By the end of September, from Miyun to the south, more than a dozen prefectures and counties in the west, north, and east of Gyeonggi in the Ming Dynasty had all been lost, and half of Gyeonggi had been ravaged by the iron hooves of the Tartars.

Wherever the Tartars passed, the armies of the Ming Dynasty died and fled, and of course the unlucky ones were the common people.

Don't look at Fan Wencheng's very good words, this time the use of troops against the Ming Dynasty is to promote peace through war, and the Han people should be reused to surrender generals and prohibit killing, Fan Wencheng actually used the strategy of using Han to control Han.

Huang Taiji also agreed, but in fact it was not the case, the last time they were defeated, this time there was a clear tendency to retaliate, especially Amin's troops, a few months ago in this area, he suffered an unprecedented defeat, in order to retaliate for his menacing, fled in embarrassment.

This time, he intensified even more, and couldn't find Lin Yi and Lu Xiangsheng, so he poured all his anger on these defenseless people.

Just like his character, his nostrils are turned to the sky, he shouts excessively, he commits adultery everywhere, burns and loots, burns down the houses of ordinary people, kills the weak, is inhumane, and commits heinous crimes.

It's been less than a year since the last time the Tartars attacked Gyeonggi, and these days the killing is coming again, is there still a way for us little people to live?

The common people cried out for days, and they couldn't understand how they could not understand how they had made a comeback after the last time the Tartars suffered such a major fiasco, less than a year ago? God is really eyeless, these years, people die and live, you must know this, I say that they will not come back, just stay in the mountains and forests, or go away.

The soldiers of the Tartars will dance with butcher knives in the running cries and screams of blood and tears of the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty, looking for pleasure and excitement.

In the Gyeonggi area, only Liu Zhaoji, who was stationed in Yuyang, led his troops to resist desperately.

Liu Zhaoji, Lu Xiangsheng's subordinate, fought bravely, was once the chief military officer under Lu Xiangsheng, and after Lu Xiangsheng's accident, he led his troops to garrison Yuyang.

However, Liu Zhaoji only had 7,000 men and horses, and he could not resist the attack of more than 100,000 horses of the Tartars. However, there was no news of reinforcements.

After a few days of bloody battles, the city was broken, Liu Zhaoji led the remnants, and the Tartars started a street battle, and finally only a few hundred people were left to retreat to Shimen Bridge, which was the area of Sanhe City in later generations, and Yuyang was lost.

The capital division of the Ming Dynasty was shaken, and Emperor Chongzhen was so anxious that he turned back and forth on the Jinluan Palace, and the civil and military officials below were all solemn, standing there with their heads bowed, like a silent mourning for the dead, and they didn't even dare to come out.

In fact, the current Ming Dynasty is not without soldiers, don't look at what is full of holes, natural and man-made disasters, internal and external troubles, what is like the lamp of the tuyere, the building will fall, and the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse after all.

The Ming Dynasty lasted for nearly 300 years, and its strength was still quite strong, and the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were no less than one million at this time. Even if there is a Lu Xiangsheng, there is Sun Chuanting, Hong Chengchou, Xiong Wencan, and Zheng Chongjian, there are more generals who can conquer and fight, in addition to the soldiers of Ning Yuanjun, there are also Sun Chuanting's Qin army, in addition to Cao Bianjiao, Gao Jie, He Renlong, Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, which of these people are ten thousand enemies.

But the crux of the matter now is that Yang Sichang is the new secretary of the military department, and he is one of the figures of the main and faction like Gao Qiqian, the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Prison, and Emperor Chongzhen values this person very much.

A few years ago, Yang Sichang's father Yang He was going to be beheaded because of his ineffective efforts to suppress thieves, because Yang Sichang's resignation was to be punished on behalf of his father, Emperor Chongzhen immediately changed his mind, not only did not kill Yang He, but comforted Yang Sichang in every possible way, asking him to work hard and never resign. "Deqing, it's too late to see each other!" Emperor Chongzhen's words can be seen.

Now that Yang Sichang's political opponent is one less Lu Xiangsheng, the Lord and faction have clearly gained the upper hand, and after the Tartars retreated last year, the Lord and the faction have become even more vigorous.

The main peace faction advocated compromise and peace with the Qing Dynasty, that is, the Tartars, and the bloody suppression of the peasant army, the so-called thieves. His thoughts can be summarized in three main points: to fight outside, we must first settle inside, to eat enough food and then to soldiers, and to protect the people in order to be able to sweep the Kou. And his three points have a sequence, and the first two are the most.

If Emperor Chongzhen got the treasure, he agreed one by one. Under the manipulation of this trend of thought, Emperor Chongzhen actually issued an edict to expand the number of soldiers and horses by more than 100,000, but the treasury was empty, and the country's existing army food and salary could not be paid. Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to apportionment to the common people and began to increase the training and suppression of salaries.

In this case, the peasants were also taxed, and the strategy of Emperor Chongzhen was tantamount to death.

Yang Sichang was of course happy to accept his strategy by fooling the emperor, and then began his second step plan, which was to go all out to suppress the thief.

