Chapter 108 Chongzhen's Opportunity Has Come

Launch a general attack in advance?

The generals and deputy generals from Xuanda, Jiliao and other places, as well as Lu Xiangsheng and Wu Aheng, all looked at them with surprise.

"Are we going to launch a general attack now?" Wu Aheng couldn't help but ask.

Although he did not experience the battle just now, it did not affect the changes in the entire war system in his mind caused by the three major camps.

The same was true for the Ji-Liao troops coming from Jinzhou and Guanning.

Cao Huachun pointed at Tianjin City and said, "Right now, the main force of the Tartars is outside Tianjin City. If we wait for them to break through the city, we will be in a passive position and the Tartars will enter the city. Then we will have to attack the city."

"There are still a large number of civilians in the city. Once a war breaks out, there will be heavy casualties."

Wu Ahheng could not help but ask, "But the troops from Baoding, Shandong, and Denglai in the south have not arrived yet. If we start a war, will the Tartars go south?"

"They can't possibly go south." Lu Xiangsheng analyzed calmly, "After several consecutive defeats, they must have aroused the Tartars' vigilance, otherwise Huang Taiji would not have sent another 30,000 troops over."

"I agree with Governor Lu's opinion." Li Banghua pointed to the map and continued, "The southern army is only 40 miles away from Tianjin."

"Hauge's troops are eighty miles away from here. It will take at least half a day, or even a day. Our southern army arrived earlier than them. This is our chance."

Cao Huachun nodded, "That's right, tell the Jinyiwei to urge the Southern Route Army to rush to the city of Tianjin as quickly as possible."

He looked at the sun and said, "At 4 o'clock in the morning, the three camps will take the lead, and the troops from Xuanda, Ji and Liao will be the auxiliary forces to launch a general attack!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

……

From the capital city, dozens of miles away, news came that the three camps had won again.

The outside of the Ming Times government office was already crowded with people.

Today, the Ming Times has officially started operations. A copy of the newspaper costs two copper coins, but many people still flock to it.

Especially those merchants and gentry, who were rich and had free time, waited outside the yamen almost every day, waiting for first-hand news.

As the newspaper was pushed out from the government office and distributed to the distributors, someone took out two copper coins and rushed to buy it, "Give me a copy, mine..."

Today's newspaper distributors are none other than the old, weak, sick and disabled people who were previously eliminated from various government offices such as the Beijing Camp and the Five Cities Military Command.

There are tens of thousands of people, and their livelihoods cannot be cut off, so Zhu Changgan directly assigned this task to them.

The purchase price from the Ming Times government office was two copper coins for three newspapers, but when they sold them, the unified price was two copper coins for one newspaper.

The squire who had just paid the money took the Ming Times and read it impatiently: "Yongwei Battalion, Beijing Battalion, and White Spear Soldiers defeated the Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty again yesterday evening, killing 1,600 enemies and capturing 1,000 war horses..."

"it is good!"

"Nice fight!"

There was a deafening cheer from the people.

"As long as we can win, I would be happy even if we are not allowed to leave the city for a month, let alone ten days."

"Happy!"

"I'll buy a copy of the Ming Times too!" an old man shouted, holding up two copper coins.

"Old Zhang, you can read, why are you buying the Ming Times?"

"My youngest son joined the army, and he is in the Beijing camp. I bought it and framed it."

Upon hearing this, the lame newspaper seller handed the other party a newspaper and said, "I won't charge you for this one. I was also from the Beijing Camp. If I hadn't injured my foot, I would be on the battlefield now."

The Ming Times Yamen shouted: "Military dependents, all military dependents, you can come to the door to get a newspaper for free in the future."

There was another round of thunderous applause from the people.

……

The common people were overjoyed, but the civil servants and nobles of the Ming Dynasty had different thoughts.

After the last forced abdication, the current Crown Prince was placed under house arrest in the East Palace by the Emperor. Even his former teacher was not allowed to see him, and the Crown Prince was required to copy the Ming Times ten times every day.

This made the civil servants who had previously wanted to use the prince to gain influence feel as if they had lost their parents.

The Military Merit Group also submitted several petitions hoping to go boating on the lake with the emperor, but was rejected by the emperor every time.

"Right now, the Ming Dynasty is in a tense war with the Manchu Tartars, and the bandit problem in the south is getting worse. How dare you think about boating in the lake every day? How dare you mention this?" Zhu Changgan pointed at the noses of several dukes and cursed.

The faces of the old dukes who were cursing turned purple and they were trembling all over.

Lake tour?

Don't ever count on me to cruise the lake.

