CHAPTER XXII

The Qing troops crossed Beijing from late October, approached Zhuozhou from Liangxiang, and went deep in three routes: one route out of Yizhou from Laishui, one route from Xincheng out of Xiong County, and one route from Dingxing out of Ansu, with a situation of besieging Baoding. At the beginning of November, the Qing troops marched south over Baoding and broke Gaoyang. In the past, Sun Chengzong, a bachelor who had made meritorious contributions to the defense of the Qing soldiers outside Shanhaiguan, was 76 years old, and he was old at home, living in Gaoyang City, and led his family to fight with the Qing soldiers in the streets, and the whole family died. After the tenth day of the first month, Chongzhen got the news and was very shocked. "How good is it that the captives have gone deep into Kisuke like this, like entering a no-man's land!" He walked around the Qianqing Palace, pausing and sighing from time to time. "Alas, Lu Xiangsheng, it's useless at all, it's too disappointing!" He said in his heart, putting all his grievances on Lu Xiangsheng, mentioning that Zhu wrote an edict, reproaching Lu Xiangsheng for fearing the enemy and avoiding war, working in vain, and taking back Shang Fang's sword. He really wanted to find someone to replace Lu Xiangsheng as the governor of the world to reinforce the troops, but he couldn't think of a suitable person. In his heart, Hong Chengchou is a candidate, but Hong Chengchou is still on his way to Beijing, and he is not in a hurry.

This morning, as usual, he got up when the sky was unknown, freshened up under the service of a group of palace maids, put on the crown clothes of the Changchao Dynasty, and then walked out of Yangdezhai to the courtyard in front of the Qianqing Palace to burn incense and worship the sky. After the four bows and prostrations, he prayed silently for a while and returned to the westernmost room of the Qianqing Palace. In order to be depressed, he dismissed the queen, the crown prince, the concubines, and the princess as usual.

Dressed in a dark dragon yellow satin robe, he sat down in front of the imperial case to review the papers. In this imperial case, he has been reviewing various documents on military affairs for eleven years, and has personally written countless edicts. But every time he faced this imperial case, he was worried. The various notes and newspapers piled up on the case every day were like a hill, and there was hardly a single document that would make him happy. Some of these documents report the serious situation of the famine, full of shocking words such as "thousands of miles of red land", "the population is cut off", and "the son is eaten", some report the riots of "thieves" and "bandits", and the tragic situation of the soldiers, and some report on what prefectures and counties the Qing soldiers continued to advance after penetrating deep into Kifu, what prefectures and counties were broken, how heavy the burning and plundering, how many Ding Zhuang and ploughing cattle were captured, and some local officials fled in the wind and some local official cities were destroyed and martyred. He had to read documents like this every day, but he really didn't want to read them, he didn't dare to read them. Sometimes, he wants to kick the case over.

Now, his mind was very heavy, and he didn't immediately approve the documents, but looked down at the bronze incense burner on the imperial case. A palace maid held a peony petal-type silver tire pile lacquered red tray made by the orchard factory in the Yongle period with both hands, and a blue and white bowl containing bird's nest soup and a silver spoon were placed on it, and gently walked into the warm pavilion. Another maid took the bowl and silver spoon from the tray, placed them in front of the emperor, and lifted the lid with her hand. Chongzhen glanced at the palace maid, then picked up the silver spoon and slowly drank the bird's nest soup.

He picked up a list of petitions submitted by the cabinet from under a *** agate carved Shuanglong Sun Protector Town, with the names of ten people on it, some to be awarded such official positions, some to be awarded to such official positions, some to be elected, and some to be relocated. It is said that in the current situation in which the enemy troops are deeply penetrated, there are many great urgent matters waiting for him, and in addition to the promotion of such a person, since he has passed through the ministry and the cabinet, he can not think much about it, and if he agrees, he will approve the word "may", and if he does not agree with that person, his name will be ticked off. However, Emperor Chongzhen picked up this unimportant document, because he was afraid of coming into contact with those documents related to wars and famines, and secondly, even in some small things, he was often very uneasy about his subordinates, and developed a habit of "doing everything himself".

He picked up the list and looked at it several times, but couldn't make a decision. Some of the names he knew were familiar with, and some of them he didn't. He studied the names he knew, and many questions arose in his mind: Wasn't this man a fellow countryman? Isn't that person someone's protégé? Also, is this person from the imperial history to the head of the office, is it out of someone's intention? …… He thought about it and was suspicious, so he had to put down the red pen in his hand.

At this moment, Wang Chengen, the eunuch of the celebrant and the eunuch Bingbi, walked in with a document and respectfully placed it on the imperial case. Chongzhen was afraid that there would be another bad military situation or famine, so he asked suspiciously:

"What paperwork?"

"Emperor Qi, this is the transcript of the scholar Liu Yuliang, and the clerical room was sent to the duty room of the celebrant just now."

Liu Yuliang ...... What's up? ”

"He rode deep because of the captivity, and he was eroded, and begged the Lord of Long Live to send him to supervise the reinforcements in the towns."

Chongzhen was suddenly overjoyed: "What? He's going to inspect the towns and reinforcements? ”

"Yes, Emperor."

"Read it to me! Read it to me! ”

Wang Chengen picked up Liu Yuliang's recital and recited it in a tone rich in modulation and frustration. Many of the sentences in the recital were written passionately and generously, full of loyalty and patriotic passion, which deeply moved Wang Chengen, and his voice trembled and his blood boiled. Of course, Chongzhen was also very moved, and he couldn't stop smiling and nodding while listening, his eyes flashing with tears, and at the same time he said in his heart: "It's rare!" Rare! When the recital was finished, Chongzhen had already made a major decision, and decisively ordered:

"Go, quickly draw up a decree for me, and send Liu Yuliang to replace Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of the world, the king of Qin's soldiers and horses."

"What about Lu Xiangsheng?" Wang Chengen asked timidly.

"Let him come to Beijing to listen to the survey!"

Wang Chengen's heart jumped, and he secretly glanced at the emperor's face. He knew that Lu Xiangsheng had not lost a battle, and the emperor usually misheard the nonsense of Gao Qiqian and Yang Sichang, so he made such a decision to Lu Xiangsheng. But he didn't dare to say a word, so he had to follow the emperor's instructions and go out to draft the decree. As soon as he walked to the corridor of the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen called him back again. He bowed before the emperor, waiting for new orders. But the emperor didn't say anything, obviously he couldn't wait for the eunuch Bingbi to draft the decree on his behalf, and he lifted it up like a wolf pen, and quickly wrote an edict:

The first assistant Liu Yuliang invited the supervisor, and his love words were generous, which was very gratifying. In front of the Baoding army, the governor of Zhuzhen, the camera entered and suppressed, drove away the rebels, and quickly played the skin gong to secure the country. Lu Xiangsheng was afraid of moving forward, which was really hateful, so he immediately left his job and came to Beijing to listen to the investigation. Chin this!

After he finished writing this simple edict, he read it himself, put down the red pen, glanced at Wang Chengen, and then read other documents. Wang Chengen picked up the emperor's edict and another stack of reviewed notes on the imperial case, and respectfully withdrew.

Although Liu Yuliang, a scholar, was not a suitable commander in Chongzhen's eyes, because he was already very dissatisfied with Lu Xiangsheng and was eager to change the military situation of Jifu, he decided on such a major issue very hastily. He has always been a man who is accustomed to being smart and self-assured, so even if he makes the most stupid decisions, he thinks that he is wise and decisive.

He stood up and walked around the house. There are two pots of precious plum blossoms in this warm pavilion, one is a green calyx plum and the other is a jade butterfly plum, both of which are in full bloom. But Chongzhen never paid attention to them for the past two days, and it was only now that he suddenly saw them and smelled their faint fragrance. A palace maid saw the emperor looking at the jade butterfly with a smile on her face, so she pointed to a pot of flowers next to the vermilion dragon pillar and said:

"Emperor, this is a pot of peonies sent from Caoqiao yesterday, and it has just opened."

Chongzhen approached the flower pot and looked at it for a while, and said in his heart: "Such a good flower, I didn't even pay attention to it!" He praised the maid of the palace and said:

"Very good, there is infinite charm in grace and luxury. What's the name? ”

"I heard that it's called Furong Three Changes."

"It's a new name. Why is it called Hibiscus Three Changes? ”

"For it is as white as snow in the morning, and then turns yellow, and again at noon, with a hint of redness in the pink and white, like a girl's cheeks, until the night."

"It was sent by Kusahashi?"

"It was delivered yesterday from Caoqiao in a warm car. A total of ten pots of peonies were sent, including Yao Huang, Wei Zi, Indulged Dongfeng, and Yang Jiayi Twist Red...... Many famous colors are not as precious as this pot of hibiscus three changes. The queen sent people to bring this pot of peonies yesterday afternoon and put it next to this pillar. At that time, he had played to the emperor, but because the emperor was always reading the documents in the province, he didn't pay attention. ”

Chongzhen glanced at Peony again, and said to himself thoughtfully: "Ah, Caoqiao, this place has not been burned by the captive horse?" ”

In mid-October, when the Qing army captured Lugou Bridge and Gongji City, and defeated Gao Qiqian who defended Lugou Bridge, he climbed the coal mountain for three nights in a row to look out at the southwest suburbs, and saw that there were fires burning villages and towns everywhere. The enemy burned all the villages and towns outside the city. He didn't know at all that Lu Xiangsheng led less than 10,000 horses to stand in the area from Yongdingmen to You'anmen, defending this area safe and sound. There were some small victories, Lu Xiangsheng himself did not play, Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian did not play, so Emperor Chongzhen has been kept in the dark, and no one around him can say clearly. He sighed in his heart and said:

"I hope that Liu Yuliang replaces Lu Xiangsheng, and the governor's army can change the current military situation!"

