Mr. Zhang's credibility was very strong, and the army set off in less than an hour.
The owners and shareholders of the eight major business groups watched the gathering in Beijing in shock. The soldiers in the Beijing Camp were well-trained and well-organized. They quickly packed up and formed a marching column, and then left the camp one by one.
No one spoke during the whole process. It was as quiet as silent water, rushing to the school field and then gathering into different teams.
Everyone is wearing bright armor and flying flags. The queue looks like a straight line when viewed horizontally or vertically. The soldiers' faces were red and their heads held high.
The head of the Fan family said with emotion: "I am thirty-three years old this year. I have never seen such energetic officers and soldiers in the Ming Dynasty."
The head of the Wang family also said excitedly: "Zhangjiakou is saved. This is the master of Pixiu. He is worthy of being the emperor's own army, the 12th regiment of the Beijing camp."
These Shanxi old wealthy people decided to follow the army to Zhangjiakou to clean up the situation.
The shareholders of the eight major business groups followed the mighty army with their servants. They wanted to go and see for themselves. They didn't know what Zhangjiakou was like.
Yang Fan and Zhang Shize had no interest in riding horses and marching in the cold weather. The two of them hid in the carriage and drank rice wine comfortably.
There is a small kerosene stove on the table, which is a product of a stove company that was newly launched this year. Yang Fan ordered a lot for Dajun for outdoor cooking. This can be regarded as attracting some business to the distinguished shareholders. One month after the new company went public, it received a large order from Jingying.
The stock price has also risen a lot, making many people who are not optimistic about it scratch their heads.
At this time, rice wine was boiling with shredded ginger in a small stainless steel pot above. Gu Gududu bubbles.
There are also some peanuts, beef tendons, and marinated large mullet cut into cubes on the table. When the wine is cooked, a small iron plate can be placed on it to grill some beef or mutton slices.
Yang Fan glanced at the old wealthy men riding donkeys outside and following the army in the cold wind, and sighed. To be honest, he felt a little unbearable.
Zhang Shize said: "You don't need to sympathize with them, they all asked for it. These old people are more ruthless than wolves when they exploit people. How do they earn their money? The methods behind them are very dirty."
Yang Fan's military training was based on modern models. In order to reduce fatigue and enliven the atmosphere during the march, he also sang military songs. At this time, the song he sang was Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong".
The people in the business group looked at the excitement in surprise. Singing on a cold day, you don’t have to worry about getting winded. These soldiers are really interesting.
However, they also admired the military appearance and discipline of these people, which was truly the best in the Ming Dynasty. Each and every one of them looked like they were soldiers.
The majestic singing and high morale shocked people greatly.
The head of the Jin family came running from behind on a green donkey and approached the other heads of the family. There's something wrong with his face.
Several other family heads looked over strangely.
"Everyone, we are in a bit of a hurry to do this."
Several other old men collectively rolled their eyes. How long has it been? You are still a miser. It’s really a typical example of giving up one’s life but not one’s wealth.
"No, it's not that I don't want to give up money, that's not what I meant." The old man from the Jin family explained hurriedly. "I found that there are 350 Jinyi guards in the army, led by a thousand households. There are also a hundred fans from Dongchang, led by a trial hundred households. There are also more than 300 civil servants from various ministries, The eldest is a third-rank minister of household affairs. I also saw sixty or seventy censors of the Inspectorate, and the eldest is a third-rank right deputy censor of the capital."
The head of the Fan family shook his head and said: "Old Jin, you are too careful. According to the usual practice when an army of this size goes out, there must be censors and factory guards to follow. Otherwise, if something happens below, the cabinet and the emperor will be We were kept in the dark. The people below are just messing around and getting better."
"That's right, His Majesty has handed over the capital camp to Uncle Dingyuan. How could he not send out civilian officials, factory guards, and supervisory censors and supervisors? There are also eunuchs and supervisors. You didn't see it. We went there last night It's a filial piety. Otherwise, you think that with Uncle Dingyuan nodding, Zhang Shize, a deputy general, can move the army ahead of schedule."
