Chapter 373 Mountain rain destroys the building
"Yingzhou has been without military pay for half a year..."
Jing Kuan said to himself.
Chen Yan nodded in agreement: "I still know about the affairs of the Central Military Department. The soldiers under the command of Governor Jing have to prepare their own military pay and rations. This farm can only be filled. Without money, the sergeants will not buy it."
"May I ask Mr. Chen, what are you selling?"
Chen Yan stroked the green beard on his chin: "I have some connections in the south of the Yangtze River, and I asked local Hui merchants to purchase a large amount of old grain from Songjiang. It has been shipped to Beizhili. To be honest, I have made an appointment to buy it. It’s just that the quantity is too large. In order to verify the authenticity, the other party requested to have a detailed discussion with me..."
Chen Yan didn't finish his words and deliberately let Jing Kuan guess.
Jing Kuan was an old man, and he got a clue from it. The price of food in Beizhili is a bit high now. Food is an important weapon in the army. Who will fight if you don't have enough to eat?
If you sell food, it is also a profitable business.
"Master Chen, do you mean to have a secret meeting?"
Jing Kuan could now understand that Chen Yan had asked to inspect the Three Passes in the afternoon as soon as he arrived in Yingzhou. It turned out to be this idea.
Chen Yan nodded when he saw Jing's loose mouth: "Captain Jing, I have made a budget. Once this batch of grain is sold, I can make a profit of at least two million taels of silver."
Jing Kuan took a breath. Such a huge amount of profit made him jealous: "Master Chen, this batch of food is quite a lot..."
Chen Yan nodded: "Everything is borne by me, but there are too many. If I go to Shanxi, my officer will be controlled by Shanxi merchants. They will take too much from the middle. Moreover, the journey is long and easy to go wrong, so we go directly to the Yingzhou Wall defense line. It will be much easier..."
Jing Kuan understood now and asked seriously: "So, what if I cooperate with Mr. Chen?"
"Hahaha..." Chen Yan nodded with satisfaction: "As long as Governor Jing cooperates, after this transaction is completed, I will make the decision and can give Governor Jing a profit of 100,000 taels, and use another 100,000 taels to reward the guards. ..."
Jing Kuan was not stupid. The extra 100,000 taels were used to bribe the soldiers guarding the gate. These soldiers had not received military pay for more than half a year. As long as each of them was given 2 taels of silver and some good words, everyone would be happy.
Thinking of this, Jing Kuan silently calculated how much money he could extract from the defenders. He felt happy and the corners of his mouth could not help but turn up.
When Chen Yan saw this scene, he couldn't help but shake his head in his heart, and his disdain for Jing Kuan increased.
"So, does Mr. Chen have Zhou Xiang's plan?"
"May I ask Governor Jing, which of the three passes can handle a large number of carriages and is remote and easy to travel?"
There is nothing wrong with this question. After all, it is transporting food, which involves horse-drawn carriages, and in order to cover up others' eyes, this is the natural choice.
Jing Kuan was already immersed in the dividends. Without thinking too much, he raised his head and thought for a long time before saying: "Malanyu is close to Dongsheng Youwei, which is really inconvenient. Although it is remote, it is difficult for a large number of carriages to pass. Only Huangyayu can There is no choice, but although Huangyayu can be traveled by horse, it only relies on Jiangjunshi Pass. If you want to pass through, I still recommend moving in the evening."
"Okay..." Chen Yan clapped his hands and said with a smile: "With the help of Governor Jing, my business has become more than half. In this way, in the name of the Imperial Envoy, I will temporarily transfer the soldiers from Huangyayu, and I will be the Imperial Envoy." Guard with the marching soldiers."
"Then how can I cooperate?"
The corner of Chen Yan's lips raised: "Captain Jing only needs to let go of Huangyayu's defense for three days..."
...
Outside Huangyayu, there were only two servants following Chen Yan. This was a full twenty miles away from Huangyayu, in an unknown small village.
It was evening, and the sky was gradually getting dark. Several people wearing felt hats and Liaodong costumes entered the village on horseback.
Chen Yan saw the visitor, and the meeting place they had agreed to meet in Ningyuan was changed from Kuandianyu to Huangyayu, which added half a day.
Inside the small house, the oil lamp was very dim, and the person who came spoke pure Ming Dynasty Mandarin. Chen Yan was sure that this person must be a Han from Liaodong or a sergeant who surrendered in the pass.
"How is the defense arrangement going?"
Chen Chen asked the two servants to go out and guard, then glanced at the two shadows behind the sitting people, and then said: "I have taken over Huangyayu as promised, and there are only three days. Within three days, you must start from Enter here."
The visitor turned to look at the two people behind him, nodded slightly, and then asked: "How is Yingzhou's defense?"
Chen Yan handed over the Yingzhou defense map that he had prepared long ago to the visitor: "Remember, only Huangyayu is passable, and other places are heavily guarded. As long as your cavalry crosses the entrance of the valley, it will be like back then." Just come in through Xifengkou."
The visitor took a look at the map, then put it away and handed it to a shadow behind him, and then continued: "In the second year of Tianqi, our Qing cavalry entered Beizhili and captured many capable people. The map of Beizhili has long been With complete preparations, this entry into Beizhili will not be Chen Cao's conspiracy."
Chen Yan smiled calmly: "You can see how my prince behaves."
Before the visitor could speak, a shadow behind him asked in a gloomy manner in non-standard Ming dialect: "Chen Cao is not trustworthy, how do you explain his sneak attack on North Korea? You Nanbarbarians have many ulterior motives."
