At the end of October, there was a storm in Beijing. Everyone in the city, whether they were ordinary people, ministers of the court, relatives of the emperor, traffickers, merchants and gentry, were all in panic.
At this time, two news were spreading wildly in the city: one was that a million Dashun troops were besieging Hong Chengchou's tribe in Xinzhou, and the other was that hundreds of thousands of Qing troops were coming all the way from Jizhou.
With the intertwining of these two pieces of news, a large-scale refugee wave began to appear in Beijing. Countless people fled the city with their families and their families. Even many Beijing officials packed up their belongings and fled all the way to Shandong. There was a chaos inside and outside the city. A scene of doomsday.
On this day, Emperor Chongzhen summoned all civil and military officials to hold a court meeting in Qianqing Palace. However, when Emperor Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair and looked at the ministers in the hall, the anger in his heart suddenly rose.
Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, many people did not go to court despite the imperial edict. Wang Chengen on the side explained that many ministers had taken sick leave in the past few days, but in fact they left the city to escape for their lives.
Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, and all the cabinet ministers also had sad faces. At this time, they had no extra energy to pay attention, so they had to let those ministers leave.
Emperor Chongzhen said angrily: "Order Beizhen Fusi to bring all officials who have left Beijing back to Beijing and send them to Zhao Prison to be severely punished!"
"Accept the decree!"
Emperor Chongzhen rarely set up large prisons, but he was so angry this time. But looking at the ministers in the DPRK, not many of them were afraid. All of them were frowning, obviously unable to deal with the current situation.
Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath, and then asked Chen Xinjia: "Are there any troops entering Beijing in the past few days?"
Chen Xinjia was almost crying at this time, and he raised his hands and said
Said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War's troop deployment order was sent out on an urgent basis at eight hundred miles. It has been issued for almost ten days. Logically speaking, North Zhili, Jiubian, and even Shanhaiguan, South Zhili and other places have already been dispatched. We arrived, but now no soldiers have come, and there are not even a few who have responded to the letter."
"What!"
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen finally panicked and asked hurriedly: "Why doesn't Ma Ke, the chief military officer of Shanhaiguan Town, come?"
"Ma Ke, he said that he broke his leg while riding a horse and couldn't get out of bed. Moreover, Ma Ke also said that he wanted to guard Shanhaiguan to prevent Qing troops from entering."
"fart!"
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was so angry that he cursed loudly and roared loudly: "The Qing army has entered the pass and is about to attack Beijing. Why is he still guarding Shanhaiguan!"
"Order Beizhen Fusi to immediately arrest Ma Ke and bring him to Beijing to hand him over to the Three Laws Division for discussion!"
Chen Xinjia almost cried and said: "Your Majesty, who dares to leave the capital and go to Shanhaiguan now? Wouldn't that mean running into the Qing army?"
"Asshole!"
Emperor Chongzhen roared angrily, as if this was the only way to vent the fear in his heart, but it still didn't help.
Suddenly, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to remember something and said, "Shandong? Yes, Shandong! Did Liu Yan have a reply?"
"nor."
Chen Xinjia almost wanted to hit someone at this time. If Emperor Chongzhen had not been stubborn and did not use Liu Yan, it is estimated that the grass on Li Zicheng's grave would have been ten feet high by now. Hong Chengchou would not have to lead the elites of the Nine Sides southward, and Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao would not have died in the battle. , the Qing army would not have been able to break through the border and go south so smoothly. How could the Ming Dynasty encounter such a crisis of national subjugation?
But all the words were stuck in Chen Xinjia's throat, and finally they came together into one sentence
: "Your Majesty, let's issue a special edict to Liu Yan. Now as long as Liu Yan is willing to lead his troops to Beijing, I am willing to give him the position of Minister of War!"
After saying this, Chen Xinjia knelt on the ground as usual. Seeing this, other civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty also knelt down and begged Emperor Chongzhen to order Liu Yan to enter the capital.
