King Wan'an was killed and Fu Fan was besieged, causing an uproar in the court.
The impact was even greater than the earlier rumors of the Tongguan Massacre.
Just as the King of Han in the Marshal's Mansion thought, and the ministers in the court thought the same, King Wan'an was dead as long as he died, and it didn't matter.
After all, King Wan'an, like most vassal kings in the world, has a very distant blood relationship with Emperor Chongzhen. They are both descendants of Zhu Di.
In name, King Wan'an is actually considered an imperial uncle. He is Zhu Di's ninth-generation grandson, and Chongzhen is Zhu Di's tenth-generation grandson.
Their relationship only ended here. When Chongzhen heard the news that King Wan'an was killed, he had the same reaction as the ministers when they heard about it: This prince is really unlucky.
King Fu is different.
He is Chongzhen's uncle. Prince Fu has something to do, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is related to the state.
When the news of Fu Fan's siege reached the capital and went to court the next day, the civil and military officials in the court were as silent as a cicada, too frightened to speak.
Chongzhen had nowhere to vent the unknown anger in his heart. Seeing the officials like this, he became even more angry.
Liu Chengzong led his troops to invade eastward, and a decisive battle in Shaanxi almost resulted in the biggest military defeat since the Ming Dynasty. The officials in the court did not dare to say anything about Western affairs. How did Chongzhen feel?
He didn't feel it.
The emperor was already numb.
Until now, my mind has not turned around and I still can’t figure out how Liu Chengzong could fight so cleanly.
Generally speaking, for example, in Saerhu, there were 88,550 troops marched out of the fortress, more than 48,000 troops were lost, and more than 300 generals were lost. It was an unprecedented defeat. A year and a half after the battle ended, Liaodong was still under attack.
Gather the remaining soldiers and defeated generals.
This is a normal battle, and more than 42,360 people will still come back after the end.
How can anyone fight a bloody battle and lose their entire family?
It was a good thing for Liu Chengzong. The Ming Dynasty mobilized more than 100,000 officers and soldiers from the five provinces of Qin, Sichuan, Ning, Hu, and Yunnan to launch a massive campaign in Shaanxi, but it ended abruptly.
Reports came intermittently, but there was no news about the person he wanted to kill, and those who could send reports seemed to be extremely loyal.
Lu Xiangsheng was almost exhausted in Huguang, and was exhausted chasing away the thieves and bandits from all walks of life.
Hou Liangzhu, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, was the most active in sending reports to the court. He was the only one who could speak on the South Road battlefield, and the court could believe everything he said.
In Tangbao, he fought fiercely and vigorously. He defended Sichuan from rebel bandits many times, and even extended the battle line to the Hanzhong area to protect Sichuan. He was the pillar of the Southern Heaven of the Ming Dynasty.
Don't tell me, Hou Liangzhu didn't tell a single lie in Tang Bao.
He indeed commanded 20,000 Sichuan troops and fought successive battles at the border of Sichuan and Shaanxi. After all, Gao Yingxiang in Shaanxi and Shaking Tiandong in northern Sichuan were not rebels. We did not say in the Tang newspaper that the one we fought was Liu Chengzong, right?
As for the lack of many results, it is because there was a flood in Hanzhong, our troops were stationed in the south of Han, and the bandit troops were stationed in the north of Han. They were unable to reach each other across the water. It was an act of God.
In short, under the background of defeat on all sides, General Hou grabbed the rebels by the throat and refused to teach any of their soldiers to invade Tianfu!
Of course, Chongzhen could not be said to be completely deceived. He still had eunuchs supervising the army, but the supervisors also praised Hou Liangzhu.
Under the circumstances at that time, Liu Chengzong fought like a ghost. The army on the north route was sending a message well the first day, but the next day the four armies changed their banners and the army collapsed. The army on the south route was still in my favor during the day, but it was completely wiped out that night.
With the military morale shaken, the Sichuan army was almost frightened and retreated to their hometown. It was only thanks to Hou Liangzhu's extremely high prestige and compliance with the military morale that the situation was stabilized.
