In the summer of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the thieves Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Scorpion Block, Zhang Miaoshou and other troops strayed into the Chezhou Gorge south of Xing'an under the pressure of the official army. The officers and soldiers on the mountain sealed the exit with stones, and kept throwing stones and torches into the valley, and the thieves were trapped in the valley and had nowhere to feed.

Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the thieves, saw that the situation was unfavorable, so he discussed with Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others about false surrender, and they took out the treasures they had plundered, bribed Chen Qiyu and the generals of various official and military circles, and demanded surrender.

Chen Qiyu was greedy for money, and under his arrangement, the trapped 66,000 people's troops walked out of the plank road known as natural danger safely. Along the way, the officers and soldiers who escorted them were clothed and fed, and they got along in a friendly manner. However, as soon as he walked out of the plank road, the thieves suddenly rebelled, and will pacify and send the official or kill the head, or cut off the ear, or the cane, or tie up and throw the road, and then send troops to trap seven counties in a row, burning, killing and plundering along the way, and the situation is very bad.

In order to get away with the crime, Chen Qiyu led the disaster to others, accusing the governor of Shaanxi Lian State Affairs and others of sabotaging the situation. Chongzhen was furious and arrested Lian Guoshi and others and imprisoned, but Chen Qiyu was also impeached and imprisoned, and in November, Chen Qiyu was removed from the list and imprisoned

Chongzhen learned that Chen Qiyu's soothing strategy failed, and let go of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others in the carriage gorge, he was furious, and with a strict order, Chen Qiyu was dismissed and returned to his hometown, and the post of governor of the five provinces was taken over by Hong Chengchou. Xiong Mingyu, the secretary of the Ministry of War, was also dismissed by the pond fish, and Zhang Fengyi, the prince Shaobao and the governor of Jiliao, took over as the secretary of the Ministry of War.

After the thieves came out of the carriage gorge, they rose again, and the new governor of the five provinces, Hong Chengchou, asked the imperial court for salaries and soldiers, and Chongzhen was so anxious that he summoned Wen Tiren, Zhang Fengyi, and the new Hubu Shangshu Hou Sui into the palace to discuss the transfer of troops and salaries.

After the three important ministers entered the palace, Wen Tiren sat on the stool and looked up at Chongzhen, but he couldn't detect a trace of the young emperor's voice, and couldn't help but glance at Zhang Fengyi and Hou Sui, and said tentatively: "The saint has ordered Hong Chengchou to take over as the governor of the five provinces, and he should be the first to pursue and suppress the Liukou, he should not sit and wait for the food and salary, and let the Liukou rage." Now that the Liukou have just escaped from the Carriage Gorge, and their vitality has not yet recovered, they can take advantage of the victory to pursue and gather together to annihilate them in one drum, so as not to give them the opportunity to resurge. ”

Zhang Fengyi and Hou Sui knew very well the difficulty of transferring troops and raising salaries, and when they heard the overtones in the first auxiliary words, it also implied that they were worried about the difficulties of the two parts, and arched their hands towards Hou Sui, and said with long eyebrows: "Brother Ruogu, your household department is in charge of money, grain, and fields, as long as you give me half of the food and salary of the military department, it is not difficult to transfer 100,000 elite soldiers from all over the country." ”

How could Hou Sui, who had just taken over Bi Ziyan's mess, not know the truth about the treasury, and said with a wry smile: "Don't force me, Da Sima, since I took over the household department last year, I have only cleared up the taxes accumulated in the world over the years, and I have been helpless. Taicang Silver has nearly one million taels of tax silver just put into the warehouse, but to make such an exception to you, I, the household official, had to take my subordinates to beg for food. ”

"Don't be so decisive! The military department has already sent Zhang Quanchang, Cao Wenzhao, Qin Yiming, and Deng Xi to Henan, and the four or five thousand people have not opened their hands to ask for the money of the household department! Zhang Fengyi snorted.

Hou Sui listened to his sarcastic words, and didn't care about the presence of his father, and defended: "It's difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, you just shouted and urged me to ask for it, and I can't do it, the household really can't get the silver!" ”

Seeing that the two important ministers were fighting each other, Chongzhen waved his hand angrily and interrupted: "You don't have to act for me to see, I haven't asked you for money, just ask how to transfer troops." ”

Zhang Fengyi heard Hou Sui breathe a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but be a little anxious, and asked, "How many soldiers and horses does the emperor want to transfer?" ”

Chongzhen put the shiny red copper hand stove on the kang table, and stroked his hands and said: "I received a secret report from Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Yunyang, that the thieves went out of the carriage gorge and were repatriated by different routes at first, but after Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng rebelled, they responded in groups, and they knew that there was Hong Chengchou in Shaanxi, so they turned south and invaded the Central Plains by Shanxi, Huguang, and Lu in three routes, and joined forces in one place. Today, there are only two soldiers and horses in Henan, Zuo Liangyu and Chen Yongfu, but thousands, a drop in the bucket, how can they resist hundreds of thousands of thieves? It must be cracked down on in a big way! ”

