To this day, Xiying is still Xu Ping's most important helper, and three of the seven infantry field battalions scheduled to be built have Western characters in their names. Xu Ping was unwilling and not good to refute Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo's face in front of everyone, but Xu Ping and Zhendonghou already had an agreement, this agreement was made by him, and Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing's strategy may also be influenced by him, and he can't oppose Niu Jinxing at this time.

As a result, Xu Ping made the most useless decision: "I thought it was better to think about it in the long run, and take Kaifeng down first." ”

This is a very bad statement, the two-day meeting was held to discuss the next strategy, but both sides did not continue to advance, Sun Kewang responded: "Also, what the general said is, let's eat Kaifeng into our stomachs first." ”

After everyone left, Xu Ping said to Niu Jinxing: "Military Division, I agree to attack the Beijing Division. ”

"Why didn't you just say that?" Niu Jinxing's tone was very dissatisfied, he felt that Xu Ping was becoming less and less like Li Zicheng's subordinates, and he was unwilling to sacrifice his relationship with others to maintain King Chuang at a critical moment, but Niu Jinxing didn't have any good ways to deal with it for a while, he was afraid that pressing too hard would cause him to break into the camp.

"We can't tell you about our agreement with Huang Hou for the time being, but I will persuade Brother Sun." Xu Ping felt that the benefits of going north were not only strategic, and that the rift within the camp urgently needed to be repaired by a new common goal.

……

In Kaifeng City, Jia Minghe had just received a secret letter from the Marquis of Zhendong, and after reading this letter, Jia Minghe immediately burned it, and after thinking about it again, he dressed up and went to see the governor of Henan.

"Jia Shuai, please take a seat." These days, the bad news is one after another, Gao Mingheng looks like he is ten years old, the Hebei army, the Chu army, and the Qin army of the imperial court have been hit hard by breaking into the camp, and the imperial court has no available soldiers. Now even the staunchest defenders of the city have little hope of holding out until the siege is over. After receiving the news that the Marquis of Zhendong had returned to Beijing and that the Jiangbei Army had refused to attack Henan, Gao Mingheng did not dare to announce it to the public, but this bad news still spread throughout the city as quickly as if it had grown wings, and it was another heavy blow to the already low morale of the defenders.

"Lord Governor, the last general thinks that Kaifeng can no longer hold on." Jia Minghe said straight to the point: "In the opinion of the last general, the only way to do this today is to break through. ”

Gao Mingheng was taken aback: "Does Jia Shuai want to abandon Kaifeng and leave?" ”

Zhendonghou's secret letter asked Jia Minghe to prepare for a breakthrough unconsciously and unknowingly, and asked him by name to try to get in touch with Xu Ping, and Zhendonghou promised that the latter would let him go on the incense he had with the new army.

However, Jia Minghe considered it again and again and decided not to follow the instructions of Zhendonghou.

- Yes, twenty years ago, the Hou Ye took me to be thin, but the court treated me well.

For the generals under the Marquis of Zhendong, in addition to not being able to lead troops to the battle, the imperial court can call them a gold on the horse and a silver on the horse, and Jia Minghe did not have much wealth except for the position of a battalion officer on Changsheng Island - yes, the Marquis of Zhendong himself was also very poor, but in the end, Jia Minghe never got what a Ming general should have.

Now it's different, Jia Minghe's family wealth far exceeds that of ordinary general soldiers, and the court has never forgotten the reward when his children get married, especially after re-serving in the new army, even his young grandson has sprouted a hereditary military position.

