It was during the busy time of farming. What kind of trouble did King Gongshun make? Why did he gather everyone together? Moreover, the soldiers formed a phalanx and the serfs formed a phalanx. Aren't the soldiers monitoring the serfs from all sides?
Noon is coming soon, and all the truth will come to light. At this time, there is no need to keep it secret.
Kong Youde looked at Chen Shaoan and when he nodded, he said loudly: "Do you know why I, Mr. Kong, sent a report to Jianlu at the beginning of the year to ask you all to come to the Liaohe Plain from all over Liaodong?"
"..." Hearing this, almost everyone was dumbfounded. What's going on?
Didn’t King Gong Shun always call himself “my king”? Why did he change his name to “Kong”? And, most importantly, he dared to call the Qing Dynasty Jianlu. Is this crazy?
Although they thought so, they all understood that something big was about to be announced. Thinking of this, the people of the Ming Dynasty all looked at him excitedly, while the soldiers felt a little inexplicable.
If the prince leads them to resist the Qing Dynasty, that is fine, but this is in the hinterland of Liaodong. Can they escape back? If we can't escape, once the Qing cavalry arrives, won't the entire army be wiped out and everyone die together?
Seeing the doubtful expressions of everyone in front of him, Kong Youde felt very relieved. Finally, he no longer had to hide it and could make it public.
He cupped his hands and gestured from the direction of the capital, and then continued to speak loudly: "To make a long story short, Mr. Kong made atonement for his sins and was ordered by the Ming Emperor to summon you here to save you as much as possible, and then the emperor will send someone to pick you up. Return to the Ming Dynasty! Now..."
At this point, Kong Youde pointed at Chen Shaoan and continued: "Now that the people have arrived, you can return to the Ming Dynasty immediately. You no longer need to be oppressed by the Jianlu, and you can go home!"
In fact, most of today's Ming Dynasty people were plundered from the pass by Jianlu. Originally, most of the Han people in Liaodong were almost killed by the Jianlu, and not many of them survived.
When they heard that Kong Youde had actually obeyed the order of the Ming Emperor to rescue them and be able to go home, they all had incredible expressions on their faces. They felt that the happiness came too suddenly and was so unreal that they could not believe it. !
Seeing that they all looked unbelievable, Chen Shaoan also shouted loudly: "I am Chen Shaoan, the guerrilla general under the command of the Governor of Baoding of the Dongjiang Army. Maybe you don't know me, but the emperor once used Daishan to save my mother from Jianlu. After the exchange, you should know about this, right? Now, according to the emperor's order, I am here to take you back to the pass. After a while, Marshal Wu will arrive soon with his troops."
This news is like a huge stone thrown into a pond, causing thousands of waves. No matter it was the people of the Ming Dynasty or the ordinary soldiers, they could no longer remain silent and immediately exploded.
"What, he is that person? The emperor actually exchanged Prince Li for his mother?"
"Not just Prince Li, I heard that there are also the lives of three thousand Jianlu soldiers!"
"So, this is true, can we really return to the customs?"
"Did you hear that a general soldier came to pick us up? There must be at least three to four thousand people, right?"
"..."
All the people began to believe this, so naturally they couldn't restrain their excitement and began to discuss in low voices.
However, among these excited remarks, some people became worried. He looked around, then looked in front, hesitated for a moment, and finally shouted loudly: "Sir, this is the hinterland of Liaodong. Even if the emperor sends people to rescue us, how can we escape back? Jianlu will definitely not let us go, and will send cavalry The army came to pursue us!"
"Yes, my brother is right, it's too far back to the customs!" Another person also shouted. Listening to what he said, he was the younger brother of the previous person.
When Kong Youde heard this, he couldn't answer because he thought so before. As a last resort, he turned to look at Chen Shaoan. This question could only be answered by him.
After hearing this, Chen Shaoan chuckled first, and then replied loudly: "Don't worry, the emperor has already considered it and will definitely rescue you. You don't know that in order to rescue you safely, the emperor will do what he wants. Great effort..."
As he was speaking here, suddenly, he faintly heard what seemed to be rumbling thunder in the distance, and then the earth seemed to be shaking.
