The fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, 1642 in the Western calendar.
In the early morning of the Shangyuan Festival, Hong Chengchou led the soldiers from various towns to arrive outside Deshengmen of the capital. Liu Yan received the news in advance and led his troops to move the camp northward from outside Dongzhimen to join Hong Chengchou and the towns led by him.
More than 200,000 Ming troops gathered outside the city. The capital was shaken and the people were jubilant.
The Shangyuan Festival has existed since the Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty.
"On the night of Bingyin, the emperor and the queen walked slightly to watch the lanterns." During the Shangyuan Night of the Tang Dynasty, thousands of palace ladies would watch the lanterns, and the lanterns would be set off on three nights from the 14th to the 16th of the first lunar month. In the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was not only brightly lit, but also filled with songs, dances and operas filling the streets, with "music noisy for more than ten miles." The custom of eating the festival food "Yuanxiao" (called Yuanzi at that time) on the Lantern Festival has also appeared for a long time.
The Ming Dynasty still followed the old custom. The palace had a three-day holiday before and after the Shangyuan Festival, and a banquet was given to civil and military ministers and elders. Aoshan lanterns were placed at the Meridian Gate for people to watch, showing that they were enjoying themselves with the people.
Ministers can come to watch the lanterns on behalf of their parents, and the emperor will reward them. During the Yongle period, there was a fire on Dengshan Mountain, and some people died because they could not escape. The emperor felt very sorry for it and did not hold it again in the future, but he gave holidays and banquets as before.
"Ming Palace History" records that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, during the Shangyuan Festival, the ministers and family members all wore lanterns, scenery, and robes. The lantern market will be more prosperous on the 16th, and the prosperity of the world will gather here. The relatives and relatives will go upstairs to play and have a look, and they are not afraid of people.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there are also records from the Ming Dynasty that since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the "Ten Nights of Lantern Festival" started from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.
The lantern market in Beijing is located to the north of Dong'anmen (the area around Dengshikou in later generations). Those who make lanterns each take what they have and sell them in the lantern market. "Lamps have different names and are worth thousands.
The gold one. "At that time, merchants from all over the world gathered together, with exquisite pearls and stones, silks and satins, and exotic objects from ancient and modern times. There were also hundreds of plays performed in the market. The spectators, men and women, rubbed shoulders with each other, and it was very lively.
Rural people tie up straw to make sheds, hang various lanterns around them, and have a winding door three or four miles long. Visitors will be confused and unable to get out for a while, so it is called "Nine Bends of the Yellow River".
Fireworks and firecrackers are also set off at night, including hundreds of types of cannons, fires, third-level waves, gophers, flower pots, and flower tubes. Some fireworks are set up one foot high, and the boxes are divided into five layers. They are set off everywhere throughout the night.
In addition, there are customs such as walking on bridges and touching nails to get rid of all kinds of diseases. The gates of Zhengyang, Xuanwu, and Chongwen were all open, allowing people to come and go, and the school captains patrolled all night long. The grand occasion was no less than that of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
However, during the Lantern Festival this year, the people in Beijing flocked to the Deshengmen area, vying to witness the bloody battles of the soldiers from various towns in Jinzhou, so that there were few people watching the lanterns in the city, and there were almost no fireworks in the city. sound.
In Hong Chengchou's Chinese army tent, Hong Chengchou held a banquet. Liu Yan took Xu Ming, Miao Shao, Wang Yue, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, Xun Jingyun and others to participate. Chen Xun also came to the banquet.
The rest of the people, including Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others, sat beside Liu Yan and chatted and laughed animatedly with Liu Yan. It was very lively.
Wu Sangui, Liu Zhaoji, Li Fuming, and Zuo Guangxian sat across from each other and kept raising their glasses to toast Liu Yan. Liu Yan accepted everyone who came.
As for Ma Ke and Tang Tong, they were also smiling at this time. After the battle was won, everyone would be rewarded. At this time, they no longer embarrass Liu Yan and took the initiative to toast Liu Yan with two glasses of wine.
