Capital, Qianqing Palace.
Emperor Chongzhen frowned. There were two memorials in front of him, one was a secret report sent back by Beizhen Fusi, and the other was an urgent report from the Ministry of War.
The content of these two memorials is the same thing: Yang Sichang's time is running out and he can no longer lead his army north to Henan.
"Lao Yang's illness is so serious. Who else is available in the court? The national situation is so difficult. Is God really going to destroy our Ming Dynasty?"
Emperor Chongzhen had not slept well for several days, and his eyes were full of bloodshot eyes. Wang Chengen, who was standing next to him, saw this and said in a tearful voice: "Your Majesty has been in charge of government for more than two hours without taking a breath. It's better to rest for a while. It's ironclad." People can’t bear it!”
"With the state of affairs like this, how can I find the time to rest?"
Emperor Chongzhen read the emergency report from the Ministry of War again. This was dictated by Yang Sichang and sent to the Ministry of War in writing by his subordinates. The content was that Yang Sichang recommended Lu Xiangsheng, governor of Shandong, to succeed him and lead his army to Henan to pacify Li Zicheng's troops.
"There are rumors in the court that Mr. Yang Ge and Lu Xiangsheng are not at odds. It is said that there was a lot of estrangement in Julu back then. Is this possible?"
Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, now that Mr. Yang Ge is dying, what is going on between him and Governor Lu is not important."
"I was thinking, if the two of them are really at odds, why would they recommend Lu Xiangsheng to Henan now?"
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious, Wang Chengen did not dare to say anything anymore, lowered his head and stopped answering.
Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Wang Chengen and said: "Forget it! As the saying goes: a person's words are good when he is about to die. I don't care what happened to the two of them before. Now that Mr. Yang Ge has recommended Lu Xiangsheng, Lu Xiangsheng also hit slave thieves several times before. The army should be able to get twice the result with half the effort this time against Li Zicheng's rogue troops."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"Then draw up a decree and order Lu Xiangsheng to lead the troops of his headquarters, unite the troops of Shandong except Qinglai Town, rush to the aid of Kaifeng, and conquer the intruders!"
Wang Chengen was startled and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, the new army from Qinglai Town is the most capable of Shandong soldiers. Why don't you mobilize Qinglai Town soldiers and horses to fight this time?"
Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said: "Jinzhou is in a tight situation. If the war outside the pass worsens, the imperial court cannot be without troops and must leave an elite force on standby."
"Lu Xiangsheng's Supervisor Battalion and Yan Jizu's Fubiao Battalion are both elite, aren't they? Besides, there are many soldiers and horses from all over Shandong, and they are all at Lu Xiangsheng's disposal."
Wang Chengen sighed in his heart and had no choice but to take the order and go to draft the decree.
A few days later, Jinan Fucheng, Governor's Mansion.
An eunuch and a royal guard stood in the main hall. Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu knelt on the ground for a long time, unable to recover.
"Haha, Lu Duchen and Yan Futai, did you both hear clearly?"
Lu Xiangsheng clasped his fists and said, "Listen clearly."
Yan Jizu also trembled and said, "Listen, listen clearly."
"Then you two still don't accept the order and thank you?"
"Your Majesty Lu Xiangsheng accepted the order to thank you!"
After General Lu Huaiying sent away the eunuchs and imperial guards who announced the decree, Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu stood up. They smiled bitterly at each other and both sighed.
"Luoyang City was lost, King Fu was killed, Li Zicheng's strength increased greatly, and now the situation in Henan is irreversible!"
Yan Jizu said excitedly: "But the imperial court is still unwilling to recruit new troops from Qinglai Town. It only allows the governor to lead the Du Biao Camp and the Fu Biao Camp to suppress the bandits. This is asking the governor to die!"
Lu Xiangsheng said: "I can understand your Majesty's thoughts. Jinzhou is in danger. Once the army of slave thieves takes Jinzhou, everything outside Shanhaiguan will be lost. Liu Yan's new army should be prepared for the Liaodong battlefield."