"Lord Governor," Jia Minghe was worried that if he abandoned the King of Zhou and the governor of Henan and absconded, the court would be angry and would cause trouble to himself, yes, the court generally did not dare to take the generals with military power, but the abandonment of the prince was still a little too much, and the Henan generals who abandoned King Fu and absconded in Luoyang were a lesson from the past. What if there is a Zhendong Hou to protect him? For the sake of the overall image of the new army, Jia Minghe remembered that the General Staff Division did not hesitate to push the black pot to himself and Pu Guanshui, saying that the series of failures were due to their incredible incompetence: "The last general will definitely be able to protect the Lord and His Royal Highness King Zhou to break through." ”

"If it was ......twenty years ago," Jia Minghe thought in his heart, if the Marquis of Zhendong had asked Jia Minghe to take the safety of the soldiers of the new army as his first priority, Jia Minghe would have taken it for granted, but now he doesn't see it that way. Jia Minghe thought that if he could bring the king of Zhou and the governor of Henan out of danger, it would be good for his future, and it would also be beneficial to the Marquis of Zhendong: "The Hou Ye is too careful, and the first Xu Ping may not be able to detect it; Second, if he can bring His Royal Highness King Zhou back to Beijing, it will be too worth losing a thousand people, will the Hou Ye think that His Royal Highness King Zhou's life is not worth it? ”

……

After returning to the Beijing Division, Zhendonghou began to talk with the battalion officers of the New Army, for the time being, he did not reveal his plan, but only did some ideological preparations, before the New Army battalions had the same actions against the people when they went out on the expedition, Zhendonghou hoped that this kind of problem would not happen again in the future.

"In the past, it was a civilian command of the army, and I knew that it was difficult for you brothers to do it, but from now on, I have the final say." Many of his subordinates had followed Zhendonghou to the southwest to quell the rebellion 20 years ago, and Zhendonghou hoped that they would remember what he had said back then: "The people who support our new army are righteous people, and we must thank them from the bottom of our hearts. ”

"What Hou Ye said is," Wang Qinian should first be: "Hou Ye's teachings back then, the last day will be kept in mind, and the last will thank the people from the bottom of his heart." ”

What Hou Ye said was, "After Ji Xinghui rushed back to Beijing this time, he repeatedly told Zhendong Hou that he was very ashamed that he could not arrive at the battlefield in time, and his biggest hope was that he could use his military exploits to wash away the shame on the battlefield next time: "The last general must tell the whole army the heart of Hou Ye, so that every soldier will treat the people sincerely and kindly." ”

In the evening, at Wang Qinian's house, several familiar new military camp officers got together to drink, and everyone had something to say in their hearts, but no one refused to speak first.

After drinking for a while, Wang Qinian finally took the lead in breaking the silence: "It's not that I am disrespectful to Hou Ye, I can't be convinced by Hou Ye's reproach to me today." ”

When talking about military discipline during the day, the example given by Hou Hou in Zhendong was that the fire battalion killed more than 2,000 people with Hou Xun in the Battle of Shandong.

"What did I do wrong? It was the Hou Ye himself who said: The order of the Inspector, we just shout and obey the order. Wang Qinian has always thought that there is nothing wrong with what he has done, and no one except Zhendonghou has anyone who is wrong: "Those are not good people at all, they gather people to make trouble, and they are obviously thieves." Isn't it a thief who doesn't accept the emperor's food, scatters and flees when he sees the officers and soldiers, and sets up a village in the ravine to protect himself? We are officers and soldiers, and Master Hou also said: Where are the officers and soldiers who see thieves and do not catch them? ”

Now that Wang Qinian has made this start, other battalion officers have also spoken up to echo it.

"What righteous people? The whole world is not the king's land, isn't it a matter of course for the people under the Ming Dynasty to pay the imperial grain? For example, our new army eats the emperor's military salary, Lord Hou...... I also took the money given by the emperor, I can't do anything outside of eating, right? Although he once followed Zhendonghou to the southwest in the rain, and more than once handed over twice the price of silver to the villagers along the way, but after so many years of pampering, Ji Xinghui didn't believe Zhendonghou's statement at all: "If it was twenty years ago, maybe I would still believe in what righteous people......" Ji Xinghui wanted to use ghost words to describe Zhendonghou's words, but he didn't say such disrespectful words.

"Nonsense!" Zhou Xuzu made up this sentence for Ji Xinghui without scruples, this time the two battalions of Xiliu and Taishan came back, and they were scolded by Jin Qiude, although they didn't know that they deliberately did not carry out the orders of Zhendonghou, but it was not difficult to see through their thoughts about the orders of the staff department.

