This extremely important place they are talking about is Jinan Fucheng, the provincial capital of Shandong.? ≠
It is not unreasonable for any place to become a capital or a provincial capital. Especially in ancient times, basically every provincial capital was the most important place in the province. This place may not be the center of the province, but it is definitely lost. In this place, either transportation to all parts of the province is cut off, or there is no danger to other parts of the province. And Jinan has both situations.
Jinan is blocked by Mount Tai in the south, and the Bohai Sea in the north. It is good at fish and salt, and is bounded by the rivers and Huaihe Rivers. Since ancient times, if you can't do it in the south, you have to ask Heji. If you can't do it in the north, you don't dare to peek at Huaisi. If you can't do it in the west, you can't set your sights on Linzi. Without this, there would be no way to compete with A-Zhen in the east, and it has always been regarded as a place where the elbows and armpits are heavy.
Although Luo Ren and Chief Su had no hope at all for the success of the rebellion, they actually didn't think much about planning a war. They probably hoped to be destroyed as soon as possible and not suffer this kind of suffering. But Lu Yuan was not completely ignorant of soldiers, so in order to The safety of his wife and children still needs to be planned. Although Lu Yuan himself is not here, he has close associates here.
Therefore, although Luo Ren and Chief Su had no communication, they unanimously decided to send troops to attack Jinan. First, because Jinan's location is very important. Even scholars who do not know how to fight will know that Jinan's location is very important as long as they have read history books, so they attacked Jinan. The decision seems to go without any problems.
But at the same time, Jinan is the most fortified city in Shandong. In actual combat, it is basically impossible to defeat it without more than ten times the strength of the troops. At this time, Jinan has a guard of nearly 6,000 people, and there are still young men and women who can be mobilized. They do not have many With a superior force, the only thing we can count on is a surprise attack.
What Luo Ren and Chief Su were thinking was that if the lucky surprise attack really succeeded, they would not be able to be wiped out in a short while, and they would be able to survive for a long time; if it failed, they would probably be wiped out soon. It will be over, and there is no need to suffer.
The two discussed the specific arrangements again and were about to break up the meeting. But at this time, Lu Yuan inserted his close confidant Deng Enming next to Luo Ren and also participated in the meeting and said: "Wait! There is one more thing that has not been discussed. Let's forget it next. No matter how stupid the soldiers are, they still know that it is absolutely impossible for the imperial court to ask them to attack the county town, right? If so many county towns have been captured by thieves, no one will believe it, right?"
"So, have you guys forgotten what banner to put out?"
Chief Su and Luo Ren were silent. In fact, they had not forgotten this matter, but they did not mention it. This was because they had no enthusiasm for the rebellion at all, so they did not care about the banner.
However, they also had words to deal with it. Luo Ren said: "Shouldn't Lu Yuan decide this matter? Why, can we still decide it?"
Deng Enming snorted. He could guess what Luo Ren and Su Qi were thinking, but Lu Yuan had told him before leaving, so he didn't take any other action.
Deng Enming said: "Lord Lu told me before he left that he would rebel in the name of the King of Qi. He was deposed as a reason, saying that there were treacherous ministers in the court to alienate the royal family, and he raised an army in the name of the treacherous ministers of the Qing Dynasty."
"Now His Majesty's most trusted ministers include Qi Tai, Lian Zining, Chen Xingshan and others. He has raised an army in the name of 'Kill Qi Chen, Qing Jun's side'!"
On August 15, Chief Luo Ren and Chief Su sent 3,000 troops north to attack Binzhou. On August 16, Lu Yuan officially launched a rebellion in Qingzhou. With the help of 3,000 people sent back by Deng Enming, he incorporated those who stayed in Qingzhou.
King Qi's army of five thousand and three guards then sent two thousand troops south to Muling Pass, and captured Muling Pass on August 18; he also sent five thousand troops east to capture Changle, and then captured Wei County and Changyi, and entered
glue.
Chief Su and Luo Ren personally led the main army of 23,000 people all the way eastward to attack Jinan. On the evening of August 14th, they rested for one night in Le'an, and the next day the entire army was dispatched to attack Jinan.
In order to seek salvation, they passed through the four counties of Xincheng, Changshan, Zouping, and Zhangqiu without resting, and arrived at Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture on August 19. Although these four counties also noticed that something was wrong, they still
They sent people to Jinan to deliver the message, but the nearest route to Jinan was occupied by the rebels, so the people they sent to deliver the message were not as fast as the rebels. When the rebels arrived in Licheng County, the local people were still ignorant of the rebellion.
.
That night they stormed Yantou Town and wiped out all the troops stationed there. However, there happened to be Jin Yiwei in Yantou Town. The Jin Yiwei took advantage of the chaos to escape from Yantou Town and ran back to Jinan the next morning.
The city informed the King of Qi of the rebellion.
In the lobby of the Jinan Capital Commander's Office, Shandong Capital Commander Xie Cheng was surprised and said: "What! King Qi is rebelling?" He was about to pour tea, but when he heard the news, the hot tea splashed on his hands without any reaction.
Xie Cheng put the water glass on the table and said loudly to the person in front of him: "How do you know?"
The person in front of me said: "Your Majesty, the Commander-in-Chief, the rebels attacked Yantou Town last night, and the Jinyi Guards happened to be there. The rebels were undisciplined and annihilated hundreds of households stationed there and then brutally brutalized the people. The Jinyi Guards survived and came back to Jinan to inform them."