When Wang Chengen saw this, he cried loudly and knelt at the feet of Emperor Chongzhen, saying loudly: "I am sure the emperor has issued an edict, please ask Liu Yan to lead the army to serve the king!"
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth, trembling with confusion. After a long time, he squeezed out the word "yes" from his mouth. However, because the voice was too low, Chen Xinjia and other ministers did not hear it at all.
Fortunately, Wang Chengen on the side heard the voice and almost jumped up in excitement and shouted: "Your Majesty has a decree: He ordered the Governor of Shandong, Liu Yan, to lead his army to serve the king!"
The roar was so sudden that it startled Emperor Chongzhen, who was still sullen. Then Emperor Chongzhen glared at Wang Chengen fiercely and sat on the dragon chair without saying anything.
When Chen Xinjia and other civil and military ministers heard this, they immediately shouted long live, thinking: Your Majesty is relieved!
Immediately, Chen Xinjia led a group of cabinet ministers in the main hall. They drafted the edict in person and handed it to Wang Chengen in person. Emperor Chongzhen took a look at it and nodded slightly. Wang Chengen tremblingly covered it with the jade seal.
Chen Xinjia immediately took the edict, turned around and ran out of the hall, looking for someone to summon him.
This operation was very fast. In the past, it would take at least several days for the imperial court to issue an edict. However, this time, Emperor Chongzhen, Chen Xinjia and others only took a cup of tea, and the efficiency was extremely high.
One day later, Shuntian Prefecture, Dacheng County, North Zhili.
Liu Yan led the new army officers and soldiers from the big city in a mighty manner.
Passing outside the county town, the defenders in the city rushed to watch, hoping to catch a glimpse of the officers and soldiers of the new army.
This time, after Liu Yan received the order from King Qin from the Ministry of War, he immediately mobilized the entire shogunate. Not only the front camp, rear camp, middle camp, left camp, right camp, guard camp, cavalry camp, and artillery battalion of the new army were all dispatched, but also the garrison. The second battalion of the garrison in Yanzhou Prefecture, the third battalion of the garrison in Dengzhou Prefecture, and the fifth battalion of the garrison in Dongchang Prefecture also went out together.
Liu Yan mobilized more than 125,000 troops this time. The combat barracks of the three garrisons were not equipped with bayonets, so there were still half gunners and half spearmen in the army. In each battalion of the New Army, all soldiers used blunderbuss, and the spearmen in the battalion were eliminated. Only two sword and shield men were retained in each team to throw thunder.
All battalions of the New Army were equipped with bayonets, and all the blunderbuss used were replaced with the latest models.
This new type of bird gun not only has a two-inch longer barrel, but also a redesigned butt, which is thicker and easier to block and hit, and is also longer. The new musket is one and a half meters long, and with a bayonet of about twenty centimeters, the overall length is about one meter and seventy, making it exactly like a long gun.
Coupled with the soldiers' own height and arm length, if the army forms a thrust, it can completely block the charge of the enemy's horses and soldiers. Of course, what this refers to is the charge that was in disarray and slowed down after several rounds of volleys from sharp-sharp bird cannons.
"Look at those soldiers and horses, they are really majestic. Are these Shandong soldiers?"
"Of course, look at them, they are all wearing armor, and what kind of fire gun is that? It's so long?"
On top of the city, the defenders were discussing and saw hundreds of thousands of Shandong soldiers.
Going north to King Qin, everyone felt at ease: with so many new army soldiers and horses heading north, there are not enough Tatars to kill!
At this time, Liu Yan stopped his horse and raised his telescope to look north. Miao Shao rode beside him and said, "What are you looking at, Governor?"
Liu Yan pointed forward and said, "Look at the swamp in front of you. It's called Deshengdian. Our army passes through here and we will definitely win this battle!"
Miao Shao smiled and said: "That's natural. The troop deployment order from the Ministry of War said that Huang Taiji led more than 200,000 troops this time, but the news from our Intelligence Department shows that the Qing troops had at least 300,000 troops. But no matter No matter how high it is, even Huang Taiji will be defeated in this battle."
