When Gao Qiqian was talking to Emperor Chongzhen in the Wenhua Palace, Lu Xiangsheng was already leading a group of cavalry on the road from Changping to Deshengmen in Beijing. This group of cavalry consisted of less than twenty people. All they were riding were
The horses brought in from outside the pass sometimes galloped hard and sometimes slowed down to give the sweating horses a rest. The sound of horse hooves sounded like a fierce rainstorm in the frosty, silent and dark wilderness, and often came from nearby.
The dilapidated temples or houses caused the barking of dogs, and attracted the frightened and fearful eyes of the homeless and beggars huddled on both sides of the road.
Lu Xiangsheng was in an angry mood at this moment. He felt a hot flame burning in his chest at this moment. His experience in the Wenhua Palace made him fully understand the emperor's suspicious character. It is true that in every army
It was a glorious tradition of Lao Zhu's family to install eunuchs to supervise the army, and it could not be changed because of him. Lu Xiangsheng did not expect that he could make an exception, but Lu Xiangsheng did not expect that the emperor would send Gao Qiqian to monitor him.
Who was Gao Qiqian? Although Gao Qiqian was famous for his military knowledge in the inner court, Lu Xiangsheng, who was the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War and one of the most outstanding generals in the late Ming Dynasty, knew very well that people like Gao Qiqian only occupied
With the false reputation of a knowledgeable soldier, it is okay to fool a layman like Chongzhen. If he were really allowed to lead the army in battle, the entire army would most likely be annihilated. Not every eunuch can be Zheng He!
Thinking of this, Lu Xiangsheng sighed, and when he thought of the emperor's extremely ugly look and the limited quota of five thousand when he mentioned mobilizing Pang Gang's Qingzhou soldiers to fight north, he frowned. The Tian family has been suspicious since ancient times.
Ma Rulong and Wang Pu, who were following closely behind Lu Xiangsheng, saw their worried expression. They were very anxious, but they did not dare to ask more questions, so they had to follow closely behind their coach.
Lu Xiangsheng and his party went out of the city gate with their waist cards and came to the Chinese army camp outside the city. Lu Xiangsheng entered the commander's tent and sat down at the commander's position. He ordered his people to take out their pen and ink, and walked around like a dragon to write some letters.
, sealed it with fire paint and ordered someone to rush it six hundred miles to Qingzhou immediately.
There was silence in the big tent. It took a long time for Lu Xiangsheng to say to Ma Rulong and Wang Pu who had been walking aside calmly: "Two generals, do you have anything to ask the governor?"
Ma Rulong, who had been holding back for a long time, then raised his hand and asked: "Director Lu, does the note you just ordered to be sent to Qingzhou ask Pang Gang to mobilize Qingzhou soldiers and horses to serve the king?"
Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said: "Exactly!"
Wang Pu also asked curiously: "Director Lu, that means that the emperor has promised to mobilize General Pang's troops to serve the king, but what does the general think of you still looking gloomy?"
Lu Xiangsheng shook his head and sighed: "The emperor promised to mobilize Qingzhou soldiers and horses to serve the king, but he also stated that the king's soldiers and horses should not exceed five thousand."
"What... no more than 5,000 troops?" Ma Rulong and Wang Pu screamed at the same time, with a ridiculous thought in their hearts. What happened to the emperor? How could he issue such a weird decree.
Wang Pu was speechless and said: "This...this...isn't this nonsense? The Tatars are claiming to have an army of 200,000 in their southern invasion. Why did the emperor only ask Pang Gang to send 5,000 troops?"
Ma. The last general has heard that Pang Gang has been very prosperous in Qingzhou this year. He is a rich man. If he is asked to send troops, he must send at least 10,000 troops. Why is this?"
"What else can I do? It's not that Pang Gang did too much and angered the emperor." Lu Xiangsheng sighed: "Pang Gang has abilities, but he is unruly. If he uses them well, he will be a pillar of the country.
, if you don’t use it well, it’s Cao Cao!”
Ma Rulong and Wang Puxin looked at each other, horrified. They didn't expect that Pang Gang had already attracted the emperor's jealousy so much that he had to impose such restrictions on even sending out troops. It seemed that this person's future was worrying.
Ma Rulong sighed: "Although this is true, it's just... Isn't it too unfair to Commander Pang..."
Everyone in the big tent understood Ma Rulong's words. He wanted people to work for him, but also locked their hands and feet. This would be counterproductive. According to Pang Gang's temper, if he gave up his fight in anger,
It will still be them who will suffer at that time.
Lu Xiangsheng did not pay attention to Ma Rulong's worries. He was a literary scholar, and his mind was filled with the Confucian idea of filial piety to the emperor since he was a child. The idea that "the emperor wants his ministers to die and they have to die" has penetrated into his bones, so he
Although he admired the brave general Pang Gang, he still snorted coldly: "If he dares not come when I send you the letter, don't blame me for being ruthless in military law."
At this moment, a servant hurriedly walked into the tent and said to Lu Xiangsheng: "Reporting to Governor Lu, Gao Qiqian, Eunuch Gao is here. He also brought the emperor's imperial edict. The emperor has decreed that you will be promoted to the position of Du Cha.
The right minister of the courtyard is the censor of the capital and the minister of the Ministry of War, and the imperial edict is outside!"
"What........."
