In the early morning of November 16, Duoduo's troops had to choose to withdraw their entire army and reorganize their positions to meet the imminent arrival of Ming reinforcements.

If at this time, Zhu Shuren let his vanguard troops advance lightly at the Great Victory Pass, disconnected from the main force and go first, and it may even bite some of Duoduo's troops behind the palace, causing more losses to Duoduo.

It's a pity that nothing is perfect, and Zhu Shuren also came from afar. Before hearing the news of Duoduo's crossing of the river, his troops had been deployed in hiding in the areas of Anqing and Chizhou, under the pretext of resting for a few days (Zhu Shuren could not directly give people a handle, which made people think that he deliberately lured the enemy and caused the danger of Nanjing, so he could only show that he was in a hurry and arrived at the most critical moment).

Therefore, Zhu Shuren couldn't get more information, how was the battle under Nanjing, whether Duoduo fought for his life, and how Duoduo's troops were still in a state now...... With this information, Zhu Shuren can't open his eyes,

He could only choose to be safe first, and wait for the exchange of news with the defenders of Nanjing, and then consider the long term.

The Qing Kingdom can afford to gamble, but the current Ming Dynasty can't afford to gamble. It's better to be steady, win a little less each time, and accumulate steadily.

……

Under the steady advance, Zhu Shuren's army did not enter Nanjing until the afternoon of the 16th.

After his vanguard arrived at the Qinhuai River wharf in the morning, he did not even enter the city as soon as possible, but took control of the port, cleaned up the destroyed water wall, and waited for the front line of the Chinese army. Pose with a steady posture that can continue to advance by land and water at any time, and form a corner with the defenders of the city.

Although he did not achieve any results at the first moment of the arrival of reinforcements, Zhu Shuren still won a grand welcome from the defenders of Nanjing and the people.

They had just ended the bloody battle of defending the city for more than half a day, and everyone knew that the reason why Duoduo retreated and the bloody siege battle was ended was due to the reinforcements of King Qianliqin, who worshiped the country's surname.

It's better to rush early than to be lucky, and when the friendly army appears at the most dangerous moment, this favor is the greatest.

Emperor Zhu Changshu of Longwu also personally led the hundred officials out of the suburbs of the city to welcome, although it was not far away, because it was not a few miles away from the city gate of Nanjing was the Qinhuai River wharf, and it was impossible to welcome it farther.

Before Zhu Shuren got off the boat, he saw the emperor Luan, and he didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly jumped off the trestle in a few steps, and saluted respectfully in front of the onlookers.

"Ministers, Governors, Huguang, Sichuan, and Guangzhou...... Knock on Your Majesty. The king of Chenqin was late and terrified. ”

Zhu Changshu naturally did not criticize his son-in-law, and praised him honestly: "It's not too late, it's not too late, fortunately Qing came in time, otherwise Duoduo would not be able to retreat so easily." I have long thought that the decline of my Ming kingdom is all due to the lack of skills.

At the beginning, the first emperor ordered Qing to destroy the western thieves first, and Zhang Wei was awarded the head before he was more than a year. Then I asked Qing to help, although there was a slight delay, it was just to kill the thief, even if Duoduo could retreat and return to the north this time, it was just because Qing was lacking in skills, so he couldn't catch up, and he wouldn't be so lucky next time.

If the Ming Dynasty can have three ministers who are loyal to the country and have great talents, I am afraid that the first emperor will not have to be martyred, and he can just send out the thieves, thieves and Tartars. Fortunately, now the western thieves and the thieves no longer exist, and from now on, Qing concentrates on dealing with the Tartars, and the destruction of the Tartars is just around the corner! ”

Zhu Changshu's words made the Manchu Dynasty civil and military awe-inspired, ashamed, and didn't dare to accept it.

Because this is indeed the truth: Li Zicheng was able to kill Chongzhen because Chongzhen first sent Zhu Shuren to completely destroy Zhang Xianzhong. After Zhu Shuren freed his hands and regarded Li Zicheng as the number one enemy, didn't Li Zicheng disappear in the process of going south to Huguang?

Even if Duoduo didn't disappear immediately this time, it could only be regarded as Zhu Shuren who was temporarily stumped by Li Zicheng and Azig successively. In other words, with Zhu Shuren's resume in the five and a half years since his debut, he has maintained an absolute victory record on the frontal battlefield where he personally sits, no matter who the enemy is!