The head of the Jin family said hurriedly: "Are you stupid? There are too many things in Zhangjiakou that are difficult to expose. The factory guards are not afraid. Uncle Dingyuan is the senior official of Jinyiwei, second only to Luo Yangxing. How dare the factory guards find trouble with him. However, those civil servants and censors are all from Donglin. If they see some things, it will be all over."
As soon as these words came out, several people suddenly became anxious. Before, they were only concerned about the fall of Zhangjiakou, and they were as anxious as if they were in a rage. They didn't think much about this.
However, businessmen are extremely sensitive to political trends to a certain extent.
Because the most profitable business has always been inseparable from Ming Dynasty's officialdom. Now, after Donglin returned to Dabao, the financial backers behind the Jin Party were fully aware of the series of operations.
Dong Lin just wants to drain the firepower and destroy the money bags of the Jin Party and other parties.
This time, it was a bit rough.
The long-lived eyebrows of the head of the Fan family twitched and said: "Don't worry yet, we don't know what Zhangjiakou is like. Maybe the Mongols have retreated. After all, our eight families have 20,000 guards. Zhangjiakou Fort is also The fortified city is not that easy to chew."
Several people nodded one after another. The more anxious they were, the easier it would be for those Donglin people to see. At that time, suspicion is aroused, and everything becomes serious.
Yang Fan took a sip of wine, placed the iron plate on the kerosene stove, and placed the chicken fillets, lamb tenderloin slices, chicken gizzards, squid roe, and veal loin slices on the iron plate with stainless steel clamps.
Use a small glass oil pot and pour some salad oil on it. After a while, it starts to squeak and a strong fragrance comes out.
"Hey, you are so arrogant, even if you use glass to make an oil pot, you are not afraid of accidentally dropping it. But this salad oil of yours is really good. It is not greasy and has very little fumes. It is much better than soybean oil."
"This thing is actually the same thing as plate glass. It will become cheaper and cheaper in the future." Yang Fan was making skewers with Zhang Shize while drinking rice wine cooked with shredded ginger. "The better wine today is the 15-year-old Huadiao. I like this vintage, but the 30-year-old is not tasty and spicy."
When the two of them were eating and drinking, the army had already arrived at the mouth of the valley where the previous battle had taken place. There were dead bodies everywhere outside, and the engineers were moving the bodies away and dragging them into the snow. Otherwise, the large group of people and horses will not be able to move, and the carriage behind them will not be able to pass.
With the sandbag fortifications removed, the road into the valley was opened.
The people in the engineering corps were very surprised. Do these Mongolians also have engineers? The method of building fortifications was exactly the same as what they learned in the engineer crash course. It's like being taught by a master.
The heads of the eight families looked at the tragic battlefield conditions here, as well as the corpses that were dragged to the roadside by the Beijing camp and piled up. Many of them were mutilated. It can be seen how powerful Hou Shilu and the Mongols were before here.
Everyone looked pale and their legs were shaking.
They were businessmen after all, and this was their first time seeing such a cruel battlefield, and everyone shuddered for a moment.
"Look, Zhangjiakou is ahead." The head of the Jin family shouted.
The army left the valley, and the city of Zhangjiakou came into view in the distance.
Outside a tall city wall, everything is in ruins, and there are still unburnt wooden components of the house that are emitting wisps of smoke. The outside of the city was completely destroyed, not a single house was intact.
The army continued to advance expressionlessly. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp turned a blind eye to the tragic situation on the battlefield and the ruins outside Zhangjiakou City. Continue marching calmly.
Finally arrived at the south gate of Zhangjiakou.
The head of the Fan family looked at the broken south gate and felt a pectoris. Almost fell off the horse.
Only two city gates were seen, one was crooked and the other fell to the ground. The city tower was also knocked down by something, and it was pitch black from the fire, with wisps of black smoke still rising from it.
It's over, there's no one left, the city gates have collapsed, Zhangjiakou is over.