It is not empty talk to say that Sichuan will not be lost. Without him, Gao Yingxiang would have been divided into two parts by the flood, and he would definitely have entered Sichuan.
The only remaining general, Chongzhen's hand holding the sword couldn't help but twitch, but he really couldn't kill him, and he became even more angry.
As for General Zu Dalue, he was as smart as a monkey.
His battalion was originally a Liao cavalry battalion and was a model unit in Liaodong. Half of them followed Zu Kuan and were reincarnated.
With the remaining half, Zu Dale was frightened and rushed out of the battlefield. Later, he gathered the surrender troops all the way. His strength was even greater than before the war started, almost six thousand.
He first ran to join Hou Liangzhu in Sichuan, and then ran all the way east. He didn't dare to let the court know a single fart before leaving the border of Shaanxi.
By the time the imperial court received the news about him, he had already fled to Huguang with his subordinate officers and soldiers to help Lu Xiangsheng fight.
Not to mention, even when facing Liu Chengzong, Zu Dalue was frightened to death by Zu Kuan's death, and he didn't even know how he escaped.
But when faced with ordinary thieves in Huguang, General Dalue was himself and struck hard.
Li Zicheng had just entered Huguang and had not yet established himself for a long time before he was overrun by his Liao soldiers. The miner rebels who had arisen in Yunyang and other places were even driven out and beaten by Zu Dale.
After the defeat of Shaanxi, Zu Dale became active in suppressing the Huguang rebellion.
Even the general's problem of not wanting to enter the mountains when suppressing bandits was gone. It could be said that he attacked wherever he was told. He entered the mountains when he was allowed to enter, and crossed the river when he was allowed to cross. With full firepower, the officers and soldiers of the two battalions were driven to fight desperately.
Don't be afraid of death.
Zu Dale is really not afraid.
The Liao soldiers always relied on strong armor and four hooves to fight fiercely, killing flag slaves and white armor. They had one head and two hands. They deserved to die because they had no ability.
He was afraid of Zu Kuan's method of death, where the long arrow and the three-eyed blunderbuss had not been released yet, and he had not even touched the enemy's body. After a few bursts of smoke, the entire group of men was gone.
When the fucking lowly Houjinqi slave saw the carriage camp, he had to squat far away and wait for the carriage to be delivered, and then hide behind the carriage to press up.
Zu Dale couldn't accept that kind of death.
So much so that the supervisors in Huguang kept saying good things to Zu Dale. It was the right time to employ people.
Chongzhen was so full of evil that he couldn't find anyone to kill even if he wanted to execute several ministers!
However, what the court has been facing recently is not all bad things.
At least there are good things going on in the east.
For example, Emperor Chongzhen was so angry that he almost had Yang Sichang arrested and imprisoned.
As early as this year, when Hou Jin entered the imperial court, officials had not stopped impeaching Yang Sichang.
This is mainly because of Yang Qi.
Just like when Wang Huazhen was impeached for raising a Han tiger and a rabbit, everyone said that Yang Sichang's raising of Yang Qi was a complete waste of money and food.
Of course, many local officials in Xuanda, Shanxi are also impeaching Yang Qi, saying that Yang Qi is a liar. He was blocked in Guihua City by 20,000 Jin troops and was surrounded like Sun Tzu. There were no 100,000 Mongolian soldiers.
Emperor Chongzhen also felt that Yang Qi was as timid as a mouse and had a large army in his hands, but was blocked by Dorgon in Guihua City crying for his father and mother. In fact, he was a useless general in the city.
This also made him feel that Liu Chengzong's employment skills were very poor.
If he was Liu Chengzong, the supervisory officials sent by the Generalissimo's Palace would have arrived in Guihua City by now. Not only would they behead Yang Qi in public, they would also have to jail this deposed general who had insulted the face of the Marshal's Palace.
He will never be allowed to remain in the position of Governor of Monan and deceive the world and steal his reputation.
But Yang Sichang was not stupid. Faced with the emperor's accusations, of course he had to defend himself.