Zhang Fengyi thought for a while and said: "Then first transfer 2,000 from Tianjin, and then transfer 3,000 Beijing battalion divine soldiers to help in the battle, thinking that those rogues are just a rabble, and they were defeated by the Carriage Gorge, and when they heard that the official army was attacking, they were bound to flee in despair." ”

Before Chongzhen could speak, Wen Tiren praised: "The emperor is wise in heaven and determined to prosper, such a thief is just a mantis arm as a car and a mayfly shaking a tree, how can he be worried!" ”

"The Central Plains is the security of the world, and it has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times. Nowadays, the thieves are powerful, and the number of people is very heavy, so they should not be taken lightly. Chongzhen bowed his head slightly towards Wen Tiren, turned to Zhang Fengyi and said: "Only 5,000 people, even if the soldiers are brave, one is ten, and they can't withstand hundreds of thousands of thieves." Your military department should not just talk about things, but should make overall plans, increase what should be increased, and adjust what should be adjusted, in order to sweep away the rogues as soon as possible. ”

Hearing Chongzhen say this, Zhang Fengyi gritted his teeth and said, "That minister is bold and outspoken." ”

"Although."

"The minister thought that if there was a large-scale attack, it was necessary to transfer troops from all sides, fight quickly, and return to the original garrison as soon as possible after the thieves were pacified. In this way, there are 15,000 soldiers in Jizhen Town, which are led by the general soldiers Zhang Jiamo and You Shiwei; 5,000 soldiers were transferred to Linwei and other places, and 5,000 Tianjin soldiers were transferred, led by Xu Laiqian; 3,000 soldiers of Baizhuzi and Luoyi Tusi were recruited, led by the Sichuan general Tan Daxiao, and went to Henan from Kuizhou via Yunyang. In addition, another 5,000 soldiers from the Beijing battalion can be transferred, which will be commanded by Lin Tai. A total of 33,000 soldiers and 6,000 horses were handed over to Hong Chengchou to control them. Speaking of this, Zhang Fengyi deliberately paused and waited for Chongzhen to make a decision.

"Hmm! The soldiers of Jizhen should always be on guard against the invasion of the eastern and northern captives, and it is not advisable to recruit too much. Tianjin Gongwei Beijing Division, once there is a police, can rush to help, and it is not appropriate to adjust more. I can draw from other sources. ”

"In the past two years, Dongyu has been hit hard by Jinzhou and Shenyang, although I have broken off the negotiation with Dongyu, but I am afraid that Dongyu will not be able to commit it again, so Jizhen soldiers and horses can be transferred more."

"Let's take care of this matter, I don't want any more accidents on the side wall."

"I understand."

Chongzhen looked at Hou Sui's appearance of wanting to speak and stopped, and asked, "What do you have to say, but you are worried about food?" ”

Hou Sui said: "There is no shortage of soldiers and horses in these places, and the ministers have nothing to worry about." ”

Chongzhen Qi said: "Then what are you worried about?" ”

"The minister thought that although these four soldiers and horses were fine, he was afraid that he would not be able to wipe out the thieves. If you get another army to help you suppress it, you can be sure that nothing goes wrong. ”

"Oh?" Chongzhen became interested, "Which way of soldiers?" ”

Hou Sui said: "Liaodong Army." ”

As soon as he heard Hou Sui say that he wanted to transfer the Liaodong Army, Wen Tiren first shook his head and said: "The Liaodong Army has long been without the longevity of the ancestors, and it has long been without much combat power, and it can barely keep Ningjin from losing, where are there any surplus soldiers and horses that can enter the customs to help suppress it." ”

Zhang Fengyi said: "In the fourth year of Kong Youde's rebellion, the imperial court transferred Zu Dabi and Wu Sangui to lead 3,000 Guan Ning Tie cavalry into the pass, which was led by Jin Guochen. ”

As soon as Zhang Fengyi said this, Chongzhen immediately remembered, and he asked: "Zu Dabi and Wu Sangui are both capable of fighting well, can they still transfer the Liao army into the customs?" ”

Zhang Fengyi hadn't opened his mouth yet, but Hou Sui hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the Liaodong Army that the minister said is not Ning Jin's Liaodong Army. ”

"Which one is that?" Chongzhen was a little confused, but Wen Tiren and Zhang Fengyi's faces were not very good-looking.

Hou Sui hesitated, but still said: "The minister is talking about the Liaodong Army of the Deng Brigade. ”