4333 (the ninth year of Chongzhen), April 2, in the city of Xuanfu, Ming Dynasty.
The imperial eunuch Wang Zhixin came to the house with a look of displeasure on his face.
"Why are these two Qiu Ba, Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu, like children?
I still want to have a fight in Xuanfu, which will only bring trouble to our family."
Wang Zhixin used both kindness and power to persuade the two of them.
These two people ignored the occasion and prepared to fight inside the Xuan Mansion.
Wang Zhixin's purpose is to let the two fight without breaking up, so that he can control the greatest power.
Unexpectedly, these two Qiu Ba did not follow the routine.
Wang Zhixin fanned the flames before, and the internal fighting between Xuanfu Commander-in-Chief Yang Guozhu and Datong Commander-in-Chief Wang Pu intensified.
Fire and water have now become incompatible.
Wang Zhixin watched the conflict between Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu intensify.
But he didn't have much sense of accomplishment. These two Qiu Ba were too straight-headed.
As soon as Wang Zhixin came to Xuanfu, these two Qiu Ba wanted to evade him.
He is an imperial eunuch personally designated by the emperor and is responsible for all military affairs of the Xuanfu.
His kingly heart can live like a fish in water in a place like the palace.
How can the two Qiu Ba's childish power-fighting methods be able to evade his king's heart? This is simply wishful thinking.
Wang Zhixin used some tricks, and Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu became incompatible.
Wang Pu's strength is slightly stronger, but Datong soldiers are guest troops, and Xuanfu is Yang Guozhu's home field.
In this way, the strength of the two is close, and neither one is sure of completely overpowering the other.
These two Qiu Ba cannot be united. Wang Zhixin can unite with any one person and can firmly suppress the other person.
Wang Zhixin changed from an insignificant person to an important person with real power.
Through various means, he has gained some say in the military.
The king was secretly happy that soon after arriving in Xuanfu, he would be able to control part of the real power of the Ming army in Xuanfu.
Fang Zhenghua would definitely not be able to do the three imperial eunuchs sent by Emperor Chongzhen, but Cao Huachun might be able to do it.
As long as he performs better next, he will definitely be able to suppress the other two eunuchs and gain the emperor's trust.
Wang Zhixin thought of this situation, and he was sipping tea leisurely in the mansion.
A young eunuch pushed open the door of his room and said in horror: "Ancestor, something happened, something big happened."
Wang Zhixin's expression was very dissatisfied. How could there be such an irritable little eunuch beside him?
Such a person would not survive more than a month in the palace.
The little eunuch was already filled with panic and did not notice Wang Zhixin's dissatisfaction.
After he walked into the house, he said in a trembling tone: "Ancestor, the army of thieves in yellow is here and has already surrounded the Xuan Mansion.
We can't even send a messenger to ask for help from the outside world, and Xuanfu has become an isolated city."
Wang Zhixin did not hold the teacup in his hand.
Bang.
The tea cup fell to the ground and broke into pieces, and the tea splashed everywhere.
"Why did the thief in yellow reach Xuan Mansion so quickly?"
Wang Zhixin was a little panicked. He had not yet completely controlled the Ming army in Xuanfu.
The conflict between Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu has intensified, and now they are suddenly attacked by thieves in yellow, which is really a big trouble.
Only now did Wang Zhixin feel that what he did before was inappropriate.
The Ming army before Xuanfu still had hope of holding Xuanfu, but that may not be the case now.
Wang Zhixin looked at the little eunuch and ordered: "Immediately inform General Wang and General Yang to come to my mansion to discuss matters."
Wang Zhixin was waiting in the mansion, and Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu soon arrived at Wang Zhixin's mansion.
He warmly received the two generals, pretending to be calm and said:
"The two commander-in-chiefs should have received news that thieves in yellow have surrounded Xuan Mansion.
For the sake of our own lives and safety, we ask the two generals to do their best to defend the city.
If the thieves in yellow really attack the city, then none of the three of us will survive."
Wang Zhixin is very good at discerning people's hearts.
When the two general soldiers entered the room, he could see that they were greedy for life and afraid of death.
Everyone knows clearly how the thieves in yellow used to deal with the Ming generals.
If these two generals surrender to the thieves in yellow, their fate will be very miserable.
The two of them will definitely not surrender to the thief in yellow before they are desperate.
Wang Pu said angrily: "I don't dare to defend the city with some people, some people are best at stabbing people in the back.
When the time comes to use my head to claim credit from the thief in yellow, I will not do such a stupid thing."
Yang Guozhu sarcastically said: "Our soldiers and horses in Xuanfu Town can defend the city by themselves.
Some people who were good at escaping were responsible for guarding the city. After the thieves in yellow attacked the city, this person directly opened the city gate and escaped.
Xuanfu Town could have been defended for a long time, but some people participated in the defense, and it was impossible to defend it for even two or three days."
Wang Zhixin saw the attitude of the two generals.