For wine, Liu Yan ignored the previous suspicion and invited the two of them to have a drink.
Hong Chengchou sat at the top, and two supervisors, Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, sat on the left and right. The three were not as bold as the generals, but they drank lively. From time to time, they talked about the hardships in the war, and then laughed again. When I got up, I felt very relaxed.
During the banquet, Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu and others told Liu Yan the details of the subsequent war in Jinzhou.
Liu Yan heard that the soldiers in various towns relied on the geographical advantages to fight back and forth with more than 200,000 Qing troops. Even Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao and others personally led their cavalry to attack the Qing troops and almost escaped death.
Even Wang Pu, a famous runaway general in history, led his troops in a bloody battle with more than 10,000 Mongolian cavalry north of Rufeng Mountain and east of the Nuer River. Although the casualties were more than those of the Qing army, they were still After repelling the enemy troops and beheading more than a thousand people, Liu Yan couldn't help but admire him with admiration.
Even Ma Ke and Tang Tong were able to do well in the subsequent battles, leading their troops to behead hundreds of people each. With the new army's front camp guarding the grain road and supporting the army, these Ming army soldiers seemed to have support. All of them performed miraculously, and Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh that times can create heroes, and they can also transform bears!
Then Wang Pu said with a smile: "By the way, Dinglupo led his troops to the capital first. Is it possible that he is preparing to rush to Jinzhou again?"
"Exactly, this town received the order to mobilize troops and was preparing to rush to Jinzhou City again. Unexpectedly, under the leadership of Governor Hong, the generals showed their might and repelled the army of slaves and thieves!"
Everyone's faces were filled with joy. Everyone felt happy to be praised by Liu Yan.
Yang Guozhu asked: "
Dinglupo, the siege of Kaifeng is over? What about Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops? Who is leading the fight now? "
After Hong Chengchou led the towns to the capital, only the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites each sent a minister to reward the army, and the minister of the Ministry of War conveyed Chen Xinjia's order to Hong Chengchou and others: officers and soldiers in each town were not allowed to leave the camp at will, and were temporarily in their respective camps. On standby.
Therefore, neither Hong Chengchou nor the commander-in-chief of each town knew about the Kaifeng victory yet.
Liu Yan faced Yang Guozhu's three consecutive questions and saw Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui, Ma Ke and others also casting inquiring glances, so he smiled and said: "Haha, Mr. Yang, don't worry, this town has led his troops thousands of miles to help Kaifeng. In Kaifeng There were two bloody battles under the city with hundreds of thousands of troops led by Li Zicheng. Two battles and two victories, more than 200,000 people were beheaded. The formation beheaded Sun Kewang, the general of the Zuo Guoyi of the firearm camp, Liu Xiyao, the deputy general of the left camp, Bai Minghe, the general of Zuo Guoyi of the right camp, and General Helan of You Guoyi, the road should be marked."
"The bandit army has been completely defeated. Now that the siege of Kaifeng has been lifted, Kaifeng deputy general Chen Yongfu and Henan governor Gao Minghengzheng led their troops to pursue and suppress the remaining enemies."
After Liu Yan finished speaking, there was silence in the big tent, and everyone's faces were filled with shock. Only Chen Xun's face was full of regrets. He did not catch up with this kind of battle. This would be a lifelong regret for him.
"Dinglupp is mighty!"
Wang Pu took the lead and roared.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, Wu Sangui and others all let out a burst of exclamation. Even Ma Ke and Tang Tong also opened their mouths and praised twice.
Hong Chengchou laughed and said: "Haha, I have fought against Li Thief several times. Although they have achieved quite a lot, they have never
He had the feat of beheading more than 200,000 people in two battles. Dinglupp was really a fierce general at that time. The country and the emperor were very lucky! "
Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi also congratulated Liu Yan one after another, and then rushed to the south and saluted in the direction of Emperor Chongzhen, looking like ministers who were almost ready to cry.
