Just when Xiangyang City was captured by Zhang Xianzhong's Xiying bandits in a sneak attack, and King Xiang was killed and in trouble, there were cheers in Kaifeng City, as if celebrating the New Year early.
The five city gates on all sides of Kaifeng Fucheng are all open and are no longer completely closed. However, because of the fear of the thieves leaving and returning, only the west gate remains open now, and the other four gates can only be opened with official documents from the Yamen.
The Xuanzhen army under Zhang Cheng has moved outside the west gate, and the camp of the intruders here has been occupied by him. Among the spoils captured this time, except for Chen Yongfu who got some relatively complete armors, the rest all belong to Zhang Cheng Owned by one person.
Especially the captured robber war horses, Zhang Cheng refused to give them to others.
The captives captured by Zhang Cheng and the hungry people they rescued were also guarded in the new camp outside the West City. Grain was constantly shipped out of the city to help the hungry people in each camp, and there was an endless stream of officials, gentry, and civilians working for the army.
Chen Jiugao, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, has also arrived at the city. He leads the Beijing camp and is stationed outside the north gate. Stationed at the south gate are more than a thousand infantrymen under Chen Dakuan under Zhang Cheng and cavalry under Chen Yongfu. Outside the two east gates are guerrillas. The cavalry of Gao Qian and Zhang Dechang.
This battle made him fully realize the role of cavalry. With more than 3,000 cavalry, the intruders could cover the successful retreat of a large group of infantry, but he could only watch and had no other choice.
Even if the fine cavalry was finally dispatched for a surprise attack, killing 657 of Xie Junyou's cavalry, and capturing hundreds of armors and weapons and more than 500 horses, they were unable to break through Liu Zongmin's cavalry and could not continue to boldly pursue the rebels. .
He himself had also thought that if he could have three or four thousand elite cavalry, he could cooperate with the infantry to encircle and pursue the invaders. At least he could defeat most of the infantry and disperse them, and then pursue them all the way. , so that they cannot be reunited, why worry about the bandits not being exterminated!
Zhang Cheng has made up his mind. After the suppression of thieves, he will vigorously develop cavalry in Xuanzhen. Except for the elite personal cavalry, which still needs to be ridden by one person and two people, the rest will ride alone. First, expand the cavalry force. , increase mobility.
He even thought that if there were really no good cavalry seedlings, then the elite infantrymen would be equipped with riding mules, turning them into mounted infantry, which would greatly improve their mobile combat capabilities.
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Henan Governor Li Xianfeng returned to Kaifeng under the escort of guerrilla Zhang Dechang, but was unable to enter the city. For three days in a row, he lived in the camp of guerrilla general Zhang Dechang outside the east gate of Kaifeng.
After he returned to Kaifeng, he originally wanted to enter the city through the west gate, but for some reason when he saw him outside the city gate, the west gate suddenly closed. No matter how he showed his identity as the governor of Henan, the soldiers guarding the gate refused to let him Open the door.
Not only did he not be allowed to open the city, he even directly told him that Governor Gao had an order: Neither Governor Li nor the bandits were allowed to enter Kaifeng City!
This sentence immediately made Li Xianfeng jump up and curse, but he could do nothing. He originally thought that Gao Mingheng, the patrolman responsible for guarding the west gate, had always been at odds with him, so it was difficult to deal with him.
But after Li Xianfeng received the same rejection at the North Gate, East Gate, and South Gate, he realized the seriousness of the matter. When he arrived at the South Gate, it was already dark. No matter how he shouted at the bottom of the city, there was always a sound on the city. There was no reply.
As a last resort, he had no choice but to follow the guerrilla Zhang Dechang to the military camp outside the East Gate to rest. When he expressed his intention to enter the city to pay his respects to His Highness the King of Zhou outside the East Gate early the next morning, he was told that the King of Zhou was fine and that he was not needed. Go and say hello.
