Lu Ming

After everything was settled, the day for Cao Zongbing to leave the capital finally arrived.

On the morning of April 1630, 4, Uncle Zhongyong and the left governor Cao Chuan bid farewell to Emperor Chongzhen in public at the court meeting. After receiving gifts such as coins and brocades from the emperor again, Uncle Zhongyong bid farewell to the mansion under renovation at noon that day He and Xue Jing, who stayed behind, led the guards and left the capital.

Unexpectedly, on the way out of the city, there was even a Ming person standing by the long street to see him off.Although there were not many people this time, the enthusiasm of the people was still the same. Mr. Cao came out of the capital amidst the sound of blessings from "Gonghou Wandai".

Leaving the capital, joining the large troops from the barracks outside the city, looking back at the gradually receding ancient city, the crossing crowd let go of their horses and led the team towards Tianjin.

From this moment on, it took half a year. In history, the Jisi Change, which represented the official countdown to the Ming Kingdom's subjugation, came to a special end in the process of being changed by the traversers.

……

The changes in history have far-reaching impact and great significance.

This battle is not just as simple as Hou Jin's first entry and robbery.It had an immeasurable impact on the political economy of the Ming Dynasty, and even the combat confidence of the ruling and opposition parties.

In addition, in this self-change, some seemingly inconspicuous but far-reaching changes also quietly appeared.

Judging from the superficial impact, first, this battle caused the Ming Dynasty's society to shake and the temple to shake.

Huang Taiji led the army to besiege the city, marking the shattering of Chongzhen's dream of rejuvenation.During the battle, the defense system in the Gyeonggi region of the Ming Dynasty was severely damaged. The six generals Zhao Ledjiao, Man Gui, Sun Zushou, Ma Dengyun, Hei Yunlong, and Zhu Guoyan were either killed or captured.

In addition, Wang Qia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, Zhang Fengxiang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, Yuan Chonghuan, governor of Jiliao, Wang Yuanya, governor of Zunhua, and Liu Ce, the prime minister of Jiliaobao, were either dead or imprisoned.

Second, the court situation is chaotic.After the Jin army retreated, the Ming court not only failed to learn the lesson, but took the opportunity to sway and engage in party struggle.Since Han Yu, Qian Longxi, Cheng Jiming, and Li Biao, the cabinet scholars of the Donglin Party, resigned, they were replaced by Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren and others in the cabinet, and the six ministries and nine ministers were also changed accordingly.

Third, the defense of the capital is lax.Before that, the capital had lived in peace for 180 years.When the war came suddenly, there was no actual preparation from top to bottom, the army defending the city was in chaos, and the capital was almost lost in the hands of Hou Jin.

In the end, the wealth was plundered and the people lost their lives.The Gyeonggi and Gyeongdong areas were plundered wantonly, the people were devastated, and all businesses withered.All of the above exacerbated social conflicts in the Ming Dynasty and accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

This battle is of great significance in history.It marked a major change in the strategic situation of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Ming’s previous policies of fortress advancement, economic blockade, and diplomatic alliance all collapsed before and after this campaign, and Ming permanently lost its strategic initiative.

In addition to the above losses, there are other things that escaped from Pandora's box.

Not long after the Jisi Change, under financial pressure, the Ming court relaxed the restrictions on "donation classes" and began to sell official hats on a large scale.

Although the imperial courts of all dynasties before this also sold officials, they all sold a title of supervising students to businessmen so that their children could participate in the imperial examinations in the future, and the total amount was controllable.

But this time the sale of officials was on a large scale. Anyone who paid the money could become an official, or even buy a real-time official position.Then the trend intensified, and in the last years of Chongzhen, a Beijing official sold for 3000 taels of silver.

As we all know, whenever the imperial court sells officials wantonly, it should go bankrupt-the end of the Han Dynasty, the end of the Qing Dynasty, and the end of the Ming Dynasty, all of which are like this.

While opening the gates to sell officials, Chongzhen continued to increase taxes.In history, just next year, the emperor raised the field tax from nine per cent to one cent and two per cent, distributed more than 660 million taels of silver, and collected more than 520 million taels of silver.In addition to tariffs, salt tax and miscellaneous items, a total of 740 taels of silver was collected.

The imperial court raised one or two taxes, and the officials below at least took the opportunity to collect three or two taxes to fill their own pockets, so Daming's blood was drained one after another like this.

……

The last bad consequence of the Jisi Change was that it led to the growth of the Shanshanan Peasant Army.

Before Chongzhen saw Hou Jin's army entering the pass, he issued an imperial edict.

