In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, on the tenth day of the first lunar month, the sky was clear and cloudless.
In the Forbidden City in Beijing, in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Yang Sichang lay respectfully on the ground.
Every time he saw Yang Sichang, Emperor Chongzhen felt at ease. He said softly: "Ai Qing, please get up."
Yang Sichang kowtowed again, then stood up, and heard Chongzhen ask in a cold tone: "Gao Qiqian, is there no news yet?"
Hearing Chongzhen's question, Yang Sichang trembled.
Nowadays, the capital is full of rumors, announcing that the giant army fought a bloody battle with the Tartars, and that Lu Xiangsheng fought bravely and sacrificed his life for the country.
Moreover, because he was timid in the face of battle, he abandoned Guan Ning's army and fled alone. As a result, Guan Ning's army had no commander in charge and was defeated by the Tartars.
After Emperor Chongzhen, under Yang Sichang's persuasion, the generals of Guanning towns appeared in Baoding, this message became more and more popular.
In fact, it is not difficult to imagine that all the general soldiers in Guan Ning are also monkey spirits. Seeing that Gao Qiqi has not shown up for so many days, they guessed that he must be in trouble, and naturally blamed him for all crimes. All of them were pushed on him.
Different from the original history, Yang Sichang could no longer place all the blame on Lu Xiangsheng for this battle of Julu. Now, it is a fact that Lu Xiangsheng fought bravely and sacrificed his life for the country.
Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Zhang Cheng and other people who witnessed it can all testify. There are also people such as Sun Chengzong, the governor of Qiange, Sun Chuanting, the governor of Zhending, the governor of Baoding, Yang Tinglin who praised Lu Xiangsheng in front of the army, and others who personally witnessed Lu Xiangsheng's death in the battle.
Even Chen Xinjia, the governor of Xuanda, asked for sympathy for Lu Xiangsheng. Of course, this was superficial and his purpose was to win the hearts of the generals of Xuanda.
However, all of this is enough to prove that Lu Xiangsheng fought and sacrificed his life. It also seems to confirm that Yang Tinglin's statement about high-altitude and hidden soldiers to protect himself, not to save others in the face of death, and to abscond in fear of crime is not a lie.
Yang Sichang was also suspicious of Gao Qiqian's whereabouts. He knew that this eunuch definitely did not have the courage to fight in a bloody battle and die for his country. The possibility of hiding in fear of crime was not impossible, but it should not be so.
According to the emperor's favor, if Gao Qiqian returned to Beijing safely, with Yang Sichang helping him, he could pass the blame on Lu Xiangsheng and let the dead bear the burden, but Gao Qiqian disappeared without a trace. generally.
If Gao Qiqian didn't show up, Yang Sichang would be unable to use a series of subsequent moves against Lu Xiangsheng. According to the current situation, it would be detrimental to everyone if this matter was delayed again and again.
After hearing Chongzhen's question, Yang Sichang felt very happy and had already made a decision in his heart. It didn't matter whether Gao Qiqian lived or died. Lu Xiangsheng was definitely dead and it was over.
He carefully replied: "Back to the emperor, according to reports from various places in Jinan, Lu Duchen and Gao Jianjun both fought hard and died for their country. However, the bones of Gao Jianjun have not been found yet.
During the Julu War, our Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers only numbered 40,000, while the Dongnulu cavalry numbered close to 100,000. We were outnumbered and the defeat of Xuan's army and Guan Ning's army was inevitable. "
Chongzhen sat on the throne and was silent for a long time. In his heart, he basically agreed with Yang Sichang's words. The current combat strength of the Ming army was still not comparable to that of the Qing army. If it was okay to stick to the fortified city, it would not be possible to fight in the field.
Yang Sichang had said earlier that to fight against the outside world, one must first settle the inside, and advocated avoiding a decisive battle with the Qing soldiers, otherwise once defeated, the main force would be lost. Now, all the tens of thousands of capable soldiers in the imperial court have fallen, and this is indeed the case.
After a long time, Emperor Chongzhen spoke: "Although Lu Xiangsheng and Gao Qiqian died in battle, tens of thousands of elites were wiped out. Will they still succeed?"
There was extremely strong anger in his tone.