In order to suppress the thieves, he and Xiong Wencan, the prime minister, of the military affairs of the five provinces, studied and put forward a plan to spread the net on all sides. The so-called four positives, that is, Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, Jiangbei, the governors of the four places divided and suppressed. The six corners are Yansui, Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and the governors of the six places are divided into defense and assisted in suppression.

After this recital was submitted, Emperor Chongzhen praised it even more and immediately ordered it to be implemented.

Yang Sichang began to transfer troops and send generals, transferring Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, Zuo Liangyu, Gao Jie, He Renlong, Cao Bianjiao, these generals who can conquer and fight all led their troops to go out with the army, and also transferred Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, to Henan.

In short, this transfer transferred all the elite soldiers and strong generals around Gyeonggi to Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, Jianghuai and other places, and Zhang Wang went to deal with Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others.

This caused the emptiness in the Gyeonggi area, and it was at this time that Huang Taiji drove the expedition in person. The urgent documents from all over the country flew down to Chongzhen's dragon book case like snowflakes, but the great powers of the Celestial Empire had no troops to send, and the holy decree of King Qin went down for many days, and the response was very few, and the soldiers and horses who came to King Qin did not die and fled.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious when he took the case, and the faces of hundreds of civil and military officials were like ashes, and they all thought that Yang Sichang was even more to blame, and he had to speak as the secretary of the military department.

Yang Sichang said in his heart, my majesty, why is this difficult? Since we have adopted the policy of making peace with the Tartars without fighting, we must first settle the inside before we fight outside. Now that it's time to get to the point, just follow this strategy, what's there to worry about? Send men to negotiate with the Tartars, give them some benefits, ask for land for land, ask for money for money, ask for grain for grain, ask for cattle for livestock, and ask people for people. All in all, satisfy them, as long as they retreat.

But Yang Shichang didn't dare to say anything when he said it, because he knew that the Chongzhen Emperor in front of him was the most difficult to serve. has a big temper, changes quickly, is self-righteous and moody, and is a bit of a death to save face.

Sending someone to negotiate peace with Tatsuko must not come out of his own mouth. Otherwise, after the Tartar retreated, if he felt that this transaction was a loss, and he would find someone to settle the account after the autumn, this matter must be pressed on his head, and his own eight heads would not be enough for him to cut off.

Therefore, Yang Sichang held back his words again.

"Are you dumb? Eat Junlu, repay Junlu, you take my money, but you don't solve problems for me, the national disaster is at the head, you are all here to play the head of the battle, what is the reason? ”

Emperor Chongzhen pointed to the ministers below, shouting, blowing his beard and glaring, and severely reprimanding, almost not scolding his mother.

But no matter how Emperor Chongzhen lost his temper, on this occasion, other people would not speak at all. Not to mention that these civil and military ministers are all old fritters in the officialdom, transferring troops and sending generals, outside the enemy country, this is a matter of the Ministry of War, Yang Sichang, the secretary of the Ministry of War, he is the first assistant of the cabinet, with him and the emperor here, no one wants to intervene in this kind of thing, even the imperial historian and the Donglin Party officials who love to find fault are also wise and silent.

Emperor Chongzhen's last eyes fell on Yang Sichang's body, if you don't say this in your heart, I have to let you say it, you wholeheartedly advocate peace with the Tartars, as the king of a country, the Son of Heaven guards the country, and the matter of making peace with the Tartars must not come from my mouth, otherwise where is my face? What is the majesty of the great powers of the Celestial Empire?

"Yang Aiqing?"

"The minister is here."

Yang Sichang knew that he couldn't hide, so he hurriedly went out of class and knelt down and climbed half a step, promising to kowtow up.

"The Tartars are ravaging the Beijing Division, and the soldiers are pressing the border, what should I do in the opinion of the Emperor?"

"Your Majesty Mingjian......" Yang Sichang lay on the ground, and his face began to sweat, "The soldiers will block, and the water will cover the ......" He said two sentences of nonsense on his face, and felt that the emperor would definitely not be satisfied, but he didn't want to say anything about sending people to ask for peace with the Tartars, and his eyes began to Hu Lun.

I happened to see him in this column, and Yang Tinglin, who was more willing to be ranked behind, his eyes lit up, and he found the substitute, and he was it!

Last time, you took your soldiers and horses to search for thieves in the Yongping area, and you didn't encounter thieves, so you were lucky. This time the Tartars are here to fight the thieves and see if you can come back alive!

Don't you advocate fighting the Tartars? This time you have a good time, it is a trivial matter whether you live or die, as long as you can relieve the crisis in front of the official.

Therefore, Yang Sichang continued: "Your Majesty's head of the military department, Yang Tinglin, is well versed in the way of soldiers, and Weichen guarantees that he will lead the troops and lead the team, and he will definitely be able to go out of the city to resist Jiannu."

Yang Tinglin scolded secretly, and the traitor began to kick the ball again. He deliberately did not say anything about the stalemate just now, because he, together with Lu Xiangsheng, advocated the resolute use of troops against the Tartars, resisted foreign returns, and kept the enemy out of the country.