Not only did Zhu Changgan not go boating in the lake, he also had the water in the pond in the harem drained.

The Ming Emperor melted into water?
Without water, how can you melt?
"Sir Huang, you can't withdraw. If you withdraw, people's hearts will be scattered." Tian Weijia, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, rushed to the residence of Huang Shijun who was about to retire.

There were far fewer people in the Huang Mansion at this time than before.

The Minister of Justice Zheng Sanjun was imprisoned by the Imperial Guards for corruption. The others were afraid of being suspected by the emperor and did not dare to come.

Among those who came to see him off were only the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Xue Guoguan, the Right Vice Minister of Rites Zhang Sizhi, the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Tian Weijia and a few good friends.

"..." Huang Shijun wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth for a long time, he only said three words, "Take care!"

Things are different now. When the emperor took action for the first time, he had already reminded everyone, including Wen Tiren.

But no one took it seriously at the time, allowing the emperor to integrate the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard in a short period of time. The series of reactions that followed were beyond their expectations.

"Sir Huang, we still have the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are still under our control..." Tian Weijia was unwilling and wanted to say something.

Huang Shijun stopped the other party from speaking, "It's too late, everything is too late!"

It doesn't matter who controls the Ministry of War, what matters is that the military power is in your own hands. Now, the more than 70,000 troops of the Yongwei Camp, the Beijing Camp and the White Spear Soldiers have won three battles against the Tartars.

what does this mean?
Do you need me to remind you?

"Teacher..." Xue Guoguan's face was full of bitterness, "Teacher, if you return to your hometown, it will be really hard to control where the Ming Dynasty will go."

Huang Shijun was both his teacher and friend. Now that he has left Beijing, it is a huge blow to him.

If I cannot enter the cabinet this time, I am afraid I will never be able to enter the cabinet again in my lifetime.

The three camps' victory over the Tatars again made them feel the chill.

"Let's go back!" Huang Shijun slowly got on the carriage, lifted the curtain, and said to the people outside.

Several people stared in a daze as Huang Shijun's carriage gradually went away, and the sadness in their hearts grew stronger.

Tian Weijia's face was gloomy, and he asked after a long while, "What should we do next?"

Seeing that no one answered, he could not help but angrily cursed: "The Ming Dynasty is still ruled by the emperor and the scholars and officials. Master Huang left... but you are still in this court!"

Xue Guoguan sighed, "Master Huang is right. Although the Ministry of War seems to be controlled by us scholars, the combat power of the three camps can defeat the Qing army. This means that the military power in our hands is useless."

"Huh? Why is Master Huang back again?"

Everyone stepped forward quickly, "Master Huang, what are you doing...?"

Huang Shijun got out of the carriage with a gloomy face and said self-deprecatingly: "The people from the Five Cities Military Department drove me back directly. I didn't expect that I couldn't even retire." Only then did everyone remember that the emperor had ordered the capital to be closed for ten days, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

"The storm is about to come!" Huang Shijun ignored everyone and turned back to the Huang Mansion. Since the emperor would not let him leave the city, he could stay in the capital for a few more days.

The emperor has allowed him to retire, which means that he has landed safely and can watch the changes in the Ming Dynasty.

……

Xinyang Prefecture,
After Chongzhen finished teaching, he came outside the study to help light the fire. Prince Xiang had never cooked in his life, but after trying twice, he was able to cook food that actually suited Chongzhen's taste.

The sound of children fighting suddenly disappeared from the village, and the place became extremely quiet.

The two had just finished their meal when they heard it getting noisy outside.

Every household ran outside. Chongzhen stood on tiptoe to look outside, "Father...Father, a large group of soldiers are coming back."

One could vaguely see the doctor in the village running out with a box, and it seemed that many people were injured.

Groans, shouts, and curses suddenly filled the entire village.

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming also saw this scene, but he pulled Chongzhen to sit down and said, "Don't mess around. If someone sees us, we won't be able to run away even if we want to."

"I know a little bit about medicine, I'll go over and help get some information."

"When did you learn the art of medicine?" Chongzhen couldn't help but ask.

"When I was young, I learned a little bit of everything. I'm not proficient, but I can use it to some extent. Especially in this mountain stronghold, knowing a little bit is enough." Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming repeatedly warned, "Don't run around, don't move around, there are wild beasts in some places in this mountain stronghold."

……

After a long while, King Xiang came back, his hands were covered in blood and he looked very tired.

"The boss is back..." Zhu Yiming lowered his voice and told Chongzhen what he had seen while washing his hands.