It's already getting dark. A flock of pigeons were released from Yikun Palace, with a whistle, hovering over the Forbidden City for a while, and flew towards the White Tower in the North Sea. The sun shines on the white jade carved railing, bronze cranes and gilded copper tripods outside the Qianqing Palace. A palace maid hung a parrot cage on a sunny pine branch and pulled up the blue satin cage. The parrot stretched its feathers in the sun, and when it saw a group of eunuchs approaching with musical instruments, it suddenly shouted:

"Please invite the emperor to dinner!"

At this moment, a beautiful imperial sign came to the emperor and invited him to dinner. He put down the pen, sighed, stood up and walked out of the warm pavilion.

As usual, every meal was filled with dozens of meat and vegetarian delicacies in front of him, unless he sent a decree to summon the queen or a certain concubine to come to the Qianqing Palace to accompany him, he always ate alone and lonely, and there were many carefully serving eunuchs and palace maids standing next to him, and old-fashioned drums were played outside. He didn't feel a little fun in this rigid way of life, but he couldn't help living like this, because if he didn't do so, he would not be the emperor's style, and he would not conform to the palace etiquette that has been passed down from generation to generation.

While eating breakfast ruthlessly and boringly, he suddenly remembered the problems of the national treasury, the catastrophe and the in-depth Qing army, so he threw away his chopsticks and walked to the Hui Pavilion.

In his frustration, he picked up the list again and looked at it, no longer thinking about it, and casually changed the order with a red pen. He was very proud of such a casual change, because he thought that by doing so, he would "show surprise" to his ministers, and that a wise emperor would often have to make his ministers unclear about his thoughts and tempers. He didn't pay attention at all, after he casually changed the order, some of the people who should have been promoted were demoted for no reason, and the initial award was unexpectedly changed from the seven-rank imperial history or the six-grade master. Later, the cabinet ministers were surprised to see this list that had been changed by the imperial pen, but they did not dare to ask, so they had to carry it out. What's even more ridiculous is that in order to "show the unexpected" to the ministers, he picked up "The Gentleman" from the imperial case and flipped through it casually, found a more pleasing name and added it to the back of the list, and annotated the word "imperial history". Later, the cabinet and the ministry made great efforts to find this person in Beijing, and it took two months to find out that this person had died of illness in his hometown of Fujian a year earlier.

Throughout the morning, Chongzhen did not leave the Qianqing Palace. He reviewed all sorts of papers that only added to his annoyance, and thought about things with a writhing brow. When he was sleepy, he asked the eunuch Wang Chengen to read to him the song or the Tang newspaper. The clerical office sent in a letter of impeachment of Yang Sichang, and when he saw that it was Yang Tinglin, the editor of the Hanlin Academy and the lecturer of the East Palace, he couldn't help frowning, and thought: What is this bearded Yang Hanlin talking about?

"Read Yang Tinglin's sparse son to me!" He whispered impatiently, glancing at Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen picked up Yang Tinglin's recital and read it aloud. Listening and listening, Chongzhen's anger came up, and he couldn't help interrupting Wang Chengen and asked:

"What did he say? Re-read this sentence! ”

Wang Chengen said: "Your Majesty has the ambition to cut down, and the minister has no talent for insulting; If you can't make a plan, take the country as a play! ”

"What words!" He said dissatisfied. "Scholar's view! What about the bottom? ”

Wang Chengen then read: "Yang Sichang and Wu Aheng, the governor of Jiliao, supported each other inside and outside, conspired to mislead the country, advocated peace negotiations, and forgot about military preparations, so that's it!" ……”

"Stop! Stop! Chongzhen jumped up from the chair, knocked on the imperial case with his fingers and said: "What 'internal and external support for the same, friends conspire to mislead the country', it's all nonsense!" Do you know, is this Yang Tinglin in collusion with someone and deliberately attacking the minister? ”

"The slave doesn't know."

Chongzhen thought about it, but he couldn't think of anyone Yang Tinglin was in trouble with in the court, so he had to say: "Okay, read on!" ”

"Governor Lu Xiangsheng blamed the cardinal for the country, and it was painful to say. Including Fu Nanzhong, Li Gang was useless; The hidden goodness was successful, and Zong Ze died. ……”

Chongzhen snorted and snorted, so frightened that Wang Chengen's hand shook and he didn't dare to read it any further.

"That's not true! It's a wanton slander! He walked around the house and asked angrily, "Who are Li Gang and Zong Ze?" Who are Geng Nam-chung and Huang Qian-shan? Why don't you say that Qin Hui is in the court? Could it be that I am Song Gaozong? …… Damn it! Damn it! ”

The allusions used by Yang Tinglin in Shuzhong made it difficult for Emperor Chongzhen to bear. He thought, this Yang beard has good knowledge, so he was asked to be a lecturer, how could he use the dictionary so indiscriminately, and compare it indecently? "What words!" He said angrily in his heart. "Zhao Gou is biased towards the left of the Jiang, and although I work hard, I still dominate the Son of Heaven in the end!" He hates that people compare his peace plan to the humiliating and peaceful demands of the Southern Song Dynasty against Jin, but Yang Tinglin insists on comparing the situation of the Southern Song Dynasty! He still remembered that ten days ago, when he was in the court, it was this Yang Tinglin who knelt down and played: "Now the captives are deep, and the Jifu is erosive." Reinforcements from all walks of life gathered, and most of them waited and watched, because of the rumors in Beijing, and they didn't know that the imperial court was going to fight. ......" Chongzhen didn't wait for him to finish speaking, and asked sharply, "Which one wants to be with?" Yang Tinglin replied: "Everyone is talking outside. He said, "Since it is a discussion from the outside, it is not the intention of the imperial court, so why bother asking!" He thought that with such a sharp face and a pressure on the words, Yang Tinglin probably didn't dare to say anything, but he didn't think that this person would not give up, and said loudly:

"The matter of peace negotiations has long been heard by the courtiers. Although His Majesty said that peace was not the intention of the imperial court, there are many legends outside, and there must be a reason. The land of Manchuria is owned by the ancestors. According to the historical books, the Manchu was originally a Jurchen Miao descendant, in the Zhou for the cautious, the Han and Wei called Lou, the later Wei called Beji, the Sui and Tang called the Jurchen, and the black water was called the Jurchen. Therefore, since the Zhou Dynasty, the Jurchen world has been one of the tribes in China, and even Nurhachi has been enshrined in this dynasty and is the minister who guards the border of this dynasty. Since ancient times, China has been a unified world, and there is no reason to lose money to the tribes and seek peace. If there is indeed a matter of peace, then the world created by the two ancestors and ancestors will not be the continuation of the Zhao family? ”

Although Chongzhen was annoyed in his heart, he felt ashamed that it was not good to punish the courtiers on this issue, so he was silent for a moment, and had to say: "Now that the captives are deep, all my subjects should share the same hatred and hatred for the enemy, and fight to defend the society." The discussion is based on rumors, no need to say more, let's go down. After he said this, he quickly retreated from the court and returned to the palace.

Now that more than ten days have passed, the stubborn look on Yang Tinglin's face when he knelt in front of him is still clearly floating in front of him. "Alas, there is really no way to deal with such people!" He said in his heart, making a gesture gently and asking Wang Chengen to read it again. Wang Chengen was afraid that the emperor would be angry and would punish Yang Tinglin, and when he saw that the emperor asked him to read it again, he breathed a sigh of relief, quickly cleared his throat, and read:

"His Majesty was furious, and he was clearly facing the crime of the Lord and the Lord, and beheaded the head of the minister, in order to show that he was not at odds with Dongyi. In this way, the soldiers are afraid of the law, and they know their allegiance, and they have no two hearts. Summoning all the ministers, big and small, to consult the strategy, so that the emperor of the Chinese and foreign ministers and workers' community has the intention of war and peace, lying on the salary to taste the courage, and strive to be angry. I hope that His Majesty will tell Lu Xiangsheng to gather reinforcements from all roads, take the opportunity to go to the enemy, and not control it. This is the urgent task of the day! ……”

Emperor Chongzhen turned around and listened to Wang Chengen read Yang Tinglin's recital word for word. Yang Tinglin's recital also has some specific suggestions on military affairs, but the central meaning is to oppose peace negotiations, believing that peace negotiations can only be considered after military victories. Although the rigid Chongzhen could see that Yang Tinglin's performance was out of loyalty and patriotism, he hated Yang Tinglin's attack on Yang Sichang, hated that some words were too intense, and even hated Yang Tinglin for speaking for Lu Xiangsheng. He sat down and took Yang Tinglin's recital and looked at it, intending to leave it in the middle, but then dismissed the idea. He knew that his grandfather, Emperor Shenzong, often left some unsatisfactory pieces in the middle, causing dissatisfaction among his subordinates, so in his hands, he rarely used this method. He tried his best to be a diligent and conscientious "lord of the Holy Wisdom". In order to express his disagreement with Yang Tinglin's opinion, he mentioned Zhu Bi and criticized a few words:

"Got it, Chin this!"

