Ma Shiying, who had just taken over as governor of Xuanhua from the Datong Prefecture, and Dong Jishu, the general of the Xuanfu Prefecture, had been concerned about the ongoing Mongolian-Jinjin War. After learning that Lin Dan Khan had fled to Qinghai, the two strengthened Zhangjiakou's defense and reduced the number of garrison troops from
8,000 people mentioned 15,000 people, and Dong Jishu was personally in charge.
Ma Shiying wanted to send troops to try to win over Lin Dan Khan, but there were no cavalry in Xuanhua, and Lin Dan Khan did not fight at all. He just ran away, abandoned the two big cities of Chahar and Guihua, and finally crossed the Yellow River and ran to Qinghai, making
Ma Shiying couldn't help even though he wanted to.
Without Lin Dan Khan's Mobei Mongolia to contain him, the Jin army could once again invade the capital from the Great Wall. In order to prevent the incident three years ago from happening again, and to save his own life, Ma Shiying constantly ordered Dong Jishu to send out sentries to the outside world to closely monitor the situation.
Monitor the movements of the Jin army; on the other hand, Liubaili is rushing to report the movements of the Jin army to the capital at any time, and request the court to send additional reinforcements to Xuanhua. In the memorial, Ma Shiying specified that the Liaodong soldiers who severely damaged the Donglu in Jinzhou last year would come to the rescue.
.
After receiving the memorial from Ma Shiying, the imperial court knew that Hong Taizheng had led an army to attack Lin Dan Khan, but Ma Shiying's memorial did not attract the cabinet's attention. The first assistant Wen Tiren, the second assistant He Ruchong, the bachelor Zheng Yida, Xu Guangqi and others all believed that this time the East invaders
Attacking Lin Dan Khan has nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. Although Lin Dan Khan's existence can play a role in containing the Donglu, Lin Dan Khan has not been very friendly to the Ming Dynasty in recent years. He is probably more interested in taking over the Central Plains than the Donglu.
Stronger. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the Ming Dynasty to let him and Hong Tai fight against each other and lose both sides. As for Ma Shiying's request to mobilize the Jinzhou army for reinforcements, the cabinet just laughed at it. Shi Dayong is now in Dengzhou to quell the rebellion. How can he "
Put on your wings and fly to Xuanhua.
Chongzhen had a different opinion regarding the cabinet's idea of observing from the sidelines. He asked Zhou Qing, the eunuch who was in charge of Li Bingbi, to hand over the four words "lips die and teeth are cold" written in his own handwriting to the cabinet ministers for observation. As a result, the cabinet still did not change its mind, and Xu Guangqi wrote a memorial to the cabinet.
At that time, it was said that the Donglu fought successively in Dalinghe and Jinzhou last year, and their soldiers suffered heavy losses. It was impossible for them to attack the Ming Dynasty after defeating Lin Dan Khan.[
Chongzhen was worried and summoned Zhang Fengyi, Secretary of the Ministry of War, to ask questions. Zhang also agreed with the cabinet's view that Hong Taizhi would never invade the capital again under Lin Dan Khan. He also said that even if the Ming Dynasty decided to rescue Lin Dan Khan, his troops could be mobilized. All the important ministers unanimously agreed.
Saying that there was no need to worry, Chongzhennai had no choice but to give up the idea of sending aid to Lin Dan Khan. After all, Lin Dan Khan's safety was still more important than the Ming Dynasty itself. Instead, the decree was to strengthen the vigilance in Xuanhua, and to report to the court immediately if there was any police.
know.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, Chongzhen lost his temper in Dongnuan Pavilion. According to the leaked news, the emperor was annoyed that the Donglu army sent out to attack Lin Dan Khan. However, Ming Dynasty did not know the news until several months later. This was so blocked.
It was chilling. When Chongzhen was so angry, he even said that this was a sign of the country's downfall, which scared the eunuchs and maids to their knees.
