Emperor Zhu Youxiao never gave the Donglin Party a chance again, and he made a final decision: "Just according to the decision just now." King Xin, sent troops to Shaanxi on the same day. ”

"Yes, Imperial Brother. The younger brother received the order, and the younger brother went to prepare. Zhu Youzhen seemed to be provoking the Donglin Party, and his answer was very loud, which was in stark contrast to the despondency of the Donglin Party. At this moment, Zhu Youzhen is like the leader of the eunuch party.

After Zhu Youxiao dissolved the court meeting, Zhu Youzhen did not stay, he took Wang Mujiu straight to the military academy, and a personal soldier went to the Siwu camp under his instruction and notified the officers to go to the battalion headquarters for a meeting.

"Wen Qi, how many students are graduating and about to graduate in the interrogation class?" Zhu Youzhen couldn't wait, he wanted to send these students to Shaanxi. Now he is not clear about the situation in Shaanxi at all, and he does not know how the peasant uprising has developed.

"Back to Your Highness, there are six people who have graduated but have not yet left the school, and another eight are about to graduate." Zhou Wenqi replied in a deep voice.

"Immediately let the twelve of them go to Shaanxi to collect information about the bandits, and leave one or two people to accompany the army and be responsible for liaison." The students of the interrogation class have learned to transmit messages through guò carrier pigeons, much faster than the messengers.

In the four martial arts battalions, Zhu Youzhen sat in the middle of the large camp, and the senior officers who had been notified sat around him.

"Generals, the peasants in Shaanxi are in rebellion, and the bandits have reached more than 200,000, Your Majesty ordered the four martial arts battalions to rush to Shaanxi immediately to quickly quell the rebellion in Shaanxi, what do you have any good ideas?" There were only more than 40,000 people in the Siwu Battalion, and the bandit army was more than five times the number of the Siwu Battalion. This was different from the extermination of the Japanese in Shandong, when the Fenwu battalion had the advantage in numbers. The big war is imminent, and Zhu Youzhen doesn't want to hide it from the officers.

"Your Highness, the bandits in Shaanxi are all peasants, all rabble, and the cavalry can crush them into minced meat with a single charge." Man Gui didn't care, these useless and trained soldiers, compared with the Jiannu in Liaodong, were simply tofu.

"General Man despises the bandit army, is not intimidated by the momentum of the bandit army, and his courage is commendable, and he is worthy of being the general of the four martial arts battalions." Although Zhu Youzhen did not know the specific situation in Shaanxi, he did not dare to take this rebel army lightly, "However, according to the performance of Cao Erzhen, the governor of Shanxi, many military households have joined the bandit army, and we cannot take it lightly." ”

"Your Highness, the military households in Shaanxi are similar to the peasants, and they have not undergone actual training at all. The last general and the Xianwu battalion were willing to fight the vanguard. "Yuan Chonghuan is a civilian official, but now he is serving in the army, and he has long regarded himself as a member of the four martial arts battalions, but the experience of commanding troops in Liaodong made him look down on the Ming army outside Liaodong at all.

"General Yuan's analysis is also correct, but after all, there are many bandits, so it is better to be careful." Zhu Youzhen was very satisfied with the two old Liaodong generals' pursuit of war, as long as they were not afraid of fighting, and the military battalion of 40,000 and 44 martial arts that had been trained for a year should be able to deal with the bandits in Shaanxi. But Man Gui and Yuan Chonghuan were too light on the enemy and were not easy to serve as pioneers.

"Your Highness, just say it, how to fight, we will all listen to you." Wu Bing has a blind admiration for Zhu Youzhen, and the last time he was in Shandong, he saw Zhu Youzhen's strategy with his own eyes. With Zhu Youzhen in command, he didn't bother to worry about it, no matter how much he worried, he didn't think far ahead of Zhu Youzhen.

