Chen Zhongcai, as the deputy general of the Central Army of the Governor's Biao Camp of Ji Liao, may be very popular in Liaodong, but it is a different matter with Zhang Cheng and Chen Jiugao.
However, fortunately, Zhang Cheng had promised to order the third battalion of infantry to break out of the camp at midnight tomorrow, so he had an explanation to Governor Hong Chengchou.
You must know that these are nearly 10,000 elite infantry. If they were placed elsewhere, not to mention the deputy general, even the general of a town might not have such a large number of troops.
That night, the thousands of households in Zhongqiansuo naturally entertained them hospitably. There were many delicacies on the table, but there was not the seafood feast that Zhang Cheng had expected. I originally thought that now that I had arrived on the coast of Liaodong with strong troops, there was still a lot of local food. Don't make yourself full without a meal of seafood.
Although he was a little disappointed, it was not enough to express it. Apart from telling Zhang Guodong, Chen Zheng, Li Jiyu and others to drink less, Zhang Cheng no longer restricted his generals and was not in a hurry to march into Jinzhou anyway.
Everyone talked happily during the banquet. Zhang Cheng's generals naturally had wine with Chen Jiugao, Fu Yingchong and Chen Zhongcai. They also reminisced with Chen Shihu and Chen Chongchang. New acquaintances such as Chen Zheng and Li Jiyu naturally had to deepen their impressions.
After three rounds of drinking, when everyone was getting drunk, Zhang Guodong, Chen Zheng, Li Jiyu and other three people retired first and went back to reorganize their troops and horses to prepare for the march to Ningyuan tomorrow.
When Chen Zhongcai saw this, he wanted to take this opportunity to resign, but how could Fu Yingchong let him go? In desperation, he had no choice but to stay and continue the banquet with Zhang Cheng, Chen Jiugao and others.
On the second day, Chen Zhongcai forced himself to get up with his tired body, and he and Buying set off for Ningyuan.
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After that, the army moved all the way east, passing through Qiantunwei, Shahe Post, Zhonghou Post, Dongguan Post, Zhongyou Post, Caozhuang Post and other castle posts. It has long been commonplace.
Over the years, except for the defenders who have remained unchanged, looking back at the army that once marched into Liaodong, which one was not heroic and high-spirited, but how many of them returned to the pass alive, let alone received titles and rewards. .
In the eyes of these defenders, the foreign officers and soldiers are both benefactors and enemies!
Said to be benefactors, they traveled thousands of miles to defend the land of Liaodong, but left their lives here one by one; said to be enemies, their arrival always threatened these local indigenous people.
If the foreign officers and soldiers win a great victory, they will return to their original garrison after receiving the reward. Then the court will no longer give the Liaodong natives so much money, food, salary, and silver. What else will they rely on to sustain themselves? A life of ease and tranquility.
For example, all the credit for a victory goes to others, but you still have to dig hard to eat from the frozen ground.
But what if you lose?
There will be a steady stream of huge "Liao wages", speeding up the continuous delivery of countless grains and rice. You don't need to do those hard farming things, you can easily have a large amount of wealth and inexhaustible grains. You will How to choose?
Although he had other thoughts in mind, he still had to do some face-saving work. The several castles he passed by also showed a warm welcome, and there was an ample supply of food everywhere he went.
Zhang Cheng was deeply touched. He remembered that when Chongzhen entered Wei Gyeonggi in the 11th year, he often fought on an empty stomach. Even the previous aid campaign to suppress Henan Province did not receive such treatment as today, so they felt very satisfied in their hearts. .
But the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion did not take it seriously. These old soldiers were used to enjoying themselves in the capital, and they found it unbearable to march all the way. Although the food provided at this time was complete with hot food, soup and rice, they still complained that there was no wine and no meat, and the taste was bad. Also feel boring.
Zhang Cheng has always pretended not to have heard about this, and he is not a soldier under his command. It is wrong to say it or not, and the best way is to pretend that he does not know.
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Ningyuan Acropolis, backed by the hills of western Liaoning and facing the Bohai Sea in the south, occupies the throat of the central part of the western Liaoning Corridor. It is an important transportation route from Liaodong region to the Central Plains.
It was first built as a city in the eighth year of Shengtonghe reign in the Liao Dynasty and was initially called Xingcheng. In the third year of Xuande reign in the Ming Dynasty, it was decided to build a city here and named it "Ningyuan".
Finally, in the fifth year of Xuande's reign, the Ningyuan Acropolis, which was divided into inner and outer cities, was built. The inner city was five miles in circumference and had four inner city gates, namely Chunhe Gate in the east, Yanhui Gate in the south, Yongning Gate in the west, and Weiyuan Gate in the north. , streets were built in the city, and the second floor of bells and drums was also built.
The perimeter of the outer city is nine miles long, and there are four outer city gates, namely Anyuan Gate in the east, Yongqing Gate in the south, Yingen Gate in the west, and Dading Gate in the north.
It is a pity that the Ningyuan Acropolis, which has both inner and outer cities, only existed for more than a hundred years. It suffered a major earthquake on March 28, the second year of Longqing, and both the inner and outer cities were destroyed.
Although it was rebuilt later, in order to restore the original scale, in the second year of Tianqi, due to the disagreement between Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, Guangning was defeated, leading to the collapse of Liaodong. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians fled into Shanhaiguan and military towns outside the pass. The castle was lost.
In the third year of the Apocalypse, the slaves destroyed various castles and then retreated. Yuan Chonghuan, who was the envoy of Youqiandu at that time, led his troops to repair the walls of the inner city of Ningyuan, making it once again an important town outside the pass and the center of Liaodong military command in the late Ming Dynasty. The outer city has never been repaired.
Today's Ningyuan Acropolis is rebuilt on the basis of the original inner city. It still maintains a square plane. Its circumference is more than six miles and the city is about three feet high. The base of the city wall is built with blue stones, and the outside is built with large blue bricks. Build huge rocks with rammed loess in between.
There are turrets at the four corners of the Ningyuan city wall, which protrude from the corners of the city and are used to set up Hongyi cannons. During the Battle of Ningyuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Nurhachi, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was hit by the Hongyi cannon and was seriously injured. He died soon after returning to Shengjing.
There are city gates in the middle of the four city walls, and the names are still the same as before. There are semicircular urns outside each gate. There are sloping horse paths on both sides of each city gate. The city gates are also built with double eaves and mountain-style two walls. The three-story archery tower is majestic.
Zhang Cheng and Chen Jiugao rode past Caozhuang Post. Less than five miles away, they already saw a series of military camps. A few miles further on, a river lay in front of them. On the other side of the river, the outline of the towering Ningyuan Acropolis was reflected. Their eyes.
On both sides of the river, there were densely packed military camps. They camped along the river for the convenience of getting water. Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered, and there were tens of thousands of war horses, mules and horses, and water was constantly used every day.
Chen Zhongcai pointed to the front and said: "Two generals, after crossing the stone bridge in front, we will reach Ningyuan in less than two miles."
Zhang Cheng looked in the direction he pointed and saw a stone bridge standing on the river in front, which was several feet wide. There was an even wider wooden bridge next to the stone bridge.
Chen Zhongcai continued: "The two generals arrived late. The place where we camp is a little far away from the Acropolis, so please don't mind."