On March 28, the 10th year of Chongzhen, Pang Gang finally received the title of Imperial Censor from the Imperial Procuratorate and Minister of War, and an order was issued by Governor Lu Xiangsheng, ordering him to lead 5,000 elite troops to the capital immediately to the King of Qin, and he must do so on the eighth day of April.
Rush to the capital camp to take orders.
After receiving Lu Xiangsheng's letter, Pang Gang did not dare to neglect and quickly summoned the generals to discuss the matter. However, when the generals heard this, they immediately fell into a quarrel.
"What, you can only bring five thousand troops to the capital? What kind of idiot thought of this? This is going to put you in a situation that is beyond redemption!" The grumpy one yelled.
"Yes, the Tatars invaded the south this time with a huge force, claiming to have an army of 200,000. If we are asked to lead a battalion of soldiers, we will let you die!" Even Da Zhuang, an honest man, rarely got angry.
Cheng Kai, a former captain of the Fifth Battalion guerrillas, was very loyal to Pang Gang. He hesitated for a moment and said: "Sir, otherwise we won't go. This move by the court is so chilling. I want Ma Er to
Running fast but having to tie up the horse's hooves is clearly an attempt to kill someone with a borrowed knife."
Cheng Kai's words immediately made the atmosphere in the conference hall tense, and everyone's faces suddenly became very ugly. Cheng Kai's words reminded everyone that maybe the emperor not only asked Pang Gang to go to King Qin, but might also take advantage of this opportunity to send Pang Gang to King Qin.
Pang Gang was arrested. This possibility was not impossible. Thinking of this, Hua Yan on the side also twirled his sparse beard and began to think deeply.
Seeing that everyone was trying to dissuade him from going to the capital to serve King Qin, Pang Gang laughed loudly and said, "Okay, no need to panic, we still have to send out these soldiers. If we don't go to the court, there will be enough reasons to attack us. Not to mention the Tatars at this moment.
If you invade our borders and massacre our people, how can we, as soldiers, not save our lives? However, we must carefully consider how to send troops."
Having said this, Pang Gang thought for a while and said: "Well, this time I will take the 5,000 troops of the first battalion to the capital Qinwang. After all, the first battalion has the most veterans and the best training. But as the saying goes, , Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the worst. After I left, Li Yuan, Bin Shiqian, and Dong Guo led the third, fourth and artillery battalions to Jinan and settled in Jinan City. Remember, you must have enough weapons and ammunition. When you arrive After Jinan, assist Governor Wei in guarding the city. If Governor Wei asks you, just say that you are my officials...that's all. I'd better write a handwritten letter to Governor Wei myself!"
Hua Yan asked in surprise: "Sir, you are stationing troops in Jinan to..."
It's no wonder that Hua Yan was surprised. Pang Gang's total strength at this time was only five infantry battalions, with about 25,000 people. Pang Gang took away 5,000 people, which was the strength of one battalion, leaving four infantry battalions. We have just sent half of them to Jinan. This move cannot help but make people think a lot.
"Look, what are you thinking about? The Qing soldiers are going south this time. They will definitely not be satisfied after capturing Tianjin. I will probably invade Shandong, and Jinan will be the first to bear the brunt. I'm afraid Liu Zeqing's few soldiers and horses can't defend it. , we have to prepare for a rainy day!"
Speaking of this, Pang Gang couldn't help but think of the history of the 11th year of Chongzhen. The Qing army captured Jinan City and robbed more than 400,000 people in Jinan. The Qing army captured Jinan. Ming Dynasty officials and King Lu (actually King De) Most of his family members were killed, and King Zhu Youshu of Lu was captured alive by the Qing army and taken to Shenyang. The Qing army massacred and plundered the prosperous city of Jinan and many prefectures and counties in Shandong. Although history has changed due to his arrival, But Pang Gang was still very vigilant, fearing that Jinan would be plundered by the Qing army just like in history. Moreover, his father-in-law Wei was also in Jinan in the same year. If something unexpected happened to him, he would not be able to explain it to his wife.
After listening to Pang Gang's explanation, everyone understood Pang Gang's worries. Although no one knew whether the Tatars would continue to go south, it was always right to be careful. After the meeting, everyone took the order and left. Pang Gang kept Wang Zhi and Hua Yan behind.
Pang Gang first said to Wang Zhi: "Wang Guoqi, it is very important for me to send you to stay in Qingzhou this time. Nearly half of your troops are newly recruited soldiers. I hope you will work with Hua Xie to take good care of Qingzhou during this period." , I leave everything here to you."
The two of them agreed in unison: "Sir, please rest assured that my subordinates will definitely protect this family property for you!"
Pang Gang acted very quickly. On March 29th, Wang Gang said goodbye to Kong Ruolan, Wei Mantiao and the girls, and led a battalion of soldiers and horses to take a boat at Wanghai Fort and headed for Tianjin. On the fourth day of April, five thousand The soldiers and horses disembarked from the Tianjin Guard ship and marched toward the capital in a mighty manner.
But everywhere we go along the way is a mess, with ruins everywhere, hundreds of miles of uninhabited land, and corpses of dead people everywhere. Even if there are surviving people, when they see the army passing by, they often He also hid in the dark and did not dare to come out. He just watched the military-looking team passing by from a distance.
Seeing this situation, Pang Gang's heart seemed to be pricked by a needle, and he couldn't bear to close his eyes. No wonder the old saying goes, it's better to be a peace dog than a man in troubled times.