Chapter 43 Sima Qiaoyu

Seeing that the Ming Dynasty did not agree to become his vassal, Huang Taiji was very angry in his heart, and ordered his subordinates to continue to kill and disturb around the city of Beijing, and kept looting.

Originally, Huang Taiji led so many people into the customs with the purpose of robbing it, but he attacked Beijing City at that time, but he didn't think about it at all. He still knows his siege ability, Beijing City is so high, what can he attack. At the beginning, it was just an attack on a small county in Shunping, and so many people were lost, not to mention Beijing. It is estimated that they are all dead, and they can't be attacked. As for dominating the world, Huang Taiji never thought that his biggest goal now is to let the Ming Dynasty recognize his legal status.

His men and horses looted everywhere around Beijing, robbed towns and villages, and went in and out unscrupulously. The generals of the Ming Dynasty are not all bad breeds, Zhao Shujiao, Zuo Liangyu, Cao Wenzhao, and Qin Liangyu are all good, but these four people, together with one place, are not as many as the Tartars, and they have the heart to fight, how can they be outnumbered, if they fight hard, they will not all have to die.

The people in Beijing seem to just want to defend the city, and they don't make any calculations with the Tartars, as long as Beijing doesn't lose it, it's fine. The generals who did not give orders to the generals of the various departments to attack, and the generals who rushed to King Qin from Shandong and other places were happy in their hearts, and to be honest, they really didn't dare to fight with the Tartars.

Outside the city of Beijing, the Tartars tossed for nearly ten days, robbed almost all the towns and villages, and the harvest was very rich. Seeing that the robbery was almost over, Huang Taiji didn't want to stay here anymore, because two days ago, he received a letter from Dai Shan, saying that Wenlong attacked Shengjing and snatched his father's body, Wenlong asked for a price, and the Great Khan was not there, so I had to discuss with Dolgon, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Dolgon suggested that I declare to the outside world that the mausoleum on the stone mouth is the suspected grave of my father Khan, and the corpse inside is not my father's Khan's. What now? Come back and decide, Great Khan.

Dolgon's approach coincides with himself, everyone is for the benefit of the Jurchens, and no one can say anything, so it should really be a suspicious grave.

Huang Taiji ordered the troops to be collected and returned to Liaodong.

When you come, you can say that you come and go like the wind, and the speed is extremely fast, but when you leave, you really can't say that. With so many possessions and people, you can't run.

The Jurchens left, with more than 200,000 people of the Ming Dynasty and countless belongings, but he did not come the way he came, with so many people and property, and then walked from Shanxi, in case he met the benevolent brother in Taiyuan again, it was really a bit dangerous. The Jurchens also bully the weak and fear the hard. Where is he going this time, the answer is Zhangjiakou.

The northwest direction of Beijing is Zhangjiakou, the distance is only 300 miles, all the way, that is, there are several small county seats, the county can fight, if you can't fight, you will rob the towns outside the city, and you have not encountered the slightest resistance outside Beijing, let alone here.

At the current speed of the Tartar soldiers, it will take at least five or six days to think of Zhangjiakou. Zhangjiakou is the main road of the Great Wall, specializing in guarding the Beijing Division, where there are 7,000 defenders, and the general sitting in the town is a deputy general. Since it is the pass of the Great Wall, the city defense is naturally needless to say, with 7,000 men and horses to guard the pass, if you desperately defend it, although there are tens of thousands of Tartar soldiers, it is not so easy to pass.

At that time, the Tartars were rampaging in the Guannei, invincible, and swaggering around outside Beijing, not to mention Zhangjiakou, which only had 7,000 people. The deputy general guarding the pass had to report that the Tartar soldiers were coming here, and he was so frightened that he almost didn't turn his back on it.

It stands to reason that at this time, he should immediately go to gather troops and horses to do pre-war mobilization work, but he did not do this, but asked someone to prepare a sedan chair. The military generals prepare a sedan chair, which is very strange to say, generally military generals are riding horses, but this old man is really an outlier.