After receiving the edict, Zhang Mengjing, governor of Yansui, Liu Guangsheng, governor of Shaanxi, Yang He, governor of three borders of Shaanxi, Mei Zhihuan, governor of Gansu and others immediately mobilized more than 17000 elite soldiers from each border town, led by the commander-in-chief of the five major towns along the border to Beijing to serve the king. .

On the way of King Qin's army entering Beijing, the nightmare began.

First of all, there was such a regulation in the Ming Dynasty: After the guest army arrived in the field, no food would be released on the day.

After Shanxi General Zhang Honggong's army arrived in the Jingyuan area, the panicked military department first ordered the department to station in Tongzhou, then transferred to Changping the next day, and sent to Shouliang Township on the third day.

This caused Zhang Honggong's army to go without food or drink for three consecutive days.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the military system of the border towns was already rotten to the bone, and there was no discipline at all.The soldiers had been short of food and wages for a long time, and they complained a lot. As a result, this time King Qianliqin couldn't even eat enough in the end.

Hungry and hungry, the soldiers had no choice but to rob folk food in the station.

A funny scene appeared: the court arrested Zhang Honggong, the general of Shanxi, and Geng Ruqi, the governor of Shanxi, as the reason that they had no way to rule.

Then the frontier soldiers brought by the two broke up and ran back to Shanxi.After that, the imperial court executed Zhang Honggong and Geng Ruqi, and the King Qin army along the way was gone.

In addition, the Qinwang army on the Yansui road, because the general soldier Wu Zimian withheld military rations (this was very common in the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty), which caused a large number of soldiers to flee back to Yansui halfway.

But Zhang Mengjing, the governor of Yansui, was afraid and angry because of this incident, and died of grief and anger, and the King Qin army along the way was gone.

For the same reason that they did not distribute food for Anjia, Gansu King Qin’s army also mutinied in Anding County: After the conflict intensified, the sergeant Wang Jincai and others instigated the soldiers to kill the generals who blocked them, robbed the money and food in the camp, and fled back to their hometown.

In this way, the originally aggressive Qinwang frontier army all collapsed halfway because of the financial and corruption problems of the imperial court.

The most frightening thing is that these deserters with military skills, most of them later joined the various peasant armies that were revolting in Shanshan and Shaanxi: Gao Yingxiang, Wang Jiayin, Zhang Xianzhong, and Li Express who had already taken the lead. They formed the backbone of all walks of life to break into the Wanglaoying camp.

The impact of this: the elites of the border towns have been drawn out, and the strength of the peasant army has greatly increased.With the three years of Chongzhen as the boundary, the Chuang Wangs from all walks of life further gathered their strength, and began to move around in a large area in the northern part of the Ming Kingdom.

If it is said that before the Jisi Change, Daming was still a dilapidated building, then after that, the first load-bearing column of the building has collapsed, becoming a real dilapidated building.

And in this plane, although the cross-travelers made timely repairs, the steel bars inside the dilapidated building in Daming had already corroded.From the overall point of view, the collapse is irreversible, and traveling through the crowd cannot save the situation.

In other words, the time-traversing people actually don't want to save them—nothing broken, nothing built.

Chapter 482 Diversion

After Qin Wangjun set off from the capital, he returned to Tianjin on the third day.

Tianjin City put on a grand welcoming ceremony.

From the governor down, all the leading figures in Tianjin, including the people of the whole city, marched out and formed a ten-mile long line along the old school yard.

No wonder the elders are so excited.You must know that the largest number of Uncle Zhongyong's team is the Flying Tiger Battalion formed by the local township party.

The aborigines don't know what a machine gun is or what combat power is. The aborigines only know that the chief soldier surnamed Cao got a high-ranking official hat from the emperor because of the hard work of our men in Tianjin.

So today everyone is very happy: a strong army capable of fighting the Tartars has come out of their hometown, which is a good thing no matter how you look at it.Even if the Tartars re-enter the customs next time, the elders don't have to be surprised three times a day, right?

As the saying goes, not returning home after wealth is like walking in brocade clothes at night, so with the tacit consent of the people who travel through, the men of Feihuying let themselves go today, and just played with their treasures and went to Tianjin.

Along the way, some people were holding big caps on horseback, and others were shirtless dancing with big knives. Wherever they said it, there was constant applause. The scene was much more lively and relaxed than the military parade in the capital.

Finally, when the team returned to the long-lost old school field, Mr. Chief Soldier assembled for the last time.

Facing thousands of cavalry neatly in the school yard, the adults delivered an important speech looking back on the past and looking forward to the future.Finally, with the sound of "Disband" coming from the electric horn and the sound of "Kill!" responded by all the soldiers in unison, the Flying Tiger Battalion was officially disbanded.

