Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 206 The Eve of the Battle of Mengcheng
If you don't think about the scorched earth in Henan, the scenery in Jiangbei at this time is pretty good, full of spring.

The humid air and the warm east wind made Zhu Youjian not feel the slightest chill, and the road wetted by the night rain was soft enough that Zhu Youjian didn't feel so bumpy even though he was riding a horse now.

Accompanying me are not only court officials such as Liu Fangliang and Shi Kefa, but also people who support the old and the young, and officers and soldiers of the guard.

But at this moment, all because of the soft spring, no one complained, and no one paid much attention to his majesty the emperor who appeared in the Jiangbei border at this moment.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs, Jianu's going south made no one in the mood to say some useless words at this time.

Mengcheng, known as Shansang in ancient times, is the hometown of Zhuangzi, but it is a small city under the jurisdiction of Fengyang Prefecture. The only place to visit in the city is the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda built in the Song Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian also directly chose the temple next to the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda as the place to stay. Firstly, it is because it can climb high and look far away, and secondly, because although Mengcheng is small, it now also accommodates people from Suzhou, Bozhou, Lingbi, etc. The local officials, gentry and common people will inevitably make the city crowded, and will also cause more troubles for the local government, and the Wanfo Temple is quiet and elegant, so it is naturally more suitable for him and Liu Fangliang, Li Banghua and other senior officials of the Third Guards Army to discuss affairs here.

Because Xia Yunyi's infantry battalion has been ordered to go directly to Yangzhou, directly waiting for the decisive battle in the future.

Zhu Youjian's guards are only hundreds of Jinyiweiti cavalry. These Jinyiwei Tiqi are reliable and skilled cavalry selected from various armies. Withdrew from Kaifeng City by inspection.

But Liu Fangliang was still worried about Zhu Youjian's safety, so he transferred a cavalry battalion and infantry battalion from the First Corps to station at the foot of Wanfo Mountain in case of accidents.

In the first few days, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple in Mengcheng was relatively quiet, because Chen Zilong served in the infantry battalion dispatched by Liu Fangliang, Zhu Youjian simply called him into the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, and together they went to chat with the old monk here.

In the previous life, as long as it was a cultural attraction, there must be a temple, and there must be a lot of tourists in the temple, which makes it difficult for the temple to have the original tranquility of the temple, and it is also difficult to have the original elegance of the temple. There must be coins in the pools and tanks everywhere. stink of money.

But in today's era, although Zhu Youjian promoted silver coins, the faithful men and women of Ming Dynasty are still reluctant to throw silver coins into the pool of the temple, so there is no dazzling metal stray light, only the light of Buddha transmitted from the top of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda The golden light reflected the verdant green of the mountains into more piles of red and emerald.

Although Chen Zilong has joined the army, he is a well-known talent after all, and when it comes to Buddhism, he is better than the old monk of Wanfo Temple.

However, although the years are unknown in the mountains, Zhu Youjian, as the lord of the world, is still concerned about the movements of the Duoduo Department of the Qing Army even if he hides in the meditation room deep in the flowers and trees.

According to Lu Daqi's report, Guide City fell on April [-]th.

In mid-April, Duoduo divided his forces to capture Xiayi and Zhecheng. Henan Governor Lu Daqi finally retreated to Yongcheng, and most of the Henan people retreated into Xuzhou, Bozhou and Suzhou.

At the same time, Lu Daqi also assured Zhu Youjian that Yongcheng was the last place for him, the governor of Henan, to retreat. In order to ensure that the Henan people successfully retreated into Xuzhou and Mengcheng, he would stay in Yongcheng.

Zhu Youjian could only reply with tears of approval. This kind of national war cannot be without sacrifices. Although Lu Daqi was considered as the governor of Henan, he could only die in Henan.

……

The mountain temple is secluded, and Zhu Youjian sleeps soundly in the bamboo house.

However, a spring thunder in the middle of the night suddenly exploded in front of the window, and the entire field outside the hill seemed to be slashed by a knife.

Zhu Youjian was awakened immediately, and seeing that Gao Hongtu and Chen Zilong were still playing chess in the corridor, he couldn't help smiling, and he put on a robe and went to have a look.

But at this time, there was a downpour in the blink of an eye, and the quiet Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple was shaken by the wind and rain in this small Mengcheng.

Summer is approaching, and the spring rain is heavier than usual. Even at this kind of midnight, it is violent as if to frighten people into a panic before giving up.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the bottom of the mountain, and after a while, I saw Shi Kefa tucking a tube of newspapers into the skirt of his clothes and coming in the rain.

Because of the rain curtain, Zhu Youjian couldn't see the expression on his face, but judging from his eagerness to avoid the water under his feet, he could also guess that there must be something important happened.

Zhu Youjian pushed open the bamboo lattice door himself.

"Your Majesty, I just received the report that Yongcheng fell, and Duoduo ordered the massacre of thousands of officials and people in Yongcheng. Lu Ge, the governor and general officer of Henan Province, was shot to death by random arrows, and after he died, he was still ordered by Duduo to be divided into five horses!"

Shi Kefa couldn't help sobbing as he spoke, and Zhu Youjian couldn't help but take the report and read it carefully, but at this moment, there was another thunderclap!
Chen Zilong and Gao Hongtu also put down the chess pieces in their hands, and hurriedly came from under the eaves without putting on their shoes.

Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment. The death of Lu Daqi meant that the war in Henan was officially over!

The territory of Henan is completely in the enemy's hands!The Duoduo Department of the Qing Army has entered the territory of Nanzhili, and will start a head-on confrontation with the Ming Guards!

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but looked up at the sky under the black clouds, letting the gust of rain hit his face.

"In addition, Jin Yiwei also brought Lu Zhitai's last letter. Lu Zhitai hoped that he would not have to give an official post after his death, and hoped that the imperial court could take his remains and bury him in his hometown of Suining after recovering Sichuan in the future!"

Shi Kefa handed a letter to Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian naturally agreed to Lu Daqi's request, but he still issued an edict, bestowing on Lu Daqi the title of Young Fu and Wen Su the posthumous posthumous title.

After all, this Lu Daqi was considered the highest-ranking official who died in the Ming Dynasty since the Qing army went south, which also meant that the next battle would start in the southern Zhili.

Wang Chengen also ran over at this time, as if the wind and rain hadn't stopped: "Your Majesty, Jinan came to report that the Qing Army's Abatai Division has suddenly attacked Baoding since the middle of last month. Princess Zhu is invincible and has retreated to Jinan. Tu Baoding."

"Your Majesty, Xuzhou is here to report that Abatai sent Zhunta to lead five thousand cavalry to bypass Jinan and approach Xuzhou. The Xuzhou Guards Ningwuhou Zhou Yuji asked for instructions, whether it is possible to annihilate the invading enemy first, and then rush to Huai'an!"

Li Banghua also ran over.

(End of this chapter)