serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 42

The ninth day of April in the second year of Jianwu
Early in the morning, flames erupted everywhere in Tongzhou City, and people's panicked cries and cries were everywhere!
Numerous Mongolian cavalrymen brandished scimitars and passed through the streets and alleys. The streets were full of corpses, and soon Tongzhou City was engulfed in flames!

Crouching Tiger Bridge, Yongqi and E Biduan sat on the horse.

The Eight Banners soldiers behind them are also ready to fight, but the number is obviously much smaller.

"Here we come!" E Bi said.

Yong Qi snorted coldly, and in the distance, the sound of horseshoes shook the sky, and a yellow dragon several miles long was rolled up.

Slowly, the banner of the Zhou army could be clearly seen, it was the cavalry of the Yongwei Battalion led by Xie Qiong, and then the two of them relaxed, and E Bi smiled and said: "It seems that we can leave the customs with peace of mind."

Yong Qi nodded, then turned to the guard of Jinzhou: "You stay here and don't let the Mongolian cavalry cross the bridge."

Jinzhou defender: "This is 1 people."

Yongqi's eyes flickered coldly: "Without hatred, the Eight Banners of Mongolia will still not contribute their efforts next time. If they die, the Han army camp will have no complaints."

The Mongolian cavalry ransacked the city, and horses walked slowly on the river embankment carrying the looted young women and belongings.

But at this moment, Xie Qiong led three thousand cavalrymen under his command and rushed forward aggressively.

"Han people are Han cavalry!"

The Mongols blew up the pot immediately, they screamed and fled in all directions, rushing towards the stone bridge like a tide, horses trampled on people and shouted, and became a mess.

On the other side of the stone bridge, the Zhenglan flag has been lined up, bow and arrow ready, ready for battle.

Looking at the fleeing Mongolian cavalry, the guard of Jinzhou waved his hand: "Shoot the arrow!"

All of a sudden, arrows rained down, and countless arrows shot at the Mongolian cavalry on the stone bridge. A group of Mongolians who rushed to the front were shot down one after another, and then another group of Mongolians were shot down by arrows, and the corpses piled on top of each other , full of stone bridges.

"waste!"

Seeing the Mongolian cavalry being hunted down by the Yongwei Battalion, the Jinzhou guard's face turned livid. The stone bridge has been blocked by corpses. Zhou Jun will definitely not be able to get through for a while. He ordered: "Retreat!"

In a unilateral massacre without any suspense, the Mongol corpses were strewn all over the field, with limbs and arms everywhere. Under the pursuit of the Yongwei Battalion, 2000 Mongolian Eight Banners cavalry suffered heavy casualties, and less than [-] were captured. All were beheaded.

Xie Qiong looked at the direction where Zhenglan Banner was leaving with a livid face. He did not order anyone to clean up the corpses on the stone bridge. The battalion led by Jia Hu and Liu Fang was still twenty miles away. die.

Through clairvoyance, one can see that the official roads are densely packed with small black spots, which are the people who were driven away by the Qing soldiers, and faint cries can be heard.

The spies of the Zhenfu Division sent back the news of the retreat of the Qing soldiers at the beginning of Maoshi. However, the officials of the cabinet and the six ministries believed that this was a trap deliberately set by the Qing soldiers, and rejected Liu Fang's plan to pursue with all the cavalry in the city.

Groups of prisoners of war are being escorted. In the distance, a large group of young women hugged together and cried bitterly. Their families have been destroyed and they don't know where their future is. What should they do?
Xie Qiong clenched her teeth, what a shame!
When Jia Hu and Liu Fang led the battalion to Tongzhou, they found out that the Qing soldiers escorted the captured people's belongings to Sanhe. Did not wait for reinforcements to arrive.

On the thirteenth day, the Zhenfu Department sent the news that the Qing soldiers had left the customs. Jia Hu and Liu Fang had no choice but to look at each other and smile wryly.

April [-]th in the second year of Jianwu.

In the upper study room, the yellow books from Tongzhou and other places have been transferred from the household department, and each one is placed on the imperial case. Emperor Jianwu is looking at each one carefully at this time.

King Zhongshun, Second Assistant Zhang Shangwen, and Household Minister Zhao Zixun walked in quietly, did not dare to make a sound, but silently greeted him, and then stood on both sides of the imperial case with their hands down.

After reading the last page, Emperor Jianwu raised his head, sighed softly, and murmured: "There are more than two hundred thousand people, and countless belongings. They watched as they were kidnapped by the Tartars. "

All three were dumb there.

When they got the news that the Tatars had left the customs, the government and the public breathed a sigh of relief. Datong and Xuanfu successively sent good news, and then Anhui soldiers and horses also rushed to the capital. If Liu Fang's suggestion was adopted, there would not be such a big loss.

