Only what is lost is worth cherishing.

"The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" once left a bustling picture of a world-class city; "Tokyo Menghualu" left an infinite memory of the people of the imperial capital intertwined with nostalgia and sadness.

Zhu Yuanzhang expelled the Tartars, lived in Daliang as a child, and planned to build the capital here according to the system of the two capitals, as a place for "spring and autumn patrols". It's a pity that Xu Da's Northern Expedition won later, and the Tartars have been driven away, and the idea of the two capitals has come to an end.

As the capital of a province, Kaifeng City was repaired on the basis of the inner city of the Song and Yuan dynasties, so it was particularly strong. In addition, the fifth son of the emperor, Zhu Hu (SU), became the first king of Zhou in the 11th year of Hongwu and became the first king of Zhou, so the palace of the king of Zhou was rebuilt on the basis of the original Song Jin palace in Kaifeng City. The high specifications of the palace are second to none in the palaces of the early Ming Dynasty (Note 1); The prosperous victory of Bianjing is also unparalleled among the thirteen political secretaries of the Ming Dynasty.

During the orthodox years, Yu Qian, a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, once patrolled Henan. He looked at the majestic Kaifeng City from afar, and once wrote such a poem with deep affection:

The sails are light with the wind blowing the waves, and they run dozens of miles in an instant.

The smoke at the rudder tail is particularly unripe, and the bow of the ship has seen Bianliang City......

The poem is to the effect that the Mercedes-Benz yacht is really luxurious, not only can it run fast, but it can also cook; The rice hasn't been cooked yet, and I rushed to Kaifeng City!

……

Straight to the point.

May 21, 15th year of Chongzhen.

Kaifeng, the Central Plains Xiongcheng that is surrounded by enemies on three sides and water on one side, still stands in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The fate of this city has made countless people hang their hearts again, and then they will let go, and they will hang again, and they will hang again, and they will let go again......

As the saying goes, there are no more than three things.

Now that the thieves have attacked the city three times, perhaps the time has finally come to announce the finale.

When the thieves withdrew from Kaifeng City for the third time, the clan officials, gentry and people in Kaifeng City rejoiced. So, instead of being busy finding out the enemy's situation, mobilizing troops, stockpiling supplies, repairing the city defenses, and preparing for a more difficult siege, they rushed out of the city and made a fortune in the empty bandit camps outside the city.

Maybe they were really lucky, and there were a lot of abandoned supplies in the bandit camp. Especially the more than 20,000 stone of grain that was abandoned at will, it is really a treasure. You must know that now the food in Kaifeng City is priceless and marketable, and if you want to survive and eat food, you can take real money and silver!

As a result, how to transport more than 20,000 stones of grain back to the city and how to distribute it has become the first major event in the hearts of Kaifeng people. They put all their minds on it, but they didn't realize it at all:

Their fate, the fate of the city they are in, does not depend on this grain, but on the famous town in the world fifty miles south of the city.

Zhuxian Town, Yuewang Temple, left side hall.

Literati were always particularly interested in buildings that could inspire emotions and inspiration, such as this Yuewang Temple.

As a grand commemoration of the battle of Song, Jin, and Zhuxian Town, and as an eternal monument to the achievements of Yue Wangye's life, Yue Wang Temple is like a prophecy in the dark for Ding Qirui, which makes him surging and difficult to hold himself.

In the past few days, Ding Qirui has taken the opportunity of taking a walk in the morning and evening to explore every corner of the small temple.

It's not that Ding Qirui has a Taobao habit and is ready to enter the gold industry after retirement, but he has a great dream that he can't say that he can only be invited by others.

If as the commander of the five provinces and the commander of the army defeated the thieves in Zhuxian Town, relieved the siege of Kaifeng, and beheaded and even captured the thief chiefs Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, who were in trouble in the world, then the rewards from the emperor and the praise of hundreds of officials are not as affordable as building a matching hall in this Yue Wang Temple, and touching the aura of Yue Wangye.

Think about it, in the tall and majestic hall of Yuewang Temple, there is such a quiet and secluded corner, full of green pines and cypresses, and a simple and solemn hall stands quietly. In the hall, he Ding Qirui held the crown and sat on the high platform, enjoying thousands of years of praise and admiration. On either side of him, Wen is Yang Wenyue, and Wu is Zuo Liangyu. Left and right support, civil and military, enjoy the incense of this offering......

