On October 12, the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, small silvery white snowflakes were flying in the sky with the autumn wind. Looking around, the sky and the earth were all silvery white.
Early in the morning, Lu Xiangsheng's personal soldiers came to convey a message: The governor Lu Xiangsheng summoned Zhang Cheng to the camp to discuss something.
Zhang Cheng was quite surprised by this. He had gone to the governor's residence several times in the past few days, first to receive the imperial edict from the military sect Yang Guozhu, and then to meet with Hanlin Yang Tinglin.
The day before yesterday, when the commander-in-chief Gao Qiqian came to read out the imperial edict, he brought 10,000 taels of reward silver. This time, because it was delivered by Gao Qiqian himself, who announced the edict, and it was the time when the cavalry invaded the capital, there was no one. He was retained by officials at all levels who were greedy for ink and restraint.
The 10,000 taels of silver were ostensibly awarded to Zhenbiao's right-wing battalion, but in reality they were just head rewards for Zhang Cheng's troops in the Battle of Mafang. Zhang Cheng gave 2,000 taels of silver to the soldiers who participated in the battle, two taels per person, and another One thousand taels were given to Lin Zhiyi's infantry camp as a reward, and the remaining 7,000 taels were temporarily kept in the army for future use.
When the governor summoned him, Zhang Cheng did not dare to delay, so he hurriedly dressed up, took Chen Zhong and several other soldiers, and went straight to the palace of the governor of Changping.
As soon as Zhang Cheng arrived at the governor's camp, he heard the drums being beaten "dong dong dong" in the middle of Changping City. The drums were beating rapidly, as if something big had happened. Zhang Cheng got off his horse, handed his horse to Chen Zhong, and walked into the camp. .
From a distance, he saw the governor Lu Xiangsheng approaching Chen An. Zhang Cheng hurriedly rushed to catch him. Before he could speak, he heard Chen An say: "The supervisor Gao Gonggong is in the camp. The governor is beating drums to gather the generals. There is something to be announced and orders. You follow Zhang Shenjiang into the palace, wait for the generals to gather for a meeting, and then wait for the governor to summon you."
After Chen An finished giving instructions to Zhang Cheng, he turned around and returned to the Qiao Tower, leaving Zhang Cheng alone in shock.
Huge waves surged in his heart, and he muttered silently: "What was supposed to come has finally come!"
In the original history, Lu Xiangsheng once proposed to divide his troops into four groups to attack the slaves at night, but he did not get the support of Gao Qiqian. Lu Xiangsheng, who was angered by Gao Qiqian's arrogance, went to Emperor Chongzhen that day and asked to divide his troops. Emperor Chongzhen agreed. Lu Xiangsheng's proposal.
King Qin's army of more than 60,000 people gathered in Changping will be divided into two. Lu Xiangsheng will lead nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses from Xuanda and Shanxi's three towns, while Gao Qiqian will lead more than 30,000 soldiers and horses of King Qin from Guan and Ning. .
From today on, it is the beginning of the tragedy in the life of Governor Lu Xiangsheng. Although Zhang Cheng is fully aware of the direction of history at this moment, he is still just a small Qianhu. Not to mention here, even in Xuanfu Town, he is ranked first What kind of trouble can a junior officer who is not in a superior position make trouble?
Zhang Cheng walked down to the Qiao Tower with infinite sentimentality and waited quietly for the arrival of the generals from Xunzhen, but he had mixed feelings in his heart.
The second general gathering drum had just beaten, Zhang Cheng saw a group of generals wearing helmets and armor, walking quickly. The leader was Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanzhen. Next to him was the commander-in-chief Hu Dawei of Shanxi Province. , followed quickly by Zhang Yan and other generals and guerrillas from the two towns.
Yang Guozhu seemed to be in a bad mood. He only glanced at Zhang Cheng and walked straight into the carriage hall. When Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Hu Dawei saw Zhang Cheng standing under the tower, he nodded slightly to him.
