Chapter 348 Jiajing Western Hunting
With the fall of Taku, Su Ze’s military experience continued to increase.
The military skills of leading troops in combat will be upgraded. Although Su Ze did not personally command the Battle of Dagu, Lin Mojun, who commanded the battle, was his general, and he also gained experience.
As the Second Brigade of Dagu entered Dagu Guards, the war temporarily came to an end.
But the entire Tianjin campaign has just begun.
Just after the capture of Dagu Guard, Su Ze took over the command. He only sent a small number of troops to take over Dagu Pass, and then led most of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Brigades directly towards Tianjin.
After the troops were assembled, Su Ze immediately gave a brief mobilization speech:
"I know that everyone is tired and working hard, but it's not time to rest yet. I will be in Tianjin tonight to congratulate you on your victory!" [
Purple Passive - Incitement: After completing a short inciting lecture, Charisma +5, Military Skills +3 for one day]
plus the previous [Blue Passive - Commander of the Guns: Charm +1 when leading a firearms unit] , Su Ze's art of war skills became Lv14+3, and his charm was as high as 17+5+1, reaching a terrifying 23 points!
Under such a terrifying charm bonus, the soldiers who heard Su Ze's speech burst out with strong enthusiasm, and rushed towards Tianjin City with only one day's baggage and dry food.
In Tianjin City, Commander Mao had just woken up from last night's hangover, and he was considering whether to go to the Dagu Guards Camp today.
At this time, a group of riders entered Tianjin City and shouted: "Emergency military situation! The Southeast Fleet goes north! The Southeast Fleet goes north!" These
were the soldiers from Dengzhou reporting the enemy's situation. This group of soldiers rode horses and shouted all the way from Dengzhou. Go north and report the news of the discovery of the Southeast Fleet at sea to the military garrison cities along the way. The cities and garrison stations passing along the way are indifferent.
This is not a problem with the cities and guard posts along the way, but before Su Ze's army has landed, no one dares to take the risk and leave their base without authorization.
The military guard system of the Ming Dynasty was not only to reduce the cost of raising the army, but also to prevent the army from causing chaos.
The guards troops could not leave their base without orders. The riders shouted all the way and rushed into the Tianjin Guards. This attracted the attention of the Tianjin Xingdu Si Yamen.
The Southeast Fleet headed north, and the most valuable offensive target in the entire Bohai Bay was Tianjin. Commander Mao immediately sobered up after receiving the news. He had just mounted his horse and was about to leave the city when he received news of the fall of Dagu.
Commander Mao suddenly fell off his horse and fell unconscious.
Mei Chengtai, the commander of the Tianjin capital, knew that Tianjin was at stake, so he immediately changed horses for the Dengzhou riders and allowed them to continue heading north to the capital to report the news.
The Mei family has also been a military household for generations. Mei Chengtai immediately sent out scouts in the direction of Dagu Guards to inquire about the location of Su Ze's army, and then immediately summoned Tianjin Guards and Tianjin Right Guards to arrange Tianjin's defense.
While Mei Chengtai was still discussing the matter, the 2nd and 3rd brigades, which were marching in a hurry, had already appeared at the gate of Tianjin!
Mei Chengtai looked ashen when he received the news. Now there are only three thousand soldiers and horses of Tianjin Guard and four thousand soldiers and horses of Tianjin Right Guard in Tianjin City.
The only good thing is that a few years ago, the Japanese pirates harassed Dengzhou and Laizhou, and also tried to attack Dagu. The imperial court sent the Censor Qing Army to purge the Tianjin Sanwei. Now these 7,000 people are actually 7,000 people.
But the Daku Fort cannot defend itself with so many artillery pieces. Can these 7,000 people defend Tianjin City?
Mei Chengtai's scalp was numb, but he knew that he had only one option to stick to.
Mei Chengtai looked at Tianjin Guard Commander Huo Fangsheng, and then at Tianjin Right Guard Commander Xiao Shoulu. These two people usually fought in Tianjin City, but at this time they both had blank faces and dared not speak.
Mei Chengtai said: "I have sent fast horses to ask for help from the capital. It is impossible for the capital to sit back and watch Tianjin fall!"
Huo Fangsheng, the commander of Tianjin Guards, said with an ashen expression on his face: "How is this possible?! Shouldn't the main force in the southeast be still in the south? How could he suddenly go north?"
Xiao Shoulu, the commander of the Tianjin Right Guards, said in despair: "Impossible! It must be a partial force! If the main force of the Soviet thieves is all going south, Yang Shangshu's Liaodong elite are going south, and he doesn't want them in the southeast. Did it!?"
The two of them still couldn't believe this fact, but after they climbed onto the Tianjin city wall and saw the second and third brigades in formation, all three of them were in despair.
The Mingting generals already knew the number of aces under Su Ze. These well-organized troops could never be partial divisions! This must be the main force of the new southeastern army!
But the number of troops in the city right now is disappointing!
The battle reports of Lin Liangjun's capture of Jiujiang and Anqing, as well as the Southeast New Army's capture of Nanjing, have been reviewed and judged by the Ministry of War.