Tian Ji Cargo Company, one of the eight major goods stores in Zhangjiakou. The reason why there are so many goods stores here is that this is the main way out of the customs, after going out from Zhangjiakou, it is the territory of the Mongols, and it is far more affordable to do business outside the Saiwai than to do business in the mainland. These eight goods houses controlled almost all the trade in Zhangjiakou, and selling all kinds of materials to the Jurchens and Mongolia was their most common business.

Zhangjiakou's deputy general is surnamed Tian, his name is Tian Xiu, and he has another identity, that is, the nephew of Tian Shenglan, the big boss of Tian Ji Goods Bank. He can become the deputy general of Zhangjiakou, and it all depends on his uncle's spending money, so he has always turned a blind eye to the eight major cargo banks transporting goods out of customs.

Now that the Tartars are about to call, Tian Xiu knows that with his own ability, he can't stop the Tartars, but he knows that his uncle Tian Shenglan and the Tartars often do business and have a relatively close relationship, so he made a special trip to his uncle for help.

As soon as he arrived at the goods store, the front desk manager of the goods store also knew him, and immediately stepped forward to greet him, "General Tian, you are here." Hurry inside, our host has ordered this morning to let the little one wait here, and if the general arrives, he will quickly invite the general in. ”

"Oh?" Hearing this, Tian Xiu was stunned for a moment and said, "What? My uncle knew I was coming. ”

"Our proprietor has always been clever, and the little one doesn't know if he calculated that the general was coming. Hurry up and please come in. The shopkeeper said with a smile.

"Okay."

Tian Xiu followed the shopkeeper to the middle of the goods store into the courtyard, there was a wing room in the courtyard, and the shopkeeper was outside the room, and the voice of "please" came from inside.

The shopkeeper pushed the door open, Tian Xiu stepped in, but the shopkeeper didn't go in, just asked the people inside to say goodbye, and then closed the door.

"Uncle......

Inside the room sat a sixty-year-old man, who was short in stature, very shrewd, and covered in a large fur coat, which seemed to be very incompatible with his appearance. Tian Xiu called him uncle when he entered the door, and it can be seen that the old man is Tian Shenglan.

Tian Shenglan smiled, but did not stand up, and said very kindly: "Xiu'er, you are here." Uncle has been waiting for you for a long time, but I didn't expect you to come. Sit down, sit ......"

"Uncle, how did you know I was coming to you today?" Tian Xiu asked puzzledly.

"The reason is very simple, aren't the Jurchens coming soon? You are the guard of Zhangjiakou, and you are asked to stop the Jurchens, how can you stop it? If it is true, once the army is defeated, it will definitely die; But if you run away, abandon Zhangjiakou, and let the Jurchens leave calmly, you will not be able to escape if the court will hold you accountable in the future. Faced with a dilemma, you naturally want to come to your uncle to help you come up with ideas. Tian Shenglan said with a smile. The Tartars are about to hit in front of them, not to mention ordinary people, even rich people, who are also afraid. But this Boss Tian is like no one else.

"Uncle is really clever, and nephew is really worried about this, and he is in a dilemma. Uncle, seeing that you talk and laugh so freely, there must be some clever plan, please teach your nephew quickly. Tian Xiu said eagerly.

"Don't worry, don't be afraid, Uncle is waiting for you here today, just to teach you what to do. Isn't the Jurchen coming in two or three days, when you first lead the troops to resist for a while, the Jurchens will definitely let the people take the lead, come to drive the people to attack the city, at this time, you pretend not to hurt those people, let the people rush to the city, as soon as the people go to the city, they will naturally break through the fortifications on the city, and the Jurchens will also take the opportunity to attack the city, at this time, the general trend has gone. You quickly turn around and run away, go out through the north gate, and run to the west, while the Tartar will go east after exiting the customs and will definitely not touch you. Hide outside for a day, and then you come back, and then the Tartar has gone, and Zhangjiakou is still yours. As for the crime of defeat, since the Tartars entered the customs, if a few of the cities attacked have been defended, it is normal that you can't defend them. In the imperial court, I will also pay someone to help take care of it, and I will never let people have trouble. By the way, your family, send them to my house tonight to make sure they are safe and sound. Tian Shenglan said flatly.

"Uncle's plan is indeed good, at that time, your goods store and the people in the city ......," Tian Xiu said in a low voice.