Not only did the soldiers from the mountain stronghold return, but Matchmaker also returned, and she brought back a man who was beaten beyond recognition.

Chongzhen's pupils suddenly shrank, Li Yan!

If Zhu Changgan was correct, that person was him.

"How is the person? Is he seriously injured?"

"He was badly injured, but his life is not in danger. I heard he was a juren. He was beaten in prison, and there is not a single piece of healthy flesh on his body..."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming was still saying something, but Chongzhen's thoughts had already drifted away.

If it matches, I can be 100% sure that it is that person.

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming continued in a low voice: "Do you feel that someone is following us?"

Chongzhen was shocked. "Following us? Who?"

"He's a fat guy. I don't know who he is yet, so don't act rashly and don't talk too much with others, lest they know what you're thinking."

"Okay!" Chongzhen couldn't help but swallow.

In this situation and environment, Chongzhen felt somewhat depressed, but fortunately he had Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming.

He didn't know why, but he felt inexplicably at ease as long as he was with King Xiang. If he were alone, he would have probably died in the inn.

King Xiang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't panic. As long as they don't kill us, we will have a chance to escape. It's only a matter of time."

Chongzhen nodded and whispered, "Father, I heard that the boss is planning to join the "King of Rebellion" Li Zicheng. Should we stop this?"

"Huh?" Zhu Yiming's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"It's her business where she seeks refuge. What does it have to do with us? The most important thing for us is to find a way to escape."

"..." Chongzhen looked at Zhu Yiming's anxious expression, and the muscles on his face twitched. In the end, he still did not say what was hidden in his heart.

In the eyes of a father, he only cares about his son's safety.

As for the rebels and the Ming Dynasty, I don’t want to think too much about them.

Chongzhen smiled and said, "The food is cold. I just heated it up for you. Come and eat it quickly."

……

Not long after King Xiang finished his meal, he suddenly discovered that all the families in the village had started to pack their food into bags.

Then, someone came to inform Chongzhen and Zhu Yiming, "Pack your things, we may need to move to another place."

"Change place? Why?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

Chongzhen thought for a moment before he realized that attacking the county government office was no longer simply becoming a bandit, but a real rebellion, so the entire stronghold suddenly became tense.

The patrols were spread out further and batches of people were sent out.

There are more sentry posts than before, and even on the top of the mountain there are people patrolling continuously.

Chongzhen looked at the academy that had just been renovated, and then looked at the children in the village who were already helping their parents and neighbors pack up. He suddenly felt a different feeling.

"Were they always like this? Were they always wandering around?"

But at the moment, they were just asked to pack up and were not told to move out directly, so Chongzhen still prepared to teach his students.

At this time, not far from the academy, a few people were talking about the war in the north.

"I heard that the King of Rebellion and the Ming army are in a stalemate and may not be able to come to our side for a while? Li Yan asked our leader to surrender to Li Zicheng, but this may be a bit difficult."

"It's a stalemate? Didn't they say that King Chuang's troops were invincible?"

"The troops of Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting are also very powerful. I heard that the emperor's troops in the north are also fighting against the Tartars... This time they are really fighting fiercely."

"Why don't we seize this opportunity to join forces with King Chuang and build up our momentum? Who will we be afraid of then?"

"It's hard to say. I heard that the dog emperor's personal soldiers are very fierce. Even the Tartars were defeated. Tens of thousands of people died in one battle. Once they are free, not to mention us, even the King of Rebellion may not be able to defeat them."

"That's not necessarily true. There are constant uprisings in Shaanxi and Henan. There are more than a dozen armies with names and surnames. After so many years of fighting, isn't it that the momentum is getting bigger and bigger..."

Seeing Chongzhen coming, several people suddenly stopped talking.

At this time, a big man who was six feet tall and had a waist circumference of eight feet came over and called Chongzhen, "Zhu Yonggan, the boss is looking for you!"

"Find me?"

The Third Master: "Mr. Li is injured, and the First Master wants to write a manifesto. After thinking about it, I think you are the only one who can do it for me."

A manifesto is a document of call for conscription, denunciation, etc., especially a document denouncing an enemy or a rebel.

According to what the Third In Command said, Li Yan and Hong Niangzi had discussed the matter together before. Now that Li Yan is seriously injured, Hong Niangzi will definitely not be too far away. It is possible that Li Yan is right next to them.

Chongzhen's eyes suddenly lit up, his chance had come, "Got it, I'll go get the pen, ink, paper and inkstone now."

He had to get the things he had prepared.

"What do you need? The boss has prepared everything, so you can just go there alone."

……

(End of this chapter)