The reason why Da Ming often regresses and suffers setbacks is because Zhu Shuren did not coordinate the overall situation, he was just sent to take charge alone, and he could only be crushed on the side where he was alone, and the other faces that he couldn't control were frustrated!

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, he only served as an official for half a year, and he did not govern the place, but only helped to reform Caoyun and accumulate disadvantages, so it can not be counted.

From the thirteenth year of Chongzhen to become the local governor and prefect, in the first year of managing a government, he destroyed Liu Xiyao, who was a scourge of a government,

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, when he went to several neighboring prefectures, even the other three battalions in the fifth battalion of the left side of the revolution in the area of Huang Xinyang were all wiped out!

In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, for the first time, he was in charge of most of the provinces, and finally completely expelled Zhang Xianzhong in southern Hunan and beat Huguang!

In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, the first emperor allowed him to go out of the province to pursue, and he immediately defeated Li Zicheng once, and completely destroyed Zhang Xianzhong, and killed Zhang Xianzhong himself!

Now in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen changed his order before he died to deal with Li Zicheng with all his might, and after nine months, he really killed Li Zicheng again!

Jin Cancan's resume is there, and there is no enemy who is willing to let him take the lead alone to destroy the tasks given to him by the imperial court! He didn't hit the Tartar hard before, but the court didn't arrange for him to do this!

When you think about it, it's terrifying, it's simply "a thief who can't be destroyed without a national surname, only a thief who the court didn't send him to destroy".

As long as the imperial court authorizes him, he is invincible!

After careful calculation, it is only a little more than a month before Li Zicheng's death.

Because of Duoduo's threat, the Nanjing Imperial Court had not had the energy to discuss the reward for Zhu Shuren's great achievement in killing Li Zicheng, but now that the emperor personally proposed this matter, the hundred officials who accompanied him only remembered.

The atmosphere has come to this point, and it seems that no matter what reward the emperor offers, the cabinet and hundreds of officials, as well as the bunch of imperial historians who spew people to make a living, are not easy to say.

Everyone was a little worried in their hearts, and sure enough, Zhu Changshu said casually in the next sentence, and said: "Since the first emperor has given Qing the surname of the country, everything should be compared with the clan." With the merit of destroying the thief, it is the king, and there is nothing to do. In the future, we must make persistent efforts to expel the Tartars across the river first. ”

After all, there were a few imperial historians next to him who couldn't help it, and Tou Tie knelt down and admonished bitterly: "Your Majesty!" How can the proposal of the king be child's play? Even if it is a national surname clan, our dynasty does not have a king because of merit, only to say that it is only a king with a noble bloodline. If you want to raise honors, the duke is already the ultimate, and the founding dukes are all the same. ”

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to discuss such a big thing! The strong enemy is still on the side, the siege of the capital has just been lifted, and the situation is still unclear. ”

Zhu Shuren himself felt that this statement was too fast, and it was a bit of an inopportune time at the moment, so he hurriedly expressed his modesty. And Shen Tingyang, of course, should be modest on this occasion.

After a brief tug, it was Shi Kefa, the first assistant of the cabinet, who stood up and came up with a compromise plan:

"The minister can understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts. At present, Duoduo has just been frustrated, and he needs his soldiers to use their lives to beat the poor. In order to motivate the soldiers of King Qin, the rain and dew were all given rewards and raised for their previous achievements, which is also the proper meaning of the question.

But what the king said is really ...... If it is just to facilitate the pursuit of troops and horses from all walks of life, you can first add the title of secretary of the military department to Zhu Shuren, and temporarily supervise the whole division of thieves. After this time completely retreats from the enemy, we will think about it in the long run, and reward it for several achievements. ”

As mentioned earlier, before King Lu ascended the throne as emperor, Zhu Shuren was only a governor of Huguang in Chongzhen's hands, and after his father-in-law ascended the throne, he was promoted to the governor of the three provinces, but his status was still lower than that of Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou and other foreign governors.

The main difference is in those highly respected cabinet elders and foreigners, and it is the place where the governor of the military department is the rank of governor, and the number of provinces that can be supervised can also be more. Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou have all had five or six provinces.

Shi Kefa's proposal is already considered serious, and the old man seeks the country, and the two sides ask for a price, sit on the ground and pay back, and give a compromise. In order to coordinate all the troops and horses in front of him, including the local army in Nanzhili, so as not to know the soldiers and soldiers in the final pursuit battle, everything is as it should be.

If there are people who want to oppose it, it is not against the promotion of Zhu Shuren, but because they want to "sabotage the great cause of unified command and resistance against the Tartars", what is the intention!

