In the Forbidden City, Beijing, inside the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.
Although Yang Sichang did not recommend sending Lu Xiangsheng to help Yunzhong, he had other ideas.
He lowered his head and meditated for a moment, then spoke again: "Under the command of Lu Shangshu, there is Wang Pu, the chief soldier of Datong Town. Commander Wang is also very brave in battle. When Gaoyang was victorious, it was he who volunteered to lead the army. The troops charged forward bravely, won the first battle, and gained the most;
If General Wang is dispatched to lead his troops to assist Taiyuan, it is certain that nothing will go wrong, the crisis in Taiyuan will be relieved, and the people's panic will be eliminated. "
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but nodded slowly, but he had another level of worry and asked Yang Sichang: "Lu Xiangsheng has less than 20,000 troops and horses. If Wang Zongbing is sent to Yunzhen, what will happen to his subordinates?" I’m afraid the military strength will be insufficient and it will be difficult to resist the Tartars.”
Since Lu Xiangsheng joined King Wei Qin, although he disagreed with the cabinet minister Yang Sichang and the supervisor Gao Qiqian due to their opinions on the main battle, they have repeatedly hindered him and even falsely accused Lu Xiangsheng in front of the emperor many times.
But after all, Lu Xiangsheng had achieved a series of great victories. He had the most success against the captives and gained the most. His weight in the heart of Emperor Chongzhen was gradually increasing, and he had the potential to catch up with Yang Sichang.
Although there were hidden dangers in the previous victory at Gaoyang, Chongzhen still believed it to be true. He was able to capture more than a thousand heads of slaves and thieves, which was a real achievement.
Although Chongzhen had some objections to Lu Xiangsheng because of Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian, he still believed in Lu Xiangsheng's fighting spirit and combat power, so he asked the Ministry of War to order Lu Xiangsheng to go south to Zhending and continue to intercept the Qing army. Make new achievements.
However, Yang Sichang was well prepared. He smiled and replied: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this. Lu Shangshu has many powerful generals under his command. Yang Zhen and Hu Zhen are both powerful generals in the world, and Zhang Cheng, who is brave enough to champion the three armies, is here." , with such a fierce general accompanying Lu Shangshu, the elite main force of his department is not lost, and he is not weak in the battle against the slaves and thieves, so the emperor can rest assured."
When Zhang Cheng was mentioned, Emperor Chongzhen had a smile on his face.
Since the Qing invaders and Zhang Cheng followed King Lu Xiang and Shengqin to defend the capital, his troops have won successive battles and made great achievements many times. Zhang Cheng alone captured nearly a thousand heads of slave thieves.
With such military achievements, since the middle of Ming Dynasty, perhaps only a few elite military commanders such as Qi Shaobao can compare with Zhang Cheng.
Emperor Chongzhen was even thinking about how he should reward Zhang Cheng after he drove away the Donglu. Of course, Zhang Cheng had such military achievements at such a young age, so how should he reward him? Emperor Chongzhen himself Also a headache.
"Again."
Yang Sichang on the side continued: "At this moment, Gao Jianjun has led tens of thousands of Guan Ning's troops all the way south. Mr. Liu Ge and Governor Chen have also led more than 20,000 elite troops each to go south. By then, there will be tens of thousands of my troops in Zhending Mansion. Elite, in terms of military strength, it can be said to be superior, so it should be worry-free."
Emperor Chongzhen felt reassured when he heard what Yang Sichang said. Moreover, in his opinion, Yang Sichang's words were even more prudent. They were indeed words of wisdom for the country, and all aspects of the issue had been taken into consideration.
Soon, two imperial edicts were issued from the capital, one to Lu Xiangsheng and the other to Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town.
…………
At the foot of Dingzhou City, the magistrate Huang Tingzhi repeatedly begged to stay, but due to repeated urging from the Ministry of War, Lu Xiangsheng only rested for three days before leading his troops to break up camp and head straight for Zhendingfu City.
