Chapter 377 King Jing cannot bring him with him,
in February of the second year of Longqing, Xuzhou.
In the city of Xuzhou, banners were flying. Zhang Juzheng put on a vermilion official robe. He sat on a horse and looked at the soldiers filing out of the camp.
Zhang Juzheng finally took away 50,000 troops in Xuzhou. He also took away all the military provisions and horse baggage prepared for the southern expedition. He also recruited 30,000 civilians in Xuzhou city to follow him for transportation.
Before retreating, Zhang Juzheng destroyed Xuzhou's city wall and destroyed Xuzhou's water conservancy facilities, thus completely abandoning Xuzhou.
Some subordinates suggested that Zhang Juzheng dig up the hanging river next to Xuzhou City and divert the river water to destroy the city. Zhang Juzheng ultimately did not adopt this unscrupulous suggestion.
The Ming Dynasty only temporarily abandoned the city of Xuzhou and did such a great job to its own people. How could it face the people of the world in the future?
Zhang Juzheng looked back at Xuzhou City, then at the southeast direction, and finally sighed.
The court had discussed the decision to enter Huguang to quell King Jing's rebellion, and Zhang Juzheng also agreed.
The Ming court had many problems. Although the southeastern thieves were the Ming court's biggest enemies, King Jing's occupation of Huguang threatened the rule of the capital court.
Although no one in the court thought that King Jing could succeed.
But if King Jing is not controlled to take back Huguang, King Jing will definitely do bad things.
News came from Huguang that King Jing has now occupied the three mansions of Huguang. Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Jingzhou, is leading the Jingzhou guards to resist, but currently he can only defend himself.
Spring plowing is about to begin. If Huguang, the granary of the Ming Dynasty, misses the farming season this year and cannot plant food, then there will be no need to fight another big war this year.
This is why the Ming Dynasty would rather abandon Southern Zhili completely and must go to Huguang.
Zhang Juzheng's army left Xuzhou, and the intelligence station in the city immediately sent out the information.
The Fifth Brigade of the Southeast New Army, which had advanced to the Huaihe River after the Chinese New Year, received the news. Acting brigade commander Chen Lin immediately announced that the entire army would set out to take over the Xuzhou area abandoned by Zhang Juzheng.
In the newly formed third battalion of the Fifth Brigade, two foreigners, Kinoshita Tokichiro and Yi Sun-shin, were assigned to the same battalion.
The fifth brigade is a mixed brigade, with no regiments under it. Below the brigade are battalion-level units.
The first battalion is a cavalry unit of 500 people, using horses brought back by Su Ze from the capital and Tianjin.
The second battalion is an artillery battalion, with a strength of 500. Since the last battle of Dagu, the staff has also conducted several war games and exercises. The final conclusion is that artillery is used intensively in brigade-level corps operations. is more powerful.
With this idea in mind, a special artillery battalion was established in the newly formed fifth brigade to use artillery intensively during military operations to verify this conclusion on the battlefield.
The third to eighth battalions are all musketry battalions, with a staff of 500. Now the whole army has unified the name of musketry, and the musketeers have been renamed musketeers. The soldiers naturally welcome it. After all, the name of musketry is too unpleasant. .
In addition, there is a comprehensive battalion, which consists of a medical company, an engineer company, a logistics company, plus the staff office and guard company of the brigade headquarters. The fifth brigade has a total of 5,000 people.
The soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Fifth Brigade were basically new recruits. They had just completed formation training and military discipline education. At this time, Kinoshita Tokichiro and Yi Sunshin, who were holding muskets, were a little nervous.
The camp was occupied by Li Wang, who fought bravely in the last Battle of Taku. He didn't even take a vacation during the Chinese New Year. He attended the battalion-level officer training course at the Nanjing Army Academy for more than a month and was dragged to the battlefield before he even finished.
