Baozhou Fortress, and the Yuhe River is straight to the east. The mountains and rivers are still alive, how beautiful the beauty is. Look at me as a prisoner in a car, and the fierce wind turns. Autumn canopy. The petals are fragrant and I want to worship. I feel melancholy in the sky."
This was Wen Tianxiang's emotion when he was plundered by Hu Yuan and brought to Baoding City. Although Baoding City was beautiful and had the color of Jiangnan, it was the same as Wen Tianxiang back then. At this time, Lu Xiangsheng's heart was equally gloomy. The beautiful scenery in his eyes was no longer the same as before. Kind intention.
While Lu Xiangsheng was lost in thought, suddenly his general Chen An came over and whispered: "Master Governor, Yang Zanhua is back."
Lu Xiangsheng was refreshed, and he sent Yang Tinglin, a painter of praise, to the Qingyuan County Food Committee, wondering what good news there would be.
Yang Tinglin is nearly fifty years old. He has the aloofness of a scholar in his demeanor, and has a large beard that hangs down to his chest.
When Lu Xiangsheng saw him in the Chinese army's tent, he asked expectantly: "Boxiang, what's going on? Can the magistrate of Qingyuan provide food?"
At this time, Yang Tinglin's face was full of resentment, and he shook his head and said: "Qingyuan Magistrate Zuo Huaibi refused to provide food and grass for the army on the grounds that there was no food in the city. Brother Yu took your handwriting and reprimanded him harshly, but he ignored it at all. Brother Yu was helpless. .”
Lu Xiangsheng stood blankly for a long time, knowing that Zhang Qiping, the governor of Baoding, and Zuo Huaibi, the magistrate of Qingyuan, had figured out that Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, wanted to cut off the food and pay for his army. Since he was ordered to serve the queen, Lu Xiangsheng was not afraid to fight against the Qing soldiers, but the constraints from the courtiers made him feel physically and mentally exhausted.
Yang Tinglin was resentful for a long time, stroking his beard and thinking: "Ming Gong, for the current plan, we have to move our troops to the three prefectures in the south of Ji. Ming Gong has been in Daiming for a long time, and the local people are quite loyal. In addition, the territory is not very dilapidated, so it is necessary to raise food and grass." Convenient. After our army has recuperated its strength, it seems that it will be a decisive battle with Dong Nu."
Lu Xiangsheng shook his head. He finally made up his mind and said to Yang Tinglin: "Boxiang, you and I will go to Zhending and beg for food with the local people. I am prepared to die in order to serve the country!"
Yang Tinglin hurriedly said: "Sir, you must not do it. Our army is hungry and exhausted, and facing a powerful enemy will inevitably lead to disaster. It is better to move to Jinan. Why ruin the future of the army in vain!"
Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng's expression remained motionless, he waited for persuasion. At this moment, the two men suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing from the north of the camp. Several cavalrymen were running towards them. The two looked at each other and wondered, where did the cavalrymen come from?
The sentry riders in the camp also came forward to greet them. Soon, Chen An, Lu Xiangsheng's general, rode back and excitedly led several Liu Yan's troops to come in a hurry without stopping at night.
The leader of the team was the captain of Liu Yan's general bodyguard who stayed away all night. He rolled off his saddle and fell off his horse. He led several of his subordinates and strode over to pay homage to Lu Xiangsheng. He said loudly: "To the Governor, I Thousands of troops from thousands of households in front of Xiahe Village have already crossed the Baoshui River and will soon arrive in Baoding!"
"Our army has brought a large amount of food and grass. Our army general Liu Yan asked the governor not to continue marching and wait for the arrival of our army's chariots and horses!"
Lu Xiangsheng was shocked: "Reinforcements are coming and they have brought a large amount of food and grass?"
Yang Tinglin and Chen An looked happy, and Lu Xiangsheng was also very happy.
At this time, Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly helped up a few soldiers who had not gathered at night, and then looked at each other with Yang Tinglin, but he didn't know where the soldiers and horses of the Qianhu in front of Xiahe Village were?
So Lu Xiangsheng asked: "Where are your reinforcements?"
Captain Ye Bushou clasped his fists and said, "This is to inform the governor, we are soldiers and horses from the Qianhu Station of Xiahe Village under the Lingshan Guards of Shandong Dusi. The leader of our army is Liu Yan, the Qianhu Defense Officer of the Qianhu Station."
Lu Xiangsheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he looked up to the sky and laughed. There was a burst of sadness in his heart, and a few tears flashed in his eyes.
It is clear that during the national war, hundreds of thousands of troops were stationary in the surrounding areas. Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, and Gao Qiqian, the eunuch who supervised the army, have all disappeared. Now, only a defense officer from a thousand households came to help with his troops. What a strange thing!
How many soldiers and horses can a thousand households have, and how much food and grass can they bring?
At this time, the joy in Lu Xiangsheng's heart disappeared. After a long sigh, he said to Captain Ye Bushou: "I know your loyalty, but this battle is a battle of ten deaths and no life. Then Liu Yan and his troops came here." Nothing can be changed. The country still needs such loyal people, and there is no need to die with me."
After speaking, Lu Xiangsheng took out a token, handed it to Captain Ye Bushou, and said, "Take this back and tell Liu Yan to lead his troops back to Shandong. Give the token to Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, and he won't be embarrassed." .”
But that night, the captain who refused to accept him handed the token back, and then clasped his fists and said, "Excuse me, Governor, I can't take this token! More than 3,000 soldiers from the Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village are about to arrive, and our troops will defend Your Excellency has already spoken: I swear to fight Dongnu to the death in this battle, and all the soldiers in the army will never take a step back!"
When Lu Xiangsheng and others saw this, their hearts surged.
Some people died, but not completely...
