Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

The autumn season is the most suitable for training horses and soldiers. Later, the Kingdom of Jin held another large-scale military exercise. This is the first military exercise held after the capital was moved to Shenyang. Not only Nurhachi himself paid special attention to it, but the Bailors of the Eight Banners tried their best to perform, and even the soldiers under the flag also showed their martial arts with all their strength; especially in Liao, Shen The Ming, Mongolian, and Korean soldiers who surrendered and surrendered in various battles became a member of the Eight Banners Army of the Later Jin Dynasty. After a period of training, they got the first opportunity to perform—although it was an exercise, but Everyone eagerly stepped forward to be able to show their skills under the personal reading of Da Khan.

What's more, Hou Jin's rewards and punishments for the exercise were set just like real wars, which made everyone work harder and harder to achieve good results in order to win rewards. Therefore, on this day, dozens of miles outside the city of Shenyang were full of people, horses and flags. The chariots were so dense that there was no loess and green grass on the ground, and the flags were so high that there was no blue sky and white clouds in the sky; horns resounded and drums shook the sky. , galloping horseshoes, the soldiers of the Eight Banners fought earnestly, with well-founded offense and defense, and orderly advance and retreat...

The four major Baylors who served as the commander-in-chief of the exercise-Daishan, Amin, Mang Gurtai, and Huang Taiji, of course, went all out to go into battle in person and personally waved the flag to attack and defend; and one of the Eight Banners Baylors was the first time The one who leads the army is Dorgon, Abahai's favorite. Dorgon was only fourteen years old, so he had to be considered an adult; but after all, Nurhachi couldn't stand Abahai's repeated requests, so he gave him the opportunity to be alone in advance, assigned his own troops to him, and let him command the Yellow Banner army.

And Dorgon is indeed a talented, diligent and hard-working person. Since he was assigned the troops, he not only practiced himself every day to make the team under his command more well-trained, but also humbly asked the assistants sent by Nurhachi in everything. Several of his senior ministers asked for advice, so he "learned while doing", but in a short period of time, he achieved very good results and won a lot of praise... Nurhachi sat high on the stage, looked down at the exercise under the stage, and saw that he was satisfied, and smiled naturally at the corner of his mouth, then nodded again and again, and said to the guards on the left and right: "Look, I, the Eight Banners powerhouse of Houjin, , agile and brave, indeed an invincible teacher!"

The tone of his speech also contained a bit of pride and conceit, and in essence, a voice sounded in his heart: "With such an invincible teacher, why not be able to enter the Central Plains?" A beautiful picture appeared in front of my eyes: He personally led this powerful and invincible team out of Shenyang and marched towards Shanhaiguan; then, he broke through Shanhaiguan in one fell swoop and went straight to Beijing... "The dragon chair in the Beijing Palace will soon have a new owner!" As he thought about it, his smile became stronger, and the picture that emerged in his heart became clearer and more beautiful.

In the past, he had been to Beijing eight times, and had admired the majestic and magnificent appearance of the Beijing Imperial Palace from a distance; when he looked at it for the first time, he thought: "I don't know what kind of scene it is inside the house, so I can go in and have a look when it is convenient." How nice!" The second time, he mustered up the courage to inquire about the situation inside the palace from the receiving officials, and began to have a preliminary understanding of its architectural form and furnishings; With a complete image, the statement of "gold and jade, magnificent" has become a concrete confirmation; and his idea has already changed from wanting to watch to wanting to capture it-for more than 40 years, this The process of Fenxiongtu growing from scratch, from sprout to growth, is exactly the complete process of his life's struggle!

Perhaps, he is lucky. His struggle always has a clear goal. The road he has walked in his life leads to brilliance and eternity impartially. The direction of life he has chosen for himself is accurate. "The last part of my journey in my lifetime is to walk from Shenyang to the Beijing Imperial Palace!" While practicing soldiers and horses, he made a firm voice in his heart, as if declaring his ambition once again; therefore, even though his eyes were facing the offensive and defensive and advancing and retreating drills of the Eight Banners forces in groups, what was in his heart The thoughts that arise are all about the imperial palace in Beijing...

And in the imperial palace in Beijing, soldiers and horses are also being practiced. The "internal operations" established by Wei Zhongxian expanded as rapidly as the power he possessed. After a period of time, not only the number of personnel increased by more than three times, but also the various equipment it possesses far exceeds that of the regular army, forming an astonishing formation. Strength. Although the members of "Nei Cao" are all eunuchs, the gathering of the East, West and Jin Yiwei is tantamount to the combination of spies and criminals, and they have undergone military training-he promised himself, "Nei Cao" "The strength is invincible in the world, and it is easy to deal with any disobedient minister in the court.

