In early June, we visited Tang County.
During this period of time, due to the severe losses of the New Army and garrison battalions, with more than 8,000 casualties, Liu Yan led his troops to stay in Xingtang County. The battalion has regained its combat strength. On the other hand, Liu Yan is still planning another thing, which is to reorganize the new army and garrison battalions!
Now that the world has been settled, according to Liu Yan's plan, all parts of the Ming Dynasty need to imitate the new military system and establish new types of official and military garrison in various places.
Therefore, Liu Yan planned to reorganize the first to sixth battalions of the garrison into the new army battalions, and then reorganize all the new army battalions into the Ming National Defense Force.
While fully implementing the New Deal, Liu Yan prepared to imitate later generations of reds in taking power and implement two military systems within the Ming Dynasty:
One is the National Defense Force, which is mainly composed of the New Army and the Garrison Army. It is mainly used for foreign operations and is the main force of the Ming Empire's foreign campaigns.
The other is the newly built garrison forces in various places, which are mainly used internally and are the main force of the Ming Empire garrisoned in various places.
This involves many problems, the first of which is money and food, and the second is the source of troops.
So during this period, Liu Yan was planning this matter in Xingtang County. Fortunately, there were ready-made examples for future generations. Liu Yan also compiled a relatively detailed "Strategy for the Reorganization of Military Affairs in the Ming Dynasty", but Liu Yan was not in a hurry. This strategy was disclosed to the outside world, and no information was even revealed to Chen Xun, Xu Ming, Miao Shao and other close confidants.
At this time, in Xingtang County, the last batch of recruits mobilized from Qingzhou Prefecture arrived at the school grounds in the city. This batch of recruits were mainly young men from Yanzhou Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture.
, all of whom were selected from rural people and available military households, with a total number of more than 1,300 people.
With the addition of these more than 1,300 men, all the vacancies in each battalion of the New Army were filled.
In the school grounds, Chen Xun looked at the newly assembled recruits. Miao Shao was speaking to everyone on the high platform, and then the commanders of each battalion sent people to select soldiers.
Chen Xun's front camp of the new army had already filled up the vacancies when the previous batch of recruits arrived in the city, so Chen Xun was not involved in the selection this time.
However, the front camp of the New Army has also initially completed its reorganization, so Chen Xun came over to see the excitement.
"General Miao!"
Miao Shao looked back, walked over with a grin, and said, "Why, Mr. Chen, do you have any advice?"
Chen Xun pulled Miao Shao aside, looked around and saw no one around, and whispered, "Have you heard?"
Miao Shao asked in surprise: "What did you hear?"
Chen Xun said: "Mr. Ge, what are you planning in the county government for such a long time?"
Miao Shao laughed dumbly and said: "I said Mr. Chen, if you have nothing to do, go write a letter and send it back to your sister-in-law, so that she won't miss you. Don't keep thinking about making excuses with me. I don't have anything to say. !”
Chen Xun looked like "Only a ghost will believe you" and said, "Stop talking about me. Have you written a letter to your wife?"
Miao Shao's wife is the daughter of the owner of the cotton cloth shop in Jimo Yingcheng. She also lives in Jinan Fucheng and often walks around with Wang Yunhe on weekdays.
Miao Shao laughed and said: "Don't worry, I have written several letters since the war ended, and I said a lot of disgusting words!"
Chen Xun was about to laugh at Miao Shao when he suddenly heard a loud noise in the city.
The trumpet sounded, and then a messenger came on horseback and said loudly: "The Duke of Lu has an order: the leaders of each camp will immediately go to the county government to attend the military meeting!"
"Got the order!"
Chen Xun and Miao Shao immediately stopped smiling, called the accompanying guards, and rode towards the county government office.
When they arrived at the gate of the county government office, Shen Tuo, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Xu Ming, Qian Qian and others also arrived at the door one after another. Everyone had no time to exchange greetings, so they hurried into the county government office and went directly to the main hall.
Seeing everyone gathered together, Liu Yan said directly: "I have decided that the army will reorganize today and set off tomorrow!"
Everyone was surprised, why were they so anxious all of a sudden?