Emperor Jianwu looked at Zhao Zixun: "Didn't Shaanxi report drought for three consecutive years? Since the land there can't support so many people, some of them moved to Zhili and filled Zunhua, Yutian, Sanhe and other places. The Ministry will give the An family silver taels, grain and rice, and corresponding cattle and other items. In addition, ordinary people in Zhili will be exempted from taxes for three years."

Zhao Zixun: "Yes."

Emperor Jianwu nodded, and then said: "Since the Qing soldiers have already left the customs, it is natural to reward the soldiers. How did the cabinet decide?"

Zhang Shangwen quickly took out a memorial from his pocket, and handed it over: "This is a plan discussed by the cabinet, please read it through Your Majesty."

Dai Quan stepped forward to submit the memorial to the imperial case, and Emperor Jianwu unfolded the memorial and said, "The Ministry of Households must prepare corresponding rewards."

Suddenly, Emperor Jianwu frowned, and his face was a little ugly. This is a list of rewards and punishments. The cabinet agreed on three crimes: defending the frontier and losing the city, losing troops and generals, and being afraid of the enemy.Luo Wenyu and Yanshan Pass guards were sentenced to death. Dozens of local officials in Pinggu, Sanhe, Xianghe and Yutian were demoted or severely punished.

Emperor Jianwu had no objection to the list of punishments, but he was very dissatisfied with the list of rewards, and said to Zhang Shangwen: "There is still a vacant position in the cabinet, and it just so happens that General Liu resigned from the post of Chief Military Officer of the Fifth Army Battalion after accepting the offer." , let him represent the military in the cabinet."

Zhang Shangwen: "Yes."

Looking at Jia Hu's name, he thought for a while, and said, "Old General Zhen Liu, the infantry battalion under his command will be merged into the Yongwei battalion, and one general will rule over more than [-] elites. Lieutenant general, awarded the rank of general of the second-rank hussars, as for the title of knighthood"

King Zhongshun's complexion became ugly, "Brother Huang, he's just a boy"

"To shut up!"

Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Jianwu slapped the imperial case hard, and said angrily: "This is the study room, don't be too presumptuous!"

King Zhongshun fell to his knees in fright: "I was confused for a while, please learn from your Majesty!"

Emperor Jianwu stared at him fiercely, "Don't just rely on being my own brother, you can be unscrupulous! Tell yourself, why did the imperial edict I gave to Jia Hu go directly to Shandong General Military Mansion?"

King Zhongshun trembled and hurriedly bowed his head to the ground.

Emperor Jianwu stood up and said as he walked: "You have let me down too much. You have disregarded your ancestral foundation for the sake of a woman. When drafting the decree, King Zhongshun behaved in a panic and deeply disappointed me. He wanted to remove the cabinet post and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. , downgraded to the county king."

King Zhongshun was stunned, lying on the ground motionless.

Emperor Jianwu gave Dai Quan a look.

Dai Quan understood, and stepped forward to help King Zhongshun: "My lord, please." He helped the dazed King Zhongshun and walked out.

Zhang Shangwen: "Your Majesty, Jia Hu has made great contributions to the Great Zhou. In theory, it is not too much to be promoted to the third rank, but he is already a second-rank lieutenant general, and then he is a general officer. There is an unwritten rule in the Ministry of War. , the deputy general will be qualified to be promoted to the commander-in-chief after leading the army for five years."

Emperor Jianwu stopped in his tracks. Zhang Shangwen's words reminded him that Jia Hu was only 17 years old. From the second-rank lieutenant general, he had more than [-] elites under his command. It's reached the top, and it's okay to press the third-class uncle.

Thinking of this, Emperor Jianwu turned around and said to Zhao Zixun, "How many rewards has the Ministry of Household prepared?"

Zhao Zixun: "57 taels."

"How much?" Emperor Jianwu was taken aback. Nearly [-] troops participated in the battle that day. After deducting the rewards of the low-level officers such as the General, Baizong, Banner and Captain, the average soldier would not even get two taels of silver. .

Zhang Shangwen said: "Your Majesty, the three cities of Tongzhou, Yutian, and Zunhua were burned by the Tartars, and various passes were also destroyed. The Ministry of Industry has calculated that it needs 350 million taels of silver. There are also at least 100 million taels of silver for those killed in battle. Two, there are more in Datong and Xuanfu, and it is conservatively estimated that it will cost two to three million taels. Adding up these things, there is only less than 300 million taels left in the treasury, and immigrants from Shaanxi have to make preparations in advance.”

Emperor Jianwu stood there in a daze for a long time, and after a big battle, the money Jia Hu copied for himself disappeared?
Do you want to go north to attack the Chahar Department?
Thinking of this, Emperor Jianwu walked away again, and said as he walked: "The rewards are too thin and the hearts of the soldiers will be chilled. In this way, the Ministry of Households will give 100 million taels, and I will ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to give 50 taels."

Zhang Shangwen and Zhao Zixun: "Yes."

(End of this chapter)