Xie Cheng continued to ask: "How many people are there?"
The man said: "According to Jin Yiwei, the commander of the capital, there are at least ten thousand people."
Xie Cheng stood on the spot, thought for a long time and said: "First, gather the soldiers of Jinan Guard immediately, gather them all in the city, and bring in all the ordnance that can be brought into the city!"
"Second, call the governor of Shandong Zuo, Zhang Chen, and the prefect of Jinan, He Yuan, immediately!"
"Three, immediately send people south to inform the capital of the rebellion by King Qi!"
"Fourth, hand over the guard who reported the news. I want to ask about it myself!"
This person took the order and came down. Not long after, Zhang Chen and He Yuan came to the Capital Command Envoy Department together.
The two of them already knew what had happened on the way, so their faces were full of anxiety and surprise. When Zhang Chen saw Xie Chengcheng, he said: "Xie Du commanded the envoy, is it really the King of Qi who rebelled, not others? Slander the prince?
Rebellion is a serious crime!" He still didn't want to believe that King Zhu Su of Qi would suddenly rebel.
They still don't know that Yunxi ordered to depose Zhu Shu as King of Qi.
Xie Cheng actually didn't want to believe it, and felt that Qi King Zhu Shu had no reason to rebel at all. However, he said at this time: "Before you came, I personally asked the Jin Yiwei who reported the news. It was indeed under the banner of King Qi, claiming to be
'Kill Qi Chen, Qing Jun side'. This Jin Yiwei also recognized that one of the generals was the generals of the three guards of King Qi."
Zhang Chen fell down on the chair, his face full of confusion; He Yuan on the side said to Xie Cheng: "Commander Xie Du, immediately mobilize troops to put down the rebellion!"
Xie Cheng smiled bitterly and said: "We are still suppressing the rebellion! The rebels, who numbered more than 10,000, arrived at Yantou Town last night, and they might all arrive at Jinan City in an hour. But now there are only more than 5,000 soldiers in Jinan, and there are still many more With people outside the city, it’s unclear whether Jinan can be defended!"
After hearing Xie Cheng's words, Zhang Chen immediately jumped up from his seat and said: "Commander Xie Du, you must defend Jinan!" He Yuan on the side also looked at Xie Cheng, with the same meaning on his face.
In the Ming Dynasty, local officials were responsible for guarding the territory, and if they lost the local area, they would lose their heads. Although Zhang Chen was the chief envoy of Shandong and not the chief envoy of Jinan, Jinan is the provincial government of Shandong, and it would be a serious crime for him to lose Jinan; as for what He Yuan did Of course, the Jinan prefect can only coexist and die with Jinan City.
Xie Cheng said: "Don't worry, I will definitely defend Jinan City with all my strength! I have ordered all the soldiers outside the city to enter the city to defend the city. And I immediately ordered the guards from all over Shandong to gather in Jinan to guard Jinan. It is best to Destroy the rebels before the imperial decree comes!"
Zhang Chen and He Yuan felt relieved. He Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Commander Xie Du, if all the guards in the province are transferred to Jinan City, what will happen if the rebels attack other cities?"
Xie Cheng was moved, but without showing it on his face, he said: "Not all the guard posts will be transferred here. The guard posts in Texas will not be moved to prevent the rebels from moving north."
"As for Dongchang Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture, how can they dare to attack Dongchang Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture if they don't capture Jinan? Besides, I can't mobilize the three guards of King Lu in Yanzhou Prefecture, which are enough to prepare. So Dongchang Prefecture, Dongping Prefecture and other places can be mobilized. The guard station came to support."
"In addition, Jiyang and other places are in the northeast of Jinan. Since it was the King of Qi who rebelled, he must have come from Qingzhou in the east."
"The three guards of King Qi in Qingzhou are now only more than 30,000 people. If some people are purged, it will be around 30,000. In addition to the troops stationed in Qingzhou, they will gather the main force to attack Jinan, so it is impossible to have all the counties along the way. Be on guard against.”
"Let the guards from Jiyang and other places harass the rear, and then have the troops assembled from Jinan fight in front, which will be enough to destroy the enemy and put down the rebellion."
Zhang Chen and He Yuan were both civil servants and did not know how to fight. Hearing what Xie Cheng said made sense, they stopped asking and just said: "If you need to mobilize the young and strong, tell us to mobilize immediately."
Xie Cheng said: "There are few soldiers in Jinan now, so of course it is necessary to mobilize young people to defend the city. But if there are too many young people killed and injured, it will not be a good thing for Shandong. Let's mobilize 10,000 young people first. If it is not enough, it will not be too late to mobilize again." .”
Zhang Chen was slightly surprised, but then he said with relief: "Just follow the command of Commander Xie." Then he immediately added: "But if more young men are needed to defend the city, we must tell you in time."
Xie Cheng said: "Of course. Do I still want to lose Jinan City?"
Later, the three of them discussed how to write a more appropriate memorial to Yunxi. After the discussion, they felt that although it was basically determined that Zhu Shu, the king of Qi, had rebelled, they had not seen Zhu Shu now, so to be on the safe side they just said: It was 'suspected' that the King of Qi had rebelled, and then he used the fastest six hundred miles to rush to the capital.
After that, they dispersed, Xie Cheng began to arrange things to defend the city, and Zhang Chen and He Yuan also went back.