At the end of March, Liu Yan led more than 88,000 soldiers from each battalion of the New Army to arrive in Jinan Fucheng. When the new army soldiers began to set up camp outside Jinan City, the entire Jinan Fucheng was boiling. The nearly 90,000 elite troops had been intact all the way, with well-equipped soldiers and banners fluttering, as if Jinan Fucheng had turned into a huge military camp.
This is not the first time that the New Army officers and soldiers of Qinglai Town have been stationed in Jinan Fucheng. The people in the city have a good impression of the New Army officers and soldiers. After all, they have repelled an army of slave thieves and saved the lives of countless people in the city, so they all come out of the city to watch. To get a glimpse of the new army in Qinglai Town.
After settling down the soldiers in each battalion, Liu Yan took Xun Jingyun into the city to go to the governor's office. They were away on an expedition. The army's money, food and materials were temporarily managed by Xun Jingyun, the town governor. The two of them entered the city firstly to meet Yan Jizu, and secondly to inspect. Money, food and supplies were hoarded here in advance.
In the governor's office, Yan Jizu smiled and took out a thick document, handed it into Liu Yan's hand, and said: "General Liu has taken a look at it. I have ordered people to repeatedly check the money, food, and military equipment, and all the money, food, and equipment have been checked." The amount of supplies has been registered, and I am personally keeping an eye on this matter, so there will definitely be no problems."
Liu Yan glanced at it for a few times and handed it to Xun Jingyun. I saw Xun Jingyun holding it in his hand, still with a straight face, and then saluted Yan Jizu and Liu Yan with clasped fists, and then hurried to check it on the spot.
Yan Jizu said with a smile: "This person under General Liu is..."
"It's Xun Jingyun, the governor of our army."
"Well, at first glance, he seems to be a selfless person. It is just right for him to be the governor."
Liu Yan and Yan Jizu exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Yan Jizu took out another brochure and said, "Commander Liu, take a look. This is a batch of money, food and supplies. They are all for the food and clothing of the army officers. They are moral. His Royal Highness helped raise the money and asked me to pass it on to you."
"His Royal Highness King De has something to say: I wish General Liu a victory in advance, behead the generals and capture the flag. When the army returns in triumph, His Highness King De will hold a wine and banquet in the palace to congratulate General Liu!"
Liu Yan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Zhu Youli, the king of virtue, could still come up with money and food at this juncture. It was really not easy.
After Liu Yan clasped his fists and thanked King De, he took the booklet and started reading it. He saw that this batch of supplies contained 80,000 shi of grain and 30,000 taels of silver, as well as some cloth, medicine, leather and other supplies. Although these supplies were not enough if they were spread among 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers, they could still be regarded as the wishes of the German King Zhu Youli.
"In this case, I should go to Prince Deok's Mansion and express my gratitude to His Highness Prince Deok in person."
However, Yan Jizu stopped him and said, "Don't go. If you have any thanks, I can convey them to you."
"Hmm? Master Futai, what do you mean?"
"General Liu, you can't just lead troops to fight. You must also understand the power of officialdom. You must follow the rules and be cautious in everything."
"Please teach me, sir."
Yan Jizu said: "Do you know why these supplies have to be handed over to you through my hands? Why doesn't His Highness King De call you over and give them to you face to face?"
"That's because we want to avoid suspicion!"
Liu Yan instantly understood that according to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, vassal kings were not allowed to interact with civil servants and military generals to prevent the vassal kings from growing in power.
Now that the war is imminent, and he is the commander-in-chief of the unified army, the German King Zhu Youjue naturally does not dare to meet him at this time, and it also involves the delivery of this batch of money and food. Once this matter is reported to the court, it will be like mud and shit, and those imperial envoys will pounce on you like mad dogs, and they will lose their skin even if you die!
Looking at Liu Yan who suddenly understood, Yan Jizu nodded happily and said: "General Liu is a smart man. He can explain everything in one point. As long as he understands it, I won't say more."
