In mid-May, the reinforcements arrived at Shahe Station in Ningyuan's former garrison.
Soldiers from all walks of the Ming army passed by the fortress of Shaheyi and advanced all the way north. As Liu Yan rode his horse and walked on this land, he was faced with a desolate and desolate feeling, and there was an unspeakable tragic and heroic feeling in his heart.
Since the rise of the Qing Dynasty during the Wanli period, how many soldiers of the Ming Dynasty fought bloody battles here? These soldiers fell one after another on this land, and the corpses of the heroes were buried here, just to defend the territory of China.
In the desolate Liaodong region, the Chinese ancestors performed many thrilling stories here. This desolate land also shed the blood of too many loyal soldiers.
What left the deepest impression on future generations in Liaodong was the endless black land, but that was only in the middle of Liaoning, not the narrow mountainous land in western Liaoning. Moreover, in the current Little Ice Age, there is no so-called black land. No wonder the Manchu Qing occupies a large area of land in Liaodong and cannot feed its own people, so it has to invade and plunder one after another.
Since entering Liaodong, what impressed Liu Yan the most was the large number of Huoludun and Tunbao here. The rolling hills and mountains in western Liaoning gave Liu Yan a unique advantage in establishing Yandun.
The construction of Huolu piers in Liaodong Town was also the first among the towns in Jiubian in the Ming Dynasty. It is a veritable three-mile, one-pier, five-mile, one-terrestrial structure. But everywhere in Shandong, there are only one pier for five miles and one for ten miles. It is even sparser than this in the hinterland of Shandong. But now, many piers and abutments across Liaodong are abandoned, with only some remnants remaining here.
Abandoned, this was Liu Yan's impression again. Most of the forts in the territory were in dilapidation, and the official system was broken. I really don't know where the huge amount of Liao's salary went to every year.
Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Xun Jingyun and others around Liu Yan looked at him all the way, and they were also indignant at this time.
Miao Shao said: "The imperial court distributes several million in food and salary to Shanhaiguan and Ningqian every year. Now only these dilapidated cities are left? I heard that there are only eight castles left in Liaodong? If so much money and food are given to us in Qinglai Town, If nothing else, at least the strength of the new army can be doubled. By then, not to mention pacifying Li Zicheng's bandits, even if they can break out and regain Liaodong, it will be just around the corner!"
Xu Ming also echoed: "It is true that most of the food and salary of the imperial court were thrown here, but it still can't stop the thieves and slaves from entering the army from other places. What's the use after so many years? In my opinion, the imperial court should abolish part of the Liao's salary , used to build elite field soldiers and horses, so as to reverse the current situation of being passively beaten!"
Along the march, the commanders of each battalion in Qinglai Town kept talking. The supervisors Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also heard it several times. However, they were both smart people and knew that Liu Yan was not a fuel-efficient lamp. They were offended. If you can't afford it, just pretend you don't know.
At this time, Liu Yan was filled with emotion after hearing what Miao Shao and Xu Ming said.
In fact, the Liaodong issue is not a simple issue of money and food supply. It involves extremely complex political and interest considerations. That is, how much profit can Zhang Ruoqi and the people in the Ministry of War get from it every year? The Liaodong general group headed by Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou paid millions of taels of "filial piety" to the court officials every year. Therefore, Zhang Ruoqi, Ma Shaoyu and other military officials also supported Liao pay.
As for the generals in other military towns, although they complained about the injustice, the generals in Liaodong were not easy to mess with. Coupled with the favoritism of the Ministry of War, the Liao pay issue continued like this every year.
Liu Yan actually believed that the Guanning Defense Line consumed national power and wealth out of proportion to its effectiveness. The use of financial resources should be based on the overall situation, rather than focusing on one area. Although the Qing soldiers could not enter through Liao Town, they could break through the other military towns on the nine sides. So what was the use of the defense line set up in Liaodong Town? The nine sides should be a whole.
However, Liao's salary, just like the gentry's payment of grain, is a huge issue of power and interests, and it is not something Liu Yan can shake now.