Although Yang Du didn't speak, his eyes were full of expectation, soldiers, especially those who have undergone ideological education in the Four Martial Arts Battalions, who doesn't want to make contributions on the battlefield?

"Okay, then I'll send troops." Zhu Youzhen is also not polite, and now the peasant uprising in Shaanxi has become a prairie fire, and there is no delay. "Zu Dashou?"

"Yes." Zu Dashou didn't expect Zhu Youzhen to be the first to point to him, he stood straight in front of Zhu Youzhen, waiting for Zhu Youzhen's military order.

"You take Ning Xianlong's cavalry guards, prepare enough dry food for five days, set off tomorrow morning, pass through Taiyuan, Fenzhou, Pingyang, cross the Yellow River from Fengling Ferry, and go straight to Tongguan. Don't delay on the road, you must arrive and take over Tongguan within five days. If Tongguan has been lost, move from time to time, as long as the bandit army is not allowed to go east out of Tongguan, there is no need to attack, I have my own method of Tongguan. Zhu Youzhen believes that compared with Man Gui and Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou is more stable. To defend Tongguan, you don't need a fierce general like Man Gui, but a good general like Zu Dashou.

"Yes, Your Highness. The last general will definitely not accept the trust of His Highness. Zu Dashou was triumphant, as the pioneer of the Four Martial Arts Battalion, he had the opportunity to win the first credit. A year was just training, there was no fighting, and his heart was about to become a desert.

"The rest of the armies, prepare for half a day, and set off tomorrow at noon." Zhu Youzhen's eyes swept over everyone coldly, "Everyone, raise soldiers for a thousand days, use soldiers for a while, as a soldier, the time has come to serve the country." ”

"Yes, Your Highness." Everyone replied neatly, it seems that the usual training is also effective for officers.

In the morning, Zhu Youzhen went to the Firearms Bureau to receive the firearms. Mines and grenades were mass-produced in huge quantities, but only ten artillery pieces were delivered. Because there are only 300 rounds of flowering bombs, it is these 300 rounds of flowering shells that have not yet been fully accepted. There is no way, Zhu Youzhen can only take it first.

In the afternoon, Li Chunye, the secretary of the Ministry of War, came to see Zhu Youzhen off. Cui Chengxiu, another secretary of the military department who was also a member of the eunuch party, had no time to see him off because he was dealing with various documents of the military department, and Wang Yongguang, the secretary of the military department who was a member of the Donglin Party, because the Donglin Party lost his voice in front of Zhu Youxiao, he used the excuse that his body was itchy and lay down in the house to rest.

"Your Highness, the old minister came specially to see off His Highness." After Li Chunye saluted, he lowered his voice again: "How sure is Your Highness that you can break the bandit army?" ”

Zhu Youzhen returned the salute: "Thank you Lord Shangshu for your concern." To be honest, I'm 90% sure. ”

Ninety percent of the certainty, it is basically a sure thing, thinking of Zhu Youzhen's outlook for the Ming Dynasty last time, Li Chunye's eyes showed an old and strong light, but Zhu Youzhen has experienced too few wars, and he still has a doubt: "If Tongguan has been lost, how will His Highness's 40,000 troops enter Guanzhong west?" ”

"Grenade. Our army will open the way with grenades, and there may not be many casualties among the bandits, but the tragic situation of blood and flesh flying sideways and hands and feet dancing in the air will inevitably put the bandit army under tremendous pressure. Coupled with the loud sound of the grenade explosion, it was only a matter of time before the bandit army collapsed, which was not strictly trained. Zhu Youzhen was still afraid that Li Chunye would not be at ease, "Even if the four martial arts battalions can't break through Tongguan, it is impossible for the bandit army to cross Tongguan and march eastward." ”

"In this way, the old minister is worry-free." Zhu Youzhen took into account the nature of the bandit army and peasants, and Zhu Youzhen also took into account the special use of the grenade that he did not consider.

