Chongzhen Undergraduates

So, why did I come to Pukou in such a rush?Did Zhu Youjian really think that he was willing to go to the Hongmen Banquet in Nanjing?

"No!" Liu Liangzuo turned around and waved his hands.

"Father, what's wrong?" Liu Zehan didn't understand what his father was talking about.

"Has there been any movement on Gao Jie recently?" Liu Liangzuo asked his entourage.

"Commander, a few days ago, Li Benshen, the commander-in-chief, suppressed bandits in Huaiyuan. It is said that Cheng Jikong, a bandit from Xuzhou, has fled to Huaiyuan."

"Have you found out how many people have been mobilized?" Liu Liangzuo felt a little uneasy. His residence was only 100 miles away from Huaiyuan in Shouzhou, and any disturbance would be frightening.

"Tan Ma said there were about 1 people, and with the original garrison, there were 3 people."

"It's broken!" Liu Liangzuo was taken aback and immediately felt the seriousness of the matter.

When the territory was divided, the imperial court deliberately made the four Jiangbei towns check each other in important places.Although Shouzhou is the garrison of Fengyang Army, Dingyuan, which is very close to Shouzhou, is in the hands of Gao Jie.

In addition, Fengyang was originally the ancestral home of the old Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty, and Ma Shiying was the governor of Fengyang. The defenders in Fengyang were controlled by Liu Liangzuo in name, but they were actually Ma Shiying's trump card.

Whether it is from Huaiyuan, or from Fengyang, the distance to Shouzhou is almost the same.And it was three times as far as theirs from Pukou back to Shouzhou.

"Clean up quickly and go back to Shouzhou immediately." Liu Liangzuo probably knew that something was wrong, so he didn't dare to stay in Pukou.

"Report to Commander-in-Chief, the pass from Pukou to Chuzhou has been closed, the guards have doubled, and they are checking passers-by."

What did he say? As soon as Liu Liangzuo finished speaking, a guard rushed in to report.

"Quick retreat!" Liu Liangzuo rushed out of the inn with one stride, and blew a whistle outside after arguing. In the inn's stable, his fat and colorful horse immediately broke free from the reins.

When Liu Liangzuo and his party rushed to the vicinity of Pagoda Mountain, a large group of cavalry had already appeared in front of them.

Huang Degong and his men were blocking the road from the direction of Chuzhou.

"Marshal, look at the back." With a quick finger pointing from his confidant, Liu Liangzuo saw a group of cavalry in black clothes and black armor behind him.The leader was wearing a mask, but he was not the commander he had seen in Luzhong and who was it.

"Hey! Dismount everyone." Liu Liangzuo was helpless. If he didn't know who the masked man was, he probably wouldn't be able to be a commander in chief.

Zhu Youjian wore a mask and waved his big cold hand, and the fifty riders behind him lined up side by side, so neatly that even the pier was almost in a straight line.

Not only Liu Liangzuo, but even Huang Degong, who was 150 meters away, felt terrified. After decades of fighting, Ming Dynasty had never seen such a disciplined army.

Liu Liangzuo and his men knelt down on one knee, not daring to speak.

The black flag guards rode on horseback, their spears approaching, but no one made a sound.Only Liu Liangzuo's fancy horse neighed a couple of times proudly.

"It's rare for Uncle Guangchang to come to Nanjing. Even if I invite you, I won't be able to invite you. They are all outside the city. Why do you want to leave again?"

For Zhu Youjian's ridicule, Liu Liangzuo was silent, and even looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. Everyone knew that since he was arrested, he could kill or scratch, so he could only listen to it.

"Get on the horse, I will accompany you on a trip to Shouzhou. I prepared your uncle's mansion in Nanjing early, and this time we just happened to go to Shouzhou to move together."

Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Liu Liangzuo was taken aback for a long time, unable to react.

"The emperor won't kill me?" Liu Liangzuo probably understood that Zhu Youjian didn't mean to kill him.

"You didn't make a big mistake, why did the court kill you?" Zhu Youjian smiled and looked at Liu Liangzuo sincerely.

The meaning in these words is not the emperor, but the imperial court not to kill you.If Zhu Youjian did not pursue Liu Liangzuo's behavior of resisting the edict, then Liu Liangzuo was indeed right for the court.

"Han'er, go to Nanjing first, and come in a few days as a father." Liu Liangzuo instructed his son beside him.

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly, this Liu Liangzuo is really a smart man, very good at teaching.

In the entire Fengyang Army, Liu Liangzuo's nephew, Liu Liangchen's son, Liu Zehong, was the only one who escaped. He was stationed in Taihe at that time, and Shouzhou was too far away. went.

