Chapter Twenty-Five: Moving North
Chapter 25 Moves North
The Ming army defending the city resisted hard, and this time, the people who were driven away by the Tartars under the city couldn't stand it anymore, crying and screaming. One simply began to beg the defenders of the city to stop fighting, and their appearance was really difficult to do.
At that time, Wu Jiaxing didn't care about this, and ordered to be beaten vigorously, and whoever dared to show mercy to his subordinates would cut him down first.
When the people saw that there was a dead end, some of them wanted to run backwards, but the butcher's knives and bows and arrows of the Tartars immediately followed, and they dared not to do so, and they were not spared. Seeing that they couldn't turn back, the people had to continue to move forward, and then begged the soldiers defending the city for mercy, hoping to let them pass, but now the soldiers defending the city also hardened their hearts and didn't see it at all, just a fierce beating.
The people had no way forward, no way back, and despair in their eyes under the attack of the city and the city. They did not rush to the city, and they did not dare to turn back to face the butcher's knives of the Tartars, and all that awaited them was death.
Taiyuan city is still more than the Shura field, the screams, the sound of begging resounded constantly, this battle, has been fought from noon to sunset, the Tartars only then withdrew. In this battle, the Tartars suffered less than 200 casualties, while thousands of innocent people died. Taiyuan City is impregnable, and no one in the city died, that is, some of the soldiers who boiled the water were scalded when pouring water because they were nervous.
Normally, when this situation is encountered, Huang Taiji sees that there is no hope of attacking the city, so he will not spend it here, so he quickly withdraws his troops and goes to another place to rob it. However, because of the humiliation of last night, he now wanted to kill all the people in the city, and he was willing to retreat so easily.
The next day, Huang Taiji then ordered the siege of the city, which was still the old way, and the ending was still the same. Under the city of Taiyuan, there was a five-day offensive and defensive battle, and it was difficult for the Tartars to advance an inch. At this time, Yue Tuo stood up and advised Tiancong Khan not to worry about temporary gains and losses, and to go somewhere else to grab it. If we continue to fight like this, we will run out of grain and grass in less than two days.
In fact, Huang Taiji also understands this truth, he really can't pull this face, since he has Yue Tuo to build this ladder, then he will borrow the slope to get off the donkey. At that moment, the order was issued to withdraw the troops, move the army to the north, and advance to Beijing.
also relied on the Tartars to delay these few days under the city of Taiyuan, giving the Ming Dynasty a chance to breathe. People everywhere fled one after another, either into the city or in distant places. And although the news of the Tartars is also spreading, almost the entire north knows about it.
Empress Dowager Zhang in Beijing was shocked when she heard that the Tartars had made a detour to enter the customs, and almost every day she had to ask how the battle was going and where the Tartars had hit. I heard that after attacking Taiyuan for a few days and failing to succeed, I turned north and came towards Beijing, which was startled, and hurriedly ordered King Qin, soldiers and horses along the way, to organize resistance.
King Qin's will has not yet reached Sichuan, but the grapevine has already arrived. Hong Chengchou was the first to get the news and learned that the Liukou in the river had been exterminated by Yue Su, so he immediately returned to the division, and ordered Cao Wenzhao, who had rushed to Chengdu, to withdraw his troops and come back.
Yue Su was also ready to arrange for Cao Wenzhao to help clear the remnants of the Liukou, but when he learned that the Tartars had entered the customs, he didn't dare to keep him, so he hurried back.
Lord Yue's side, in fact, wants to lead the army to King Qin, but now there is a stall in front of him, and King Qin's will has not come, if he sends troops without authorization, it is really unseemly, and if he leads the troops away, what can I do here in Chengdu? Although Wang Jiayin said that he was dead, the liukou were also dispersed, so many homeless people did not go to appease at that time, they could not eat, and it was very likely that they would rebel again.
Yue Su's hair turned gray because of these things, and when Li Zhong came back to see Yue Su, he couldn't help but feel a little sad when he saw his temples gray.
Yue Su's face was very peaceful, but it could be seen that he was a little excited when he saw Li Zhong. Lord Yue said in a gentle tone, "Li Zhong, how is the situation?" After Yuan Chen read my letter, what did he say? â
"My lord, my subordinates went to Wuchang Li Mansion, and the people in the mansion said that Li Gongzi was not in the mansion and went to Yunnan." Li Zhong said with some frustration. He also knows the situation in Chengdu, if there is no food to appease the displaced people, and he doesn't know what will happen, he can't kill all these people.
