weaving

"Ha ha ha ha ha……"

After Zhang Fuzhen laughed dryly for a while, he slowly said: "Zhongchen, you only know one, but not the other. Although there are many officers and soldiers in Baoding, their military morale and morale are completely gone. Coupled with the lack of pay and food, they all have yellow faces and thin bodies. You are weak, there is no need to go into battle to kill thieves, if you practice harder, you may fall down on the school field."

When he said this, he turned around and looked at everyone present, and then said: "I came to Baoding and tried my best to mediate. However, the drought locust plague has subsided slightly, and the plague has returned. Many people have fled, and most of the fields are deserted. Money and food are all gone." It is indeed difficult to handle.

Although thousands of soldiers have been mobilized from various cities and guards, they are not easy to practice and have not yet been able to form an army. If we go to aid Henan at this time, I am afraid that less than half of them will be able to fight. How can I feel at ease! "

"Director Zhang has tried his best and there is no need to blame himself for this."

Zhang Cheng followed his reputation and went to see the speaker, who was none other than Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch of the Zhenbao Supervisory Army. He hurriedly smiled and said: "What Mr. Fang said is absolutely true. As important ministers of the country, in this critical moment, we should not care about life and death, honor or disgrace, and serve wholeheartedly." The emperor is doing business.

As long as we can guard Kaifeng for the Emperor, stabilize the current situation in Henan, and prevent the bandits from doing anything, we will be surrounded by all parties in the future and we will be able to completely eliminate them.

By then, with the current emperor's hard work and hard work, there is hope for the revival of our Ming Dynasty, and all of you here today will surely become our good ministers and generals for the revival of the Ming Dynasty, making a mark in the annals of history, and being respected by all generations! "

When everyone heard Zhang Cheng's words, they couldn't help but be in awe, and they were all thinking about their future...

Zhang Cheng looked at the security governor Zhang Fuzhen and the supervisory army Zhenghua, clasped his fists and said: "Governor Zhang, Fang Gong, and soldiers from each battalion of the Yongyi Army divided their routes to assist Henan, as well as the officers and troops of Li Fuming from Shanxi and Wang Pu from Datong, also along the way. The official road goes south and goes straight to northern Henan.

After the defeat of Xianyang, the Xian thieves seemed to have had the help of the two thieves from Cao Cao. They took advantage of the opportunity of Ding Qirui and Zuoping thieves to rescue Kaifeng, took the opportunity to capture Bozhou, and went south to Ying and Huoshan areas to join forces with the five thieves of Gezuo.

Although it regained its momentum, it successively fell into Shucheng and Liu'an, and then advanced to Keluzhou, killing the prefect Zheng Luxiang, and also attacked Wuwei and Lujiang. However, it had no impact on the war situation in Henan Province for the time being, so it should be ignored. You only need to concentrate on it. Just deal with the two thieves who broke into Cao Cao.

Currently, there are Chen Yongfu's Henan army and Yang Wenyue's Baoding army in Kaifeng City. There are also Ding Qirui and Zuoping's bandit troops in southern Henan. They and our Xuan army are about to form a pincer attack from the north and the south. "

Seeing that everyone was no longer as nervous as when they first met, he smiled and continued to them: "When I arrived in Baoding, I heard that the emperor had appointed Sun Baigu to take over the post of governor of the three sides, and immediately went to Xi'an. , rectify local military affairs, stabilize the northwest, and recruit brave soldiers to train in order to encircle the two thieves who broke into Cao Cao and wreaked havoc in Henan Province on three sides."

"Okay, okay!"

After hearing what Zhang Cheng said, Lieutenant General Zhang Dechang slapped his thigh and shouted with joy: "Governor Sun can reorganize the Shaanxi army, and there is hope for suppressing the bandits..."

He seemed to be about to say something more, but he accidentally looked at Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch of the Supervisory Army, and saw that his eagle eyes were staring at him fiercely. He swallowed back the words he had spit out.

