At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was still in Tongguan. He saw the information fed back by the Class A eavesdropping seeds on Liu Yue and knew that the bandits had arrived in Nanyang and were preparing to attack the city. Since it was a long way from Tongguan to Nanyang, he was not prepared to wait any longer and ordered the rest to end.
At the same time, he immediately sent a messenger to convey the message to the elite troops in the periphery. Those outside Chen Qiyu's jurisdiction, that is, there were more than 10,000 brave guard camps, and Ma Xianglin's troops in Sichuan, all marched towards Nanyang.
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who were originally in Tongguan had high morale because they completely wiped out the Tumote tribe who entered the pass. This was an unprecedented victory. Then they swept away the bandits and went south, and they saw that the emperor was not only wise and powerful, but also cared about the people and led them to fight against the locust plague. This made them feel that they could fight under the emperor's command without having to worry about logistics. This feeling was simply wonderful. Don't be too good. You no longer have the feeling of being constrained as before. You have long thought about fighting a good battle and making a military exploit!
Therefore, after hearing the emperor's decree to end the rest, the entire army gathered and their morale was extremely high.
Emperor Chongzhen was also dressed in military uniform. Accompanied by Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, and surrounded by the commander of the Jinyiwei Li Ruolian and a group of Jinyiwei in flying fish uniforms, he came to the general stage at the Tongguan Campus.
There are tens of thousands of people, boundless, not to mention countless war horses mixed in. The soldiers were wearing all kinds of armor, holding weapons that reflected the sunlight. The horses snorted beside them, and occasionally their front hooves hit the ground. This scene in front of him made Emperor Chongzhen feel that the blood in his body began to boil.
A man with a golden sword and an iron horse can swallow up thousands of miles like a tiger. In this life, he will bring this iron horse under his command to conquer the world, give the people a peaceful life, and revive the Ming Dynasty!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen, who felt a sense of arrogance, said loudly while scanning the soldiers below: "Since I left the capital, I don't know how many places I have seen, which are all ruins and no trace of human beings. These are all in ruins. There were people living in this place originally, but where have they gone now?”
The loud-voiced captain of the Imperial Guard loudly relayed the emperor's words to every soldier.
The soldiers here are basically Qin soldiers, and only a few are Guan Ning soldiers, who are considered to be from Liaodong. But no matter where they are, they are not unfamiliar with the scene described by the emperor. Whether it is Shaanxi or Liaodong, there are countless places that were once bustling, but now only ruins remain.
Hearing the emperor mention this, some people had seen familiar places turned into such scenes. When the emperor mentioned it, they couldn't help but feel a little sad. Some people were already numb. When the emperor mentioned it, I didn't feel much, I just felt that the emperor seemed to be making a fuss, after all, this kind of thing was too common.
"Since I came out of Beijing, I have often seen piles of bones on the roadside and in wastelands. I can't help but wonder, who were they before they were alive? Where are their relatives? What is the reason why their corpses are exposed here and are not allowed to be buried? "
Hearing the emperor mention this, these soldiers, who had long been numb to this, couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. The reason is still unknown. They either died in the war, died of hunger, or disease! In this world, life is difficult for ordinary people!
The originally high morale was slightly lowered due to these influences. This made Zheng Chongjian, who was watching from the side, slightly surprised. Judging from his previous performance, the emperor is talented at leading troops in battles. Doesn't he know the impact of morale on war? Why do you say these words to dampen the morale of the soldiers?
Although he thought so, the emperor was speaking, and he did not have the courage to interrupt what the emperor was saying, so he could only frown slightly and continue to listen.
"There was a flood in the south and a drought in the north. The local government failed to provide disaster relief. The people were hungry and died of illness. The locust plague added to the misfortune. There were also the scourge of bandits and the raging of the rebels, which made the government even more unable to provide disaster relief, and also made more people suffer. I can't live anymore. All these are the reasons why there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles and the bones are exposed in the wild." Emperor Chongzhen's expression became serious and he said loudly and extremely seriously, "I will never allow these tragic things. It happens to my people endlessly. Therefore, I promote talents in an eclectic way. Some are good at water management and some are good at farming. I hope that I can change these so that my people will no longer suffer from hunger and cold, and will not be blown by the wind. Being exposed to the rain, I no longer have no money for medical treatment..."
