Jingshi, Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned, and in front of him were two reports, one was a secret report sent back by the Fusi of Beizhen, and the other was an urgent report from the Ministry of War.

The content of these two memoirs is the same thing: Yang Sichang's time is short, and he can no longer lead his army north to Henan.

"Yang Ge Lao's condition is so serious, who else is available in the court? The state affairs are so difficult, is it really the heavens that are going to kill me? ”

Emperor Chongzhen hadn't slept well for a few days, his eyes were bloodshot, and Wang Chengen next to him saw it in his eyes, and said in a crying voice: "Your Majesty has been in charge of government for more than two hours without taking a breath, let's rest for a while, even those who are beaten with iron can't bear it!" ”

"State affairs are like this, where do I have the heart to rest?"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the emergency report of the Ministry of War, which was dictated by Yang Sichang and asked his subordinates to write and send to the Ministry of War, the content of which was that Yang Sichang recommended Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Shandong, to replace him and lead the army to Henan to pacify Li Zicheng's department.

"There are rumors in the DPRK and China that Yang Ge Lao and Lu Xiangsheng are not in harmony, it is said that there were many estrangements in Julu back then, but is there such a thing?"

Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, now that Yang Ge is dying, it doesn't matter what happens between him and Lu Duchen." ”

"I'm thinking, if the two of them really don't get along, why do they recommend Lu Xiangsheng to Henan now?"

Wang Chengen saw that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious, and he didn't dare to say any more, so he lowered his head and stopped answering.

Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Wang Chengen and said, "That's it! As the saying goes: A person's words are good when he is about to die, I don't care what happened to the two of them before, now that Yang Ge Lao recommended Lu Xiangsheng, Lu Xiangsheng also hit the army of slaves and thieves several times before, and this time against Li Zicheng's thieves and horses, it should be possible to get twice the result with half the effort. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

"Then draw up a decree, order Lu Xiangsheng to lead the soldiers and horses of the headquarters, unite the soldiers and horses of Shandong except for Qinglai Town, gallop to Kaifeng, and conquer the thieves!"

Wang Chengen was shocked in his heart, and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, the Shandong soldiers are the most capable of fighting with the new army of Qinglai Town, and this time they will not transfer the soldiers and horses of Qinglai Town to fight?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said: "Jinzhou is tight, if the war outside the customs deteriorates, the imperial court cannot be left without soldiers, and must leave an elite army on standby." ”

"Lu Xiangsheng's standard camp and Yan Jizu's standard camp are not all elite? Besides, there are a lot of soldiers and horses in Shandong, all of which have been handed over to Lu Xiangsheng for dispatch. ”

Wang Chengen sighed in his heart, so he had to take the order to go to draft the decree.

A few days later, Jinan Fucheng, the Governor's Palace.

A eunuch stood on the main hall with a brocade guard, and Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu knelt on the ground for a long time and couldn't come back to their senses.

"Hehe, Lu Duchen and Yan Futai, have you heard clearly?"

Lu Xiangsheng clenched his fists and said, "I heard clearly." ”

Yan Jizu also snorted and said, "Listen, hear clearly." ”

"Those two still don't accept the order, thank you?"

"Minister, Lu Xiangsheng, will be grateful!"

When the general Lu Huaiying sent away the eunuch and Jinyi guard who announced the decree, Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu stood up, and the two of them smiled bitterly, both sighing.

"Luoyang City was lost, King Fu was killed, Li Zicheng's strength has risen sharply, and now the situation in Henan is irreparable!"

