Chapter 340 Target, Nanjing!
The information about Xiong Wu was naturally obtained from the Li family of Linhuai Marquis.
Linhuai Marquis Li Tingzhu put his son in solitary confinement, but he couldn't bear the fact that he had an old mother above him, who loved his grandson the most.
On the day when Li Yangong, the eldest son of the Marquis of Linhuai, was imprisoned, Li Tingzhu's old mother rushed to Li Tingzhu's house with a wooden stick.
The embarrassed Marquis of Linhuai could only release his son and go through the admission procedures for him to enter the New Army Academy of the Imperial College.
In this way, Li Yanggong, the eldest son of the Marquis of Linhuai, Gao Wuguan, the son of Gao Gong, and Xiong Kuang, a literate "son of a good family" in Nanjing City, all reported in the Military Affairs Section of the Nanjing Imperial College at the same time and became classmates.
It's just that Li Yangong was forced in, while Gao Wuguan and Xiong Kuang were admitted.
This time the exam was also written by Gao Gong himself. The content of the exam paper included simple Confucian classics, arithmetic, and the "learning for daily use of the common people" mentioned by Su Ze in "Tiangong Kaiwu" and a series of articles. .
Such a paper was naturally very easy for Xiong Kuang. He even deliberately answered a few questions wrong and passed the test easily.
The Military Affairs Section recruits sixty people, all of whom are trained as officers of the new army.
It's just that in addition to Xiong Kuang who got in like this, there's also Li Yangong who got in like this.
Although Gao Gong was upright and did not let his son cheat, but let his son take the exam with everyone else, he could not stop the powerful people in Nanjing City.
After entering the school, Xiong Kuang quickly found out the identities of Li Yangong and Gao Wuguan. After deliberately making friends, the two parties quickly became good friends.
In addition, Xiong Kuang also actively interacted with the poor children in the school. He spent a lot of money, but he was not as domineering as those powerful children. His behavior and actions made people feel like a spring breeze, and he quickly gained appeal among the poor children. .
After Li Tingzhu received the order from the court and learned that the decisive battle took place in Xuzhou, and that the court asked him to defend Nanjing, he couldn't help but complain a few words at home.
Li Yangong heard the news and soon let it slip at a banquet. Xiong Kuang caught the news immediately.
This is not because Li Tingzhu and Li Yangong are big mouths, but in the minds of people like Daming, there is no concept of confidentiality at all.
Or in fact, in their opinion, this information does not need to be kept secret at all.
In a marching battle, especially a decisive battle involving so many troops and horses, the movement of personnel and equipment cannot be concealed at all.
And although our Chinese civilization has long proposed the concept of "using time" in "Sun Tzu's Art of War", this kind of espionage behavior is still concentrated in the stage of bribing the enemy's decision-making level, or using "countermeasures".
Even when marching and fighting, intelligence collection work is mainly battlefield intelligence collection.
Therefore, Li Yangong had no sense of counter-espionage at all, and he never imagined that his classmates were spies of the Southeast New Army.
Just after Anqing was captured, Nanjing's defense line was already in danger.
March 10, Nanjing.
After receiving the news from Zhang Juzheng, Li Tingzhu immediately held a military meeting.
Gao Gong also attended the meeting. Li Tingzhu looked at the map and sighed: "Everyone, your Majesty's order is for us to defend Nanjing." Upon hearing
this, the faces of all the generals present changed.
Gao Gong's expression didn't change much. He just sat quietly and listened.
Li Tingzhu pointed at the map and said: "Let's talk about the enemy first. According to the information Zhang Butang received when he withdrew from Anqing, the number of rebels who captured Anqing was more than 5,000." Then Li Tingzhu said: "
Fengyang Mansion also failed. "
What!?"
As soon as the news came out, all the soldiers were speechless. Fengyang Mansion is where the ancestral mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is located. The city walls are tall and there are troops guarding the imperial mausoleum. I didn't expect it to be lost so quickly.
"According to the report of the general who escaped, there were ten thousand thieves who attacked Fengyang Mansion, but the original goal was not to attack Fengyang Mansion. It was the sinners of the clan who were imprisoned in Fengyang Mansion who rebelled and opened the gate of Fengyang Mansion and took the initiative We welcomed the bandits into the city."
Everyone present was speechless. The Ming Dynasty was truly a pioneering dynasty.
First, Jieyuan from one province took the lead in the rebellion, and now there are members of the royal family who took the lead in the rebellion. Who will rebel next, I can't even imagine.
The generals' eyes were a little erratic. Could it be the Marquis of Linhuai in front of him?
After all, is it your turn to rebel?
Li Tingzhu did not feel the gazes of the generals, but continued: "Based on this, the number of rebels is about 15,000, and they can reach the gates of Nanjing in about five days by land and water." "We now have a garrison in Nanjing
. Thirty thousand people, and a thousand new troops. In addition to the artillery cast by Master Gao, thirty forts have been installed on the city wall. In addition, in Yanziji and other areas near the river, twenty forts have been built and fifty artillery installed. ."
