Originally, Chen Wang thought that Sun Chuanting convened everyone to discuss matters because of the war in Shandong Province, and was preparing to break camp and rush to help Jinan.
However, the military order they received was to evacuate Julu and move to Texas.
If you really want to rescue Jinan, you should go southeast through the Qinghe and Wucheng lines, cross the plains, and stationed in Yucheng, not Dezhou.
Yucheng is located a hundred miles northwest of Jinan Prefecture. It can be used as a stronghold, and troops can be stored there to put a certain amount of pressure on the Qing army besieging the city.
Although Dezhou belongs to Jinan Prefecture in Shandong Province, Dezhou is located in the northwest of Jinan, beside the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, a distance of more than three hundred miles.
Sun Chuanting had summoned Cao Wenzhao and him several times before, and they all talked about how to rescue Jinan. The name Dezhou did not appear in all the arrangements and arrangements.
But now, Sun Chuanting's order was to transfer to Texas.
However, even though he was confused, Chen Wang did not ask questions or raise any objections at this time, and his expression did not change much.
While Sun Chuanting was still arranging and arranging the tasks of each battalion, Chen Wang also raised his eyes and looked at the people in the tent.
Chen Wang noticed that Sun Chuanting's expression was gloomy, which was obviously completely different from the previous few days. There must be something wrong with this arrangement.
Sitting across from the generals of the Xuan Dynasty, Hu Dawei had a gloomy expression and his eyebrows were lowered. He couldn't see his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking in his heart.
In the first battle of Jiazhuang, the Qing army broke through the formation from the south camp. The Shanxi army under Hu Dawei lost more than 1,200 people, with a death rate of nearly 40%.
In these days, more than a hundred people died of serious injuries, and there were even more casualties in the army. With such heavy casualties, it was actually impossible to fight anymore.
In the document issued by the Ministry of War, it was clearly stated that the camp and town of Zhending and Baoding would be withdrawn and recuperated, and the name of the Hu Dawei Ministry was written.
In addition to Hu Dawei's troops, the Datong soldiers under Du Wenhuan were also selected to be transferred back to the division. The death of the general had a huge impact on the morale of the camp and town.
Du Wenhuan had a high prestige in the border town army. This time, as the commander-in-chief of Datong, he was killed in Jiazhuang, which shocked the towns.
Datong Town lost almost all its elites in the battle of Jiazhuang. Du Wenhuan led his servants to rescue Lu Xiangsheng. Three hundred servants entered the battle, but only 23 were still standing when they left the battle.
Sitting next to Hu Dawei was Yang Guozhu.
Yang Guozhu's expression was cold, showing no emotion, anger, or thoughts.
In the battle of Jiazhuang, the Xuanfu soldiers under Yang Guozhu suffered the least losses, but nearly 20% of them were killed.
But there is still a certain amount of combat power, but the Ministry of War still transferred it back to Baoding.
Sitting under the powerful position of Hu Da is a middle-aged general with a short beard, a yellow face and thick eyebrows.
The middle-aged general was Liu Qin, the deputy commander in chief under Lu Xiangsheng who was supervising the Biao Zuoying camp. He had been transferred to other places to intercept and harass the Qing army.
Three days after the Battle of Jiazhuang, Liu Qin led his troops back to Jiazhuang.
Chen Wang looked at Liu Qin, whose face was full of fatigue and dust, and he had a lot of thoughts in his heart.
He remembered Liu Qin's name. Liu Qin's name left a name in the history books. Although it was only a small name, it still left a name in the end.
The reason why Liu Qinliu retained his name was not because of his outstanding military exploits, nor because of his bravery and skill in fighting.
Historically, on the third day of the Battle of Jiazhuang, Liu Qin risked being attacked by the Qing army and led his troops to Jiazhuang after the battle. He stepped on the piles of corpses, searched the entire battlefield, and finally found He picked up Lu Xiangsheng's body and then escorted Lu Xiangsheng's body all the way north.
