After arranging these things, Emperor Chongzhen led three battalions and more than 5,000 reformed bandit troops to the east two days later.
At this time, it was the first day of October in the twelfth year of Chongzhen.
Knowing that the army was about to leave and the imperial commander was about to return to Beijing, all the people in Nanyang Prefecture spontaneously came to see him off. Among them, there are even many people who received banknotes from the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank.
When Emperor Chongzhen appeared in front of everyone again wearing armor and surrounded by many generals, all the people knelt down together and expressed their greatest respect to their emperor: "Long live my emperor! Long live!"
They couldn't speak, and they were even more afraid to speak when facing the emperor. However, their hearts were filled with infinite gratitude.
The emperor's words were passed down from word to mouth in private, and they will never forget them until their death: If you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes!
When the emperor heard that Nanyang Earth Dragon had turned over, he rushed over in the rain without any regard for himself. Not only was he completely soaked, he withdrew immediately despite the inaction of the Nanyang governor. Then he personally rescued the victims and mobilized the army to provide full rescue.
How many emperors have there been since ancient times who really put the people in their hearts?
They didn't know how wise Yao, Shun, and Yu Tang were, but they felt it firsthand how wise the current emperor was.
Just imagine, how could they not be grateful to such an emperor, but because they couldn't speak, they could only shout the words "Long live my emperor" in the end.
In their hearts, they sincerely hope that such a good emperor can live a long life!
Emperor Chongzhen looked at everything in front of him, looked at the countless people on both sides of the road, and felt their deep love. He immediately felt that if he relied on the knowledge of future generations to change and revive the Ming Dynasty, then he At this moment, I feel that the Ming Dynasty was changed for these simple people. This is the most real!
Emperor Chongzhen did not speak. At this moment, words are unnecessary. Do it seriously and make the lives of these people better and better. This is the greatest achievement in this life of rebirth!
The officers and soldiers of the three battalions accompanying him also felt the sincerity of countless people. As long as the human heart is full of flesh, they will naturally be proud of the feelings shown to the people. Their thoughts at this time were to be proud of you!
The original thieves, who had never experienced such a strong love for the common people, watched all this silently. Thinking of the comparison between them when they were thieves in the past, they all felt deeply. Even if Li Guo and others had seen the popular scene when Li Zicheng proposed "equal land and no grain", compared to now, it can only be said that it is nothing compared to the same magnitude.
At this moment, Li Guo and others believed that with such a good emperor, the people of Ming Dynasty would truly live and work in peace and contentment one day!
The grand occasion of this day will be recorded in Nanyang local chronicles forever and remain in the oral tradition of local people.
After leaving the border of Nanyang, Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, was going to lead his army back to Shaanxi. He took his generals to bid farewell to the emperor.
Having experienced the emotions during this journey, whether it was Zheng Chongjian, his generals, or Wu Sangui and others who were temporarily transferred to Qin, they all respected Emperor Chongzhen from the bottom of their hearts.
A good emperor, a beloved emperor, no matter who he is, will respect him from the heart!
When leaving, Emperor Chongzhen paid special attention to Wu Sangui. He suddenly had a feeling that if Wu Sangui was allowed to return to Shanhaiguan now, he would stand on the side of the court.
Of course, this thought just crossed my mind for a moment, everything had been arranged, and there was absolutely no reason to change it.
Just when Emperor Chongzhen returned to Beijing, Lu Xiangsheng's governor-general's palace was located in Dengzhou Mansion, Shandong Province, at the easternmost point of the mainland. At this time, he was worried.
The emperor personally issued an order and transferred Zheng Zhilong. Three hundred warships, large and small, were enough to deal with the ships that Kong Youde and other rebel generals brought to the Jianlu. But now, he still has problems.
The warships were available, and even military provisions were prepared for him because of Zheng Zhilong's knowledge. But the key question is, where are the soldiers? Where did the soldiers come from?
The personal guards and other former subordinates he brought from the capital were only about a hundred people. In Denglai and other places, we summoned the Liaodong soldiers who had fled back before, as well as the troops from various garrison posts, and picked them here and there, but only more than a thousand were selected. This small amount of troops is far from enough.
Of course, Lu Xiangsheng is also training the new army, but training the new army will not happen in a short time. The emperor's expectation was that he would rebuild Dongjiang Town and send troops to contain the Jianlu. In this case, Dongjiang Town's military strength must be large enough to at least threaten Jianlu. And, it must be done as soon as possible.