Yan Jizu said: "Your Majesty is taking care of both ends. In the end, he can't care about either end! How many elites are there in the court now? They should focus on using them. When fighting against foreigners, we must first pacify the interior, and concentrate all the elites to destroy Li Zicheng's bandits first." The army will then go out to fight. But His Majesty insists on fighting on two fronts. With the current national strength, fighting on two fronts is the way to defeat!"
Lu Xiangsheng's face also looked very ugly. He waved his hands and said, "Stop talking, stop talking."
"Then what are you going to do, Governor?"
Lu Xiangsheng was silent for a while, and then said with firm eyes: "I have decided to take only the Governor's Biao Battalion to Henan for this battle, and the Fubiao Battalion will stay behind."
"Lu Duchen!"
"This battle is a battle of ten deaths and no life. It is good for me to be able to leave a spark of fire for the court."
"Lu Duchen!"
Lu Xiangsheng stood up suddenly and said, "This matter is settled. Before setting off, I want to see Liu Yan, this bastard again."
Yan Jizu covered his face and cried.
Eight days later, after receiving the news, Liu Yan rushed to Jinan Fucheng with only a dozen lightly armed guards.
In the Governor's Mansion, Liu Yan met Lu Xiangsheng who was trying on armor, and Yan Jizu who was accompanying him.
"I've seen the governor, I've seen Futai!"
"Haha, sit down. Come, let's see how this new armor looks like. Does it fit me?"
A smile appeared on Liu Yan's face and he said, "It fits."
"Well, that's good. This time I will wear it to fight in Henan and defeat Li Zicheng!"
At this time, Yan Jizu said: "Your Majesty has a decree. The new army in Qinglai Town will not be recruited for this battle. The governor will only take the 12,000 soldiers from the Governor Biao Camp and 10,000 soldiers and horses from various places in Shandong, with 20,000 taels." Thousands of soldiers went out to fight against Li Zicheng."
Liu Yan's face also became ugly. At this time, Li Zicheng had at least 700,000 to 800,000 troops, including no less than 100,000 elite soldiers and horses. There were also many powerful generals such as Li Guo, Li Laiheng, Liu Zongmin, and Sun Kewang. , Ai Nengqi, and Li Dingguo’s help, especially Li Dingguo, who was the king of Jin Dynasty in the Southern Ming Dynasty in history, a famous king in the two dynasties, and a famous general who shocked the world!
Now that Li Zicheng has such strength, even if Lu Xiangsheng is a famous general who will go down in history, with more than 20,000 troops and horses fighting Li Zicheng's millions of troops, he is destined to be defeated and killed. The strength of the two sides is too disparity!
Liu Yan couldn't bear it, but he couldn't change the situation, so he said, "When will the governor prepare to leave?"
Lu Xiangsheng looked at the solemn expressions of the two men and said with a smile: "Don't be like this. If you win this battle, I will make an immortal contribution. If you lose this battle, I will be considered a worthy death and will leave my name in history. What’s there to be afraid of?”
"As for the date of the expedition, I will prepare to lead the army to the expedition in three days."
"Three days later?"
Liu Yan frowned slightly and said: "The governor might as well postpone the date of the expedition. Although I can't lead my troops to fight alongside the governor, I can draw some troops from various ministries of the New Army and raise some money and food. I only need half of the time." It will be ready in a month and will be sent to the places where the governor must pass when marching."
Lu Xiangsheng refused, saying: "No need. The troops you supported before are enough. If this battle cannot be won, no matter how many troops you have, it will only help the enemy."
Liu Yan looked at Lu Xiangsheng who was so determined and didn't know what to say at this time. He could only sit down with Yan Jizu.
Lu Xiangsheng said: "Today I have called the two generals to talk about Shandong's defense issues. After I led the Biao Battalion to set off, General Liu will be temporarily in charge of Shandong's military affairs, and Governor Yan will be in charge of civil affairs. I hope The two of them have worked hard to stabilize the situation in Shandong."
"yes!"
