There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Nangong County, the southernmost part of Zhending Prefecture.

Lu Xiangsheng took less than six thousand troops and horses, hungry and tired, to the wilderness on the outskirts of the county, and arranged to set up camp. He also asked each battalion to send some people to dig up grass roots, wash them, chop them up, and mix them with a small amount of grains to satisfy their hunger.

He ate this kind of food half-starvedly like the officers and soldiers, and managed to maintain the troops by relying on his charisma of sharing the joys and sorrows with the officers and soldiers.

Lu Xiangsheng originally commanded 30,000 to 40,000 King Qin's troops, but Gao Qiqian forcibly took away the elite 20,000 Guan Ning cavalry.

Yesterday I received an urgent document from the Ministry of War, saying that according to Shanxi Tangbao, the Qing troops were heading west to Shanxi, and Taiyuan was in danger, and he was ordered to supervise the division to rush for reinforcements.

Lu Xiangsheng clearly knew that the Qing soldiers were attacking cities and demolishing strongholds in the Jizhong Plain, burning, killing, raping, and looting, but he did not move to Shanxi. He only sent a few rangers as suspects, pretending to have a glimpse of Shanxi's potential from the west, but it caused panic among the officials and gentry in Taiyuan. .

It's a shame that Yang Sichang was in the capital hundreds of miles away, but he was giving random orders. He believed that he would be subject to military orders abroad and did not want to obey the imperial court's blind orders.

However, his Datong General Soldier Wang Pu also received a direct letter from the Ministry of War. Wang Pu's soldiers had long been unwilling to suffer and fight with him. As soon as they heard that Shanxi was in danger and the Ministry of War sent a message, they all wanted to go back to protect their families and started making noises. Without further ado, he helped Wang Pu onto his horse, hugged him and headed west.

Of the three general officers led by Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Pu had the largest number of troops. After Wang Pu left, the troops of Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, as well as Xiang Sheng's own Biao battalion, together with those who could not fight, had only five to six thousand people left.

At this time, a general came in and reported that thousands of Qing troops were found in Julu, a little south of Nangong, and they intended to attack Julu County.

Lu Xiangsheng knew that the next step for the Qing soldiers would be to go deep into Jinan, or to plunder Shandong from here. However, he did not have enough soldiers and horses, and all the food he could eat had been eaten up, so he planned to let the men and horses rest here for a while and go to Julu tomorrow to find them. Qing army decisive battle.

At this time, Gao Qiqian brought nearly 20,000 horses to Jize, which was only a few dozen miles away. He quickly wrote a sincere letter and sent a Pegasus to deliver it, asking Gao Qiqian to send his troops to Julu in order to support each other and disperse the enemy.

Just as the primary school delivering the letter left, several representatives from the three prefectures of Jinan came in and sincerely invited Lu Xiangsheng to move his army to Guangping and Shunde to recruit grain and grass, recruit volunteers, and then fight against the Tatars.

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a while and then said: "As a minister of the imperial court, how can Xiangsheng violate the imperial edict and move the army to eat without authorization? Give orders when you see danger, and die without regrets!"

"Didn't you say that you will be away from home, and your orders will not be accepted?"

"Not only is it difficult to disobey your orders, but the high-level director is dozens of miles away. Although you all have good intentions, if Xiang Sheng dies in the West City on the charge of disobeying the imperial edict and being timid in the face of the enemy, it will be an injustice for thousands of years. How can he be so generous as a horse? Died by artillery fire! Xiang Sheng has decided to die, please don’t talk anymore!"

"Sir, I heard that the captives are coming south. Please withdraw your troops temporarily to avoid the fierce attack. How about delaying the decisive battle with the captives for ten days?"

"Why?"

"If your Excellency can refrain from a decisive battle with the Tatars within ten days, we and the elders of the three prefectures can mobilize tens of thousands of our children to come and help you."

"Dear elders, Xiang Sheng is deeply grateful for your kindness, but I can't wait, not to mention ten days, even three to five days."