According to Chongzhen's thoughts, Liu Yuliang saw his edict after breakfast, and in the afternoon of the same day, he would thank him, ask His Majesty for his resignation, and quickly gallop to the battlefield. He thought that although Liu Yuliang was a civil servant, he heard that he was good at fencing, and when he used to serve in the Hanlin Academy, he used to have fun with his family children every day in fencing competitions, and it seemed that he was not an amateur in fighting with soldiers. He didn't ask Liu Yuliang to be able to charge into battle, but hoped that he could go to the army with the prestige of Shoufu, so that the morale would be boosted, the generals would no longer cower and move forward, and the states and counties would no longer collapse when they met the Qing soldiers. As long as Liu Yuliang does this, it will be considered a great merit, and it will be enough to satisfy him. Before and after lunch, he asked Wang Chengen twice: "Hasn't Liu Yuliang asked for His Majesty's resignation?" When Wang Chengen replied that Liu Yuliang had not yet asked for His Majesty's resignation, he said unhappily in his heart:

"The ancients 'don't live at home', why is he so slow?"

About the beginning of the day, Liu Yuliang's Xie Enshu was really sent to the palace. But this letter disappointed the emperor greatly. In addition to thanking the emperor in Shuzhong, he begged the emperor to send him to supervise the army, encourage morale on behalf of the emperor, and urge the commanders to fight, instead of making him replace Lu Xiangsheng as the governor of the army. At this time, Chongzhen suddenly realized that "supervising the armies" and "governors' armies" are different. Liu Yuliang's Yuan Shu only asked to supervise the Zhujun, not to supervise the Zhujun, just because he was eager to send someone to replace Lu Xiangsheng to save the situation, so he didn't find out and hurriedly issued an edict. But Liu Yuliang's desire to make meritorious service and his fear of directly leading troops into battle also showed him through.

What to do? Will you agree to Liu Yuliang's request or maintain his edict? He couldn't decide for a moment. At this moment, Wang Dehua, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies, came in and asked him: Yang Sichang, the assistant minister, asked to be summoned. Chongzhen asked:

"What's his urgency?"

Wang Dehua bowed and replied: "The slave doesn't know." It may be for the university scholar Liu Yuliang to supervise the teacher. ”

Chongzhen understood, and thought to himself, it's good to listen to their opinions.

"Tell him to wait for the summons in the Wenhua Palace." He said.

At the beginning of the Shen Dynasty, Chongzhen took the chariot to the Wenhua Palace. Yang Sichang has been waiting for a long time. After the Chang Dynasty salute, Chongzhen asked:

"Sir, what do you have to do?"

Yang Sichang knelt down again and said, "The minister asks to see Your Majesty for the matter of the scholar Liu Yuliang." ……”

"I've already seen his sparseness, what is the opinion of the gentleman?"

His Majesty glanced at Yu Liang's performance, and immediately sent an edict to Jiami, ordering him to go to the front enemy, on behalf of Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Zhuzhen to reinforce the army, and fight against the captives, which shows that the emperor relies on Yu Liang and has great expectations. Ran Yuliang is the first assistant, the fake son of heaven Wei Ling, supervising the army, and his status is really above the governor. If only Lu Xiangsheng is the governor of military affairs, his status is only a governor's ear, and the person he refers to is only Lu Xiangsheng's more than 10,000 remnants of the army. This loses the meaning of the first assistant to the emperor to see the teacher. ”

"Won't you let him go to the overseer?"

"Liu Yuliang originally asked to supervise the army, not to be the governor himself. In addition, although Lu Xiangsheng failed to make a division, delayed the opportunity, and was deeply entrusted by the emperor, the current military situation is urgent, and it is not suitable to face the enemy and change commanders, which will affect the morale of the army. Please ask the emperor to show a light punishment for the promotion, so that he will still be the governor, and he will wear the crime and merit to see the after-effects. ”

"Where's Liu Yuliang?"

"Your Majesty still sends him to supervise the armies as requested by Liu Yuliang."

Chongzhen thought about it and felt that Yang Sichang's words were also reasonable, regretting that he had no master in his heart for a while, and he was too anxious to give the edict.

"Okay," he said, "according to what Qing played, after the edict is made, send Liu Yuliang to supervise the army." ”

"Yes!" Yang Sichang said, kowtowing.

Chongzhen also said: "Now that the captives are riding deep, Jifuzhou County, the wind is collapsing, which makes me worried. Today, Liu Yuliang, the first assistant, is willing to act as a teacher, and I am very grateful. I hope he will make his trip as soon as possible, and don't delay. Sir, please get up! ”

Yang Sichang didn't get up, and said, "The minister still has something to enlighten Your Majesty." ”

"What?"

"Yang Tinglin's bullet seal was sent to the cabinet by the emperor, and the ministers have seen it. The minister is a blunt material, and he bears the weight of the emperor's appointment, which is really a crime that deserves death. The emperor is gracious and does not kill. The minister is not grass and trees, can not be grateful! As long as it is beneficial to the country, the minister will be broken to pieces, and he will be willing. ”

"I have my own opinions on this matter, so I don't have to take it to heart."

"The ministers were born in the Holy Dynasty, and they were deeply blessed with knowledge, so they not only did not mind this, but also were willing to take advantage of this to recommend virtuous talents for His Majesty and serve the country."

"Who do you recommend?"

"The minister plans to recommend Yang Tinglin as the head of the Ministry of War, and Zuo Lu Xiangsheng praises military affairs in order to show what he has learned in his life."

"Does he know anything about marching and fighting?"

"Yang Tinglin pays close attention to the study of the world on weekdays, and is also very familiar with ancient and modern military strategies, which is not comparable to ordinary Confucian ministers. At present, the military situation is urgent, and only Kong Yin is needed. If he can be made to help Lu Xiangsheng strategize and manage the military, he can give full play to his talents and serve the country more than he served in the Hanlin Academy. ”

Chongzhen saw that Yang Sichang's attitude was sincere and there was no idea of revenge, so he praised it in his heart, and said with a smile:

"Qing can donate personal grievances and recommend talents for the imperial court, which is really gratifying to have the style of an ancient minister. I know that Yang Tinglin is a bone minister who dares to speak, but he is just a little extreme. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming is well aware of Tinglin, so he will not be guilty of wanton attack. In fact, Tinglin just misheard the gossip and didn't know the truth, but his intentions were excellent. ”

The emperor nodded and said, "Okay, just follow the Qing Song, reassign him to the head of the department, and let him go to Lu Xiang to praise the painting before he ascends to the army." ”

"Yes!"

Yang Sichang withdrew from the Wenhua Palace, crossed a sandwich road, returned to the cabinet, first walked into the room of the first assistant Liu Yuliang, and told the story of meeting the emperor. Liu Yuliang was very happy and thanked him for his help. When he told the matter of recommending Yang Tinglin, Liu Yuliang and several other auxiliary ministers who came to inquire about the news praised him in unison for having the style of an ancient minister. Xue Guoguan, whose status is second only to Shoufu, is a very scheming person, and he saw through Yang Sichang's real purpose in recommending Yang Tinglin to drive this Hanlin official who dared to speak out of the imperial court and send him to a place where the soldiers were in danger. But he smiled and said:

"Brother Wen, it's rare, it's rare! As the saying goes, 'the prime minister sails in his belly', and this is also true. ”

Yang Sichang replied: "The student has a family friendship with Boxiang, and there is really no mustard in his heart, and he has always admired his knowledge and style. People in their thirties are inevitably a little angry. Not only will the student not take it to heart, but he will also borrow a lot from him in the future. ”

"Rare! Rare! Colleagues said in unison.

Yang Sichang returned to his room, changed into court clothes under the service of the long class, sat in the Taishi chair, took a cup of fragrant tea, took a sip, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said in his heart:

"Yang Huzi, go to Governor Lu's army to praise the painting, don't let the empty cannon in the court indiscriminately. When you go to the army and ask you to learn and learn, it is not easy to fight with the Manchurian Tartars! ”

Emperor Chongzhen was still in the Wenhua Palace, casually flipping through the "Zizhi Tongjian", while waiting for Wang Chengen to draft a decree for him. Suddenly, Wang Chengen picked up the draft of the proposed edict. This draft contains two things: one is to send the first assistant Liu Yuliang to supervise the army, and the other is to reassign Yang Tinglin to the head of the Ministry of War, and go to Lu Xiang to praise the painting before he was promoted to the army. Chongzhen looked at the manuscript, changed two words, and added a content, that is, he severely reprimanded Lu Xiangsheng for fearing the enemy and failing to live up to the country's grace, so he was immediately removed from the title of secretary of the military department, demoted to a squire, and continued to serve to see the after-effects.

"Send it out now, don't delay!" He said, leaning back in his chair wearily.

He originally needed to stay in the Wenhua Palace to rest for a while, but there were still many important documents waiting for him to deal with on the imperial case in the Qianqing Palace, how could he rest? So he yawned, stood up, and whispered:

"Go back to Qianqing Palace!"

