"Futai, the last general can lead a thousand patrols to fight against the rogue cavalry!"
In the main hall of the Tianjin Governor's Yamen, the patrol officer Yang Weihan was asking for a fight.
The news that King Chuang's cavalry appeared near Tianjin was also sent to the governor's office. Feng Yuanyang, Cao Youyi, and Li Shichun, the lecturer sent to Tianjin by Zhu Cixiang, who were discussing sending troops to meet him, were all shocked. However, Tianjin patrolman Yang Weihan was unexpectedly brave and actually volunteered to fight.
This attitude was far beyond the expectations of Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi. They both knew the strength of Tianjin Xunbiao. There were 3,000 people on the books, but in fact there were only 1,000. The only ones who could really fight were the 100 or so Ding Yong raised by Yang Weihan's family. Private soldiers. With this little force, it is enough to protect the safety of Governor Feng Yuanyang and deal with the thieves in the Tianjin Wei area.
But when he goes out to fight the bandits, he still has to deal with the cavalry of the bandits... Is this Yang Weihan drunk too much?
"Yang Xunbiao," Feng Yuanyang twirled his beard, "Are you sure?"
"Futai," Yang Weihan stood up with a stern look on his face, "There are only a thousand people in the lower ranks, and among them there are only more than a hundred elite warriors who dare to fight. Naturally, there is no guarantee of success against the cavalry with thousands of thieves.
However, the lower official is determined to kill himself and become a benevolent person! "
Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi both looked shocked. They really didn't expect Yang Weihan, who looked like a member of a wealthy family, to be so loyal!
It is true that the sea cannot be measured, and loyal ministers cannot be judged by their appearance!
"Okay!" Li Shichun stood up and saluted, "I admire the general for his loyalty and bravery! When I see His Highness the Crown Prince, I will definitely recommend the general to His Highness."
"General Yang is so loyal, I admire you very much!" Feng Yuanyang, Mr. Feng, looked at the "loyalty officer" in front of him, but he was a little uneasy, "It's just a patrol patrol with a small number of generals. I'm afraid he is no match for the rogue cavalry..."
"If you are not an opponent, you can still hold on for a while." Yang Weihan said, "Xiaguan is from the Tianjin Guards, and the soldiers under his command are also from Tianjin. They are familiar with the surrounding terrain, and they have elders to rely on. Although they cannot win, they can still deal with it. A few days. With these few days, the Holy One can enter the Tianjin Acropolis, and the fleet from Dagukou can also reach the Acropolis. As long as the Holy One can board the ship, the dragon will enter the sea and the phoenix will fly into the sky. The lower official will die and become a benevolent person. It also repays the emperor’s favor that he has received from generation to generation.”
Li Shichun nodded repeatedly: No wonder he is so loyal, he is under the command of a guard who has been favored by the emperor! But ancestral loyalty! His family has eaten the emperor's food from Lao Zhu's family for more than 200 years, so it's time to repay the favor.
Of course Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi didn't believe it, but it wasn't easy to dampen their enthusiasm in person.
Feng Yuanyang said: "There are still ten thousand taels of silver in the treasury of the Chief Historian, so I will allocate two thousand to reward the patrol."
"General, thank you Futai!" Yang Weihan saluted and said, "Without further delay, general will go to gather the soldiers immediately and go out of the city early tomorrow morning to fight the bandits!"
"Okay, okay, it's indeed not too late." Feng Yuanyang nodded, and then sent Yang Weihan out of the Yamen together with Cao Youyi and Li Shichun.
After turning back, Feng Yuanyang said to Li Shichun again: "Er He, let's set out to meet him tonight!"
"That's very good." Li Shichun nodded repeatedly. Although he left the dangerous area of Beijing early, his heart still hung there. He, Chen Jie, and Lin Zengzhi were all officials close to Zhu Cixiang. And he has been the core of the "power-seeking group" in the East Palace from the beginning. Whether the prince can escape safely or not has a lot to do with him!
Cao Youyi said: "Headquarters, once Yang Xunbiao leaves, will you still have enough people?"
"Futai, the terrain over Sanjiang Lake is complicated and the water network is dense, which is not conducive to the performance of the rogue cavalry." Cao Youyi is a short and fat warrior with a five-strand long beard. He looks very solemn. Now his brows are knitted together. , seems to be worried.
"General Town, what are you worried about?" Feng Yuanyang said, "Tianjin Acropolis is strong and protected by Wei River, Lu River, and Sanjiang Lake. It is not so easy to be occupied by bandits. As long as we welcome the Holy Lord into Tianjin safely, It will be foolproof.”
"I'm afraid that people's hearts will change!" Cao Youyi expressed his thoughts, "The capital has fallen, the emperor has fled, and the whole of Beizhi seems to be Li Zicheng's world... Futai thinks how many people among the three guards in Tianjin can and Are we of the same mind?"