When Jiujiang was captured, the Soviet Union's Second Brigade had less than 5,000 men and was able to break through Jiujiang City, which was guarded by inner and outer walls.
The Southeastern Allied Forces, with less than 10,000 people, were able to break through the city of Nanjing, which was garrisoned by 30,000 people.
All the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty knew about the Soviet thieves' strong ships and powerful artillery and elite troops.
The only reason why the Ming Dynasty remained optimistic was that Su Ze had too few troops.
According to the intelligence collected by Zhang Juzheng, Su Ze plus the navy only had more than 10,000 elite troops at hand.
That's why there was a saying that began to spread among the Ming Dynasty's army: "If there are no more than ten thousand Su thieves, they will be invincible."
But now there are already 10,000 people standing under Tianjin City! In other words, the main force of the Southeast Allied Forces is here! Just under Tianjin City!
This was enough to destroy any idea of luck. After realizing this, Tianjin Commander Mei Chengtai wanted to say a few words to encourage morale, but soon he didn't know how to speak.
After holding it in for a long time, he said to his two generals:
"As long as we hold on firmly, there will be a way! It is impossible for the capital to just sit back and watch Tianjin fall!"
Mei Chengtai's words were nonsense. Who doesn't know that holding Tianjin is a great achievement? , but seeing the cannons pulled by carriages from the city, who can guarantee that Tianjin will be defended?
However, the two commanders immediately arranged to defend the city. It was only half a day's journey from the capital to Tianjin. It was already Shenshi (three o'clock in the afternoon). As long as it was dark, the defender would have an advantage.
There are also several forts on the Tianjin city wall. At this time, the gunners are also adjusting the angle of the muzzle to aim at the position of the New Army in the southeast.
Su Ze was riding a horse. His headquarters was located in the center of the army. The artillery of the second and third brigades were concentrated in the front line. The gunners were in the rear line. The flanks were hastily formed rangers. Their main function was to Scout on both sides to prevent the Ming army from raiding.
This is a typical gun phalanx. The twelve-pound cannon was brought to the front line by horse-drawn horses. The artillery was adjusting the position of the muzzle and aiming it at the gate of Tianjin City.
Compared with the high morale of the southeastern new army outside the city, the morale of the Tianjin defenders inside the city was extremely low.
The numerical and equipment advantages are far inferior to those of the New Southeast Army. Mei Chengtai has no constructive strategy except to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.
With the roar of the cannons, the gates of Tianjin City were broken by the huge power of the new artillery.
"Come on!" Sun Wang, as the acting company commander of the third company of the fifth regiment of the second brigade, took the lead and led the soldiers of the company into the city of Tianjin.
The city wall defense line that the Tianjin defenders relied on was broken, and the troops in the city immediately lost their will to fight and raised their flags to surrender.
By the time it was almost dark, Tianjin City had been completely controlled by the Southeast New Army, and Su Ze moved the headquarters into Tianjin City.
Su Ze ordered the entire army to rest and recuperate immediately, and ordered the First Brigade, which did not participate in the Tianjin siege, to immediately take control of the Tianjin dock and control the water transportation of the North Canal. In the capital, the 800-mile express from Dengzhou finally entered the capital city. News that the southeastern New Army fleet bypassed the Bohai Bay spread in the capital.
Xu Jie, the chief minister of the cabinet, who had just finished handling the frontline military affairs from the cabinet, has returned to the government. Now the cabinet has many affairs, but there are only two cabinet ministers. The workload has increased greatly. Mr. Xu Ge has written many times to request the emperor to increase the number of cabinet members, but it was too late. Approval has been delayed.
And now it is wartime, and the cabinet cannot do without people. Xu Jie and Zhao Zhenji can only take turns guarding the cabinet. Xu Jie, who has been keeping in good health these days, has aged a lot.
"Father! Urgent report from the cabinet!"
Since the imperial court stopped the construction of the three main halls, the relationship between Xu Jie and his son has eased a bit. Xu Fan moved back to the Xu Mansion and helped Xu Jie with some government affairs on weekdays.
Xu Fan ignored that Xu Jie had not eaten yet and handed Xu Jie the urgent report from the cabinet.
These two military affairs actually entered the capital one after another.
The former is the intelligence that the Dengzhou Navy detected the Southeast Navy's entry into the Bohai Sea, and the latter is the intelligence of the fall of Tianjin.
Seeing these two pieces of military information, Xu Jie's blood pressure suddenly shot up.
"Prepare the car, I want to enter the palace!"
At the same time, the same news was also sent to the Si Li Supervisor. After seeing these two shocking news, the eunuch Bingbi did not dare to hide it at all, and immediately sent the news to Jiajing in front of the emperor.
After receiving the news, the emperor was shocked. At this moment, Chen Hong came to report: "Your Majesty, Xu Shoufu Yeque Palace, please see your Majesty!" The emperor immediately said: "Summon! Let all the important ministers enter the palace to discuss matters
. ! Hurry!"
Chen Hong did not dare to neglect, and simply sent Jin Yiwei and Dongchang to knock on the ministers' doors, while Xu Jie had already arrived in front of Yuxi Palace.