Seeing the emperor's anger, Yang Sichang was also secretly frightened. He kowtowed again and said: "Your Majesty, I think that although the Xuan army and the Guan Ning army were defeated and lost their commanders, the general soldiers of each town are still there, and their elite troops have not been dispersed. This battle has tempered me and made me stronger and braver.
When the country is in crisis and when employing people, it would be good if we could preserve these elite soldiers.
Therefore, Wei Chen thought that it would be better for the imperial court to issue an imperial edict to praise Governor Lu and Gao Jianjun for their loyalty and bravery in protecting the country, so as to reassure the soldiers and encourage them to serve the imperial court in front of the two armies. "
According to history, Lu Xiangsheng died in battle, Gao Qiqiang survived, and Xuan's army was defeated, but the main force of Guan Ning's army was not lost, so Yang Sichang could successfully take the opportunity to put all the blame on Lu Xiangsheng.
However, today is different from the past. Lu Xiangsheng was clearly killed in the battle, but Gao Qiqian's whereabouts are unknown. If Lu Xiangsheng is guilty, then Gao Qiqian is also more guilty.
What's more, Lu Xiangsheng also had Zhang Cheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and other generals to prove his merits, and Sun Chengzong, Yang Tinglin and other ministers asked for his sympathy.
If it was decided that Lu Xiangsheng had merit in the bloody battle at this time, then Gao Qiqian would also have merit.
Yang Sichang's move can also please Emperor Chongzhen. When the country is in crisis, there are civil servants who die in bloody battles outside and loyal servants inside. The same is true. It is easier to explain than the crime of absconding in fear of crime. It is a happy ending for everyone.
As for the army's loss of its general, although an edict had been issued in the past to make him guilty and perform meritorious service, it was not the final outcome.
Only when Lu Xiangsheng and Gao Qiqian are recognized as meritorious in the bloody battle can the hearts of generals Xuanda and Guan Ning be completely stabilized, and the morale of the generals in other towns can be stimulated.
What's more, if Guan Ning's group of arrogant and powerful generals did not go well, they would rush back to Liaodong again. What would happen? By then, Yang Sichang would be more guilty, and now he is punishing the generals of Xuanda, and the new Governor of Xuanda Chen Xinjia would not agree either, so we must fight hard.
For Yang Sichang, the most important thing is to deal with the aftermath as soon as possible. Although he is now a cabinet minister and the minister of the Ministry of Rites, he is still in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of War. When the matter gets deeper, it will never end, and he cannot completely stay out of it.
Emperor Chongzhen also had a deep understanding of the problem of generals in the Ming Dynasty at this time, and knew that if he continued to investigate, he might cause the generals in various towns to change.
He stood up and walked slowly. After a long time, he suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "That's all, let's discuss the matter of Lu Xiangsheng and Gao Qiqian when you get back.
I, hereby decree, in the battle of Julu, Dongnu is in great power, and the officers and soldiers of the two places are not guilty of war crimes.
For example, Zhang Cheng, the guerrilla general in the Xuan army, repeatedly planned to behead more than a thousand people. I highly appreciate his loyalty and bravery. Unfortunately, there are too few elite soldiers as brave and brave as General Zhang. In the end, he was defeated by most of the Dongnu. It is outnumbered.
Yang Aiqing, our Ming Dynasty still needs to train more elite soldiers. "
Yang Sichang thought in his mind and finally understood that Zhang Cheng's title as the leader of the three armies was personally conferred by Emperor Chongzhen. If anyone questions the punishment of Zhang Cheng, they would question Chongzhen's original decision.
So no matter what happens to Xuan Dajun, at least this Zhang Cheng, Emperor Chongzhen will definitely keep it!
Yang Sichang said: "What the emperor said is absolutely true. When General Zhang Cheng first entered the capital, he won a series of great victories at Mafang and Shiqiao. Later, he moved to the south of the capital. He also fought bravely in Gaoyang and Julu, where he gained the most abundant gains and made the most outstanding military achievements. , invincible in all battles.
I can only lament that our Ming Dynasty has too few brave generals and elite soldiers like General Zhang. We really need to train more elite soldiers in order to quell the chaos and drive out the slaves. "
