Chapter 274 Chongzhen is frightened, the eunuch leads the army
Qianqing Palace of Ming Dynasty.
A map of the situation between the two armies was placed in front of Emperor Chongzhen.
He kept reading the reports from the front line, hoping to find a good news.
But he looked through more than a dozen reports and found no good news.
Everything is about how many cities were lost and which generals were loyal to the country.
Emperor Chongzhen opened a memorial and was so angry that he threw it to the ground.
"Wang Daban, mark it on the map. Tianjin is besieged by thieves in yellow."
This is a report from Tianjin guard Zhu Dadian. They were besieged in Tianjin by 50,000 thieves in yellow clothes and asked for support from the imperial court.
Emperor Chongzhen said angrily: "There are hundreds of thousands of people in Tianjin, but they were besieged by 50,000 thieves in yellow!
Zhu Dadian is too useless."
Emperor Chongzhen's face turned red because of his anger.
He did not understand the seriousness of the Ming army's lack of pay. He only saw that there were hundreds of thousands of troops in Tianjin on paper.
Emperor Chongzhen walked to the map to check the current war situation and see where he could draw some of his troops.
The thieves in yellow from the east have already reached Tianjin.
The thieves in yellow from the west have already reached Datong.
The thieves in yellow clothes in the south have captured Zhending Mansion and are approaching Baoding Mansion.
In Xuanfu, there are two towns, Xuanfu Town and Datong Town.
They faced the fourth army of yellow-robed thieves. This yellow-robed thieves captured Shanxi at an extremely fast speed. Their troops were so powerful that it was impossible for Xuanfu's soldiers and horses to move lightly.
To the south is the main force of the yellow-robed thieves, and the Guan Ning army chasing the prefectures is even less likely to move.
Tongzhou was a new army led by the British prince Zhang Shize, as well as Tongzhou Guard, Shenwu Guard, Yingzhou Guard, Xingzhou Guard and other guards to protect the capital.
Tongzhou is a barrier to the capital, and cannot be moved lightly.
The huge Ming Dynasty's northern Zhili region could no longer mobilize reinforcements to support Tianjin.
Emperor Chongzhen was just about to summon Yang Sichang to the palace to meet the emperor and discuss how to rescue Tianjin.
Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, walked into the Qianqing Palace with an ugly face.
"Your Majesty, something big has happened. Jin Yiwei has urgently reported that Tang Tong, the commander of the capital of Daning, has rebelled.
Without firing a single shot, he led 20,000 Ming troops in Baoding City to surrender to the yellow-robed thieves.
Su He, the puppet king of Qin, has led the main force of the yellow-robed thieves to occupy Baoding City, and the yellow-robed thieves' vanguard is already attacking Zhuzhou."
When Emperor Chongzhen heard the news, he was a little dizzy.
"Cao Daban, say it again."
Emperor Chongzhen couldn't believe the news, thinking he had heard it wrong, and asked Cao Huachun to repeat it again.
"Your Majesty, I have received a report from the Jinyi Guards that Tang Tong and his 80,000 troops from Baoding City have surrendered to the yellow-robed thieves."
After Emperor Chongzhen confirmed the news, he immediately took down the sword hanging on the wall.
He drew out his sword and raised it high, slashing it towards the table where the map was placed.
The sword was so sharp that it cut the table in half.
"Tang Tong deserves to die, Tang Tong deserves to die.
The 80,000 troops in Baoding City were all the hard work of the Ming Dynasty.
The incompetence of one general affects all three armies.
Immediately send an order to the Jinyi Guards to kill the nine tribes of Tangtong."
Cao Huachun immediately reminded: "Tang Tong's nine tribes are all in Shaanxi, and they have long been under the rule of the thieves in yellow.
Tang Tong's family members were also in Baoding City and surrendered with him."
Emperor Chongzhen felt a sense of powerlessness, and he realized that he had no good way to punish Tang Tong.