"Oh......" Yue Su nodded, but anyone could hear the disappointment in his tone.
At this time, Jiang Jie, who was standing beside Yue Su, took a step forward, and he whispered: "My lord, my subordinates think that there may be something strange about this matter. â
Jiang Jie is about the same age as Yue Su, but now, above his handsome face, he is also haggard. Jiang Gongzi is a hereditary title after Jiangmen, both civil and military, and suave. In the past, he was a merry man, and he was often seen in the fat powder pile, but Jiang Gongzi was also ambitious, in the face of the decaying Ming Dynasty, he was determined to prosper, but he always had no way to serve, you know, there is no fame in this year, and it is impossible to enter the upper organs. Fortunately, Jiang Jie does not pursue fame and fortune, as long as he can prosper the Ming Dynasty, he is willing to be a green leaf, with his talents, compared with Yue Su, it is more than enough, but he is willing to assist Yue Su and does not seek the slightest official position. These days, Lord Yue is worried, how can Mr. Jiang not worry, the Tartars are calling, and the displaced people here need to be appeased, but they have no money or food, so what to do. Silver may be easy to do, Lord Yue has a way, if he can't do it, he will fight the local tyrants, but what about the grain, now the grain here is basically empty. For them, the Li family may be the only straw now.
"Oh?" Hearing Jiang Jie's words, Yue Su's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Why did Mr. say this?" What's going to be weird? â
"My lord, my subordinates think that when the Li family said this, they may be telling the adults that the master of the Li family is still in exile in Yunnan. When adults use people, they step into the door, and when they don't use people, they turn their faces ruthlessly, is this too much to look down on their Li family. Jiang Jie said bluntly. At this time, he was not subtle, after all, it was a critical moment, and Lord Yue was not a person with a small belly.
Yue Su nodded and said, "What Mr. said is good, in fact, I also thought of this, in the letter, it has been said clearly, all the words of pleading, but he doesn't look at it...... So what to do? â
"The subordinates think that the Li family is also a high-ranking family, and since Hun Sen was destroyed, the Li family is the richest man in the world. Everything is also particular about face, adults ask for it empty, I'm afraid it's useless, we must show sincerity, it's best to allow them to order something from the Li family. Jiang Jie said.
"Sir, how can we show the sincerity of this governor, and what do you want them to do with the Li family?" Yue Su said.
"The Li family is not short of silver, and they also have face, but they have no choice but to have a system of Taizu, Shinong, industry and commerce, and the status of businessmen is the lowest. If the adults can invisibly improve the status of the Li family and improve the status of the merchants, perhaps at this critical moment, not only can they get the support of the Li family, but the imperial court may also get the support of all the merchants in the world. At the time of national crisis, what the imperial court needs is the support of these rich people, who will inevitably be able to get rid of the decline if they have money and strength. Jiang Jie suggested.
But hearing this, Yue Su shook his head and said: "Shinong Industry and Commerce is the ancestral system set by Taizu, and if you want to change it, it is definitely beyond the reach of this governor alone, and at this time, the imperial court will not have the time to study this matter." This governor thinks that at present, it is better to forget it, just talk about what the Xu Li family has, and tide over the current difficulties. â
The people of the world are divided into four levels. Now advocating equality for all, it seems wrong to divide the people into three, six, nine and so on, and it belongs to the bad feudal customs. But Master Yue thought that some were not true, saying that everyone was equal, but when did it be done again? A worker is a worker, a boss is a boss, an official is an official, and a person is a people, when is it equal, it is just lip service.
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang set the policy of the four people, in fact, there is a far-reaching truth, he insisted on killing you with the rank, which will give people an invisible sense of superiority. To put it simply, the system of the imperial court is that the emperor and the scholars govern the world together, that is to say, the emperor and the scholars govern the world together, and you are ranked in the front, which is also to encourage education and encourage the people to read. Agriculture ranks second, there is a way to be agriculture-oriented, agricultural country, never worry about no food, as long as there is food, will be invincible in any era. In second place, there should be nothing to say. Industry ranks third, there is a saying that industry is strong, the country is strong, encourage industry, that is certain, industry is made of entities, just like modern Germany, is an industrial power, the degree of prosperity, self-evident. Commerce ranks fourth, business prosperity is the wealth of the country, but the wealth of the country is not necessarily strong, just like the modern ......, the business is developed, the commodity economy, everything looks at the money, the people are philistine, everyone pursues profits, loses the traditional virtues, and no one dares to help an old lady on the street, which is simply impossible in the Ming Dynasty. In order to build houses and make money, merchants have built all the cultivated land, and houses are built everywhere, and the housing prices remain high, so that the people become house slaves, and the silver slips into the hands of a small number of people, where will the people be strong. Prices are rising, and food is imported, and once there is a move, it is estimated that eating will become a problem. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Ming Taizu divided the people of the world into four people.