"Smack!"

Ding Qirui thought of Zuo Liangyu, and his face suddenly turned cold. The teacup in his hand suddenly slammed heavily on the table without warning, spilling a lot of tea.

The attendant was startled at first, then stared at the splashing trail of the large puddle, and greedily added dry lips with his yellowed tongue.

"Zuo Liangyu, you tyrannical warlord! If it weren't for the overall situation of the imperial court's suppression of thieves, if it weren't for the grand ambition of the official, the official would have invited the Son of Heaven (CHI) book monk Fang Sword to capture and kill you on the spot! Ding Qirui looked at the dusty cobwebs between the beams and pillars in the hall, and there was nowhere to vent the resentment in his heart.

"Especially the silver taels allocated by the imperial court, which were originally the food and salaries that the official wrote hard to ask for for the soldiers! I can't imagine that you took a silver tael, and on the grounds that there are too few pacesetters in this official, you only gave 50,000 taels to this official! ”

Ding Qirui thought about Zuo Liangyu, who swallowed the big head alone, and took a teacup and poured it into his mouth: "It's just a matter of paying back the less silver, as long as you are willing to be loyal to the court and serve the official, the official can even endure the humiliation of his crotch!" The only thing that you can't bear is that you support the army and respect yourself, avoid the enemy without fighting, and regard the Ming Dynasty as child's play! ”

Thinking of this, Ding Qirui stood up and walked around the empty hall with his hands behind his back.

Although full of hatred, Ding Qirui's mind is still clear enough.

Zuo Liangyu cannot be equated with an ordinary martial artist. He made outstanding military achievements and was deeply valued by the emperor. What's more, he has more than 100,000 troops under his command. If he is forced to be in a hurry, he will end up with Hong Chengchou, Fu Chonglong and Wang Qiaonian, and he may be left behind by him to wait for death in any night!

You must think of a way to force Zuo Liangyu to fight!

Ding Qirui squeezed his fist fiercely, and secretly made a ruthless heart: In the forty-eighth year of Wanli, the official was only twenty-five years old when he became a member of the department, and he has been twenty-three years so far. He was promoted from the head of the Nanjing Military Department to Langzhong of the Beijing Division, moved from the Beijing Division to the right (Note 2) Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, and was promoted from the Taiyuan Prefect to participate in politics, military preparation, administration, governor, governor, and supervisor......

Huan Hai has been in the sea for half a life, what kind of warrior has not been seen in this official, and what kind of chaos (Note 3) has not been experienced!

A Liaodong fighter, dare to worry about his own officials!

What is lacking in this official now...... It's nothing more than no soldiers, no silver, no food!

Once the official has soldiers, silver and food, why should you Zuo Liangyu regard the important ministers of the court as the scribe......

That's right! Ding Qirui quickly thought of a possibility, that is, to "poach people" from Zuo Liangyu's hands, or even "rob people"!

"Someone!" Ding Qirui turned around hatefully and picked up the teacup, "Quickly ask Governor Yang to come over to the mansion to discuss the matter of the military aircraft!" ”

Ding Qirui quickly commanded, and tilted the teacup fiercely as he spoke...... Then, all the moist and swollen tea leaves were poured on his face.

Syllable! Ding Qirui threw the teacup to the ground angrily, and there were still a few pieces of tea on the tip of his nose and mouth.

Ding Qirui brushed his face with his sleeve and yelled at the little guy: "As a supervisor, this official will lead the troops to the battle." To neglect one's own officer is to neglect military affairs! Come on, pull this inconspicuous dog thing out of the cane......"

"My lord spares his life!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the little guy rushed forward and hugged Ding Qirui's thigh, "It's not that the little one deliberately neglects the master, it's really that there is no water in the army!" It's this bit of water, and the small one is also snatched from the barrels of the military men outside with the face of the old man...... Master, for this little bit of water, the little one was kicked by Zuo Ping's thief in vain! He...... He...... Kick your little ass green! ”

There is a shortage of water in the army, and even the commander of the army can't have a cup of tea?