"Why can't you wait for a few days?"

First, I have been severely reprimanded by the imperial court and deprived of the title of Shang Fangjian and Shangshu. Tiqi will come at any time to arrest me and bring me to the capital for questioning. If I am captured and taken to the capital within a few days, it is better to fight with the prisoners as soon as possible. It is better to die for the country than to die in prison.

Second, looking at the movement of Tatar troops, it is clear that they intend to penetrate deep into Shandong, cut off the canal, and threaten Jinan. If they do not attack as early as possible and dampen their arrogance, dozens of states and counties in Shandong will surely collapse. By that time, not only will the imperial court definitely punish me for allowing the enemy to penetrate deeply, but how will I face the people of Shandong?

Thirdly, our minister has been short of food and pay for a long time, and our officers and soldiers suffered from hunger. Since Wang Pu left, the morale of the army has become even more shaken. The remaining thousands of hungry and exhausted troops couldn't bear to leave for the time being because they felt my loyalty to the emperor and patriotism and my sincere treatment of each other. They could barely fight. If we wait a little longer, the morale of the army will inevitably collapse, and even if we want to fight, we will not be able to win. "Facing the kindness of his fellow villagers, Lu Xiangsheng gave a detailed explanation.

The elders of the three prefectures in Jinan understood his difficulties. Some shook their heads in disapproval, some sighed, some stamped their feet in disappointment, and some because of the critical military situation and the darkness of the court, Lu Xiangsheng died in vain. They were so angry that they couldn't help crying.

Several elder representatives had no choice but to take out the few grains they brought with them and offer them to Lu Xiangsheng.

The wealthy families in nearby villages and Nangong City had long since fled, leaving only some poor people who were unable to flee.

They heard that Lu Xiangsheng was determined to fight against the Qing soldiers, and that the army had run out of food. The elders from the three mansions came to offer food, and they also took out all kinds of miscellaneous grains buried at the bedside, hidden in wall holes and cellars, and sent them to Go outside the camp gate. But the total amount was only a few hundred dendrobium, which was only enough to feed the entire army before the war.

That night, Lu Xiangsheng was in a state of confusion and could not sleep peacefully. After the third watch, he left the camp with his troops and headed towards Julu County to meet the enemy.

At noon, the troops arrived at Jiazhuang, Julu County. After getting a spy report, thousands of Qing soldiers were approaching nearby. He asked the soldiers to stand in a circle, then he reined in his horse, bowed four times, and said loudly:

"Sirs, the Manchu cavalry is just a short distance away. These beasts are burning, killing, looting, raping women, and doing all kinds of evil in the capital. As soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, we should protect the people and serve the court.

What we are afraid of is not being able to die fighting for our country, but we are not afraid of not being able to live. It is better to be a decapitated general and die on the battlefield than to live up to the country's favor and cower in the face of the enemy. Even if we die fighting for our country today, it will make our enemies dare not despise us anymore and make thousands of people with lofty ideals rise up. Brothers, follow me! "

After finishing speaking, he knocked the stirrup of his mount Wu Mingji, led the men and horses of the standard camp, and ran towards the enemy. Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, the two commander-in-chiefs, followed closely behind.

Lu Xiangsheng galloped towards the dusty enemy camp. Hu Shuai serves as the left wing, and Yang Shuai serves as the right wing. As soon as the battle took over, the troops on the right wing could not withstand the impact of the Tatar cavalry and retreated slightly.

Hu Dawei immediately pounced on him from the left, Xiang Sheng also waved his sword, jumped on his horse and shouted, charging forward to kill. For a time, the three armies were so excited that the Qing soldiers were defeated and fled in all directions.

Before dusk, Lu Xiangsheng led his soldiers back to Jiazhuang, preparing for a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army tomorrow. The primary school sent to Jize to deliver the letter had already been transferred. Knowing that Gao Qiqian was unwilling to send troops to help, Lu Xiangsheng sighed bitterly and said nothing.

Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian wanted to kill him. Although Lu Xiangsheng was not afraid of death, the state affairs were at this point and the Tatars were wreaking havoc, which made him very sad.

At the third watch, under the dim moonlight, horns from the enemy camps suddenly sounded from all sides. Lu Xiangsheng's troops had been surrounded by the Qing army.

Before dawn the next day, the Qing army came from the west with more than 10,000 cavalry and surrounded Lu Xiangsheng's camp three times. As the sky grew brighter, the enemy camp's horns, cannons and shouts rang loudly, and they began to attack the Ming army from all sides.

Lu Xiangsheng ordered Hu Dawei to guard the west side of the camp, Yang Guozhu to guard the east side, and the north and south sides were guarded by deputy generals and other officials. Cannons were set up at strategic locations around the camp, and Lu Xiangsheng came and went to direct the cannons so that the cannons would not fire randomly. He remembered all the names of these gunners, and fired on whomever he called. Relying on precise command and the lives of the soldiers, they were able to defend the Qing army's fierce attack.

After guarding for less than half a day, Lu Xiangsheng's camp was out of gunpowder and lead bullets, as well as arrows. A flood of Qing soldiers took the opportunity to rush in.

Lu Xiangsheng shouted to kill the thieves and charged left and right among the overwhelming Qing soldiers. The Shanxi general soldier cut a bloody path with great force, joined forces with him, took the reins of Lu Xiangsheng's horse and persuaded him to break out.

He refused to break through, so he raised his sword at Hu Dawei and said loudly: "Let go!" Hu Dawei let go, and immediately a large group of enemies scattered them, and there was no chance of reuniting in the future.

The battle with the Qing army gradually spread from Jiazhuang to Haoshui Bridge outside the village. Lu Xiangsheng's troops suffered heavy casualties. Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu were both injured, and they broke out of the encirclement at some point.

Lu Xiangsheng had already suffered multiple arrow wounds and knife wounds at this time, and his armor was dyed red with blood. He was left with only Xuanfu counselor Zhang Yan, pastoral officer Yang Lukai and more than 20 cavalrymen, and they were all wounded.

He knew that the time to commit suicide had arrived, and today next year would be his memorial day, so he shouted loudly:

"The general beheads, the warrior dies, right now! Kill! Kill!..."

Several Qing soldiers fired arrows at him from across the Haoshui River, and Lu Xiangsheng was hit by another arrow on his left chest. He pulled out the arrow, brought out another puff of blood, roared, jumped into the air, jumped over the river more than two feet wide, and hacked several Qing soldiers to death with his sword.

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng felt that his body was getting weaker and weaker due to excessive bleeding, and his strength was gradually losing. His hand could no longer hold the machete, and he fell to the ground with a clang. He knew that he could no longer support it and would die soon.

Lu Xiangsheng, a famous minister in history, died in battle near Jiazhuang in this way. Yang Lukai, the shepherd under his command, was afraid that Lu Xiangsheng's body would be trampled by the Qing cavalry, so he threw himself on Lu Xiangsheng's body and died with twenty-four arrows in his back.

However, after the death of such a loyal and brave Lu Xiangsheng, he was framed by Gao Qiqian and escaped before the battle. Emperor Chongzhen not only refused to provide compensation, but also issued an order to investigate. Yang Sichang sent people to Jiazhuang to investigate the truth.

A man named Yu Zhenlong came back to report that Governor Lu was indeed killed in battle. He was falsely accused of reporting falsely and was hanged for three days and three nights and given hundreds of whippings. He was expected to tell him that Lu Xiangsheng had escaped and was not whereabouts. However, Yu Zhenlong refused to frame the hero and never lied, so he was beaten to death.

In a daze, Lu Xiangsheng heard the sound of intensive firecrackers coming from the north. Could there be reinforcements? He wondered, then felt dizzy and fell down on his horse.

Fortunately, he had a good understanding of human nature and moved Lu Xiangsheng to the side to avoid him.

(End of this chapter)