Jinzhou, since the destruction of Tashan, has been the Ming Dynasty city at the forefront of the Guanning defense line.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, is now in Jinzhou, visiting the front line in person, waiting for the outcome of the war ahead.
What he wanted to wait for was news from two places. The first is that Wu Sangui's troops went to the Liaohe Plain to meet Kong Youde and rescue the plundered Ming people; the second is the war on the emperor's side.
Although he also sent troops to stay at night, but since some time ago, Jianlu Tanma's power has been strengthened, and he has been approaching Jinzhou.
Hong Chengchou knew that there was going to be a war on the emperor's side. It's just a pity that the troops in his hands are more than enough to defend the city, but not enough to attack, so he can't provide support to the emperor. Although he also leads troops to fight, he is only a civilian official after all. Unlike Lu Xiangsheng, he is more like a military general who can personally go into battle and lead troops into battle. As a result, Lu Xiangsheng's army became more offensive, while he leaned towards the defensive side.
If possible, Hong Chengchou would of course hope to accompany him and fight against Jianlu together, which would lay the solid foundation for his future career. Hong Chengchou was very sorry for this.
Fortunately, since he became the governor of Jiliao, at least last year's grassland war was initiated by his own side, and the credit can be considered, so Lu Xiangsheng was not allowed to be single-handedly beautiful. Comparatively speaking, among the three people at the beginning, Sun Chuanting should be regarded as the most mediocre!
Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou felt a little better. On my side, I haven't been sitting around doing anything. At least the harvest from the grain fields from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan was pretty good after he poured his efforts into it. For now, Ming Dynasty still has to focus on farming. This is fundamental...
Just as he was thinking, suddenly, the sound of rapid horse hooves came from outside the city.
Hong Chengchou, who was sitting in the arrow tower, knew that something was urgent as soon as he heard this, so he hurried to the window to look outside the city.
Sure enough, a night warrior was flying towards Jinzhou.
Seeing this situation, Hong Chengchou's heart tightened and he was a little worried. Don't let anything happen?
But soon, he knew that his worries were in vain.
I saw that Ye Bushuang was getting closer to the city. When he started to slow down and wait for the suspension bridge to be lowered, he had already shouted loudly: "He's back, he's been rescued, Marshal Wu's troops have rescued people..."
Upon hearing this shout, warm cheers suddenly erupted from the top of Jinzhou City.
At the beginning, Wu Sangui's troops were on standby in Jinzhou. After receiving the emperor's order from Fei Ge, they immediately set off and took a detour through the grassland to rescue people. At that time, it was a big deal and a sensation. More than 20,000 empty horses were taken away by Marshal Wu just to save people. This kind of thing was something that would have been unthinkable before.
The soldiers and civilians of Jinzhou certainly have human hearts. If the people of the Ming Dynasty who were plundered could be rescued, they would certainly be happy. When the emperor did not hesitate to use his body to attract Jianlu's attention, and used such generous means to save people, the matter of saving people was raised to a very high level. Many people, even if they don't usually pay attention to things outside their own homes, have begun to care about this matter. This can be regarded as a kind of public opinion!
However, since Marshal Wu left, Jinzhou has been closed down, and they can only discuss it in Jinzhou City. To be honest, it is very difficult to rescue tens of thousands of people as far away as the Liaohe Plain. Many people are worried, afraid of accidents on the road, afraid of being chased by Jianlu, etc.
At this time, they suddenly heard that tens of thousands of people had been rescued. Such good news made them, who were bored, immediately start to revel as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood.
Of course Hong Chengchou was also happy, and immediately sent an order to light fires and cook meals in the city, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty who had gone home after suffering would have a good meal.
Not long after his order was passed down, the rumble of horse hooves, like thunder in the sky, came faintly from a very far distance, slowly getting louder and louder, and even the ground felt faintly shaking.
On the top of the city, Hong Chengchou walked out of the archery tower, approached the battlements, and followed the sound in the distance.
I saw at the bend at the foot of the mountain in the distance, Ming army soldiers wearing red mandarin duck uniforms appeared first, with at least a hundred horses riding, clearing the way. Behind them, there are people of all kinds riding on horses, more and more, more and more...
The cheering garrison at the top of the city slowly became quiet. They probably only had one chance to see such a scene in this life!
We are getting closer to Jinzhou, and the people on the top of the city can see clearly. They found that although all of these people were young, they were all skinny. It was obvious at a glance that they had experienced countless hardships.
