Pang Gang followed Lu Xiangsheng to the outside of Yongding Gate. Before they came here, the officers and soldiers guarding Yongding Gate to You'anmen were the Fourth Battalion of the Fifth Army, the Third Battalion of Shenshu, the Fourth Battalion of Shenshu, and Shenji from the Beijing Camp.
Several generals from the Fifth Battalion went on a guerrilla attack.
Before their arrival, the morale of the officers and soldiers of these battalions was low, and deserters continued every day. Seeing Lu Xiangsheng leading tens of thousands of troops, their emotions calmed down slightly, and then they immediately strongly demanded that Lu Xiangsheng come in front of them.
Build a line of defense to give them a good rest..
In desperation, Lu Xiangsheng had no choice but to line up his troops and deploy them within an area of dozens of miles near Yongding Gate. Pang Gang expressed strong dissatisfaction to Lu Xiangsheng for this approach.
"Captain Lu, since ancient times, you can only be a thief for a thousand days, so there is no reason to guard against thieves the day before. Our tens of thousands of troops are scattered here like this, while the Qing soldiers have assembled a large number of troops on the opposite side. They are in a posture that can attack at any time. We
But if you are passive and defensive, you will suffer a lot."
Facing Pang Gang's question, Lu Xiangsheng also gave a speechless and wry smile: "Chaodong, we don't have much food and grass to begin with. Now we can still get supplies relying on the capital. If we attack without permission, we may have to fight before we find the Qing troops."
If we starve to death, what else can we do except to defend ourselves to death?"
"This is not the reason for us to defend!" Pang Gang disagreed with Lu Xiangsheng's words. Whether it was the military records he had seen since childhood or the military theories he had seen in movies and TV, offense is the best defense.
, If you defend for a long time, you will lose. This is a truth that has never been changed through the ages.
But although Pang Gang thought so in his heart, he also knew that even if he said these words, they would be of little use. This was the strategy set by the emperor, Gao Qiqian, and Yang Sichang. Even Lu Xiangsheng could not do anything, and he was even more powerless.
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Lu Xiangsheng patted his shoulder and said solemnly: "Chaodong, there are some things that are beyond your control. Since we are ministers of the Ming Dynasty, it is our duty as ministers to share your worries for you, but I also hope you can agree.
Just one thing, sir."
Pang Gang also said seriously: "Commander, please speak, I will listen attentively!"
Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a while and then said. "I know that you have great ambitions. You are an expert in farming, training and fighting. Not long ago, you also donated two million taels of silver to the imperial court, which solved the urgent needs of the imperial court.
These old men all see it, but you took the opportunity to repay the favor and made many rude demands to the court and the emperor. For your own selfish interests, how can this be done by a human minister!" At this point, Lu Xiangsheng's voice began.
The sound became louder.
Pang Gang shook his head and said: "I don't agree with what the governor said. I dare to ask the governor, who among us in the Ming Dynasty can pay two million taels to the imperial court within two months out of his own pocket?"
Silver? I’m afraid there is none! Admittedly, the origin of the money may not be so honest. However, the general dares to pat his chest and say that the money was definitely not obtained by harming the people. The general will open up wasteland in Qingzhou and gather the refugees.
Distributing grain seeds, which one of these things did the general do wrong? Why? Did the general violate the law by taking the opportunity to make a request after paying such a large sum of money? The general admitted that he had selfish motives, but
Who in this world has no selfish motives? I will ask myself at the end of the day that I am much better than those officials who sit in the manhole and do nothing. Do you think this is true?"
Lu Xiangsheng fell silent after hearing this. Although Pang Gang's words were unpleasant, Lu Xiangsheng had to admit that what he said made sense. There were so many rich people in the Ming Dynasty, but don't ask them to donate two million taels of silver.
Come to the imperial court. Even asking them to donate two thousand taels is as difficult as going to heaven.
Last year, when the Qing troops invaded the south, the imperial court was at a critical juncture, but the palace's internal funds and private wealth had already been plundered. In order to raise military pay to ensure frontline supplies, Chongzhen called on all the civil and military officials to make donations, hoping that the princes, princes, and ministers would shed some "blood" to help the emergency.
In order to set an example, Emperor Chongzhen sent eunuch Xu Gao to notify Zhou Kui and asked him to take the lead in donating one hundred thousand taels of silver. Chongzhen thought that Zhou Kui was the head of the country and shared weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty's royal interests. Besides, he usually reaped benefits, and he
They all turned a blind eye to this. What he never expected was that as soon as Zhou Kui heard that "bloodletting" was going to be done, he cried like a mourner and said, "How much money can I have, old minister?" and also said that his family
He was so poor that he could only buy moldy rice to eat, and insisted that he could only donate 10,000 taels. Chongzhen was a soft-hearted person, but he believed that 10,000 taels was too little, and this example could not be set up, so he had to give 20,000 taels anyway.
Seeing that he could not escape, Zhou Kui went to the palace to ask for help from his daughter. Seeing that her father was in such a difficult situation, Empress Zhou took out five thousand silver and persuaded her father to understand the righteousness, set an example for the ministers, and save the Ming Dynasty. Who.