Sure enough, after Shi Kefa finished speaking, no one objected, and Zhu Shuren himself was only symbolic and modest again, and then he was ready to accept it.

However, Zhu Shuren also has to finally plug a small loophole that may lead to defamation in the future. Because he knew that he arrived at the most critical moment in this battle of Nanjing, after all, he did not fight the first stage of the hard battle.

If the pursuit is a big victory in the future, will it be a great credit for the first stage or a great credit for the second stage? Will the friendly forces that carried the damage in the first stage accept his command with sincerity and sincerity? Will anyone think that "Zhu Shuren is just a man who goes down the mountain to pick peaches, and the drudgery is carried by friendly troops, and he only fights in the counteroffensive stage"?

Although the mud will not affect the future of Zhu Shuren in the future, it can make the image in the history books more perfect, and Zhu Shuren will not hesitate to make up for it.

So he kindly reminded the emperor: "Your Majesty, since you want the minister to increase the rank of secretary of the military department and lead the whole army to fight back against Duoduo, how dare the minister resign for the sake of false fame!"

It's just that our army will be able to finally defeat Duoduo in the future, and the credit of the generals who defended the city before should not be underestimated.

The generals defending the city have just suffered a lot of casualties, and they have to obey the unified dispatch of the ministers, and the follow-up meritorious service may be weak. ”

Zhu Shuren did not say whether the generals of Nanzhi were dissatisfied with the temporary transfer to his command, but only said that the other party was tired and the troops were not strong, and there may be fewer opportunities for meritorious service in the next stage.

If this happens, it means that they are really weak, and it is not that they do not give them the opportunity to expand their results.

The ears of the hundreds of officials present pricked up, and they also thought of this situation. But Zhu Shuren said it so frankly, it should not be for the sake of strength, but for seeking truth from facts.

When everyone was in a dilemma, Shi Kefa thought of a way, he had presided over the defense of Nanjing a few days ago, and he was most familiar with the merits and demerits of the Ming army participating in the war, so he said bluntly:

"Your Majesty, in the past few days, in the battle to defend Nanjing, the front-line battles and the generals, with Li Fuming's contribution first, it is better to ask Your Majesty to reward Li Fuming first, and appease and inquire whether his troops are still worthy of fighting again."

Zhu Changshu thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong, so he asked Li Fuming to play in public.

Li Fuming, who still holds the title of Shanxi's commander-in-chief, was not transferred and resettled after he went south, so he was placed by Shi Kefa in various parts of Nanzhili to plug leaks and defense. A few days ago, he finally showed his face, and the defense of Nanjing counted his former western border army the most daring to fight. At this moment, he was named by the emperor, and he hurriedly and excitedly came out of the ranks.

Zhu Changshu said: "I came to Nanjing, thanks to the generals' lives, the former Haidao general Zhang Mingzhen cleaned the river defense, stabilized Zhengshuo, and was awarded the title of earl." General Li's contribution to defending the Beijing division is not under him, and the cabinet can discuss the title of knight according to the discretion to boost morale. ”

This is equivalent to saying that Shi Kefa should go back to discuss the name of an earl and add a knight to Li Fuming.

Li Fuming hurriedly thanked him and was grateful, but Zhu Changshu asked one more question, hinting at whether he was willing to accept Zhu Shuren's leadership in the follow-up pursuit of Duoduo.

Li Fuming has just been rewarded, and his own merits have been fulfilled, not to mention that Zhu Shuren was originally kind to him, so naturally he would not resist. He hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty said this! For the generals to be supervised and controlled, it is the law of the imperial court. What's more, when the last general was in Liaodong the year before last, he was trapped in a desperate situation by Hong Chengchou, if it weren't for ...... Shen Ge Lao rescued thousands of miles from Zhang Junmen in the sea road, and the last general and his subordinates are now afraid that they are already a dry bone in Tashan. Restrained by Zhu Butang, the end will be dissatisfied. ”

After Li Fuming expressed this attitude, even if Zhu Shuren could manage and control the various armies of Nanzhili without any flaws in stealing power-

Because Li Fuming had the highest credit in the previous defensive battle, the people with the highest credit expressed that they were not convinced, and the other groups of soy sauce goods who did not make much meritorious service, how could they have the face to be dissatisfied?