Although the heads Liu Yan captured belonged to bandits, his record of beheading more than 200,000 people in two battles was also rare in the world. In addition to the war against Can Yuan in the early days of the dynasty and the war against the Mongols during the Yongle period, There has never been a great victory in the dynasty in which so many people were beheaded.
This also explains why everyone's reaction was so great and their expressions were so shocked.
Wu Sangui's expression flickered, and then he asked with a smile: "Dinglubo is already the chief military officer with the seal of general, and now he has made such a great contribution. I wonder how the court rewards him? We also want to talk to Dinglubo." Let’s be happy together.”
Speaking of the reward, everyone's interest was aroused again. After all, the imperial court was going to reward everyone for their Jinzhou military exploits.
Looking at Liu Yan's reward scale, everyone could estimate what kind of reward they could get, and naturally they all became energetic.
Liu Yan looked at the expectant expressions of everyone and said calmly: "The commanders and guerrilla generals of each battalion of our new army have all been promoted to the first level and become staff generals. The wife of this town has been named the second-grade imperial wife."
"This town also has a reward of one thousand taels of silver and other property. Soldiers at all levels also have different amounts of silver rewards. Apart from this, there are no other rewards."
"Oh, right."
"The officers and soldiers of our New Army suffered thousands of casualties in the Battle of Kaifeng. The pension money for the officers and soldiers was still the same as some time ago. This town and our
The soldiers asked for it. "
After Liu Yan finished speaking, the tent fell into silence again. Xu Ming, Miao Shao, Shen Tuo, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Wang Yue, and Xun Jingyun showed anger on their faces. If it weren't for the presence of a group of superior officials, they would have started yelling to vent their dissatisfaction.
After listening to Liu Yan's words, everyone had expressions of disbelief on their faces. Hong Chengchou's expression was also changing. They never expected that Chen Xinjia would do such a ridiculous thing. If soldiers can't be rewarded for their merits, who will work for the court in the future? !
Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou's anger rose in his heart, but he still suppressed his anger and looked at everyone.
Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen were the first to react, and they all expressed their injustice for Liu Yan.
Wang Pu said: "My soldier's treatment is simply an insult to Dinglupp and the new army officers. Even if Dinglupp swallows this breath, brother, I will never give up. I will definitely seek an explanation from my soldier." !”
Yang Guozhu said in a deep voice: "My soldiers have gone too far. The meritorious officers cannot be rewarded, which dampens the soldiers' desire to serve the country. This is an act that harms the country. This town must also speak to our soldiers and ask for an explanation for Dinglubo!"
"Count me in!"
Wang Tingchen shouted loudly: "Dinglupo has been very helpful to us and is a great hero of the country. How can he be insulted like this? When my soldiers arrive, I must give an explanation, otherwise I will never let my soldiers go." leave!"
Cao Bianjiao said in a cold voice: "I'm afraid that the imperial court's behavior is not just for my own sake. It's a pity that we fought bloody battles, and Dinglupp even went south and north to fight for the country's peaceful thieves, but he ended up like this, and the world is in such turmoil. It’s not out of nowhere!
This time, I will stand with Dinglupp. If the court does not give Dinglupp the reward he deserves, I will never give up! "
Seeing the four commander-in-chiefs speaking one after another, Hong Chengchou, Ma Shaoyu, and Zhang Ruoqi were all upset.
Chen Xun jumped out even more. Although he was only a guerrilla general, with his victory in the Hongluo Mountain defensive battle, Chen Xun also gained considerable attention among everyone.
At this time, Chen Xun directly called Chen Xinjia by name and cursed loudly. Hong Chengchou glanced at the two supervisors and then said: "General Chen, I understand your feelings, but you must be careful what you say."
Chen Xun sat down angrily, but still muttered quietly. Wang Yue, Miao Shao, Xu Ming and others next to them also snorted coldly.
