On this day, Shi Kefa and Zhu Cixiang, accompanied by Zhu Kongxun, walked around various military camps to rectify military affairs. Officials from the Sanfa Department in the Yamen continued to receive local officials who came to surrender. The special campaign against gangs and evil in Taiyuan City continued. The oppressed people
Common people flocked to the Yamen to report enthusiastically...
On the wall of the South Gate, Chang Yu and Zhu Zhi'e were wrapped in thick cotton robes and walked slowly while looking at the scenery outside the city. Neither of them spoke, but they were full of endless emotions in their hearts.
At noon, the two of them did not go back to the palace. Instead, they randomly found a restaurant in the city, ordered a few side dishes, and had a drink by the window, looking like they were peacefully passing through the years.
In the evening, people from the royal palace came to tell them that Cai Maode, the governor of Xuanda, and Zhou Yuji had returned to the city and were waiting for them at the Jin palace. Chang Yu hurried back.
Cai Maode, the original governor of Taiyuan, is now the governor of Xuanda, and Zhou Yuji, the commander-in-chief of the Three Passes, is now Ping Xibo. These two people have the closest relationship with Chang Yu. They are both teachers and friends who have lived and died together. The reason why Taiyuan can be in the rebel army
The only way to survive the fierce attack by hundreds of thousands of troops was because of their iron triangle.
Cai Maode, who is nearly sixty years old, is even more vicissitudes than at the beginning of the year. Chang Yu is worried about this. He is a good official who serves the country and the people. After the Taiyuan War, he rushed around to appease the people and worked day and night.
Looking at Zhou Yuji, he also had a frosty look on his face. This Minghu general who had moved to fight for Qianli Qinwang was Chang Yu's most trusted right-hand man. He was so happy to see each other at this time and couldn't say enough words.
In the evening, the King of Jin held a banquet, and there were no extra people. The Iron Triangle and Shi Kefa chatted about government and military affairs while eating, but Zhu Shenxuan was not interested in anything and couldn't talk about it. He felt that he was quite redundant.
After dinner late at night, Zhu Shenxuan went back to rest. Cai Maode and Zhou Yuji went to Chang Yu's courtyard to continue drinking tea and discussing matters. Previously, the topics at the dinner table were mostly around people's livelihood and general military affairs, but now they want to discuss the recovery of Xi'an.
War preparations.
Chang Yu's original plan was to directly send his troops west across the Yellow River to recapture Xi'an after autumn after wiping out the Baiwang tribe in the Yangtze River Basin. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes and was eventually delayed due to insufficient food and logistics. However, he also completed the mobilization of troops and horses early.
Just wait for the opportunity.
At present, Li Yan's troops are stationed in Puzhou (today's Yongji) on the bank of the Yellow River, Liu Wenbing and Zhang Qingzhen are stationed in Shichun in Kaifeng, Wu Sangui, Ma Ke and Wu Weiying are stationed in Luoyang, Gao Jie is resting in Xuzhou, and Liu Liangzuo is in Luzhou, just waiting for an order.
Can go directly to the front line.
Zhou Yuji in Taiyuan was Chang Yu's earliest plan. As early as when he went south to clear Baiwang, he ordered Zhou Yuji to return to Taiyuan to prepare for the attack on Xi'an.
After Zhou Yuji returned to Taiyuan, he reorganized military affairs and at the same time sent a large number of spies across the Yellow River to conduct reconnaissance and collect intelligence on the deployment of the bandits. Not long ago, he also got in touch with Li Yan. The intelligence sharing led to a thorough investigation of the bandits' deployment on the other side of the Yellow River.
eight.
Li Zicheng suffered a defeat in Baoding Prefecture and was chased thousands of miles by Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo. He fled back to the other side of the Yellow River in embarrassment. It seemed like a lost dog suffered a big loss, but in fact he achieved an expected strategic victory.
.
His initial eastern expedition was not really to overthrow the Chongzhen regime. At that time, he himself did not believe that it could be achieved. The high-sounding words he spoke were all to deceive people and to embolden himself. Their real purpose was just to stabilize the Xi'an regime.
Moving the war outside to attract the court's firepower bought time for Xi'an's stability.
He did this. He divided his troops into two groups for several months, first attacked Taiyuan and suffered a setback, and then merged into one to march eastward and northward to Baoding Prefecture. This effort indeed consumed too much of the imperial court's troops and supplies, making it difficult for him to do so in a short period of time.
Unable to regain Xi'an.
On the other hand, he also took the opportunity to eliminate the poor and retain the elite, select troops and streamline administration. Historically, Li Zicheng had no choice but to do so after his eastward expedition across the Yellow River. The people he coerced became his cannon fodder on the one hand, and also became a burden on the other. The snow on his body
The ball was rolling bigger and bigger, and he couldn't stop even if he wanted to, so he had to bite the bullet and head for the capital.
After several battles in the past few months, it seemed that he had lost all his troops and was about to be defeated. In fact, if you look closely, you can only defeat the rabble outside him, and the rest are the real elites. This is all thanks to Chang Yu who does good deeds and never leaves behind.
Ming'a helped him clean up the burdens outside. Of course, it was impossible to cut the flesh or hurt the bones. Li Yan, Hao Yaoqi and other generals rebelled, and there were still a few who were caught to death.
Especially when the young king Li Laiheng was killed by Chang Yu, he really gritted his teeth with hatred.
He had to report a personal grudge, but the overall situation was more important. After Li Zicheng retreated, he knew that the damn little eunuch would not give up, and would definitely mobilize troops and generals to attack Xi'an to take advantage of the victory. At that moment, his pressure doubled. After all, after several battles, he was still under the little eunuch.