The prefect Huang Tingzhi sent Lu Xiangsheng's troops away in tears, and hurried back to Dingzhou City. He once again ordered all the city gates to be blocked again, and arranged for soldiers and social soldiers to take turns to climb the city to guard in case the Qing army came to attack again.
I thought that there was a large amount of food and grass in the army. Lu Xiangsheng and other generals all had the painful experience of starvation. They knew that in these years of war and chaos, it was extremely difficult to prepare food and grass. Even if they had money, they had no place to buy it. The food and grass they carry are the lifeline of this army.
Therefore, no matter how urgent the military report was, Lu Xiangsheng still followed the advice of Zhang Cheng and other generals and marched steadily. Generally speaking, the entire army marched more than forty miles a day, in order to guard against slave thieves who could be seen everywhere. The camp and the army only set off after dawn, and the camp must be set up before dark.
The closer we get to Zhending, the more frequent the activities of slaves and thieves are. The sentry knights sent out by Night Guard often encounter enemies, and their losses are increasing day by day. The Night Guard soldiers under each general's command have to stick together and form a large group to go out to explore together.
On this day, the army has crossed Cihe in the south of Xinle County and entered the territory of Zhending Prefecture. They have set up camp in a market town called Xinpu, thirty miles north of Zhending Prefecture. They are preparing to march after dawn tomorrow, just in time to reach the foot of Zhending City. .
This place seemed to have just been looted by the Qing army. Thick smoke was everywhere in the shops, and there were still blood stains on some of the remaining walls. Whether it was the shops on the street or the homes in the alleys, they were all empty and in a mess.
The army used the new pavilion as a camp for the Chinese army, and set up a tent around it. Because this place was quite close to Zhending, a double-layered wooden wall was specially set up, with two layers inside and outside, and the middle was filled with broken bricks and tiles. , appears very thick.
After setting up camp, Lu Xiangsheng, accompanied by Yang Tinglin, inspected the camp together. While patrolling the camp, the two of them discussed the recent movements of the Qing army.
At this moment, one of Lu Xiangsheng's soldiers was seen running hurriedly and reported to Lu Xiangsheng that there was an imperial edict, and he was already waiting for Lu Xiangsheng in the Chinese army's tent to receive the edict.
Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Tinglin hurried back to the Zhongjun tent, where the internal eunuch who came to deliver the order was already waiting.
The imperial edict from the capital, in addition to commending Lu Xiangsheng and others for their achievements in fighting Luqi, once again urged Lu Xiangsheng to rush to Zhending as soon as possible.
These were already within Lu Xiangsheng's expectations, but to his surprise, the main content of the imperial edict was actually at the back. Here, it was mentioned that the Japanese cavalry were attacking Shanxi. The military situation was extremely urgent, and Lu Xiangsheng was asked to dedicate a force of troops and dispatch Datong. Wang Pu, the town's chief military officer, led his troops and immediately returned to support Shanxi to relieve the crisis in Taiyuan.
Lu Xiangsheng was stunned at that time. Although he was a little angry, he still accepted the order.
After receiving the imperial edict, he wrote a note of thanks. Since the eunuch who delivered the edict did not want to stay in the camp, he sent a team of personal guards to escort the eunuch who delivered the edict to Dingzhou and then back.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, Lu Xiangsheng sat slumped on a chair, holding the imperial edict in his hand. He was a little weak and said with a blank look: "Donglu just made a false shot and sent some rangers to disturb Longgu Second Pass. The purpose is Lure my army back to support,
All the princes in the court, such as Gong Gong and Gong Gong, were sitting on their seats and talking about Taoism. But he, Yang Sichang, claimed to know the military. How could he not see through the plot of the slaves and thieves? "
Yang Tinglin also said angrily: "It must be Yang Sichang who exaggerated the border situation and instigated the emperor in order to divide Jiu Weng's troops."
While Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Tinglin were discussing the matter in the tent, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong Town, asked to see him outside the tent. Lu Xiangsheng sent his own soldiers to call him in.
