Thirty miles north of Zhendingfu City, there is a new shop, where Lu Xiangsheng's Xuan army camped.
At dusk, Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town, came to Lu Xiangsheng outside the Chinese army's tent and asked for an audience.
It turned out that Wang Pu also received an imperial edict. In addition to the imperial edict, there was also a message from the Ministry of War to mobilize troops.
When he first received the imperial edict and the dispatch of troops, Wang Pu's expression was very strange. In the past few days, he accompanied Lu Xiang's army, especially under Gaoyang City, where he took the lead to attack and capture the cavalry, which greatly inspired his courage.
He was originally very afraid of the Qing army, but now he was somewhat reluctant to leave Lu Xiangsheng and the Xuanda generals who had been fighting together for more than a month. However, he could not disobey the imperial edict and the orders of the Ministry of War.
What's more, if he can lead troops back to Shanxi at this time, all the generals under his command are also very willing to break away from contact with most of the slaves and bandits, and avoid the threat of fighting for their lives on the battlefield. Who would not be willing?
After some thought, he finally made a decision and rushed to Lu Xiangsheng's Chinese army tent to say goodbye to Lu Xiangsheng.
In the tent of Lu Xiangsheng's army, he choked and said to Lu Xiangsheng: "My Lord Governor, with the emperor's imperial edict and the Ministry of War's dispatching notice, the general has to obey the order. It's a pity that he can't serve in front of the saddle and behind the horse, and follow the Governor to kill the slaves in front of the formation. "
There were also tears in Lu Xiangsheng's eyes. He personally helped Wang Pu up and said to him warmly: "Commander Wang, there is no need to be like this. When you return to Yunzhen to aid, you are still serving the country, and you don't have to be under my supervision. "
He looked at Wang Pu quietly, and told him warmly: "No matter where the general Wang and his soldiers are, they must keep in mind the principle of serving the country with loyalty and righteousness."
Wang Pu was also a little excited. He choked and said: "The general has memorized all the instructions given by the governor."
Lu Xiangsheng immediately sent an order to summon all the generals to gather at the Chinese army's tent. Quan thought it was to see Wang Pu off.
Although the place where they camped was not far from Zhending and the slave bandits were nearby, today's event was special. Lu Xiangsheng also made an exception and allowed the generals to drink, but they were not allowed to drink too much.
At the banquet, Wang Pu was the protagonist of the banquet. No matter how much they looked down on Wang Pu, a dandy who spent money to buy an official position in the military, these days of fighting side by side, especially after the battle in Gaoyang City, they have become more and more important. There is already some comradeship.
Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei toasted to Wang Pu one after another. Wang Pu also had a reluctant expression on his face. They were about to leave, and everyone was reluctant to leave.
Wang Pu also deliberately came to the front of Zhang Cheng's case. He approached Zhang Cheng, patted his shoulder hard, and sighed: "It's a pity that I can no longer kill slaves side by side with General Zhang. After this battle, if General Zhang When I visit Datong in the future, my brothers will be happy to welcome you."
Zhang Cheng also had a drink with Wang Pu solemnly, and then drank another drink in return, and the two of them saluted as farewell.
No matter how unbearable Wang Pu was in history, at least in this battle with King Qin, his performance was orderly and worthy of his respect.
However, everyone in the account only thought that Shanxi was in danger, and the Ministry of War transferred Wang Pu back to Yunzhen to aid. This was reasonable and reasonable, but only Zhang Cheng knew in his heart that Yang Sichang and Chen Xinjia were behind this.
Yang Sichang was indeed very talented in politics and military affairs, but he was short-sighted, narrow-minded, and had a strong desire for revenge.
In fact, there were only slight differences in political opinions between him and Lu Xiangsheng. How could they be so deliberate and ignore the overall situation of the court because of their personal emotions?
What a shame!
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On the second day, early in the morning, all the generals set up camp one after another.
However, the soldiers of Datong Town followed the commander-in-chief Wang Pu to the north, crossed Cihe, and rushed to Maguan.
As soon as he left, Lu Xiangsheng's Xuan army lost more than 3,000 troops. After Gao Yang's victory, the originally high morale was inevitably affected.
Lu Xiangsheng has nearly 2,000 soldiers in the Biao Battalion under his command. In addition, there are Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town, and Hu Dawei, the chief soldier of Shanxi Town, with more than 3,000 soldiers each. There are also 2,000 soldiers of Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Jiang Mingwu and Xuanfu Commander-in-Chief. Zhang Yan and Zhang Cheng's guerrillas had more than 2,000 troops, with a total force of about 10,000.
Seeing that the morale of the army was a little low, Lu Xiangsheng summoned the generals before the army set off and loudly said in front of the battle: "Gaoyang's great victory has inspired the capital. The emperor's decree has repeatedly commended him, and the morale of the soldiers in each battalion is also high.
Now that slaves and bandits have raided south, most of them have gathered in Zhending. Our army should take advantage of this vigor and march into Zhending to relieve the suffering of the people there. "
In front of the military formation, the armor was clanging, and all the generals stood up and shouted: "I am willing to follow the governor and saddle the horse before and after, kill slaves to serve the country, and make new achievements."
Since the great victory in the Battle of Gaoyang, the officers and soldiers of Xuandasan Town under Lu Xiangsheng's command have almost disappeared from any fear of the Qing army, and the morale of the army has soared and reached its peak.
Lu Xiangsheng was also very satisfied with the performance of his generals and said loudly: "The battle of Gaoyang has proved the nature of slaves and thieves, as long as our Ming army puts their lives in front of the battle and kills slaves bravely, your heads will be It is our military merit.
All generals, their names will be left in history. I hope you will work hard on this day! "
All the generals shouted in unison: "Kill the slaves and serve the country on that day! Kill the slaves and serve the country..."
Zhang Cheng also shouted together with the generals. Encouraged by Gaoyang's victory, more and more Ming troops dared to go out of the city to fight against the Eastern captives. Now the morale of the troops was high and their morale was greatly boosted.
The invasion of Qing troops this time was much more difficult than in the original history.
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On November 26, the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Cheng and other generals finally led their troops to Zhending Fucheng.
Zhending Prefecture, in the same city as Zhending County Prefecture, is now Zhengding County, Hebei Province. It was also called Changshan in ancient times. During the Three Kingdoms period, the famous Shu generals Zhao Yun and Zhao Zilong were born here.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was called the "Three Heroic Towns in the North" together with Beijing and Baoding.
Zhending Mansion has been the richest and most prosperous city in Jinan for thousands of years. Since ancient times, there has been a saying of "Flower Zhending Mansion, Splendid Taiyuan City".
It originates from Zhending Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture, and is connected through Jingxingkou. Not only is it exactly on a parallel east-west line geographically, but it is also the starting point and end point of the highway between Shanxi and central and southern Hebei.
Not far from the south gate of Zhendingfu City, the Hutuo River flows from west to east. With fertile land and convenient transportation, it can be called a famous city through the ages.
Zhang Cheng, Lu Xiangsheng and others set up camp by the Hutuo River in the south of Zhending Prefecture. In order to facilitate access to water, the army set up camp along the river, densely covered with banners. Along both sides of the Hutuo River, it was impossible to see the edge. Camp tents rise from the ground.
Along the way, although they encountered many large and small groups of Qing soldiers, they were afraid of the majesty of this large army. Each group of Qing soldiers just watched from a distance and did not dare to get too close.
Therefore, although there were some small groups of contact battles along the way, the overall march was still smooth.