"Whether civil servants or military generals, as long as I give an order, I will be there!" Wei Zhongxian, who was well prepared, said triumphantly: "Dongchang was originally good at investigation and espionage. As long as someone harbored dissatisfaction in their hearts, they could investigate clearly; Marshal, it is hard to fight, hard to resist, and hard to escape from my capture; after getting it, hand it over to the governor of Jinyiwei Town to handle it, and it will be wiped out in a few days!" He is very satisfied with the achievements of Dongchang and Fusi of Jinyiwei Town in punishing Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and other important people in Donglin. Intentionally let this group of 'internal exercises' members participate in actions and display their abilities, and the method has already been thought out:

The people on the next batch of "blacklists" have all resigned from office and are scattered all over the country. It will take a lot of effort to arrest them, just for the factory and Wei to show their skills! He planned to send more than 5,000 troops to capture these helpless scholars with mighty momentum—of course, this was not because he was afraid that he would not be able to capture them due to lack of manpower, but a deliberate ostentation, and at the same time Received the intimidation of "killing chickens to scare monkeys". Therefore, even though this "internal exercise" team has practiced every day since its formation and never slack off, he still specially held a large-scale drill review to make the momentum even bigger.

On this day, he even personally persuaded Emperor Tianqi to temporarily put down the carpentry in his hands, and to review this "internal exercise" together. He said to Emperor Tianqi: "This 'internal drill' trained by the slaves is loyal and excellent, all of them are outstanding in martial arts, and they are unstoppable. They will definitely serve the Long Live Lord!" But Emperor Tianqi who heard this suddenly got the wrong idea, and immediately clapped his hands happily and said with a smile: "Ah, ah, that's great! Tell them to go to Liaodong immediately and kill all the troops of the Houjin Kingdom." ! Come back, I will reward them heavily!" Wei Zhongxian tried his best to hold back his laughter, and then patiently explained to Emperor Tianqi that the members of "Nei Cao" were eunuchs, not regular troops, and of course their purpose was not to march to the border to kill enemies and defend the country—"Nei Cao" Fuck" was set up to deal with officials in the DPRK! "In order to clarify the administration of officials in the court, arrest dereliction of duty officials, and protect the Long Live God—" Of course, he chooses to speak nicely, and of course he will not say honestly that "internal manipulation" is essentially his personal force, which is dedicated to extinguishing the voices of opposition and killing those who oppose him. "A big backing of the ruling, and in the future, he will serve for him to seize power... And he also had to convince Emperor Tianqi to review it in person, because, in this way, this "internal exercise" became an organization presided over by Emperor Tianqi himself, and had a legal status! The matter is not difficult at all, he thoroughly understands Emperor Tianqi's disposition, knows what kind of words can impress the "Dragon Heart" - after holding back a smile, he said solemnly: "The team carefully trained by the servants, after the drill, Sha is beautiful; 10,000 'internal practitioners' lined up in a neat formation, send out an order, and immediately change the formation, it looks like a kaleidoscope!" Sure enough, Emperor Tianqi was coaxed into a smile, excitedly presided over this grand review and exercise in person. But Wei Zhongxian's words were not deceiving Emperor Tianqi - this exercise was really beautiful like a kaleidoscope. The eunuchs who were selected to participate in the "internal exercise" were all physically fit and handsome, and each wore a brand-new high crown, five-color brocade clothes, cloaks, snow-white boots, and long knives. Riding horses, arranged in a neat and consistent team, at first glance, it is already very spectacular; then, with the sound of orders, the whole team quickly changes its formation, suddenly forming plum blossoms, sometimes stacking mountains, sometimes waves, and sometimes waves. In a chain - the colors on the men and horses are transformed into colorful colors under the sunlight and the change of the team, which makes the eyes dazzled and suspicious. Emperor Tianqi, who was sitting on the dragon chair, was dazzled by the sight, subconsciously clapped his hands vigorously, and shouted: "It's beautiful! It's beautiful! It's a good performance——" Then, he said to Wei Zhongxian: "It really looks good! There are great rewards!" He handed over the power of awarding to Wei Zhongxian, and asked Wei Zhongxian to reward those who performed "merit" for him; and he himself gained more—this "internal exercise" exercise brought him a new experience. Inspiration for woodworking. He finished the idea the next day, then started to draw the pattern, and started construction a few days later... After some time, this new work was completed. The