"Uncle Yongning, in your opinion, will the intruders besiege Kaifeng again?"

Although Zhang Cheng was born not to have a good impression of eunuchs, he was not very disgusted with it. Moreover, the Eunuch Fang in front of him did not seem to have any serious misdeeds, and he had met him once before in Liaodong, so he should not be neglected. .

"Fang Gong, I went to Dingzhou and received the emperor's imperial edict. I was given two hundred gold medals and five hundred silver medals for my merits. I was allowed to do things conveniently in Henan Province and to deal with the soldiers and civilians who had made meritorious service in suppressing thieves. All civil servants below the third rank and the second grade Anyone with a military rank below the rank can be rewarded in front of the formation and then presented to the emperor.

And Eunuch Wang Chengen, who came to deliver the decree, also brought me a letter from Tang..."

Zhang Cheng deliberately made a mistake here. He first said that Emperor Chongzhen had delegated power to him and awarded him a total of 700 gold and silver medals for meritorious service. Anyone below the third rank of civil servants and below the second rank of military officials could do whatever they wanted in the formation. Reward in advance.

This alone has shocked the jaws of Zhang Fuzhen and Fang Zhenghua!

After about a pack of cigarettes, under the eyes of everyone who was praying, Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng slowly said: "The two thieves who broke into Cao Cao broke into Xiangcheng the month before last and defeated the Shaanxi army. He Renlong ran away first, Zheng Jiadong , Niu Chenghu, etc. all followed each other, causing Wang Qiaonian's death at the hands of thieves, which is really hateful.

The Tang newspaper stated that the thieves came east from Xiangcheng and once again swept through more than ten cities including Xuzhou, Yanling, Fugou, Changge, Weishi, Tongxu, and Qixian. The outer areas were all in the hands of the thieves, and Kaifeng was already an isolated city. According to this view, the thieves will besiege Kaifeng in just ten months! "

"The last time thieves besieged Kaifeng, during the wheat season, most of the wheat fields outside the city were gained by thieves. If not for the timely rescue by Ding Du and Zuo Shuai, Kaifeng might not be able to hold on."

Zhang Fuzhen sighed, and then continued: "Although Kaifeng has high walls and thick walls, there are few soldiers in the city and the population is densely populated. If the siege lasts for a long time, there will definitely be insufficient grain for use. Once there is no food, Kaifeng will be in danger."

Zhang Pengyi, the Jingjing soldiers preparing for the road, also added at this time: "The food stored in the city alone can cover three months at most. If there is no external aid and the thieves are under siege for a long time, Kaifeng will be in chaos. If the siege lasts for half a year, it will not be possible." The attack will defeat itself..."

…………

What Zhang Pengyi said is true. In the original real history, Chuang Wang Li Zicheng and Cao Cao Luo Rucai led hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers to besiege Kaifeng City from late May until mid-September.

In fact, when Kaifeng City was besieged for more than a month, the homes of ordinary people in the city had already run out of food, and the food in the official treasury had to be used to feed the officers and soldiers defending the city. Naturally, there was no spare capacity to help the people in the city.

Most of the people starved to death, and those who survived became veritable devils!

The corpses on the street were secretly or semi-openly regarded as pork and mutton, and were eaten by the hungry people in the city. Living people who had lost their minds and had been deprived of their moral sense by hunger would even break into houses in groups. Killed on the spot.

For a time, horrific screams and wails occurred one after another in Kaifeng City!

By September, no noise could be heard in the city, because all the damned were almost dead, and the living only had half a breath left.

Beside the streets and alleys and under the walls, one or two "living ghosts" in tattered clothes and withered shapes can be seen everywhere, beating with their last strength.

It can be said that the entire city of Kaifeng has turned into a purgatory on earth!

Finally, the Yellow River near Kaifeng suddenly burst its banks. The raging river water broke through the siege of the rebels, destroyed the city gates, and flooded streets and houses.

It was only at this moment that the long-lost wails and screams resounded throughout the city again.