Li Tingzhu looked at the demoralized generals and said:
"Thirty thousand versus fifteen thousand, our army still defends the city, the advantage lies with me."
After Li Tingzhu said this, everyone finally gained some morale.
But smart people all know that Zhang Juzheng led 50,000 people to defend the city of Anqing, but how could he, 30,000 people, defend the city of Nanjing?
It's just that in such a military meeting, no one jumped out to speak against Li Tingzhu.
However, a general stood up and said, "What if Thief Su uses Jiujiang's magic method to blow up the city wall again?"
Everyone looked at Li Tingzhu, who held it in for a long time and said,
"According to Zhang Butang's previous analysis, this kind of magic method must be It can only be used close to the city wall. Just strengthen the patrols around the city wall."
The general still said reluctantly: "Who is going? And who is going to guard the turrets outside the city?"
Faced with this question that directly strikes the soul , staying in Nanjing City to defend the city is a bit safe, but if you go out to patrol the city, you will really be desperate.
Gao Gong, who had been silent, said: "The new army is going."
Gao Gong said: "The new army is divided into three battalions, each battalion has 300 people. The three battalions take turns to go out of the city to inspect, and the rest guard the gun towers outside the city."
Now that the most dangerous work was done, the generals naturally had nothing to say. They were originally the troops guarding Nanjing, and it was their responsibility to guard Nanjing.
Gao Gong suddenly asked a question that everyone deliberately ignored, and said: "Master Li, what should we do with the people in the city?"
Li Tingzhu immediately said: "Of course, except for the young and strong, the old, weak, women and children have evacuated Nanjing as much as possible."
Gao Gong asked: "If the old, weak, women and children evacuate from Nanjing, what will they do for a living? Aren't they going to starve to death?" At
this time, a general said: "Gao Jiejiu, we are fighting now, we don't have time." I have to be kind to you. There is not enough food in the city. If we really have to defend it for a few months, food will have to be given to the army first. They will starve to death if they stay in the city." Another general said: "
They If you really want to blame, just blame Su Thief, it has nothing to do with us."
Gao Gong looked at these generals and felt even more disgusted in his heart. In normal times, these guys were ruthless and evil, but now they acted like loyal ministers of the country. It was really disgusting.
Li Tingzhu said: "In this way, as long as there are young people staying in the city, every household will be given three days of food rations when leaving the city." "
Post a notice now. If you don't leave the city today and tomorrow, the city wall will be blocked in three days and no longer allowed to leave the city."
As soon as the notice came out, the entire city of Nanjing fell into panic. People rushed out of Nanjing and long queues formed at the city gate. At the same time, Fengyang Mansion.
Lin Deyang, who had captured Fengyang Mansion, was listening to the deputy general reporting on the results of the battle.
"Brigadier, we seized 3,000 horses from the Fengyang Prefecture's Shepherd Supervisors, of which only 800 can be used as qualified cavalry horses." Lin Deyang frowned and said, "Why are there so few? The Governor said that in
Nanjing According to the account books of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Fengyang Mansion has 20,000 military horses. Why has it shrunk so much?" The
deputy general said helplessly: "The officials of the Ming Dynasty are too bastards. Those who serve as officers receive the free pay of the soldiers under their command, and so do those in charge of the horses. The horses' free wages."
"The ledgers were collected from the corrupt officials of the Qun Mu Supervisor. The Qun Mu Supervisor of Fengyang Prefecture has been doing this for hundreds of years, and the accounts have been in a mess for a long time." "Every year
. The accounts reported to the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs were all filled in casually, just to defraud the Ming Dynasty of fodder money and horse raising money."
Lin Deyang frowned again and said: "Horse raising money? Their war horses are not raised by the horse owners. Are you here?"
Su Ze once told his subordinates about the horse politics of the Ming Dynasty. There were three main sources of war horses in the Ming Dynasty.
Mutual markets and horse farms raise their own horses and purchase them from horse owners.
Horse households, like military households and craftsmen households, are hereditary occupations, and their job is to raise horses for generations.
The deputy general said: "I heard from these dog officials that Fengyang Mansion stopped raising horses by itself hundreds of years ago. The horses of the Qunhu Supervisor were kept in the hands of horse owners until they reached adulthood, and they were collected uniformly after they reached adulthood." "Fengyang Mansion stopped raising horses by itself hundreds of years ago
. The herding supervisors of the group handed over the newborn foals to the horse owners, and collected an adult horse from the horse owners every year. These dog officials relied on this method to exploit the horse owners, and many horse owners were bankrupted and fled. Now."
Lin Deyang also came from an ordinary military household, so he naturally knew these methods.
The herdsmen gave foals to the horse owners, but received adult horses. You must know that raising horses is very risky, and the horses will die if you are not careful.