Ding Qirui is a big leader at the ministerial level who enjoys the treatment of the deputy national level, and the butt of the servant is not what he cares about. Ding Qirui has a good ability to grasp the big and let go of the small, and immediately focused on the place where he should be - the water source issue.

Ding Qirui knew that a few days ago, the thieves took advantage of their geographical advantages to build a dam in the upper reaches of the Jialu River, cutting off the main water source for the officials and troops. However, Zhuxian Town is a famous town in the world, with many ponds and more than ten wells in the town. Although the weather is dry at present, the remaining water in the deep well of the pond can at least ensure that the army will not die of thirst, why is there no water in the blink of an eye?

"Yesterday, I don't know who poisoned the dead cat and threw the rotten mouse into the pond!" Ding Qirui's servant saw that the master was attracted by his topic, and knew that he was fine, so he hurriedly loosened the master's legs, and hurriedly explained to the master: "There are only eleven ancient wells with water left in the town, and the rest of the wells have dried up!" The Qiu Ba outside guessed that most of the thieves threw dead rats down the river while building a dam upstream, and the result was ...... Except for the well water, no one dares to drink the pool water...... The mounds outside didn't even have mud water to drink, so they could only drink horse urine. ”

When Ding Qirui heard this, he immediately felt a nauseous feeling in his stomach.

When the little guy saw the old man's appearance, he hurriedly swore to the sky that he used the clearest well water to make tea for the old man. Everyone knows that drinking water from dead rats is the most susceptible to the plague. He is a slave raised by the Ding family, how can he accidentally serve the master?

Seeing that the old man listened attentively, he couldn't stop nodding his head and saying yes, and the little guy relaxed his vigilance as he spoke, and said something that seemed to be loyal.

"Master, look at how much suffering you have suffered over the years, your sideburns are half white! If you knew this, it would be better not to be a bird official, and stay in Yongcheng's hometown to enjoy Qingfu! According to the small one, Zuo Ping's thief did not attack or retreat, and he did not move, just forcing the master to help him ask the court for silver, 500,000 is not enough, and another 3 million. The generals who came out of the Guanning Army, which one is not the master who is ruthless in holding silver! ”

As the little servant was talking, a figure stepped into the side hall. Ding Qirui reacted very quickly, immediately pulled down his face, and reprimanded sharply: "Shut up!" The general of the court, how can you be a lowly servant who can negotiate it? Come on, pull out this talkative servant and die with a rod! ”

"My lord, please quench the wrath of thunder!"

The person who came was a white-robed white pheasant, with a dark face and a thin figure, but his movements were very light and flexible, and his body flashed and blocked Ding Qirui's path to madness.

"Now that the king is interceding for you...... Don't hurry up and thank Lord Wang, and then get out and slap your own mouth! ”

I am really reluctant to kill the slaves who have been born for many years. Ding Qirui took advantage of the situation to go downhill and kicked the little guy's bruised buttocks and drove him out.

……

The person who came was Wang Shicong, the governor of Runan Province.

Wang Shicong is a native of Daxian County, Sichuan, and once served as a governor of Henan Prefecture. He is good at catching thieves, because he has been pierced by a stream of arrows and people do not fall, known as "Wang Tie'er", and is quite famous in Henan officialdom.

Different from the patrol roads in Sichuan, the yamen of the Runan Road is not in Kaifeng, the provincial capital, but is located in Xinyang Prefecture.

There are only four provinces in Henan Province, namely Daliang Road, Hebei Road, Henan Road and Runan Road, and four sub-roads are stationed in Kaifeng, Huaiqing, Luoyang and Nanyang; Among the four sub-patrol roads, Daliang Road and Runan Road are stationed in Xinyang, Henan Branch is stationed in Ruzhou, and Hebei Branch is stationed in Cizhou.

However, due to the fact that the six counties and seventy-three counties of Henan were ruined everywhere, and the Taoists had nowhere to guard, no officials to patrol, and even they could not protect themselves, Wang Shicong was also invited by Yang Wenyue, who was also from Sichuan, to move the patrol yamen to Runing Mansion, the only capital city in Henan Province south of the Yellow River, and became the highest official of the Ming Dynasty in southern Henan and the main partner of Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, in Henan.