Those people in the city who were lucky enough to save their lives from the turmoil of hunger once again encountered "all-round, no blind spots" flood massacre, and not a single one of the hundreds of thousands of residents in the city survived.

………     Today, Zhang Cheng already has tens of thousands of strong troops in his hands. Unless he was the weak and powerless general of thousands, he would naturally not let such a tragedy become a reality.

"Gao Mingheng of Henan Province has reported many times that bandits are raging in Henan. Kaifeng is already an isolated city. Kaifeng is about to be attacked and besieged. Although the soldiers and civilians in the city have experienced two sieges, they are not afraid of the bandits attacking, but they are also afraid of bandits. If the siege lasts for a long time, the food supply will be insufficient, and it will be difficult to sustain it for a long time.

Therefore, the emperor ordered our Yongyi army to rush south quickly to aid Kaifeng. In this battle, if we can defeat the bandits under Kaifeng City and rely on the fortified city, the situation in Zhongzhou will be better. "

"What Uncle Yong Ning said is absolutely true. If we hold on to Kaifeng, the situation in Henan can still be saved."

Zhang Fuzhen agreed with Uncle Yongning's words: "Uncle Yongning was thinking about the king's affairs, and Fuzhen did not dare to force him to stay. After the banquet, I sent an order that the Baoding officers and soldiers should immediately end their drills, and then set off to fight side by side with Uncle Yongning's brave army. thief."

"Du Zhang is joking. It's up to us to follow Du Zhang, follow Du Zhang's orders, and kill thieves for the country."

Zhang Fuzhen naturally knew his own weight. He could no longer lead Zhang Cheng when he took office as governor of Xuanda, let alone now that he was transferred to be the governor, and he was already a dignified earl of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhang Cheng's next words also caused him to think deeply: "Director Zhang, Mr. Fang, I am not humble. In addition to my Xuan Da troops and horses, the Baoding troops of Governor Zhang and Governor Yang, and the troops who are assisting Henan, there are also Supervisor Ding Qirui and the men of the peaceful thief Zuo Kunshan.

If we add the Henan Army in Kaifeng City, there are people from all over the place who are not under each other. In your opinion, who can be the commander-in-chief? Is it Governor Zhang, Governor Ding, or Yang Wenyue? "

Zhang Cheng's words made everyone here speechless and fell into deep thought.

The current situation in Henan is generally as Zhang Cheng said. Although there are many officers and soldiers assisting Henan, their numbers are no less than that of the bandit army. However, the bandit army is basically commanded by the intruder Li Zicheng. Even Luo Rucai must respect him. 's command.

However, the officers and soldiers were standing on various hills. Even Zuo Liangyu did not completely listen to the words of the supervisor Ding Qirui. Everyone had their own small thoughts, fearing that others would take the credit and that their own troops would suffer losses.

There are different orders, no unified plan, and lack of unified command and dispatch. This is the biggest weakness of the Yuming Army's aid!

"Uncle Yong Ning has a distinguished status and has experienced military affairs for a long time. He has defeated bandits in the civil war and fought against the Tartars in foreign countries. He has achieved great victories one after another. It is natural that Yong Ning should lead the army to suppress thieves in Henan Province."

Everyone looked around and saw that the person who spoke was none other than the commander of the Zhending Guard, Cao Shixi. He originally wanted to say something more, but when he saw that the eyes of everyone looking at him were not friendly, he immediately stopped talking.

The look Zhang Cheng looked at Cao Shixi was not friendly. Although he knew that Cao Shixi wanted to surrender to him, his words were too ill-considered. Wasn't he putting himself on the fire?

"Commander Cao, this is wrong!"

Sure enough, Zhang Cheng immediately objected, and he continued: "Although the emperor named me Uncle Yongning, Zhang Cheng is still young, has little experience, and does not have enough prestige to take on such an important task.

I only need to command the Yongyi Army and Datong and Shanxi's reinforcements to Henan to rescue the danger of unblocking and try my best to stabilize the situation in Henan. As for Zuo Ping and Madman He...hehe...hehe...hehe..."