He even regretted that he went to provoke the relationship between the two people.
Wang Zhixin can indeed hold some real power now, but if the Xuanfu cannot hold it.
He may not even be able to survive this small life, let alone the emperor's trust.
Wang Zhixin immediately smoothed things over and said: "Now the army of thieves in yellow is outside the city, we must not fight within ourselves.
Do something that makes your loved ones angry and your enemies happy.
We are all sensible people, and I believe you would not do such a thing.
Xuan Mansion has four walls, and the thieves in yellow have now blocked the four walls. Their attacks are all about the same intensity.
The two of you guard the city separately, each responsible for two walls.
General Wang Pu is in charge of the northwest wall, and General Yang Guozhu is in charge of the southeast wall.
I coordinated in the middle and provided food, grass and ammunition to each army.
How about you two give me some face and obey my arrangement?"
Both Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu knew that their relationship could no longer return to its previous state.
Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers had no way to cooperate.
The current arrangement of Wang Zhixin is a more suitable arrangement.
They followed this plan and defended the city separately.
The armies under each person will not interfere with each other, nor will they support each other.
Wang Zhixin relaxed her tense mood when she saw the two of them agreeing.
…………………………
Wu Jie looked at the important military town of Xuanfu, which was the last important military town on their way to Shuntianfu.
He listened to the report from Su Yanyan, the commander of the Second Division.
"Commander, our Second Division has captured all the Ming army's defenses around Xuanfu.
We cooperated with the Third Division and have surrounded the four walls of Xuanfu."
Wu Jie heard that all the fortifications deployed by the Ming army outside Xuanfu City had been destroyed by the Second Division.
He ordered: "Since we have surrounded Xuanfu, we will conduct a tentative attack to see if there are any exposed weaknesses in the huge Xuanfu."
Su Yanyan, commander of the second division, and Yu Tianyou, commander of the third division, took orders to attack Xuanfu.
During the siege, they were ready to attack the city.
In the large camp outside the city, a large amount of ammunition is stored, allowing the Qin army to use firepower extravagantly.
The artillery regiments opened fire one after another, preparing to flood Xuanfu with artillery shells.
The officers used binoculars to observe the performance of the Qin army attacking the city and the reaction of the Ming army.
It was getting dark, and Wang Zhixin, the commander of the Fourth Army, said: "Let the troops on the front line withdraw.
It's already dark, so the siege is not very effective."
Wu Jie issued the order to withdraw his troops, and he then said: "Through this half-day siege, I have noticed the combat effectiveness of the Xuanfu Ming army.
The combat effectiveness of the Ming army here is indeed far superior to that of other places in Shanxi, and it is worthy of being the strongest frontier army of the Ming Dynasty.
It seems that we cannot rush the attack on Xuanfu. We still have plenty of time. If we continue the attack slowly, something will happen if we rush."
When the Qin army heard the order to stop attacking the city, only a part of the artillery with fixed cannons was left to continue attacking the walls of Xuanfu.
Prepare to break through the walls of Xuanfu through continuous attacks with heavy artillery.
The Qin army that attacked the city has all withdrawn and returned to the camp to rest and recuperate.
Wu Jie summoned all the officers to have a meal together, and at the same time summarized the experience of siege the city during the day.
Su Yanyan took a bite of salted fish and said, "We have eaten salted fish again, and the logistics troops have caught up.
We now have enough artillery shells to flood the Xuan Mansion with artillery shells.
This time it seems that we are going to fight a protracted war, and our army must be resilient enough. I don’t know how long the Ming army can last.”
Yu Tianyou swallowed the braised pork in his mouth and said: "We are responsible for attacking the west city and the south city. I found that the Ming army on the west wall is more powerful.
The Ming army on the south wall was a mixed bag, with strong and weak soldiers mixed together.
Our army had already climbed onto the city wall, but was driven back down by a Ming army with extremely strong combat effectiveness."
Luo Zhe, Chief of Staff of the Third Division, then said: "I discovered an inconspicuous phenomenon, which may be our breakthrough point in breaking through Xuanfu.
I found that when we breached the south city wall, the Ming army on the west city wall, which was just around the corner, was indifferent.
It's not that they don't have the means to support the South City Wall, it's that they have the means but don't take action.
Normally, these Ming troops should support the southern city wall.
This abnormal phenomenon should attract the attention of our army."
As soon as Luo Zhe finished speaking, Du Shengwen, Chief of Staff of the Second Division, also agreed: "I found that there are some problems with the cooperation between the Ming army on the North City Wall and the East City Wall.
The Ming army on the northern city wall was stronger, and our army attacked the northeast corner wall. The reaction of these two Ming armies was very strange."
When Fu Xiucheng, Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army, heard what these two people said, his eyes lit up and he said:
"Then let's try tomorrow to see if the Ming army in Xuanfu City is divided into two factions.
If the Ming army in the city really has factional disputes, then we will make a lot of money.
Someone in the Ming army is holding us back, which is good news for us."