As soon as he saw the emperor, Xu Jie knelt down and apologized: "I am incompetent! The Su thief in the southeast is in power." The
emperor waved his hand and said, "Don't say too much, chief minister. I have already punished myself. The Su thief in the southeast is in power. The fault lies with me, Yuan Dang, Xu Aiqing, and the Su thieves are about to attack the capital. How should the court respond?"
Xu Jie said very decisively: "I invite your majesty to hunt west."
At this time, not only Emperor Jiajing was stupid, he stood on Huang Jin and Chen Hong who were listening outside the hall were also shocked.
Xu Jie immediately said: "The Su thieves are absolutely invincible. Although I am not skilled in military affairs, with the current strength of the troops near the capital, I cannot stop the rebels at all."
Xu Jie has already risked his life. At this moment, he can only tell the truth. .
But the emperor still hesitated.
He has already lost Nanjing and his ancestral mausoleum Fengyang. If he loses the capital again, how will he, the emperor, see his ancestors in the future?
If he leaves the capital, he will completely lose his prestige in governing the world.
Seeing that the emperor was still hesitating, Xu Jie could only take a step back and said:
"The Su thieves are especially good at breaking down cities. It only took one day for the Su thieves to land on the sea and conquer Tianjin. How can the capital resist?" After hearing
this, the emperor still didn't know. He said willingly: "Mr. Xu Ge, is it true that the capital cannot be defended?"
Xu Jie nodded and said: "The Su thieves are different from me. Their weapons are so sharp that they can explode the city walls of Jiujiang and Nanjing. Although the walls of the capital are tall, the walls of the capital cannot be defended." It’s too long. There are less than 50,000 soldiers in the city including the imperial camp, so there is no way they can defend such a long city wall.” “
Once the bandit army enters the city, they can use their firearms to immediately defeat the capital defenders. Your Majesty will be in danger by then!”
The royal guards and eunuchs sent by Chen Hong had already summoned all the important ministers to the palace.
The ministers entered the palace under the leadership of Zhao Zhenji, the second minister of the cabinet. Zhao Zhenji fell when he entered the Yuxi Palace. He rolled and crawled in front of the emperor. He ignored the etiquette and said: "Your Majesty, Tianjin has fallen
. Your Majesty, please hunt west!"
All the ministers knelt down and asked the emperor: "I invite your Majesty, your Majesty, to hunt west!"
Emperor Jiajing felt his head was buzzing, and the side effects of long-term use of elixirs made him mentally weak. The emperor who was usually arbitrary in everything was suddenly in a state of confusion.
He looked at the ministers and asked: "Where do you all think I am going?"
Xu Jie immediately said: "I thought I was going to Guanzhong."
Zhao Zhenji immediately stood up and objected: "There was an earthquake in Guanzhong the year before last, and it still remains today. Disaster victims are everywhere. How can the imperial court fight against thieves when it goes to Guanzhong?"
Xu Jie immediately said: "There is an old Grand Canal in Guanzhong. Although the Bian River is silted, grain can still be transported from Huguang and Shuzhong into Guanzhong. There is grain in Huguang and Shuzhong. , there are people in Guanzhong who can train soldiers to fight against thieves, and Guanzhong is not far from Jiubian, so we can summon the remaining elites from Jiubian to go south to Qinwang." But at this time, the emperor was frightened, and he asked the ministers: "
Guanzhong is safe "?"
Xu Jie immediately said: "The Guanzhong portal is in Kaifeng, not far from Xuzhou. Let some of the nine-border elites guard the Guanzhong portal. The rest will take advantage of the absence of the main force of the Su thieves to continue southward to recapture South Zhili. The advantage is still with the imperial court. This way!"
Seeing the emperor's hesitation, Zhao Zhenji, who was especially good at figuring out the emperor's thoughts, immediately said:
"Your Majesty, I think that Guanzhong is in decline and is not a place for relocation at all. I think we should go to Bashu!" "The
road to Shu is difficult, and there are dangers. The Yangtze River is dangerous, and the center of Shu is rich and can be attacked, retreated or defended. Your Majesty only needs to coordinate the rebellion in the center of Shu." At
this time, the ministers began to talk about it. Some said they were going to Taiyuan, some were talking about going to Huguang, and some were talking about going to Huguang. Some people talk about going to Jiubian, and there is endless debate.
The emperor was also disturbed by the quarrel. At this time, Xu Jie suddenly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, no matter what, you have to leave the capital tonight!" "I
ask your Majesty to establish the foundation of the country, appoint King Yu as the prince, and keep the prince in the capital to supervise the country. , Your Majesty will lead the imperial guards and the elite of the Beijing camp to hunt west!"
The emperor also came to his senses. Since the west is definitely going to the west, he should summon the army immediately. If it is not safe in Guanzhong, then continue to enter Sichuan. .
After understanding this, the emperor immediately said: "Quickly summon the elites of the Beijing camp and escort me out of the city. I want to hunt to the west!" Please
vote, they are all hunting to the west!
(End of chapter)