He thought that they were the white-armed soldiers of Zhongliang of the Ming Dynasty. They also chose to join the yellow-robed thieves because their relatives were under the rule of the yellow-robed thieves.
"Cao Daban, you immediately send Dongchang and Jinyiwei to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Move all the military generals whose families are under the rule of the thieves in yellow away from important positions so that they cannot control the army. They are really too dangerous."
The first thing that Emperor Chongzhen thought of was to make up for the situation.
An example of Tang Tong has appeared, but he does not believe that Tang Tong is the only one.
These generals whose families are under the rule of thieves in yellow cannot be trusted at all.
When Emperor Chongzhen thought of this, he also thought of protons, which played a great role in history.
For example, in Zhuzhou, father and son Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui were responsible for the defense.
The Wu family and his son have a house in the capital, and their family members are all there.
But both father and son are on the front line, which is really dangerous.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately ordered Wu Xiang to be transferred to the capital and command the capital camp to defend the capital.
At the same time, let the generals from other places send all their families to the capital.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately sent someone to summon Yang Sichang to the palace to meet the emperor.
As he waited for Yang Sichang, he was extremely frightened.
He entrusted his wealth and life to Yang Sichang.
However, Yang Sichang did not take responsibility seriously and actually handed over Baoding City to a ruthless person like Tang Tong.
Now only one Tang Tong has been discovered. Will there be Li Tong or Wang Tong later?
The generals of the Ming Dynasty were all people like Tang Tong. No matter how strong the fortified city was, no matter how powerful the Hongyi artillery was, they could not defend the city.
Emperor Chongzhen was already very suspicious.
Tang Tong's surrender to Huang Yi, coupled with the fact that the Yellow Yi thieves were about to approach the capital, put tremendous pressure on him.
Emperor Chongzhen's suspicion became even more serious. He felt that all the generals of the Ming Dynasty might betray the Ming Dynasty and surrender to the thieves in yellow.
Wang Chengen knocked on the door of Qianqing Palace. After getting permission, he took Yang Sichang into Qianqing Palace.
When Yang Sichang saw that Emperor Chongzhen looked wrong, he immediately knelt down and saluted.
But he didn't hear Emperor Chongzhen's decree that he should be freed from death.
Yang Sichang immediately realized that there must be a major change, but he had no idea what the change was.
Emperor Chongzhen was very disappointed when he saw Yang Sichang. Tang Tong was in charge of Baoding city defense. This was the candidate arranged by Yang Sichang.
He did not replace Tang Tong, but he acquiesced in Tang Tong's ability to defend Baoding City.
Yang Sichang commanded the armies from all over Northern Zhili to defend against the yellow-robed thieves. Since the yellow-robed thieves invaded Northern Zhili, they have not won a single victory.
Now Emperor Chongzhen discovered that he knew people poorly.
What Yang Sichang did made him very disappointed.
Emperor Chongzhen directly threw the Jinyiwei report on Yang Sichang.
He said in a cold tone: "Yang Sichang, this is the guard general of Baoding City you arranged."
Yang Sichang carefully opened the report and saw the news that Tang Tong had surrendered to the thieves in yellow.
Cold sweat broke out on his body immediately, and his back was already soaked.
While Yang Sichang kowtowed, tears fell down his face, and he said with a tearful voice: "The sin of a humble minister deserves to be punished by death.
Your Majesty, I, Yang Sichang, have a bloody feud with the thief in yellow.
If I had known that Tang Tong would seek refuge with the thieves in yellow, I would have had him arrested and charged.
Tang Tong usually plays the role very well, but Wei Chen went crazy for a moment and did not expose Tang Tong's disguise in advance.
Your Majesty, please punish me for my negligence."
When Emperor Chongzhen saw Yang Sichang's performance, he hesitated again.
Maybe Yang Sichang was really right and found an important minister in the capital who had a bloody feud with the thieves in yellow.
Except for Yang Sichang, no one else could be found for a while.
Emperor Chongzhen calmed down his anger and said: "Yang Aiqing, please be free.
