Faced with such intense questioning, Yang Sichang was relatively calm at first. He patiently explained to Lu Xiangsheng: "Sichang didn't say anything."
But Lu Xiangsheng still refused to give in. He continued to question: "Zhou Yuanzhong went there to give a speech and made several visits. It was initiated by Governor Ji Liao and others in advance, and was finally ordered by Your Excellency. The whole world heard about it. Who can keep it secret?"
Here Lu Xiangsheng was a bit stubborn. Regardless of whether Yang Sichang's "harmony" policy was correct or not, his continuous questioning, apart from being motivated, can be said to be meaningless to the current situation.
Should Yang Sichang admit his mistakes and slap himself in the face? Could it be that after Yang Sichang admitted his mistakes, the Qing army would leave the country? Not to mention that Yang Sichang's policy of "peace" at that time was not really about seeking peace with the Qing Dynasty.
It's just a temporary measure.
Here, another interesting character appears, that is the Zhou Yuanzhong mentioned by Lu Xiangsheng.
Zhou Yuanzhong was a blind fortune teller. He traveled around the world and visited Liaodong many times. His relatives in the Manchu Qing Dynasty not only let the shaman perform the magic dance, but also asked him to tell fortunes. The generals on the Guanmen front line were afraid of strangulation.
They did not dare to send their own elites to the front line for reconnaissance, so they suffered from the lack of enemy intelligence, so they developed Zhou Yuanzhong into an informant to understand the situation outside the pass, and started playing Infernal Affairs.
Of course, this matter was not concealed from the imperial court. Zhou Yuanzhong may have been a sincere spy, so Zhou Yuanzhong registered with the Ministry of War. After Yang Sichang became Minister of the Ministry of War, he also wanted to use this rare clue to obtain information from the Qing side.
some kind of contact.
However, since Emperor Chongzhen was firmly opposed to "harmony", who would dare to negotiate without authorization? What's more, as a blind fortune teller with no official position, how could he have formal contact with the Qing Dynasty? So what Lu Xiangsheng said
It's obviously a rumor.
However, this incident is also quite sad. It is already very sad that the Ming Dynasty actually needs to rely on a blind man to provide information and communicate with others. But this matter can be self-anesthetized by Zhou Yuanzhong's loyalty, his body disabled and his will intact. But
This kind of military secret has to be circulated and criticized by the whole court. This is clearly the reason why we are bound to lose every battle.
After hearing what Lu Xiangsheng said, Yang Sichang was also very angry. He said: "Your Excellency is going to kill me with Shang Fang Sword!"
Lu Xiangsheng said sarcastically without showing any signs of weakness: "I don't go to the funeral and I can't fight. I am the one who is being killed. How can I kill people?"
It's true that they didn't talk about it at all. The two people didn't discuss any matters about how to deal with the Qing army's entry into the customs. They broke up on bad terms. Both of them are knowledgeable people, and they must have also read the story of "The Harmony of Generals and Prime Ministers".
I know. But when it came to themselves, they immediately forgot all about it.
In fact, Lu Xiangsheng is not a narrow-minded person who does not pay attention to the overall situation, but the partisan opinions and traditional ideological shackles accumulated over the years have restricted him, preventing him from seeing the situation clearly, so he cannot collude with Yang Sichang.
But after returning to the Changping military camp, Lu Xiangsheng thought for a while and felt that something was wrong. After all, it was Lu Xiangsheng who was fighting on the front line. He needed the court's full support. So Lu Xiangsheng wrote a slightly apologetic letter to Yang Sichang.
Said: "Thanks to the favor of Lao Lao Tai (the honorific title given to Yang), I venture to state it with fierce loyalty and no secrets. I also rely on the character of the sage in Lao Lao Tai, who will not blame me for being stupid and crazy, so I can't help but express my sincere heart.
Report."...and so on and so forth.
If we had known today, then why did we do it in the first place?
Although he received this cryptic letter of apology, Yang Sichang's hatred of Lu Xiangsheng did not lessen, and Lu Xiangsheng's prejudice against Yang Sichang still existed. In the subsequent battles, the Ministry of War and the Superintendent went their separate ways, and the war situation became worse and worse.
.What is particularly noteworthy is that although Yang Sichang is not small in spirit, he is definitely not big. Sometimes he will retaliate against those who have offended him.
In October, the Qing army was moving southward. The target was obviously the plain area south of Beijing, so Yang Sichang ordered Lu Xiangsheng to mobilize troops to Tongzhou to join the Guanning Army led by Gao Qiqian in order to maneuver southward against the enemy.
However, Lu Xiangsheng thought that Gao Qiqian was from Yang Sichang's faction and was also the chief eunuch overseeing the army. He would definitely be restrained by him after joining forces. Therefore, he refused to obey the order on the grounds that there were many enemy troops in the north of Beijing and the capital and the mausoleum needed to be protected.
But the general was outside, and the emperor's orders were not accepted. Yang Sichang had no way to deal with Lu Xiangsheng's independence. He had to draw up a plan: Lu Xiangsheng would unify Xuan Da's army, Gao Qiantong would unify Guan Ning's army, and attack separately. This made it clear at that time
The main force of the army could not be twisted into a rope, which made the Qing army even more rampant. At this time, large groups of Qing troops were already attacking Liangxiang, Zhuozhou and other military strongholds in southern Beijing.
Let’s talk about Gao Qiqian, the coach of another Ming army!
Gao Qiqian was a rather special figure among the eunuchs in the late Ming Dynasty. After he became a low-level eunuch in the early Chongzhen period, he somehow rose to higher positions and gained a reputation as a soldier who knew how to fight.
He became the most famous military strategist in the inner court.
In particular, Emperor Chongzhen was very appreciative of his military talents, and always sent him to serve as a supervisory eunuch in Shanhaiguan, a border defense point in Liaodong. During the period, the internal officials and supervisors were repeatedly abolished, but only the high-ranking supervisor Guan Ning remained. He served as a supervisor in Shanhaiguan.
He has been in office for a long time and claims to know a lot about military matters. In fact, his responsibilities are not only to monitor military deployment and operations, but also to be the commander-in-chief of a party, dispatching troops and generals, directing operations, and doing everything.
However, we can also analyze the reasons.
The reason why Gao Qiqian can secure this position is first of all due to his long-sleeved skills. Gao Qiqian has an excellent relationship with the Liaodong Cavalry Generals Group, and even Wu Sangui is his godson. As mentioned above, if he wants to be in Liaodong
Those who secure the position of head coach must try their best to win over and cater to the Liaodong Cavalry Generals Group. Therefore, Gao Qiqian has become a bridge between the imperial court and the Liaodong Cavalry Generals Group.
In addition, Gao Qiqian should have a deep understanding of military theory. Because Gao Qiqian's reports are all sent directly to the inner court, outsiders don't know much. But if he is talking nonsense in his reports, where can he go?
Can you win a reputation as a good soldier in the inner court? Where can you get the appreciation of Emperor Chongzhen?
Also, Gao Qiqian was a lucky general. In the battles he commanded and participated in, the Ming army more or less achieved some results. For example: Kong Youde's rebellion was put down in the Battle of Denglai.
All of this resulted in Gao Qiqian being directly appointed as the supreme commander of the Ming army as a eunuch when the Qing army invaded. However, this situation was unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty, so
It was also the most criticized by the court officials. As a civil servant, how could Lu Xiangsheng agree with Gao Qiqian?