After that, they marched without saying a word. Both the former Tun Guard officers and generals and the Ningyuan Guard officers and generals expressed their welcome with reduced weight to the arrival of the reinforcements. Wherever he went, gongs and drums were loud, and military households and sergeants lined up to cheer, which fully demonstrated the enthusiasm of the people of Liaodong.
The arrival of the mighty reinforcements felt like a shot in the arm wherever they went, making the Ming army across Liaodong full of confidence in the coming war.
At the end of May, in the outer city of Ningyuan City, the defenders on the Yongqing Gate in the south and the city tower first discovered that some Ming troops were within their sight at night.
I saw those Ye Buzai galloping on their horses, miles away, quietly looking at their own city. Slowly, there were more and more Ming army cavalry behind those Ye Buzai, just like before. Like a soldier, he looked in the direction of Ningyuan City.
Reinforcements have arrived!
The defenders on the tower were beating gongs and drums and loudly announced the good news to the city.
After hearing the news, Governor Qiu Minyang of Liaodong, Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, Cai Maode, and countless other generals rushed to the tower and looked excitedly towards the south.
On the plain to the south, more and more Ming cavalry were gathered. They came in groups and gathered several miles south of the city. They were densely packed and lined up in countless layers.
Looking back, I saw a sea of flags again, and large groups of infantry marching towards them. In the sea of flags, several large flags stood out.
"Victory!" In the sound, the infantry and cavalry armies gathered together, and countless armies came to Ningyuan City to form an array.
Looking at the boundless army in the distance, the vast sea of people seems to cover the earth from the mountains to the sea.
The reinforcements had indeed arrived, and they were so powerful. Not to mention Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, Bingbei Dao Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, Cai Maode and others were so excited that they laughed loudly. Even the soldiers and horses in the city were also cheering. Their tide-like cheers vaguely coincided with the sound of "Wansheng" outside the city, forming an unstoppable and majestic sound.
When Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, and Cai Maode of the Military Preparation Department led Ningyuan generals and officials out of the city to greet them, Hong Chengchou led Liu Yan, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Wu Sangui, Ma Shaoyu, Zhang Ruoqi and others to the front of the army. At this time, Liu Yan also took the opportunity to look at the famous Ningyuan City.
Ningyuan is the Ningyuan Acropolis, which was built in the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty. Later, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties renamed it Ningyuan Zhoucheng. In later generations, it was renamed Xingcheng. In the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, there were ninety-six steps in the city on Friday. The wall is three feet high and has four gates. It was built in the fifth year of Xuande. The outer city was also built, with a circumference of 124 steps.
Since the Liaodong War, Ningyuan City has been continuously repaired. At this time, the city wall is three feet and two feet high, and the wall is six feet high. Each gate has an urn with a tower and a corner tower. There are bell and drum towers in the city, which echo the four towers on the city wall. When the war breaks out, you can climb to the top of the building and have a panoramic view of the city wall and the city.
The city wall of Ningyuan City is quite unique. When it was built, in order to make the wall strong, a large number of irregular city stones were used to build the inner wall, and then the wall was chiseled flat. That’s why it’s called “Rough Stone Wall”. Since most of the stones are made locally, the color looks like tiger skin from a distance, so it’s also called “tiger skin rough stone wall”.
At this time, Liu Yan came to the vicinity with the large group of troops. It can be seen that Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, Bingbei Dao Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, Cai Maode and others took great pains to welcome the arrival of the reinforcements. They went out of the city for several miles, and in Amid the roar of gongs and drums, Hong Chengchou and other generals and supervisors welcomed him into the city with great enthusiasm.
As for the sergeants who came to the reinforcements, they camped outside the city. Now there are more than 200,000 troops inside and outside Ningyuan City, and all the private and official houses in the city are occupied.
Most of the troops and horses in the reinforcement towns are on cool and windy mountains, such as Sanshou Mountain five miles east of the city, Luofeng Mountain five miles northeast of the city, Ganchailing fifteen miles northeast of the city, and Zaoer Mountain eight miles northwest of the city. , Loess Mountain in the northwest of the city, Mahaluo Mountain and so on.