We must now find ways to remedy the situation and prevent the Tangtong incident from happening again.
Does Yang Aiqing have any good ideas?"
Yang Sichang stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.
This time he passed the test. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he might have been imprisoned in the sky prison by Emperor Chongzhen this time.
He could figure out Emperor Chongzhen's temper before, but now he is increasingly unable to figure out Emperor Chongzhen's temper. He is often capricious.
Yang Sichang knew that if he wanted to completely pass the test, the next method must be completely in line with Emperor Chongzhen's ideas.
He didn't have time to think carefully when he saw Wang Cheng'en, the eunuch who was taking care of Emperor Chongzhen.
Yang Sichang's eyes lit up and he said: "Your Majesty, three feet of ice does not freeze in one day.
Tang Tong offered Baoding City and chose to surrender to the thieves in yellow. This was by no means a temporary deal.
Before Tang Tong, he would definitely contact the thief in yellow.
If we want to ensure stability in various places, we must try our best to choose people to lead the army who have no connections with the outside world.
Even if the thieves in yellow want to instigate this man, they will not have enough time when the war is coming.
There are many such people, such as those close to His Majesty."
After Emperor Chongzhen heard Yang Sichang's method, his eyes lit up.
He had previously sent eunuchs to monitor the troops and attack the yellow-robed thieves, resulting in several major defeats.
Both civil servants and military generals criticized the eunuchs' reckless command.
In order to defeat the yellow-robed thieves, Emperor Chongzhen did not send any eunuchs to oversee the army.
Now he found that the eunuch around him was the one he could trust enough.
"Wang Cheng'en, call Cao Huachun, Fang Zhenghua, and Wang Zhixin immediately."
Emperor Chongzhen felt that Lu Jiude, the imperial eunuch, was better at leading troops.
But he had already accompanied Crown Prince Zhu Cixiang to the south, so he could only choose the three eunuchs he trusted most and who he felt had the ability to lead troops.
Cao Huachun immediately came to Qianqing Palace.
He is arranging Jin Yiwei to monitor various generals of the Ming army.
Could it be that the emperor had some new ideas and asked him to send Jin Yiwei to implement them.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the eunuchs arriving one after another.
He stood up and said: "I am going to let the three of you go to Tongzhou, Zhuzhou and Xuanhua to lead the local army to resist the yellow-robed thieves. Are you willing to share my worries?"
Cao Huachun immediately knelt down and said sincerely: "I am willing to obey the emperor's arrangements."
Wang Zhixin was a step too late. He felt extremely regretful and immediately imitated Cao Huachun in expressing his attitude.
Fang Zhenghua thought for a while and felt that he could do this well, so he immediately knelt down.
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy when he saw them expressing their opinions.
"You are all my slaves and represent my face outside.
I give you Shang Fang's sword, with the right to kill first and then show off.
Cao Huachun was responsible for commanding the army in Tongzhou, Fang Zhenghua was responsible for commanding the army in Zhuzhou, and Wang Zhixin was responsible for commanding the army in Xuanfu.
Supervise the generals of each army in peacetime, let them share the country's worries, and conscientiously resist the thieves in yellow.
Once we discover that a general is colluding with the thieves in yellow, we will show no mercy and deal with them immediately."
After Emperor Chongzhen finished his instructions, he gave them the imperial edict and monk Fang Baojian and asked them to take office immediately.
Tianjin was besieged by thieves in yellow clothes, and even eunuchs who were sent could not enter Tianjin. Emperor Chongzhen did not send eunuchs.
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As the eunuch in charge of Dongchang, Cao Huachun went to Tongzhou to take office and directly brought the people of Dongchang with him.
Fang Zhenghua and Wang Zhixin, the two great eunuchs, both led members of the Imperial Guard.
Tongzhou is very close to the capital, and Cao Huachun arrived in Tongzhou soon.
He immediately came to the Ming army's camp and read out the imperial edict in front of all the generals.
