In the summer of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the bandits Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Xingzikuai, Zhang Miaoshou and other troops strayed into the Chechang Gorge in the south of Xing'an under the pressure of the army. The officers and soldiers on the mountain blocked the exit with stones and kept throwing stones into the valley.
With stones and torches, the bandits were trapped in the valley with nowhere to find food. It was raining heavily at this time, the civilian soldiers were exhausted, their horses were exhausted, and their bows and arrows were all gone. If the government army took advantage of the situation and launched a general attack, they could annihilate the bandits in one fell swoop.
Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the bandits, saw that the situation was unfavorable, so he negotiated with Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others to surrender. They took out the looted treasures and bribed Chen Qiyu's right and left officials and generals heavily, demanding surrender.
Chen Qiyu was greedy for money and fell into the trap. Under his arrangement, the trapped 66,000 people's army were organized and walked out of the plank road known as the natural danger. Along the way, they had the same clothes and food with the escorting officers and soldiers, and got along well with each other.
.But just after walking out of the plank road, the bandits suddenly rebelled. They sent the officials to behead them, cut off their ears, beat them with sticks, or tied them and threw them to the side of the road. Then they sent troops to capture seven counties, burning, killing, and looting along the way. The situation was very bad.
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In order to escape guilt, Chen Qiyu directed the trouble to others, accusing Shaanxi governor Lian Guoshi and others of sabotaging the bureau. Chongzhen was furious and arrested Lian Guoshi and others and imprisoned. However, Chen Qiyu was also impeached and imprisoned. In November, Chen Qiyu was removed from the post.
Guard the border.
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When Chongzhen learned that Chen Qiyu had failed in his policy, he let go of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others in Chexixia. He was furious and issued a stern decree to dismiss Chen Qiyu and return him to his hometown. The post of governor of the five provinces was taken over by Hong Chengchou. Xiong Mingyu, Minister of the Ministry of War,
He also suffered a disaster and was dismissed. Prince Shaobao and Governor Zhang Fengyi of Jiliao took over as Minister of War.
After the thieves left the carriage gorge, they reappeared, and various places were in panic. The new governor of the five provinces, Hong Chengchou, even asked the court for pay and troops. Chongzhen was so anxious that he summoned Wen Tiren, Zhang Fengyi, and the new minister of household affairs, Hou Xun, to the palace to discuss the deployment of troops and raise pay.
matters.
After the three important ministers entered the palace, Wen Tiren sat on a stool and looked up at Chongzhen, but could not detect a trace of the young emperor's expression. He couldn't help but look at each other with Zhang Fengyi and Hou Xun, and said tentatively: "The Holy Emperor has ordered Hong Chengchou to take over.
The governor of the five provinces should be the first to pursue and suppress the bandits. He should not wait for food and pay and allow the bandits to wreak havoc. Now that the bandits have just escaped from the Chariot Gorge and their strength has not yet recovered, they can take advantage of the victory to pursue them and annihilate them in one fell swoop to prevent them from resurrecting."
Zhang Fengyi and Hou Xun were well aware of the difficulty of mobilizing troops and raising pay, and they heard the hidden meaning in Shou Fu's words, which also implied that they were worried about solving difficulties. They cupped their hands towards Hou Xun, raised their eyebrows and said: "Brother Ruogu, your household
As long as I am in charge of money, grain and land tax, and the Ministry of War is given half of the food and salary, it will not be difficult to mobilize 100,000 elite soldiers from various places."
How could Hou Xun, who had just taken over the mess left by Bi Ziyan, not know the true situation of the treasury? He smiled bitterly and said: "Don't force me, Da Sima. Since I took over the Ministry of Revenue last year, I have only cleared up the taxes owed by the world over the years. I am already at my wits' end. There are people all over the country."
Using the excuse of famine, the documents for paying the soldiers from Jiubian came like a stream, and they were even more worried. Taicang Silver has nearly one million taels of tax silver that has just been put into the treasury, but I am making an exception for you. As an official of the Ministry of Revenue, I have no choice but to bring
He went to beg for food with his subordinates."
"Don't say it so decisively! The Ministry of War has sent four generals, Zhang Quanchang, Cao Wenzhao, Qin Yiming, and Deng Qi, to Henan. Those four to five thousand men and horses are not asking for money from the Ministry of Revenue!" Zhang Fengyi snorted.
One sound.
Hou Xun heard the sarcasm in his words, and ignored his father in front of him, and argued: "It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Even if you scream at the top of your lungs and demand it, there's nothing I can do. The Ministry of Revenue really can't come up with any money!"
Seeing the tit-for-tat confrontation between the two important ministers, Chongzhen waved his hands angrily and interrupted: "You don't have to put on a show for me. I haven't asked you for money yet. I just want to ask how to mobilize my troops."
Zhang Fengyi heard Hou Xun let out a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and asked: "How many troops and horses does the emperor want to mobilize?"
