Chapter 349
As Ning Haijun's attack in Shenyang City suffered a setback, of course this was not actually a setback. If he really tried his best, Ning Haijun could definitely break through Shenyang City. If he had to pay heavy casualties, this result was not what Cheng Shijie wanted to see. .
The Ning navy generals, especially those from Liaodong, asked for battle one after another. They were red-eyed and insisted on demolishing Shenyang City.
But Zhangyu rejected their request to fight. Zhangyu knew very well that anger would not help. Shenyang City was originally the largest city in Liaodong, but with the rise of Jinzhou City, although Shenyang City was not as good as Jinzhou City, it passed through Liaoyang and Guangdong. Ning waited for the city to be too huge.
Tall city walls and sufficient preparations. Jiannu's use of city walls for defense was enough to offset Ning Haijun's huge advantage in equipment. A forceful attack would require heavy casualties. Whether it is Cheng Shijie or Ning Haijun's combat system, human lives will not be exchanged for victory unless it is absolutely necessary.
Of course, when there is no way to retreat, we can only defend and fight to the death.
Zhang Yu ordered to stop the attack and continue the bombardment. At the same time, he released the scouts to see if they could catch Jiannu around Shenyang City.
Zhang Yu also knows very well that this is the first battle of his overall command and must be fought well. If the first time he leads troops in battle leaves a bad impression that he will only risk human lives, then his future in Ning Haijun will be That's worrying. Who knows how many people are secretly watching his position!
Another advantage of stopping the attack after the attack is frustrated is to tell Jiannu: We can't take over Shenyang City in a short time, you can still stay in Shenyang City for a while!
Jiannu obviously understood the message that Changyu wanted to convey to them, so during the fierce battle he had been actively planning, mobilizing troops, and planning to play a big game. Now the main force of Jiannu is trapped in Kukuhetun, with a distance of more than two thousand miles. Although Jiannu has sent rescue messengers.
It will take at least ten days for the main force to return for reinforcements, and it may even take half a month. After all, the main force of Jiannu now has a large amount of captured materials, cattle and sheep, and they can't get up quickly even if they want to.
However, as Changyu sent Ning Haijun to conduct reconnaissance, a mysterious man came to meet Changyu that night and told Changyu a shocking news.
"What did you say? Shenyang City is already empty? How is this possible?"
"More than a month ago, the thief chief Huang Taiji, like his Fujin Zhezhe, as well as the fourth son Ye Bushu, the fifth son Shuosai's eldest daughter, the second daughter and dozens of others quietly left Shenyang! Among them were Daishan and Dorgon. , and the noble families of the Manchu Dynasty!"
Zhang Yu stared at the man in his thirties in front of him: "Who are you?"
"I am Aixinjueluo Shuotuo. It's too late. You can verify my identity with Cheng Shuai!"
Shuo Tuo pointed at Shenyang City and said: "Now Shenyang City only has more than 4,000 slaves and more than 10,000 Han military flags. Their family members are also not in Shenyang City. Huang Taiji's order to them is that once you launch an attack, they will not hesitate to attack." Stop them at all costs. If you dare to surrender, all the men in their family will be killed, and the women will be made into armored slaves."
Zhang Yu did not believe Shuo Tuo's words: "You go down and rest first, the general has his own plan!"
As Shuo Tuo was arranged, Zhang Yu said: "Li Xiaodong!"
"The humble position is here!"
"Lead the team yourself, bypass Shenyang, and go to Kaiyuan to explore!"
"yes!"
After receiving the order, Li Xiaodong hurriedly set off with Ning Haijun's reconnaissance cavalry.
…
In Yanqing, Meng En walked to Cheng Shijie's account with a piece of information.
His face was full of indignation: "Those civil servants deserve to die, look at what they have ruined this country into!"
Zhou Ning was a little confused: "What happened again?"
"What happened, what happened!"
Meng En gritted his teeth with hatred and said: "Chief of General Staff Zhou, see for yourself!"
"Nanyang fell?"
Zhou Ning looked unbelieving: "How is this possible?"
"What else is possible?"
Zhou Ning said in confusion: "More than a month ago, Lu Xiang Sheng Lu didn't fight against Li Zicheng and they were beaten to the last breath. How could it be possible to capture Nanyang now?"
Meng En smiled bitterly and said, "It's not because of Prince Tang!"
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, following the old system of the Yuan Dynasty, Nanyang Prefecture was established, which governed Nanyang, Nanzhao, Tangxian, Biyang, Tongbai, Zhenping, Xinye, Neixiang, Dengzhou and other places.