Listening to the emperor's description, most of these Ming soldiers came from poor people, and they couldn't help but imagine such days, and for a moment, they were fascinated.
"... let alone suffer from the war, my people can live and work in peace and contentment!" Emperor Chongzhen said this, and suddenly shouted with all his strength, "This is my wish, are you willing to help me?"
After these words were shouted out, the soldiers of the Hussars Battalion were the first to react, because they had experienced it before: "I will follow you to the death!"
After hearing this, the officers and soldiers of the Qin Army also shouted: "I will follow you to the death!"
At this moment, they just think about living the kind of happy life the emperor mentioned in the future, instead of thinking about making military exploits in exchange for glory and wealth!
At this moment, on the school grounds, tens of thousands of people gathered together with a united and indestructible momentum that seemed to soar into the sky, which surprised Zheng Chongjian who was standing beside him.
If the morale of the army was high before, then the morale of the army at this moment cannot simply be described as high.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly understood. What the emperor just said was to tell these soldiers why they were fighting! And what the emperor described is related to each of them and their relatives and friends.
The so-called helping the emperor is actually more accurate, it means fighting for themselves, fighting for their relatives and friends!
After understanding this, Zheng Chongjian turned his head and looked at the emperor's profile, and couldn't help but improve the emperor's ability to lead troops again in his heart. No matter what means are used to raise morale to such a terrifying level, even a group of sheep can beat down wolves!
Generally speaking, the ancients used glory and wealth to boost morale, that is, clear rewards and punishments. Anyone who can do this is already a very good commander.
However, Emperor Chongzhen from a later generation understood that in addition to clear rewards and punishments, if the soldiers could know why they were fighting, that is, let them know that this battle was also fought for themselves, then this army would The army will be more tenacious and braver.
In fact, what Emperor Chongzhen just said was not deliberately for this purpose. But these things are indeed what he thinks and what he wants to achieve. He just said them in passing before this expedition.
Seeing the reaction of the soldiers below, Emperor Chongzhen was also pleased, and said loudly: "I have used a trick to attract all the bandits to Nanyang, and now they are preparing to attack Nanyang. I will complete my work in one battle and annihilate the bandits under Nanyang City. , From now on, the people of Ming Dynasty no longer have to worry about war. All officers and men, follow me on an expedition to suppress the bandits!"
"According to the decree!" Tens of thousands of voices roared out, the sound shaking the whole country.
Only then did Emperor Chongzhen turn to look at Zheng Chongjian and said: "I will lead the cavalry first, and you will lead the infantry to follow."
"Your Majesty, it is better for me to lead the cavalry first and clear the way for Your Majesty!" Zheng Chongjian said worriedly after hearing this.
Emperor Chongzhen thought after hearing this, if there was no eavesdropping system, maybe you would be fine leading the cavalry. However, now only you can keep abreast of the movements of the bandits and make adjustments at any time on the road. Even if you want to lead the army, you cannot have this ability!
Thinking like this, he flatly refused and said: "Since I have already led the expedition myself, how can I sit back and enjoy the results! I have made up my mind, no need to say anything more!"
After saying that, he strode off the general platform, got on his horse, and set off!
Behind him, nearly 25,000 horsemen left Tongguan and entered Henan.
Outside the clear encirclement deployed by Chen Qiyu, the governor of the five provinces, there was a dragnet deployed by Emperor Chongzhen himself, and it was time to close the net.
At this time, the bandits outside Nanyang City had no idea that there was such a large dragnet closing in the periphery due to the limited scope of their exploration. At this time, they could only detect movements within a hundred miles around them. They feel that they are the strongest at this time!
As far as Nanyang City is concerned, this is really the case. At a glance, Nanyang City is surrounded by camps of various bandits, boundless, as if everything outside the city is filled with bandits. However, it looks really shabby in the future. Among the numerous bandit camps, only a few had tents, and many even had no tents at all, just a bonfire surrounded by a large group of ragged bandits.