In the Ming Dynasty, Tianjin was called Tianjin Guard. It was not one guard, but three guards in total: Tianjin Guard, Tianjin Left Guard, and Tianjin Right Guard. Therefore, it is also called the Three Guards of Tianjin. According to the establishment in the early Ming Dynasty, there should be 16,800 military households under the Three Guards, occupying nearly 1 million acres of cultivated land.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, ordinary military households in the guardhouse were no different from ordinary poor peasant tenant households. However, most of the hereditary officer families of Tianjin Sanwei have been inherited and have evolved into large and small landowners. Most of the nearly one million acres of land in Tianjin Sanwei became their private property. Most of the officers at all levels below the Tianjin Guard General came from these hereditary officer families.
In other words, most of the officers in Tianjin Town are local landowners in Tianjin Wei! Their industry is in Tianjin and their family is in Tianjin. They can't just leave it behind.
And if you go to Jiangnan, you will have a better future? It’s hard to tell if you’re afraid, right?
If there is an opportunity, they can continue to serve the new dynasty, keep their existing industries, and even move to the next level. Isn't it obvious that the officers in Tianjin Town would choose this way?
Isn’t this how Datong, Xuanfu, Juyong, and Changping all fell into disrepute?
Feng Yuanyang frowned slightly and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Cao Zhen, are your subordinates still reliable?"
Cao Youyi nodded and said: "Don't worry Futai, all the bureaus and departments are in the hands of the nephews and brothers of the lower officials, and there will never be anyone who will fail the emperor's favor."
"That's good...there are original soldiers in Tianjin City to keep an eye on them. It should be fine within a day or two." Feng Yuanyang said again, "As long as we can welcome the Holy One, we don't have to worry. The Holy One should not be here alone. There will be Thousands of elite soldiers from the Beijing camp escorted us. In addition, there are many soldiers under the Tianjin Navy and Shen Tingyang, who manages shipping and is in charge of Ningyuan's payroll."
The Tianjin Guard Navy was first located in Tianjin, but later moved to Dengzhou, under the supervision of the Denglai Sea Patrol, and all its soldiers were recruited in Denglai. The Denglai area is still under the control of the Ming army, so the Tianjin Navy is relatively reliable. Moreover, Su Guansheng, who was also in charge of the Denglai Coast Patrol and the Tianjin Navy, was a ruthless man, and he was a student of the Imperial Academy. When he was a county magistrate, he was framed. At that time, he declared that he "doesn't want an official position, money, or life," so he got the nickname "Three Don't Wants". As an official, you have a way of managing things wherever you go. The Tianjin Navy has also improved greatly in his hands. In the past few years, Ningyuan's salary system has never had any mistakes.
As for the ships controlled by Shen Tingyang, who was in charge of shipping under the Governor's Office of Water Transport, they were actually merchant ships. Shen Tingyang was born in the maritime merchants in the Jiangnan area, and entered the official position as a graduate of Nanjing Imperial College. In the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, he published the "Shipping Map" and "Shipping Book" and was ordered to build two sea boats for trial voyages. After the sea trial was successful, he was appointed to manage shipping and take charge of Ningyuan's payroll. Now it has expanded to a scale with hundreds of ships, two thousand sailors, and one thousand thugs. In addition to undertaking the imperial court's shipping, it also facilitated the shipping of ships and operated its own business (which may be called smuggling), and accumulated a lot of assets. Compared with the officers in the Tianjin Guard who have been favored by the emperor, Shen Tingyang and his sailors and guards are very reliable.
Because Li Zicheng can't threaten a maritime merchant like Shen Tingyang for the time being, and he can't offer benefits that would make a maritime merchant excited. On the contrary, saving Chongzhen and his son will bring greater benefits! These are two rare items!
Moreover, the thugs hired by Shen Tingyang also get what they pay for! All the money that should be given is given, and the skills that should be learned are also known. Everyone can fight hand-to-hand, and can skillfully use turtle-dove-footed fire guns. The 1,000 turtle-dove-foot fireguns equipped with it are also good things bought from Guangdong.
This is the thug hired by Boss Shen himself and the gun he bought! How could it not be useful?
Of course, Li Zicheng couldn't pull Boss Shen's thugs over. He couldn't afford so much money!
Therefore, these two groups of outsiders are a very reliable force.
Feng Yuanyang thought for a while and then said: "Su Guansheng has 2,000 people and Shen Tingyang has 3,000 people... As long as they arrive, we don't have to invite the Holy Emperor and the Prince into Tianjin City, we can just leave by boat. Even if the military morale is unstable, what's the big deal? ?”
"Futai is right," Cao Youyi said, "Then the official should immediately gather the troops and escort Futai out of the city to meet him."
"Okay!" Feng Yuanyang nodded, "Without further delay, let's set off tonight."