If the horse dies, then you must buy another horse, otherwise the herd supervisor will not be able to hand over the horse when he comes to collect it in the future.
These horse households have become slaves to raising horses. The horses they raise are handed over to the group herding supervisors, but they get nothing. They have to farm their own fields in order to survive.
If a horse dies, you will have to spend all your money to buy a horse to replace it.
What's even more frightening is that the occupation of Mahu is hereditary, and people will be exploited by herdsmen for generations.
Therefore, there have been many incidents of Mahu fleeing in history.
The results of horses raised under this system can be imagined. Fengyang Mansion had 20,000 horses on its account, but in fact there were only 3,000. This was also because horse owners fled in large numbers and there were simply not enough horses.
Moreover, the horse farmers are very perfunctory in raising horses. They have to bribe officials to pass the test anyway, so they simply change the pastures into farmland. Fengyang Mansion clearly claims to have 20,000 war horses, but there are only 800 qualified war horses. This is based on the minimum qualification standard. of.
Lin Deyang cursed again, and then he said to the adjutant: "Call those Zhu Huaye and his son."
Fengguo general Zhu Congjin never thought in his life that he would become a rebel.
In fact, General Fengguo's status in the clan was not low. According to the Ming Dynasty, one would be downgraded by one rank if he inherited a title. Zhu Congjin's great-grandfather was a county king.
He broke through the border from Shanxi to the capital to complain. He did it out of righteous indignation and the fact that he was about to starve to death, not because he wanted to rebel!
Zhu Cong was trembling with fear when he saw Lin Deyang.
Lin Deyang said calmly: "I have also heard about Mr. Zhu's deeds. Mr. Zhu is also an extraordinary person who can avenge his fellow sect."
Zhu Congzhen finally relaxed, and Lin Deyang continued:
"According to Dafa According to the governor's decree, Mr. Zhu and his son were the first to contribute to the uprising. The position of magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture must be temporarily replaced by Mr. Zhu."
Zhu Congzhen was dumbfounded, and so was his son Zhu Huaye.
In fact, Zhu Huaye rebelled out of righteous indignation, and did not expect any reward from the Southeast New Army.
Originally, Su Ze was the one who rebelled against your old Zhu family. It would have been good if he didn't guard you. How do you expect to give you a reward?
Unexpectedly, Lin Deyang came up and announced that Zhu Congjin would be the prefect.
Zhu Congjin said: "General, oh no brigade commander, I really don't dare to be." "Don't
think I am a general of Fengguo. There are only two of me and my son in the house. I have never managed anyone at all, let alone a person." The place of government is gone."
Zhu Congjin is also self-aware. It's not that he has no desire for power, but he knows that it will be worse for him if he messes up.
Lin Deyang also encountered difficulties.
Anyway, officials should stay in their posts, and the first righteous martyrs should serve as local chief officials. This is the rule set by Su Ze.
This was naturally to encourage Ming officials to revolt more enthusiastically.
This policy naturally has many drawbacks, but the official system can be slowly adjusted in the future. These positions are also temporary and will naturally be adjusted when the occupation is stabilized in the future.
Moreover, no matter how hard local officials or military commanders work, as long as they can start an uprising, they still have some reputation and means and can temporarily stabilize these areas.
But I didn't expect that there would be outliers like Zhu Congzhen, Zhu Huaye and his son. The clan rebelled, and they actually rebelled.
The former prefect of Fengyang has committed suicide. Is it really true that General Fengguo, who has been raised like a pig all his life, should be made the prefect?
However, the rules set by Su Ze naturally cannot be changed. Lin Deyang said: "Let's do this. There are a few clerks in our army who will be left as aides to Magistrate Zhu. There are also some officials in the city who you can also recruit. Let's set up a platform first and wait until The Metropolitan Governor has appointed a new prefect, how about you transfer him to another position?"
Having said this, Zhu Congjin would be disrespectful if he refused any more, so he reluctantly nodded and agreed.
Lin Deyang added: "Most of the governors govern the people and will never tolerate corrupt officials. Magistrate Zhu will just follow the "Three Principles of Complaining to the People" and live with the people."
Zhu Congjin nodded quickly.
After finishing the arrangements, Lin Deyang looked at Zhu Huaye.
Zhu Huaye answered directly: "Brigadier, I want to join the army!"
Lin Deyang looked at Zhu Huaye and asked with a smile: "Why do you want to join the army?"
"Follow the governor to the capital to punish the people!"
Lin Deyang nodded with satisfaction and said: "You haven't attended a military academy. According to the military system, you cannot serve as a military officer. You should first serve as a staff officer under me and familiarize yourself with military affairs. If you have the opportunity in the future, I will recommend you to go to the military academy for further studies." "Thank you, brigade commander!" "Take a rest for two
days
. Departure the day after tomorrow."
"Target, Nanjing!"
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(end of this chapter)