Zhu Shuren was stationed in Chongqing, and Fang Kongzheng and Zhang Huangyan continued to march westward. The final decisive battle with Zhang Xianzhong on the Chengdu Plain did not take more than a month or two, and no decisive progress could be seen.
Since it is necessary to encircle the enemy in a big roundabout way, and a strict layout can accomplish the result in one battle, we cannot be dissatisfied that the preparation work is slow and takes a long time.
Even if there is a preliminary result in the end, considering the geographical isolation of Sichuan, there may even be Zhu Shuren deliberately delaying the report. It is not surprising that it will take more than a month for the news to be reported to Beijing.
So based on a rough estimate, it may be that by May of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen, who was in the capital, would know very little about the current situation in Sichuan. It was like playing an RTS game covered with a layer of strategic fog, and his horizons had not been explored.
And the time difference of these few months is enough to cause too many changes in the world outside Sichuan.
The prince who was responsible for reporting back to Beijing set out from Chongqing around February 15th. He was quite diligent and wanted to report the good news of the recovery of Chongqing and Luzhou to His Majesty as soon as possible, so he only left for half a month before returning to the capital.
.
This is already very diligent, and you have to travel two to three hundred miles a day. Compared with the 600-mile expedited professional courier that changes horses without changing people, it can reach 40% of the speed of the latter.
After arriving in the capital on the second day of March, he entered the palace without stopping and first reported to his adoptive father Wang Chengen.
In fact, this prince is not much younger than Wang Chengen. He himself is in his thirties or forty years old. But as a eunuch, it doesn't matter how old he is as a godfather. Not to mention that Wang Chengen is still older than him. Even if they are the same age, it is not easy to recognize him as a godfather.
There is.
Wang Chengen learned about the latest situation in Sichuan and knew that Chongqing had been taken back in just half a month after Zhu Shuren sent troops. The follow-up was because he wanted to make a more complete game and completely eliminate Zhang Xianzhong, so he delayed, and he felt at ease
A lot.
The foster father and his son had a long secret conversation and sorted out the whole story. Wang Chengen also thought about how to report to Chongzhen and ask for instructions, and then went to meet the king.
At the same time, Chongzhen obviously had more than one channel for military intelligence information: the eunuchs who supervised the army. At the same time that the eunuchs came back, Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, almost received formal official information.
So when Wang Chengen went to report, Chen Xinjia also reported to Chongzhen on the same day about the Southwest War.
The two of them had a natural exchange before meeting Mr. Chen - after all, Chen Xinjia's meeting with Mr. Wang still needed Wang Chengen's communication.
It's just that Chen Xinjia has more things going on. Now the Ming Dynasty has at least two other battlefields, and the situation is more difficult than Sichuan. Therefore, he regained Chongqing and tried to encircle Chengdu. In Chen Xinjia's report, the priority could only be ranked third.
Of these two other battles, the first was naturally the fight between Li Zicheng and Sun Chuanting in the Hedong Basin of Shanxi, and on the other side of the river in Luoyang and Shaanzhou.
The second scene is about the Jiannu Tatars and their Horqin Mongolian servants who invaded again after the spring of the 16th year of Chongzhen.
The battle between Sun Chuanting and Li Zicheng will definitely last forever. At present, it seems that until a third party intervenes in this battlefield and breaks the deadlock, it is still unclear who will win the battle between Sun Chuanting and Li Zicheng.
Of course, Chen Xinjia's report must be tried to whitewash Sun Chuanting. As long as he didn't lose, he would win. Therefore, Chongzhen probably wouldn't see the bad news about Sun Chuanting until the last moment.
The outcome of the battle to establish the slave gate was relatively clear - there is no doubt that the Ming Dynasty's nine-sided army now controlled by Chongzhen will definitely not be able to defeat the Tatars.
After all, a year and a half ago, when the 139,000 elite soldiers were still there, Hong Chengchou couldn't defeat the Tatars. Now, Hong Chengchou gave away at least 80,000 to 90,000 of the 139,000 elite soldiers, leaving only 40,000 to 50,000 to escape.
With Hong Chengchou leading the way, how could the rest of them defeat him?