…
After receiving the news that the imperial court could send temporary troops and asked Xuanhua to calm down and not send any soldiers out of the country, Ma Shiying could only smile bitterly. He had done what he had to do, and now he was hoping that God would open his eyes and call out.
Hong Tai couldn't catch Lin Danhan and returned to his hometown in Liaodong, lest he be blamed for losing his land and abandoning it.
Ma Shiying was disappointed. God did not open his eyes. On September 28, the sentinel sent out quickly came to report that tens of thousands of Manchu and Mongolian gold troops were rushing towards Zhangjiakou in a mighty manner.
After learning the news, Dong Jishu was so frightened that he hurriedly sent someone to report to Ma Shiying, asking Ma Shiying to transfer all the troops that the Xuanfu could mobilize to Zhangjiakou, otherwise he would not be able to defend Zhangjiakou with these 15,000 people.
If they were lost, the heads of Dong Jishu and Ma Shiying would not be saved.
Ma Shiying didn't have any soldiers in his hands. Apart from sending three batches of fast horses to the capital in urgent need of help, he could only piece together a team of 8,000 soldiers and young men, and brought them to Zhangjiakou in person with the intention of death.
What use can 8,000 young men who have never been in battle do? Looking at the reinforcements brought by the governor himself, Dong Jishu's heart sank to the bottom of the water. But now that the matter has come to this, he can only hold on with the determination to die. He can't
Before the enemy soldiers arrive, he, the commander-in-chief, should run away first.
In order to boost morale, Ma Shiying and Dong Jishu took turns going to the city, and mobilized the wealthy gentry in the city to donate money to reward the army. In addition, they recruited 2,000 men who dared to die, vowing to fight to the death against the Donglu.
On October 5th, when Ma Shiying and Dong Jishu were patrolling the city, the defenders at the north gate came to report that the Tatars had sent an envoy named Fan Wencheng to ask for a meeting with the governor below the city, and also fired into the city.
’ A letter came in.
The name Fan Wencheng was familiar to everyone in the Ming Dynasty. Ma Shiying knew that this man was a native of Shenyang, Liaodong, the seventeenth generation grandson of the famous Fan Zhongyan, and now a close confidant of the slave chief Hong Tai.
"What is Fan Wencheng doing here? To persuade him to surrender?"
Ma Shiying opened the letter and read it, thinking it must be a letter of war from the Donglu or a letter to persuade them to surrender. Unexpectedly, the words in the letter were very humble. It was the slave chief Hongtai who proposed peace talks with the Ming Dynasty and requested the opening of trade with the Ming Dynasty.
Request.
Open trade? What "medicine" is sold in Donglu's gourd?
Both Ma Shiying and Dong Jishu were a little confused. Tens of thousands of Jin army cavalry came rushing to do business with the Ming Dynasty?
With a lot of confusion, Ma Shiying and Dong Jishu came to the gate tower of Beicheng and looked down. Sure enough, they saw Fan Wencheng and more than a dozen followers at the bottom of the city. There was dust in the distance. It looked like they were really coming.
Peace talks.
"Master Futai, do you see me or not?"
Dong Jishu did not dare to make decisions. He had no objection to opening a border with the Jin army. Although this move was suspected of siding with the enemy, it was better than letting the Donglu in. If there really was a fight, he was confident that he could hold out for three days, but
Three days later it was hard to tell.
Ma Shiying was also struggling in his heart to see or not see. His predecessor Shen Qi was also dismissed from office for arbitrarily proposing peace with Donglu. Will he have to follow Shen Qi's old path after only a few months in office?
After hesitating for a while, he finally gritted his teeth and ordered the guard: "Put down the suspension bridge and invite them into the city." Then he looked at Dong Jishu and said, "Those who come are guests. Although Fan Wencheng is a big traitor, but under Hong Tai
But they are trusted there, so let’s go and welcome them in person.”[
"That's fine." Dong Jishu agreed, but asked a question, "How should I call this person?"
"This..." Ma Shiying was startled, "This person's letter stated that he is a bachelor of the Hongwen Academy of Daikin. Let's call him a bachelor for the time being."