wooden utensils displayed on the table are a shrunken Daming Palace, and soldiers and horses are also being practiced in the square of the palace; the lifelike puppets form the "internal training" team, which can also change formation like a kaleidoscope, which is eye-catching There is no time to give; the white boots on the puppet's feet emit a compelling blue light as they move. Emperor Tianqi was very satisfied with this work. He manipulated the puppet himself every day, and the changes of advance and retreat were all pinched tightly without any mistakes. Therefore, it reached a visually beautiful level, even more beautiful than a real person's performance; He was never tired of it, and forgot to sleep and eat, so he didn't notice at all that the real members of the "internal exercises" organized and trained by Wei Zhongxian had already started to walk out of the palace to deal with people who were dissatisfied, disrespectful or disloyal to Wei Zhongxian in their hearts. A more brutal bloodbath. The "White Boot Captain", named after wearing white boots, has become a title that represents terror. Wherever he goes, everyone's expression changes when he hears it; Talk about any word about Wei Zhongxian, so as not to be discovered by investigation, captured and imprisoned, and tortured; It's unlucky. If it's serious, it's like Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou's tragic death in prison, or it's like Zhao Nanxing's loss of office and dismissal; more strictly speaking, now, the only way is to join Wei Zhongxian and become a member of the eunuch party. Otherwise, he will be arrested by Captain White Boots at any time and punished to death! In the whole world, only Emperor Tianqi was left who didn't know the power of Captain White Boots. He held the puppet of Captain White Boots in his hand and performed various formation changes. Fun, most special and most fascinating game. As the same country and one monarch, he and Nurhachi presided over different forms of "drilling soldiers and horses" at the same time, and the goal of "eliminating the Ming Dynasty" to be achieved is also the same, but the form is slightly different: Nurhachi used "the enemy's foreign invasion" His identity invaded southward and westward all the way from Liaodong, and Emperor Tianqi authorized Wei Zhongxian to play the role of moth, accelerating the decay of the empire that had begun to decay since the Wanli Dynasty, and turned it into a pile of powder. The puppets he made, the internal exercises trained by Wei Zhongxian, and the Eight Banners force established by Nurhachi were all colorful and dizzying when they were practiced, but they all became the soul-defeating banner of the Ming Dynasty. However, the only military exercise held to protect the remaining lives of the Ming Dynasty was shabby due to the lack of funds and materials. Only the superhuman willpower of the person in charge could persist. go down. That was Ning Yuan who was on the front line against the enemy... The summer of this year is the first anniversary of the completion of Ningyuan City; over the past year, the hard work of Yuan Chonghuan and all the soldiers has yielded concrete results. The found place to live and live, began to settle in the city, cultivated and cultivated, gathered and settled down, and then business travelers also began to communicate, selling goods and buying goods, trading operations, and the market flourished, gradually making Ningyuan City a rich place, far and near Hope for paradise. Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan asked Sun Chengzong to support his plan to restore Jinzhou and Youtun cities that had been rejected. This time, Sun Chengzong agreed. Jinzhou, Youtun, Songshan, Xingshan, and the Da and Xiaoling Rivers all began to be restored, and troops were stationed to link up with Ningyuan City as a solid line of defense—once the city walls in these places were repaired, Ningyuan would no longer be a A lonely city. Braving the scorching sun, all the soldiers once again sweated and worked hard to build... Yuan Chonghuan's most gratifying situation appeared: everyone under his command worked hard and did their best; every task and every project in his plan was completed ahead of schedule! In the most difficult environment, because of people's concerted efforts, they showed their greatest potential and completed an almost impossible task; he was so moved that tears filled his eyes, and he said repeatedly to all the soldiers: "Everyone is really Ming Ming. The cornerstone of the dynasty! Defending the people of the country is all paid for by your blood and sweat!" He was so excited that he wanted to bow deeply to all the soldiers, and at the same time sincerely said to all his subordinates: "In front of the enemy, building a city is only the first step in protecting the country. From now on, we must work harder to defend the city. , so that the enemy will no longer annex our land and people of Ming Dynasty!" The road ahead is very long and rugged, and the days ahead will be even more difficult. He who chooses to defend the country needs a stronger will and more indomitable perseverance, and also needs a partner who works hard with him; he is not I don't understand, using my