"There are not many people in the city, most of them are merchants, and now these people are not all fleeing for their lives outside the city, and those who are running now are fateful, and those who run late can only blame them for their bad luck. As for my uncle, there is a way to dodge, so you don't have to worry about it. Okay, go about your business. Tian Shenglan said with a smile.

"Well, the little nephew will do as his uncle instructs. By the way, Zhao Jianjun is there, do I need to be informed. Tian Xiu bowed and said.

"Zhao Yan has a close relationship with Wang Dengku, I think the family property has been transferred there, and during the big war, he will escape before you, you don't have to worry about it." Tian Shenglan said.

"The nephew understood."

The two said politely again, and Tian Xiu said goodbye and left.

Indeed, as Tian Shenglan said, the merchants in the city have begun to flee today, which can be described as panicking. Tian Xiu returned to the house, and when it was night, he transferred his wife, concubine, children and all the gold and silver to Tian Ji Goods Store

When we moved, a dozen soldiers surrounded a young general of twenty-five or sixteen years old and dressed in armor. This general has the surname Sima and the double name Qiao Yu. Sima Qiaoyu is a guerrilla general in Zhangjiakou, and he came to Tianfu tonight to discuss the military situation with Tian Xiu.

As soon as he came to the street where Tian's house was located and saw so many people moving, Sima Qiaoyu immediately realized that this must be General Tian who wanted to transfer the family property, and the Tatars broke through the gate into the city in the past. This kind of thing can be regarded as human nature, especially General Tian, who eats empty quotas and drinks soldiers' blood on weekdays, and Zhangjiakou obviously has 15,000 defenders, but he only reports 7,000, which is more than half of it. Of course, the money in the family cannot be missing.

Sima Qiaoyu knew this, but he didn't say anything on weekdays, he knew very well that the eunuchs in Zhangjiakou had received a lot of benefits from Tian Xiu, and there were also bigwigs in the court who spoke for Tian Xiu, and if he reported it, he would be looking for death.

The pro-soldiers and the family were busy moving the boxes, Sima Qiaoyu and his pro-soldiers came to the door, he turned over and dismounted, and soon saw a pro-soldier leader he knew, so he said with a smile: "Zhang He, is General Tian in the house?" ”

"It turned out to be General Sima, and my general is in the house." The leader of the pro-soldiers said respectfully.

"I happen to ask to see somebody, how about finding someone to help me get through?" Sima Qiaoyu said politely.

"Look at what the general said, it's too polite, I'll let people go in and pass it on." The soldiers turned around and shouted loudly at the gatehouse: "Brother Tian, go in and help spread the word, and say that General Sima has something to see." ”

Fang agreed, and passed in and out.

Sima Qiaoyu, who was outside the door, didn't have anything to do now, so he chatted with Zhang He, "I said Zhang He, what are you doing so busy?" It's like you're going to move. ”

"Isn't the Tartar coming, my general asked his family to take refuge in the Tianji Goods Store, and this bit of belongings will also be sent together." Zhang He replied casually.

The relationship between Tian Xiu and Tian Ji Goods is not a secret in the whole Zhangjiakou, and everyone knows it.

"If you want to hide, you should also move out of the city, how can you move to Tian Kee Goods Store, once the Tartar is broken, everything in the city will not have to be robbed, how can Tian Ji Goods Store be an exception." Sima Qiaoyu said puzzled.

"I don't know, but my general asked me to move, and we errand boys are acting according to orders, how dare we ask more." Zhang He said.

"Alas......" Sima Qiaoyu sighed and said: "The Tartars are coming, the officers and soldiers in the city, the people are all panicking, many people are fleeing outside, and the number of people who will flee tomorrow is estimated to be more." I'm here tonight to discuss with the general how to defend the country. ”

"General Sima, they all said that the Tartars left, since they entered the customs in Datong, they burned and looted all the way, and they all hit the city of Beijing, which frightened the officers and soldiers in the Beijing Division, and none of them dared to face it. Now that the Tartars have grabbed enough and want to get out of us, do you think we can hold it? Zhang He said a little frustratedly.