Chen Yan did not raise his head, because even if he raised his head, he could not see the person's face clearly, so he stared at the person who came: "You only have this chance, you can seize it yourself. My last message is that all the heavy troops in North Zhili are in the south now." In Gaoyou, Zhili, if you wait until the 500,000 troops return to North Zhili before you want to do anything, it will be something that my prince cannot control."
"We, the Manchurian cavalry, are traveling across the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The southern barbarians, go back and tell Chen Cao that when our Qing soldiers arrive on the north bank of the Yangtze River, let Chen Cao wash his neck and wait."
It was that shadow again, and now Chen Yan understood that the real person in charge was the mysterious person behind the visitor.
"Hmph..." Chen Yan waved his hands and walked out of the house. Before leaving, he said one sentence: "There are only three days. Today is over. You can take care of it yourself."
The visitor chased out after a while and grabbed Chen Yan, which made the servant behind Chen Yan very nervous. Just as he was about to step forward to take action, the visitor whispered in Chen Yan's ear: "Go back and tell the prince that the Li family in Liaodong To spearhead the attack on Shanhaiguan, 100,000 Mongolian soldiers and 10,000 Manchu soldiers entered the Shanhaiguan Pass first from Huangyayu."
Before Chen Yan could ask a question, the visitor had already cursed angrily in Jurchen dialect, then turned around and left.
Chen Yan left and quickly realized that he told the prince that this was obviously the spy arranged by Chen Cao to stay with Jian Nu. He couldn't help but look solemn, and then rode away with his two servants.
...
"Queen Zhang was not named Queen Mother, so she lived in Kunning Palace with the current Queen Zhou. According to the purchasing eunuch, Queen Zhang now lives in the west wing of Kunning Palace."
Xu Kaixian and his men were looking at the topographic map of the Forbidden City. It was extremely detailed. His hand was drawing on the map: "The only way is to take advantage of the chaos and go straight in from Shenwu Gate. After passing Shunzhen Gate, you can rush directly from the Imperial Garden to Kunming." Ning Palace.”
Xu Kaixian looked at the people around him: "You have to be fast. The prince said that once the capital is captured by the slaves, Chongzhen will most likely choose to commit suicide, and his queen and concubines will definitely be sentenced to death. The prince has reason to believe that Zhang The Queen is among them."
The special force was established at the request of Chen Cao himself. The commander was selected from Zhang Fengnian's personal troops, and all the members were top-notch sergeants.
A captain next to him said: "Master Xu, why not use Fei Yuan?"
Xu Kaixian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Yes... maybe your special forces team will use it?"
The captain nodded: "This is a skill that must be learned. The prince said that the sudden attack of Operation Flying Kite can damage the morale of the opponent. Although we are rescuing people, we can fly down from the top of Meiyuan Mountain and land in Kunning Palace. Isn't that right? Did you agree to what Mr. Xu said earlier about hurrying up?"
Xu Kaixian slapped his forehead and suddenly woke up, then patted him on the shoulder: "You are right, as long as you rescue Queen Zhang, I will definitely thank you in front of the prince."
The fifth year of Chongzhen, the first day of May
Just after midnight, when the gates of the capital were opened, several knights rushed into the city from the Anding Gate. The sergeants guarding the city did not dare to stop them because the knights were carrying the imperial envoy flag behind them.
Not long after, more than a dozen cavalrymen entered Andingmen from different directions, all of them were sergeants in ragged clothes.
Chen Yan was the first one to enter the city gate. He did not go to the palace to deliver business, but rode directly to Zou Weilian's mansion. The first day of the new year was the day of the dynasty, and Zou Weilian was not in the mansion.
Xu Kai first met Chen Yan.
"Master Xu?"
Chen Yan had met Xu Kaixian a few times in private and recognized him, so he opened his mouth and said: "Sir Xu, I am fortunate to have fulfilled my duty. An army of hundreds of thousands of slaves has broken through Yingzhou. Now we divide tens of thousands of troops to rush to the capital, and another group to Shanhaiguan. went."
When Xu Kaixian heard this, he immediately turned around and ran away, ignoring Chen Yan at all.
Zou Weilian hurried back to the government. He was a cabinet minister. At the beginning of the dynasty, Yingzhou reported urgently that hundreds of thousands of Tatars who were slaves broke through the Huangyayu Great Wall defense line in Yingzhou and entered the pass.
After getting the news, the entire Taihe Palace Square became a mess, and Zhu Youjian fainted at that time.
"Fasheng..."
Zou Weilian shouted anxiously: "What's wrong?"
Chen Yan stood up and said, "Brother Dehui, everything went according to plan. Last year, the Japanese Jiannu army of 110,000 broke into Huangyayu. Jing Kuan had no idea. I had taken a step ahead, but I was still overtaken by the Jiannu. Fortunately, I was caught by the Jiannu. Under the protection of the servants, the imperial team has dispersed, and Yingzhou will surely fall;
When I arrived, I received news that Jiannu had divided tens of thousands of troops and headed towards Shanhaiguan. "
"call..."
Zou Weilian took a deep breath and then said, "Have you exposed your whereabouts?"
Chen Yan shook his head: "Brother Dehui, don't worry. Although I came back under the banner of imperial envoy, I was not exposed. I came directly to your house."
"Okay, okay..."
Zou Weilian looked happy, and then ordered: "I don't want all the gold and silver at home. You can go back to your hometown and take people to Tianjin. Xu Kaixian will be escorted along the way, holding waist badges..."
Then he handed him Jin Yiwei's badge: "Leave quickly. After that, the capital will be under martial law."
