The spring breeze was so proud that the horse's hoof was broken, and things outside the customs were settled much more easily than expected. Chang Yu felt proud in his heart. He bid farewell to his ancestor's birthday, crossed the river and set off his horse at a gallop, nearly three hundred miles from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan. At dusk on the second day, they arrived outside Guancheng. After hearing the news, Gao Di personally received him into the city.
After washing away the dust of the journey, the young eunuch was treated to home-cooked meals as requested. During the meal, he learned from Gao Di that Shen Jianghu's five thousand soldiers and horses entered the city in the evening and were repairing in the barracks at this time.
Although Shen Jianghu sent troops half a day and night earlier than Chang Yu, his troops had more troops to cross the river and delayed time. In addition, Chang Yu did not step on the accelerator as low as possible, so that he actually passed Shanhaiguan.
"Why don't you humble your position and call Shen Jianghu to talk with you?" Gao Di asked tentatively, Chang Yu sneered and glanced at him: "Is it because Shen Jianghu asked you about borrowing food? That's between you and Wu Sangui My friendship with you, whether you borrow it or not has nothing to do with me, don’t drag me into trouble.”
Gao Di's attempt was slightly embarrassed when Chang Yu saw through it: "But there is not much food left in Guancheng...that's all. We can't let them go south on an empty stomach. Wu Sangui's favor and humble position must be sold."
Chang Yu stretched out his hand and knocked on the table a few times: "You really don't have to complain to the governor about food and grass. If you have it, you can borrow it. If you don't have it, go ask the court. This matter is under the control of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is the responsibility of this governor." It's Dongchang, you can't get there."
After saying that, he left to rest in the room.
This... the first person in high school was sitting alone in the lobby feeling embarrassed and confused. The little eunuch was quite talkative when he came out of seclusion a while ago, but his temperament changed drastically when he came back. He was extremely impatient with him. Could it be that things outside the seclusion were not handled well, and Or you offended him.
But these days, I have been pretending to be blind, deaf, and dumb. Even Shen Jianghu didn't say a word that I shouldn't have said. There was no reason to offend him.
In fact, Zu Dashou is to blame for this.
Chang Yu didn't know much about Gao Di's past before. He only remembered that when the Qing army entered the customs, he and Wu Sangui teamed up to fight Li Zicheng on a piece of stone. That was the limit, so he didn't have any likes or dislikes about this man.
But when I was chatting with Zu Dashou a few days ago, I heard some dark history about Gaodi. He originally belonged to the eunuch party, that is, Wei Zhongxian. He once replaced Sun Chengzong in charge of military affairs outside the customs, ordered the withdrawal of defenses in Jinzhou, Dalinghe and other places, and even One hundred thousand shi of food was lost... The situation where only Ningyuan was left as an isolated city outside the pass was indispensable to his "contribution".
With Chang Yu's jealous temper, how could he give him a good look? Although he once belonged to the eunuch group, he was not Wei Zhongxian, and Gao Di was not one of his, and he did not like him.
The next morning, after receiving the news, Shen Jianghu came to greet Chang Yu. He was also very curious: "The factory supervisor is so anxious to return to Beijing, why don't you stay in Ningyuan for a few more days?"
Chang Yu smiled slightly and said, "The army is marching south. How can I, the governor, be so comfortable to go outside to escape the summer heat as ordered by me?" Then he sighed longly: "My governor is born with a hard life."
"In that case, let's go together and be a companion to the governor on the way to relieve his boredom." Shen Jianghu said in a flattering manner. Chang Yu shook his head gently: "You can't relieve the boredom of this governor, but I don't have the free time to accompany you leisurely." Hang around, the governor must rush back to the capital within three days."
The capital has been very lively recently, and it hasn't stopped since the Qing army was driven out of the customs more than half a month ago to the military parade.
It's even worse these two days, but it's not the excitement of the common people, but the excitement of the army.
It was heard that the war in the south had started again, and the imperial court mobilized troops and horses to go south to put out the fire. All the battalions in the city were busy with this matter, mobilizing, deploying, preparing food and grass, and leaving the city to prepare... They were very busy.
Gao Jie and Er Liu, as the vanguard of the march south, broke up camp and left Beijing early this morning, and nearly ten thousand cavalry left in the dust.
No one saw him off.
Ji Town is an important border town and cannot be left without generals for a day. Tang Tong also led his troops back to the army. Zhou Yuji was ordered to return to Shanxi to take charge of guarding against intruders on the west bank of the Yellow River and to prepare for the counterattack in the autumn.
At this time, the only soldiers and horses left outside the city were those of Huang Degong and Ma Ke.
Huang Degong's troops originally numbered nearly 20,000 men. In the past few months, they fought thousands of miles and fought countless battles. They lost nearly half of the troops and nearly 10,000 more were lost when they first emerged. However, many of their horses were divided into a single cavalry, which was far superior to the previous ones in terms of combat effectiveness and mobility. .
