Mr. Zhang's credibility was very strong, and the army set off in less than an hour.
The owners and shareholders of the eight major business groups watched in shock as the Beijing camp gathered. The soldiers in the Beijing camp were well-trained and well-organized. They quickly packed up and formed a marching column, and then left the camp one by one.
No one spoke during the whole process. It was as quiet as silent water, rushing to the school field and then gathering into different teams.
Everyone wore bright uniforms and flags fluttering. The formation looked like a straight line from side to side. The soldiers' faces were red and their heads held high.
The head of the Fan family said with emotion: "I am thirty-three this year, and I have never seen such spirited officers and soldiers in the Ming Dynasty."
The head of the Wang family also said excitedly: "Zhangjiakou has been saved. This is the master of Pixiu. He is worthy of being the emperor's own army, the 12th regiment of the Beijing camp."
These Shanxi old wealthy men decided to follow the army to Zhangjiakou to clean up the situation.
The shareholders of the eight major business groups took their servants with them and followed the mighty army. They wanted to see for themselves because they didn't know what Zhangjiakou was already like.
Yang Fan and Zhang Shize had no interest in riding horses and marching in the cold weather. They hid in the four-wheeled carriage and drank rice wine comfortably.
There is a small kerosene stove on the table, which is the product of a stove company that was newly listed this year. Yang Fan ordered a lot for Dajun for outdoor cooking. This can be regarded as attracting some business to the noble shareholders. The new company has been listed for one month
, and got a large order from Jingying.
The stock price has also risen a lot, making many people who were not optimistic about it scratch their heads.
At this time, a small stainless steel pot above was boiling rice wine with shredded ginger. It was bubbling.
There are also some peanuts, beef tendons, and marinated large mullet cut into pieces on the table. When the wine is cooked, put a small iron plate on it and grill some beef slices, mutton slices, etc.
Yang Fan took a look at the old wealthy men riding donkeys outside and following the army in the cold wind, and sighed. To be honest, he felt a little unbearable.
Zhang Shize said: "You don't have to sympathize with them, they all asked for it. These old people are more ruthless than wolves when they exploit people. How do they earn their money? The methods behind them are very dirty."
Yang Fan's military training was based on modern models. In order to reduce fatigue and invigorate the atmosphere during the march, he also sang military songs. At this time, the song he sang was Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong".
The people in the business group were surprised to see the excitement. They were not afraid of singing in the cold weather. These soldiers were really interesting.
However, they also admired the military appearance and discipline of these people, which was truly the best in the Ming Dynasty. Their energy and spirit did not look like soldiers.
The majestic singing and high morale shocked people greatly.
The head of the Jin family came running from behind on a green donkey and approached the other heads of the family. His face looked a bit wrong.
Several other house owners looked over strangely.
"Everyone, we are in a bit of a hurry to do this."
Several other old men collectively rolled their eyes. How long has it been and you are still a miser? You are really a typical example of giving up your life rather than your wealth.
"No, it's not that I don't want to give up money, that's not what I meant." The old man of the Jin family hurriedly explained. "I found that there are 350 Jinyi guards in the army, led by a thousand households. There are also a hundred fans from Dongchang.
, the team was led by a trial hundred households. There were also more than 300 civil servants from various ministries, the largest was a third-rank minister of household affairs. I also saw sixty or seventy censors of the Inspectorate, and the largest was a third-rank right deputy chief.
Censor."
The head of the Fan family shook his head and said: "Old Jin, you are too careful. According to the usual practice for an army of this size to go out, there must be censors and factory guards to follow. Otherwise, if something happens below, the cabinet and the emperor will be
We were kept in the dark. The people below are just messing around and paying it back."
"That's right, His Majesty has handed over the capital camp to Uncle Dingyuan. How could he not send out civil servants and factory guards to supervise the censors and supervisors? There are also eunuchs and supervisors. You didn't see it. We went there last night
It's a filial piety. Otherwise, you think that with Uncle Dingyuan's nod, Zhang Shize, a deputy general, can move the army ahead of schedule."
