For the cavalry, the distance of thirty miles would probably take less than two hours to catch up.
Chongzhen had no time to hesitate anymore, so he had to urgently order all the cavalry to follow him northward.
Finally, he led eight thousand cavalry and went straight to Juyongguan.
At this time, there were tens of thousands of soldiers left behind. Not only did they have to transport a large amount of baggage, but many gentry from Beijing also followed them to move south.
The road was full of bullock carts and donkey carts. Although everyone was working hard to drive the animals, they could only cover ten miles in an hour.
Yuan Chonghuan also had to make a decision at this time.
After he was abandoned by Chongzhen, he could only abandon these gentry and their luggage.
To be honest, anyone would feel sad if they abandoned a large amount of property.
But it was the lesser of two evils, and now he had to abandon these things as well.
The remaining soldiers were ordered to advance lightly and head towards Zijingguan Pass.
While he ordered the troops at Zijingguan to come out to meet him, he kept urging the advancing army.
Soon they distanced themselves from the ranks of these gentry.
Chongzhen and others left in such a hurry that the carriage of Queen Mother Zhang Yan was left behind in the crowd.
This was also Duduo's intention. Zhang Yan, the queen mother, basically didn't play a big role. He had already received instructions from the Intelligence Department to take Zhang Yan back for punishment!
Therefore, no matter when Chongzhen or Yuan Chonghuan left, Duduo did not take the initiative to follow them.
Of course, Zhang Yan in the carriage knew nothing about this. The incense on the carriage was filled with poison, and she was sleeping quietly on the carriage at the moment.
At this time, a eunuch said: "Qi Zhenduo is in charge of things. The wife of the Liaodong County Prince and the two young masters are jointly supervised by Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and Wang Chengen's Dongchang."
"His Majesty always takes them with him immediately. The little ones spent a lot of money, but they were unable to rescue them."
Duduo didn't know that they were stand-ins, so the Intelligence Department still issued a death order to rescue them. But at this time, he had no choice but to escort Zhang Yan back to the Intelligence Department to recover.
The only thing left to watch next is Dorgon.
More than an hour later, 20,000 cavalry led by Hong Chengchou caught up with them.
The gentry quickly took out a large amount of gold and silver and begged Hong Chengchou to let them go.
Li Xianzhong had already issued an order not to kill these people, but to drive them to the White Lotus Sect's territory in the south.
Then Hong Chengchou was happy to be a good person for once.
After collecting hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from these gentry, Hong Chengchou said: "If I want to continue to pursue Chongzhen, you should go directly to Baoding!"
When the gentry heard that Hong Chengchou had let them go, they were moved to tears!
Although both Chongzhen and Yuan Chonghuan abandoned them.
However, they only dared to direct their anger at Yuan Chonghuan's head.
After all, His Majesty still left Yuan Chonghuan to protect them, and Yuan Chonghuan was the one who directly abandoned them.
So they soon told Hong Chengchou about Yuan Chonghuan's escape to Zijingguan.
At this time Duduo appeared in front of Hong Chengchou, and he quickly showed his token.
Hong Chengchou knew that he was from the Intelligence Department.
Duduo said: "Governor Hong, you have been deceived. Chongzhen was originally in this team, but Yang Sichang caught up with him an hour and a half ago. Now he has led the cavalry directly to Juyongguan. He will not leave Zhili and go south, preparing to use the road to declare It’s big, going down from the southwest of Shanxi.”
"But the more than 10,000 infantrymen led by Yuan Chonghuan have just sped away. You should still be able to catch up. Yuan Chonghuan's 50,000 troops are meeting them in the Zijingguan area. You must hurry up!"
Originally, Hong Chengchou was confident that he could catch Chongzhen, but he didn't expect Yang Sichang to be so cunning.
Chongzhen had already walked for an hour and a half, so he naturally couldn't catch up.
And once you enter the Xuanda area, it will be very difficult to attack by force.
In desperation, Hong Chengchou had no choice but to retreat and pursue the remaining troops of Yuan Chonghuan, and captured them back to Li Xianzhong.
After all, his next main task is to lead the Yulin Battalion to capture the surrounding Zhili and completely ensure the security around the capital.
As for the strategy of Shanxi Tongxuan University, Li Xianzhong has already left it to others.
He had no choice but to escort the silver coins back to the capital with Zhang Yan and report Chongzhen's movements to Li Xianzhong.
After that, Hong Chengchou headed towards Zijingguan.
However, his 20,000 troops were still a bit weak. At the same time, he ordered the 20,000 Liaodong Army in Zhuozhou to march to Yizhou to contain the enemy forces there.