But at this time, when these skinny people looked up at Jinzhou City with the flag of the Ming Dynasty flying and filled with officers and soldiers, they all smiled happily. Many people shed tears while laughing. It can't be wiped off no matter how hard it is wiped!
Who would have thought that I could come back in this life and return to the Ming Dynasty!
After arriving outside Jinzhou City, many people got off their horses, knelt on the ground, and bent down to take a deep breath of the smell of their own soil! No matter what, the smell of the earth here is much better than the smelly Liaodong earth.
After confirming that there was no problem, the suspension bridge was lowered, and groups of Ming army soldiers lined up on both sides to let the dusty team enter the city.
Seeing the people entering the city passing by them, many Ming army officers and soldiers would say to them in unison: "Come back!"
"Just come back!"
"Have a good rest, don't worry, it's okay!"
"..."
In the past, they might have been cold-blooded and become insensitive because they were used to seeing separation between life and death.
However, now that the emperor has worked hard to save the person, the warmth in this can also disturb people. This is actually similar to the concept of keeping a den of bears together. The compassion and kindness that humans originally have in their hearts are all shown.
In the city, many people in Jinzhou were doing the same. Men, women, old and young all went out and looked at the poor people who had returned from both sides of the street, comforting them one by one.
Faced with all this, these once-desperate people of the Ming Dynasty were all excited, with tears in their eyes, or shed tears. In addition to nodding, they nodded vigorously. At this time, they were moved and full of hope for the future!
The world should be full of warmth! This is what a prosperous age should be like, right? On the top of the city, Hong Chengchou looked at this scene with emotion in his heart.
At this time, he had learned that Wu Sangui, Kong Youde and others had not turned back, but wanted to contain the Jianlu, protect the returning people, and coordinate the war on the emperor's side. He was a little worried about this, but at this time, he did not show it. Instead, he went to meet Kong Youde's family and comforted them.
Two days later, Jinzhou City once again received good news.
"The commander-in-chief is back, the commander-in-chief is back..."
Following Ye Bu's report, Jinzhou City once again became a sensation.
Hong Chengchou, as the governor, also came to Jinzhou City to watch in person.
He knew that Wu Sangui had really come back, and his contribution this time was not small. At least on the emperor's side, he was definitely a valued general.
The sound of hooves was like thunder, and groups of Ming Army soldiers appeared in the distance outside the city. The flag with the word "Wu" in it was fluttering in the wind, which was particularly eye-catching.
Seeing that the number of troops increased, it was known that Wu Sangui's troops had not encountered a strong attack from the Jianlu troops and had all returned safely. As a result, the people of Jinzhou became excited again. They like to see this kind of result the most.
The person who saved the person is back, the person who saved the person is back, and nothing happened. This is the best time!
When he arrived in front of Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui, who was tired of the journey, immediately clasped his fists and saluted and reported: "After the general saved the people in the Liaohe Plain, he attacked Shenyang directly, dug up the tomb of the rebellious Nurhachi, and besieged Shenyang... Finally, according to the emperor's decree, After the Jianlu messengers broke through continuously, they probably withdrew their troops after reaching Haizhou."
Wu Sangui could not conquer Shenyang, so he took Shenyang as the center and caused harm to hundreds of miles around, destroying everything that could be destroyed. Zhuangzi, grain fields, ditches, wells, etc. also scattered the ashes of Nurhaci, the culprit. Listening to all this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but smile. What the emperor arranged for Wu Sangui to do was definitely the heaviest blow to Jianlu!
Behind Wu Sangui was Kong Youde. When he saw the Ming Dynasty's imperial officials in scarlet robes again, he remembered Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai who had been kind to him in the past, and felt sorry for Sun Yuanhua and for surrendering to Jianlu. , feeling vaguely uneasy. At this time, he lowered his head and waited for Wu Sangui and Governor Ji Liao to finish speaking.
However, Hong Chengchou had naturally noticed him a long time ago. After listening to Wu Sangui's report, he walked up to Kong Youde in person and asked kindly: "You just took the job of building the granary for the captives according to the order, and then you set it on fire again." Did you kill Kong Youde who built the granary?"