Ji Xinghui is just that, Zhou Xuzu is so angry that he chokes - now I am also a dignified general of the imperial court, and whoever sees him before and after him must be called a general, and he is also a well-known number one person in the new army, if it weren't for the face of Zhendong Hou, who would listen to you Jin Qiude, a guy who doesn't even have military power. Now I treat me as if I was the little Qian always who wanted to scold and scold, Jin Qiude, you don't pee, take care of what you look like.

"Nonsense." Including Zhou Xuzu, when the new army was first established, these generals felt that the new army should have a new atmosphere and that their battalions should be their own decisions, but Jin Qiude waved the banner of Zhendonghou and said that the military system and military regulations should all be in accordance with the pattern of the Changsheng Army back then, and Zhendonghou also quickly transferred Yang Zhiyuan back to be in charge of military law, and the internal affairs of each battalion did not dare to interfere without these military judges. Although the sons of the generals, Zhendonghou, are already being treated preferentially, but they are not afraid of not knowing the goods, they are afraid of comparing the goods, and compared with other Ming troops, these generals not only do not feel preferential, but also think that they have been greatly wronged; It is true that military law is always open to the old brothers, but in other Ming armies, who would have such an inexplicable mother-in-law on their heads? Even the prison guards don't like to find fault so much with military judges. Not to mention, Yang Zhiyuan and Jin Qiude said on the front foot under the banner of Zhendonghou that everyone was not allowed to change the military law by themselves, and the back foot carried out Xu Ping and a few savages who didn't know where to come out as an example of the reform of each battalion. Can this kind treatment of the people defeat Xu Ping? ”

The battalion officers of the new army still had great expectations for Zhendonghou, hoping that Zhendonghou could take them to continue to advance and get promoted, but now this piece of heart is gradually cooling. The battalions privately did some innocuous small business, or colluded with the local government to make some extra money, but the Zhendong Hou not only did not cover them, but had the intention of pursuing accountability.

"Master Hou forgot about us." Zhou Xuzu said aggrievedly: "Master Hou has forgotten our hard work and loyalty. Two years ago, when Jin Qiude said something unclear in an ambiguous tone, Zhou Xuzu admitted that he was even a little moved, but if he didn't say something so long, why did the Ming Court plan to give him some rights, and the Hou Ye wouldn't give them? Last year, his nephew should not bully men and women, but Ming Ting had no intention of pursuing it, why did Hou Ye have to bite it, and finally insisted on depriving his nephew of his military position? If you treat yourself like this when you are employing people now, how can you expect it to be in the future?

Speaking of which, Wang Qinian is also a belly of fire, the fire battalion participated in some human trafficking in Shandong, and those are the female dependents of thieves - this is what the Inspector made clear, Master Hou, you are not allowed to eat empty salaries, and you are not allowed to deduct military salaries, I have done it right, but so many subordinates also want to buy houses and land, if they don't let them fish with a little oil and water, they will also be red when they look at the friendly army.

After the reopening of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, the Marquis of Zhendong called Wang Qinian to talk, and he must stop the private business of the fire camp, and there was no room for negotiation. Yes, Zhendonghou promised to give some subsidies to the fire battalion privately, but those businesses can make the fire battalion earn tens of thousands of taels of silver every month, and each related relative and deceased can share a large sum. The Marquis of Zhendong forcibly stopped these, Wang Qinian felt that he could not explain to his cronies, and the Marquis of Zhendong also strictly ordered Wang Qinian to cancel those positions that had nothing to do with the military, and the personnel could be incorporated into the army and become incorporated, and if they could not be incorporated, they would be persuaded to withdraw from the army, which made Wang Qinian feel even more faceless to see the old father.

"Didn't the fire battalion win the battle?" Wang Qinian had just led a team to aid Shanxi, drove away Lin Dan Khan, and had just had the opportunity to expand some business affairs in Shanxi: "If we are soldiers, we won't win the battle for Hou Ye, and we don't care what we do if we make money or not?" ”

"Hou Ye said that those thieves were so pitiful, as if the court owed them," the complaints poured out of everyone's mouths like a flood that opened the floodgates, Ji Xinghui drank a glass of wine violently, and shouted: "If Hou Ye said so, the thieves are all justified!" If you don't obey the king, you are a thief, and if you kill our officers and soldiers, you are a thief! ”

……

"My lord, my subordinates think it's inappropriate."

