The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 608

Seeing Dong Pinghou, Cao Huachun, who was already the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, hesitated to speak. In the end, Wang Chengen didn't want to play charades and tell Huang Han the news of Jinzhou's instability.

Seeing that the two inner ministers came to ask for advice sincerely, Huang Han didn't say much, but he reassured them that even if the Ancestral Army in Liaozhen was defeated, the troops from Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan would be enough to hold on to the Guanning line of defense.

It's just that the imperial court must treat the soldiers who stick to the western Liaoning favorably, and must not let the tens of thousands of soldiers lack food and pay, and must not deploy troops to the "New Guanning Army", which is at an absolute disadvantage compared with Jiannu.

It is recommended that the imperial court increase the construction of the Jizhen defense area, and pay special attention to the Great Wall passes of Jizhen, such as Da'ankou, Longjingguan, and Gubeikou, so as to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

The outer Great Wall defense line was guarded in the north, the inner Great Wall was guarded in the west, and heavy troops were sent to guard against the Yellow River in the south, so that the land of Gyeonggi would not be ravaged by Jiannu again, and moreover, it would prevent bandits from burning, killing and looting.

As long as the long-term stability of Shuntian Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, Guangping Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture, which are important places in Gyeonggi, can be ensured, the foundation of Daming will not be shaken.

Huang Han really has no secrets, and what he said is true insight. He suggested that the emperor should never tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and strictly guard against the land of Gyeonggi, so that this densely populated area will not be affected by military disasters, and hundreds of millions of refugees will be born. bottom line.

In fact, this is to simply let Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi, which have been smashed, be used as battlefields when the rogue bandits cannot be completely wiped out. They will not hesitate to let the chickens crow there for thousands of miles, but also to ensure that the people in Gyeonggi can live and work in peace and contentment.

The two inner ministers understood everything completely, and after consulting many methods on how to calm the people, they returned to the Forbidden City after saluting and thanking them.

That night, Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen reported Dongpinghou's opinion to the emperor. Chongzhen was wary and suspicious of Huang Han because of Huang Han's superior ability, and he listened carefully to Huang Han's suggestions.

Huang Han asserted that even if Zu Dashou offered Jinzhou to join the enemy, the [-] to [-] "New Guanning Army" led by Huang Yizhou, Yang Dalang, and Yang Danian, led by the three generals of Jizhen, Shanhaiguan, and Ningyuan, would be enough to deal with the troops from Jiannu. There is no suspense in defending Ningyuan's defense line.

This conclusion reassured the emperor, who had suffered from insomnia for several consecutive nights, and had a solid sleep that night.

In the early morning of the next day, the emperor directly ordered Huang Degong to lead 4000 troops from the Beijing camp to guard the front line of Huifu, Zhou Yuji to lead [-] troops to guard the [-]-mile Great Wall around Gubeikou, and Sun Yingyuan to help defend the inner three passes. Thousands of people in Beijing camp.

Fang Zhenghua was given the sword of Shang Fang, and the eunuch who supervised the army was given greater power. He not only supervised the Beijing camp, but also supervised the entire garrison in the capital.

Of course Fang Zhenghua did his best to get the emperor's trust. He immediately led several confidant eunuchs and a thousand cavalry from the capital camp to patrol the Inner Great Wall and the Jizhen Pass.

Keeping the land of the capital is to stabilize the Ming Dynasty. It is a new idea put forward by Dongpinghou in the midst of chaos. All the civil and military generals in the capital expressed their support in a high-profile manner.

People don’t kill themselves, and many of the capital officials’ families live in the capital. When they can’t control the safety of others, it’s best to ensure the safety of themselves and their families. The approval rate is naturally 100%.

Chongzhen also issued a secret decree to Hong Chengchou. Of course, the intention was to take precautions and weaken the thousands of Liaozhen troops led by Zu Dabi, Zu Dacheng, etc. as much as possible.

Hong Chengchou at the end of the seventh year of Chongzhen may have been the most powerful official in the frontiers of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also the most tired official. He should also be the most responsible minister.

Because Chen Qiyu was imprisoned, Hong Chengchou not only wanted to be the governor of the three sides, but also governed the five provinces.

Droughts and locust plagues continued in Shanshan and Henan, and the red land was full of mourners. Although the Chongzhen government issued food relief many times, it was not enough to save millions of hungry people.

Coupled with the fact that officials and eunuchs at all levels still dared to be greedy for life-saving food, too many hungry people took risks, and there were countless people who followed the thieves to kill, set fire and rob their homes.

Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang, Chuang General Li Zicheng, Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying, etc. returned to Shaanxi again, and more than [-] young and middle-aged Qin who had no way to die joined their army.

They ravaged the prefectures of Gongchang, Pingliang, Lintao, and Fengxiang like locusts, causing the Sanqin land to be miserable.

The thieves were so powerful that the generals dared not fight. Hong Chengchou, who killed people like hemp and was called "Hong Shatou" by the rogues, was helpless, so he had to order soldiers from Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and Huguang to separate into Shaanxi.

When they found out that the officers and soldiers were coming to Shaanxi and they were about to form an encirclement circle, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and other thieves took advantage of the danger and freezing of the Yellow River to flee to Henan.

Zuo Liangyu, who did not work hard, huddled in Xin'an and Mianchi to preserve his strength, allowing 10,000+ rogues to pass through the defense zone, which made Hong Chengchou's arrangement of siege on all sides come to naught.

The wheel of history entered Chongzhen for eight years, and Ming Dynasty did not get off to a good start.

The bandits Gao Yingxiang, Liu Guoneng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Ma Shouying and other tribes left the Zhongnan Mountains from eastern Shaanxi and entered Henan.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, 10,000+ bandits captured Xingyang with great momentum, and the organization was much stricter than that of Wang Jiayin's era.

Thirteen bandits including Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui, Luo Rucai, Ge Liyan, Zuojin King, Gaishi Wang, Shetatian, Hengtianwang, Hunshiwan, Guotianxing, Jiutiaolong, Shuntianwang and other thirteen 72 battalions held a meeting in In Xingyang, discuss how to burn, kill and loot more effectively.

Breaking general Li Zicheng stood out and publicly proposed the strategy of "dividing troops to determine the direction" at the Xingyang Conference. This is actually to designate territory for each family and carry out division of labor and cooperation, so as to avoid waste of resources that can be robbed.

Bandits headed by Ge Liyan, Zuo Jinwang, etc. attacked the Ming army in Sichuan and Huguang.

Hengtian Wang, Hun Shiwan, Shetatian, Gaishi Wang, etc. led their bandits to deal with the Ming army in Shaanxi. Luo Rucai, Guo Tianxing, etc. were in charge of the Ming army from the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Li Zicheng himself followed Gao Yingxiang, together with Zhang Xianzhong, the Eight Great Kings, Cao Wei, Padihu, Kuo Tianfei, etc., and prepared to attack eastward, trying to capture more places that the rogues had never touched.

Laohuihui, Jiutiaolong and other rebellious men and horses were in charge of supporting them, and they found out which accomplices along the way could not bear the attack of the officers and soldiers and gave reinforcements.

The "Winged Tiger" active in the Taihang Mountains bordering Henan and Shanxi became famous for ambushing two or three hundred slaves, and is now one of the 72 battalions.

There was no such person in history, and Jin Minghu's men were a group of bandits deliberately cultivated by Huang Han.

Why are there more rogues who held a conference in Xingyang, this "winged tiger" battalion or the 72nd battalion?It is estimated that in fact there may not be a 72nd Battalion at all, and the literati just made up a figure out of mystery.

(End of this chapter)