In addition to the original documents that had not yet been approved, there were two new urgent reports on the imperial case of the Qianqing Palace. He picked up a copy of the Tang newspaper on it, and saw that it was from Tongguan, so he didn't open it immediately, and thought to himself, maybe the dead bodies of Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin and other "giant thieves" have been found? Originally, he hoped that it would be best to capture Zicheng and others and hold a ceremony to sacrifice prisoners at the noon gate to boost the morale of the army and the people, followed by beheading on the battlefield to verify that it was correct. Unexpectedly, after the Battle of Tongguan Nanyuan, Li Zicheng and his wife and their important leaders were missing. Although the official army did win a great victory, and the "Liukou" was indeed wiped out, he finally felt relieved because he did not catch Li Zicheng and his important leaders. Sun Chuanting said in the report that Li Zicheng and others seemed to have died in the chaos and were looking for the corpses. He has always been skeptical of this sentence, doubting that it is not inevitable, but he hopes that it can be so. Fortunately, it is winter, and the plateau climate is very cold, and the dead bodies on the battlefield cannot be corrupted for a while. Now before he opened the Tang Newspaper, he hoped to find the corpses of Li Zicheng and others. But this hope of his was only a flash in his heart and then faded. He thought, if the corpse of the "traitor" is found, the new governor of Shaanxi and Tongguan Dao will rush to Beijing, how can it be more than an urgent report? In the blink of an eye, a dark cloud hung over his heart, but he had to open the newspaper with apprehension. When he saw it, it was like a scoop of cold water poured on his head, and he couldn't help but shudder, and leaned back in his chair.

The palace maid standing next to her saw the emperor's expression change, and hurriedly held a cup of fragrant tea in front of him.

After a while, Chongzhen picked up the second Tang newspaper, and saw that it was from Henan Mansion, and he knew what was reported without reading the content. But it had come to this, and he had to open it and look at it. The eunuchs and palace maids standing beside him looked even more ugly when they saw him, their eyes burned with anger, and a green tendon on their sideburns danced gently. Fearful, they held their breath and stood still, tiptoeing out. Unexpectedly, as soon as they withdrew, they heard a commotion, and the emperor smashed the teacup in his hand. So they hurriedly ran in, knelt in front of Chongzhen, and said in a trembling voice:

"Please calm the emperor's anger!"

"Call Yang Sichang! Fast! Fast! ”

A royal sign had just rushed to the door of Rijing in the Qianqing Palace on order, and was chased by another eunuch by him and called back. He thought, it's useless to call Yang Sichang into the palace today, there are no soldiers to adjust, what can he do? He hated Sun Chuanting so much that he gritted his teeth with hatred, suddenly jumped up from the dragon chair, kicked the palace maid who was kneeling on the ground, and shouted: "Get up!" So he had no master, wandered around the pillars in the Qianqing Palace, and almost knocked down the three changes of Furong. After a long time, he returned to the imperial case and sat down, lifted the Zhu pen, and planned to issue a handwritten edict, severely reprimanding Hong Chengchou, demoting the official to three levels, arresting Sun Chuanting into Beijing, and handing it over to the Criminal Department for reconsideration. But after thinking about it again, I put the pen down.

Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting have already led 50,000 Qinwang soldiers out of Niangzi Pass and into Jifu. Chongzhen understood that if Hong Chengchou was demoted and punished at this time, and Sun Chuanting would be arrested and questioned for the crime, this Qinwang army might collapse. Besides, he thought that the ministers had high prestige and experience, and that only Hong Chengchou would be able to defend Liaodong against the Qing soldiers for him in the future, so it was better for him to forgive him for his small mistakes and make him more aware of the gratitude picture. As for Sun Chuanting, he will never forgive him, but it is not the time yet. After the Qing soldiers retreated, he called Sun Chuanting into Beijing to punish him.

He picked up the two copies of the newspaper again and looked at it, and the anger in his heart subsided a little, but he felt extremely anxious and heavy. He threw down the newspaper, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the air, and whispered to himself:

"Well, what to do? It turned out that the thief was not dead, and fled in the Cuihan Mountain! Since he was able to attack Tongguan and Lingbao County, it can be seen that the whole army was not annihilated. Henan is full of hungry people. If this group of traitors who have slipped through the net is not extinguished quickly, a spark can ignite the prairie fire! …… Oh my God, what to do? ”

After thinking about it, he called a eunuch to send a message to the military department, urging Tongguan Dao and the deputy general He Renlong to quickly go out of the customs to "suppress the thieves", and extinguish the "remnants of the thieves" in the middle of Cuihan Mountain, "Don't let the vines grow". As soon as the eunuch left, Wang Chengen, the eunuch of Bingbi, came in with a letter and respectfully placed it on the top of the imperial case.

"Whose notebook?" Chongzhen asked.

"It's a high dive."

"What's the matter?"

"He played Lu Xiangsheng to support the troops to avoid the battle, and sat back and watched the captives and cavalry go deeper, and the Qi Fu was erosive."

Chongzhen glared at him, picked it up and took a cursory look, and then understood the whole content, and scolded hatefully:

Lu Xiangsheng ...... What a damn one! ”

Wang Chengen knew how unreliable Gao Qiqian's words were, and secretly shouted for Lu Xiangsheng, but he didn't dare to say a word in his mouth.

CHAPTER XXIII

A month ago, when Lu Xiangsheng first arrived in Changping, he met Yang Sichang with a loyal and patriotic enthusiasm, and he was not afraid of anything. For more than a month, he tasted a lot of hardships, received a lot of teachings, and began to understand that he could not touch them himself, and these people relied on the emperor's favor to weigh on him like a mountain. He wanted to fight, but he was constrained at every turn. The emperor not only did not support him, but was angry with him, and several times he was severely reprimanded, demoted him, and almost removed him from his post and recalled him to Beijing to listen to the investigation. He was now often in fear, fearing that he would suddenly receive a decree that would dismiss him from his post and interrogate him, and that his chances of serving his country on the battlefield would be in vain. He knows the emperor's temper, who said that something like this would not happen?

In the middle of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, Lu Xiangsheng met with the Qing soldiers in Qingdu County, fought a victory, and cut more than 100 heads. It wasn't a great victory, but it made him very happy. The fear of the enemy and the fear of war that had existed among some officers and men for many days began to be reversed a little. He summoned all the generals and swore a bloody oath to continue to meet the enemy. At dusk that day, he received the report from the mansion, and was taken aback, and couldn't help but sigh.

There are two things in this newspaper that are related to him. One is that Yang Tinglin impeached Yang Sichang, and Yang Sichang played a trick, on the one hand, he was sponsored as the head of the military department, and on the other hand, he praised the painting before the army. He read Yang Tinglin's recital twice. If a month ago, he would have felt so happy that he drew his sword and danced, but now he doesn't feel that way, but is deeply disturbed. He pointed to the song, "Including Nanzhong, Li Gang is useless; Hidden goodness is successful, Zong Ze died", and said to a wingman:

These two sentences are painful and painful, but what good is it to be jealous of the matter? Bo Xiang is a scholar after all! ”

Another thing is that the emperor sent Liu Yuliang to supervise the army. He knew that Liu Yuliang didn't understand military affairs, and he was not a person who fought against the Qing soldiers on weekdays, but he was the first assistant, and he would only make promises and dare not assert anything. Now he asked himself to supervise the army, but he planned to be a "Linrong" on behalf of the Son of Heaven to win the emperor's favor. The Qing soldiers continued to go deeper, and he did not take the heavy responsibility directly; Once the Qing soldiers retreated, he had to be counted as the first assistant inspector. Lu Xiangsheng deeply felt that adding a Liu Yuliang to his elbow in addition to Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian made his situation even more difficult.

The next day, he received another newspaper, which was like a thunderbolt above his head. Zhao Guangluan, the governor of Miyun, captured a spy Liang Si and confessed that the eunuchs Deng Xizhao, Gao Qiqian, and the Liaodong general Zu Dashou had conspired to surrender to the Qing army. Zhao Guangluan heard the emperor according to Liang Si's confession, which caused fluctuations in the hearts of the people in the capital. The emperor was furious and immediately arrested Zhao Guangluan in Beijing. Zhao Guangluan was recommended by Lu Xiangsheng to be the governor of Miyun. Thinking of Zhao's arrest, before Yang's army, he couldn't help but sigh and said:

"The two public dangers are in danger, and it will be more and more difficult for me to live in peace from now on. Oh my! Oh my! The enemy is not terrible, what is terrible is ......" He did not finish his words, and sighed deeply.

Two days later, Yang Tinglin galloped from the chaos to the army. Although a confidant friend came and an extra arm, Lu Xiangsheng was not particularly happy. His situation was indeed getting worse and worse as he had expected, and he began to feel discouraged from everything, and only wanted to die on the battlefield early.

At this time, his troops arrived near Baoding, and there was neither silver nor food and grass. The military department is like a stone sinking into the sea. asked Qingyuan County to prepare grain and grass, but ignored it at all. Lu Xiangsheng wrote a handwritten edict and sent it to the county magistrate of Qingyuan, saying: "If it is delayed again, the three armies will be the enemy, and they should be engaged in military law!" Qing Yuan Zhixian Zuo relied on the power of the superintendent army to raise the potential, not only still ignored it, but also instigated the senior supervisor army to write a letter to reproach Xiang Sheng and said: "Under the fortification of my Gongtun army, if I don't advance or retreat, how will the major events in the future be helped?" Lu Xiangsheng led the hungry soldiers to Zhending, hoping to get some help. Unexpectedly, Zhang Qiping, the governor of Zhending, saw that Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian had excluded him, and he also closed the city gate tightly and did not let anyone enter the city. The army was already running out of food, and the soldiers could only eat one porridge a day, sometimes not even one, and had to rely on grass roots, tree bark, and very little miscellaneous grains to satisfy their hunger. At first, Zhang Qiping promised to receive a day's grain, but Lu Xiangsheng sent officials to receive grain, from noon to dusk, from the east gate to the south gate, without opening the city gate, from the inside came out: "It's late, only 1,000 taels of silver, no food." Then he took the money down from the head of the city.