Li Chunye put his mind at ease, and with Zhu Youzhen, Shaanxi is not enough to worry about.

When Zhu Youzhen arrived in Taiyuan, Cao Erzhen, the governor of Shaanxi, personally went out of Taiyuan City to work in the army.

"Lord Cao, how is the current banditry?" Without access to the military information on the front line, Zhu Youzhen felt like a blind man touching an elephant, and his self-confidence was fading little by little.

"Inform His Royal Highness King Xin, Datong has now sent an additional 20,000 defenders, and with its geographical advantages, the bandits should not be able to advance eastward, but our army is also not capable of entering Shanxi." Cao Erzhen couldn't help but be surprised when he saw that it was a prince like Zhu Youzhen, who had just been weakly crowned, but he remained silent on the surface.

"You don't need to enter Shaanxi, as long as you stop the bandits in Shaanxi, the Beijing division will have no worries. What about Tongguan? Did the bandits capture Tongguan? Tongguan is what Zhu Youzhen is most worried about, although he believes that even if the bandit army occupies Tongguan, he can snatch it back from the hands of the bandit army. However, the battle for Tongguan must be a bitter battle, and the casualties of the soldiers will not be less.

"Tongguan is not a place in Shanxi, and there is nothing about Tongguan in the military department, and the official committee really doesn't know." Cao Erzhen is not an eventful person, and without the writing of the Ministry of War, he will not do this kind of thing that only has hard work and no merit. Moreover, the large number of bandits is not something that the army of one province in Shanxi can deal with, and if they don't do it, the flames of war will burn on their heads.

Without the information of Tongguan, Zhu Youzhen could not lift his spirits, he accepted Cao Erzhen's grain and grass materials, and the army did not enter Taiyuan City, so he went straight to Tongguan.

When the army arrived in Fenzhou, Liu Lin, a detective from the army, reported: "Your Highness, I have received information from the front that General Zu has taken Tongguan. ”

"Take Tongguan? Is this message reliable? "This is the first time that the detectives have directly participated in the war, and with such important information, Zhu Youzhen feels that it is better to be careful.

"Your Highness, there will be no mistake in the message. The mark we agreed on is still there, which means that no one else has seen it. Liu Lin is very sure.

"Bring me the map of the march."

The special combat team members laid out the map, and Zhu Youzhen estimated that there were still three days to go before Tongguan. "Inform Zu Dashou that he must hold on for three days. Our army arrived at Tongguan three days later. ”

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Lin agreed, and then went out to contact the interrogator.

"Liu Yushuan?"

"Yes."

"Lead your cavalry guards, speed up the march, be sure to reach Tongguan within two days, accept General Zu's moderation, and assist General Zu in defending Tongguan." Zhu Youzhen was still distressed that he didn't know much about the information ahead, the information brought by Liu Lin was too simple, he didn't know the specific information ahead, and how many troops the bandit army had in Tongguan. However, since Tongguan has been occupied, it must be held to reduce the loss of recapturing Tongguan.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Yuxuan took the order.

Three days later, Zhu Youzhen came to Tongguan.

Tongguan is at the junction of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces, and is named because of its proximity to Tongshui. To the south of it is the Qinling Mountains, with a large number of mountains and valleys, which are simply impassable; To the north is Weishui and Luoshui, which intersect with the Yellow River to form a place of conjunction, and unless an overpass is built, there is no way to go; To the west is Huashan, "a road from ancient Huashan", and the steep terrain can be imagined; To the east, there are mountains and valleys, and cliffs can be seen everywhere, but there is a sheep intestine path in the middle, which can only lead to a horse.

Tongguan was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and since then, all dynasties have established passes, and the Ming Dynasty has set up Tongguan Guard here. Tongguan is the east gate of Guanzhong, since the establishment of the pass, it has always had the reputation of "the first pass in the world", only in recent years, with the rise of Shanhaiguan, Tongguan has gradually given up the first position.