Nanyang is the fiefdom of Zhu Yuan, the 23rd son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the king of Tang Dynasty. During the Yongle period, a large-scale Tang palace was built in Nanyang City. During the Chenghua period, nine more county palaces were built. As Zhu Yuanzhang's anti-human ancestral system gradually loosened, Nanyang's commerce became active. Merchants from Shan, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Hubei came in droves. Various business halls and mansions sprang up in various places. Food, cotton, raw silk, Tobacco, silk, oil, fur, wood, medicinal materials, etc. flooded into the market and were sold all over the country.
In 1632 (the fifth year of Chongzhen), Zhu Yujian succeeded to the throne of Tang Dynasty and granted Nanyang. Emperor Chongzhen gave him books such as the Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty, the Huidian of the Ming Dynasty, the Four Books of the Five Classics, the Twenty-one Histories, the Tongjian Gangmu, and the Classic of Loyalty and Filial Piety.
This Zhu Yujian was well-off and wealthy, and he did not study behind closed doors as Emperor Chongzhen required. Zhu Yujian liked military affairs, so he used his own money to expand the palace and guard, and recruited two to three thousand people for training. However, At this time, Zhu Yujian was just working behind closed doors and practicing blindly.
It was not until May of the eighth year of Chongzhen that Zhu Yujian got the help of Chen Xiangfei, the commander of Linqing general Liu Zeqing. This Chen Xiangfei was killed from an ordinary military household because someone was responsible for Song Xiance's Dashun army, so Chen Xiangfei He was used as a scapegoat.
As Zhu Yujian's men became more impressive under Chen Xiangfei's training, after learning that the 400,000 troops from Mobei Mongolia were heading south, Zhu Yujian asked Emperor Chongzhen to go north to defend the enemy. Emperor Chongzhen didn't allow it.
Zhu Yujian ignored the national rule that "the vassal king does not control the army", recruited troops, and personally expanded the guard army from more than 2,000 to 10,000. Because Cheng Shijie sold a large amount of iron to the Central Plains in this time and space, the army of more than 10,000 raised by Zhu Yujian was more than 10,000. Historically, he was so well equipped that he used the iron tools he purchased to build thousands of armors privately.
Zhu Yujian went north from Nanyang. When he arrived in Luoyang, Governor Yang Shengwu personally led the Nanyang defenders north to pursue and intercept the Tang palace guards. However, at this time, Nanyang, which was short of troops, was invaded by dozens of elites under Li Zicheng, disguised as caravans. Nanyang City, taking advantage of the empty defenders, captured Nanyang City in one fell swoop.
Li Zicheng and Gao Yingxiang's troops rushed into Nanyang City. Nanyang is currently the most prosperous city in the Ming Dynasty with a large population. Gao Yingxiang used the food in Nanyang City to cause the people of Nanyang to rebel. In just a few days, Gao Yingxiang's troops increased by tens of thousands. After taking over Nanyang City, Gao Yingxiang led his troops south to threaten Xiangyang.
At this time, even Emperor Chongzhen was panicked.
Zhou Ning sneered repeatedly: "Is it really just the credit of the civil servants? Without the active cooperation of the emperor who is above all living beings, arrogant and willful, would these civil servants have the ability to completely destroy the good situation that the commander-in-chief has worked hard for? ?”
Zhou Ning has always had a bad impression of Mingting. He has seen too many corrupt officials among the people, not just one or two, but the whole country. These bastards colluded with the gentry. When there was a famine, they not only refused to provide relief, but also refused to allow the conscientious gentry to provide relief. They wanted to starve all the hungry people to death so that they could annex their fields, or use the famine to raise the hoarded old grain to sky-high prices. Sell it, make a fortune, and ruin the lives of the people.
Corrupt officials lived a life of debauchery. The few good officials who still wanted to do something for the people were forced to hang themselves by the Beijing police. There were mountains of corpses outside the customs. People in the south of the Yangtze River were reveling in singing and dancing. The wealthy gentry and merchants had millions of dollars but could not pay a penny. The peasants were left with nothing but excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. …
All of this proves that this aging dynasty has run out of energy and is about to fall apart. After joining Cheng Shijie, especially in southern Liaoning, which was originally a barren land, it took Cheng Shijie just three or four years to run the business as prosperously as the capital.
This changed Zhou Ning's perception of the Ming Dynasty. Although this aging dynasty has various shortcomings, it is absolutely unambiguous in its external affairs, which is worthy of recognition. He became Cheng Shijie's right-hand assistant in handling major military affairs, and with his help, Ning Haijun was on the right track of development.
Watching the living standards of the people in Liaodong improving little by little, and watching the border defense lines becoming more and more stable, Zhou Ning also felt a little more hopeful. He believed that the country could still be saved, as long as it followed Cheng Shijie's model and recreated the Hongwu and Yongle periods. It is only a matter of time before the glory comes.