The common people in the villages and towns were afraid of both the Qing soldiers and the officers and soldiers, and they fled one after another as soon as they heard that the army was coming, so Lu Xiangsheng got 1,000 taels of silver but had nowhere to buy food. Some of the soldiers, with the acquiescence of the officers, divided into small groups at night, quietly left the camp and went to the countryside in search of fodder, committing robbery and adultery. As a result, the common people hated and feared the officials and soldiers more and more. Wherever the officers and soldiers went, the people fled cleaner and farther away. In the years when Lu Xiangsheng was fighting against the peasant rebel army, he was already familiar with the disturbance of the good people and all kinds of illegal situations by the officials and soldiers. However, he was currently fighting against the Qing soldiers, and this phenomenon of losing the hearts and minds of the people made him feel frightened and worried. Because he did not dare to question his generals, for fear of provoking unexpected changes, he had no choice but to make the big thing small, ordered the arrest of two soldiers, and then gathered the whole army and beheaded them in tears.

In order to prevent the enemy from continuing to go deeper, he attacked the enemy camp between Zhending, Julu and Zhaozhou, often with small successes, but only disrupting the nature of the attack, and had nothing to do with victory or defeat. Because of the lack of food and salary, the army was alone, and the morale of the army became more and more shaken. Everywhere there were people sighing and scolding the court, looting continued, and there were desertions. One night, Lu Xiangsheng's old camp was encamped in a dilapidated temple, and he and Yang Tinglin slept on an earthen kang. Yang Tinglin originally came to the army with enthusiasm and wanted to help Lu Xiangsheng, but he was at a loss for a few days. He knew more about things than when he was in Beijing, and he was even more disappointed and dissatisfied with the imperial court, and often asked in his heart: "Is the Ming Dynasty's qi count about to run out?" Lu Xiangsheng sat on the clay kang and dealt with some official business, and suddenly looked at him and said:

"Boxiang, do you understand? We're almost at the end of our rope. Without waiting for Tinglin to speak, he continued: "I have led troops for many years and have experienced a hundred battles, but I have never encountered such a situation. You see, the brethren are scrawny, and they have to fight and run around every day. Everyone understands that they are waiting for death, either from the blade or from hunger. Nowadays, what makes everyone not scattered is a little heart to serve the country, and the imperial court not only does not know how to encourage morale, but uses various methods to disintegrate the morale of the army and frustrate the enthusiasm of the soldiers to serve the country. If this continues, some people will take risks. As long as a group of men and horses clamored to leave, it would be almost impossible for the whole army not to disintegrate. Boxiang, the situation is precarious, how to be good! ”

Yang Tinglin jumped down from the earthen kang and said, "I'm also worried that I won't be able to support it for long." When the two armies are facing each other, life and death are in the breath, how can the soldiers be able to fight with their bellies? At present, there is only one way, which is to move troops to the three prefectures of Jinan, raise grain and grass, rest and recuperate, and wait for half a month later, to find the enemy for a decisive battle. Otherwise, if you are hungry and tired, you will inevitably be the enemy of the tiger and wolf, and you will inevitably be destroyed, what good will it do to the country? ”

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head, smiled bitterly, and did not make a sound. Yang Tinglin went on to say:

"Although the three prefectures of Jinan have also suffered from bandits and drought, they are not very dilapidated, and the people's hearts have not been lost. If the army can be moved widely and smoothly, and the soldiers and people can be called, not only will there be no shortage of food and grass, but soldiers and horses will also gather everywhere. In the past, the Jin people went south, and the righteous people of Taihang Mountain rose up, formed a village to protect themselves, and confronted the Jin. Helplessly, the Southern Song Dynasty court decided to make peace, so that Yue Fei's plan for the Northern Expedition could not work, and the fathers and elders of Taihang Mountain and southern Hebei wept bitterly and despaired, and they were sincerely hated for the ages, and they were sad to say. Fair life to Yue Shaobao self-encouragement, why not inherit Yue Shaobao's will, contact the fathers and elders of the three provinces of Jinan, and jointly resist the captives? The people of the three prefectures in Jinan, not only to save the country, but also to protect the family, will be able to respond to the wind and fight for the public. ”

Yang Tinglin's remarks are indeed the best military policy at present, but this point did not touch Lu Xiangsheng's heart, but his impassioned feelings deeply moved Lu Xiangsheng. Lu Xiangsheng was silent for a while, sighed and said, "Boxiang, although your idea is the best policy, I really can't use it. I can only use the next strategy and send someone to Mianzhu to cry for Qin Ting. ”

"If it's the best policy, why not?"

"Still don't understand?" Lu Xiangsheng suddenly felt a tingling pain in his chest, stood up, paced back and forth with his head down on the side of the earthen kang for a few steps, and then continued: "In the past month, the cardinal and Quan Jue have deceived the lord, neglected and exposed the attack, looked around at the Chinese and foreign people's feelings, and ambushed the crisis to blame each other. The younger brother is in charge of military affairs for the time being, and he often does not know when he will be arrested. If the army is moved to Guangguang and Shun, the court will be punished with the crime of fear and cowardice, and within a few days there will be a cavalry coming. Instead of dying in the West Market, why not die on the battlefield? ”

"However, even if the public does not hesitate to die on the battlefield, what is the benefit of the country?"

"But it is enough to have a clear conscience and live up to the emperor."

Lu Xiangsheng's heart was full of grief and gloom, and he tried his best not to let the tears roll down the corners of his eyes. He turned his back on the candlelight and paced back and forth again. Yang Tinglin punched the small table and said loudly:

"Is the country going to perish at the hands of this people? I don't believe ......"

Lu Xiangsheng turned his face sharply and shook his head at Yang Tinglin, not letting him continue. At this moment, the shadow of Dongchang Detective Li Qi floated into his heart. He was not worried about himself, but worried that his friend would say something dissatisfied with the imperial court, and someone would add to it and report it to the capital. He took a step in front of Yang Tinglin and said:

"Brother Boxiang, I want to ask you to go to Baoding, how about it?"

"Of course I'm happy to serve. However, do you want me to go and cry to Mianzhu as Qin Tingzhi? I don't think I'll be able to get his help. ”

"Do your best to obey the destiny of heaven. You have some dealings with him in Beijing, and you may touch his heart by explaining to him the difficult situation in the army. I've said it's the way forward, but there's only one way to go. ”

"When are you leaving?"

"The matter is urgent, and the sooner you go, the better. You've been working very hard these days, so how about a night's rest tonight and tomorrow's five-day shift? ”

Yang Tinglin thought for a moment and said, "Since the military situation is so urgent, I will leave tonight." Please hurry up and write a handwritten letter, which will be presented to me in front of me, and then move it with words. ”

"You'd better sleep for the night."

"No, without further ado, just go."

"You're working too hard!" Lu Xiangsheng arched his hand to express his gratitude.

About the third watch, Yang Tinglin took Lu Xiangsheng's handwritten letter and set off with one of his family members and the four reliable soldiers assigned to him by Lu Xiangsheng. Lu Xiangsheng sent him out of the camp and shook hands and asked each other to cherish them. Yang Tinglin rode his horse and walked a few steps, feeling very uneasy, and turned his horse's head again, and said:

"The public is at stake for the safety of the country, so don't make a desperate bet. Jinan is the old rule of our father, and the people's hearts are available, so I hope to pay attention. ”

Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said, "Brother, let's go, don't think about your brother." Since the husband promised the country with his body, he did not dare to take it privately. The principle of benevolence and righteousness is a little known. reported Jun En with a death, and his younger brother still thought that he had little ear. ”

He watched the six horses go away in the dim starlight, and then it was a while before turning back to the camp. He was already determined to die on the battlefield, thinking that this farewell to his old friend might be the eternal secret, and his heart was a little sad. Knowing that Liu Yuliang would not give him any assistance, the reason why he sent Yang Tinglin was to "do his best to obey the destiny of heaven", but more importantly, he wanted to send Tinglin away and save a useful talent for the country. Yang Tinglin has no way of knowing this last thought.

On the night of the day when Lu Xiangsheng sent Yang Tinglin away, he received an urgent document from the Ministry of War, saying that according to the Shanxi Tang report, the Qing troops were heading west to Shanxi, and Taiyuan was in danger, and Lu Xiangsheng was ordered to rush to the rescue. Xiang Sheng knew that the Qing soldiers were attacking the city and destroying the village in the Jizhong Plain, burning and plundering, and did not move to Shanxi, but only sent a few rangers as suspicious soldiers, pretending to be a western peek into Shanxi, but it caused the panic of the Taiyuan gentry. He threw the text on the kang and said in his heart:

"Will be outside, the king's order will not be affected. Yang Sichang is hundreds of miles away, holding my hands and feet in everything, this is helpless! ”

Although he himself decided not to accept the orders of the Ministry of War, Wang Pu, the chief soldier of Datong under him, also directly received the letter from the Ministry of War. Wang Pu's soldiers have long been unwilling to suffer with him, and as soon as they heard that Shanxi was in danger, the military department came to write a message, and they had to go back to protect their families, and they made a noise. Needless to say, he helped Wang Pu to the horse and hugged him to the west.