After all, Fangshan is 100 miles away from Zijingguan. Yuan Chonghuan's men all have two legs. Even if they can run, they can't outrun Hong Chengchou's cavalry.
Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan left an ambush on the line of Dafang Mountain, 5 miles west of Fangshan.
When the cavalry of the Yulin Battalion passed through Dafang Mountain, ambushes were everywhere, and the valleys on both sides were filled with the sound of fire and gunshots.
There are also some rocks rolling down the mountain.
After all, the ambush was set up hastily, and the Ming army was unable to block the mountain road.
After all, Hong Chengchou was experienced in the battlefield. He quickly saw that the enemy army was just hastily setting up an ambush, and the reloading speed of the firecrackers was very slow, so it was impossible to form an effective continuous strike.
So he ordered the main cavalry to pass directly through the enemy's ambush zone, leaving 5,000 men to continue to encircle and suppress the remaining enemies.
Finally they caught up with Yuan Chonghuan's men near the Juma River.
At this time, Yuan Chonghuan and other 7,000 imperial guards had just crossed the Juma River, which was delayed a lot of time.
He didn't expect Hong Chengchou's men to catch up so quickly.
Fortunately, they had already crossed the river, so he ordered a large number of gunmen to guard the only nearby bridge.
Although the Yulin Battalion led by Hong Chengchou also carried the 6-pound Franco machine artillery pulled by horses like the Liaodong Army.
However, these artillery pieces are still in the rear group, and it will still take some time to wait for them to come.
At the same time, he ordered some of the fire gunners of the Yulin Camp to take advantage of their range to suppress the Suifu guns on the other side.
The other side led the cavalry directly to cross the water.
Although it is summer at this time, droughts for several consecutive years have caused the Juma River to have insufficient water and the river is not fast.
Although the war horses had a natural resistance to the river, they began to neigh and stagnated, but under the whip of the knight's whip, they finally rushed into the Juma River.
The river was much shallower than expected, but it only reached the horse's belly.
At this time, it was too late for Yuan Chonghuan's infantry to prevent Yulin Camp from crossing the river.
"Bang, bang, bang"
The Lumi guns on the other side provided sufficient fire cover for the forcibly crossing cavalry.
And as the war horses landed, their nightmare began!
The cavalry of the Yulin Camp waved their sabers and spears to their heart's content, and carried out ruthless killings!
But then they searched the battlefield thoroughly, but no trace of Yuan Chonghuan himself was found.
It turned out that Yuan Chonghuan had horses. When he saw that something was wrong, he decisively abandoned these troops and retreated to Zijingguan alone.
Hong Chengchou cursed angrily: "Yuan Chonghuan is really too cunning!"
However, he could not attack Zijingguan at this time because they were already deep into the rear of Yizhou.
He must cooperate with Mao Yuanyi's 20,000 Liaodong Army to first defeat the 20,000 Ming Army trapped in Yizhou.
After they eliminated the defenders of Yizhou, they then besieged Zijingguan, only to find that there were only more than 10,000 people left in the pass.
Although Hong Chengchou successfully captured Zijingguan, Yuan Chonghuan still took 20,000 confidants through the Taihang Mountains through Feihukou and retreated into Shanxi.
At this time, news came that the White Lotus Sect had gathered people to cause chaos, captured Baoding Mansion, and killed King Heng Zhu Chang.
After Hong Chengchou heard this, he was shocked. When Li Xianzhong asked him to kill the gentry, after all, these people were on the wrong team.
But now Li Xianzhong actually killed Zhu Ming's vassal king?
Even if Emperor Hongguang succeeds to the throne, the world will still be the Ming Dynasty, right?
Prince Heng was originally a vassal in Qingzhou, and his subordinate village land had long been robbed by Zheng Zhilong. Now he has escaped to Baoding and still has not survived. It seems that Li Xianzhong wants to clean up Zhu Ming's vassal king.
Mao Yuanyi on the side said with a smile: "The thieves of the White Lotus Sect are really unforgivable for killing the lords and gentry. Governor Hong should go south quickly to regain the lost territory."
"As for Chongzhen in Shanxi, the Liaodong County Prince has other plans!"
How could Hong Chengchou not guess Li Xianzhong's true purpose with his wisdom.
He killed both the gentry and the vassal king. I am afraid that sooner or later he will have to stand on his own feet!
However, he had already boarded Li Xianzhong's "thief ship" at this time, and I was afraid that there was no way out.
Hong Chengchou said: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, Hong will definitely solve the problem of rogue bandits quickly and pacify Zhili."
Seeing Hong Chengchou taking the initiative to deal with the aftermath, Mao Yuanyi also showed a satisfied smile!
