Great time travel

Chapter 95, The Death Knell of the Ming Empire

North Zhili, Shuntian Prefecture, Tianjin Wei

As the Grand Canal connected the north and the south and became the economic lifeline of the country, and after Emperor Yongle Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, Tianjin gradually became the southeast gateway of Beijing and an important shipping hub.

In the second year of Yongle, Tianjin Acropolis began to be built.Because the city wall is long from east to west and short from north to south, it is commonly known as "Abacus City".In the fourth year of Hongzhi, the imperial court carried out a large-scale renovation of Tianjin Tucheng. The city walls were covered with bricks and stones, and urns and towers were added to each gate, and plaques were inscribed for the east, south, west, and north gates. They are called "Zhendong", "Dingnan", "Anxi" and "Gongbei". According to the architectural standards of the Ming Dynasty, they are absolutely majestic, tall and indestructible.

But at this moment, under the city walls of Tianjin, there are many unburied corpses everywhere, and in the wasteland not far from the city, there are still many destroyed chariots and long ladders abandoned.Even the green brick walls are covered with scars, and the brick and wood towers and houses outside the walls are all burned.It turned out that many satellite villages and towns around the city were also completely destroyed by the war, and the residents either filled trenches or fled to other places.

Two miles to the south of Tianjin City, the barren fields next to the canal are filled with all kinds of tents.Outside one of the most luxurious tents of the Chinese army, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, pressed his sword with his right hand and looked at the majestic Tianjin Acropolis on the horizon, feeling an unknown fire in his heart.

——From the spring of this year, Hong Chengchou led [-] Qin troops to pursue the rogue bandits, from Shaanxi across Shanxi to Beizhili, and then because of the food shortage in Gyeonggi, he was ordered to go south to Shandong to "eat food" to support Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian to suppress news The Xiangjiao demon, and once crossed the border and invaded the Xuzhou Mansion in Southern Zhili... along the way, he continued to fight in five provinces, almost penetrating the entire North China from west to east, which can be said to be extremely difficult...

After Liaoxi generals defected and surrendered, the Jurchen cavalry entered the pass in large numbers, and the main areas of Gyeonggi were in a complete emergency, Hong Chengchou, who received a letter of distress, ignored his troops' long-distance transfer and tired soldiers, and once again led the Qin army to turn around and go northward along the canal in an attempt to Entering the capital to serve the king... If you want to select the "Top Ten Model Workers Who Moved Ming Dynasty This Year", Hong Chengchou and his hard-working Qin army will definitely be honored to be on the list.

However, how did the ruling and opposition parties of the Ming Empire treat this loyal and brave army who broke through the dangers of Guanshan and rushed thousands of miles to the national crisis?

After the previous victory in suppressing bandits in Gyeonggi, the imperial court has pushed back and forth on the rewards that the Qin army should deserve. They just talked a lot and promised a lot of rewards, but they even refused to supply food and fodder. Instead, officials of all sizes came asking for bribes. Call after call.After moving to Shandong, although he took a little money from the wealthy gentry and took some loot, compared with the huge expenses of the army, Hong Chengchou still felt that he could not make ends meet... But what happened outside Tianjin now, It made Hong Chengchou and his subordinates almost explode in anger.

——Before the Qin army arrived, the Liaoxi rebel general Wu Xiang had already led [-] soldiers and horses to drive straight into Tianjin City. Soon the Tianjin Acropolis, which had few soldiers, was crumbling.

Hearing the news, Hong Chengchou, who was slowly heading north, immediately led a large army to Tianjin for reinforcements. After a fierce battle, he successfully repelled the Guanning Army and temporarily relieved the siege of Tianjin.Unexpectedly, after Guan Ning's army retreated, Du Sance, the governor of Tianjin, ordered the city gates to be closed to prevent anyone from the Qin army from entering the city. Then he refused to provide food and grass on the grounds that there was no food in the city, and ordered people to throw them from the city. Under 1000 taels of silver, Hong Chengchou was asked to buy food by himself.

This is really a big joke in the wild world - after such a tragic military disaster, almost all the villages and towns around Tianjin City have been reduced to ruins. If you refuse to open the public treasury, let Hong Chengchou go Where to buy food?
What's more, even if Hong Chengchou has a place outside the city where he can buy grain, the price of rice in Jinan, Shandong has risen to 40 taels of silver per stone because of the rebellion of the demons Wen Xiangjiao, who cut off the canal, and the rice in the south of the Yangtze River cannot go north. The price of grain in Zhili will only become more expensive. It is said that the price of rice in Beijing and China has reached 80 taels per shi... How much rice and wheat can you buy with a mere 1000 taels of silver?I'm afraid it's not enough for fifty thousand Qin soldiers to have a full meal!