"Thank you, sir, for the advice."
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before Xun Jingyun hurried back, then clasped his fists and said, "Sir, all the supplies are in order, every detail is correct."
Liu Yan thanked Yan Jizu for his hard work, and then said to Yan Jizu, "I'd like you to help me during this time."
"What are you talking about? General Liu and the soldiers are going to fight the slaves outside the pass. I am here to help, so what hard work is there?"
Then Liu Yan thought of Lu Xiangsheng and asked, "Master Futai, is there any news from Governor Lu?"
Because General Xu Tonghui was heading to Henan with the Fubiao Battalion, Liu Yan felt that there should be some news from Yan Jizu's side.
Sure enough, Yan Jizu sighed and said: "There is indeed news, but it is all bad news, and the court does not know about it, so Mr. Liu just knows it himself and does not spread it to others."
Liu Yan was startled and said hurriedly: "Don't worry, sir, I will never say nonsense! I wonder what kind of bad news it is?"
"Now the situation in Henan has worsened. First, Shaanxi Governor Zheng Chongjian and his troops were besieged. Zheng Chongjian and thousands of soldiers were killed by the rogue general Liu Zongmin's troops."
"Immediately afterwards, Fu Zonglong, the successor governor of Shaanxi, also suffered heavy losses and had no choice but to withdraw from Henan with his remaining troops."
"Of course, these are all news that have been reported to the court. Next, there is news that cannot be spread outside."
Yan Jizu lowered his voice slightly and continued: "After Lu Duchen led his troops to Henan, he led Du Biao Camp and Fu Biao Camp and other Shandong soldiers to fight a few battles, but they found that the fighting power of the bandits suddenly increased a lot."
"Nowadays, the bandit soldiers and horses are divided into several battalions, front, rear, left, right, and middle. Each battalion is a reorganized elite, with excellent armor and weapons, and a large number of brave cavalry. It can even compete with the cavalry of the Du Biao Battalion without losing any ground!"
"In addition, Lu Duchen led his troops to fight against Zhang Xianzhong's righteous son Li Dingguo and others. It is said that Li Dingguo, Sun Kewang, Ai Nengqi and others were organized into a separate battalion. Most of the thieves in this battalion used firearms and were well-trained and powerful. , although it is not up to the level of the New Army, it is quite difficult for the officers and soldiers of the Supervisory and Fubiao Battalions to fight."
"Furthermore, now Li Zicheng has begun to distribute land and grain in various parts of Henan. He has also put forward the slogan: kill officials to divide grain and farmland, and refuse to pay when King Chuang comes. The hearts of the people of Henan have been taken over by Li Zicheng. Now the officers and soldiers have arrived. We must not only be wary of raids by rogue soldiers and horses, but also be wary of the common people along the way."
"People from all over Henan either acted as guides for the bandits and soldiers, or revealed the movements of the officers and soldiers to the bandits, and even dared to intercept and kill lone officers and soldiers. Xu Shenjiang mentioned in his letter to me that now The army fighting in Henan is like entering enemy territory, unable to move even an inch!"
Hearing this, Liu Yan frowned. The changes in Li Zicheng's troops were beyond his expectation. Not only did they begin to correct military discipline and try not to kill civilians indiscriminately, they also began to divide fields and grain. This was to follow the "mass line" !
It seems that because of his appearance, the trajectory of history has begun to deflect. Even Li Zicheng began to organize firearms camps and mobilize the people of Henan!
So Liu Yan asked: "Where is the governor now and what is the situation?"
Yan Jizu shook his head and said: "The latest news I received was sent half a month ago. At that time, the governor and his troops were stationed in Yangwu County, and the bandit Li Guo and his troops were confronting the governor. The war situation was also very bad."
Liu Yan was very anxious at this time. If the situation continued like this, there was no guarantee that Li Zicheng would not capture Kaifeng Mansion in advance. Even after tasting the benefits of large-scale use of firearms, there was no guarantee that Li Zicheng's ambition would not expand accordingly. Where would Li Zicheng go next? Will they change the history of rogue bandits and directly send troops to attack Beizhili?