In Zhendonghou's study, Jin Qiude and Zhao Slowxiong sat on his left and right, and after hearing Zhendonghou's idea of retreating south, both of them spoke out against it.

"If the adults are willing to promise to let the new army rob along the way, maybe the low-level officers will support the adults, but the old brothers ......" Zhao Slowxiong shook his head again and again: "What are the adults willing to give them?" ”

Seeing that Zhendonghou was silent, Jin Qiude said anxiously: "My lord, my subordinates know that you are only willing to let them be rich men, but your subordinates dare to ask, who of them is not now?" Your Excellency, you don't even give as much as Ming Ting, why do they want to help your adults deal with Ming Ting? ”

Seeing that Zhendonghou was still silent, Zhao Slowxiong made another suggestion: "My lord, my subordinates don't understand why my lord must go to the south, but my subordinates think that if my lord insists on this, then I just take the teaching team away, the teaching team is still honest under Song Jianjun, and he is loyal to your lordship, even if he breaks his family and follows him, there will be no complaints." ”

"The old brothers have been with me for so many years, how can I leave them behind." Zhendong Hou sighed: "And I need an army in the south to help me maintain the situation." ”

"My lord, they won't read your good," Jin Qiude said viciously: "Just throw them all in the capital and let Xu Ping clean them up, they are not Xu Ping's opponents, when Xu Ping cleans them up, I will help the adults train a new army out, we use young people, and some of the teaching team are young people, and they just make room for the newcomers." ”

"I can't do that to them." Zhendonghou still thinks that it was his own mistake - I know that the army is the epitome and refraction of society, and I know that in a hierarchical feudal society, I can't train a modern army that knows why to fight, but I still think that my influence is big enough, and I think that my influence and prestige can offset the effect of feudal society. It's because of my arrogance, and I can't just walk away and let others bear the blame.

"My lord, with all due respect, my subordinates said bluntly," Zhao Slowxiong also listened to the lecture of Zhendong Hou to the senior officers today: "My subordinates have always thought that my lord wants to replace the Ming court, so my subordinates have always thought that at most only one He brother will be troublesome, but obviously my lord thinks more than my subordinates, and what my lord yearns for seems to be the rule of three generations, and I don't plan to use the people's fat and people's ointment to support the brothers." So, my lord, my subordinates don't know very well how many people will be willing to go with my lord besides Brother Jin, and my subordinates dare to assert that this new army is a trouble for adults when they go to the south, and if my lord doesn't borrow Xu Ping's knife, he may have to dirty his hands in the future. ”

"If adults are not afraid of dirty their hands," Jin Qiude sneered: "Naowei is in the hands of adults." ”

In recent days, the reaction of the generals has made Zhendonghou feel a little chilled, and his ability to observe the appearance of officialdom has already improved to a higher level after so many years of ups and downs, but he still shook his head: "I want to try again." ”

"My lord, my subordinates have another problem." Zhao Slowxiong felt that Zhendonghou seemed to have the intention of letting the camp break into the camp himself, and faked Xu Ping to go to the Ming Court to reduce the damage to his prestige: "Are you really sure that the camp will defeat you?" ”

"As far as I can see, the sense of crisis that sustains the camp is already shaky." The Marquis of Zhendong believed that he should never expect anything from the feudal army, which was corrupting at a rate unimaginable to modern people, and that the new army had already taught him plenty of lessons - and this was still if he tried so hard to maintain it.

"And Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo," Zhendong Hou shook his head, if Liu Wenxiu was still in Xiying, maybe he would have more confidence in Li Zicheng or Ping's alliance, Sun Kewang is the king of internal strife, and although Li Dingguo is a national hero, but his strength is too narrow, in his world Li Dingguo's purge in the southwest is the final blow to the Wanli regime, so that Wu Sangui is facing a destroyed Ming army: "You often say that if the royal industry wants to prosper, there must be a precursor, and I want to retreat as an advance." ”

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