Just when Dorgon was thinking about whether to send Azig to attack, he suddenly heard a sentinel report from the front. The soldiers and horses of Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, were building a pontoon bridge and wanted to cross the river at the bend of Xiaoling River to go north.
When he first heard the news, he couldn't help but feel frightened. The Ming army was advancing step by step on the Nuerhe and Xiaoling rivers, and they were blooming everywhere. Although at present, it seemed that Wu Sangui of Ningyuan was still the main attack force.
But at this point in the battle, the five Ming armies have moved northward. This shows that the Ming army is determined to win, and the troops it can mobilize are becoming increasingly limited. However, Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army has not yet appeared. Dole Gun couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart.
He raised his head and caught a glimpse of Prince Azige of Wuying County, and suddenly said: "Prince Wuying, you lead the warriors with the white flag, and the Mongolian warriors with the two yellow flags of Adai and Tu Lai, and immediately go to the south gate of Jinzhou to fight against the soldiers of the King of Datong of the Ming Dynasty. "
Azig was stunned at first, never expecting that Dorgon would suddenly send him to lead an army to attack. Although he failed to lead an army against Wu Sangui's troops as he wished, it was rare to be able to lead an army alone.
He beamed with joy, received the order loudly, turned around and called Adai and Tu Lai's names, and left in a hurry without any delay.
…………
At this moment, the situation on the battlefield between the Ming and Qing Dynasties also changed subtly. With the addition of Wang Pu, the strength of the Qing army was already slightly stretched.
In fact, since the Battle of Jinzhou to this day, both the Ming and Qing armies are exhausted, and they can barely survive with the breath of their respective generals.
Not only the Qing Dynasty mobilized the whole country to deal with this war, but also the Ming Dynasty, which was known to have a vast land, abundant resources, and a large population, also mobilized almost the whole country.
Now, almost all the soldiers and horses in the country who can fight have been mobilized to Liaodong. Even the money and food needed for this war were raised from all over the country and transported here with difficulty.
It can be said that if this battle is defeated, no one will be able to control the rebellious bandits in the Ming Dynasty, and there will no longer be soldiers capable of fighting, and they can only be allowed to become a prairie fire.
This battle is not only a battle for the national destiny of the Qing Dynasty, but also a battle for the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty.
No matter which side loses, they will immediately face the decline of national power and the weak people. They will no longer be able to cope with the next war. Maybe they will really destroy the country because of this war!
The top leaders of both the Ming and Qing Dynasties had a profound understanding of this. The only difference was that the Qing Dynasty was from top to bottom. Both the king and the ministers had a clear and profound understanding.
However, the kings and courtiers of the Ming Dynasty were still immersed in the Spring and Autumn Dream of the Ming Dynasty. They were not only extremely optimistic about the Battle of Jinzhou, but also did not regard it as a fatal event. Instead, they regarded it as an opportunity to attack their political opponents. Tool, trying to control the success or failure of the Battle of Jinzhou above the court.
Perhaps only Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, Zhang Dou of the military affairs department, and Yao Gong of the procuratorate could have some clear understandings. However, they were unable to influence the political disputes in the court while living in the border areas. .
He can only become a pawn in the political dispute between the court and the court!
It was precisely because of the slightest awareness of this that Emperor Chongzhen once again ordered the eunuch Wang Chengen to come to Liaodong in the name of passing the order and sit here after already sending out the supervisory army.
…………
In fact, Emperor Chongzhen was not a fool. However, the political situation of the Ming Dynasty was already like this. The entire civil servant group was corrupt and degenerate. They were competing with each other to form an extremely huge interest group.
This group is so big that even the current emperor does not dare to confront it head-on with gongs and drums!
This is because this civilian interest group that has been holding together for warmth is already extremely large. If we rashly break up with it, who can guarantee what it will do when it is desperate?
If someone from the Zhu family were to continue to be the emperor, it might be a good idea, but they were really desperate. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't change the entire Zhu family's surname.
Although Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was born in an imperial family, he was bullied for urinating. His mother Liu was just an unpopular lady at the time, and when Zhu Youjian was five years old, she was bullied because of being bullied. Zhu Changluo died after being scolded.
From then on, Zhu Youjian was raised by an attendant named Li. However, soon after, this attendant Li also gave birth to a royal daughter and had no time to raise Zhu Youjian, so he was raised by another attendant Li instead.
It can be seen that Emperor Chongzhen's childhood life was not going well, and he had few parents, which made him develop a cautious and suspicious character.