"Whether you can keep it or not, you have to do your best and obey the destiny of heaven. We are stubborn and stubborn, and we are favored by the imperial court, and at this time, we naturally have to fulfill the responsibility of guarding the land. ”

The two of them were chatting, and at this time, the porter in the house ran out and said loudly: "General Sima, my general is invited." ”

Ma Qiaoyu nodded at Zhang He and said, "Zhang He, the general called me, and I will go in." ”

"General, please." Zhang He hurriedly surrendered his hand.

Sima Qiaoyu is kind and has excellent popularity in the army, especially ordinary soldiers, who like to listen to him under his tent. Sima Qiaoyu entered the mansion, and under the guidance of the gatekeeper, he came to the flower hall, Tian Xiu was using tea in the flower hall, looking at his appearance, there was no feeling that the enemy was coming, as if he was winning.

Entering the flower hall, Sima Qiaoyu bowed and clasped his fists and saluted, "The last general, Sima Qiaoyu, see General Tian." ”

"General Sima excuses the courtesy, sit down. Come on, watch the tea. Tian Xiu said politely.

After Sima Qiaoyu sat down and the tea was served, Tian Xiu said again: "It's so late, what is the matter with General Sima coming to see Ben General?" ”

"The Tartars are coming soon, we don't have many soldiers and horses in Zhangjiakou, and now the people are panicking, and the last general will come to the general to discuss the strategy of defending the palace." Sima Qiaoyu said truthfully.

"Yes, the Tartars are coming soon, General Sima, how should we defend it?" Tian Xiu had already thought of a way to retreat, but he couldn't say that now, the generals under his command came to discuss with him the strategy of retreating from the enemy, of course, he had to make a gesture.

"The last general thinks that the Tartars do not have any siege equipment, our Zhangjiakou is also the pass of the Great Wall, easy to defend and difficult to attack, although there are not many soldiers and horses in the city, but the Tartars can only attack from one side, seven thousand men and horses, as long as they are united, enough to defend. Also, there is enough food and grass in the city to support three months, and the Tartars will not stay here for long, and it will not take a month, and it is expected that they will take a detour. Therefore, the last general thought, should we first appease the army, prepare for the big battle, and send more scouts to inquire about the advance of the Tartar soldiers. When the Tartars came, the good people boosted their morale, and all the generals went up to the city together to defend it. Moreover, the strategy of the Tartars to attack the city has always been to drive the people to attack the city, and we don't have to fight the people who dare to climb the city, but also to fight to the death. At the city gate, the north and south gates, the last general also planned to seal them all with big stones and sandbags, so that no one inside and outside the city was allowed to enter or leave, making a posture of breaking the kettle and sinking the boat. In this way, the soldiers in the city will not be able to escape, and they will naturally fight to the death. Sima Qiaoyu said his plan.

In the previous words, Tian Xiu didn't take it seriously, basically entering the left ear and exiting the right ear, but when he heard Sima Qiaoyu say that the two city gates in the north and south were sealed and made a decisive posture, he immediately couldn't sit still. Because of the city pass here in Zhangjiakou, there are only two city gates in the north and south, the south gate is rushing to the pass, and the north gate is rushing to the outside of the pass.

Tian Xiu hurriedly said: "General Sima, your plan to break the cauldron is indeed good, but it is also too risky. Once the Tartars attack the city, the soldiers and civilians in the city will not even have a chance to escape. It's not proper, it's inappropriate......" Tian Xiu said this, shook his head again and again, and finally added, "I think it is enough to seal the south gate, the Tartars can't open the city gate, let's resist desperately in the city, once there is a change, don't the people in the city still have a chance to escape." ”

"The general's words are wrong, and the soldiers must be lucky, in case a Tartar attacks the city, they must not fight to the death. If the north gate is sealed, the soldiers will not be able to escape, and they will fight a decisive battle to drive down the Tartars who rushed to the city. We are the generals of the imperial court, and we are subject to the emperor's grace and the food of the imperial court, not only have the responsibility of guarding the map, but also have the determination to die on the battlefield. Sealing the north gate and coexisting with the soldiers in the city can be regarded as an example for all soldiers, and it can show our determination. The more Sima Qiaoyu spoke, the more heroic he became, and in the end, he seemed to have the courage to put life and death out of the way.

