The Ming Dynasty was no better than later generations. In later generations, it was easy to transfer assets, but in the Ming Dynasty, especially for high-ranking officials like Jin Yiwei, it was not easy for them.
It is difficult to investigate hundreds of taels or even tens of thousands of taels of silver, but once hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are involved, it is much easier to investigate. Cheng Shijie has always dared to bribe Gao Qiqian, because Gao Qiqian owns more than half of his family property. Deposit it in Liaodong Bank and keep it to earn interest.
These days are not like the peaceful times. Rich people can buy land. It is easy to buy land now. The key is that the price of land is depreciating. Just like when housing prices fall in later generations, unless they just need to buy a house, real estate speculators will never take action. , it is easy to lose your hands. Now the Ming Dynasty has endless natural disasters, either droughts, floods, or locust plagues. There is no harvest after ten years of farming and eight years, and it is not profitable at all.
As for the money received by Luo Yangxing, they are all recorded in the account, and they will be settled together when there is an opportunity in the future. By the way, I will copy the money that has been collected by the Luo family for generations.
Emperor Chongzhen was worried about the money in the treasury every year. What he didn't know was that among the eunuchs around him, whether it was Wang Zhixin, Cao Huachun, or Gao Qiqian, which one was not worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars? Gao Qiqian's entire possessions are definitely no less than two million taels of silver.
Cheng Shijie's judgment was actually wrong. The first problem to arise was actually Gansu. To be fair, the problems in Gansu had little to do with the cabinet bosses.
Because it was the Jungar people who invaded with more than 200,000 troops. The army of more than 200,000 people passed through the border like locusts. They ate up countless villages, drank up countless rivers, annexed countless tribes, and finally swallowed up the rivers with huge waves. It has entered the Hexi Corridor.
The new governor of Gansu had just taken office less than three months ago. The previous governor Zhang Yingchen had to be held accountable because rogue bandits invaded the state and a state official was killed. As a result, Zhang Yingchen, the governor of Gansu Province who had served for one year and six months, was dismissed from office.
Although the governor is a fat job, governors like the governor of Guizhou, the governor of Gansu, and the governor of Liaodong are actually hot potatoes. People with backstage connections are not willing to go at all, and those who are willing to go are not qualified enough. And Tang Daoheng, whose courtesy name is Pingzi. Tang San is a talented man. In the 44th year of Wanli period, he became a Jinshi. He has served as the prefect of Nanchang and Dongchang and has talented officials.
When he was the prefect of Dongchang, Song Xiance rebelled. After the Dashun army captured Yanzhou Prefecture, they attacked Dongchang Prefecture. Dongchang Prefecture was captured, and Tang Daoheng was dismissed from office.
As a result, Tang Daoheng was not escorted to the capital, but Zhang Yingchen, the governor of Gansu, was dismissed from office. However, the court could not find a candidate for the governor of Gansu. The unlucky guy Tang Daoheng was kicked to Gansu and served as the governor. He was not punished, but was promoted to one level. In this way, Tang Daoheng went to Gansu to serve as governor.
When Tang Daoheng was in Dongchang Prefecture, the city was captured by Song Xiance's Dashun Army. That was because there was no one available. But the problem was that Gansu Town had more than 38,000 troops, and there were actually more than 27,000 troops. After learning about the invasion of the Junggar army, Tang Daoheng ordered all the elites in Gansu Town to fight against the Junggar army in Wuwei.
Tang Daoheng, the governor of Gansu, deployed defenses in Wuwei. There was nothing wrong with such a deployment. Wuwei is an important military town. To the south is the rolling snow-capped mountains and to the north is the boundless desert. If you want to attack Lanzhou, Wuwei is the place you must pass through. Facing the coming from the northwest To defend Lanzhou, we must defend Wuwei.
But the bad thing is that Tang Daoheng didn't know if he took the wrong medicine, but he actually wanted to escape at the critical moment. The Junggar people can fight against the Qing Dynasty for two hundred years. They have their own advantages, in terms of the obedience and hardship of the soldiers. In terms of endurance and the tacit understanding between commanders and generals, it is comparable to that of the Genghis Khan era.
When the Junggar army arrived at Wuwei City, the Junggar army set up trebuchets they built, or captured cannons, and bombarded Wuwei City indiscriminately, and then formed a tribal army with forty or fifty thousand soldiers. This was all The tribes in the northwest were originally cannon fodder.
Forty to fifty thousand cannon fodder, driven by the Jungar people, attacked the city like ants. The Ming army relied on the city and caused a large number of casualties to these tribal troops. In just a few days, the bodies under the city accumulated several meters high.