At this time, Zhang Yan had woken up.
When she woke up, she was shocked to find that she was back in Cining Palace again.
Are you dreaming?
He had obviously escaped, why did he come back?
Zhang Yan even pinched herself hard.
The pain she felt told herself that she was not dreaming.
At this time Duduo came in and said, "Empress Dowager, are you finally awake?"
Zhang Yan asked nervously: "Xiao Duozi, why did we return to Cining Palace again, where is Your Majesty?"
Duduo said: "Your Majesty ran away with his cavalry, leaving the Queen Mother behind in Fangshan. We were brought back to Cining Palace by the Liaodong Army!"
Chongzhen abandoned himself, how could this be possible?
Didn't he always care about himself, the emperor's wife, the most?
Duduo said: "The Queen Mother, have you forgotten your other identity?"
"The King of Liaodong County invites you!"
Li Xianzhong? Although Zhang Yan had already guessed that the man behind the Intelligence Department was Li Xianzhong, she was still filled with anxiety about facing Li Xianzhong directly!
After all, he still has his family and the control is in Li Xianzhong's hands.
Soon Zhang Yan came to a side hall of Qianqing Palace.
At this time, Li Xianzhong was looking at a painting with great interest.
In the painting, a disheveled aristocratic woman was being humiliated by a military commander!
Zhang Yan's face turned red with embarrassment.
At this time, she remembered that during the training in "Heaven and Earth", she was forced to make various flirting movements naked and cooperate with the painter in painting!
Although she was very angry in her heart, she did not dare to show it.
Li Xianzhong still had his back to Zhang Yan, and he spoke: "In the sixth year of Shaoding reign of Lizong of the Song Dynasty, General Meng Gong led more than 20,000 Song troops from the Jinghu area to the north to conquer Caizhou with the Mongols. Jin Aizong hanged himself!"
"It is said that in order to avenge the 'Jingkang humiliation' of the Jin Kingdom, Meng Gong not only cut Jin Aizong's body in two with the Mongols, but also raped Jin Aizong's queen and ordered the painter to observe and paint on the spot."
"This "After Tasting Picture" has been passed down to this day because of this!"
Zhang Yan was extremely angry at this time. Li Xianzhong asked her to see this "After Tasting Picture". Could it be that he was hinting that he would sacrifice himself?
Seeing that Zhang Yan did not respond, Li Xianzhong said: "Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Queen Mother Zhang has been caring about her brother-in-law, Emperor Chongzhen, and she can't even remember my voice!"
What Li Xianzhong said seemed to have opened the shackles in Zhang Yan's heart.
Because the training in "Heaven and Earth" is extremely demanding, only one person's training is an exception.
Although he was wearing a mask, it could be seen that the man would be very handsome if he had not been disfigured, and he was not very old, in his early 20s at most.
In fact, Zhang Yan once had the idea of committing suicide after being sold to "heaven and earth". It was this person who told her that the queen had a heavy responsibility and had to advise the emperor for the people of the world.
He also told himself that the gentry in the world ignored the imperial power and exploited the common people.
To be honest, Zhang Yan was just a little girl under 15 years old. It was obvious that she had fallen in love with this "teacher" deep down in her heart. However, because she was about to be sent to the palace to choose a queen, she put her This love is buried deep in my heart!
But he never expected that this person was actually Li Xianzhong himself.
The object of my secret love back then was actually the "big devil" in my mouth, Li Xianzhong.
Li Xianzhong turned around and still wore the same mask. When he took off the mask, Zhang Yan was stunned!
With a high nose, sharp eyebrows and a hint of heroism in his every move, Li Xianzhong turned out to be more handsome than he thought.
In fact, it wasn't just Zhang Yan who was attracted to Li Xianzhong at the beginning. Li Xianzhong was also attracted by the little girl in front of him.
Otherwise, how could he spare the precious time to teach Zhang Yan.
You must know that his time in the capital is only a handful.
Li Xianzhong reached out and gently touched Zhang Yan's cheek, and then said: "You have been so naughty these years, and you actually obeyed my instructions!"
"But it doesn't matter. The harder Chongzhen works, the faster the Ming Dynasty will decline, so I am still satisfied with Empress Dowager Zhang's work!"
Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was a rare hard-working king in the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Yan actually couldn't understand why he worked so hard, but the Ming Dynasty was still deteriorating!
Seeing Zhang Yan still looking shocked!
Li Xianzhong said, "Queen Mother Zhang, if you have anything you want to ask, just ask?"
Zhang Yan said: "The person who was chosen was Emperor Tianqi himself. Why didn't the prince teach Zhang Yan carpentry, but he was sure that Zhang Yan would be chosen as the queen."