The deceased has been buried, and the pension will be distributed by the court. With the eunuch as a guarantee, and the court is currently recruiting military personnel, the money will not be wasted and no one dares to withhold it.
As for the injured, they were kept in the military hospital in the capital for treatment, and compensation for their injuries was paid in place. Huang Degong did this more authentically than many generals. Although he had been paid empty wages, he was never greedy for the money earned by his subordinates.
Huang Degong's soldiers and horses were waiting in Beicheng, and his food, grass and baggage were sent first. He, Zhou Yuji and Li Yan divided the food and grass that Dorgon had plundered. They were very rich and could survive to the south of the Yangtze River even if they ate less, but Li Yan Yan Zeng warned him to keep a low profile and cry for poverty.
He understood the reason for this. It was not that the crying baby would get milk, but to cooperate with the little eunuch's next begging plan.
There are now three troops outside the city. In addition to Huang Degong and Li Yan, there are also thousands of Ma Ke's men.
Ma Ke had 8,000 men under his command when he joined the war. After an ambush outside the pass and a bloody battle with Dorgon who jumped over the wall, only 5,000 men went south on this trip.
Although the price was heavy, there were also many benefits in exchange. All the grain, fodder and horses obtained were shared, and they were all cavalry.
Ma Ke was supposed to guard Changping, but Chang Yu ordered him to go south. He knew that it was the young eunuch who was leading him, so he was grateful and valued this opportunity. Gao Jie and others left camp early in the morning, and he entered Huang Degong's tent. , asked when to break camp?
Qia Liyan was also there, and after a brief discussion, the three decided to break camp in the evening when the sun was not so hot.
"Report, Uncle, the Shenji Camp has left the city and headed south." At this time, some soldiers came to report. Huang Degong raised his eyebrows and scolded: "Don't call me that in the army."
The soldiers quickly nodded in agreement.
"Wu Weiying is very positive." Ma Ke looked at Li Yan and smiled.
"This old boy has tasted the sweetness. I heard that he has almost moved all the arsenal in the Beijing camp in the past few days. He has to bring as much artillery powder as he needs. Wang Jiayan was a little reluctant, so he said The little eunuch asked him to take it. If you don't accept it, go to the little eunuch." Huang Degong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "If the old guy fights so hard, does he still want to fight to become a Zhuguo or a Duke?"
"The Duke is in a bit of trouble. This Zhuguo... maybe, I heard him bragging to others that the young governor had discussed with him to set up a military industrial research institute in Beijing, specifically to convene some firearms craftsmen to develop and build advanced new artillery, muskets, etc. "The military industrial research institute and the military hospital are under construction at the same time, and he will be responsible for them once they are completed," Ma Ke said mysteriously.
Huang Degong scratched his head: "I've heard of this Hanlin Academy, this Military Industry Research Institute... Hey, the little eunuch knows how to do new tricks." Then he looked at Li Yan: "Have you heard of it?"
Li Yan nodded: "I've heard that the remainder of the money raised to prepare the military hospital will be used to build the military industrial institute, but I haven't heard who is specifically responsible for it."
"The Shenji Camp has too much baggage, and leaving early is not enough." Huang Degong raised his head and looked at a few white clouds in the sky: "Do you know when the Guards will leave?"
The soldier shook his head: "I haven't seen him leave the city yet."
"It doesn't matter what they do, they can leave whenever they want." Huang Degong shrugged and said to Ma Ke, "Go back and pack up. We'll leave in the evening."
This time, in addition to the troops of the six generals outside the city, who wanted to go south to quell the chaos, Emperor Chongzhen even once wanted to use all the personal guards in the city to help in the battle. The reason was that if they were not polished, they would all rust and become useless.
However, this idea was strongly opposed by Chang Yu and the cabinet. The reason why the cabinet ministers headed by Li Banghua opposed it was very simple, that is, the Guards are the anchor of the sea to protect the imperial city and the emperor. How can that be done? The capital's military strength is already too thin. If the capital is emptied, why are you so worried?
Chang Yu's opposition is more realistic. Although the emperor's twenty-six personal guards are not as many as the hundreds of thousands or one hundred thousand in their heyday, there are still as many as fifty or sixty thousand. How much food and grass will be needed to mobilize troops thousands of miles away? Supplies are in short supply, and there are so many novices who can’t carry them. It’s not like they are traveling.
After some discussion, we finally selected the Tengxiang Four Guards and Jinwu Four Guards, who were experienced in combat, with a total of eight guards and more than 10,000 cavalry.
After all, going south to quell the chaos is a matter of real swordsmanship and spearheading, so why bother if leading other rookies means getting killed.
As for Emperor Chongzhen who wanted to temper his personal guards, he could send them to Changping and various passes along the Great Wall to defend the area.
Soldiers and horses outside the city have been pulling out of camp one after another, and the eight guards in the city are also busy packing their luggage. Unlike other ministries, all their food and grass have been supplied by the imperial court since they left Beijing.