It's a pity that he can't fight, these eunuchs and Yang Sichang, these powerful ministers, the emperor favors them, when Governor Lu was there, he didn't succeed, and now that Governor Lu is gone, Yang Tinglin feels that he is even more powerless.

But in front of him, he wanted to see Yang Sichang's laughter, they sent all the soldiers out, suppressed the people's rebellion, exterminated the thieves, this mess, see how you clean it up? I didn't expect to be bitten by him now.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that Yang Sichang did not say anything about sending people to negotiate peace, but recommended people to fight with the Tartars.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen said: "Yang Aiqing, are you willing to lead the troops to fight against the Tartars?"

Yang Tinglin hurriedly went out of work and knelt down: "Your Majesty Shengming, although the minister is not talented, he is willing to fight with the Tartars to the end, even if the horse leather shroud, he must repay Longen."

Emperor Chongzhen listened very well to the ear, and couldn't help nodding: "It's rare that Aiqing is loyal, and I will seal your official position now."

The head of the military department sounds very good, but he is actually a very small official, and according to his rank, he is only a sixth-grade official. Such an official position is a little bigger than the seven-grade sesame official in the local area.

But he is a Beijing official, and he is also the military department of the key part of the six departments, so he is qualified to stand on this court.

Different from the previous time, the last time Yang Sichang ensured that he was a thief and exterminated the thief, temporarily sent him a deputy commander-in-chief rank, gave him thousands of soldiers and horses, and came back in a circle in Zunyi Yongping and Qianxi, although there was no merit or fault.

But this time it's different, at the moment of the great enemy, wouldn't it become a joke to send an official with a positive sixth grade to lead troops to fight the Tartars?

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen made an exception to promote him to the governor, the governor of the army of the king of Qin, guarding Gyeonggi against the Tartars, and also gave him a sword of Shangfang.

Shang Fang's sword sounds good, but it is worthless if it is flooded.

In terms of official position, Yang Tinglin's official position is indeed not small, from a sixth-grade official to a second-grade military attache all of a sudden, and there is also Shang Fang's sword, which can be described as a step to the sky, which is almost the same as Lu Xiang's promotion.

But in fact, he is worse than Lu Xiangsheng, Lu Xiangsheng's subordinates, no matter what, there are still a certain number of Tianxiong troops, and the current Yang Tinglin is similar to the commander of the light pole.

After he took over, there were very few Qinwang's divisions in various places, and the 100,000 Beijing battalion soldiers guarding Shangjing couldn't be transferred at all, and what he could mobilize was Liu Zhaoji's more than 2,000 people, and then there were thousands of Qinwang's divisions from the Daimyo and Zhending, if you add the remnants of Miyun, Xuanfu, and Datong, and add them together, it can't exceed 15,000 people.

And this time, Huang Taiji's three-way army, a total of more than 100,000, all of them were the elite of the Manchu Eight Banners, as well as their artillery unit Wuzhen Chaoha.

Therefore, such a battle can be imagined, as a result, Yang Tinglin fought a battle and lost a battle, and within half a month, Yang Tinglin's troops were defeated and retreated near Shangjing.

Huang Degong, the general of the Beijing battalion and the deputy chief officer, took the initiative to ask Ying to fight, and he brandished an iron whip to lead 5,000 Beijing battalion soldiers into the group of Tartars, and the right wing army of the Tartars was dashed to pieces. In the scuffle, Amin was encountered, and the Iron Whip was inseparable from the mace for a while.

At this time, Dolgon and Hauge each led a Tartar cavalry to arrive, and after attacking Huang Degong's flank, Huang Degong was killed and defeated. Yang Tinglin led troops to respond, and in a scuffle, the Ming army dropped thousands of corpses and retreated to the city to hold on without fighting.

The Tartars led by Dolgon, Amin and Hauge clamored for a large-scale siege of the city, taking the city in one fell swoop, capturing Emperor Chongzhen alive and destroying the Ming Dynasty.

Fan Wencheng hurriedly suggested to Huang Taiji: "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is not exhausted, and the city is defended to the death, there are still more than 100,000 troops in the city, and we can't take this city in the short term, and the time has dragged on for a long time, and the army of King Qin from all over the country has come to our disadvantage, so the only way to do this is to Chen Bing outside the city, and force Chongzhen to agree to our conditions, and then we will retreat."

Huang Taiji nodded and adopted Fan Wencheng's suggestion, originally they didn't plan to destroy Da Ming when they came this time.

Therefore, the Huangtaiji Three-Way Army came to the city and put up the cannons, but they just did not launch an attack.

Huang Taiji took Dolgon Hauge, Amin and others, in a safe place outside the city, rode to the city tower and shouted, shouting for Emperor Chongzhen, and the city head answered......

At this time, in the mountains and wilderness hundreds of miles away from the Ming Jingshi, Lin Yi's battalion was still training.

Lin Yi was sitting in the military tent, opening the war plan given to him by Lu Xiangsheng.

Xiao Ying couldn't hold her breath anymore, and interrupted Lin Yi with courage: "Brother Lin, hundreds of thousands of Tartars have already been trapped in Beijing, when do we plan to send troops?" It will be too late to delay any longer. ”