If Zhu Shuren hadn't made some tricks through Zheng Chenggong last year and brought back two of the eight general soldiers who were supposed to be destroyed, and also rescued an additional 20,000 soldiers and horses, Chongzhen would not even have the last 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers left.
no less,
At most, there are only 20,000 to 30,000 veterans of the Guan Ning Army left directly under Wu Sangui, plus the second-line troops who were guarding the pass and did not go into battle. (Historically, after the Songjin War, Chongzhen basically only had this little wealth left in Liao Dynasty.
)
Jiannu was originally supposed to be detained and invaded in the autumn of Chongzhen's fifteenth year, but Chen Xinjia, who was worried, secretly suggested that Chongzhen seek peace talks to stabilize the situation.
Now it can be regarded as a butterfly effect, because at the turn of the spring and summer of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Mingzhen and Zheng Chenggong's wave killed a Han army banner of the Tatars, and also caused the other two Manchu banners to be annihilated by one or two Jiala each.
That's why Huang Taiji didn't gather the strength to close the gate in the autumn of the 15th year of Chongzhen, and chose to rest for a month or two and return to his state.
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguo Reading recently to catch up on books, change sources, and read aloud with many sounds, and it can be used on both Android and Apple.]
However, during autumn and winter, after an extra month or two of rest, the seasonal window period is often missed. The customs are not released before September. As the midwinter comes and heavy snow falls, the harsh and extremely cold environment outside the customs is really not suitable for military use.
, the Eight Banners Army also had a bad winter, so it added one to two and made five, and rested until the spring plowing began in February this year, and Huang Taiji took some action.
It is now early March, and Huang Taiji has already mobilized troops outside the pass for a month. The Ming army has suffered two defeats in this month.
First, all Wu Sangui's strongholds outside Shanhaiguan were finally lost. Li Fuming, who saved his life last year, was seriously injured again when he was defeated by the enemy. He was escorted by the remaining cavalry troops to break through and escape back to Shanhaiguan.
The Ming army that had fought for a long time and broke out from Tashan Xingshan last year was once again wiped out by thousands, and many more were routed and fled back. This was something that could not be helped, and the Zhushu people far away in Sichuan could not change it.
It can only be said that it is because Zhu Shu is of low status and unable to worry about the country. He wants to be worried, but the country does not give him this opportunity to take full control of the overall situation. What can he do?
Historically, Li Fuming died in battle when Shanhaiguan was completely lost. However, before he died, he fought hard and took away one or two Qing soldiers. Now he was only seriously injured and was led by his subordinates to retreat.
, the fortune has been told.
Not to mention what a coincidence, in this process, Zhang Mingzhen, the commander of the sea route general who was responsible for transporting grain to Shanhaiguan this year, helped Li Fuming. When the Ming army was defeated in the Western Liaoning Corridor, the Ming army always maintained a strong position at sea.
advantage, so as long as you want to retreat, at least you have one more way out.
When Li Fuming was in a coma, his lieutenants and generals all made full use of this resource, and then Li Fuming, who was devoted to Chongzhen, was rescued again.
The only difference from last year is that Zhang Mingzhen himself did not lead the team, and Zheng Chenggong was promoted due to job transfer and did not personally follow the military ration shipping fleet. It was just some generals who were relatively low-level last year who took care of this matter.
.
After Li Fuming woke up, he was completely disheartened. How could he work for Chongzhen as long as the horse ran and the horse didn't eat grass?
On the other hand, Mr. Guo, who has been promoted to earl, has saved their brothers twice in strict terms. He also transports food and military pay to the Liaodong army every year, and has never deducted rations——
Especially those old men and officers who have been soldiers for more than ten years, they all know clearly that before the 14th year of Chongzhen, the Liaodong frontier army had to rely on their own farming to feed themselves, and the military rations shipped from the customs were never enough.
Erguo. Among the animals exploited at every level in the Ministry of Hubu and the Ministry of War, who wouldn’t drink the blood of the soldiers?
Only starting from the 14th year of Chongzhen, when all the military food transportation in Liao was contracted to Shen Shilang (later Shen Shangshu) of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing, did the Ming army in Liao completely eat well from the imperial court!
To be honest, Li Fuming should know how to repay the Shen family for three years and saved their lives twice.