Wang Shicong is here, and he will be entrusted by Yang Wenyue to explore the strategy of war defense!

Ding Qirui made such a judgment the first time he saw Wang Shicong.

Yang Wenyue's subordinates, together with the superintendent, had a total of three general soldiers, and the total number of soldiers, auxiliaries, and regimental training soldiers in the whole army was less than 7,000. Jiang Mingwu, the chief soldier of the main supervising regiment training, has only 800 soldiers under his command, and most of them are regimental training soldiers recruited from the local government, and their combat effectiveness is very weak.

At present, most of the grain and grass needed by the army comes from Runing Province. Zuo Liangyu ignored the silver, but he didn't give Yang Wenyue a tael, which made the Sichuan monkey so angry that his eyes were white smoke.

After Yang Wenyue led his army into Runing Mansion, he used the short truce time to reclaim fields in Xiping, Xincai and other places, and accumulated a little grain. This time, he did not get the silver, and he had to press the Runing Mansion to provide food and grass for the army.

There was no silver in Runing Mansion, and the so-called grain and grass requisition turned into naked looting. If the confrontation between the two armies continues for a long time, the first person who can't hold it out will definitely be Yang Wenyue.

Therefore, in this battle to aid Bian, Yang Wenyue was actually more impatient than Ding Qirui. It's just that he is a civil official, and he was punished by the emperor before, so he didn't dare to say it.

Ding Qirui, who felt that he had found the allies, stroked his beard and smiled, ignored the sharp porcelain pieces scattered on the ground, and invited Wang Shicong to take a seat.

"The cheap servant is ignorant and talkative, please don't mind Lord Wang." Ding Qirui didn't care whether Wang Shicong minded or not, and set the tone first. Then he coughed lightly and asked Lord Wang to explain his intentions.

Zuo Liangyu shirked and avoided the battle, so that the army was trapped on three sides, and the camp was short of food and water. The following official opinion is to blame you for the defeat of the war! The lower officials thought about it, but the root still lies in the fact that there are no soldiers and no silver in the hands of the superintendent! Warriors are just brave and courageous. If the overseer can divide and conquer......"

As soon as Wang Shicong opened his mouth, Ding Qirui's heart was happy.

The official guessed correctly, Yang Wenyue is more anxious than the official!

So Ding Qirui smiled slowly and reasonably, and asked Wang Shicong to speak boldly, so that he didn't have to be rigid in front of the official.

Note 1: According to the record in "Like a Dream", the Zhou Palaces were rebuilt on the basis of the Song Dynasty. "The surrounding Xiao wall is nine miles and thirteen steps, and it is two feet high."

The scale of the Zhou Dynasty not only far exceeded the regulations of the feudal palaces in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, but also surpassed the Shu Wangfu, the leader of the Hongwu feudal kingdoms, and even surpassed the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Compare the scale of the Forbidden City in Beijing: "In the seventh month of the fourth year of Yongle, the Beijing palace was built and the city walls were repaired. The first month of the nineteenth year was completed. The palace city is 16 steps on Saturday, also known as the Forbidden City. (History of the Ming Dynasty. Geography I)"

Therefore, some people in the Ming Dynasty said: "The world is sealed in the middle of the number of Bianzhong", which is what it means.

Of course, the distance between the Xiao wall of the Zhou Wangfu and the inner city of the Zhou Wangfu still needs to be further confirmed by archaeology.

Note 2: It is customary to say that promotion is a move to the right.

Note 3: Ding Qirui is a representative of cowardice and stupidity in the official history and various literary works.

But don't forget, in the ninth year of Chongzhen's Ningxia mutiny, Ding Qirui, who was the governor of Ningxia at the time, was the main figure in quelling the mutiny. After Fu Chonglong, Hong Chengchou, and Wang Qiaonian were dumped, he still insisted on urging Zuo Liangyu to quickly lead the army to a decisive battle with Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's coalition army, which required great courage first; Second, he was not stupid and stubborn, but had to.

If you think about it carefully, you can understand Ding Qirui's motive for promoting the war: he is mainly unwilling to take the blame for the doomed defeat.

The Ming Dynasty's stupid and rigid accountability mechanism from top to bottom not only harmed all parties involved, but also destroyed the country.