"The reason why our family came to Tongzhou is because Tang Tong, a wolf-hearted man, directly donated the city of Baoding.
The emperor is afraid that some of you will betray the Ming Dynasty, so he asked our family to supervise you.
Our family usually doesn't care about anything. You follow the previous strategy and continue to defend Tongzhou City.
Once our family discovers that someone is having an affair with the thief in yellow, our family will let these people realize what the wrath of thunder is."
Cao Huachun's speech directly shocked the generals here.
He saw someone trembling with fear and looking pale.
Cao Huachun immediately asked people from Dongchang to catch all those who behaved abnormally and interrogate them carefully.
There must be something wrong with these people who behave abnormally.
Maybe among them there are people who are secretly in contact with the thief in yellow.
Once you discover the spy of the thief in yellow, you can follow the clues and lead out a large number of people.
As long as he is in charge of Tongzhou, he will definitely eliminate all the spies of the thieves in yellow in Tongzhou.
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When Fang Zhenghua came to Zhuzhou, he simultaneously read out Emperor Chongzhen's imperial decree asking him to take over Zhuzhou and transferring Wu Xiang to take charge of the capital camp.
Before leaving, Wu Xiang solemnly confessed to Wu Sangui.
"Sangui, we have a bloody feud with the thieves in yellow.
Our two armies fought many times and killed many soldiers of the thieves in yellow.
Once you find that the situation is not right, try to escape to a safe area.
If you really can't escape, you can choose to surrender to the thief in yellow.
The thieves in yellow are very vengeful. If we really surrender to the thieves in yellow and save one life, that would be the best result."
Wu Sangui also knew the seriousness of the matter and said: "Dad, I will definitely guard Zhuzhou. If the thief in yellow is blocked by me in Zhuzhou, that would be the best.
When it comes to running from state to state without being punctual, I will not choose to defend the city.
I will definitely find a way to escape."
Wu Sangui watched his father Wu Xiang leave Zhuzhou.
At first he thought that Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch sent by Emperor Chongzhen, was preparing to compete with him for military power.
Wu Sangui was going to let him see who had the final say over Guan Ningjun.
He did not expect that the eunuch's imperial edict, Shang Fang's sword, would not compete with him for power.
When I saw him, he also had a smile on his face and discussed how to better defend against the attacks of the thieves in yellow.
Wu Sangui discovered that this eunuch was still doing many things secretly.
Secretly clean up the generals who may have contact with the thieves in yellow, and strictly investigate the signs of the thieves in yellow in the city.
As long as he doesn't compete with him for military power, he won't care what this man does.
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When Wang Zhixin came to Xuan Town, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, and Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, went out of the city to greet him.
This made Wang Zhixin feel extremely satisfied.
After Wang Zhixin read out the imperial edict, he said proudly:
"From now on, our family will be the undisputed commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu.
Your Majesty has given our family the right to kill first and then report later. If anyone dares to go against our family, we will definitely kill him without mercy."
Wang Zhixin did not forget his main task, leading the Jin Yiwei to constantly investigate whether any Ming army generals were in contact with strangers.
He had a wonderful thought before, and he could take over the army as soon as the imperial edict came out.
But without going through Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu, there was no way to mobilize the troops in the Xuan Mansion.
Wang Zhixin began to feel depressed when he discovered that the Xuanfu Town army was divided into two parts, the officers and soldiers of Xuanfu Town and the officers and soldiers of Datong Town.
This gave Wang Zhixin an opportunity, and he provoked an internal fight between Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu.
The two men fought internally to reconcile themselves, eliminated a large number of generals who might have colluded with the yellow thief, and took the opportunity to gain the power to mobilize the army.
When it comes to intrigues, Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu combined are no match for Wang Zhixin.
The struggle in the palace was extremely fierce. Wang Zhixin was able to climb to the position of the great eunuch, and his ability to fight for power was extremely superb.
The Ming army in Xuanfu was busy fighting among themselves, and they did not realize that the Qin Army's Fourth Army was quietly coming towards Xuanfu.
