At this moment, a guard rushed into the tent and reported to Lu Xiangsheng.
Lu Xiangsheng stood up with a smile on his face and said to everyone: "Another imperial edict has arrived. Generals, follow me and go out to meet it!"
Outside the Chinese army's tent, another eunuch read an imperial edict to Lu Xiangsheng and others. In addition to commending him, this time he urged Lu Xiangsheng to lead his troops to Zhending immediately.
This was what Lu Xiangsheng had expected, but to his surprise, at the end of the imperial edict, it was also mentioned that the military situation in Shanxi was urgent, and Lu Xiangsheng was asked to dedicate part of his troops and let Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town, lead his army. Under the command of this headquarters, we immediately returned to Shanxi to aid Shanxi to resolve the crisis in Taiyuan.
Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but froze after hearing this, but after a while he still accepted the order. Wang Pu also received the imperial edict and a message from the Ministry of War. When he received the edict, his expression was very strange. Then he came over sadly and kowtowed to Lu Xiangsheng to say goodbye. He choked and said: "Master, the last general has left. It's a pity that I can no longer follow the governor and kill the enemy."
There were faint tears in Lu Xiangsheng's eyes. He helped Wang Pu himself and said to him Wen Yan: "General, you don't have to be like this. When you return to Shanxi to help, you are still serving the country. You don't necessarily have to follow my subordinates."
He told Wang Pu, "No matter where the general goes, he must remember the principle of serving the country with loyalty and righteousness."
Wang Pu choked with sobs and said: "The general will record the instructions given by the governor."
Then Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei said goodbye, and the two of them were full of sighs. No matter how they looked down on Wang Pu, a dandy who spent money to buy official positions, these days of fighting side by side, they are more or less comrades-in-arms. Friendship, when parting, the two of them were reluctant to leave.
When leaving, Wang Pu also patted Liu Yan on the shoulder and sighed: "It's a pity that I can no longer fight side by side with the general. After this battle, if the general arrives in Datong, our brothers will meet each other dead."
Liu Yan solemnly bowed to him and said goodbye. No matter how unbearable Wang Pu was in history, at least in this war, he had behaved conscientiously and deserved his respect. Of course, if the situation deteriorates in the future, it is still difficult to say what Wang Pu will do in the future given his nature.
At the same time, Liu Yan also had a shadow in his heart. Everyone only thought that Shanxi was in crisis, and it was reasonable for the Ministry of War to mobilize Wang Pu to return reinforcements. Only Liu Yan knew that Yang Sichang might be behind this. According to historical records, Yang Sichang was able to do such a thing.
Yang Sichang was a man of considerable political and military talent, but he was short-sighted, narrow-minded, and extremely revengeful. He and Lu Xiangsheng just have different political opinions, so they are deliberately thinking here and ignoring the overall situation because of their personal ambitions? What a pity.
On the same day, Wang Pu led the army and left the camp, leaving a large area of empty camp. Sergeant Xuanda saw that there were thousands less brothers in the army, and the originally high morale inevitably dropped. Lu Xiangsheng summoned all the soldiers in the army to encourage them, and then the morale that had fallen back was restored.
After Wang Pu led his troops away, Lu Xiangsheng led only Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town, Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, Liu Yan, Xuanfu Counselor Zhang Yan and others, with about 10,000 soldiers and horses. Two thousand people.
Early on the next morning, Lu Xiangsheng led his army to leave Gaoyang, greeted by the gentry and common people in the city led by Sun Chengzong.
On the way out, Liu Yan frequently looked back at Gaoyang County. This time he left Gaoyang for Zhending and his future was uncertain. However, what comforted Liu Yan was that at his solemn request last night, Sun Chengzong was finally willing to leave Gaoyang City and go to Baoding, which relieved a hidden worry in Liu Yan's heart.
Historically, before the Qing army besieged Gaoyang City, Sun Chengzong's friends Cai Ding, Mao Yuanyi and others persuaded Sun Chengzong to take refuge in Baoding or simply go to the south, but Sun Chengzong politely refused.
After Gaoyang was besieged, Sun Chengzong, who was 80 years old, led his family, nephews and the people of Gaoyang to rise up to resist the Qing soldiers. In the end, six sons, two nephews, and twelve grandsons and nephews all died for the country. Perhaps due to the emotion of the Qing siege, Sun Chengzong couldn't bear to refuse Liu Yan's kindness, and finally agreed to Liu Yan's request to keep this useful person.
Liu Yan finally left Gaoyang with peace of mind. Although his strength was limited, he could save every loyal person of the Ming Dynasty.
Nearly three hundred miles from Gaoyang City to Zhendingfu City, Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Yan and others led their troops to go south.
At this time, Qing soldiers had penetrated deep into Hengshui, Zaoqiang, Zanhuang, Lincheng, Gaoyi and other places in Zhending Prefecture. Although they encountered many large and small groups of enemies from the Qing army along the way, the Qing cavalry just watched from a distance and did not dare to get close because of the majesty of this army. So along the way, although there were some small contact battles from time to time, the overall march was smooth.