When the news that Li Fuming was seriously injured came back to the capital, it was around late February. Chongzhen also took it seriously and immediately sent eunuchs to the front line of Shanhaiguan to express condolences.
The eunuch also witnessed it with his own eyes. Seeing that Li Fuming was indeed seriously injured and that he was unable to fight, he went back and reported the truth. Chongzhen could only agree to give Li Fuming's troops a few months of rest time and not send them out again, so that they could recover from their injuries.
.Li Fuming also got an excuse for delaying "he was seriously injured".
It was at this moment that Chongzhen was in Liao, and from now on he could only rely on Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief.
The battlefield where the Tatars held the pass was far more than just the Liao region. Huang Taiji obviously spread the Eight Banners troops along the Great Wall and exploited wherever there were loopholes.
Li Fuming and Wu Sangui's bloody battle only prevented the Tatars from entering Shanhaiguan, but they could not stop the Tatars from Jimen, and Zhangjiakou broke through the customs again.
So in the spring of the 16th year of Chongzhen, several prefectures and counties in the outskirts of Northern Zhili were massacred. Hundreds of thousands of people died in total, and hundreds of thousands of livestock and millions of taels of silver were looted.
Under such internal and external difficulties, just a few days ago, Chen Xinjia finally made a proposal to Chongzhen to negotiate peace with Huang Taiji, as historical inertia had done.
When Chongzhen heard this suggestion at first, he was still a little reluctant, but Chen Xinjia came up with far more sufficient reasons than at the same time in history:
"Your Majesty, today is not as good as in previous years. Although our Ming Dynasty is in danger, there is a reliable force that is loyal to your Majesty and is gathering strength - Huguang Krupp. Since Chongzhen took charge of the army in the 13th year, he has never failed! Given time, Zhu Shuren will surely become
I am the giant of the Ming Dynasty who is more reliable than Sun Chuanting!
Last year, he had already forced Zhang Xianzhong to a dead end, but Zuo Liangyu, the grandson of Yang Ge, rushed in and ruined the situation in the Central Plains. He had to interrupt Zhu Shuren's plan to kill Zhang Xianzhong, and now he has to spend a lot of time.
During the second time, the people also suffered from the second time.
But based on his past experience, as long as we are trustworthy in hiring people this time, and 'the one who can general but not the ruler will win', and give him half a year, he will definitely be able to get Zhang Xianzhong's head back! At this rate, in another one or two years,
You can completely eliminate the intruders!
At that time, Ming Dynasty will be able to recuperate internally, and then have a showdown with the Tatars. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we negotiate peace now? We are not losing power and humiliating the country, but just buying this time for the Zhushu people! Two years to fight the rebellion, one year to rest, Your Majesty will temporarily tolerate it for three years, three years
Then let the old Tatar slave know my great power!"
Not to mention, what Chen Xinjia said at that time really moved Chongzhen, and then he secretly allowed Chen Xinjia to talk to Huang Taiji first, even if he gave him some silver coins, it was not intolerable.
Chongzhen even hinted in his heart that he was just like Liu Bang and Liu Heng, who temporarily tolerated Maodun Shanyu. When the Ming Dynasty became rich and the people stopped rebelling, Huang Taiji and his descendants would be killed sooner or later like Hun dog thieves!
After Chongzhen agreed, Chen Xinjia began to get busy. Just two days ago, Chen Xinjia's first peace terms were secretly sent outside the customs to negotiate with Huang Taiji, but there has been no response yet.
But Chen Xinjia knew very well that at this juncture, if he reported everything to Chongzhen, he would inevitably be asked about the progress of the secret peace talks, so he had to make more preparations so that he could give some good news when the emperor asked.
, dragging down the rhythm.
Anyone who has had work experience knows that if the boss gives you a project, the cycle is relatively long and the results have not yet been produced. At this time, if the boss asks you to report the progress halfway, you have to make up some stage results even if you make it up randomly.
Show it to your boss so he knows things are progressing.
…
Wang Chengen and Chen Xinjia communicated with each other in advance, and after forming a tacit understanding of opinions, they came to the Wenhua Hall to meet the king.
Chongzhen was very excited when he heard that Chongqing had been recovered and that Zhang Xianzhong's extermination work was progressing step by step.