Chongzhen placed the polished red copper stove on the kang table, caressed it with his hands and said: "I received a secret report from Lu Xiangsheng, governor of Yunyang, that the bandits had left the Carriage Gorge. At first, they were repatriated in separate ways, but Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng After the rebellion, people responded. They knew that there was Hong Chengchou in Shaanxi, so they turned south and invaded the Central Plains via Shanxi, Huguang, and the Lu family in three directions. They joined forces in one place. Today, there are only two troops in Henan, Zuo Liangyu and Chen Yongfu. It's only a few thousand, a drop in the bucket, how can we withstand hundreds of thousands of thieves? It will take a massive campaign to suppress them!"
Zhang Fengyi thought for a while and said: "Then we will first mobilize two thousand soldiers from Tianjin, and then three thousand soldiers from the Beijing camp to assist in the battle. I think those rogue bandits were no more than a mob, and they were defeated in the carriage gorge. As soon as they heard the official army was attacking, they would definitely run away. "
Before Chongzhen could speak, Wen Tiren praised: "The Emperor is wise and wise, and is determined to rejuvenate. Those thieves are nothing more than a mantis' arm like a chariot, and a worm shaking a tree, so there is no need to worry about it!"
"The Central Plains is where the security of the world depends. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Nowadays, the bandits are powerful and the number of men and horses is very heavy. We cannot take them lightly." Chongzhen nodded slightly to Wen Tiren, turned to Zhang Fengyi and said: "A mere five thousand men and horses, that's it." No matter how brave the soldiers are, even if one is equal to ten, they will not be able to withstand the hundreds of thousands of rebels. Your military department should not discuss matters on a case-by-case basis, but should plan an overall plan, increase when necessary, and adjust when necessary, so as to wipe out the rogue bandits as soon as possible."
Hearing what Chongzhen said, Zhang Fengyi gritted his teeth and said, "Then I will speak out boldly."
"Just say it."
"I think that if we carry out a large-scale campaign, we must mobilize troops from all directions and fight quickly. After defeating the thieves, it is better to return to the original garrison as soon as possible. In this way, we can mobilize 15,000 troops in Ji Town, commanded by the generals Zhang Jiamo and You Shiwei. They mobilized 5,000 Zhending model soldiers to go to Linming and other places, mobilized 5,000 Tianjin soldiers, led by Xu Laiqian; recruited 3,000 Baiganzi and Luoju chieftain soldiers, led by Sichuan general Tan Daxiao, from Kuizhou to Henan via Yunyang. In addition, An additional 5,000 troops from the Beijing camp can be mobilized, led by Lin Tai. A total of 33,000 soldiers and 6,000 horses will be placed under the control of Hong Chengchou." At this point, Zhang Fengyi paused intentionally and waited for Chongzhen's decision.
"Well! Jizhen soldiers must always be on guard against the invasion of the Eastern and Northern invaders, so it is not advisable to mobilize too many troops. Tianjin guards the capital. Once there is a police force, they can rush to help, but it is not advisable to mobilize too many troops. I think they can be mobilized from other places."
"Donglu has passed through Jinzhou in the past two years, and Shenyang was severely damaged. Although our court has stopped negotiating with Donglu, Donglu may not be able to do it again, so Jizhen can use more troops and horses."
"The Ministry of War will take care of this matter. I don't want anything to happen to the border wall again."
"I understand."
Chongzhen looked at Hou Xun's hesitant expression and asked, "What do you have to say, but are you worried about food and salary?"
Hou Xun said: "The soldiers and horses in these places are not short of pay. I have nothing to worry about."
Chongzhen asked curiously: "Then what are you worried about?"
"I think that although the soldiers and horses in these four places are excellent, they can't defeat the thieves. If we get another army to help suppress them, we can be sure that nothing will happen."
"Oh?" Chongzhen became interested, "Which troops are there?"
Hou Xun said: "Liaodong Army."
When Hou Xun said that he wanted to mobilize the Liaodong Army, Wen Tiren first shook his head and said: "The Liaodong Army has lost its fighting power since the birthday of its ancestor. It can barely protect Ning and the Jin Dynasty. Where are there any extra troops and horses that can enter the pass to help suppress it?"
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Zhang Fengyi said: "In the fourth year of Kong Youde's rebellion, the imperial court transferred Zu Dabi and Wu Sangui led 3,000 Guan Ning cavalry into the pass, led by Jin Guochen."
When Zhang Fengyi said this, Chongzhen immediately remembered it and asked: "Both Zu Dabi and Wu Sangui are good at fighting. Can they still mobilize the Liao army to enter the pass?"
Before Zhang Fengyi could speak, Hou Xun rushed to say: "Your Majesty, the Liaodong Army I mentioned is not Ning Jin's Liaodong Army."
"Which one is that?" Chongzhen was a little confused, but Wen Tiren and Zhang Fengyi looked unhappy.
Hou Xun hesitated for a moment and then said: "I am talking about the Liaodong Army that has boarded the brigade."