I thought that there was a large amount of food and grass in the army. Lu Xiangsheng and others had the experience of suffering from starvation. They knew that it was extremely difficult to prepare food and grass when the army was in chaos. There was no place to buy it if there was money. The food and grass carried by the army was the lifeline of this army. .
Therefore, despite the urgent urging from the Ministry of War, Lu Xiangsheng still listened to the advice of Yang Guozhu and others, and it was better to march steadily. Generally speaking, the entire army marched sixty to seventy miles a day, then began to set up camp and stopped walking.
A few days later, Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Yan and their entire army arrived at Zhendingfu City.
At the same time, Hengshui.
The surrounding area of the city was densely covered with Qing army camps, with flags of various colors flying. Even in Hengshui City, the flags of the Qing army's Zhengbai Banner were flying.
Since December, the Qing army has successively captured Hengshui, Wuyi, Zaoqiang, Julu, Jize, Yuanshi, Lincheng and other cities. Their troops have spread throughout Zhending, Shunde, Guangping and other cities. Mansion and other places. Countless people's homes were destroyed, and their children's property and silk were robbed.
The original Hengshui Prefecture Government Office in the Ming Dynasty had now installed a huge woven gold dragon flag. The broad lobby was filled with Qing army generals wearing gilt armor. Everyone took off their helmets, and everything was covered in iron-green color. There is also a slender money rat tail pigtail hanging from the forehead and the back of the head, which is extremely ugly.
Densely packed white-flag Baya soldiers wearing mercury armor were patrolling outside the hall, and loud voices could be heard in the hall. Of course the people of the Ming Dynasty would not be able to understand those words, because they all spoke Manchurian. An Altaic language family, originated from the Mongolians and passed on to Westerners. Both the language and writing are completely different from the Han people in the Central Plains. They are also different from the Chinese square characters of the Jurchens in the Northern Song Dynasty. They are not originally a Chinese language family.
Among the generals of the Qing Dynasty, Dorgon, the leader of the Zhengbai Banner and the ordered general, and Yue Tuo, the leader of the Zhenghong Banner and the general Yangwu, sat on both sides. On the lower left side, the leaders of the Eight Manchurian Banners, Duduo, the leader of the white flag, Dudu, the leader of the red flag, Jierhalang, the leader of the blue flag, and others are sitting proudly. On the lower right side, the leaders of the eight Mongolian banners sit separately.
"Our Qing soldiers and horses are invincible. In the past few months since entering the customs, we have penetrated thousands of miles into the Ming Dynasty, captured dozens of Ming Dynasty prefectures and counties, killed the Ming Dynasty garrison, more than a thousand generals and hundreds of officials, and captured hundreds of thousands of people and property, so Great victories have been rare since the first year of Chongde, and this time our Qing warriors can return with full plunder."
It was Dorgon who spoke, and his words caused all the generals present to howl.
Yue Tuo, who was sitting on the right side of Dorgon, also smiled reservedly. There is also the leader of the blue flag, Ji Erhalang, who considers himself to be senior, so naturally he cannot be as happy as the little Maotou here. He also caressed his beard and nodded slowly.
"Taking advantage of this great victory, we, the Qing warriors, need to continue heading south!"
Dorgon's words made everyone happy again.
Then Dorgon's words silenced everyone: "What's worrying is that Lu Xiangsheng, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, has already led the army south. Similarly, Gao Qiqian, the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, has also led tens of thousands of Guan Ning's troops and gathered in Zhendingfu City."
"There is nothing to worry about when you rise high and dive low, but Lu Xiangsheng is quite good at fighting. Our army must treat him with caution."
At this time, there was silence in the room. When Lu Xiangsheng led the army to Gaoyang last month, even Dorgon did not dare to touch his edge and took the initiative to avoid it. How could the rest of the people take the initiative to fight?
In the silence, Baile Abatai, the Eight Banners Manchuria inlaid with white flag, suddenly stood up and said to Dorgon, Yue Tuo and others: "I have been ordered to do so, General Yangwu, General Yangwu, princes. Lu Xiangsheng led his army south, and the general thought it was necessary to be extremely Pay attention to!"
He said seriously: "The general believes that Lu Xiangsheng must be eliminated, otherwise our Qing warriors may be unable to transport the loot out of the customs."
Duduo, the leader of the white flag, also said: "What Rao Yubeile said is extremely reasonable. Lu Xiangsheng's troops have arrived at Zhending and are expected to go south soon. They are watching and following step by step. When will they rise up to attack, this situation... is actually It’s worrying.”
Duduo used to disdain the Ming army, but after the defeat of Dingzhou, he still has lingering fears. It can be said that the attention paid to Liu Yan and other Xuan Da troops is even greater than that of Abatai.