Taking advantage of the emperor's good mood, Chen Xinjia quickly took advantage of the favor Wang Chengen had sold him, thinking it was him who came up with the idea, and reminded:
"Your Majesty, Zhang Xianzhong has been defeated in many battles and lost countless territories. Now that even his adopted descendants have shown a tendency to abandon their father and run away, Zhang Xianzhong will surely be crowned soon!
But Sun Kewang's unusual behavior also reminded us. I think that the imperial court should be aware of it and take precautions in advance to block the escape routes of Zhang Xianzhong's remnants to other prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty. Now that Zhang Xianzhong controls the surrounding prefectures and counties, the only way is through
There are still risks on the road to Hanzhong.
Although Hanzhong is a place of hell, there are intruders who want to return to the main pass from time to time, so they have to guard against the two thieves trying to join together! The minister suggested that a troop of soldiers and horses be sent from Shaanxi and Shanxi nearby, and go south to disperse the pass, and the Yangping Pass line will be used to respond
!”
After hearing this, Chongzhen nodded frequently. What Chen Xinjia said was much more euphemistic than what Zhu Shuren had said to Wang Gonggong. This was to let Chongzhen make the final decision, and several options were given by default.
Zhu Shuren directly hinted to Wang Gonggong that Shanxi Cao Bianjiao was available. Chen Xinjia asked Chongzhen to choose one of the troops from Shaanxi, Gansu and Shanxi.
But in reality, how could Chongzhen have any choice? All the men and horses in Shaanxi and Gansu were exhausted by Sun Chuanting's fishing, and the closest ones could only be found in Shanxi.
In the end, Chongzhen thought that he had worked hard and thought of this clever plan, but he didn't know that the people below had already blocked him in advance to coax him into this option.
Finally, after only a few days of decision-making discussions, Chongzhen made the decision to let Cao Bianjiao change defense.
At the same time, now that the good news from Sichuan and Huguang had been dealt with, Chongzhen certainly could not be completely mean and ungrateful. It was better to hurry up than to rush. He took advantage of this opportunity to discuss the reward for Zhu Shuren again.
Zhu Shuren should have been promoted last year, but he was too young and it was not suitable to be promoted to governor or governor within one year, so he was finally given the earl as compensation.
Now that Chongqing has been recaptured and Bai Wenxuan under Zhang Xianzhong has been annihilated, it can almost be given to the governor of Huguang.
Chongzhen considered killing Zhang Xianzhong and then giving it to the governor, but then he remembered that he had sworn in the Ancestral Temple that whoever killed Zhang Xianzhong would be directly granted the title of Duke.
When the time came, it would be too hasty to be promoted to governor and then given to the duke. It would be better to give him separately, or to induce him with favors, so that he could speed up and completely defeat Zhang Xianzhong, and then go north to other battlefields to share the emperor's worries.
Under such considerations, Chongzhen finally issued a new decree to Zhu Shuren on March 18: for his contribution to the recovery of Chongqing and the annihilation of Zhang Xianzhong's army, he would be promoted to Krupp, and Zhu Shuren would be the governor of Huguang.
Governor of Huguang.
At the same time, Chongzhen also asked the eunuch who delivered the decree to privately promise Zhu Shuren: as long as Zhang Xianzhong is killed, the Ancestral Temple oath of making him a duke will remain unchanged and will be absolutely guaranteed to be fulfilled. Moreover, when Zhang Xianzhong's head is obtained, Zhu Shuren will be allowed to also supervise Sichuan!
The governors of the late Ming Dynasty were able to oversee several provinces at the same time. Yang Sichang and Hong Chengchou were governors of up to six provinces at the same time.
Therefore, it is not against the law to oversee both Huguang and Sichuan provinces.
After finishing the reward and encouragement to Zhu Shuren, Chongzhen inevitably urged Chen Xinjia to negotiate peace with Huang Taiji. But who would have thought that this matter would not let Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia live in peace.
——
PS: This kind of external plot that is not from the perspective of the protagonist, I will go through it quickly. Don’t find it too long-winded and trivial.
Mainly, my book will greatly change the course of history. These deductions can only be made once and cannot be written down. Spending a chapter to go through the world outside Sichuan and what happened in the spring and summer of Chongzhen's 16th year is not considered.