This time the fifth brigade was mobilized in full force, and such a large formation was used not only to guard against Zhang Juzheng's false shot, but more importantly to suppress bandits in Huaibei.
The most prosperous and intensive place for water transportation in the Ming Dynasty was the Jianghuai River Basin.
Although it has not reached the level of "millions of water transport workers" in the late Qing Dynasty, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in the Jianghuai area who make a living by water transport.
This included officials in the water transport department, laborers at the stations along the way, fiber pullers, porters, boaters, and nearby people who relied on providing services to the water transport ships, and even water bandits and road bullies who robbed and stole grain along the way.
After the southern sea route was cut off, these hundreds of thousands of people immediately had no food to eat.
The Jianghuai River Basin suddenly lost its jobs and immediately became turbulent.
At this time, due to the sediment problem in the Yellow River, the Jianghuai region was not yet a granary for future generations, and the grain output on the Jianghuai Plain today is not high.
In fact, northern Jiangsu really became a granary only after the completion of the Northern Jiangsu Irrigation Canal after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Therefore, after Zhang Juzheng made a move to withdraw from Xuzhou and Huai'an, the Governor's Office immediately conducted a study and judgment.
King Jing is an important enemy related to the legal system of the Ming Emperor and must be eliminated first. It is definitely true that Zhang Juzheng evacuated Xuzhou.
In order to completely control the northern part of South Zhili, that is, the Jianghuai area after Zhang Juzheng withdrew from Xuzhou and Huai'an, it was necessary to eliminate the bandits and resettle the refugees in the Jianghuai area.
After confirming this, the Fifth Brigade's advance has been very slow. After arriving at Huai'an Prefecture, the brigade commander Chen Lin ordered each battalion to be stationed in each county to inquire about the movements of nearby bandits and quell the bandit chaos.
Watching the cavalry galloping past, Kinoshita Tokichiro raised his head in envy.
When the officer in charge of recruiting soldiers came to Seikan with the enlistment notice, Kinoshita Tokichiro was confused.
Why did I, a well-behaved envoy of a famous Japanese country, join the army?
With the help of a Japanese interpreter from the Seikan, Kinoshita Tokichiro finally got rid of his own mistake.
Faced with the order from the Grand Governor Su Zette approving him to join the army, since he could stay in Siyi Pavilion and live in vain without seeing Su Ze, why not join the army? If he performed meritorious service, would he have a chance to be received by the Grand Governor?
Kinoshita Tokichiro gritted his teeth and accepted to join the Fifth Brigade and became a recruit of the Fifth Brigade.
At the beginning, Kinoshita wanted to become a cavalryman, but his height did not meet the requirements of the cavalry at all, and he was eventually transferred to the Musket Battalion.
Compared to Kinoshita Tokichiro's reluctance, Yi Sun-shin was surprised to receive the draft notice.
Hearing that Yi Sun-shin had enlisted in the army, the Jiming Temple where he stayed even held a simple farewell ceremony for him. The abbot and other monks beat gongs and drums to see him off to the army.
Nowadays, the status of soldiers in the southeast region is quite high, because the southeast new army has good military discipline and never disturbs the people.
On the other hand, the Southeast New Army's treatment is good. Ordinary soldiers can be taught literacy when they join the army, and they can be promoted to officers if they perform meritorious service.
Officers who are discharged due to injury and transferred to other places can directly become officials. For many poor people, serving as a soldier is a good way to get promoted.
Coupled with newspaper propaganda, it has completely reversed the social perception that "good men should not be soldiers". A large number of people line up to sign up for each recruitment. However, the screening standards of the Southeast New Army are becoming more and more strict, and more and more people want to join the army. Being a soldier is not good enough.
Yi Sun-shin originally wanted to be an artilleryman because he felt that artillery was the most powerful, but he was rejected in the mathematics additional test of the artillery battalion.
The cavalry required additional tests on their riding skills. Yi Sun-shin had never ridden a horse, so in the end he could only be a musketeer.