Next is the time to reward meritorious deeds.

The big basket of silver coins had already been prepared, and the battalion soldiers lined up on the stage, receiving a silver reward far exceeding what the adults had promised.People full of joy stepped forward to kowtow to General Cao in turn, wishing the Lord Marquis Wandai good luck and longevity.

Next is the celebration party.

In the past, both the crossing people and the soldiers were more cautious in the capital where the political atmosphere was strong, for fear of making any mistakes.Now that everyone has returned to Tianjin, not only the natives feel at home, but also the travelers feel a little relieved, so the celebration will be quite grand.

Rows of fires were lit on the school yard, flocks of cattle and sheep drove in, shirtless chefs began to barbecue, jars of freshly brewed Erguotou were opened, and the sound of pouring wine began to become the main theme of the arena.

In addition to soldiers, local celebrities, merchants and officials in Tianjin were also invited to the celebration banquet.

The high-ranking boss sat on the platform with Uncle Xinke Zhongyong, drinking iron barrel wine and eating slices of fat and tender mutton, while the rest of the people opened the buffet with wine bowls on the school grounds.

At the same time, local theater troupes were also invited.Under the stage set up, many first-time guests were surprised to hear the sound of opera amplified through speakers.

In this way, the noisy celebration banquet lasted until the next morning. During this period, the commander-in-chief stepped down to toast the warriors many times, truly loving the soldiers like children and having fun with the people.

……

Another day later, starting from May [-]st, the personnel diversion and resettlement work of Feihu Camp officially started.

At the moment when the playground was disbanded, Flying Tiger Camp had already been disbanded.Next, all personnel will face a redistribution, after which, a brand new Flying Tiger Battalion will be reorganized.

The new Flying Tiger Battalion will officially build an army, rather than the previous mercenary model that was rushed.

In other words, the soldiers would become regular imperial soldiers with salaries and stipends.At the same time, the level of the entire army will also be upgraded, from second-line miscellaneous brands to first-line cavalry troops stationed in the north.

In the morning, it was still the old school field, the flat and smooth cindery ground was clean, and there were no traces left by the celebration banquet the day before yesterday.

Mei Fuxi had already taken off her heavy green jacket, and changed into a double-breasted army uniform.At this moment, he is moving forward in a long queue.There were several other queues lined up on the school field, all soldiers from the Feihu Battalion.

At the end of the line was a row of houses situated under the school yard wall.The team was moving very slowly at the moment, but the soldiers were not impatient.Except for whispering to the people in the front and back rows, no one disturbed the order, and the linear queue was always maintained.After several months of training, these originally sloppy agricultural society people have learned to line up and obey orders very well.

After silently saying hello to an acquaintance on the right with a smile, Mei Fuxi turned her face and looked at the queue on the left with a scrutiny.

After observing for a while, Mei Fuxi has roughly seen some clues: most of his own team are young, who train hard on weekdays, and according to the instructor's words, they are the type of people who "have a bright future".

And those around are mostly ordinary soldiers, the kind who listen to shouts and work.

At this moment, a black man in line behind Mei Fuxi approached a big pancake face full of beards, and whispered in his ear: "Master, are you going to the south for a while?"

"Hehe, who knows? The left and right are just listening to the Shangguan's orders, maybe my old man won't let him go."

"Hey, young master, don't pretend, who in the camp doesn't know that you are valued by the Nanren uncle. Let me say, Master Mei, if you get rich in the future, don't forget about me!"

The big pie face who spoke was named Ha Liu.

Although Ha Liu is a local aborigine, his seed is not pure, and he has Mongolian blood on his body.The Sixth Patriarch of Ha was a Mongolian military officer who took root here with Tianjin Sanwei.Over the years, generations have intermarried with Han people, and the Mongolian appearance has long been lost, leaving only a big pie face.

Ha Liu, like Mei Fuxi, is proficient in bowing horses and has high martial arts skills.However, unlike Master Mei, the branch of Ha Liu had lost his position in the guard long ago. His family lived in poverty and his parents were sick, so he had to go out with the caravan to earn money to support his family when he became an adult.

Later, after Ha Liu suffered the death of his parents, he completely lost his restraint and severed ties with the Tianjin Guard.So this person pulled up a small team, sometimes acting as a guard for others, and sometimes acting as a horse bandit outside the mouth, with strange movements.

This time the Flying Tiger Battalion recruited soldiers, Ha Liu unexpectedly joined in for some reason, and he got along just as well as Mei Fuxi, both of them were vice-captains of the reconnaissance team, and had fought side by side.

