When everyone saw this situation, they immediately knew that the emperor was going to fulfill his promise of becoming a knight! So, who will get such great honor? This is a curiosity in everyone’s mind!
The generals, especially the generals who accompanied them on their expeditions to the north and south, were even more nervous. Although some people feel that their hope is slim, what if?
While the whole hall was curious, they heard Cao Huachun scream: "General Hu Dawei of the Hussar Battalion, He Renlong, come forward to listen to the order!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall immediately turned their eyes to Hu Dawei and He Renlong, and countless envious eyes suddenly focused on them.
The two of them were naturally overjoyed, and both came out to greet the order respectfully. The excitement in Cao Huachun's voice was clearly audible.
The matter of knighthood has been concluded, but why the emperor chose these two to be knighted is a doubt in the minds of many people. No matter what, especially the generals, they all want to measure themselves to see if they can meet the conditions for knighthood?
Under the cadence of the reading, everyone understood clearly that the decree first listed a series of performances of Hu Dawei and He Renlong starting from the Qinwang War in the 11th year of Chongzhen. This point was hanging on their chests. You can tell by the number of medals he wears. However, the most critical factor for the two of them to be knighted was clearly explained in the imperial edict.
In the battle to defend Jiajiazhuang, Hu Dawei fought to the death and stood firm on the hills outside the city. He was injured in many places. The battle was so brutal that it was rarely seen in the wars of the Ming Dynasty in recent years;
Secondly, Hu Dawei once again resisted the Jianlu attack in the bloody battle of Guihua City until reinforcements arrived, and the victory or defeat was decided.
As for He Renlong, the imperial edict also emphasized the battle of Guihua City. It was He Renlong's troops who were the first to arrive at Guihua City, withstood the biggest impact of Jianlu, and blocked Jianlu's escape attempt. They waited until the reinforcements from Hu Dawei's troops arrived, and then held on together until the main force arrived.
After hearing this decree, those generals who wanted to weigh the reasons why they were not knighted were all convinced. They all understood at once that the basis for the emperor's knighthood was not based on how many battles you won, but on the basis of winning more battles and being able to fight tough and hard battles!
Speaking of which, in terms of the number of military achievements, Hu Dawei and He Renlong originally had a lot. However, the defense battle of Jiajiazhuang and the interception battle of Guihua City that the two of them experienced were compared to other general soldiers. What I haven't experienced. The tragedy of those two wars was obvious to all, and the significance of winning was also very important. They were very important battles.
After understanding this, many military generals secretly remembered it in their hearts. At the same time, they also understood that a title is a title after all, and it is not so easy to get!
In fact, this was also the original intention of Emperor Chongzhen.
It goes without saying that he has a golden finger and can predict the enemy plane first. But sometimes, even if you know what the enemy is going to do, if your generals cannot execute it properly, you may not be able to win the war.
The most obvious example is the battle of Guihua City. If He Renlong and Hu Dawei had not marched day and night to rush over and block the Jianlu army before they heard the news and fled, they would not have been able to annihilate tens of thousands of Jianlu on the grassland.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen must encourage such generals who can fight hard and bloody battles. For this reason, nobility is nothing, since it is not a hereditary title anyway.
Regarding hereditary titles, at least the current Emperor Chongzhen is very cautious.
After the knighthood is completed, this major court meeting will also end.
Emperor Chongzhen had plenty of money, and all the civil and military officials were not in arrears with their salaries, and even had year-end rewards. He was more or less interested in it. Then, after the dynasty was over, everyone went back to celebrate the New Year happily. If anything happens, we can talk about it next year.
…………
Compared with the Ming Dynasty, where both the people and officials were celebrating the New Year, the Jianlu side was very miserable. In addition to ensuring that Anshan Yibao can still get this kind of food, even the Shengjing Imperial Palace only has one meal a day, and most of it is rare.
It can be said that at this time, all the Jianlu people were lying dead in their own houses. They would not move if they could. If they were really hungry, they would drink some water to satisfy their hunger. If they were about to die of hunger, they would only eat some food.
But even so, many people still starve to death every day. Fortunately, here in Shengjing, people who starve to death can still have intact corpses; except for Shengjing, many people who starve to death end up with no bones left.
It can be said that this winter was the most miserable winter for Jianlu since they could remember. The number of casualties was far beyond their imagination.
Dorgon, who was in charge of the military and political power, knew that by the beginning of next spring, the old and weak of the Qing Dynasty would probably never see him again.
It has to be said that the person everyone in Jianlu, including Dorgon, hated the most at this time was Kong Youde. If it weren't for Kong Youde, they wouldn't be so hungry.
For this reason, many Han people who originally took refuge with the Jianlu were all implicated by Kong Youde. I don't know how many people were beaten up by the Jianlu, ate their flesh, and drank their blood as revenge. But those who had forgotten their ancestors could not believe it until their death. They felt that they served the Qing Dynasty and would receive such a retribution!