Many officers of the Qin army ate their meals happily.
Wu Jie's guard came in, holding an arrow without an arrow, and reported: "Commander, there is a soldier on the battlefield, and he was shot by an arrow without an arrow.
The teacher of this class noticed something strange about the arrow and split it open. There was a piece of paper hidden inside.
There are contents written in the cipher text of our army.
The Military Intelligence Bureau in Xuanfu City uses this method to deliver news to us.
The staff members have completed the translation work."
Wu Jie took the arrow and the translated content.
He laughed after reading it and passed the note to others to watch.
"Emperor Chongzhen was worried about these generals, fearing that they would not be able to defend the city and surrender to us.
The imperial eunuch Wang Zhixin was sent to lead these generals.
Wang Zhixin is a person who has a strong desire for power. In order to gain power, he directly instigated a fight between Wang Pu, the general of Datong, and Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu.
Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu originally had conflicts, but after Wang Zhixin intensified them, they became incompatible.
The two almost fought in the city, but Wang Zhixin intervened to mediate, so large-scale internal strife did not occur.
But the two of them have grown apart from each other.
The soldiers under my command for two years only take care of the defense areas they are responsible for."
After Fu Xiucheng read it, he said excitedly: "Wang Zhixin is as good as two divisions of the Qin army.
What he did was the best assist.
I suggest only attacking the weaker Yang Guozhu to see if Wang Pu will assist Yang Guozhu in defending the city.
This method can also intensify the conflict between Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers."
Wu Jie listened to Fu Xiucheng's suggestion and asked the second and third divisions to focus on Nancheng and Dongcheng.
Xicheng and Beicheng only maintained artillery bombardment and continued to blow up the walls of Xuanfu, and no longer sent troops to attack the city.
…………………………
In Xuanfu City, Yuan Pingsheng, captain of the Third North Zhili Team of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
He looked at his subordinates with a confident expression on his face and said: "After the arrival of this stupid eunuch Wang Zhixin, he had a great impact on our work.
Many of the informants we developed were captured by Wang Zhixin and the Jin Yiwei.
However, some of Wang Zhixin's clever ways also made Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers incompatible.
The information we sent has been obtained by the Fourth Army.
In the past three days, the Fourth Army has been mainly attacking Xuanfu soldiers.
On the contrary, the Datong soldiers were very leisurely, and the conflicts between the two armies became more prominent.
The time has come, we should add another fire."
Because the time was ripe, Yuan Pingsheng immediately launched the Military Intelligence Bureau's plan to instigate an internal fight between the Datong soldiers and the Xuanfu soldiers.
A wounded soldier was withdrawn from the south city gate.
Many Ming troops were in extremely miserable condition, and those who were able to withdraw were all honored.
They supported each other and prepared to walk to the hospital in the city.
When they were injured, the army just gave them some medicine, and the doctor only took care of the senior officials in the army.
They, petty officials and high-ranking soldiers, can only find ways to treat their illnesses on their own.
A group of Datong soldiers looked at the wounded soldiers of the Xuanfu soldiers passing by, and they whistled at the wounded soldiers.
He also talked about this wounded soldier in a slightly louder voice than usual.
"This is such a waste. He was beaten so badly."
"The thieves in yellow were nothing more than that, so we didn't suffer many injuries.
Unlike some people who are good at bragging, their soldiers are useless."
"These losers are in trouble again."
Xuanfu soldiers were in a very bad mood these days.
The Qin army obviously focused on attacking the Xuanfu soldiers, resulting in a sharp increase in their casualties.
However, the Datong soldiers had no casualties. They were not worried about the numbers but the inequality. Coupled with the performance of the Datong soldiers, every Xuanfu soldier felt a fire in his heart.
Now when they hear the Datong soldiers mocking them, many people can't help but feel it.
At this time, the officer leading the team yelled.
"These Datong soldiers must have taken refuge with the yellow-robed thieves. They are now afraid of the strength of our Xuanfu soldiers and dare not openly rebel.
When the thieves in yellow weaken us to a certain extent, these people will prepare to surrender in Kaicheng.
Protect Daming and never let their evil plot succeed."
After the officer finished speaking, he raised the musket in his hand and fired at the general leading the Datong soldiers.
No one noticed that there was no lead bullet in his musket.
When the Datong soldier general heard the gunfire and screamed loudly, he covered his chest hard, and large blood stains spread.
"Master Zhou is dead. These Xuanfu soldiers are serious. He wants to kill us. Brothers, fight back and kill these losers."
The Datong soldiers drew their swords, raised their guns and attacked the Xuanfu soldiers.
The exchange of fire caused by these two small groups soon expanded into a large-scale exchange of fire between Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers.
Whenever there is a general who is ready to act as a peacemaker and wants to mediate the conflict between the two armies.
They will all be killed by cold guns fired from unknown places.
The internal strife between Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers became more and more intense, and they were unwilling to defend the city.