Seeing such a tragic scene, Tang Daoheng was frightened. In fact, he could not have reached the front line at all. In this way, the soldiers on the front line did not know where the governor was and would naturally resist resolutely. But the problem was that escaping at a critical moment would have a great impact on morale. In the original attack of several days, the Dzungars came from afar. They were already exhausted, and were already somewhat overwhelmed.
But this Tang Daoheng didn't know what he was thinking, and he actually wanted to escape. He was escorted by more than a thousand cavalry and could not go more than ten miles before he was surrounded by the Jungar people. Tang Daoheng saw the dense Jungar cavalry. He was so frightened that he shouted: "Retreat quickly, retreat to the city!"
These Gansu town cavalry were outnumbered and had little confidence. Tang Daoheng's shouting caused their already sluggish morale to drop to the bottom. They all dropped their weapons and fled, and they were defeated like a mountain. More than a thousand cavalry left the city, and less than a hundred returned to the city. At this time, the Jungar people also followed the principle that cannon fodder is not human, and continued to drive the tribal troops to attack the city. When the corpses were densely piled under the city wall, they formed a gentle slope.
At this time, the Jungar people stormed the city wall. After attacking Weiwei City, the Jungar people went on a killing spree in the city. Regardless of the massacre of the people, more than 27,000 Gansu troops with only 800 infantry and cavalry escaped from Wuwei City. , there were more than 70,000 Wuwei people, less than one in ten, and only three or four thousand people fled to Lanzhou.
Zhao Wencai, who had just arrived in Datong Town and had not had time to take a breath, heard the news that Wuwei had been lost and the Zhungar army was sweeping in. Zhao Wencai had no choice but to beg for his face to the Mongolian-born President Qian next to him: "Begging for your face." !”
Qi Yan has now been changed to Qi Yan. In his own words, he admires Qi Shaobao very much. He has Qi Shaobao as his surname and has no problem recognizing Qi Shaobao as his ancestor.
No one can refute the logic of Qi Yan, no, Qi Yan. After all, whether it is Mongolians who change their surnames for naturalization or Jurchens who change their surnames for naturalization, Cheng Shijie welcomes them.
There is no problem if Hu Erqi changes his surname to Hu and becomes Hu Erqi, or if Qi Yan becomes Qi Yan.
"General please give me instructions!"
"It's at least two thousand miles from Datong to Lanzhou. Wherever the cavalry is, it's not easy to get there!"
Qi Yan said: "All our war horses have been replaced by iron-hoofed horses. The general will be able to reach Lanzhou in five days!"
The iron-hoofed horse is the best among Mongolian horses. Its hooves are as hard as iron. Without hoofing, the horse can often gallop in places full of gravel without worrying about getting hurt. It has both endurance and explosive power. It can gallop around the prairie all day and night. Five hundred miles is relaxing and enjoyable.
Zhao Wencai said: "Okay, I will give you three thousand iron-hoofed horses. This time you will have three horses per person, working day and night, even though it may be possible to cover the withdrawal of the Lanzhou people!"
With the main force of Gansu Town lost, it is almost impossible to defend Lanzhou. But the problem is that there are too many Junggar troops. It will be very difficult if all the cavalry under Zhao Wencai rush to rescue Lanzhou.
First of all, the riding skills of their cavalry are far inferior to those of the Mongols. Secondly, they have no experience in marching over long distances. When less than 20,000 cavalry arrive in Lanzhou, they may not be able to defeat the Jungar people. To defeat Jungar's 200,000-strong army, at least 40,000 to 50,000 Ning's navy must be assembled, and sufficient ammunition must be available.
But the problem is that none of this is realistic now. The only way to save lives is to choose the lesser harm. People are alive, their homes can be rebuilt after they are destroyed, and the lost cities can be regained.
"The general has a request!"
Qi Yan knew that this was an opportunity for him. If he completed this task, he and his tribe could be fully integrated into the Ning Haijun group. Although he was a foreigner, his treatment was far less than that of Hu Erqi, because most of Hu Erqi's tribe were divided into When I arrived, I was assigned a house and a job.
There is no need to graze sheep in the freezing cold and snow, and there is no need to eat sand. In winter, you can live in a warm big house without worrying about eating or drinking.
"you say!"
"I want my people to be naturalized!"
"I have no right to make the decision, but I can intercede on your behalf. If the commander-in-chief disagrees, I will give my own land to you and your people. My land is not that much. If you change it to Luzon Over there, each of your clan members can get twenty acres!"