Without Liu Qin, I am afraid that Lu Xiangsheng would have been like Sun Chuanting in the subsequent Battle of Tongguan, with no bones left and his whereabouts unknown, so that he was not even awarded a posthumous title.
However, even if there is a body, it is confirmed that he died in Jiazhuang, but in history, it was not until Yang Sichang's death that Emperor Chongzhen posthumously presented Lu Xiangsheng, Prince Shaoshi, and Minister of War, for burial.
It can be seen that Chongzhen is cool and thin.
"Each camp marched according to regulations and immediately returned to camp to arrange affairs and withdraw accounts."
Sun Chuanting arranged the marching order and responsibilities of each battalion, and left the Chinese military tent after saying goodbye.
Chen Wang stood up along with everyone, bowed and saluted, and escorted Sun Chuanting out of the camp.
After Sun Chuanting came out of the tent, the tent became slightly more popular, and the sound of whispering could also be heard.
Chen Wang was not in a hurry to pay the bills. After Sun Chuanting paid the bills, Cao Wenzhao had already given him a signal.
He Renlong and Cao Bianjiao did not move. Chen Wang and Cao Bianjiao stood together, while He Renlong and Cao Wenzhao stood together. Both of them looked unhappy and exchanged words in low voices from time to time.
There was still some distance between Chen Wang and the two of them, and he couldn't hear what was specifically said.
Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong didn't talk for a long time, and soon they separated and walked over.
At this moment, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei also broke away from General Xuan Dawei's queue and walked towards this side.
Cao Wenzhao's eyes moved slightly, stopped what he wanted to say, and turned to look at Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei.
Yang Guozhu was wearing a light armor, with a tired look on his face. He stepped forward, forced a smile, and said with a cupped hand.
"We say goodbye today. I don't know when I will see you again. I will always remember your kindness in helping you."
The same goes for Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu. His voice is much thicker than Yang Guozhu's.
"I can't say anything nice. If there is a place where my power is needed in the future, you can just speak up."
Hu Dawei cupped his hands and clasped his fists, his eyes finally fell on Chen Wang, and he cupped his hands again.
"Mr. Chen, thank you very much."
Seeing Hu Dawei's action, Chen Wang also cupped his fists and returned the salute.
The reason why Hu Dawei thanked him alone was actually because of the incident in the battle at Jiazhuang where Chen Wang led the armored cavalry into the formation to rescue him.
In the battle of Jiazhuang, the Shaanxi army's battalions suffered almost no losses, because the Qing army suffered heavy losses and chose to avoid the battle.
The biggest losses occurred in the Hanzhong camp under Chen Wang. The cavalry's frontal attack on the infantry's spear array naturally suffered huge losses, with a total loss of more than a hundred people.
Hu Dawei and others saw everything clearly in the formation, how to charge into the formation, the situation when charging into the formation, and the results after rushing into the formation, all were visible to their eyes.
After the war, Hu Dawei came over immediately to thank him, and also transferred hundreds of war horses from his army to Chen Wang's hands.
"The words of the two commanders-in-chief are serious. I am a soldier of the imperial court. Naturally, I should help each other and rush to help each other. This is my duty."
Cao Wenzhao stepped forward and lifted up Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu who were saluting, and said warmly.
"It has been two days since the Ministry of War drafted the document. Today, the military order was issued. We cannot stay long. We will break camp tomorrow. We need the Xianhui Battalion to reorganize military affairs, notify the soldiers, and leave first."
Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei did not say any more. They had already said what they needed to say in the past few days and left immediately.
Seeing the backs of Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei leaving the tent, Chen Wang couldn't help but feel a little sad.
What Cao Wenzhao said is that as soldiers in the same camp, it is indeed their duty to help each other and rush to aid. Logically speaking, the same camp should support each other.