Calculating the time, Jianlu only came out of the customs in the first half of the year. It would take them a year and a half to digest the at least 200,000 livestock they had plundered. In other words, the next time I enter the customs is likely to be at the end of next year, or the year after that.
Although it looks like there is still a year left, winter is coming soon, and the coast will be frozen by then. There is no way to go to sea, and it will not be easy to rebuild Dongjiang Town. At least until next year when the weather warms up and the coastal ice melts. Calculating this, by that time, the new army will definitely not have combat effectiveness, at least until the end of next year. But in the early stage of rebuilding Dongjiang Town, Lu Xiangsheng felt that it was very likely that if he relied on a thousand troops alone, he would not be able to put pressure on the rebels.
In the previous battle of Tianjin, all the animal power of the capital was used. It can be seen that it is impossible to unseat the war horse in the short term. That is to say, the army under his command is basically based on infantry. Even if you go to search for it yourself, if you really want to use it on the battlefield, it must be a real war horse. I estimate that I can collect 500 usable war horses, and that's about it.
On land, cavalry is king. Lu Xiangsheng knows this very well. Even he himself once submitted a petition requesting the formation of elite cavalry, which shows that he attaches great importance to the cavalry. If it were a thousand cavalry troops, Lu Xiangsheng felt that if they were used rationally, they might be able to put some pressure on Jianlu. But……
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but said to himself: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you said you were going to seize the war horses in Hetao. Wei Chen really hoped for a miracle, but you really captured them. In this way, Wei Chen I will personally take a thousand cavalry troops to Liaodong to promote the power of the Ming Dynasty!"
But in fact, Lu Xiangsheng didn't think Emperor Chongzhen had this ability. Therefore, I can only sigh, this wish is beautiful, but the fact is impossible.
If you think about it more carefully, it will be a difficult problem. He simply didn't think about it anymore, put on his armor and prepared to go to the military camp to supervise the training of the new army.
At this moment, suddenly the primary school student at the door hurried in and reported to Lu Xiangsheng: "Sir, an imperial edict has arrived!"
When Lu Xiangsheng heard this, he was stunned for a moment, thinking, it had just entered October, could it be that the emperor couldn't wait any longer and came over to ask about the situation of rebuilding Dongjiang Town? But……
He didn't dare to think too much, and quickly issued the order, opened the middle door, and gathered the generals to place the incense table to receive the order.
After this military order was sent out, several generals and Navy Chief Officer Zheng Zhilong arrived quickly, and followed Lu Xiangsheng to receive the order.
For Zheng Zhilong, he still has a lot of feelings after coming to Denglai.
First of all, he gained a new understanding of the abilities of Ming officials.
In the past, the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty's feudal official level that he had come into contact with were the governors of Fujian. There were three of them, and the one he had dealt with the longest was Xiong Wencan. To be honest, he actually despises it deep down.
In his opinion, the skills of these officials in this life were basically used in the imperial examination. The actual ability to do things and the ability to command troops are more or less just a little bit. And just this little bit can be ignored for someone who has struggled for most of his life.
However, since he met Lu Xiangsheng, he quickly changed his view.
This Lu Xiangsheng loved his soldiers as much as his son, and was rigorous in running the army. The most important thing was that he was capable of both literary and military skills. He was not the kind of Jinshi master who studied hard. Zheng Zhilong still admired his methods. Under Lu Xiangsheng's command, Zheng Zhilong did not dare to have other thoughts.
After staying here for a long time, he felt that he had underestimated the government before.
However, it was also because of Lu Xiangsheng that Zheng Zhilong felt that he was a little scared by the emperor.
The great victory in the north and the ability to defeat the Jianlu who entered the pass this time must be due to Governor Lu's ability. In addition, it is said that the other two governors, Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou, are as capable as Governor Lu. In this way, it is not surprising that the imperial court can win the war.
The emperor is now on a chariot expedition against bandits. I don’t know what’s going on? Don't leave these three governors and lose the battle, or fail to exterminate the bandits at all. It would be a huge loss of face. If he were the emperor, he would definitely take one of Governor Lu and the others with him on the expedition. Only in this way can the chance of winning be higher.