Zhang Cheng was speechless at the end. He laughed dryly, his eyes darting back and forth between the security guard Zhang Fuzhen and the supervisor Zhenghua. After a while, he said again: "In my opinion, Governor Zhang and Supervisor Zhenghua The two commanders, Commander Ding, have been ministers of the border for a long time and have experienced military affairs for many years. They have made great achievements and have great prestige. If they are ordered to be commanders again and lead the army to suppress bandits in Henan, they will definitely do their part."

Before everyone could follow Zhang Cheng and flatter Zhang Fuzhen, they saw him waving his hands with a serious face and saying: "Uncle Yong Ning, this joke is not allowed...it is not allowed."

His eyes stayed on Zhang Cheng, and then continued: "Wang Qiaonian died for his country, and the Shaanxi army was newly defeated. We were afraid that it would be difficult to rebuild, and we might not be able to hope for it. While Governor Ding and Zuo Kunshan were in southern Henan, I, the Baoding soldiers and horses, and Xuan Daguan If the army is in northern Henan, it is time to set up camps respectively to form a flanking attack from the north and the south, so that the thieves cannot take care of both and make it difficult to gain momentum.

In this way, not only will Kaifeng be safe, but it will also constrain the bandit army so that they do not dare to act recklessly and cannot take care of both the north and the south. When they attack Kaifeng, we will attack from the north and south; when they attack me, we will move the south camp northward and attack the thieves' back; when the thieves attack Dingdu, we will mobilize all the troops from the north camp and go south to attack the thieves.

Zhongchen, what do you think? "

"Director Zhang's intention is indeed a sound policy, and Zhang Cheng should follow it."

"Haha. Okay, let's take a seat!"

After receiving Zhang Cheng's approval and promise, Zhang Fuzhen felt a lot more at ease, so he took the initiative to invite Zhang Cheng and other Yongyi Army generals to the table: "For the rest, let's eat and chat..."

Although no one said it clearly, the meaning was clearly expressed. Zhang Fuzhen was willing to tie up with Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng's brave army and advance and retreat together.

After all, he was an old official in the officialdom. Although Zhang Fuzhen was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, he also wanted to accomplish something, but his foundation was too weak. After he became the governor, he had no troops, no money and no food.

Now that he had finally raised this little money and food, and gathered thousands of troops, he didn't want to lose the few troops he had in the hands of others.

As for the strength of Zhang Cheng and Yongyi Army, he, Zhang Fuzhen, knows best. It is much more reliable to follow Zhang Cheng than to follow Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu.

Now, seeing that Zhang Cheng did not object to his proposal, he was in a good mood and immediately invited Zhang Cheng and Yong Yijun to come and have a drink.

Zhang Cheng was also in a good mood. He naturally knew that Li Zicheng, the king of rebellion, besieged Kaifeng for the third time in history, and the imperial court mobilized hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers to rescue him.

In order to be able to control Zuo Liangyu, the only remaining strong general, Hou Xun was even released from prison and appointed as the minister of the Ministry of War, replacing Ding Qirui as the supervisor of the suppression of thieves, governor of Baoding and other seven towns' military affairs. Untie the siege.

Unexpectedly, although Hou Xun was kind to Zuo Liangyu, he was not a great talent who knew how to fight with soldiers. He had no good strategy to break the siege, and was unable to control the powerful general Zuo Liangyu. In the end, he just sat back and watched the Yellow River burst and the water flooded him. Kaifeng was once again sent to prison by Emperor Chongzhen.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng did not want to be pushed to the forefront of the situation. He raised his own Yongyi Army and Xuanda Border Army to confront the two thieves Chuang Cao on the bank of the Yellow River. There should be no danger.

Even if the rebel army cannot be defeated, at least it can protect one's own army from being defeated by the traitor army. As long as one's own army is outside Kaifeng City, the intruders will not dare to attack the city with all their strength, and no one will dare to dig the Yellow River embankment.