He didn't say that you were a general of the Dongjiang Army, nor did he say that you were the obedient king of Jianlu. He just started by talking about the great contribution that Kong Youde had made by returning to the Ming Dynasty. When Kong Youde heard this, he couldn't help but feel relieved, and he quickly knelt down and lowered his head. The petitioner said: "Kong Youde, the guilty general who has gone astray, has met the Governor!"
"Hahaha..." Hong Chengchou laughed when he saw this, stretched out his hand to help Kong Youde and said, "The emperor has decreed that your whole family must be brought back safely. It can be seen that in the emperor's heart, your merits outweigh your faults. In the past, There’s no need to mention it. If something really happens, it’s not too late to talk to the Emperor later!”
He actually knew in his heart that the emperor would definitely reward Kong Youde for his great contribution this time. Therefore, he also has a kind attitude towards these generals under his command, focusing on winning over them. Of course, if it were Sun Chuanting, he probably wouldn't speak so kindly. This is why they have different personalities and good ways of doing things.
"Your family members are all in Jinzhou City. Let's go back and reunite later!" Hong Chengchou smiled and patted Kong Youde on the shoulder. After Kong Youde stood up, he said again.
Kong Youde listened, but did not answer the topic. Instead, he showed concern on his face and immediately asked Hong Chengchou: "My Lord Governor, do you know if the Emperor's side has won the battle?"
Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but be silent for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Jianlu searched for the shield, but there is no news yet!"
"Ah, if I had known earlier, I should have harassed Shengjing more. I shouldn't have come back so early!" When Kong Youde heard this, he immediately said worriedly, "Jianlu will mobilize all the soldiers in the country, starting from the age of fifteen to fifty. , all were recruited and rushed to Haizhou for the decisive battle."
Hearing this, Wu Sangui suddenly felt a little unhappy.
In fact, it is indeed true that when the troops were withdrawing, Kong Youde once said that they could hold on for a few more days and stay away at night until there was news before withdrawing. However, Wu Sangui did not agree, saying that the decree was for him to retreat, so they withdrew.
At this time, when Kong Youde said this, it seemed that Wu Sangui didn't care about the emperor's safety. Maybe Kong Youde didn't mean it this way, but when he said it, Wu Sangui could feel it.
Hong Chengchou didn't know before that Jianlu gathered all the troops from the country to fight with the emperor. Therefore, when he heard this, he was shocked and immediately frowned and said, "Isn't this so? Isn't the strength of Jianlu's army several times that of the emperor?" The army he leads? No wonder Jianlu would step up his scouting efforts to cover up the news..."
"My lord, I would like to lead the army to Haizhou for reinforcements!" Wu Sangui reported eagerly before Hong Chengchou finished speaking. Even if he interrupted Hong Chengchou's speech, he had no scruples.
Hong Chengchou didn't pay attention to this. After hearing Wu Sangui's words, he turned to look at the cavalry troops who were still entering the city one after another. His frown did not loosen. He shook his head and said: "Your cavalry troops are exhausted. We must You have to rest before you can fight again!”
Wu Sangui's cavalry army had actually not had a good rest since setting off. Especially during the period from the Liaohe Plain to Shenyang, they fought continuously and then hurriedly retreated. They were absolutely in disgrace and ready to fight at any time, and their mental strings were always stretched.
Of course Wu Sangui knew the situation in the army, but at this time, he glanced at Kong Youde, and then immediately said to Hong Chengchou: "In this case, the general is willing to select the best, starting from expelling the captives and exploring horses, otherwise the general will not be able to sleep and eat well."
After hearing this, Hong Chengchou nodded this time and agreed to his request. At the same time, Hong Chengchou himself began to prepare. Once the cavalry recovered, he also decided to send troops for reinforcements.
He was a civil servant and a high official in the border area. When he knew that the emperor was in danger, even if there was an order for him to defend the city, he had to save him.
Subsequently, the news quickly spread in the city.
The people of Jinzhou and those who had returned safely immediately became worried when they heard that the emperor was still fighting against an army of Jianlu that was several times larger than theirs.
"Your Majesty attracted all Jianlu's troops in order to rescue us. Your Majesty must not let anything happen to you!"
"Yes, the current emperor is such a good emperor, nothing will happen to him!"
"If you ask me, why are you afraid of Jianlu? There are more people than people. Our Ming Dynasty has many people. They can be from fifteen to fifty years old. Don't we have them in our Ming Dynasty?"
"There must be 50,000 troops in Jinzhou City. The Emperor is in trouble, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and save him!"
"..."