"Monkey, here comes the order!" Yi Sun-shin said as he walked into the temporary camp.
There were only two foreigners in the third battalion, Yi Sun-shin and Kinoshita Tokichiro. Although the Japanese and Koreans did not deal with them, Kinoshita Tokichiro was tactful and Yi Sun-shin was still a young man after all. The relationship between the two soon became good.
During this time, Kinoshita Tokichiro learned Chinese from Yi Sun-shin, and Kinoshita Tokichiro was quite talented in using muskets. He taught Yi Sun-shin how to use muskets, and the relationship between the two became better and better. Kinoshita Tokichiro had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and the soldiers in the camp called him monkey.
He was not ashamed, but often made funny moves, making the soldiers in the camp laugh. After getting along with him for a while, Kinoshita Tokichiro got the nickname "Monkey", but no one liked him anymore because he was a Japanese. Discriminated against him.
After hearing the order, Kinoshita Tokichiro immediately stood up and stood at attention. His movements were very funny, and the atmosphere in the military camp was filled with laughter.
As Yi Sunchen read out the military order, everyone became serious.
It turned out that a group of hundreds of water bandits had been entrenched in the reeds not far from the station, and the third battalion was ordered to go and exterminate them.
The soldiers quickly packed their bags and prepared for battle.
On February 10, the Fifth Brigade finally wiped out the relatively large water bandits and refugee army near Huai'an. Yi Sunchen and Kinoshita Tokichiro were commended by Battalion Commander Sun Wang for their bravery in combat.
The fifth brigade officially entered Xuzhou. Zhang Juzheng's officials who stayed in Xuzhou immediately opened the city gate and surrendered before the fifth brigade could attack the city.
Acting brigade commander Chen Lin was quite regretful that he had missed another opportunity to conduct siege drills.
At this point, the Southeast New Army finally occupied the entire southern Zhili area.
Zhang Juzheng's troops set out from Xuzhou, traveled westward along the Bianhe River, and arrived in Kaifeng, Henan.
Naturally, the news of Zhang Juzheng's army movement could not be concealed. King Jing in Wuchang got the news and immediately summoned Zhao Zhenji.
Zhao Zhenji was also very anxious during this period.
Now Zhao Zhenji finally understands why King Jing lost to King Yu in the battle to win the throne.
This guy is really too lazy to help!
King Jing's reputation in Huguang was really bad. Not only the petty officials in Huguang looked down upon him, but also the governor of Huguang, You Jujing, was captured and refused to surrender to King Jing.
King Jing actually wanted to kill You Jujing, but was immediately stopped by Zhao Zhenji.
You Ju Jing lived a life of academic practice, lived a frugal life, and lived in simple clothes and food. Even though he held a high position like the governor of Huguang, his family had little money left.
Officials from all over Huguang respected You Jujing very much. If they killed him, no one would be willing to work for King Jing in the future.
Zhao Zhenji could only persuade King Jing to imprison You Jujing.
Years ago, after quickly capturing Wuchang, Zhao Zhenji persuaded King Jing to personally attack Jingzhou.
Jingzhou and Xiangyang are the gateways to the upper reaches of Wuchang.
Zhang Juzheng is now in Kaifeng, but there are no roads or railways at this time. It is unrealistic to go directly south from Kaifeng to attack Wuchang.
To attack Wuchang from the north, Cao Cao's route is the most reasonable.
That is to enter Xiangyang from Xinye, then go south to Jingzhou, advance from Jingzhou by land and water, and attack Wuchang.
Therefore, for King Jing who occupied Wuchang, to defend Huguang, he had to capture the two gates of Jingzhou and Xiangyang.
Jingzhou and Xiangyang are so important. During the battle between Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Song Dynasty relied on the Jingzhou and Xiangyang defense lines and was able to hold off the Yuan army for six years.
Therefore, as long as Jingzhou and Xiangyang are occupied, Huguang can at least be divided into one side, and then it can bargain with the Ming court.