Even when he was later canonized as King Xin and the great eunuch "Nine Thousand Years Old" Wei Zhongxian took over the power, Zhu Youjian became more and more cautious, fearing that Wei Zhongxian would catch him, so he also punished himself.
Just imagine, Zhu Youjian was only a sixteen-year-old child when he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Before inheriting the throne, he lived cautiously in fear for fear of being convicted.
He had never received any instruction in the art of emperors, but when he first came to power, he was very obedient to the words of the Donglin Party and other civil servants. He not only severely punished the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, but also eradicated the "eunuch Party" who relied on him in one fell swoop. group.
After Emperor Chongzhen eliminated Wei Zhongxian's party, he worked conscientiously and worked hard to reverse the decline of the Ming Dynasty and realize the great cause of reviving the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the young Emperor Chongzhen believed Yuan Chonghuan's strategy of "pacifying the Liao Dynasty in five years", and the cabinet also used all the courtiers from Donglin's party, but he never thought that the situation in the court would deteriorate day by day.
Not only did the "Five Years of Ping Liao" turn into an empty talk, wars broke out all over the country, bandits were raging, and the external environment became increasingly difficult. With the death of Mongolian Lindan Khan, the Later Jin Dynasty finally freed up its hands to further cut off the wings of the Ming Dynasty.
North Korea also became its vassal under the force of Hou Jin.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Jiannu changed the Yuan Dynasty and founded the country, showing his strong desire to be on an equal footing with the Ming Dynasty, and even to compete for the world.
All this caused Emperor Chongzhen to lose trust in the Donglin Party courtiers. As a result, he almost alienated his cabinet ministers. However, the courtiers were all focused on party and political struggles, and they all wanted to take the opportunity to suppress their opponents and expand the strength of their own faction.
Emperor Chongzhen, who gradually became disappointed with his courtiers, became more and more suspicious and jealous. As a result, he often got angry over trivial matters. In fact, it was a helpless act, just to express his intention to resist.
But as an emperor, Chongzhen also knew that in governing the vast world of the Ming Dynasty, he could not rely entirely on himself. He was destined to be inseparable from the courtiers in front of him who made him upset.
He could only "pick the best among the poor" and select those who were loyal to himself and loyal to the Ming Dynasty among the existing courtiers to use.
Therefore, when he met Yang Sichang, he felt like a close friend. He promoted him to a prominent position despite the criticism of the courtiers, and he had great trust in him.
On the other hand, Lu Xiangsheng, who was known for his daring to fight, aroused heavy suspicions from Emperor Chongzhen just because he belonged to the Donglin Party. He wanted to use him, but also wanted to guard against him. He was hampered at every turn, and eventually he was killed in the Battle of Julu.
As for Chen Xinjia, the current Minister of War, he is nothing more than a replacement for Yang Sichang.
Emperor Chongzhen knew in his heart that Chen Xinjia was far inferior to Yang Sichang, but he was not a member of Donglin's party and was able to follow Emperor Chongzhen's own wishes. This was the real reason why Chen Xinjia came to power.
In recent years, the suspicion and murderousness shown by Emperor Chongzhen are even more of his angry struggle against the Donglin Party and the entire civil servant group.
There are so many things to do in governing the country. Since it is destined to be inseparable from the support of the civil service group, it can only reach a delicate balance. If this balance cannot be reached, I am afraid that I can only kill a few people with an excuse to get something out of my chest. Stifling.
It was under this situation that Zhang Cheng appeared quietly. He was like a light of fire in the dark night, a glimmer of warmth in the cold winter, which made Chongzhen see a possibility.
Because of this, Emperor Chongzhen strongly supported Zhang Cheng. What valued him was not only his loyalty and bravery, but also the fact that there was no shadow of a civil servant group behind him.
In fact, Emperor Chongzhen was well aware of Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia and others' support for Zhang Cheng, but these did not affect Zhang Cheng's loyalty to the emperor, so he did not interfere.
As early as the beginning of his succession to the throne, Emperor Chongzhen listened to the clever words of a group of Donglin Party members and withdrew all the eunuchs, supervisors, and troops stationed across the country to the palace. However, everything backfired.
Since then, he has once again reactivated the internal supervisors in the palace and sent them to various key places to serve as supervisors and other duties. Naturally, he also resumed matters such as secret spies and secret visits.
Of course, it would be difficult to restore the secret investigation capabilities of Jinyiwei and Dongchang spies to its heyday in a short period of time, but some key points were still laid out.
What's more, Xuanfu is an important border defense area for the imperial court and has always been a popular place for spies. Although they have been idle for several years, many of the original spies have gone to other places or have changed their careers.