But in fact, in this year and in this situation, most people just ignore the matter and sit on the sidelines. It is already rare if they don't escape the battlefield in advance. How can there be a few soldiers and horses rushing to help.
For example, Guan Ning's army, which was originally stationed in Wei County and Jize, fled hundreds of miles away to Linqing when the fighting started in Jiazhuang.
As Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei left the camp, all the generals of the Xuan Army also left the camp, and other generals of the Shaanxi Army also left one after another.
Only Chen Wang, Cao Wenzhao, He Renlong, and Cao Bianjiao were left in the Chinese army tent.
"Uncle, the army ordered us to go to Dezhou. Is it because we don't want to take care of the war in Shandong?"
Cao Bianjiao took a step forward and asked with a frown.
Compared to a few years ago, Cao Bianjiao was much more stable. If it had been a few years ago, he might have already asked the question.
Cao Wenzhao did not answer in a hurry, but sat down again and waved at the same time.
Chen Wang understood immediately and sat down with He Renlong. Cao Bianjiao frowned and sat down last.
“It’s not that I don’t want to take care of it, it’s that I can’t take care of it even if I want to.”
Cao Wenzhao looked serious and shook his head slowly.
"The imperial court gave the governor a great title. The governor commanded King Qin's troops and horses, and gave Shang Fangjian to supervise King Qin's affairs."
"But in fact, apart from Biao Battalion, the only ones that can really be mobilized are our four battalions."
Cao Wenzhao glanced towards the north and said helplessly.
"It's called Governor, but in reality there are no soldiers to supervise."
Although Xuan's army suffered heavy losses, it could not be considered completely incapable of fighting. Now that Jinan was in a critical situation, the imperial court transferred Yang Guozhu, Liu Qin and other troops who were still capable of fighting back to Baoning, which was really determined.
The underlying meaning revealed is obvious, that is, they are unwilling to have another war with the Qing army.
Chen Xinjia's subordinates could not move. Changping was not only the location of the imperial mausoleum, but also had a very important geographical location.
Hong Chengchou led his army into the defense. At this time, the Northland was very empty due to the continuous deployment of troops and generals southward. Hong Chengchou led the army to fill the vacancy, so naturally there were no troops to mobilize.
Almost all the soldiers and horses in the other towns in Beizhili were under Gao Qiqian's command.
King Qin's army, which came for reinforcements from Henan and other places in the south, has not yet reached Shandong.
The rogue rebellion in the pass has not yet been completely suppressed, and there are still many peasant armies in Huguang, Henan and other places. Therefore, the reinforcements from the north are extremely limited, and the marching speed is quite slow.
"In addition to having no soldiers to supervise, there are now inspectors above the inspectors. Your Majesty ordered Liu Shoufu to go south to Baoding and Zhending as inspectors to manage King Qin's troops in each town. The reason why Xuan's army was transferred to Baoding Prefecture was that we, the chief, were among them. Fu’s handiwork.”
Chen Wang frowned slightly, he remembered Liu Yuliang.
Shortly after the Qing troops invaded, Liu Yuliang, then the chief minister of the cabinet, volunteered to go to the front line to supervise the military situation.
Because various slanders about Lu Xiangsheng continued to spread, Emperor Chongzhen, who had long been dissatisfied with Lu Xiangsheng, immediately ordered Lu Xiangsheng to be dismissed from his post for investigation, and Liu Yuliang was appointed as the governor of the world's military.
However, this idea of Chongzhen was dismissed by Yang Sichang. It was taboo for military strategists to change commanders before the battle. Yang Sichang advocated that Lu Xiangsheng should still be the governor of the military, and Liu Yuliang could go to supervise the military situation.
Yang Sichang's idea at the time was probably that he wanted Liu Yuliang, as the chief minister of the cabinet, to suppress Lu Xiangsheng so that he could not fight the Qing army decisively.
But historically, as soon as Liu Yuliang arrived in Baoding, he heard the news that Lu Xiangsheng had died in battle, and then nothing happened.