Li Xianzhong said with a smile: "I don't teach you carpentry work because the person in charge of the Intelligence Department felt that you were difficult to control and not obedient, so he wanted you to lose the election. But he didn't expect that due to a strange combination of circumstances, this actually made you lose the job. You were elected!”
"As for why I am so sure that you will be selected as the queen, it is because all three of you candidates are my people. No matter who Zhu Youxiao chooses in the end, his queen is from the Intelligence Department."
Li Xianzhong added: "Your family is living a good life. I did not detain them. Cao Huachun is here to scare you!"
"As for Chongzhen, it's very simple, because he took the wrong direction, so the harder he worked, the farther Ming Dynasty went from the right path!"
Zhang Yan said: "I wonder what else the Ai family can do for the prince?"
Li Xianzhong said: "Emperor Hongguang has proclaimed himself emperor in Kaiyuan and ascended the throne. However, in order to demonstrate his legitimacy, I want you to confirm the authenticity of Wanli Ye's edict and denounce Chongzhen as a false emperor."
Seeing that Zhang Yan didn't answer, Li Xianzhong mocked: "Why, do you still feel sorry for your brother-in-law Chongzhen?"
Zhang Yan said: "The Ai family just obeys the prince's orders!"
Li Xianzhong pinched Zhang Yan's nose and said, "I wish I had been so obedient. Do you really follow my orders?"
Then Li Xianzhong pointed at the "After Tasting Picture" maliciously!
Soon the two became entangled together!
Chongzhen, led by Yang Sichang, passed Juyongguan and entered Xuanfu Town.
Liang Tingdong, the governor of Xuanda, came to greet him in person.
Yang Sichang had already found out clearly that Liang Tingdong was the confidant of Wen Tiren, the first assistant, so he could leave Yuan Chonghuan behind, but he did not dare to leave Wen Tiren behind.
At this time, there were more than 62,000 registered border troops in Xuanfu and Datong Town, and the actual strength was 50,000.
Wen Tiren stopped talking nonsense and asked Liang Tingdong to take the cavalry and go south with him.
Now that he has Liang Tingdong's troops, he has more and more say in front of Chongzhen.
However, Liang Tingdong was still a little hesitant at this time. After all, he had made a lot of money from his appointment as Xuanda.
Now that he was asked to leave his roots, give up his hard-won territory, and lead his troops to escort him south, he was still reluctant to do so.
After all, the amount of money that Shanxi businessmen headed by Fan Yongdou paid him every year was not a small amount.
In desperation, Wen Tiren had to team up with Yang Sichang to do Chongzhen's ideological work.
They currently only have 8,000 cavalry in their hands, not to mention that they have to pass through Henan under Li Zicheng's control along the way.
Even if they could escape to Nanjing safely, this small number of soldiers and horses would not be able to suppress the situation!
Chongzhen didn't care, he was still the emperor when he arrived in Nanjing.
But it was different for Wen Tiren and Yang Sichang. After they arrived in Nanjing, they had to compete for power with the gentry and nobles in the south of the Yangtze River.
If they have no soldiers, they have no right to speak!
If they could take Liang Tingdong's main force of tens of thousands of border troops south, then the situation would be completely different.
Wen Tiren was the chief assistant, Yang Sichang was the Minister of War, and Wang Chengen was added.
The "iron triangle" composed of the three of them will definitely have the right to speak in the Nanjing court.
Soon the three formed a political alliance.
In order to win over Liang Tingdong, they promised to ennoble Liang Tingdong.
As long as Liang Tingdong escorts them to Nanjing safely, he will be named Zhongyongbo, hereditary and irreplaceable!
Liang Tingdong was finally convinced. Although money was a good thing, he couldn't buy a hereditary title!
So Liang Tingdong quickly gathered 20,000 cavalry to escort him south!
As for the towns of Xuanfu and Datong, they couldn't care less.
Just as Chongzhen and others led 28,000 cavalry into Taiyuan, they received news from King Lu.
On July 18, the fourth year of Chongzhen, the intruder Li Zicheng divided his troops into two groups.
They went north from Luoyang and crossed the Yellow River. They have now occupied Huaiqing Mansion and are currently attacking Weihui Mansion where King Lu is located!
The other route crossed the Yellow River from Puban and entered Pingyang Prefecture, conquering Linjin, Wenxi and other places all the way, and has surrounded Linfen, the prefectural city of Pingyang!
The bandits number 600,000, and now northern Henan and southern Shanxi are in danger!
This news stunned Chongzhen and others on the spot, because their passage south was blocked by Li Zicheng!
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(End of chapter)