However, there were also a few traitors who were protected by Dorgon, such as Fan Wencheng, Ning Wan and a few other famous ones. Even Fan Wencheng was entrusted with important tasks by Dorgon and sent to the Japanese country.
Before leaving, Dorgon told him in a serious tone: "Fan Qing should know what the attitude of the country towards you Han people is now? But I believe that Qing and the Kong thieves are different. Can he win the Qing Dynasty again in the future? Trust me, it depends on how much you can gain from your mission to Japan and whether it can relieve our Qing Dynasty!"
Having said this, he looked at the envoy who was on the mission, Ying Erdai, the Jianlu man with the most outstanding diplomatic ability who was urgently transferred back from Anshan Posthouse, then looked at Fan Wencheng and said: "For the Japanese country, after all, it is you. The Han people are more familiar with it. Therefore, although you are the deputy envoy, all adjustments must be made to you, and you must achieve this goal."
"Master, don't worry. Even if the slave is a mess, he will still repay the favor of the master!" Fan Wencheng was very excited when he heard this, and he quickly knelt down and replied.
…………
Recalling this scene, Dorgon lay on the dragon bed, not caring about the people around him, and murmured in his heart: "At this time, no matter what, it is time to go to the capital of the Japanese country. I hope you will not disappoint me!"
His guess was correct. Ying Erdai and Fan Wencheng had already arrived at Edo at this time and were disembarking at the Edo Pier.
This time, the envoy must not only show the strength of the Qing Dynasty, but also be careful not to irritate or disturb the Japanese country. Therefore, Fan Wencheng spent a lot of thought, and even the accompanying personnel were carefully selected. This burly Liaodong man was selected from the white-armored soldiers.
When we arrived at the Edo Pier, we compared it with the people from the Japanese country. It stood out from the crowd. You could tell at a glance that they were not from the Japanese country. Moreover, the white-armored soldiers are the elite of Jianlu, soldiers who have fought in hundreds of battles, and the elite aura in them is not just talk. Ordinary Japanese people, looking up at such a sturdy man, would not even dare to think about asking for favors or fees.
Being so different, it is naturally very noticeable. When Japanese officials learned that the Qing envoy had arrived, they immediately sent someone to report to the shogunate. At the same time, some people ran away to a mansion in Edo City. After nodding and bowing at the door and talking to a tall porter, he received the reward and left happily.
As soon as the concierge and others left, he immediately walked to the house, and soon came to the owner of the house. He immediately reported in Hokkien: "Fifth Master, Jianlu is here. He just got off the boat!"
This fifth master is naturally the fifth eldest son of the Zheng family, Zheng Zhibao, who was named Jinyiwei Baihu by Emperor Chongzhen and sent to Edo. Before he came to Edo, he had already secretly visited Beijing to see him.
At that time, Emperor Chongzhen made it clear to him that Jianlu would probably come to Edo to persuade the Japanese to fight against the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, it is indispensable to pay attention to the trends of Japan, because according to reliable information, Japan has the intention of plotting land. Moreover, because of the Ryukyu incident, Ming Dynasty will uphold justice sooner or later and have a war with Japan.
To be honest, getting such a decree was a bit unimaginable for Zheng Zhibao, who had known Japan before.
Because as far as he knew, the Tokugawa shogunate of the Japanese country had learned the lessons of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and had no intention of becoming an enemy of the Ming Dynasty anymore. It was just thinking of ways to control the Japanese country and prevent other daimyo from having the opportunity to imitate their Tokugawa family. . Even Xiyi went to Japan and was expelled. All of this was to stabilize the rule of the Tokugawa family.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zheng Zhibao came to Edo, Inoue Masashige, an important minister of the Tokugawa shogunate and one of the four giants, similar to the commander of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards, Inoue Masashige, made a special trip to visit him and probed his tone. Ask about the Zheng family fleet, especially Zheng Zhilong.
If it had been before, he might have thought that the Tokugawa shogunate wanted to do business-related things. After all, the Zheng family was now the only foreigner who could do business with Japan. However, Emperor Chongzhen had given instructions in advance, and he immediately understood the true intention of Inoue Masashige's visit to him.
So, he was angry at that time. He told him that the Zheng family was forced by the emperor. As a last resort, Zheng Zhilong led part of the fleet north to serve the imperial court and helped the imperial court defeat the Jianlu Navy. However, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty just thought his eldest brother had made a small mistake and dismissed him directly. The eldest brother's official position ended up being idle. When he came to Edo this time, he was actually following the orders of his elder brother. He felt that the court could not be relied upon, so it would be better to expand more business.
Zheng Zhibao remembered it very clearly. At that time, he said to Inoue Masashige: "My eldest brother is disheartened by the imperial court. My brothers who are still in the Denglai Navy also have many opinions about the imperial court and are passive. They all say that the imperial court does not pay attention to it." They use it when they need it, and treat it like this when it's no longer needed. They all want to go back to southern Fujian and continue to be pirates."
When Inoue Masashige heard this, the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were smiling. Zheng Zhibao can guarantee that this will definitely not be wrong!
Miaoshuwu