It turns out that Zhou Kuiyan only donated 3,000 taels after plucking his feathers, and he took the opportunity to deduct 2,000 taels of hard work.
The rest of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were not to be outdone. Some of them jumped on their houses and shouted "This house is for sale", and some of them ran to the busy market with their antiques to sell, making them look like they were about to go bankrupt. In the end, this
After all this farce, in the end the huge imperial court only raised less than 200,000 taels of military pay, which is really sad.
In comparison, Pang Gang was just a mere general, but he could donate two million taels of silver to the court. The gap was huge. Lu Xiangsheng was an honest man and would not lie without conscience, so he could only remain silent.
Come down.
Pang Gang also sighed, remembering a fable that sounded when he heard this farce last year: Several monkeys lifted a stone together, and one of the monkeys thought, even if I don't use any force, they will lift it away.
So he quietly let go of his hand. Unexpectedly, several other monkeys also thought the same thing. The consequences can be imagined. The stones fell and injured all the monkeys.
In Pang Gang's view, the current Ming Dynasty is like that stone, and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty are like the monkeys carrying the stone. When all the officials think like those monkeys, the Ming Dynasty will be smashed to pieces.
The two people who fell silent were relatively speechless, looking at the dark sky without saying a word. At this time, a loud sound of firecrackers suddenly came from the western sky, followed by a dazzling red light flashing in the air, and then exploded.
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"No, a warning message came from Zaozhuang. Tatars are going to attack them!" Pang Gang's expression suddenly changed slightly.
Zaozhuang was the target of Pang Gang's defense. Since there was a change there, Pang Gang immediately said goodbye to Lu Xiangsheng, mounted a fast horse and galloped away to Zaozhuang...
The Zaozhuang area where Pang Gang is stationed is covered with plains, many rivers and canals, and fertile land. It was originally a densely populated place with villages and towns near Gyeonggi, but now due to the Tatars, it is empty for every ten households, and you can't even hear the barking of dogs at night.
After Pang Gang was stationed in Zaozhuang, he sent a large number of outposts to detect the enemy's situation at night, urgently surveyed and mapped the terrain of this area, and tried to familiarize himself with the terrain of this area.
In the generation from Yongding Gate to You'anmen, I don't know whether it was Lu Xiangsheng's intention or not. Zaozhuang where Pang Gang was stationed was the most flat terrain and the easiest place to break. The Qing soldiers were not stupid, so they naturally focused on this place. From today on
Since the morning, Qing soldiers have been gathering here.
Da Zhuang stood on a high slope, looking at the vague shadows of Qing soldiers in the woods in the distance, and spat and cursed: "These damn Tatars have been making trouble since the morning, but they haven't started fighting yet.
, I’ve been kept waiting for a long time.”
A Qian general next to Da Zhuang smiled and said: "General, why should we be anxious? We have to give the Tatars some time. Those who have come from afar must take a rest."
Da Zhuang sighed: "It's a pity that Governor Lu has strict orders not to allow us to attack, otherwise I would have ordered the cavalry brothers to kill him."
"Who says it's not the case?" The thousand-year-old manager also agreed with Da Zhuang's words: "If Da Zhuang were here, we would have asked him to attack his mother."
While he was talking, the soldier in charge of the lookout in front suddenly shouted: "General Qi, a large group of Tatars are coming!"
As he was talking, he saw a large cloud of smoke rolling in from the other end of the wilderness. This kind of smoke would only rise up when a large group of cavalry was galloping.
"Set off warning fireworks!" Mr. Qian on the side shouted without thinking.
"Bang..." As a bright firework shot into the sky, the Qing soldiers began to approach Zaozhuang.
Due to Pang Gang's absence, Da Zhuang became the supreme commander of the entire army at this moment. When he saw the Qing troops attacking, Da Zhuang immediately began to blow the sharp whistle hanging around his neck. The shrill whistle suddenly resounded over Zaozhuang.
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"Enemy attack! Be alert!"
As the whistle sounded, the soldiers who were sitting by the fire chatting or looking around suddenly jumped up like springs being released, and began to line up under the orders of their respective commanders.
As the cloud of smoke got closer and closer, Da Zhuang and his soldiers finally saw a big red banner appearing in front of them, followed by a large bloody flag, flying in the cold wind.
Under the densely packed flags, there were all knights in red armor, with fiery red tassels fluttering on top of the black and pointed helmets.
The sound of the Qing soldiers' horse hoofs became louder and louder, as if the earth was shaking under the impact of the iron hoofs. The soldiers who had just joined the army at the beginning of the year and had not yet fought against the Qing soldiers turned pale, and they all clenched the Minnies in their hands.
Rifle or long gun, staring ahead nervously, a feeling of both nervousness and excitement filled his heart.
Seeing that the new recruits were a little uneasy, the team leaders and foreign committee members shouted: "Brothers, please calm down and listen to your superiors' orders later. No one is allowed to fire weapons randomly!"
Da Zhuang, who was patrolling back and forth, also found that although many recruits were breathing heavily, their expressions were relatively calm and there was no sign of desertion.
As the sound of horse hoofbeats became louder and louder, a cavalry force of several hundred people soon appeared in front of Da Zhuang and the others. (To be continued...)