Liu Yan said with a smile: "Huang Taiji still wants to go back? Then it depends on whether he is determined or not!"
"It's just that the governor of this battle should be more cautious. I don't know what the emperor's attitude is yet. If someone gives random orders behind his back..."
Liu Yan said proudly: "Taking arbitrary orders? Do you think the governor will listen?"
"In order to fight this battle, the governor ordered the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Agriculture of the shogunate to mobilize 1.2 million silver coins and 800,000 shi of food. The food and grass are enough for the army to consume for four months. This is just in case the court runs out of money and food. I Army supplies are cut off.”
"The governor himself provides money and food for the war, who the hell dares to point fingers!"
Miao Shao laughed loudly and said, "Master Governor, what are you trying to do?"
Liu Yan said: "Of course, this governor is not just rescuing the city of Beijing. The main purpose of this battle is to completely defeat the main force of the Qing army, so that the Qing army will not be able to go south for at least ten years!"
At the same time, Liu Yan secretly thought in his heart: "What's more, we need to clear out some wine bags and rice bags in the court. Today's
It's time for the imperial court to undergo thorough reforms. Otherwise, not only will I, Liu Yan, and my brothers have a hard time, but the world will also be destroyed! "
Miao Shao said: "The governor is so courageous, this time I will let the Qing army litter the fields with corpses!"
While he was talking, Xun Jingyun, the deputy minister of the shogunate's military department who had accompanied the army north, came on horseback and brought two royal guards with him.
"Master Governor, Your Majesty has sent someone to summon you!"
Liu Yan raised his brows and said with a smile: "Did you see that? Your Majesty can't hold back any longer!"
Miao Shao laughed, and Xun Jingyun looked at him differently and asked, "What are you laughing at? Did the governor tell a joke?"
"It's not a joke, but it's funny!"
Xun Jingyun muttered, and then the two royal guards dismounted their horses, saluted, and presented the imperial edict to Liu Yan with both hands.
Liu Yan just glanced at it twice and said to the two Jin Yiwei: "Ma Ke from Shanhaiguan Town didn't send troops?"
"No, it's said that General Ma fell off his horse and broke his leg."
"oh?"
Liu Yan said coldly: "Since he has this preference, I will be happy to satisfy him after the Qing army is defeated!"
"Okay, the governor has received the order. You have also seen that our Shandong soldiers are marching north day and night. You can go back and resume your duties."
"yes!"
After sending away the two Jinyi guards, Liu Yan said to Miao Shao and Xun Jingyun: "Order the soldiers of each battalion to speed up and not to camp in the city along the way. Camp in the wild along the way."
"yes!"
"In addition, all the battalions that were not collected at night were dispersed to prevent being raided by the Qing army. Although this is Beizhili, it is a battlefield, which is equivalent to enemy territory. We must not take it lightly."
"yes!"
The next day, Emperor Chongzhen received the report and learned that Liu Yan had led his troops into the north.
From Zhili, it will take less than a few days to reach the capital area. Moreover, Liu Yan led a large number of soldiers and horses this time, more than hundreds of thousands of them. They were well-equipped and well-fed. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "In the whole world, I am the most prepared for Liu Yan, but at the critical moment, only Liu Yan can be relied upon, am I already so comatose?"
A few days later, Emperor Chongzhen finally received the news he had been dreaming of: Liu Yan led an elite army of 120,000 to Daxing, south of Beijing. The army then turned to the northeast and faced hundreds of thousands of Qing troops.
After hearing the news, Emperor Chongzhen sat in the imperial study and burst into tears. His cry was so sad and dejected that Wang Chengen next to him couldn't help but burst into tears.
At the same time, after Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, learned the news, he laughed and made a fuss in the mansion as if he was crazy. Then he collapsed on the ground and muttered to himself: "Okay, now it's okay, we're saved!"