This time Hong Chengchou led the army from Shandong to return to the division of King Qin. The food and grass brought with the army was not enough. The soldiers were hungry and full. Even this little wish can't be fulfilled!The remaining food and grass in the army can only allow the soldiers to eat porridge for one meal a day.Even so, it was only enough to support the mere five days, and after that, he could only go around digging the bark and grass roots!

Seeing that the Acropolis of Tianjin could not get any food, Hong Chengchou had no choice but to order his cronies and staff to bring his letter and token to Jinghai County to collect food. Unexpectedly, the magistrate of Jinghai County also used the excuse that there was no food in the city. , refused to supply food and grass, and beat Hong Chengchou's envoys out with sticks!
Unexpectedly, he devoted himself to serving the country with all his heart, and he was eager to serve the public and righteousness, but in the end he ended up with this result. Hong Chengchou, who was not very good-tempered at first, became even more irritable these days.In recent days, he has begun to send troops to "grass valleys" everywhere. However, in the past few years, there have been wars and famines in Beizhili. The wealthy families either hid in the city protected by the city wall, or moved to the south of the Yangtze River to "avoid the hustle and bustle". Even if the army wanted to grab food, there was nowhere to grab it.

In addition, Hong Chengchou did not forget to write to the Ministry of War, asking the court to find ways to deal with food and grass issues, but there was no response.

This attitude of "wanting the horse to run, but refusing to graze the horse" made Hong Chengchou very sad. Since he was ordered to serve as the king, he was not afraid to fight with all kinds of bandits, bandits, rebels, and even Liaodong slaves. Fighting, but the constraints from within the court exhausted him physically and mentally.

Even the storytellers in the teahouse know this truth, but the court always likes to pretend not to know.

Due to the exhaustion of food and grass and the lack of payment, the [-] Qin army had to be stranded in the south of Tianjin and could not continue to advance towards the capital. Already exhausted.Next, they have to face the Jurchen Eight Banners, an unprecedentedly powerful enemy. No matter what, they have to eat, drink, and rest enough before they can cheer up and fight the enemy.

If the soldiers are not able to eat enough before going into battle, it is not a war, but a death.

But in the face of the lack of cooperation from the local government, it is really impossible to raise food and grass... Is it necessary to move troops to the three prefectures in southern Jinan to fight the autumn wind in Lu Xiangsheng's old lair?

But what should the capital do?With Lu Xiangsheng's remnant soldiers and defeated generals, and the waste of the Beijing camp, can the city be defended?
Also, I heard that there is a plague in the capital recently, and the soldiers in the army are very worried about it, and they are very reluctant to go further into Jifu.

Just when Hong Chengchou was at a loss and was in a dilemma, Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi who followed the Qin army, came to ask for an interview mysteriously: "...Master Supervisor, although Tianjin is dilapidated, if you want to It is not impossible to organize food."

"...Oh? I wonder what your opinion is?"

Although he didn't believe that this vulgar martial artist could come up with a solution, Hong Chengchou still signaled Hu Dawei to continue when he was in a hurry to go to the doctor.

And Hu Dawei, the general officer of Shanxi Army, actually found out a way at this time: "...The lower officials have recently sent scouts around to investigate, and found that there are sea-going ships doing business in Dagukou (Tanggu) from Shandong. The grain was transported and sold here, and the price was not bad, only five taels of silver for a stone of wheat."

"...That sounds good! Then why don't you buy it?" Hong Chengchou's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked hastily.

"...No money!" Hu Dawei replied with a look of embarrassment, "...has not paid money for five months, and the reward from the Ministry of War is still owed."

——Hu Dawei's statement is half true and half false: the salaries of the various ministries of the Qin Army have been in arrears for a long time, and the Ministry of War has also delayed the rewards for previous military exploits, but with the looting on the battlefield and the filial piety of the local gentry, everyone The private pockets of the officers are still quite sufficient... However, although the officers have a variety of tricks to embezzle ink, they have always been able to get in and out. It is extremely difficult to ask them to pay for the military rations out of their own pockets.

For the same reason, Hong Chengchou was unwilling to pay, "...Since it is a sea ship from Shandong, it must have something to do with the Dengzhou rebels - last month, the Dengzhou navy was still intercepting the Tianjin merchant ship! You can just requisition the food directly, how can there be any need to give them money?"

Hu Dawei smiled wryly and said: "...Master Supervisor, it would be great if this is the case. Those sea merchants are shrewd. They built a stockade by the sea, which leads directly to the wharf. The grain they sell is all on the big ship. The money is only willing to unload. If we send troops to rob, if we send fewer troops, I’m afraid we won’t be able to break through the stockade—the stockade is guarded by bandit soldiers from Dengzhou Town. If we send more troops, they will just board a boat and run away to sea... "

——Obviously, after learning about this, Hu Dawei must have planned to take food for nothing and not give money, but unfortunately he failed to do so.