Yan Jizu said excitedly: "But the imperial court is still unwilling to recruit the new army in Qinglai Town, and only let the governor lead the governor battalion and the Fubiao battalion to suppress the thieves, this is to let the governor send him to death!" ”

Lu Xiangsheng said: "I can understand Your Majesty's thoughts, Jinzhou is in danger, once the army of slaves and thieves takes Jinzhou, all the outside of Shanhaiguan will be lost. Liu Yan's new army should have been prepared for the Liaodong battlefield. ”

Yan Jizu said: "Your Majesty is taking care of both ends, and you can't take care of either end in the end!" How many elites are there in the imperial court today? It should be used intensively, and all the elites must be destroyed by Li Zicheng's army of thieves first, and then go out to fight. However, His Majesty has to fight on two fronts, and with the current national strength, fighting on two fronts is the way to defeat! ”

Lu Xiangsheng's face was also very ugly, he waved his hand and said, "Don't say it again, don't say it again." ”

"What are the governors going to do?"

Lu Xiangsheng was silent for a while, and then said with a firm look in his eyes: "The governor has decided that only the Governor Battalion will be taken to Henan in this battle, and the Fubiao Battalion will stay. ”

"Governor Lu!"

"This battle is a battle of ten deaths, and it is good that this governor can leave a trace of fire for the imperial court."

"Governor Lu!"

Lu Xiangsheng stood up abruptly and said, "This matter is settled, before leaving, I want to see Liu Yan, a bastard boy, again." ”

Yan Jizu hid his face and wept.

Eight days later, Liu Yan, who received the news, quickly stepped up, only brought a dozen guards and rushed to Jinan Fucheng.

In the Governor's Palace, Liu Yan saw Lu Xiangsheng, who was trying on armor, and Yan Jizu, who was accompanying him.

"I've seen the governor, I've seen Futai!"

"Hehe, sit down. Come, see how Bentu's new armor fits, does it fit? ”

Liu Yan squeezed out a smile on his face and said, "Fit." ”

"Well, that's good, this time the governor will wear it to fight in Henan and defeat Li Zicheng!"

At this time, Yan Jizu said: "Your Majesty has a will, the new army in Qinglai Town will not be recruited in this battle, and the governor will only bring 12,000 soldiers from the Governor Battalion, and 10,000 soldiers and horses from all over Shandong, and 22,000 soldiers will fight against Li Zicheng. ”

Liu Yan's face also became ugly, at this time Li Zicheng's troops were at least 700,000 or 800,000, including no less than 100,000 elite soldiers and horses, as well as Li Guo, Li Laiheng, Liu Zongmin and other fierce generals, and Sun Kewang, Ai Nengqi, Li Dingguo's help, especially Li Dingguo, that is the king of the Southern Ming and Jin Dynasty in history, the famous king of the two Turks, and the famous general who shook the world!

The current Li Zicheng has such strength, even if Lu Xiangsheng is also a famous general in history, but with more than 20,000 soldiers and horses to fight Li Zicheng's million-strong army, it is destined to be defeated and killed, and the strength of the two sides is too different!

Liu Yan couldn't bear it, but he couldn't change this situation, so he said, "When are the governors going to leave?" ”

Lu Xiangsheng looked at the solemn expressions of the two, and said with a smile: "Don't be like this, if you win this battle, this governor will make immortal achievements, if this battle is lost, this governor will also die well, and he will be famous in history, what is there to be afraid of?" ”

"As for the date of the expedition, the Governor is ready to lead the army in three days' time."

"Three days later?"

Liu Yan frowned slightly, and said: "The governor might as well postpone the date of the expedition, although the lowly position cannot lead the troops to fight side by side with the governor, but you can draw some troops from the various departments of the new army and raise some money and food, and the humble post only needs half a month to be ready, and when the time comes, it will be sent to the place where the governor must march in advance." ”

Lu Xiangsheng refused, saying, "No need. The troops you supported before were enough, and if you can't win this battle, no amount of troops will only be enough to support the enemy. ”

Liu Yan looked at Lu Xiangsheng, who was so resolute, and he didn't know what to say at this time, so he could only sit down with Yan Jizu.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Today, the governor brought the two of them here to talk about Shandong's defense problems. After the governor led the Governor battalion to set off, General Liu was temporarily in charge of Shandong's military, and Governor Yan was in charge of civil affairs. ”

"Yes!"