At this time, everyone's attention was diverted and they followed the sound. Because they all know that this is not really thunder, but the cavalry is coming.
Sure enough, to their left, far beyond the plain, a red line was rolling in. Just take a closer look. They all recognized it, it was the Ming army soldier whom they had not seen for a long time.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent, and their eyes were a little complicated.
It was because of the inaction and incompetence of the imperial officers and soldiers that their families were destroyed and they were plundered by the rebels and came to Liaodong; but in front of them, the imperial officers and soldiers traveled thousands of miles and actually had to go deep into Liaodong to rescue them.
Just like this, as they watched in silence, the cavalry in the distance got closer and closer, and a large flag with the word "Wu" fluttered in the wind. Under the flagpole, a Ming general came majestically, surrounded by his personal guards.
"This is Marshal Wu, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp. He is here to take you back on the emperor's order." Chen Shao'an shouted loudly and introduced them.
The people of the Ming Dynasty came back to their senses, thinking that they would finally be able to return to the Ming Dynasty. They thought that the emperor was at least thinking about them and sent people to take them back. They could escape from the miserable place in front of them, so they hid the sadness they just felt in their hearts. , and became happy again.
Not long after, Wu Sangui swept in with about 3,000 horses.
Kong Youde and Chen Shaoan both rushed over and introduced each other.
Before Kong Youde could say anything, Wu Sangui got off his horse, punched Kong Youde and said, "The emperor has told you that you must get all your family members, young and old, out. This place is not far from Tieling. Is it enough for me to give you a thousand cavalry?" "
When Kong Youde heard this, he was immediately overjoyed. He quickly thanked the Holy Father and said, "Enough is enough."
In Tieling City, he has asked the housekeeper to be there to respond at any time. He leads a thousand cavalry back, no matter what, it is enough!
So, he immediately led his troops to prepare to return to Tieling. But at this time, he remembered something and reined in his horse again. He quickly asked: "Commander, how can we bring so many people back to the pass?"
"Haha, you don't have to worry about this. You will know when you come back from Tieling!" Wu Sangui replied with a smile after hearing this.
Then, he turned around and looked at the endless grain fields, and sighed again: "It's such a pity. Let's plant it again after we defeat the Jianlu!"
Kong Youde heard the saying that soldiers are valuable and quick, and without any further delay, he led his troops back to Tieling, leaving the doubts he had always had in his heart.
Wu Sangui accepted that the ordinary soldiers and Ming people here had a lot to do, and immediately got busy.
A few days later, when Kong Youde and his family returned, they were stunned when they saw everything on the Liaohe Plain.
As far as the eye can see, there are horses all around. It can even be said that there is almost one horse for each person. If he hadn't seen the Ming people wearing their original tattered clothes and still looking so skinny, Kong Youde would have even suspected that the Ming cavalry had come in force.
Seeing him like this, Chen Shaoan, who came over to greet him, smiled and explained: "Didn't a lot of horses be captured in the last battle on the grassland? The emperor asked Marshal Wu to bring them with him. Each of them had one horse, and they all rode back. This way Once here, the speed is much faster, and we should be able to return to the pass safely."
This...this is a huge gesture! Kong Youde was stunned when he heard this. Tens of thousands of horses, how much wealth does this cost? If an accident occurs, it will be a very big loss. However, the emperor still sent them out just to help these Ming people go back!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The emperor truly loves the people like a son!"
Historically, there were many people who loved the people as their own children, whether they were emperors or officials. However, if you want to take action like the current emperor, there are really too few.
Hearing his emotion, a nearby Ming citizen held the horse assigned to him and echoed in a very respectful tone: "That's not true. After I go back, I will set up a longevity tablet for the emperor and bless the emperor long live." ,Long live,Long live!”
Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect. Even if the imperial officers and soldiers were incompetent before, how could they not be moved by the things the emperor has done for them now!
For this reason, another Ming citizen even said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Emperor is still fighting in Haizhou to save us. We asked Marshal Wu to fight Jianlu together, but Marshal Wu refused to agree. Can Your Majesty help us to intercede?"
They didn't adapt for a while and still called Kong Youde "Prince";
Kong Youde didn't understand what was going on, so he turned to look at Wu Sangui.