Liu Yan continued: "The guard battalion, cavalry battalion, and artillery battalion returned directly to Beijing City with me to garrison. The front battalion went to Xuanfu Town to garrison, the rear battalion went to Zhendingfu area to garrison, the left battalion went to Shuntian Prefecture to garrison, and the right battalion went to Shuntian Prefecture to garrison. The battalion went to Yongping Prefecture to garrison, and the middle battalion went to Baoding Prefecture to garrison. In addition, the sixth battalion of the garrison was dispatched to garrison in the Hejian Prefecture area, and the fifth battalion of the garrison was moved south from Beijing City to garrison Shunde Prefecture, Guangping Prefecture, and Daming Mansion area!"
After everyone heard this, Liu Yan directly deployed all the new troops and garrison troops. In this way, Northern Zhili was completely under Liu Yan's control. In addition, Shandong had been built into a monolith by Liu Yan, and all the core areas of the Ming Dynasty were under control. It's Liu Yan's territory.
"So, what does Mr. Ge want to do?"
Everyone was silent for a while. Although everyone was Liu Yan's die-hard loyalist, even if Liu Yan announced that he would replace Emperor Chongzhen, everyone would lead his troops to follow him.
But now that Liu Yan suddenly made such arrangements, everyone was somewhat confused.
Liu Yan didn't wait for anyone to ask.
, and said directly: "I am preparing to reform the armies in various areas of the army. Therefore, in order to prevent any eventuality, we must ensure the stability of Beizhili and Shandong. After the soldiers of each battalion arrive at the scheduled garrison area, they must control the local key areas and areas as soon as possible. In this city, anyone who dares to oppose my New Deal and military reforms will be suppressed, no matter who they are!"
Everyone stood up, clasped their fists, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty!"
The next day, the battalions of the New Army set off from Xingtang County one after another according to Liu Yan's deployment. Liu Yan led the guard battalion, cavalry battalion and artillery battalion all the way north towards Beijing.
Due to the drag of the artillery battalion, Liu Yan's army took more than four days to reach Beijing.
When Liu Yan rode his horse into Beijing, thirteen ministers including Chen Xinjia, Wang Wenzhen, Yue Ming, and Zhao Min led the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to wait outside Xuanwu Gate in the south of the city.
When Liu Yan saw everyone, he got off his horse and said with a smile: "Everyone is here? Okay!"
Everyone raised their hands and said, "Congratulations to the Duke of Lu for his triumphant return, for pacifying the Li thieves and bringing stability to the world. This is indeed a pillar of great enlightenment and a blessing to the people!"
Liu Yan laughed loudly and said to everyone: "You really will give me a high hat. Although Li Zicheng's army of one million has been annihilated, the court is still in trouble. I still count on your help to continue to implement in various fields." The New Deal, and the military reforms that will follow!”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Everyone knew about the implementation of the New Deal. Now, except for North Zhili, the promotion situation in other provinces, prefectures and counties is not optimistic. Especially in South Zhili and Jiangnan provinces, they have basically been Boycotted.
Faced with such a situation, Liu Yan unexpectedly
However, we still need to carry out military reform. What is going to be changed in this military reform?
For a moment, everyone was full of suspicion, but Liu Yan ignored everyone's reaction and directly greeted everyone: "Okay, everyone, follow me into the city, and come together to the palace to meet the saint!"
"yes!"
Subsequently, the new army's guard battalion, cavalry battalion, and artillery battalion entered the city of Beijing. The fifth and sixth battalions of the garrison had also received Liu Yan's order in advance and were ready to go. At the same time, they left the city from Chongwen Gate and headed to their respective places. garrison area.
Then Liu Yan led everyone into the palace and met Emperor Chongzhen in the imperial study.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen still had a straight face, but his breath was no longer as cold as before.
The ministers of the cabinet once again congratulated Emperor Chongzhen on Dingzhou Street, and Liu Yan then reported: "Your Majesty, I have brought the bodies of Li Zicheng, Gu Kecheng, Xia Guoxiang, Wang Pingfan and others, and also brought the bodies of people before and after the Dingzhou War. His beheading will also be brought back to the capital. Your Majesty can choose a time to officially announce to the world: Thief Li has been destroyed!"