At that time, Jingzhou only had the guards of Jingzhou Guards and Prince Xiang's Mansion. Jingzhou could have been captured with a quick battle.
But at this time, someone suddenly complained to King Jing. The person who complained was the King of Chu in Wuchang.
Not all the vassals of the Ming Dynasty were rich. The four richest palaces in the world were the Qin Palace in Xi'an, the Zhou Palace in Kaifeng, the Shu Palace in Chengdu, and the Chu Palace in Wuchang.
The King of Qin was the vassal king who gave the palace to Jiajing, and the wealth of the Chu Palace was also coveted by King Jing.
The then king of Chu, Zhu Ying, was considered King Jing's uncle in terms of seniority, so it was impossible for King Jing to directly inspect the palace of King Chu.
At this time, someone complained to King Jing. The complainant was named Wang Heng, and he claimed to be a descendant of Wang Bi, the founding Marquis of Dingyuan.
Wang Bi was one of the founding princes of the Ming Dynasty. He died because of his involvement in the Lan Yu case. The founder of the Chu vassal, King Chu Zhao, Zhu Zhen, married the princess Wang, who was the daughter of Dingyuan Hou Wang Bi.
According to Wang Heng, when Wang Bi died, he gave all his family property to his daughter, the Princess of Chu.
Wang Bi left behind more than 68,000 taels of gold, 2.5 million taels of silver, and "incomparable" jewelry, all of which were also stored in the treasury of the King of Chu.
In addition, Wang Bi also had 86 Zhuang fields granted by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Since Yongle, the rent of Zhuang fields has also been collected by the Chu government, totaling more than 8 million taels.
The total of the two items is equivalent to more than thirteen million taels of silver.
Wang Heng took out a genealogy and claimed to be Wang Bi's heir. He said that he was willing to dedicate all the property left by his ancestors to King Jing and help King Jing start an army to put down the rebellion!
But the money was all in the palace of King Chu, and King Jing had to go and "get it" in person.
When he heard about thirteen million taels of silver, King Jing, who had always been greedy for money, couldn't sit still.
Although King Jing was rich, he was a newly-confessed vassal after all, and he had dispersed all his wealth in order to raise an army.
The King of Chu is a wealthy vassal in the world, and in a prosperous and prosperous place like Wuchang, he still has thirteen million taels of silver!
This is all Gu's money!
With the excuse, King Jing was naturally rude and immediately took King Chu out of the palace and forced him to spit out the thirteen million taels of silver he had embezzled from the Wang family.
Zhu Ying was arrested and cried out that he was wronged. He argued:
"Wang Bi was a member of Lan Yu's party and was sentenced to death. How could he leave so much property? At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was so much waste waiting for prosperity. How could there be so much gold and silver? A gift of jewels?"
"The Chu Mansion suffered from repeated fires in the sixth year of Xuande, the fourth year of Tianshun, the sixth year of Tianshun, and the eighteenth year of Chenghua. Among them, three fires broke out in August and January of the eighteenth year of Chenghua. The palace burned down. It's a white land."
"Furthermore, after Zhu Yingyao killed his father and became a rebel, King Zhu Xianhuai of Wugang twice took charge of government affairs and embezzled a large amount of property. At present, the Chu government only has 180,000 taels of silver in storage and no other treasury." "My lord
. I am willing to move my family out of the Prince of Chu's Mansion, and save all my money to finance the army, just to protect my family's safety."
King Jing took the account book and found only 180,000 taels of silver. All of this money was sent to his private treasury, but from then on Thirteen million turned into 180,000, and King Jing was very unhappy.
While King Jing was tormenting his relatives, Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Jingzhou, had already persuaded King Xiang, who was in power in Jingzhou, to spend money and raise an army to guard Jingzhou.
After receiving the news, Zhao Zhenji could only shout in his heart, King Jing can't take him!
(End of chapter)