Chen Shao'an, who was standing next to him, took up the topic and said: "The commander-in-chief still has a purpose. Taking advantage of the emptiness in Liaodong, he wants to deal a cruel blow to Jianlu. Therefore, the commander-in-chief cannot go back yet, so let them go first, but They all want to stay, and they also want to follow in the fight against Jianlu!"
After hearing this, Kong Youde thought that there were more than 20,000 people on horseback, which was indeed an extraordinary force. At this time, the entire force of Jianlu was fighting against the emperor in Haizhou. Except for a few cities such as Shengjing and Liaoyang, they should be able to fight a dozen!
Thinking this way, he immediately became excited and looked at Wu Sangui. When he really wanted to speak, he saw Wu Sangui pointing at the people with the hand holding the riding crop and saying: "Look at how thin they are, they can't fight at all. Even if I ride back on horseback, I can’t run fast.”
Having said this, he paused and then said: "This time I am still here, firstly to support the emperor, and secondly to protect them from returning safely. The emperor has a strict decree and must rescue them. I don’t dare to disobey orders.”
"Yes, the commander-in-chief can lead the army to come and go like the wind. If there are more of them, they will not be able to do this. Instead, they will become a burden." Chen Shao'an also explained from the side, "But I can't stand these common people's gratitude. We must report that Jianlu must be killed. The commander had no choice but to select more than 1,500 people who were in reasonably good physical condition to stay."
After hearing this, Kong Youde's expression immediately became serious. He clasped his fists and said to Wu Sangui: "The last general is familiar with Liao affairs. I am willing to be the vanguard for the commander-in-chief and beat the Jianlu captives painfully!"
Wu Sangui frowned immediately after hearing this. It would indeed be good if Kong Youde could stay. After all, as he said, he is the one who knows the situation in Liaodong best. However, he shook his head and said: "If you don't believe it, the emperor has told you that if you can complete this task, you have already made a great contribution. You can go to the capital to settle down with your family."
Hearing this, Kong Youde was very moved. He didn't expect that the emperor would be so interested in him. However, it was precisely because of this that he strengthened his mind to stay. He said in a decisive tone: "The emperor is still in Haizhou. How can the last general just leave during the war? Doesn’t the commander-in-chief want the last general to lead him and really beat the Jianlu to pain, so much that the Jianlu had to withdraw his troops immediately to relieve the emperor’s enemy?”
At this time, none of them knew that Emperor Chongzhen had retreated to Yaozhou Station and had been surrounded by Jianlu.
Hearing that what Kong Youde said was indeed reasonable, and thinking for the emperor's safety, Wu Sangui stopped insisting and nodded and said: "That's it, I'm sure!"
After hearing this, Kong Youde didn't say anything more. He just clasped his fists to indicate. Then he went back to his home, Xiaona, and solemnly told his son Kong Tingxun: "Dad has decided to stay. After you return to Daming, you must take good care of the family. Remember, Ming Dynasty is our real home, we must never forget it or have any conflict, do you understand?"
To be honest, Kong Youde's family, including his son and daughter, are still confused at this time. When he heard what he said, he could only nod subconsciously.
Kong Youde glanced at his wife, but said nothing. He pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and went to work again.
Not long after, Kong Youde came out with 500 of his original soldiers, came to Wu Sangui, clasped his fists and said: "Commander, these 500 troops can be led by the last general, without cutting the whip, and still dressed as Tatars. As the commander-in-chief's vanguard, killing Jianlu by surprise will get twice the result with half the effort!"
Wu Sangui nodded, yes, this is a good idea.
Next, they didn't stay much longer. The people and the army had brought enough of the harvested food to eat on the road, and there was a lot of leftover food that could only be burned.
With the fire blazing on the grain pile, five hundred Ming soldiers led 20,000 Ming people and Kong Youde's family, detoured to the grassland a little north, and returned to the pass as originally planned.
On Wu Sangui's side, there were more than 3,200 cavalry troops from the Beijing camp, as well as Kong Youde's 500 cavalry troops, and more than 1,500 horsemen selected from the common people, forming an overwhelming army. Kong Youde led the way and marched into the hinterland of Liaodong.
In their first battle, they were prepared to fight hard and give Jianlu a big "surprise".