There are no clear boundaries between the various groups of thieves. Unlike the regular army, each battalion is separated by fences and protected by trenches. There are none of these things.
No, they belong to the bandits of Chuang Wang Li Zicheng. The bandits they are sitting next to are the bandits of Cao Cao and Luo Rucai. There were no tents on either side, just a fire. It was just dawn and the fire had been extinguished.
On Luo Rucai's side, there was a frail man. He looked at Li Zicheng's side and endured it for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but sit there and turned around and asked, "Hey, why are you so happy? ? They are probably going to attack the city today!"
Hearing someone talking, someone turned around. He was also a frail man, slightly taller, and said in surprise: "Shouldn't you be happy? The Dog Emperor is in the city!"
Having said this, he paused and said, "My name is Wei Chao, what's yours?"
"Sun Hanqing."
After Sun Hanqing reported his name, he still said doubtfully: "What does it matter to you whether the emperor is in the city or not? When the time comes to attack the city, are you not afraid of death?"
"How come it doesn't matter?" Wei Chao said in surprise after hearing this, "Kill the Dog Emperor, King Chuang will rule the world, do you know that the land will be equalized and the grain will be free? From now on, you will no longer be squeezed by the government, don't you want?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Hanqing looked at him as if he were a fool and said, "Brother, it's not our turn to worry about whether King Chuang will rule the world or not. Do you really believe that you are the one who equalizes land and exempts food? I see you At this rate, I must have been hungry for many days, right? I’m still thinking about the future!”
Hearing them talking, the people around them turned their heads to listen to them, but others did not interrupt immediately and just listened.
"Why don't you believe it?" Wei Chao said in surprise, "King Chuang has opened a warehouse to store food, but there is not much food now, so we eat less."
At this point, he remembered something and looked up at Sun Hanqing's side. He didn't find any leader coming, so he looked at Sun Hanqing again and said, "Let me tell you, King Chuang is different from others. He is a good man and a government official." He is the one who upholds justice for Heaven and conquers the world for us people. If King Chuang conquers the world one day in the future, we people will have a good life."
"Haha, what's the difference?" Sun Hanqing obviously didn't agree with this. He pointed to the opposite side with his finger, and then pointed to his own side and said, "Is there any difference? Don't say that you participated voluntarily. They brought it here under coercion, otherwise, it would be just a word of death!"
Upon hearing this, his companions all nodded, with a trace of pain and hatred on their faces.
However, many people on Wei Chao's side were shaking their heads. This time, they all talked at once.
"I volunteered. King Chuang really needs to open a warehouse to stock up on food, but there is just too little food!"
"Yes, I volunteered too. None of us can live anymore. King Chuang is a good man. If you follow King Chuang in the future, you can have fields and be exempted from taxes. Finally, you don't have to pay taxes or taxes on the food you grow. Give it to those landlords!"
"Yes, as long as we kill the Dog Emperor and seize the Ming Dynasty, we will have a good life!"
"..."
Hearing what they said, many people on Sun Hanqing's side were obviously a little shaken. Some even asked, "Is it true? Is King Chuang a good person? Will he be allocated fields in the future and exempt from taxes?"
At this time, suddenly leaders from both sides came over with a group of people, randomly lighting piles of people, and shouted to them to share the buns.
Seeing this situation, Sun Hanqing suddenly whispered: "Look, what's the difference? We all have to be forced to die in the city by them!"
When Wei Chao heard this, he wanted to refute, but the leader was urging him, so he had no choice but to forget it.
It can be clearly seen that there is an obvious difference in morale as the people on both sides walk towards their respective camps.
It was probably an appointment. At this time, there was also movement in other camps, and a siege was about to begin. The first people to attack the city were these people who were brought here.
They were given a little food, and then they were asked to carry bags of soil on their backs. Under the supervision of the elite bandits behind them, they shouted and rushed towards the moat.
This is how the first battle of the bandits' attack on Nanyang City began.