Liu Yan also sent Ye Busu to come here early to explore the terrain. Before entering the city, he ordered Xun Jingyun to temporarily take charge of military affairs. He took the soldiers of each battalion and moved the camp to the northwest of the city based on Ye Busu's investigation report. Go to the Mopan Mountain, Jiulang Mountain, and Jingtiao Mountain to choose a place to camp to cool off from the summer heat.
In the grand welcoming ceremony of the soldiers and civilians, Liu Yan and other general officers of the towns followed Hong Chengchou into the city, as well as the escort generals of the brigade.
There are four streets in Ningyuan City, which the locals call East Street, South Street, West Street and North Street. The city's perimeter, the number of gates, and the number of streets are all even numbers, which is also a wonder of Ningyuan.
The governor's residence is in the inner city, southwest of the Drum Tower. Everyone enters through the south gate, Yanhui Gate, and enters the governor's residence.
Hong Chengchou had already stationed here before and commanded the Ming army in Ningyuan and other places to try to rescue Jinzhou City, but the troops were unable to be used. Several times he sent troops for rescue, but they were beaten back by the Qing army. As a last resort, Hong Chengchou asked the Ministry of War for reinforcements, and even rushed back to the capital to supervise the matter in person, which brought more than 200,000 reinforcements.
Everyone entered the spacious hall with joy, and saw that there were already tables filled with banquets, and the food was very sumptuous. However, before the army arrived, Hong Chengchou quickly notified Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, Zhang Dou, and Yao Gong. , Cai Maode and others calculated the time for the arrival of the army and had everyone prepared to welcome it.
Seeing such a situation, the supervisors Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi expressed great satisfaction. They had worked very hard along the way and basically had not eaten a smooth meal. Now they can finally eat and drink comfortably.
I saw that everyone was harmonious and humbly accommodated each other and took their seats one by one.
At this time, the seats were arranged. Liu Yan was at the same table as Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang, Ma Shaoyu, Zhang Ruoqi and others. In addition, Zhang Dou, Yao Gong and Cai Maode from Bing Bei Dao were accompanying him. Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Cao Bianjiao, Wu Sangui and others sat with the general troops who came to help.
With this arrangement, Wu Sangui frowned slightly, while Ma Ke and Tang Tong showed displeasure. Tang Tong also whispered to Ma Ke: "Then Liu Yan is also the chief military officer, why should he sit at the main table?"
Wu Sangui coughed lightly and signaled the two of them to stay quiet. Ma Ke and Tang Tong reluctantly stopped mentioning it.
After the guerrilla generals, lieutenants, garrison officers and others under their command have settled in their respective units, they will hold a banquet in the Supervisor Camp outside the city, accompanied by dedicated personnel to take care of them. There were troops from all walks of life outside the city, and some people also arranged to reward the troops with wine and meat.
Even after traveling a long distance, Hong Chengchou remained so gentle and elegant, with an indescribable grace in every move he made. His red python suit and three long beards were all perfectly groomed.
Perhaps Hong Chengchou was worried about all the events in Liaodong. Compared with when he set off from the capital, Hong Chengchou's face was slightly paler, but looking like this, Hong Chengchou became more reserved and deep, with a pair of eyes full of stories.
When Hong Chengchou saw everyone sitting down, he raised his glass and stood up. He first greeted Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi with a smile, then smiled and nodded at Liu Yan, pausing especially for Liu Yan, and then said in Mandarin with a Fujian accent: "The situation in Liaodong is about to end." , Your Majesty is very worried, and you are very cautious all day and night. The country is in danger, the Lord is worried, and as a minister, you dare to be careless and careless? Today, the Holy Grace is so great, and the king's army has gathered. There are Liu Yan, the chief soldier of Qinglai Town, and other generals who have come to help, as well as the loyal and brave people of this town. The generals are here, and Director Ma, Supervisor Zhang, and other officials are also here to praise the military affairs and deliver food and wages diligently. Why worry about the lack of prosperity in the East and the slaves are not afraid? Gentlemen, please drink this cup to the full to congratulate me on the great Ming Dynasty and congratulate the officers and men. !”
These words made everyone feel warm in their hearts, and they all said loudly: "Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty, and congratulations to the soldiers!"
Some people died, but not completely...