Of the three general military officers led by Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Pu had the most men. After Wang Pu left, the troops of the two chief military officers, Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, and Xiangsheng's own standard battalion, including those who could not fight, totaled only more than 6,000 people. At noon the next day, he led these thousands of remnants to Nangong County and camped in the wilderness. The battalions sent men to dig up the roots, bring them back, wash them, chop them up, and feed them with a small amount of miscellaneous grain. Lu Xiangsheng also eats the same thing. He knew that the next step of the Qing army would be to go deep into Jinan, or to plunder Shandong from here, so he planned to give his men and horses a little rest here, and go to Julu tomorrow to find the enemy for a big battle. At this time, Gao Qiqian led nearly 20,000 horses to Jize, which was only a few dozen miles away from here. He hurriedly wrote a sincere handwritten letter, sent a junior colonel Pegasus, and asked Gao Qiqian to also drive the army to Julu, so as to support each other and disperse the enemy.

As soon as he sent the envoy, hundreds of representatives of the elders from the three prefectures of Jinan came to the camp and asked to see him. When Lu Xiangsheng heard the report, he hurried out of the camp gate, met with the representatives of his fathers and elders, and asked them what they were coming for. Out of the delegates, a sturdy old man with a long gray beard flowed. Xiang Sheng saw that it was none other than Yao Dongzhao, a patriot of Julu, with a treasure knife he had given him not long ago. After Yao Ziqing soldiers entered the fortress, he ran around to contact, calling on the Qing soldiers to resist the Qing army, protect the family and defend the country, and was deeply respected by the people of the three prefectures in southern Jinan, so everyone elected him to speak to the governor on behalf of everyone, and he did not know that Lu Xiangsheng had been demoted, so he called him "Lord Shangshu" as soon as he opened his mouth. He said in a loud voice:

"Lord Shangshu, the world is turbulent, and it has been almost ten years. The Mantars have entered the fortress several times, killing my people, kidnapping my Ding Zhuang, adultering my wife and daughter, and burning my house. All my subjects of the Ming Dynasty should share the same hatred and deal with the enemy. Helplessly, our soldiers collapsed without a fight, and the state and county collapsed, which is really sad! Regardless of death, adults repeatedly frustrated the fierce edge, thinking that the world set an example. Including the hateful traitors, the adults are lonely and loyal, but they are hated. Thousands of miles up and down, galloping on an empty stomach, wandering in the wilderness, and not even getting a full meal! Alas, oh my God, like this, how can you fight a strong enemy! ”

Yao Dongzhao's voice choked and trembled, and he couldn't stop for a moment. The people around him, whether it was the representative of the father or the soldier under the command of Xiangsheng, heard this, they all felt their throats blocked, and their hearts were suffocated. Someone lowered his head, someone quietly glanced at the governor's face, saw that his eyes were moist, his expression was excited, and a wry smile appeared from the corner of his mouth, waiting for the old man to continue speaking.

"I heard that today's fifth watch, the three armies were clamoring, and the general soldier of Datong, Lord Wang, went out of the customs to save Shanxi under the pretext of going out of the customs and left with his men and horses. When the decisive battle was about to be fought against the enemy, this happened. The adults only have a few hungry and tired centaurs left, how can they defeat the Tartars? Please listen to the foolish plan, quickly move the army to Guangping and Shunde, collect grain and grass, and gather righteous teachers. Once we know that the adults are coming, everyone will be enthusiastic and generous, work together, and obey the commands of the adults, even if they are confused! I dare to assert that within a few days, people will gather under their belts with dry rations on their backs, and it will not be difficult to gather 100,000 people. Isn't this far better than an adult who is helpless, resisting a strong enemy alone, and being sent to death in vain? I hope you think twice! ”

The old man's words hit Lu Xiangsheng's heart. He knew very well that if he took the old man's advice, he would not only avoid the danger of total annihilation, but also achieve victory. Thinking of the advice Yang Tinglin gave him, he said in his heart: "The hearts of the people of Sanfu are really usable!" However, after all, he was a feudal scholar and a governor, and although he knew that the people of Jinan were available, he did not understand how to make full use of the power of the common people. In his thoughts, resisting foreign invasions can only be the business of the court, civil servants, and military generals, and the people gathered in a hurry, although they had hostile hearts, after all, they were a rabble. He knew very well that the people of the three provinces were in a situation with the government on weekdays, and the people were in turmoil, and there were hidden crises everywhere, so he was very worried that if the people of Jifu rose up to fight against the Qing soldiers, even if they could help him drive the Qing soldiers away for a while, it would also bring "worries" to the imperial court. If there is a "scoundrel" who takes the opportunity to cause chaos, how can he deal with the court? Isn't it a wave of unevenness, and a wave of rise? At that time, he will die not on the battlefield, but in the West City. He didn't hesitate much, and bowed his hand to Yao Dongzhao and other fathers and elders:

"Mr. Tunchu, fathers! I am very grateful to my fathers for their kindness! Xiangsheng has been through a hundred battles for ten years and has not tasted defeat, but today's situation is like this, and there is only one death to serve the country! ”

Hearing his words, the masses became even more agitated, and they persuaded him one after another to move his troops to Guang and Shun and straighten out his troops and horses. An old peasant wiped away his tears and said loudly:

"Your Excellency! Don't think that the common people are ignorant and foolish. As long as the adults move their troops widely and smoothly, and the army and the people work together, are you afraid that you will not be able to defeat the enemy? Don't you believe that the people of our three provinces will pick up swords and guns to defend the country? My lord, just thinking about saving the country by dying is not a way, how to defeat the enemy matters! ”

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head and said: "Alas, although Xiangsheng is named the governor today, he actually only has thousands of tired soldiers. The great enemy rushed from the west, and I had neither reinforcements nor food and grass, and I had exhausted myself after a thousand miles of fighting. But everything is controlled by the center, and if you are constrained, what can you say! If you are going to die on the battlefield on the eve of your ascension, you don't have to involve the fathers and brothers of the three prefectures of Jinan! ”

Yao Dongzhao said loudly: "Death is heavier than Mount Tai, and some are lighter than feathers." If you can't defeat the Tartars, what's the benefit of dying? ”

He was very moved by these words, but he knew in his heart that if he moved his army to Guang and Shun, the imperial court would definitely say that he was fleeing from the enemy and arrest him in Beijing, and even if he had a hundred mouths, he would have nowhere to defend himself. But he was a minister of the court, so he could not say such words to the fathers and elders of the people, but could only reply:

"Xiang ascended to become a minister of the imperial court, how could he disobey the holy decree and move the army to eat without authorization? When you see danger, you will die without regrets! ”

"But 'the general is outside, and the king's order is not affected'."

"Not only is it difficult to disobey the king's order, but the director is dozens of miles away. Although the princes are well-intentioned, if Xiangsheng dies in the West City on the charge of disobeying the holy decree and being cowardly in the face of the enemy, he will be unjust for the ages, how can he be like a generous prancing horse and dying between the artillery fire! Xiangsheng has made up his mind to die, please don't talk about it anymore! ”

The fathers and elders understood his hardships, some shook their heads in disapproval, some sighed, some were disappointed, and some were dissatisfied because of the critical military situation, the court was dim, and Lu Xiangsheng died in vain, and they were so angry that they couldn't help but cry bitterly. Xiangsheng and the soldiers around him couldn't help but shed tears when they saw the people crying. Yao Dongzhao took a step closer in front of him and said generously:

"My lord, since the second year of Chongzhen, this is now the fourth time that Dongyu has invaded, and it is deeper than before. Every time the captives invaded, martial law was imposed in the capital, and the imperial court was helpless, allowing the captives to ride rampantly and ravage Jifu. State and county officials would only flee when they heard the news, and did not dare to stick to the city. The local squires also fled first when they heard the news, and no one was willing to think about the country, and they had no loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, let alone calling on the people to protect Sangzi. When the officers and soldiers came, they were as fearful of the captives as tigers and leopards, and as fierce as jackals to the people. Every time the captives invaded, houses were burned, women were raped, cattle, farm implements, livestock, and goods were plundered, many people were killed, and many were taken captive. We ordinary people can't rely on the imperial court at the top, and we can't rely on the government at the bottom, and we are afraid of both captive soldiers and officers and soldiers. But just being afraid is not the way, so we called on the children of the three provinces to defend the country and fight with the captives. Because the people saw that the court was afraid of the enemy, the officials and soldiers from all walks of life were called King Qin, which was really a disturbance to the people, and only the adults were willing to fight with the captives, so they did not want to see the adults donate their lives in vain, which was not beneficial to the country, and they were willing to help the adults. I hope that adults will not lose the hearts of the people of the three provinces, and do not frustrate the morale of the people of the three provinces! ”

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Mr. Tun Chu, since the first time the captives invaded, you have strongly called on the people of Jifu to defend their homes and defend the country, so you are known as a righteous man. But today, it is inevitable that it will be promoted to the end of the country. The decisive battle is just around the corner, and Xiangsheng only knows that he is serving the emperor, and life and death have long been put aside. The fathers and elders of the three mansions love and care for each other, and Xiangsheng is only grateful. ”

"My lord, I heard that the captives are coming south, please temporarily withdraw your troops, avoid the fierce edge for a while, and delay the decisive battle with the captives for ten days?"

"Why?"

"If the adults can not fight the Tartars within ten days, Dongzhao and the elders of the three mansions can lead tens of thousands of children to come to the aid of the adults."

Xiangsheng grabbed Yao Dongzhao's hand, pulled him a few steps away, looked at him with moist, very excited eyes, sighed and said:

"Mr. Tunchu! You don't fully understand my situation. I thank you for your kindness, but how can I wait ten days? ”

"Why can't you wait?"