Of course, Zheng Zhilong had been here for a while and also understood Lu Xiangsheng's difficulties. He felt that under normal circumstances, the emperor would not transfer Governor Lu, otherwise, things here would only get worse.
Thinking like this, Zheng Zhilong suddenly thought of a possibility. Could this imperial decree be because the emperor was unable to deal with the thieves, and finally wanted to get Governor Lu, who was both civil and military, to pass it?
I heard that those rogues called Governor Lu "King of Hell", so I was afraid!
He thought so, but on the surface he didn't show it. He stood behind Lu Xiangsheng and began to receive the order.
When this decree was read out, these people, including Lu Xiangsheng and Zheng Zhilong, were immediately stunned!
Lu Xiangsheng never expected that the emperor actually told him in the imperial edict that the war horse matter had been solved for him and that he could provide him with 5,000 selected war horses. In addition, the bandits had been wiped out. Among them, those who had been repentant for many years volunteered to go to Liaodong to kill Jianlu. Therefore, the emperor assigned all 5,000 people to Lu Xiangsheng's side.
The emperor is not here to urge the rebuilding of Dongjiang Town, but to provide actual assistance to his side. If there are no horses, give horses; if there are no soldiers, give soldiers. It is a timely help!
At this moment, Lu Xiangsheng once again felt that when he was commanding King Qin's army, when he lacked pay and silver to boost his morale, the emperor would send him pay and silver; when he lacked mules and horses to transfer troops, the emperor would send mules and horses and animals;
This...it's so uncomfortable to work under the emperor!
It is estimated that Lu Xiangsheng did not read "Water Margin" very much, and he did not dare to think rebelliously. Otherwise, Song Jiang's nickname would probably be given to Emperor Chongzhen.
When Lu Xiangsheng came to his senses, he still didn't believe it. After receiving the imperial edict, he asked the angel who delivered the edict: "After the emperor left the capital, he first went to Hetao to seize the war horses, and then went to encircle and annihilate the bandits. That's all. In just a few months, the emperor has accomplished so many great things?"
The messenger angel heard the disbelief in his words. If anyone dared to doubt the emperor under normal circumstances, he would definitely be blamed. However, it is really unbelievable that the emperor has done these things now. More importantly, these are good things and a good opportunity to promote the emperor's wisdom and prowess. Even the angel who delivers the decree has a kind of honor. Therefore, instead of being angry, he smiled and answered Lu Xiangsheng with an expression of admiration: "Of course, after the emperor left the capital, he personally led the cavalry, formulated a strategy, and annihilated the Tumut tribe in Hetao in one fell swoop. , captured nearly 20,000 fine war horses..."
As the commander-in-chief, he naturally knew how difficult it would be to annihilate the Mongolian tribes on the grassland. Therefore, he tried to confirm again: "Annihilation, not defeat?"
If defeated quickly, the Mongol Tatars could escape and their horses might be captured. Because when he thought about it, defeat was still within his understanding.
However, the messenger angel shook his head and replied affirmatively: "Of course it is annihilation. The main force of the Tumote tribe was ambushed by the emperor at the Jiu'anbian camp in Shaanxi Province, and the entire army was annihilated. Then Governor Hong obtained His Majesty's order. , and easily took down the old and weak people left in the Hetao. So, what is it if it’s not annihilation?”
Seeing the famous Lu Xiangsheng with an expression of great surprise, to be honest, the messenger angel felt very happy, so he told the story again; of course, he always adds a little more jealousy;
After talking about Shaanxi's affairs, he added that the emperor planned his plans in Nanyang, cleverly established a false emperor, attracted bandits to gather, and then wiped them out in one fell swoop, without any effort at all. Anyway, as soon as the emperor's chariot arrives, the enemy will be wiped out.
As the messenger angel spoke, he described a wise and powerful emperor, as if the emperor held a feather fan in his hand and with a wave of his hand, the powerful enemy was wiped out.
His narration stunned Zheng Zhilong.
Originally, he thought that the emperor mainly relied on the three governors; however, he did not expect that the emperor would lead the expedition in person and would not use these three governors. It was not because of any face issues, but because the emperor himself had this ability, and it was far superior to the three governors. The capabilities of the Great Governor.
Otherwise, look at Governor Lu, if it were easy to hear the emperor's achievements, he wouldn't be so surprised!