"Thank you General!"
Qi Yan knelt down towards Zhao Wencai: "General, I promise to complete the mission. If I fail to complete the mission, I will die in Lanzhou!"
"please!"
…
When the information about Lanzhou was delivered to Cheng Shijie, Cheng Shijie also felt in trouble. Ning Haijun doesn't have many troops that can be deployed on the battlefield of the Great Wall defense line. Only the cavalry troops can maneuver. But the problem is that he is more than three thousand miles away from Lanzhou. Even if Ning Haijun can travel hundreds of miles a day, it will take more than a month. For more than a month, Cheng Shijie couldn't imagine how it was possible for Lanzhou's soldiers and civilians to defend it alone.
The only hope now can only be pinned on Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides. Fortunately, Hong Chengchou did not seem to have excessive contact with the big shots in the court. The letters he received from the court were backed up by Jin Yiwei.
In fact, Hong Chengchou did not give face to the big shots in the DPRK casually. Because Hong Chengchou is a big boss himself, he doesn't want to enter the cabinet yet, and he really doesn't like the cabinet position that Wen Tiren regards as a stumbling block in the quagmire.
As Cheng Shijie guessed, the most influential group of civil servants is actually on Xuanfu East Road, followed by Datong Town, and has even less influence on Gansu and Ningxia. The current trilateral governor Hong Chengchou also added the Minister of War and the Prince Taibao Title, under his management, the armies of the three sides still have good combat effectiveness.
Moreover, Hong Chengchou had extremely strict control over the generals below him. Once he got past him, the generals who were on the line with the court bosses, let alone promotions, would definitely be dealt with by Hong Chengchou first. There would be no chance of promotion, and Hong Chengchou would find an opportunity to kill the other generals. Ai Wannian, the former Shenmu General, was a martial arts graduate and was promoted to Shenmu General, and then to deputy general.
Because he followed the path of Zhang Fengyi, Minister of War, so in May of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou ordered Ai Wannian and his deputy Liu Chenggong to lead 3,000 troops to engage Li Zicheng. Ganjiazhai fell into a tight siege in Xiangle Town, Ningzhou, and was defeated and died.
To be fair, Ai Wannian can be regarded as a loyal and patriotic general of the Ming Dynasty, but the problem is that as long as he goes against Hong Chengchou, there will be no good end.
Cheng Shijie wrote a sincere letter to Hong Chengchou, hoping that Hong Chengchou would put the overall situation first, and told Hong Chengchou that in order to show his sincerity, he would give free 8,000 pairs of fine steel armors, 20,000 crossbows, and crossbows to the armies of the three sides. Ten thousand knives and ten thousand spears each, enough for Hong Chengchou to arm an army of thirty thousand with these equipment.
After writing the letter, Cheng Shijie looked at Meng En and said: "Meng En, the defense line along the Baihe River is safe for the time being, but I really don't worry about the Hetao!"
Seeing that Hong Chengchou ignored the big shots in the court, Cheng Shijie could also deduce that when those big cabinet bosses found that the upper-level route was not feasible, they would take the middle-lower route and bribe officials and gentry. They didn't dare to offend Hong Chengchou, but they didn't dare to rebel openly, but they dared to use small tricks secretly. For example, the transportation of grain and wages that should be transported was delayed. The pass that could have been defended originally had to retreat due to lack of food.
Since then, the situation among the three parties has become tense instantly.
However, in fact, the Lanzhou officers were also frightened by the massacre of Wuwei City. They all knew that two-legged people could not outrun Jungar's cavalry. Only the remaining Lanzhou Guards had only more than 1,800 troops. After years of development, there are more than 15,000 military households, and the officers leading the city have actually exploded with extremely strong combat effectiveness.
After the Lanzhou Guard Commander was killed in Wuwei, the Lanzhou Guard Commander's entire army was wiped out. The Lanzhou Guard Commander Zhang Jiwu recruited sergeants and led more than 4,000 lone troops to defend Lanzhou.
Soon Lanzhou was in a food crisis, so they drank blood and chewed bark and grass roots to defend the city. When they ran out of artillery shells, they used stones to hit them. When the stones were thrown, they took down the bricks from the building and threw them at the enemy's heads. . The fierce Xiliang people fought hand-to-hand with the Junggar people on the wall, killing them to pieces.
Zhang Jiwu divided his 1,800 elite soldiers into four teams and attacked wherever there was a gap. The Dzungars besieged them day and night. They rushed into the city several times and were beaten out again. There were dead bodies on pillows inside and outside the city, layer upon layer. On the first floor, the brutality is indescribable.