"In addition, now that the situation in Jinzhou has deteriorated, it is very likely that the imperial court will recruit elite troops to go out of the customs to support. If this is really the case, Liu Yan, you and the new army of Qinglai Town under your command will bear the brunt, be cautious and repeatedly! ”

Liu Yan nodded and wrote it down.

"The battle out of the pass is different from the battle inside the pass, although Liaodong is also the territory of the national dynasty, but now almost most of it has been lost, the slave and thief iron cavalry is rampant outside the pass, and the land outside the pass has been equivalent to the enemy territory."

Lu Xiangsheng said tirelessly: "After General Liu leads his troops out of the customs, he must send more troops to stay overnight, be careful of the raids and ambushes of slaves and thieves, be careful in everything, and put the whole army first!" ”

Liu Yan was moved in his heart, and clenched his fists and said: "Don't worry, the governor must remember his humble duties!" ”

"Well, that's good, then the Governor has nothing to advise."

Yan Jizu hid his face and wiped his tears again, while Liu Yan felt that there was something in his throat, and he couldn't say it when he wanted to speak, so he clenched his fists for a while before he said: "The governor should also be careful this time, take the whole army first, and don't fight hard with Li Chuang." As long as the governors are there, the soldiers and horses are there, there is still room for recovery in the situation in Henan! ”

"Haha."

Lu Xiangsheng laughed, this laughter was very hearty, but also full of sadness, Liu Yan was very uncomfortable in his heart, thinking in his heart, is his choice wrong, should he go to Henan with Lu Xiangsheng, and destroy Li Zicheng first at all costs?

After wavering for a moment, Liu Yan still firmly believed that his choice was not wrong. In terms of the current situation, it is not the right time to fight Li Zicheng at this time, even if Li Zicheng's million-strong army is defeated, it will only make Henan and other places full of holes completely turn into white ground, and nothing will change.

As long as Li Zicheng is still alive, as long as the people in Henan, Shanxi and other places still have no way to live, in an instant, Li Zicheng can gather an army of one million.

This is why Li Zicheng can be defeated ten or a hundred times, but the official army cannot afford a big defeat, and now the official army consumes a little less soldiers and horses, and there is no other way.

"Strength!"

Liu Yan secretly said in his heart: "The strength in my hands is still not enough, I can only stabilize Qinglai Town and all parts of Shandong, and I can't take care of Henan and other places at all, even if the new army fights over, it is just to cut off some heads, and it can't change the overall situation!" ”

So Liu Yan sighed in his heart and shook his head silently.

Three days later, Lu Xiangsheng led 10,000 soldiers from the Governor Battalion and guards from all over the country to go on the expedition, and 22,000 soldiers set out from Jinan Mansion City and marched westward.

Liu Yan and Yan Jizu both came to see them off, Lu Xiangsheng drank Zhuangxing wine, and then said goodbye to Liu Yan and Yan Jizu, turned over and laughed and left.

General Lu Huaiying also said goodbye to Liu Yan and Yan Jizu, and accompanied Lu Xiangsheng to set off on horseback.

"I hope the governor will go well and be able to get out of the way!"

Looking at the team of the army in the distance, Liu Yan suddenly said: "By the way, Lord Futai, why didn't you see General Xu?" ”

Yan Jizu said: "Yesterday, I sent General Xu to lead his troops out of the city, and now I should wait for the governor in Changqing County." ”

Liu Yan was stunned at first, and then he was also impressed by Yan Jizu, although this person was very mediocre in history, because the city of Jinan was captured by the Qing army, and he became a scapegoat and was beheaded, but at this time, it was righteous and awe-inspiring, which made Liu Yan also have a trace of admiration.

"This battle is dangerous, what does General Xu say?"

Yan Jizu said: "I naturally told the truth about the danger of this battle, and General Xu said this: The governors and ministers regard death as home, how can I not go to the war?" What's more, this battle also has to let General Liu take a look, my Fubiao battalion is also the elite of the Ming Dynasty, and it can also make great achievements! ”

Some people died, but not completely......