He wrote several memorials, explaining in turn Yang Qi's actions outside the borders and the threats he posed to Dorgon. Only then did Chongzhen feel relieved.
The most uncomfortable person was Yang Sichang. He actually knew very well that the reason why many officials impeached him was not personal grudges, but - Yang Qi's method of dealing with the post-Jin army was effective.
However, this effective method goes against the political correctness of Ming Dynasty.
No one is a fool.
Yang Qi stood firm and cleared the country, blindly avoiding war and refusing to fight decisively, relying on delaying time to deal with Houjin's logistical problem of lack of supplies.
Is it useful? Of course it is.
But Ming Dynasty did not dare to use this trick, nor was he willing or able to use it.
This is a tactic that is unacceptable from top to bottom.
No one wants the Donglu to break through the border this year, and Yang Qi's example will become a model. Next year, the Donglu will enter Shanxi, and the Ming army in Shanxi will burn the ground to a white ground, leaving Hou Jin with nothing to grab and retreat on his own.
This is fucking unrealistic.
First, officials, gentry, generals, in short, all the rulers of the Ming Dynasty have their property outside the city. If you say the walls are strong and the country is clear, then the wall is strong and the country is clear?
Secondly, regarding the current military expenditure and military discipline situation of the Ming army, is it accurate for those Qiu Bawufu to tell whether they should first clear the country and then burn it to a white ground, or burn it to a white ground and then clear the country?
Third, it is okay to clear the country at Jianbi in Shanxi, but what if Hou Jin broke through the border wall in Jizhen and cleared the country in Beizhili or even outside Beijing?
Who are the people who are clearing it? Can it be done?
Even if we look in a good direction and everything is fine, we can fortify the walls and clear the country once a year, and in the general direction we can survive the post-jin Dynasty. However, for the Ming Dynasty itself, production is stagnant, and the losses to the local military, civilians, officials and gentry are greater than a robbery by the post-jin invaders.
.
This way of defending the city will not work.
What is the point of raising soldiers and generals? We must fight decisively!
This is the real reason why Yang Sichang was impeached.
But he had no temper. Even if he was so angry that his teeth were itching, he couldn't tell Chongzhen about these politically correct things.
After all, who knew that Chongzhen could not afford to lose this person? From the first year of Chongzhen to the present, the Ming Army and the Later Jin Army have won and lost countless battles on local battlefields, unless the general died and was praised by the emperor for who fought well.
, very few.
If you are never satisfied, if you lose, you will be embarrassed; if you win, you will bully someone who deserves to win.
But in reality, no matter how big the Ming Dynasty was, its territory was vast, and it was too far away to use its strength. On the local battlefield in Liaodong, if there was a tie, it would mean that the weak defeated the strong.
From Yang Sichang's point of view, because of this battle, he looked at Yang Qi outside the border with admiration, and his impression changed a lot.
Although Dorgon led his troops to Monan for a walk, and blocked Yang Qi in the city militarily, it was very impressive, and he did not suffer much losses when he invaded Xuanda, but at the political level, it was a complete failure.
All because of Yang Qi's interference, the nature of Dorgon's Western Expedition was changed.
Dorgon's Western Expedition originally had a primary purpose and a secondary purpose.
The secondary purpose is to stop by Monan to find food.
The main purpose is to show the existence of Houjin to the Mongolian tribes in Monan during the meal, and to bring back the Mongolian tribes who have submitted to the Marshal's Mansion, with the intention of competing with the Marshal's Mansion for the right to rule Monan.
In the end, it was because of Yang Qi... In fact, Yang Qi was not to blame, Yang Qi from the Marshal's Mansion was the one who took the blame.
The main thing is the will of the real masters of Monan - the Mongols.
In order to retain a certain degree of independence in Monan Mongolia, Sa Nang Taiji of the Ordos tribe offered advice to his lord Jinong Elinchen.
It is suggested that he should take up the banner and take advantage of the fact that his immediate boss, Yang Qi, is a Han Chinese and does not yet understand the Mongolian ways. He should rely on the superiority of the bloodline of the old aristocrats who have ruled the grasslands for generations to lead the new aristocrats in the Marshal's Mansion to build a team.