The Junggar people's vigorous army of hundreds of thousands was besieged on all sides, and all the elite soldiers and generals pressed forward. They were repelled time and time again by Zhang Jiwu and the Lanzhou officers, and were suppressed time and time again by Zhang Jiwu.
This bloody battle with extremely disparity in strength lasted for twenty days. After the Junggar people paid a heavy price of 30,000 casualties, finally when Lanzhou City was about to lose its hold, reinforcements from Lanzhou arrived. The unprepared Junggar people Er's army was easily broken through by Qi Yan's troops and arrived in Lanzhou City. At this time, there were only a few hundred wounded soldiers left in Lanzhou City who were tired and hungry and could not even stand up.
The 1,800 remnant soldiers were killed and wounded, and the young and strong people of Lanzhou were also killed and wounded. Fortunately, the arrival of Ning Haijun gave Lanzhou officers great confidence.
Qi Yan told a lie to the Lanzhou officer: "Ning Haijun Commander Cheng Shijie and his army are coming quickly. They have arrived in Datong... They are the vanguard!"
Qi Yan brought not only confidence to Lanzhou, but also more than 3,000 iron-hoofed horses. You must know that Ning Haijun only had 6,700 or 7,000 iron-hoofed horses. However, in order to keep Lanzhou's soldiers and civilians in defense, they could only bite the bullet and kill the horses to satisfy their hunger.
Meng En said: "Commander, transfer Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu and others over here!"
"Tell them to come here?"
"They are originally from Shaanxi and have an instinctive dependence on Shaanxi. Facing the Mongolian attack, they will definitely fight to the death, and those old thieves..."
"No, after the small battle, they are no longer thieves, they are one of our own!"
Cheng Shijie said: "Be careful what you say in the future, and don't say anything that affects unity!"
"Yes, handsome!"
Meng Endao: "Liaodong now has General Staff Zhou on the battlefield, plus General Chang Yu and Zhang, Jiannu can't afford to make trouble, but what you lack most now, Commander-in-Chief, is a general who is good at using cavalry. Although General Zhao Wencai and Zhao He has good abilities, but he is just one person and it is difficult to take care of everything. The general thinks that he can recruit Sun Kewang and them to join the war!"
Cheng Shijie actually disliked Sun Kewang in his heart. Throughout Sun Kewang's life, he first followed Zhang Xianzhong to fight everywhere. After Zhang's death, he rebelled due to dissatisfaction with his desires. After his failure, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and betrayed the Yongli court, which eventually led to the Qing Dynasty's Yongli regime. The army was completely wiped out. If it hadn't been for his rebellion, the Qing army might not have been able to defeat Yongli so easily, and history might have completely changed.
But it is undeniable that Sun Kewang is very capable. His being adopted as Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son is inseparable from his brave performance on the battlefield. He is brave and clever on the battlefield. Every time he encounters the enemy, he can always deal with it calmly and save the day. He is known as "a wall" in the army.
After Zhang Xianzhong was killed by an arrow in a battle, Sun Kewang became the de facto leader of the army. He led the rebel army south and easily defeated the local armed forces in Guizhou. Then he entered Yunnan and quelled the rebellion in Shading Prefecture. In this way, they occupied the entire Yunnan and Guizhou. Later, he determined the strategy of "uniting the Ming Dynasty to resist the Qing Dynasty" and submitted to the Southern Ming Dynasty.
In such a difficult environment as Yunnan and Guizhou, Sun Kewang was able to pull out more than 200,000 troops. Sun Kewang used the slogan "Together support the Ming Dynasty and restore the country" to attract people's hearts and win the support of the original Ming forces in most areas of Yunnan. By the way, he also cracked down on local rebellious chieftains and established a stable political foundation in Yunnan.
The second step is to carry out land reform. Although they cooperate with the old officials and gentry of Yunnan, they spare no effort to attack their economic foundation economically, clearing out the Mufu Zhuang farmland, the invaded Weisuo military farmland, and even at least Shadingzhou and other rebels. All the land occupied by the chieftains was transformed into civilian land that paid taxes according to regulations.
In addition, Sun Kewang also built water conservancy projects in Yunnan, issued copper coins, developed salt wells, and rectified corruption. He not only restored Yunnan's economy but also developed rapidly in a short period of time, laying the foundation for the future Northern Expedition. These achievements led Wu Sangui to the San Francisco Empire. I still enjoy it when I’m messy.