After learning that the sea merchants who sell grain seem to be unable to grab by force, and that they are indeed related to the Dengzhou rebels, Hong Chengchou hesitated for a while, fearing that he would be impeached by the censor because of his relationship with the rebels.But now the food shortage problem of the Qin army is urgent, and if it is delayed, it may cause a mutiny, and the capital is also crumbling, and it is at stake... The court should not be picky anymore!Hong Chengchou thought not confidently.

In short, in order to solve the urgent need of the army's lack of food and fodder, Hong Chengchou finally decided to go to Dagukou to find sea merchants to buy food.Then, because the Qin army was about to run out of food and the morale of the army was fluctuating, Hong Chengchou was afraid of wasting time in envoys and bargaining. I don't care about any decency, I just want to get the food as quickly as possible.

However, what Hong Chengchou never expected was that as soon as his front foot left, a catastrophe broke out on Tianjin's back foot...

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North Zhili, Yongping Prefecture, Leting County

Accompanied by the whining horns and the rumbling war drums, the tens of thousands of troops are like a winding dragon, slowly advancing towards the southwest along the official road leading to the capital.Whether they are cavalry or infantry, most of the soldiers look like ordinary hulking backs, with a thin money mouse tail hanging from the top of their bare heads, many of them have scars on their faces, and their eyes always reveal ferocity and tyrannical breath.

Under the warm autumn day, the vast fields on both sides of the official road are overgrown with weeds, white bones and burnt black ruins can be seen from time to time.And on this road that has been in disrepair for a long time, there are also potholes and ups and downs, so that fine dust flies up, and then dances in the air, pouring into the eyes, ears, and nostrils of soldiers and livestock. Reluctantly, the soldiers in the rear were completely covered in dust, and had to leave the main road and walk on both sides to avoid the dust.Or cover your mouth and nose with your clothes, squint your eyes and rush forward.

However, despite the disgrace along the way, these Jurchen soldiers are still extremely elated from top to bottom. From the Eight Banners Banner Master, Belle Dutong, down to the Baoyi Han Army, they are all excited about today's unprecedented victory, and even look forward to and look forward to it. Looking forward to the rich spoils after entering the city of Beijing.

And Huang Taiji, the emperor of Houjin who led this army, was even more complacent, as if he saw that the throne of the supreme under heaven had already waved to him in front of him:

"...Although the Ming Kingdom is big, it has become a rotten tree. Now that it has suffered such a fatal blow, it may really be the end of its life!"

——In fact, the current excellent situation is also a complete surprise to Huang Taiji.Until Guan Ning's army suddenly turned their backs en masse, he never expected that the Ming Empire would suddenly collapse like this!
After winning the Battle of Daling River this spring, although Huang Taiji used captured Wu Xiang, Zu Dashou and other Guan Ning generals to send many letters of persuasion to the remaining generals in Jinzhou and Ningyuan in western Liaoning, but in his heart there was no There is no hope of success—after all, the difference in treatment between the two sides is too great. The Ming court can give 500 million taels of salary to the generals in western Liaoning, but Houjin can only give them a few pieces of land outside the customs that have been suffering from famine for years.

Therefore, when the Liaoxi general actually turned his back on him, in the mind of the bewildered Huang Taiji, it was definitely more of a shock than a surprise.

It wasn't until the Guan Ning army really shaved off their hair and changed their banners, and offered Shanhaiguan and other pass fortresses to the Jurchen Eight Banners, and made way for a shortcut to the Central Plains, that Huang Taiji finally confirmed that this was not a trick of the Ming Dynasty. , but an unprecedented spree that fell from the sky!

However, although the "Shanhaiguan + Guanning Army" gift package from heaven is good, it also completely disrupted Huang Taiji's original strategic plan: he was planning to finish the battle of Daling River before stationing troops for a rest A month later, he personally led a group of elite soldiers to the north of Ningguta to fight against the "short-haired pirates" entrenched in Vladivostok, so as to relieve the back of the Jurchen Eight Banners... But with Shanhaiguan, the gateway to the Central Plains, Suddenly, all the above-mentioned ideas are in vain—from the Eight Banners to the ordinary flags, they have long been fascinated by the world of flowers and flowers in the Central Plains. Guan went to grab a lot of votes, how could he be willing to go to the deep mountains and old forests on the Ninggu Pagoda to suffer?
Although Huang Taiji is relatively calm and prudent, he also knows the truth of "God does not take, but suffers disaster"-Guan Ning's army defected and offered Guan, which is the most important thing for Aixinjueluo's family to take control of Zhongyuan. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.If because of his own hesitation, he missed this short opportunity and let Ming Ting seize the time to regain Shanhaiguan... then Huang Taiji might regret it for the rest of his life until he vomited blood...

Therefore, without much hesitation, Huang Taiji overturned the previous battle plan, once again gathered all the soldiers of the country, and marched into the pass and south.