After listening to Liu Yan's words, Emperor Chongzhen could no longer control his emotions. Even in front of Liu Yan, Emperor Chongzhen still burst into tears and cried for a long time. The cry was so miserable and sad that even Liu Yan I couldn't help but feel moved. The depression, fear and other emotions accumulated in my heart for so many years all burst out in an instant.
Chen Xinjia and other thirteen ministers also burst into tears at this time. Even if they were not so loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, they were very sympathetic emotionally. Regardless of his ability, Emperor Chongzhen was still remarkable in terms of diligence and love for the people. of.
Then the imperial study became quiet, Emperor Chongzhen controlled his emotions, and then
Then he sighed heavily and said to Liu Yan: "Mr. Liu Ge has made great contributions in this battle. I intend to canonize Mr. Liu Ge as a king with a different surname. I wonder what you ministers think?"
Everyone was shocked.
There is a custom among kings with different surnames in the Ming Dynasty, that is, "you will not be granted a title while you are alive"!
Historically, kings with different surnames in the Ming Dynasty were all granted posthumous titles, such as the "Six Founding Kings" of the Ming Dynasty: King Xu Da of Zhongshan, King Chang Yuchun of Kaiping, King Li Wenzhong of Qiyang, King Deng Yu of Ninghe, King Tang He of Dongou, King Muying of Qianning.
These people made great contributions during their lives, and being crowned kings after their death was the greatest recognition given to them by the Ming Dynasty. It should be noted that not only the generals who followed Zhu Yuanzhang received this kind of treatment, there were also such courtiers around later emperors. For example, Zhu Neng, one of the "Four Dukes of Jingnan" who followed Zhu Di, was posthumously named Dongping. Wang et al.
Of course, although Zhu Neng's surname is Zhu, he has no blood relationship with the Zhu Yuanzhang family and is also a king with a different surname.
At this time, no one dared to say anything, but Liu Yan said calmly: "I don't want to be crowned king, I just want the world to be peaceful!"
Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. This sentence was imitated by Qi Shaobao's sentence back then: The title of prince is not my intention, but I hope Hai Boping will be peaceful. This shows what Liu Yan is thinking.
Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said: "Without a reward for such a great achievement, it will be difficult to appease the people of the world, and I will have trouble sleeping and eating!"
Emperor Chongzhen was slapping Liu Yan, and of course he was alluding to the two previous unpleasant experiences outside Desheng Gate.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yan took the opportunity to express his determination to implement the New Deal and military reforms with an iron fist in order to revive the dying Ming Empire.
"Your Majesty, the new policy implemented by me can allow the people to recuperate and make contributions to the Ming Dynasty.
It can build up national strength, and military reform can restore the strength of the Ming Dynasty's army to the time when the country was founded. Both are indispensable, and I must vigorously promote it. "
"During this period, I will definitely encounter unimaginable difficulties, and even face the censure of the whole country! I am willing to give up this reward. I only hope that your majesty can always stand with me. This is the last hope of the Ming Dynasty! "
In fact, Liu Yan was right. Although Li Zicheng's million-strong army had been wiped out internally and the Manchu and Qing Tatars had been severely damaged externally, the Ming Dynasty had also reached the point where it was running out of fuel. Except for Liu Yan's troops and Shandong's slightly After regaining its vitality, the two capitals and twelve provinces of the Ming Dynasty actually have little room for maneuver. If reforms are not carried out, the Ming Dynasty will really have no hope. Even if there is no Li Zicheng, Wang Zicheng and Zhang Zicheng will appear again. !
After Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he thought that Liu Yan wanted to become Cao Cao and usurp the country of the Ming Dynasty. Today, Liu Yan came with the Thirteen Ministers of the Cabinet. In fact, he was forcing the palace!
Liu Yan was not angry when he saw this, knowing that Emperor Chongzhen would not understand his ideals and determination for a while, so it would not be a bad thing to clarify his ambitions and next steps today.
So Liu Yan proudly said: "If the powerful minister Cao Cao can save the Ming Dynasty, revitalize China, and make hundreds of millions of people in the world happy and prosperous, then I don't mind being a current Cao Cao!"