When Lord Yue said this, he actually didn't want to improve the status of businessmen, if the status of businessmen was raised, it would encourage commerce, and the people would become more and more profit-seeking, and it would be difficult to say what the country would become. As a result, Lord Yue still supports the Four People's System.
"The Li family can't be officials, but they often secretly fund some officials, which is also to maintain the foundation of the Li family, so that they can get richer and richer, and never fall. If the court can give the Li family a reputation, I think the Li family will definitely have the right to support it. This fame, in fact, to put it bluntly, is a nominal title, which is nothing to the imperial court, but for the Li family, it is worth 10,000 gold. After all, there is no businessman in the world who can get it. What do you say, my lord? Jiang Jie actually has no choice, he doesn't want to see businessmen run rampant in his heart, but at this juncture, he must get the help of the Li family, otherwise, the situation in central Sichuan will be difficult to stabilize.
I also have to explain here, on the Shaanxi side, Hong Chengchou also suppressed first and then appeased, does he have money and food to appease the people? The answer, of course, is no. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many homeless people following Wang Jiayin, and they would have wandered everywhere. It's just that most of the current displaced people have come to Sichuan, plus the people in Sichuan who have been coerced, there are many of them.
"Give the Li family a knighthood?" Yue Su pondered for a moment and said: "Li Wenzhang is now exiled in Yunnan, for no reason, how can I ask the imperial court for a title for their Li family." Even if I say that I explain the difficulties now, I will give it to the imperial court, but in the current situation, the imperial court does not have the time to approve this matter. There is not much food in the river, and it can't last long. This time and again, I can't make these people ......" At the end, Yue Su shook his head and sighed.
"My lord, if you follow the normal procedure, it will be too late. Moreover, asking for a title for the Li family for no reason, it is estimated that it will be difficult for the imperial court to agree, and the scholars and other businessmen in the world will not be convinced. Therefore, his subordinates thought that they could borrow a name and be regarded as a meritorious knighthood of the Li family. At present, there are many people in Sichuan, and the Li family donated some food to appease the victims, which is a righteous act that benefits the country and the people, and there should be no problem for the court to give a title. The Li family has a close relationship with the three parties of Qi, Chu and Zhejiang, and with the protection of the adults, no one in the cabinet will oppose it. The difference is also a matter of time. Jiang Jie said.
"That's true." Yue Su nodded and said, "Time waits for no one." Especially now, it is not certain whether Li Yuanchen is in Wuchang or not, and even if he is, whether he will agree. â
"My lord, it's better for my subordinates to go to Wuchang in person, and let me talk to Li Yuanchen about it. To tell the truth, if the adult goes to this matter in person, it should be captured, but after all, the adult is the governor of Sichuan, and he can't easily leave the jurisdiction, so he has to go down to this trip. Li Yuanchen said.
"Well, there's Mr. Law." After Yue Su finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Li Yuanchen, "This governor is here to represent the people of Sichuan, thank you, sir." â
"Your Excellency is polite...... Jiang Jie hurriedly supported Yue Su and said: "Your subordinates are your staff, so you should share your worries for your adults, and now that the time is urgent, Jie will leave." â
Seeing that Yue Su's hair has turned white these days, can Jiang Jie not worry. After explaining two sentences, he didn't go back to Xingyuan to say hello to Qin Xin, so he directly took Li Zhong and Kong Jian out of the city and went to the dock in Jianyang County.
Before leaving, Yue Su had no choice but to thank Li Zhong and them, these brothers, when they came back, they didn't even catch their breath, and they had to leave again, which was really unpleasant.
Li Zhong and the others also knew that Yue Su cared about the people, especially when they saw Yue Su bowing to them, they were all moved to tears, and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying that they would do their best to escort Mr. Jiang to Wuchang as soon as possible.
From Jianyang to Wuchang, take the Tuojiang River all the way into the Yangtze River, and five days later, arrive in Wuchang. As soon as they arrived in the city, everyone immediately rushed to the gate of the Li Mansion. Jiang Jie asked people to send a name post, only saying that it was handed over to the housekeeper.
că