Soon afterwards, Liu Yuliang was criticized for his ineffective supervision, so he resigned and served as chief assistant for only eight months, and then Xue Guoguan took over as chief assistant.
As for his successor, Xue Guoguan, he served longer than him, serving as the chief minister of the cabinet for one year and two months.
However, Xue Guoguan's end was much more miserable than Liu Yuliang's.
But these are all things for later.
Liu Yuliang may have the actual ability to be the first assistant, but he has no right to be the first assistant.
Today, the most powerful person in the imperial court is undoubtedly Yang Sichang, who has won the trust of Chongzhen.
"Guanning's army was defeated and Linqing was unable to retreat. They sat back and watched Jiannu advance eastward into Jinan Prefecture."
Cao Wenzhao sighed and said in a condensed voice.
"Based on the fact that no detective reports were collected at night, the total number of slave soldiers around Jinan Prefecture was at least 60,000. Our army now totals no more than 15,000. If we stand alone against the Qing army, a field battle will undoubtedly lead to self-destruction. .”
"Then, this, should we just do nothing?"
Cao Bianjiao's expression changed. Even so, he couldn't accept it.
Cao Wenzhao raised his hand to stop Cao Bianjiao's words, glanced across the faces of Chen Wang and He Renlong, and then spoke.
"The two blue banners of Jiannu were diverted from Dezhou, Hejian Prefecture to the south. The soldiers in Dezhou were afraid of Jiannu, although they did not dare to go south to support them."
"But because of the message we sent before, a group of troops from the east and west were temporarily mobilized to enter Jinan. They should be able to hold on..."
"There are many reasons to go to Texas, and you all know the most important reason."
Chen Wang felt a little chilled in his heart. He naturally knew the reason - food and grass.
They had not received much food and grass aid along the way. The reason why they broke camp now was because the food and grass had only arrived yesterday. They had been starving for two or three days in Jiazhuang.
Rushing for reinforcements all the way from Zhending Mansion, the army only had four days of rations left. When they arrived at Jiazhuang, the entire army was actually out of food.
During this period, they ate only the food donated by Yao Dongzhao to Xuan Dajun in Jiazhuang at that time, and some military rations brought by Liu Kai to survive.
More than 700 shi of grain, more than 20,000 soldiers, and nearly 10,000 mules and horses were simply not enough.
Yesterday, with the announcement of the decree and the order of the Ministry of War, more than two thousand dan of grain were shipped. The portion allocated to each battalion was barely enough for the army.
When the Qing army attacks Jinan, the best route for reinforcements is indeed to go southeast through Qinghe and Wucheng.
But along the way, there was no replenishment of food and grass at all. The prefectures and counties along the way basically would not transport military rations to them, and even fired warning shots, not even approaching the city.
During this period, many Ming armies had bad military discipline. Although they were not as good as the Qing army, many of them were worse than bandits. Naturally, ordinary states and counties took strict precautions against them.
This is not only true for the generals who lead the army, but also the civil servants who lead the army.
Historically, even Liu Yuliang, the chief minister of the cabinet who led the troops south, was not allowed to enter the city, which shows the absurdity of the current situation at that time.
Dezhou is backed by the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and has accumulated a large amount of grain and grass. As an important place, Yang Sichang has already sorted out Dezhou. As long as he enters Dezhou, at least there is no need to worry about the problem of grain and grass.
If you go to Dezhou, you can at least have a bite to eat. If you go elsewhere, if you don't see the Qing army, you may collapse due to lack of military rations.
The wind outside the tent was getting louder. Although Cao Wenzhao was still talking, Chen Wang could not concentrate his thoughts.
Sun Chuanting didn't say it clearly, Cao Wen didn't say it clearly, and the princes in the court didn't say it clearly, but Jinan had actually been abandoned long ago...
Today may be just one chapter. My brain is going crazy and bursting. Can I owe you another day?
(End of chapter)