He didn't take any advantage, but if he had sent his troops to fight... Chang'an would be surrounded by soldiers for a while, but luckily the Tatars from outside the pass entered the pass at this time, and the Baiwang from the Yangtze River was making trouble again, so the little eunuch had no time to deal with him, so he let him
Li Zicheng laughed happily for several days. He wanted to take advantage of this time to sort out things at home and prepare for defense. He and his generals also optimistically believed that the imperial court was unable to attack Xi'an years ago. It was not that they didn't want to.
It’s really powerless!
But Li Zicheng did not relax the defense on the west bank of the Yellow River at all, especially after receiving the news a month ago that all the scum of Baiwang's tribe was wiped out. The officers and soldiers marched westward in batches. Kaifeng, Luoyang, and Yongji all had large armies stationed.
Obviously the sword is pointed at Xi'an.
Li Zicheng immediately made corresponding arrangements, setting up a line of defense along the Yellow River from Yulin in the north to Yan'an, Huanglong, Tongzhou (now Dali County), and Tongguan in the south, especially in Pucheng and Tongzhou on the other side of Yongji.
Tongguan, where the Yellow River turns, deployed heavy troops to defend Xi'an behind it.
As long as I don't attack before the year, when I catch my breath next year, I won't be able to break in again!
Chang Yu was naturally aware of this situation. Li Zicheng was at his weakest now. He had just been beaten and injured, and the important area of Jingxiang in the southwest was now being held back by Zuo Liangyu. It was a good time to hit him.
What a pity!
Now is also the time when the imperial court is at its most powerless!
The imperial court used its last breath to withstand the natural disasters and military calamities of the past six months, and there was nothing else it could do!
For Chang Yu, it was a huge pity that he was unable to take advantage of the victory, but he could only do it.
In the lobby, Shi Kefa, Zhou Yuji, and Cai Maode gathered around a table with a map spread out on it, showing the deployment of the enemy and us on both sides of the Yellow River: "Although it gave him a breather, we also had a rest."
Talking about the point in Puzhou: "How about attacking in the east and attacking in the west?"
Zhou Yuji's finger landed on Tongguan: "Go straight into the tiger's den!"
The two of them basically decided on the tone of the attack on Xi'an with a seemingly casual sentence. As for the subsequent details, they had to be adjusted from time to time based on subsequent intelligence, and then the generals would gather to discuss and make a decision.
"Our family has requested the imperial court in advance to be the first to break into Xi'an and be granted the title of king or marquis!"
Cai Maode and others suddenly took a breath of air. The bargaining chip given by the court was not small. They couldn't help but look at Zhou Yuji and joked: "Ping Xibo's Earl's Palace has not yet been built, and it may be rebuilt into a rear palace or a palace."
”.
Zhou Yuji smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Sir, please don't make fun of me. Lord Du Gong has many powerful generals. This good thing may not be my turn."
"The opportunity is fair." Chang Yu smiled faintly: "Our family will guarantee that the court will keep its word and will never break its promise!"
"I heard that the thief general was knighted in the king's body, is it true?" Cai Maode suddenly remembered this rumor. He pays more attention to current affairs in his spare time. In addition, other Jinyiwei and Fanzi who are good friends with Chang Yu in Taiyuan will also take the initiative to give him
He revealed some of the latest current affairs, so he also heard about the imperial court's reward for the army that went south to suppress the bandits, and it was quite detailed.
Chang Yu nodded: "How can our family and the court break their trust?"
Cai Maode smiled bitterly and shook his head. It was obvious that a traditional civil servant like him looked down upon people like Wang Tizhong. He was obviously a thief, but he could be knighted just because he rebelled against the enemy. This is like a good person who has gone through a lot of hardships and achieved success.
Why can a bad guy become a Buddha just by laying down his butcher's knife? How can a thief leader turn against the enemy and achieve something that is difficult for many upright generals to achieve in their lifetime?
To look down upon is to look down upon, and to complain is to complain. With Cai Maode's mind, how could he not know the profound meaning of the court's move, which is just to buy horse bones for a thousand gold!
This is also a helpless matter. If the imperial army has strong horses, strong horses, and sufficient food and grass, it will naturally not lower its stance so low and buy your mother's horse bones. Whoever refuses to accept will directly send troops to fight until you call mother!
"Have you ever thought about what would happen if the intruder surrendered when the army came to Xi'an? Will the imperial court give him a high official or even a title?" Shi Kefa suddenly asked curiously while chatting.
Cai Maode and Zhou Yuji immediately looked at Chang Yu.
"Yes" Chang Yu said without thinking, "But I won't live long."
Several people immediately laughed.
Although the night was late, several of them were not sleepy, and the conversation could not stop. The stove in the hall was steaming hot, and the fragrance of tea was lingering. An attendant eunuch was helping to bring tea and pour water. Zhou Yuji glanced at it inadvertently, and was suddenly startled.
I took another look, huh? There was a hint of playful smile on Shi Kefa's lips next to him.
Zhou Yuji had met the prince before. He was too immersed in talking about military affairs with Chang Yu before and didn't pay much attention. Now the more he looked at this man, the more familiar he looked, and he began to deliberately avoid his eyes.
"You..." Zhou Yuji was about to ask clearly, but Chang Yu next to him pulled him: "Uncle Ping Xi, how do you like this tea? Our family brought it from the palace. I will get some for you tomorrow. Mr. Cai also has some.
share".
Cai Maode, who likes tea, thanked him repeatedly when he heard this, and Zhou Yuji was not stupid enough to hear the mysterious voice. Chang Yu was not worried that Zhou Yuji would find out Zhu Cixiang's identity, but he just didn't want him to reveal it here. After all, Cai Maode was a civil servant and a Xuanda University
Governor, if you know the identity of the prince, it will cause a lot of inconvenience.