Gu Xian and Li Xianfeng had no choice but to live outside the east gate of Kaifeng for another day, and then led Zhang Dechang's troops southward to Tongxu, claiming to pursue the intruders.
What he didn't know was that just as he was outside the east gate saying that he was going into the city to pay his respects to His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, ten fast horses were rushing out of the north gate of Kaifeng. The knights on the horses were carrying, in addition to the King of Zhou, Zhang Cheng, Chen Jiugao, There are memorials by Chen Yongfu and Kaifeng officials who guarded the city asking for merit, as well as official documents jointly reporting victory by Henan Governor Gao Mingheng and other officials, and Gao Mingheng's memorial impeaching Governor Li Xianfeng.
When Li Xianfeng led the guerrilla Zhang Dechang to break camp and go south, Zhang Chengzheng, Chen Jiugao, Chen Yongfu and other generals, as well as the officers under each general, went into the city to accept the King of Zhou's banquet and rewards together with the officials who participated in the defense.
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According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, vassal kings were not allowed to control the army, participate in government affairs, or even make friends with local civil and military officials. In addition, they had to be monitored by local officials. Although the Ming Dynasty was also in the turbulent end of the world at this time, However, this provision is still regarded as an iron law and is strictly enforced.
For example, Zhu Yujian, king of the Ming and Tang Dynasties, in early July of the ninth year of Chongzhen, in order to avenge his father, he beat and killed his uncle Zhu Qishuan, the king of Fushan, with a stick, and beat Zhu Qiqi, the king of Anyang, until he was disabled. All of this was fine.
But in August of that year, the Tatars entered Selian Kebaodi, approaching Beijing, and the capital was under martial law. He took the initiative to ask King Qin to Shu, but Emperor Chongzhen refused. Zhu Yujian ignored the national rule that "the vassal king does not control the army" and recruited troops privately. He led more than a thousand troops to go north from Nanyang to King Qin.
When he arrived in Yuzhou, the governor Yang Shengwu reported to the court, and Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to return. Although Zhu Yujian did not encounter the Qing army, he fought several times with the bandits on the way. After a few random battles, each of them won or lost, he returned to Nanyang with his troops.
According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the vassal king can enjoy himself in the palace, but he cannot raise troops and leave the vassal territory. Even if Zhu Yujian's motives are pure and he is dedicated to protecting the king, he still can't do it.
Emperor Chongzhen was furious, and in November of winter he issued an order to directly depose Zhu Yujian from a prince to a commoner. He also sent Jin Yiwei to take the deposed Tang king to the imperial prison in Fengyang and imprison him. At the same time, he changed his title to a commoner. His younger brother Zhu Yutuo became the new king of Tang Dynasty.
Zhu Yujian was imprisoned by the high wall in Fengyang for seven years. During this period, Shi Yingzhao, the eunuch guarding the mausoleum in Fengyang, refused to accept bribes and tortured him with pier locks until he almost died.
In the original history, it was not until the seventeenth year of Chongzhen that King Chuang captured the capital, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, and King Fu Zhu Yousong ascended the throne in Nanjing. After the reign was changed to Hongguang, amnesty was implemented, and Zhu Yujian was released and granted the title of King of Nanyang.
However, now that the Ming Dynasty has Zhang Cheng, it is hard to say whether there will be another Nanming Dynasty, and there will be another Hongguang reign of the blessed king Zhu Yousong. It is not known when the imprisoned deposed Tang king Zhu Yujian will be Release and see the light of day again!
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Now, Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen is a hereditary prince of the Ming Dynasty. After all, he has a respected status and can speak in front of the current emperor. What's more, Kaifeng City is his fiefdom, and the officials in the city can only monitor some small sects. They still didn't dare to deal with King Zhou.
If the King of Zhou had only invited Zhang Cheng for a private meeting, it might have been considered a violation of the rules, but today was indeed a banquet to support the generals and city guards, so no one would say anything idle.