"First, the student has been deprived of the title of Shang Fangjian and Shangshu by the imperial court, and I don't know when Ti Cai will come to arrest the Jingshi and ask for the crime. In case the students are arrested and sent to Beijing within ten days, it is better to fight with the captives as soon as possible, and it is better to die for the country than to die in prison. Second, looking at the trend of the captives, it is clear that they plan to penetrate deep into Shandong, cut off the canal, and threaten Jinan; if they do not meet the attack as soon as possible and dampen their arrogance, dozens of prefectures and counties in Shandong will surely collapse. At that time, not only will the imperial court punish the students for the crime of arsoning with the enemy, but how will the students also treat the people of Shandong? Third," Xiang Sheng lowered his voice and said, "At present, the morale of the officers and soldiers is low, and they are afraid of the enemy like tigers; Since Wang Pu left, the army's morale has been even more shaken. The remaining thousands of hungry and tired teachers could not bear to leave for the time being, and could barely fight because they felt that the students were loyal and patriotic. After a little delay, the morale of the army collapsed, and even if the students wanted to fight, they could not succeed. ”

"How about waiting for me for five days?"

"Five days? …… No, no. ”

"If it doesn't work in five days, please wait for me for three days!"

Although Lu Xiangsheng couldn't judge that three days, maybe tomorrow, the Qing soldiers would come, and the reinforcements of the people in three days would be useless, but he couldn't refuse Yao Dongzhao's kindness again, so he replied:

"Okay, you go back and call on the children of the three provinces not to let the captives drive south. I'll have news here in three days. I see that the captives are very sick, and they are often like a sudden storm, and I am afraid that it is too late for you to help me. I will move slightly southwest tomorrow in order to get closer to the army of the High Supervisor. Julu is Mr. Sangzi, I hope we can meet again in Julu. ”

He and Yao Dongzhao returned to the crowd. The fathers took out the small amount of food they had brought with them and offered it to Xiangsheng. An elder trembled with a snow-white beard and said:

"My lord, because we came in a hurry, and we don't know if we can meet adults, so we don't bring much food, which is just a little bit of the hearts of the people of Sanfu. If the adults move to Guangguang and Shun, the people of our three provinces still have the spirit of loyalty and righteousness in order to resist the invasion of foreign races. Although the days are very hard, I am very happy to take out the grain I put in the pot and take it out; As long as you can destroy your family and relieve your difficulties, you are willing. ”

The wealthy families in the nearby countryside and Nangong City have long since fled, leaving only some poor people who cannot afford to flee. When they heard that Lu Xiangsheng was determined to fight against the Qing soldiers, and that the army was running out of food, the fathers and elders of the three prefectures came to offer food, and they also took out all kinds of miscellaneous grains buried at the head of the bed, hidden in the holes in the walls and cellars, and sent them to the outside of the camp gate. An old peasant woman with a face full of vegetables came panting, carrying a handkerchief and dates, and crutches. With tears in her eyes, she held the dates to Xiangsheng with both hands, and said:

"My lord, there has been a great drought for many years, locusts, and a shortage of soldiers, and the common people are short of food. I, a lonely widow, have nothing else, so I give this red date to the adults to cook and eat, and kill a few more tartars. ”

"Auntie, don't you have a son?"

"Alas, miserable! My son is gone! The last time the Tartars came to this area, one son was killed, the other was taken captive, and there was no news! The old woman cried. The court Lao Tzu raised so many soldiers, it would only harass the good people, who would be willing to contribute to the war? In the last years, the common people deserve to suffer. What's the way to do it? ”

Lu Xiangsheng refused to accept her dates, but the old woman was willing to stay.

That night, Lu Xiangsheng was in turmoil and couldn't sleep peacefully. After the third watch, he left the camp with his men and horses and met the enemy in Julu County. At noon, the troops arrived at Jiazhuang in Julu County. After receiving the report, thousands of Qing soldiers were about to arrive nearby. He told the soldiers to stand in a circle, and then he stood on the mound in the middle, and bowed four times on all sides, saying:

"Soldiers, today we are about to meet the enemy. I have received the great favor of the court with all of you, and today is the day for us to serve the court. What we are afraid of is that we will not be able to fight and die for our country, and we are not afraid that we will not be able to live. Rather be a decapitated general, die on the battlefield, can't live up to the country's grace, and cower in the face of the enemy. Even if we die in battle for our country today, the enemy will no longer dare to despise us, and tens of millions of people with lofty ideals will rise up. Brethren, go with me! ”

After finishing speaking, he knocked Wu Mingji's stirrups and led the standard camp men and horses to run in the direction of the enemy. Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, the two chief military officers, followed closely behind. After walking for more than ten miles, I saw the smoke and dust in the north, and the sound of slapping was heard. Elephant Sheng rode his horse towards the dusty enemy camp. Hu Shuai served as the left wing, and Yang Shuai served as the right wing. As soon as the battle was engaged, the soldiers and horses on the right flank could not withstand the onslaught of the enemy's cavalry and retreated slightly. Hu Dawei immediately pounced on him from the left, and Xiang Sheng also danced his sword and jumped on his horse and shouted, rushing forward to kill. At one time, the three armies were excited, and the Qing soldiers were defeated, and they scattered and fled. The villagers who had not fled in the vicinity automatically gathered into groups, armed with hoes and white wooden sticks, and killed many of the Qing soldiers who fled in the wilderness.

Before dusk, Lu Xiangsheng led his soldiers to retreat to Jiazhuang, preparing for a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army tomorrow. The little colonel sent to Ji Ze to deliver the letter had already been transferred, knowing that Gao Qiqian was unwilling to send troops to help, Xiangsheng sighed hatefully and didn't say a word.

At the time of the third watch, the moonlight was vast, and the sound of the squirt suddenly sounded from all sides. Lu Xiangsheng walked out of the military tent, listened to it from all sides, and knew that he had been surrounded by enemies on all sides. He was very calm, as if this ending had been expected by him, but he could not help but say regretfully in his heart:

"The Guanning Iron Cavalry is only fifty miles away from here, if it can come and give the enemy an internal and external attack, how great it would be!"

The next day was December 12. Before dawn, the enemy came from the west with more than 10,000 cavalry, including more than 30,000 who came last night, and surrounded Lu Xiangsheng's camp three times. After a while, it was dark, but the weather was hazy, the day was bleak, and a cold wind was blowing. Suddenly, the sound of cannons, and shouts began to storm the Ming army from all sides. Hu Dawei guarded the west, Yang Guozhu guarded the east, and the north and south sides were defended by lieutenant generals and other officials. In critical places on all sides, set up the cannons. Lu Xiangsheng commanded back and forth, and the cannon was not fired indiscriminately. He remembered all the names of these gunners, and he would fire whoever he called. Once, while he was directing the firing of the cannon, the gunner's stray arrows were killed, and the enemy came in like a tidal wave. He immediately jumped off his horse, grabbed the arquebus, fired two shots, and killed a group of enemies. A second gunner arrived, caught the arquebus from his hand, and then he remounted his horse and hurried to another most critical place to supervise the battle.

From the beginning of the day to the end, the enemy attacked and did not retreat. The gunpowder and buckshot in the camp were gone, and the arrows were gone. His face was blackened by gunsmoke, his clothes were burned in several places, and several holes were pierced by stray arrows. The enemy in the southwest corner, hearing the sound of artillery in the Xiangsheng camp, rushed in with four red flags. At this time, the camp was filled with cannon smoke, and no one could be seen from a distance. Xiang Sheng shouted to kill the thief, and rushed left and right in the tide of Qing soldiers. Suddenly, seeing that Hu Dawei was surrounded by enemies and could not support him, he rushed forward and shouted:

"General Tiger! Today is the day of my generation's loyalty to the country, don't be afraid of death! Kill! Kill! ”

Hu Dawei opened a bloody road, joined him with him, and held the reins of Xiangsheng's horse to persuade him to break through. He refused to break through, raised his knife at the tiger, and said loudly: "Let go!" Hu Dawei let go, and immediately a large group of enemies scattered them, and there was no chance of rendezvous again.

After half a day of offensive and defensive battles and half an hour of melee, Lu Xiangsheng's soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and there was not much left. There is an Artemisia Bridge not far from Jiazhuang. The battlefield has been moved from Jiazhuang to the side of the Artemisia Bridge, and in fact there are only sporadic battles. This group of Ming soldiers, that group, was divided and surrounded by the enemy, and insisted on the final battle. This kind of fighting, neither for victory nor for breaking through, is governed by a very simple desire to kill one or more enemies before he falls, and not to surrender.

Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu were both injured, and they broke through at some point. Family member Gu Xian has been following Lu Xiangsheng's side, suffered more than a dozen injuries, fell off the horse, and lost consciousness. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head and opened his blood-red eyes, but he didn't see the governor and Wu Mingji again. Just then, a group of enemy horsemen rushed in front of him. He picked up his dagger from the ground and threw it at his enemy, stabbing one of them in the head. The enemy screamed and dismounted. "Lao Tzu earned another one!" Gu Xian cursed in his throat and fell down to die.