The head of the Jin family hurriedly said: "Are you stupid? There are too many things in Zhangjiakou that are difficult to expose. The factory guards are not afraid. Uncle Dingyuan is the senior official of Jinyiwei, second only to Luo Yangxing. How dare the factory guards find trouble with him?
However, those civil servants and censors are all from Donglin. If they see some things, it will be all over."
As soon as these words came out, several people suddenly became a little anxious. Before, they were just worried that Zhangjiakou was about to fall, and they were as anxious as if they were in a rage. They didn't think too much about this.
However, businessmen are extremely sensitive to political trends to a certain extent.
Because the most profitable business has always been inseparable from the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. Now, after Donglin returned to Dabao, the financial backers behind the Jin Party were fully aware of the series of operations.
Dong Lin just wants to drain the firepower and destroy the money bags of the Jin Party and other parties.
This time, it was a little bit rough.
The long-lived eyebrows of the head of the Fan family twitched and said: "Don't worry yet, we don't know what Zhangjiakou is like. Maybe the Mongols have retreated. After all, our eight families have 20,000 guards. And the Zhangjiakou Fort is
A fortified city is not that easy to chew."
Several people nodded one after another. The more anxious they were, the easier it would be for those Donglin people to see it. At that time, suspicion would be aroused, and everything would turn into something serious.
Yang Fan took a sip of wine, placed the iron plate on the kerosene stove, and placed the chicken fillets, lamb tenderloin slices, chicken gizzards, squid whiskers, and veal loin slices on the iron plate with stainless steel clamps.
Use a small glass oil pot and pour some salad oil on it. After a while, it starts to squeak and a strong fragrance comes out.
"Hey, you are so arrogant, even if you use glass to make an oil pot, you are not afraid of accidentally dropping it. But this salad oil of yours is really good. It is not greasy and has little fumes. It is much better than soybean oil."
"This thing is actually the same thing as plate glass, and it will become cheaper and cheaper in the future." Yang Fan drank skewers with Zhang Shize while drinking rice wine cooked with shredded ginger. "The best wine today is the fifteen-year-old Huadiao. I
I like this vintage, the 30-year-old is not tasty and spicy.”
When the two of them were eating and drinking, the army had already arrived at the mouth of the valley where the previous battle had taken place. There were dead bodies everywhere outside, and the engineers were moving away the bodies in front and dragging them into the snow. Otherwise, the large army could not move, and the carriage behind them would not be able to move.
It is also impassable.
With the sandbag fortifications removed, the road into the valley was opened.
The people in the Engineer Corps were very surprised. Do these Mongols also have engineers? The techniques for building fortifications were exactly the same as what they had learned in the engineer crash course. It was as if they were taught by a master.
The heads of the eight families looked at the tragic battlefield conditions here, as well as the corpses dragged to the roadside by the Beijing camp. Many of them were mutilated. This shows how powerful Hou Shilu and the Mongols were before here.
Everyone looked pale and their legs were trembling.
They were businessmen after all, and this was their first time seeing such a cruel battlefield, and everyone was trembling for a while.
"Look, Zhangjiakou is ahead." The head of the Jin family shouted.
When the army left the valley, Zhangjiakou City came into view in the distance.
Outside a tall city wall, everything is in ruins, and there are still unburnt wooden components of the house that are emitting plumes of smoke. The outside of the city is completely destroyed, and there is not a single intact house.
The army continued to advance expressionlessly. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp turned a blind eye to the tragic situation on the battlefield and the ruins outside Zhangjiakou City. They continued to march calmly.
Finally we arrived at the south gate of Zhangjiakou.
The head of the Fan family looked at the dilapidated south gate and felt a burst of angina. He almost fell off his horse.
Only two city gates were seen, one was crooked, and the other fell to the ground. The city tower was also knocked down by something, and it was blackened by the fire, with wisps of black smoke still rising.
It's over, there's no one left, the city gates have collapsed, Zhangjiakou is over.
This chapter has been completed!