In later generations, some people even jokingly called Sun Kewang Sun Internal Affairs. He was a good hand in both war and internal affairs. At least, with Sun Kewang's surrender, the situation in Nanming instantly collapsed, which is enough to prove Sun Kewang's ability.
Although his ability is good, his character is not. However, the problem is that Cheng Shijie has no one available now, Chen Dayong is in Dayuan, Liu Qingsong is in Luzon, and Shen Mingyu is preparing to conquer Annan southward. The Luzon side is at the critical moment of clearing the plan. Once the Luzon garrison is withdrawn, the Luzon side will definitely revive.
Now there is no choice but to delay the Annan strategy.
Cheng Shijie thought for a while and said: "According to the commander's order, the original plan was for the Annan Army to go north. The Annan Army would be headed by Shen Mingyu, with Sun Kewang as deputy, followed by Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu."
However, what Cheng Shijie did not expect was that his order to mobilize the Annan Corps of the Ning Navy to go north to fight the enemy was blocked by the Ministry of War.
Wen Tiren said that everything is going well now. What does Cheng Shijie intend to do by mobilizing 50,000 to 60,000 troops to go north?
Emperor Chongzhen did not listen to one another, but he was actually a little uneasy. After all, in Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, Ning Haijun could defeat Jiannu, and those 50,000 or 60,000 Jiannu could kill more than 200,000 Ming troops who were afraid of the enemy. Doesn't that mean that Cheng Shijie's soldiers are also capable of threatening the capital?
In this case, Emperor Chongzhen sent Wang Chengen to ask Cheng Shijie instead.
"Eunuch Wang, why are you here?"
"Oh, my good Lord, do you know what good things you have done? Because of you, the whole capital is in quarrel!"
Cheng Shijie was confused: "What did I do to cause such a big disturbance in the capital?"
"You want to mobilize 50,000 elite Ning navy troops to go north. What you have done is shocking to the world. How can the capital not be noisy?"
Cheng Shijie felt inexplicable: "What's the fuss about? Hundreds of thousands of Mongolian troops marched south. Now from Xuanfu East Road, to Datong, and even Gansu, they have become a mess. Wuwei has fallen. Sixteen cities in Gansu Even though he was slaughtered, it is imminent. What happened to the Ning navy going north? If it were not for the fear of Li Zicheng's resurgence, I would still want to move the Tianxiong army north!"
Wang Chengen looked surprised: "Is the situation so serious?"
"It's more serious than you think!"
Cheng Shijie placed the military information he received in front of Wang Chengen.
After Wang Chengen saw it, he was speechless for a long time: "How...how could this happen?"
"Mobei suffered a rare snowstorm, and the wind turned into ice. The Mobei Mongolians couldn't survive, so they had to go south to seek survival. Hasn't it been like this for thousands of years?"
Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said, "What's so strange about this?"
Wang Chengen said: "But the reason is such a reason, but some people just can't see it! They objected like crazy, saying that the Duke has a disobedient heart, and that the Duke's move is suspected of rebellion, and wants the Duke to come to Beijing. , defend yourself before the emperor!"
A trace of anger burst out in Cheng Shijie's eyes: "Is it the good deeds of those gang of officials again?"
"Not only those officials, but also Wang Yingxiong and Wu Zongda made a fuss. Alas, the selfishness of the public officials is so serious!"
Wang Chengen smiled bitterly and said: "Those officials said that it was precisely because you warriors were arrogant, deposed your troops, and started war in vain that the Mongols and Jiannu rebelled wildly. How could the country be so ruined! Now the building is about to collapse, and the Ming Dynasty is about to collapse. We are in danger, now we are killing Cheng Shijie and negotiating peace with Mongolia and Jiannu..."
Hearing this, Cheng Shijie's face became increasingly ugly.
What is confusing right and wrong?
What does it mean to turn a deer into a horse?
This is.
Cheng Shijie's fists hidden in his sleeves were clenched: "Then what did your Majesty say?"
"Your Majesty still supports the Duke, otherwise he wouldn't have let our family go there in person."
When Wang Chengen said this, he showed a happy smile: "Your Majesty sent the Duke to guard Jiubian. He really chose the right person."
Cheng Shijie became a little worried: "Well, it would be great if Your Majesty could always trust my subordinates. As long as you give me two years, I will be able to stabilize the entire northwest, including the Mongolian grassland!"
"The power of God is unpredictable. No one knows whether the Holy Family will last forever. We can only do our best to obey the destiny." (End of this chapter)