The whole incident is that simple.
The team building was very successful. By looting the Harashen tribe, the old nobles showed their clever strategic deployment, and the new nobles showed their sophisticated tactical skills. Everyone integrated into one, which increased the centripetal force and cohesion of the team.
But this caused Dorgon's goal of the Western Expedition to fail before he reached the Monan Grassland.
Harashen was gone, and the number of registered Mongolian soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty dropped from more than 9,000 to more than 1,000. Mongolian tribes in Monan participated in the robbery of Harashen, and they all became enemies of the Later Jin, and they all fled into the Mu Us Sea.
Deep near the Ming Dynasty border wall.
Even if Dorgon took back the property, people and livestock, he could only recover part of the losses, and the goal should still be a failure.
Therefore, things like besieging Guihua City, blocking Yang Qi's circle and attacking Xuanda were just incompetent rage after the goal failed.
Many people, including Yang Sichang, understood this situation, but Chongzhen could not understand it.
Long after the Battle of Monan ended, all the reports from the border defense ponds along the way were reported to the Ministry of War. Starting from Xuanyun, Jizhen, Liaodong, and the Dunjun troops along the border walls were reporting that hundreds of deserters and herdsmen were rushing to rebel against Houjin.
Thousands of people fled into the Han Dynasty and asked to join the army.
This situation has happened every year.
After all, things are not going well anywhere. During the Ming Dynasty, the frontier troops were starving, but outside the border areas, people were already starving to death if they did not risk their lives to rob.
But there were not as many as this year, and the border defense officials summarized the situation of each fort and reported it to the Ministry of War. It was easy to analyze a piece of information: those who rebelled and returned from the Hou Jin Dynasty were all Mongolian soldiers and Mongolian herdsmen.
When all sides sent the reports on the interrogation of deserted soldiers and herdsmen to the Ministry of War, the situation became even more clear - the Ming Dynasty had been shaken for decades, and it was finally the turn of the Hou Jin Dynasty to be shaken.
It was only then that Chongzhen realized that Dorgon's Western Expedition was a complete failure.
The two Mongolian battalions on the left and right of the Houjin Eighth Banner were empty.
These two battalions were composed of Mongolian soldiers who had not yet had time to be incorporated into the Eight Banners of Manchuria. The sudden absence of men caused people's hearts to be shaken. Instead of being incorporated into each banner to serve as banner slaves, it would be better to escape into the border wall to beg for food.
But in fact, fleeing into the border wall was only the practice of some Mongolian herdsmen who relied on Houjin.
The greatest influence of the Battle of Monan, which took place in the summer of the eighth year of Chongzhen, was to make the small tribes living in the eastern part of Monan realize that Hou Jin could not gain enough advantage in the Monan grassland.
So when the next conflict begins, they will be the first to bear the brunt of the conflict - Harashen is so powerful, and they were all killed and plundered, let alone them?
Therefore, more small tribes with still noble nobles simply drove their livestock to the northwest and fled to the Chechen Khan Shuobao.
In the middle of the court, because Zhang Yichuan captured Yongning and besieged Luoyang, they discussed ways to relieve the siege.
At this time, Zhang Renxue, the patrol inspector of Henan and a former Jinshi, submitted a memorial to the imperial court.
He said that it is the duty of a minister to do things without hesitation. If the thieves are so powerful, can we people sit in command gracefully?
He proposed to the emperor and asked the court to change his position. He was willing to serve as a military general and personally command the army to fight against the rebels.
Chongzhen liked this style so much!
He immediately brought the matter to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate for discussion. As a result, the ministers all felt that this matter was outrageous and suggested that the emperor give Zhang Renxue a job that would also be in charge of military affairs. There was no need for him to hold a military position.
Can Chongzhen agree?
If something needs to be done, it must be done thoroughly and well!
He immediately overcame all opinions and appointed Zhang Renxue as the chief military officer of Henan, and ordered him to form an army as soon as possible and summon generals to lead the army to relieve the siege of Luoyang, the capital city of Henan.