If these matters of military power appointment are put in the court, they may have to be sideways and will be pointed at by a group of people. But now the emperor and the first assistant, as well as the main meritorious generals in the defense of the city, just decided the matter between greeting and laughing, and the others couldn't intervene at all.

Zhu Shuren thanked the emperor again for his grace and the trust of his colleagues, and then put on a gesture just right - he asked Zhu Changshu for instructions, asking to leave part of his troops to camp at the Qinhuai River wharf, because there were too many people, and the rear army had not yet arrived, if all entered the city, he was afraid that Nanjing would be chaotic and could not accommodate so many people who suddenly appeared out of thin air for a while.

Zhu Changshu took advantage of the situation, let Zhu Shuren only bring 20,000 or 30,000 people, and mainly led the military officers into the city, leaving most of the men and horses outside the city, and waiting for Queen Qin's army to take it together.

Seeing this, the hundred officials were also impressed by Zhu Shuren's caution - until this moment, he did not leave behind the foreign soldiers who poured into Beijing and controlled the government by force.

……

Needless to say, after entering the city, after hastily drinking the wine, Zhu Shuren thanked him and left the palace, and he could finally talk to Shi Kefa about the military aircraft.

It was only at this moment that he was able to grasp in detail the specific losses of the Duoduo side in the previous siege and the remaining combat power in the previous siege battle.

In fact, Shi Kefa has never figured out the specific total strength of Duoduo crossing the river, only saying that the total number of people who crossed the river one after another should not be less than 100,000, and there may be a bluff.

As for the losses of the siege of Nanjing, Shi Kefa hastily calculated it, just the piles of corpses of the Qing army that could be found, all of which added up to nearly 10,000, and there were also those who fell into the Qinhuai River and did not see their bodies.

According to Shi Kefa's preliminary statistics, the casualties of Duoduo's army under the city of Nanjing should be no less than 20,000! In just two days of siege, so many people were lost, which can be regarded as a new peak in the history of the war at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

On the side of the Ming army, there were also six or seven thousand casualties among the regular troops up and down, not counting the people who helped the war to help transport ammunition and materials, as well as those who were forced to go up the wall by the war knife to surrender to the enemy and rebel against the enemy, and those people added up to thousands of casualties.

It's just that the Ming army has the power to clean up the battlefield after the war, so most of the wounded of the Ming army can be treated, and the death rate is relatively low.

】

The reason why the Qing army's casualty ratio is so high, at least more than half of them are dead, is actually because the wounded were all left under the city when the Qing army retreated, and they could not carry their wounded comrades together.

Of course, the Ming army will not be polite to these dog tartars when cleaning up the battlefield, and anyone who sees a rat tail braid, regardless of whether they are angry or not, will chop off the head with a knife and ask for merit, and thousands of people will be killed by the knife.

Zhu Shuren estimated this loss, according to Duoduo's remaining 80,000 soldiers to fight, then he still had tens of thousands of people left in Jiangbei, but because there were not enough boats before, he couldn't cross over, and he was cut off by Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Hongkui halfway through, and he couldn't come over for several days.

Such a distribution ratio is said to be very cost-effective for the Ming army, and each part of the Qing army will not be too strong, and it is relatively easy to break through.

After understanding the size of the enemy's army, Zhu Shuren's next focus was on what territory Duoduo now occupied.

There is no more news about Shi Kefa in this regard, after all, it has only been half of the night and a morning after the siege has been lifted, and the scouts of the Ming army in Nanjing have just been sent out, and they have not yet returned.

At present, Shi Kefa only knows that Longtanwei and Qixia Mountain have been lost a long time ago, which is Duoduo's landing ground, and Jurong County in Yingtianfu is also lost, which is in the way before Duoduo attacked Nanjing City.

It wasn't until late at night that Zhu Shuren arrived that the latest batch of Ming army scouts reported back with the latest situation, and everyone knew that during the siege of Nanjing, Zhenjiang Mansion in the east also confirmed that two counties had been lost, and Danyang and Dantu had all fallen into the hands of thieves. Jintan County and further east to Wujin County, the capital of Changzhou, there is no news yet.

Zhu Shuren calculated: "So, Duoduo is now counted as 80,000 soldiers who can fight, but his morale is low and his armament is weakened, and it has been confirmed that he has three counties to entrench, and in the process of our army's continued pursuit, this number may be expanded to five counties, but it should end here-

On the side of Jiangyin County, Changzhou Prefecture, there is Yan Yingyuan, the new prefect recommended by me, and Duoduo should not be able to get by, so in the worst case, it will end in Wujin County. ”