"In addition, now that the situation in Jinzhou has deteriorated, the imperial court is very likely to recruit elite troops to go out to support. If this is really the case, Liu Yan, you and your new Qinglai Town army will bear the brunt, so be cautious!"
Liu Yan nodded and noted it down.
"The battle outside the pass is different from the battle within the pass. Although Liaodong is also the territory of the imperial court, almost most of it has been lost now. The slaves and cavalry are running rampant outside the pass without any hindrance. The land outside the pass has become equal to the enemy's territory."
Lu Xiangsheng said tirelessly: "After Commander-in-Chief Liu leads his troops out of the customs, he must send more troops to stay at night. Be careful of raids and ambushes by slave thieves. Be careful in everything and put the whole army first!"
Liu Yan was moved in his heart, clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Governor, I will definitely remember my humble position!"
"Well, that's good. Then I have nothing to tell you."
Yan Jizu covered his face and wiped his tears again, while Liu Yan felt something was blocked in his throat. He wanted to speak but couldn't. He held his fists for a while and then said: "The governor must be careful this time. The whole army is the top priority. Don’t fight head-on with Li Chuang. We don’t have to worry about having no firewood to burn the green hills. As long as the governors and soldiers are there, there is still room for recovery in the situation in Henan!”
"Ha ha."
Lu Xiangsheng laughed. The laughter was very hearty and full of sadness. Liu Yan felt very uncomfortable. He was wondering whether his choice was wrong and whether he should go to Henan with Lu Xiangsheng and save the country first at all costs. Kill Li Zicheng?
After wavering for a moment, Liu Yan still firmly believed that his choice was correct. Judging from the current situation, it is not the time to fight Li Zicheng at this time. Even if Li Zicheng's million-strong army is defeated, it will only completely turn the devastated Henan and other places into white ground, and nothing will be changed.
As long as Li Zicheng is still alive and the people in Henan, Shanxi and other places still have no way to survive, in the blink of an eye, Li Zicheng can assemble an army of millions.
This is why Li Zicheng can be defeated ten or a hundred times, but the official army cannot bear a major defeat. Now the official army's troops and horses are consumed less, and there is no other way.
"strength!"
Liu Yan secretly thought in his heart: "The strength in my hands is still not enough. I can only stabilize Qinglai Town and other places in Shandong. I can't take care of Henan and other places. Even if the new army defeats them, they will only behead some people. Changes It doesn’t affect the overall situation!”
So Liu Yan sighed in his heart and shook his head silently.
Three days later, Lu Xiangsheng led 10,000 soldiers from the Dubiao Camp and various local guards to go on an expedition. 22,000 soldiers set out from Jinan Fucheng and marched westward in a mighty manner.
Liu Yan and Yan Jizu both came to see them off. Lu Xiangsheng drank Zhuangxing wine, then said goodbye to Liu Yan and Yan Jizu, got on his horse and left with a big smile.
General Lu Huaiying also said goodbye to Liu Yan and Yan Jizu, and rode off with Lu Xiangsheng.
"I hope everything goes well for the governor and he can escape unscathed!"
Looking at the retreating army, Liu Yan suddenly said: "By the way, Mr. Futai, why don't you see General Xu?"
Yan Jizu said: "Yesterday I sent General Xu to lead his troops out of the city. Now we should be waiting for the governor in Changqing County."
Liu Yan was stunned at first, and then he looked at Yan Jizu with admiration. Although this person was very mediocre in history, because Jinan Fucheng was captured by the Qing army, he became a scapegoat and was beheaded, but at this time he was righteous, and Liu Yan also had A hint of admiration.
"This battle is dangerous, what will General Xu Shen say?"
Yan Jizu said: "Of course I told the truth about the dangers of this battle. General Xu Shen said this: The governor and ministers are all looking forward to death, how can I not be afraid of fighting? What's more, this battle also requires Liu Zongbing Look, our Fubiao camp is also an elite of the Ming Dynasty, and we can also achieve great military exploits!"
Some people died, but not completely...