"No, no......" Tian Xiu still shook his head, yes, you are not afraid of death, I still want to live a few more years." General Sima, you are right, although my generation can sacrifice his life for the country, but those innocent people and soldiers, if the city is broken, there is a chance to escape, it is better not to involve them. The sealing of the south gate is enough, and you don't need to talk about this anymore. ”

"General, you said that you would not affect the people in the city, but the general thought that tomorrow he could inform the people of the city of the news of the closure of the city gates, and if they were willing to leave, they would leave as soon as possible. As for the soldiers in the city, since they have eaten the court and joined the army, they should have the determination to die on the battlefield. At most, if he is the only son in the family, he may be allowed to leave if he wishes; If the brothers, father and son are in the army, one can be allowed to leave, and the rest will stay in the city and live and die with Zhangjiakou! ”

When talking about the words 'living and dying with Zhangjiakou', Sima Qiaoyu's voice was categorical.

"There are a lot of only sons in the army, and there are also many brothers, fathers and sons in the army, let them all go, and how many people will come to defend the city? General Sima, you are still too young and enthusiastic, you would have been able to understand, but what you did was too reckless. Ben Jiang has just said that this matter must not be mentioned again, so he will do what Ben Jiang wants, and only seal one city gate. Okay, do you have any other suggestions? Tian Xiu said rather unhappily.

"General, if the north gate is not sealed, the soldiers guarding the city will inevitably not be able to use all their lives, and once someone escapes first, it will inevitably affect the morale of the army. Seal the gates of the city so that no one can ......"

Sima Qiaoyu still wanted to talk about the disadvantages of not sealing the north gate, but before he could finish speaking, Tian Xiu was anxious, and only heard him say loudly: "Enough, Sima Qiaoyu, are you the deputy general of Zhangjiakou, or am I!" Ben will say that if you don't seal the North Gate, you don't have to say more. If nothing else, then take your leave. ”

After speaking, Tian Xiu simply picked up the teacup.

This is the meaning of serving tea to guests, of course Sima Qiaoyu understands, but he actually picked up the teacup, opened the lid of the cup, took a sip, then stood up and asked loudly: "General, since you are the deputy general of the city, you should seal the north gate, do you still plan to escape and abandon Zhangjiakou in times of danger?" ”

"Bastard!" Tian Xiu slapped the coffee table angrily and shouted angrily: "Did you talk to your boss like this?" Which eye did you see that you were going to run away and abandon Zhangjiakou! If you dare to talk nonsense again, believe it or not, military justice will be dealt with against you now! ”

"If the general has no intention of escaping, why is he unwilling to seal the north gate, saying that he will give the people and soldiers in the city a chance to escape, I think it is all an excuse, it is the general that you want to have a chance to escape, right?" Tian Xiu's voice was loud, and Sima Qiaoyu's voice was louder than Tian Xiu's.

"Bastard! It's the other way around, it's the other way around! Tian Xiu was said to be in the sore spot, and he was really angry, he put the teacup on the ground and slammed it, then stood up and said loudly: "Sima Qiaoyu, you dare to spread rumors and shake the morale of the army, I think you really don't want to live anymore!" Someone! ”

The voice settled, and soon four pro-soldiers ran in, and the four personally fell to the ground on one knee together, "The villain is here!" ”

"Sima Qiaoyu spread rumors and shook the morale of the army, I think ten have been bought by the Tartars. You will take him down to me, beat him with eighty sticks, and put him in prison! Wait for Ben to defeat the Tartars, and then play the Ming court, and send them down! Tian Xiu ordered loudly.

"Yes, General!" As a personal soldier, he naturally had to obey Tian Xiu's orders, and the four of them stood up together and walked towards Sima Qiaoyu.

"Who dare!" Sima Qiaoyu shouted: "General Tian, what do you mean by this? ”

"What do you mean? You don't respect the officials, on the eve of the war, you spread rumors and framed you, is it still wrong to do this to you? You don't do it yet, wait for when! Tian Xiu was so angry that his voice was about to break the ceiling.

The four pro-soldiers didn't dare to hesitate any longer, took two steps forward, held Sima Qiaoyu down, and said, "General Sima, offended!" ”

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