Now Liu Yan was a little shaken, thinking of leaving a battalion of troops to support Lu Xiangsheng, but Yan Jizu's next words made Liu Yan completely give up this idea.
"There is also bad news: in order to rescue Jinzhou, the imperial court concentrated most of the money and food on the Shanhaiguan front line, so there is very little money and food to supply the battlefield in Henan."
"In other words, the imperial court will no longer send additional troops to the governors, and it will no longer be able to maintain large-scale military operations on the Henan battlefield."
Liu Yan closed his eyes in pain. In this case, even if he sends troops to support, he will die. Without money and food supply, the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals will not be able to win!
Yan Jizu looked at Liu Yan, sighed, and said, "What we can do now is to hope that the governor Ji Ren will have his own destiny."
Liu Yan opened his eyes suddenly and said, "There is another way!"
Yan Jizu asked hurriedly: "Do you have any idea?"
"This method is to defeat the army of slave thieves in the direction of Jinzhou as soon as possible. As long as the war in Jinzhou is over, the imperial court can mobilize elite soldiers and horses from outside the customs, as well as a large amount of money and food, and invest them all in the battlefield in Henan. Even if Li Zicheng has an army of one million, he will not be able to resist this. There are so many elites from the imperial court!”
Yan Jizu was discouraged and said: "It's easy to say. According to the imperial report, the slave thieves seem to be moving their troops south. The army of slave thieves in the direction of Jinzhou is at least about 200,000. A quick victory? Faced with twenty The army of ten thousand slave thieves still wants to win a quick victory, and that is the way to die!"
Liu Yan said firmly: "Then it depends on God's will, and it depends on man!"
Liu Yan led his troops to stay in Jinan Fucheng for a day, and then set off from Jinan Fucheng with a large amount of money, food and soldiers to the capital.
The amount of supplies accompanying the army was huge, including 380,000 shi of grain and grass, enough to feed the army for three months; and 550,000 taels of silver, equivalent to one and a half months' military expenditure for the entire army. As for guns, ammunition, armor, weapons and other weapons and equipment, it is enough to arm two more battalions.
It can be said that Liu Yan was fully prepared this time. Even if all the Ming armies were defeated, Liu Yan was confident that with more than 80,000 soldiers and a large amount of supplies, he could support the battle alone. Even if he could not win, he could retreat calmly. close!
Yan Jizu saw Liu Yan off outside the north gate. Before leaving, Yan Jizu told Liu Yan another piece of news: "Last night, I received the latest news from the Imperial Palace that Yang Sichang, Minister of the Ministry of War, died of illness in Huguang. The imperial court has sent people to take care of the queen. It’s over.”
Liu Yan's expression did not change when he heard this, but he thought secretly in his heart: "Yang Sichang, Yang Sichang, you have been fighting with governors all your life, but you have returned to dust and returned to dust, without losing your fame and fortune. I don't know if you regretted it when you died. What did Deer War do?”
Liu Yan took a deep breath. Now that the battle was about to begin, he had no intention of bothering with a dead man anymore.
So Liu Yan said goodbye to Yan Jizu with fists in his hands, mounted his horse and led his troops to set off.
At one time, more than 88,000 New Army soldiers formed a formation and headed north, led by hundreds of baggage vehicles, followed by infantry soldiers from each battalion. Liu Yan led the guard battalion and artillery battalion behind each battalion, and Xu Ming led the cavalry battalion behind each battalion. The last one is the rear.
Each camp of the army was in order, winding along the official road to the north, as spectacular as a giant dragon going out to sea.
Ten days later, in mid-April, Liu Yan led his troops to the outskirts of the capital and stationed in Tongzhou to the east of the capital.
With the arrival of the new army in Qinglai Town, all Ming armies were shocked!
Some people died, but not completely...