However, this time, Zhou Ning was completely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen. What were those ministers doing? It was obvious that those civil servants were collaborating with the enemy and would not hesitate to push the Ming Dynasty into a bottomless abyss, but the question is what was Emperor Chongzhen doing?
He was actually pretending to be deaf and dumb. Although Qiao Zhaolin was dead, his confession could not be false. Xie Zhiliang was still alive, but he asked the Third Division to investigate strictly because there was no evidence.
These were originally done by the civil servants. Let the civil servants investigate and investigate themselves. It would be strange if the problem could be found out. Cheng Shijie sent three memorials to Emperor Chongzhen, hoping that Emperor Chongzhen could find out the truth about Wu Zongda's death, but the problem Yes, Wu Zongda's coffin has arrived at Tianjin Wei, but there is still no clue about this case.
If Cheng Shijie encountered such a thing, he would definitely arrest and interrogate the relevant persons responsible. There would be no hesitation at all, because Cheng Shijie believed that no official in the Ming Dynasty had a clean butt. Whether it is corruption, malfeasance, private life issues, or moral issues, no one can escape the scrutiny of these crimes.
If there is no evidence, you can slowly find it. Only when there is absolutely no problem will it be released. Those who deserve compensation will be compensated, and those who deserve punishment will be punished. Emperor Chongzhen was better off, because he wanted both dignity and face. Let's talk about evidence. In Cheng Shijie's eyes, there is only suspicion. Whether there is evidence or not is not important. In Yuan Chonghuan's case, he actually tried it for ten months with three divisions.
Meng En smiled bitterly and said: "Now we are in big trouble. The border issues have not been resolved yet. We still don't know what the situation is in Lanzhou. But if something happens again in Jingxiang, you say, I can't tell which one is more serious!"
"They can tell the difference!"
"What does the commander in chief want to do in Liaodong by working hard day and night? What does Ning Haijun do by drinking blood and chewing grass roots outside the customs for several years? What does Ning Haijun do by holding on in Liaodong? What's the use of trying harder and harder? So many people are holding us back and turning their hands to make clouds and rain, which will make all our efforts go to waste!"
Zhou Ning said bitterly: "Isn't it always like this for two thousand years? Tan Daoji made Suo Lu frightened by the news, and he was invincible. Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty killed him with a piece of edict, and the national destiny of Liu Song Dynasty took a turn for the worse; Chen Qingzhi Seven thousand white robes crossed the Yangtze River in the Northern Expedition, defeating the Northern Wei Dynasty and attacking Cloyang. Emperor Wu of Liang sat back and watched the Northern Wei Dynasty counterattack, which eventually led to his defeat and the entire white robe army was annihilated... and Yue Fei was about to reach Bianliang, Zhao Gou Thirteen gold medals brought him back, and then an unfounded crime cost the lives of his father and son! It has been like this for two thousand years, and it has never changed. Those of us who are courtiers can only pray that we can meet someone like him. A wise and magnanimous monarch like Emperor Guangwu, otherwise he might die at any time!"
Meng Enguang flashed and murmured: "Why can't we control our own destiny? Why should we let the emperor control everything, even if he is a stupid pig? Why does he control us? Why does he selfishly think that this country is theirs? His private property can be squandered wantonly, just because his surname is Liu Li, his surname is Zhao and his surname is Zhu?"
"Meng En, what do you want to do?"
Zhou Ning said in a stern tone: "Your idea is very dangerous!"
"My ideas are not dangerous!"
Meng En took a breath and said: "Chief of General Zhou, you also know that the best bows are hidden in the flying birds, the cunning rabbits die, and the lackeys are cooked. Our Ning Navy has developed to this point, and there is no turning back."
Zhou Ning said: "That's it. Just watch your mouth! If the king is not secretive, he will lose his ministers, and if the minister is not secretive, he will lose himself!"
"I'm not doing it for myself, I'm doing it for the commander-in-chief, and for all of us in Ning Haijun!"
Meng En pointed at a Ning navy officer next to him: "Have you had enough?"
"What?"
The soldier was confused.
Meng En said angrily: "I've had enough, I don't want to continue like this! Why can't we control our own destiny?"
"Why can't you control your own destiny?"
Can’t Zhou Ning understand Meng En’s words?
He understands, but the problem is that this matter is too big. Once it is separated, the problem will be huge, and the sky of Ming Dynasty will fall: "At least not now, the commander-in-chief must return to Liaodong safely!"
Meng En seemed to understand what Zhou Ning meant: "I know what to do!"
"Don't mess around!"
"I'm not a brainless person. Let me ask you, who in the world doesn't want to fight side by side with the commander-in-chief, open up new territories and leave a name in history?"
Meng En said: "I think so, even in my dreams."
Zhou Ning said: "Meng En, that's it. You call the officers above the general to have a small meeting, that's it..."
(End of chapter)