Lu Xiangsheng has already suffered three arrow wounds and two knife wounds. Only Zhang Yan, the general of the Xuanfu, Yang Lukai, and more than two dozen cavalrymen were left by his side, and they were all wounded. He led more than 20 men to the Artemisia River, but was stopped by the wide river. The ice was not thick, and several horses had already broken through the ice and got stuck in the river. On the other side, there was an enemy general in a red robe who came with a group of men who shot arrows indiscriminately. Xiang Sheng was hit by another arrow in his left chest. He pulled out his arrow, roared, and Wu Mingji leaped into the air and jumped over the river more than two feet wide. The enemy general was taken aback, returned to his horse and fled. Xiang Sheng hacked two enemies to death. If he were to run south at this time, he would easily get out of the battlefield. But he didn't have that idea. He looked back and saw that the twenty or so men who had followed him had not come, and were being besieged by ten times more enemies. He yelled again and slammed the stirrup at the same time. Wu Mingji seemed to understand what his master meant, turned around, stepped on his hooves, snorted, struggled, screamed angrily, jumped back to the river, and rushed towards the enemy's heart. Lu Xiangsheng was bleeding too much, and he felt that he was about to lose his support and was about to die. As he slashed and slashed, he shouted the following words, encouraging his soldiers and himself:

"The general is decapitated, and the warrior sacrifices his life, right now! Kill! Kill! …… Brothers, kill with all your might! ……”

He was stabbed in the back again, and his body shook violently, and he almost fell off his horse. But he quickly held the saddle with his left hand and turned around and hacked an enemy to death. He rescued his men and horses, re-came to the Artemisia River, and fought against the water. At this time, there were only five or six people left around him, and the general Zhang Yan and most of the brothers died. Yang Lukai, the head priest, rode a thousand miles of snow and followed him closely. Qianli Xue's white body was stained with blood, some of which belonged to Yang Lukai, and some of which burst from the enemy's body. Yang Lukai was seriously injured and exhausted, and said to Lu Xiangsheng weakly:

"My lord, jump over the river and go, I'm here to stop the enemy!"

Lu Xiangsheng didn't seem to hear him, and seemed to encourage him, repeating:

"The general is decapitated, and the warrior sacrifices his life, right now!"

The battle continued for a while. One of Wu Mingji's front legs suddenly hit a stray arrow, and he hit a forward plant. Lu Xiangsheng turned over and fell off the horse. But he struggled to his feet and met him on foot. A group of enemy cavalry surrounded him and demanded that he surrender. While resisting, he said angrily: "Daming, there are only decapitated generals, not surrendered generals!" "But the voice is already weak, low, incoherent. In a matter of moments, he was stabbed twice in the head, one in the back of the head and one in the face. He screamed and fell, throwing the broadsword far away. The sound of swords and shouts of slaughter still sounded in his eardrums, and he himself felt like he was still fighting, still shouting, like in a dream. However, he vaguely knew that he was badly wounded, lying on the ground, blood gushing outward. He still wanted to struggle and kill one or two more enemies, but he struggled and snorted, losing consciousness.

Yang Lukai also planted himself from his horse, only a few feet away from where Lu Xiangsheng was lying. Thinking that Xiangsheng was not dead, he quickly crawled over and covered the governor with his own bloody body. The enemy didn't know that the first brave soldier in the petty uniform to fall was Lu Xiangsheng, so he didn't cut off his head. But they hated him so much that when they saw that he was dead, they shot him with arrows to avenge their dead and wounded companions. Yang Lukai hugged the governor tightly in the rain of arrows, without shouting or moving. He died, with twenty-four arrows in his back, and many more fell around him, digging deep into the earth.

When Lu Xiangsheng fell off his horse, Wu Mingji held his head high and looked around in surprise, not knowing what was happening. Knowing that it had been wounded and that its master had left it, it rushed out of the encirclement in disappointment and rage, and nearly knocked out one of the enemy cavalrymen. A group of enemies saw it as a rare steed and surrounded it from all sides, intending to capture it. It held its head high, shook its mane, stood still, sprayed a few noses in succession, and screamed at Artemisia Water. As the enemy approached, it suddenly jumped to its feet, kicked down an enemy, and limped one of its front legs toward the wilderness. Several Qing soldiers still did not give up and continued to chase it. It ran to the turn of Artemisia Water and wandered. In the blink of an eye, several Qing soldiers chased after him again. It was about to jump over the river, but because it was wounded in its front leg, and the river was so wide that it fell into the water two feet from the shore. It was struggling to float to the opposite bank, and the Qing soldiers shot a few arrows, killing it.

Three days later, one night, Yang Tinglin rushed to the battlefield to find Lu Xiangsheng's body.

He didn't see Liu Yuliang. Lu Xiangsheng's handwriting was still on his body, and Liu Yuliang heard that the Qing soldiers were about to arrive in Anping, so he was so frightened that he fled to Jinzhou in a hurry. Chen Hongxu, the governor of Jinzhou, swore a blood oath with the sergeants of the city to prevent Liu Yuliang from entering the city. Liu Yuliang was furious, and on the one hand, he asked for Chen Hongxu to be arrested in Beijing for questioning, and fled to Zhending. Yang Tinglin arrived in Baoding and was about to chase after Zhending, when he suddenly heard that Lu Xiangsheng's whole army was annihilated, he cried loudly, and even ran to Jiazhuang all night.

Within a radius of several miles, the area around Jiazhuang became a world of death, full of corpses of people and horses. Although most of the Ming soldiers were killed, the Qing soldiers also died in this vicious battle. Yang Tinglin was trying to find Lu Xiangsheng's corpse, when Xiao Xiao of a war horse suddenly heard from nearby. A brother beside him was a personal soldier who had followed Lu Xiangsheng for many years, and said excitedly:

"Sir! Master! It's the cry of a thousand miles of snow! ”

They ran towards the place where the horses neighed, and sure enough, they saw a majestic white horse standing tall in the moonlight, as if waiting for them. When they approached it, it turned and ran away, stopping in the far wilderness, and letting out a desolate and mournful hiss. They chased after it again, and it ran away again. It ran like this a few times, screamed a few times, and finally came to the shore of Artemisia and stopped moving. Yang Tinglin and his entourage came to Baima's side, first found Yang Lukai's dead body, and then found another person's body from under Yang's dead body. Although Xiang Sheng's face was cut and his flesh was blurred, as soon as the old soldier saw the white net towel tied around his head and the sackcloth in his coat, he hugged the corpse and cried, saying:

"This is our lord! Our Governor! ”

They took off the bloody garment of the elephant and saw that the seal of the governor was still tied behind the elbow.

Yang Tinglin and the others were cleaning up the bodies of Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Lukai when they suddenly heard noisy voices, from far and near, and there were many lanterns and torches, which surprised them greatly. When they jumped on their horses and looked forward, they saw that the people who had come were all dressed as ordinary people of Jinan, holding various weapons in their hands, and some were holding hoes and white wooden sticks, and they could not see the edge in the moonlight. After they asked, they learned that Yao Dongzhao had come to find Lu Xiangsheng's body. It turned out that Yao Dongzhao called on 20,000 or 30,000 people in more than a day to go back, eliminated the old and weak, selected seven or eight thousand people, and was about to rush to Jiazhuang overnight. In fact, the enemy only had more than 2,000 cavalry, taking advantage of the Ming army's cowardice to avoid the battle, so he dared to leave the main force, drove alone, rushed to the place between Julu and Guangzong, burned houses everywhere, raped and looted, and abducted male and female populations. Yao Dongzhao and other fathers called on the brave people to ambush in the north of Guangzong City, suddenly cut off the Qing soldiers from the middle, shouted on all sides, besieged on all sides, and killed more than 300 Qing soldiers in a melee and recaptured a lot of people and cattle. The Qing soldiers did not dare to fight and fled eastward. After this battle, Yao Dongzhao and others reorganized the team and rushed to rescue Lu Xiangsheng. By the time they arrived at the battlefield of Haoshui Bridge, Lu Xiangsheng had been killed for three days.

As soon as Yao Dongzhao saw Lu Xiangsheng's corpse, he couldn't help but cry bitterly, and said, "My lord! You must wait three days for a decisive battle with the captives, and you will not be defeated and killed. It was the court that forced you to death! Thousands of patriotic people are more aware of the court's injustice, and some people can't help but curse the court with very rude words, scolding Yang Sichang, the secretary of the military department, and scolding Gao Qiqian, the eunuch of the chief army, and many people regret that Lu Xiangsheng only knows one "foolish loyalty" and ends up like this. One person scolded loudly after seeing Lu Xiangsheng's body:

"What kind of world is this, what kind of court! Those who refused to fight for the country were favored by the emperor, and those who were willing to fight for the country were blamed, did not give reinforcements, did not give food, forced to die on the battlefield, and rejoiced the enemy! ”

Lu Xiangsheng's personal soldiers did not die. A soldier named Zheng Kui escaped with serious wounds, galloped to Beijing, and reported to the military headquarters that the governor had been killed. Yang Sichang personally summoned him, and after listening to his detailed report, asked:

"Is Yang Zanhua dead?"

"He's not dead. Governor Lu had sent him to Baoding the day before. ”

Yang Sichang felt regretful, didn't ask any more, got up and left. He didn't believe that Lu Xiangsheng was really dead, so he sent three people to Jiazhuang to investigate the truth. A man named Yu Zhenlong came back to report that Governor Lu had indeed been killed in battle, and that he had been falsely accused of making false reports, and that he had been hanged for three days and three nights, and had been beaten with hundreds of lashes, hoping that he would say that Lu Xiangsheng had escaped and had no whereabouts. But Yu Zhenlong never lies. When he was dying, he said to the officials who interrogated him:

"Alas, Heavenly Dao Gods, don't wronged loyal ministers!"

Yang Tinglin returned to Beijing and played the twists and turns in the army to the emperor. Yang Sichang drafted an edict on behalf of the emperor, accusing him of untruthfulness, demoting him to a higher grade, and demoting him to Jiangxi to be a petty official. At this time, the main force of the Qing army had been transferred from Jifu to plunder Shandong, and Jinan was broken without a fight.