From the 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the [-]th of the new year, the whole Jianghuai is busy.The family members of the army going south and the working groups going north marched alternately.

Instead of Liu Liangzuo, Yan Yingyuan was the commander of the Fengyang Army.Zhu Youjian really lacked generals, whether it was Liu Zeqing or Liu Liangzuo, Zhu Youjian didn't dare to use their generals directly.

In desperation, I can only use Yan Yingyuan's little history.This time, Yan Yingyuan brought half of the staff of the secretariat and all the working groups to the Fengyang Army.

The happiest thing is that Gao Jie is going to lose. His troops are [-] more.Except for the Luzhong Army, the current Huai'an Army and Yangzhou Army can only be equal to the Xuzhou Army when combined.

The scope of Gao Jie's jurisdiction has fully doubled.This is also Zhu Youjian's reassurance for Gao Jie.The Fengyang Army led by Yan Yingyuan retreated to the Hezhou area for reorganization, including Fengyang (Bengbu), Shouzhou (Huainan), Hezhou (Hefei), Lu'an, and Anqing.

"Liu Aiqing, I heard that you ride a horse very well!"

On the way back to Nanjing, Zhu Youjian and Liu Liangzuo deliberately took the same carriage.It's just that along the way, Liu Liangzuo had no interest in life, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"The emperor was joking. I just took better care of my old horse."

Thinking of the fancy horse that had been with him for many years, Liu Liangzuo felt distressed, wondering if it was well taken care of by others along the way.The name of the flowery horse Liu is one, and his old flowery horse is like his brother.

"Then I will designate a horse farm for you in Nanjing. Daming cannot live without cavalry."

Zhu Youjian knew very well that in later generations, even during World War II, the cavalry was already a major arm, and the battlefield of the Ming Dynasty could not rely solely on infantry.

"The emperor still employs ministers?" Liu Liangzuo was very surprised. If Zhu Youjian kept his life, it might be to stabilize the soldiers and horses of other towns, which is reasonable.

However, it would be inconceivable to still use him Liu Liangzuo, but also to use the cavalry.How can a defeated general dare to speak bravely?

"Yes, I plan to ask you to train a new type of cavalry, I wonder if Aiqing would be willing?"

"My lord, I will never give up!" Liu Liangzuo was a little moved, he was able to regain control of the military power, which was something he never expected, and Zhu Youjian really treated him kindly.

In fact, it was not that Zhu Youjian treated Liu Liangzuo favorably, but that he really had no one to use.Except for heinous people like Liu Zeqing, he can use one after another.

The gang of literati in the south of the Yangtze River can't do this. There are several generals in Gao Jie's department, but unfortunately they are all rebellious. Besides, Gao Jie's department will definitely accept reorganization now.

"How long does cavalry training take?" Of course Zhu Youjian knew that a qualified cavalry needed time to train, but he didn't understand the training cycle.

"At least one year. The consumption of the cavalry is not in the soldiers, but in the horses. There is a shortage of horses in the south of the Yangtze River." Liu Liangzuo blurted out without thinking.

"Can't Jiangnan raise horses?" Zhu Youjian knew that the biggest problem for the Central Plains people to resist the northern enemies was the horses.During the Song Dynasty, this problem was still unable to be solved, and the Northern Expedition always remained in the conception.

"Horses like high and cold, and it is not for the benefit of the Yan side. Being able to raise horses does not mean being able to raise war horses. War horses can only be raised from natural grasslands in order to breed good quality. The place where the Central Plains has been able to raise war horses to ensure war since ancient times is Yanzhao. Shaanxi, and the Western Regions.

The horses in the south of the Yangtze River can only be used for marching, not for fighting.Chen's five-flowered horse has been ridden for many years, and there is no new horse to replace it. "

After Liu Liangzuo finished speaking, his expression was gloomy.Thinking back to when he faced the Houjin cavalry back then, Da Ming never dared to fight in the field and could only defend passively.

"It seems that my idea is simple." Zhu Youjian was also very depressed. Now that the whole north is in the hands of the Tartars, the idea of ​​building a cavalry is impossible, and he can only change his thinking.

Chapter 1 Fourteen: The Heroic Old Tears

The winter of 17 was extremely cold, with seven or eight heavy snowfalls in a row.

If it weren't for these few snowfalls, Hou Jin's army would have caught up with Dashun's army long ago.A full seven months later, when Zhu Youjian was rushing to Ding Jiangbei before the new year, the army led by Hou Jin Duoduo arrived in Tongguan.