Now it's time for everyone to part ways, what Mei Fuxi didn't expect was that Ha Liu, an old bandit, could see through her thoughts.

"Hi, then thank you, Brother Ha Ji Yan!"

That being the case, Mei Fuxi simply admitted that it is not shameful to go to the south to open her eyes.He had actually discussed with his father last night. After the Battle of King Qin, the father and son are now more and more confident in holding their thighs, so Mei Fuxi must continue to eat military rations in Feihu Camp.

After joking with each other, the team couldn't help moving forward, and it was finally Mei Fuxi's turn in the next moment.

After entering the room, Mei Fuxi took a closer look and found three people sitting behind the long table opposite.The one in the middle is Zhang Zhongqi, a traverser who has been formally canonized by the court as a guerrilla general and also serves as the battalion officer of the Flying Tiger Battalion.On the left and right sides of the battalion officer were Yao Jianshe, the director of Tianjin Station, and a clerk.

After saluting and taking their seats, Zhang Zhongqi saw that the person who came was Mei Fuxi, the key training target, without delay, and asked the core question directly: "Soldier, are you willing to continue working under the command of the commander (the Zuo Dudu is already qualified to be called the commander)?" Is it a business?"

"willing!"

"Very well, I officially inform you that you have become a member of the Flying Tiger Camp again. Now you are allowed to take three days off to say goodbye to your family and prepare for the long-term camp."

"Yes!"

"You can go out."

After a few short conversations, Mei Fuxi was sent away.

Next it was Ha Liu's turn.

However, here in Ha Liu, it is not as easy to get rid of as Mei Fuxi, who is tacit to each other.

"My lord, my little one doesn't want to stay in the camp anymore."

"Hehe, tell me the reason." Zhang Zhongqi, the chief examiner, flipped through the files in front of him and guided Ha Liu with a smile.

"That's right, that's right... To be honest, I can't stand the many rules in the camp."

"Understood." Zhang Zhongqi had an expression that I knew a long time ago: "I'm afraid I still miss the days of running a business gang without restraint and being a horse bandit?"

Ha Liu smiled wryly when he heard the words: "The grown-ups know it, and the little ones have nothing to hide. But please rest assured, Ha Liu has entered the Feihu Camp, and he will always be a member of the Feihu Camp. Call, just plant a flag in Tianjin City, and the little one will definitely bring his brothers to cheer for the adults!"

"Hehe, you are loyal."

At this time, Yao Jianshe on the side spoke.I saw him touching the blue-shaven chin shell with one hand, with a playful expression on his face, and said slowly: "In that case, then I can arrange a job for you here."

……

The diversion work continued like this.

In fact, except for the more important backbone of Mei Fuxi's team, those who did not want to continue to serve in the army, the crossing crowd did not try to persuade them to stay.

But after all, these people have been trained and participated in the battle, so they can be regarded as their own people who have a good impression of Cao Zongbing.

Therefore, most of those who retired were re-introduced to work by the time travelers afterwards.Either work as guards in commercial firms, or work as foremen on construction sites. In short, these people are also very important, and they are important chess pieces for Tianjin Station's underground work.

It was already three days later when all the native soldiers were dispatched.

At this time, the new Flying Tiger Battalion soldiers had reassembled in the old school field, ready to start a new round of formal training.

Of course, for an outstanding talent like Mei Fuxi, the only thing to do now is to go to the Dayuan Army Military Academy for further studies.While increasing your knowledge and clearing your mind, learn about warfare in the era of hot weapons, and work hard to be an excellent cavalry general in the future.

So when Mei Fuxi returned to the barracks for a few days, he received the notice he expected—he would be the first group of people who went south with the ship to go to the legendary Yizhou for "drilling".

Mei Fuxi, who had already inquired with Chen Erye clearly, knew that this was going to the south to learn "martial arts".

But he will definitely not say anything, because in the Ming Dynasty, it was a serious crime to lose one's head if a general set up martial arts privately.

Chapter 483

Just as Mei Fuxi received the order, a fleet stopped outside Dagukou.After reorganizing the formation, the fleet began to slowly go up the Haihe River, avoiding the bright and dark reefs marked by buoys along the way, and headed for Dazhigu dozens of miles away.

The people who traveled through with military wireless telegrams naturally wouldn't tell the locals that the fleet had arrived.However, in the face of interests, the indigenous businessman groups have already had countermeasures.

The masters arranged fast horses and lookout posts at the mouth of the Haihe River, and the moment the fleet arrived, the bustling Dazhigu commercial port became busy.