Zhang Cheng ducked and followed his uncle, General Zhang Yan. The guerrilla behind him, Guo Yingxian, grinned and asked, "Brother Cheng, if you can get here faster, you can get there before us."
Zhang Cheng turned around and smiled at him without saying anything, but he saw Li Jianming and Wen Hui staring at him with hidden jealousy.
Also, Datong Commander-in-Chief Wang Pu was a step slower than Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, and he also followed behind and entered the carriage house.
The generals entered the governor's quarters, which was on the first floor of the Qiao Tower in Changping City. A huge iron case was placed at the top. The case was covered with gold medals, arrows and other objects. On the wall on the side of the Qiao Tower, there was a huge Gyeonggi. The map is filled with dense arrow symbols marked with a red pen.
The hall was full of generals wearing helmets and brightly colored cloaks. Those with the smallest military rank were all guerrilla generals. Only Zhang Cheng, a member of a thousand households, participated in the meeting at the right time, making him feel like he was The official position and military position are too small, which can't help but give rise to a feeling of powerlessness.
In the governor's quarters, the generals and officers continued to greet each other.
At this time, King Qin's reinforcements gathered in Changping. In addition to soldiers and horses from Xuanda and Shanxi towns, there were also more than 30,000 soldiers and horses from King Qin from Guanning towns, including many general officers.
Those who entered the governor's quarters successively included Miyun Commander-in-Chief Tang Tong, Jizhen Commander-in-Chief Bai Guangen, former Tun Guard Commander-in-Chief Wang Tingchen, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke and others.
The generals of the three towns of Xuanda and Shanxi stood on the left side of the camp, the generals of Guanning stood on the right side of the camp, and the deputy generals, staff generals, and guerrillas stood behind their respective commanders.
Although there were many generals on the opposite side, Zhang Cheng didn't recognize any of them. Suddenly, his uncle Zhang Yan's voice came softly: "Cheng'er, look at those generals on the opposite side."
Zhang Cheng looked carefully to the opposite side and saw a row of generals with bright helmets, each wearing a bright red cloak.
"Opposite are the generals of Miji and Guanning towns. In order, there are Miyun generals Tang Tong, Ji town generals Bai Guangen, former garrison generals Wang Tingchen, Shanhaiguan generals Ma Ke..." Zhang Yan was impatient. He bothered to introduce to his nephew the general soldiers of Guanning on the opposite side.
Zhang Cheng agreed softly, his eyes stopping on Wang Tingchen, the former garrison commander. In his memory, among the other commanders in Guan Ning, only Wang Tingchen made him stand in awe.
In his memory, in that real history, during the Battle of Songjin, he was captured along with Yutian Commander-in-Chief Cao Bianjiao and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jiang Zhu, as well as Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang and other civil and military officials. They were unyielding and died for their country. He is a loyal and brave man.
The remaining commander-in-chief of Ji Town, Bai Guangen, was a rogue at first. He first surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, but later rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to Li Chuang;
When Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, was in the 17th year of Chongzhen, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Juyongguan and surrendered to Li Chuang without a fight;
As for Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, during the Battle of Songshan, he and Wang Pu, Wu Sangui, Li Fuming and others were seen scrambling for their lives without any concern for the safety of friendly troops.
They are all people who need to be careful and watch out for. If you fight with them, you should be more careful!
…
In the governor's quarters, the general soldiers greeted each other and exchanged a few words with each other, all guessing Governor Lu's intention in summoning the generals.
They, the generals of the towns, greeted each other and greeted each other. The deputy generals, staff generals, and guerrilla generals behind them were all standing there honestly, but they did not dare to move and talk as casually as they did.
Zhang Cheng stood behind his uncle, looking particularly eye-catching. The Xuanda and Shanxi generals were already used to it. Although some people were secretly jealous, they could not stop him.
But the generals in Guan Ning on the opposite side didn't know the details, and many eyes were scanning Zhang Cheng. They were a little surprised to see that Zhang Cheng was already a guerrilla general at such a young age.
Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, took Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, to inquire about the details of Zhang Cheng. Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, listened with pricked ears. When they learned that Zhang Cheng was actually from a thousand households, his face was filled with confusion. His surprise became even stronger, and he couldn't help but look at Zhang Cheng a few more times.
Suddenly, all the generals in the camp heard the rapid beating of drums on the top of Qiao Tower again. This was the third time the generals had drummed together.
The generals hurriedly separated into two rows and stood in two rows, with clear barriers. The generals of Xuanda were on the left, and the generals of Miji and Guanning were on the right.
The governor's palace was full of generals who came to serve the king, but the atmosphere was very solemn, and no one dared to cough casually.
The sound of footsteps came softly, and a group of people came down from the second floor. Zhang Cheng looked sideways and saw the governor Lu Xiangsheng, still in sackcloth and filial piety, walking at the front of the crowd, his face full of anger.
The commander-in-chief stood up and walked beside him. He still wore a gold-embedded three-mountain cap on his head, a brocade robe on his body, and an exquisite jade belt tied around his waist. His face was full of contentment.
Behind him, Governor Lu Xiangsheng, was followed by his general, the guerrilla general Chen An, holding the Shang Fang sword given by the emperor in both hands. Finally, there were several people in eunuch costumes, following with gloomy expressions, showing the unique evil spirit of eunuchs. Angry.
Suddenly, there was a sound of armor leaves, and all the generals in the camp knelt down on one knee, cupped their fists with both hands, and stood up to salute the governor Lu Xiangsheng and the general commander.
All the generals shouted in unison: "I've seen Governor Lu, and I've seen Gao Jianjun."
The sound was like thunder, and a bit of cold air spread in the governor's cabin.
The commander-in-chief, Gao Qiqian, laughed a few times, but the supervisor, Lu Xiangsheng, had a gloomy face. He came to the huge iron table and asked Gao Qiqian to sit down on his left side.
Gao Qiqian wasn't polite at all, so he just sat down to mind his own business.
Chen An was holding the Shangfang sword given by the emperor and stood on the right side of Lu Xiangsheng, while the eunuchs accompanied him by standing on the left side of Lu Xiangsheng.
When Lu Xiangsheng saw that Gao Qiqi was ready, he said in a deep voice: "Generals, please get up."
The military generals in the camp shouted loudly: "Thank you, Governor Lu, and thank you, Governor Gao."
In an instant, there was another clanging sound of iron armor, and all the generals in the camp stood up.
Then, Supervisor Lu Xiangsheng began to order generals, and all the generals in the hall were absent. Every time Supervisor Lu Xiangsheng named a general, his heart was filled with excitement.
Commander-in-chief Gao Qiqian glanced at Lu Xiangsheng, stood up suddenly, and said in a high-pitched voice: "Everyone is here, let's talk to everyone about something now."
Seeing the silence of the generals below, Gao Qiqian was extremely satisfied, and he continued: "Yesterday, our family held consultations with Governor Lu about today's situation, but Governor Lu insisted on dividing the troops and fighting;
After reporting to the current Holy One for permission, it was decided that the reinforcements of King Qin from the three towns of Xuanda and Shanxi would still be under the command of Mr. Lu, while our family would lead the remaining troops of King Qin of Miji and Guanning.
Although the troops have been divided, I still hope that all the princes present today will give top priority to state affairs. Yesterday, Governor Lu wrote a letter and the emperor also issued an imperial edict, agreeing to Governor Lu's proposal to divide the troops with our family. "
After a pause, the high-pitched voice began to reverberate in the hall again: "That's it, that's it. Our family has finished talking about it. Except for the officials and generals from the three towns of Xuanda and Shanxi, the rest are generals. This is it." Set up camp for us and follow our family. "
In the huge governor's palace, it was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop, and a bone-chilling chill seeped into everyone's heart.
This incident happened so suddenly that except for Zhang Cheng who was mentally prepared, the other generals present were stunned with shock.
They looked at each other, looking at each other, both looking at a loss.