But some people will still be found. Although these people may have other purposes and come back to serve as spies for the imperial court, they have no time to take care of it.
Naturally, among them were the espionage personnel sent by Zhang Cheng. This was how a lot of false information about Zhang Cheng was delivered layer by layer to the court case of the current Ming Emperor.
Of course, Emperor Chongzhen had no idea about all this. He still had great trust in Jinyiwei and Dongchang, especially the information obtained by Dongchang's spies and secret visits.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen also had great trust in Zhang Cheng. He wanted to support Zhang Cheng, not only to help him pacify the bandits and Tartars, but also to use this external force to check and balance the civil servant group that was gradually out of control.
Previously, Emperor Chongzhen had been deeply disappointed with the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. He had also thought about using the descendants of the ministers from the early Ming and Chengzu periods, saying that they were "after all, officials of my family" in order to check and balance the power of the civil servant group. , to realize the wish of reviving the Ming Dynasty.
For this reason, Emperor Chongzhen deliberately resumed the riding and archery competition between the descendants of his honorable ministers, which had been suspended for nearly two hundred years. However, when he held a personal review ceremony in Meishan, he was greatly disappointed.
The original intention was to select brave and capable talents "to prepare for the construction of the city", but in this ceremony, only Li Guozhen, the uncle of Xiangcheng, was able to hit six arrows in a row, while the other descendants of the honorable ministers performed poorly. , embarrassment is of great use.
There were more than a hundred descendants of the nobles of the Manchu Dynasty, and the descendants of the noble officials who were finally selected were only a few people such as Xiangcheng Bo Li Guozhen, Funing Marquis Zhu Guobi, Chengyi Bo Liu Kongzhao, Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong and so on.
The court officials are ignorant and disloyal, and they only know that the parties are constantly fighting for political power. The generals are all greedy for money, but they are too timid to fight. Now there are almost no one who can use the nobles in the court. How tortured is that kind of despair?
However, Zhang Cheng appeared at exactly this time. He was like a world-savior general tailor-made for Emperor Chongzhen, who magically appeared at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
All the coincidences in the world have their reasons, and things will never happen without reason.
Perhaps God cannot bear to see the rise of literary inquisition and ideological imprisonment in China for two hundred years, and finally fell behind the world trend, causing it to suffer a hundred years of humiliation.
In this life, I send Zhang Cheng to the end of the Ming Dynasty to see if he can create a different Ming Dynasty!
…………
The Xuanfu Army garrison was still silent, but this silence gave people an extremely depressing feeling, as if something big might happen at any moment.
From top to bottom, the entire Huangtu Ridge is full of flags of various colors fluttering in the wind. Of course, the most numerous ones are red flags.
Zhang Cheng stood on the mountainside, on the platform of a stone castle facing the Xiaoling River, looking at the Xiaoling River in the distance, with red flags starting from the river bank and extending towards Huangtu Ridge.
Red is a festive color and a color of passion.
However, the red flag has a special meaning to Zhang Cheng, because it was dyed red with the blood of heroes!
It can be said that the belief in the red flag has been deeply rooted in Zhang Cheng's heart. As a member of the generation who grew up under the red flag, his obsession with the red flag is indelible.
The reason why Zhang Cheng has a special liking for the Ming Dynasty is not only because the Ming Dynasty is the last swan song of China, but also because it is heroic and tragic that "the emperor guards the country, the king dies for the country".
The integrity of the Ming Dynasty is just like what Ao Ying, the right governor of Sichuan during the Zhengde period, said in his notes: "The great power of our dynasty is beyond the ancient times. He controlled the northern barbarians and invaded the western barbarians of the southern island. There is no alliance between the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, there is no such thin coin as the Song Dynasty, and there is no gift between brothers and enemies."
In addition, Daming belongs to the virtue of fire, so it is red. However, for Zhang Cheng, red has a very special meaning, which is also a factor in his love for Daming.
Just as he was thinking endlessly, Wei Zhice, a guerrilla from Cheying, walked up to him and reported: "Commander, all battalions have been assembled and are waiting for instructions from the commander."
Zhang Cheng withdrew his gaze, fell on Wei Zhice, and said to him: "Director Hong still didn't let me wait. Now the army is marching north, but you have to stay in Huangtu Ridge. Do you have any complaints in your heart?"
Wei Zhice did not take it seriously. He said bluntly: "Zhice follows the commander, not for meritorious service, but only to kill slaves. However, my Xuanfu army's killing of slaves is no different from Zhice's killing of slaves. How can I have any complaints in my heart!"