The two of them agreed that Lu Xiangsheng would lead his troops south and should be treated with caution. Listening to what they said, even if the remaining banners had not fought against Lu Xiangsheng's troops. But with this lesson learned, they have to be careful even if they are not careful.
Dorgon said slowly: "As the flag leaders said, Lu Xiangsheng of the Ming Dynasty leads his troops south, so we all need to be careful. This person must be eliminated by this king!"
Then Dorgon glanced at Duduo and said, "Prince Yu, you have fought against Lu Xiangsheng's troops. How do you think we should proceed against Lu Xiangsheng's troops?"
Duduo thought carefully for a while and said: "Returning to the general, the firearms equipped by Lu Xiangsheng's troops are extremely sharp, and their military discipline is strict, so the power of their firearms can be maximized. When the general is facing off against his troops, the warriors under his command will They couldn't get within a few dozen steps of their troops, and they just lost soldiers in vain.
Then Duduo suggested: "Our Qing soldiers entered the pass and captured a lot of Ming artillery. They can use the captured artillery to attack Liu Yan's position. It's a pity that King Gongshun did not enter the pass, otherwise his army would have had many firecrackers and artillery." Fight against Lu Xiangsheng’s troops.”
Dorgon frowned and said, "Please elaborate further."
Duduo said: "The fire cannons of Lu Xiangsheng's tribe are extremely sharp. Their fire cannons have a long range and are very powerful. Especially since the battle formation is strict, their fire cannon hands can wait for our warriors to enter the range before fighting. I will Qing Dynasty There is no room for you to use your powerful bow and arrows!"
"In addition to the fire gunmen, their spearmen and sword and shield men are also extremely brave. The heavily armored warriors of our flag fight in formation, and there is no way they can break their battle formation!"
Everyone was silent for a long time, and Dorgon said thoughtfully: "It seems that when fighting against Lu Xiangsheng's troops, we can only try to avoid his frontal attack and attack the flanks of his friendly forces. In the end, we can prevent Taizu Emperor Gao. In the Battle of Hunhe River, use more chariots and artillery, and attack continuously with ten times the force, so that you have a chance of winning."
At this time, Dorgon made up his mind, looked around at everyone and said: "Lu Xiangsheng must be eliminated sooner rather than later. I am determined to gather all the troops going south and choose an appropriate time and terrain. With tens of thousands of elite troops, with the force of thunder, , Lu Xiangsheng’s tribe was wiped out with one blow, what do you think?”
At this time, Dorgon naturally did not know that the main force in the battle of Dingzhou was the new army of Xiahe Village led by Liu Yan, but he directly targeted Lu Xiangsheng.
Dorgon's eyes were bright and he was just scanning the crowd. Dudu, Abatai, Duduo and others all stood up and spoke impassionedly, agreeing with the general's views.
Anyway, they can't be the main force attacking Lu Xiangsheng's tribe in the future, so why not? The leaders of the Eight Mongolian Banners were used as cannon fodder for the new vassal army. Naturally, there was no room for them to interfere in such important strategic and tactical matters.
Jierhalang, the leader of the Xilan Banner, was a little hesitant, but when Dorgon glanced at him, he still stood up and agreed.
Perhaps because of the tragic fate of his father and brother, Jierhalang is extremely careful in his daily affairs, and seems to give people a feeling of being weak and obedient. Facing the aggressive and increasingly power-hungry Dorgon, he always chose to obey.
Huang Taiji had already snatched the two yellow flags of the Eight Banners Manchuria, and also let his son Hauge serve as the leader of the Zhenglan Banner. At this time, the father and son were leading troops to contain the troops outside Shanhaiguan and had not entered the customs. Seeing that the several banner owners who entered the pass agreed with his opinion, Dorgon showed a satisfied look on his face. Finally he looked at General Yangwu Yue Tuo and asked, "What do you think of General Yangwu?"
Yue Tuo was a little displeased to see that Dorgon acted so arbitrarily and listened to his own opinion after everything was decided.
At this time, Yue Tuo, as General Yangwu, was in charge of the right-wing troops of the Qing invaders. However, a few years ago, because of his arrogance and rudeness in front of Huang Taiji, Yue Tuo was deprived of his position as Baylor, demoted to Beizi, and fined five thousand taels of silver. Although Huang Taiji resumed his position as Baylor a few years ago, Yue Tuo is still much more stable, with a sense of indifference to emotions and anger.
Facing the aggressive Dorgon, he was unwilling to confront him head-on, which would worsen the relationship between the two. In addition, his father-in-law was Baylor and his title was two ranks lower than Dorgon. The Qing soldiers who invaded this time actually respected Dorgon.
Although Yue Tuo was unhappy in his heart, he did not show it on his face. He said slowly: "What the general was ordered to say is very reasonable. Lu Xiangsheng is a close friend of our Qing Dynasty. We should get rid of this person sooner rather than later. I, the general, I also agree!”
Some people died, but not completely...