mere troops and meager supplies, and these cities repaired in the most frugal way to resist Nurhachi's mighty Eight Banners is really no different from mantis arm blocking a car; but even mantis arm, He also has to stretch out to resist foreign enemies. A tragic air rose from his chest: "I will do my best! I will do my best!" He used this to encourage himself to make his will more resolute and stronger, so that he can become a pillar and support the sky that is about to collapse! However, when he faced Sun Chengzong, what he heard was another voice. Sun Chengzong said sadly to him: "News come in every day that Wei Zhongxian is getting more and more outrageous, and Long Live Lord has completely become his puppet, letting him do whatever he wants; as for the old man, the situation is even worse—— Those who criticized him became more and more aggressive, and even implicated Ma Shilong, accusing him of being greedy and slandering; Alas! Who doesn't know the truth of "Xiangzhuang's sword dance is aimed at Peigong"? It's just to ask the old man to resign! " This statement was of course a great blow to him. He was silent for a long time, and then gently comforted him: "My lord, let the people of the country be in mind, bear with it a little longer!" But Sun Chengzong responded with a wry smile: "Which dissident can Wei Zhongxian tolerate for the people of Jiangshan?" However, after all, he is not a person who is weak in nature and does nothing. He has long had excellent views on the defense of Liaodong, and he has also made overall considerations. Even if he is no longer in position, he still has a lot to do. Subordinates execute. He solemnly said to Yuan Chonghuan: "Let's not talk about personal stay - according to the old man's guess, Nurhachi has moved to Shenyang for a while, I am afraid that everything that should be ready is ready; the next step is the time to use troops; If he comes to attack the city, your Ningyuan will bear the brunt, so you must prepare early!" As he said that, he decisively gave instructions: "You can move these 'red cannons' to Ningyuan. Houjin's Eight Banners Army is coming, and they can always block it for a while!" The "Red Cannon" was bought from a foreign merchant ship, and its power is much stronger than that of homemade firearms; however, Sun Chengzong has not used it himself, so it is not very clear how powerful it is, so he deliberately He also assigned a subordinate proficient in firearms manufacturing to serve under Yuan Chonghuan. Then, when the "cannon in red" was transported to Ningyuan City, he also made a special trip to Ningyuan in person, personally presided over the military exercises of the soldiers, and personally reviewed the soldiers and horses. The garrison of Ningyuan City is only more than 10,000 in total, and the horses are less than 3,000. They are so poor that they can't even reach the ratio of "horse three steps and seven". The armor and weapons are even more insufficient, and the military uniforms on the soldiers are all shabby; but, These more than 10,000 soldiers are all full of energy, full of vigor, majestic and orderly steps, and solid and powerful movements, which makes the whole army show high morale, courage and courage. Seeing Sun Chengzong nodding frequently, he praised and said: It’s hard for everyone!” At the same time, he also praised Yuan Chonghuan: "It is indeed a good job! Although the number of the whole army is small, all of them are heroes, and they can count as ten! If the enemy army comes, it will definitely retreat in defeat!" Of course, his words are not without the intention of comforting and boosting confidence - this is the only thing he can do for Yuan Chonghuan and Ning Yuancheng... And the fact is just as he expected... Only two months after Ningyuan's review and exercise, Sun Chengzong resigned from office. The actual reason is, of course, that Wei Zhongxian controlled everything and made him unable to settle down, but the fuse was that Ma Shilong, whom he reused, made a mistake in his actions, and was caught by the eunuchs, who then pursued and attacked him. , forcing the two to take the initiative to go... Ma Shilong is a native of Ningxia. He had a hereditary military position and won the martial arts exams, so he successively served as guerrillas in the Xuanfu; in the second year of Tianqi, he was promoted to the deputy commander of Yongping. He who is extraordinary is regarded as a rare general, and since then he has been in the officialdom. Sun Chengzong first recommended him to be the governor of the department and the commander-in-chief of the three camps; when he left the town of Liaodong, he promoted him to be the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan to lead the central part, and transferred Wang Shiqin and You Shilu to lead the northern and southern divisions. ; In the first month of the second year, he won the honor of bestowing Shang Fang with the sword and the title of the government; and Ma Shilong also kept this feeling of knowing him in his heart, and tried his best to repay him; all the tasks entrusted by Sun Chengzong worked tirelessly and tried their best He even cooperated vigorously with Sun Chengzong's plan to guard the outside of the pass and support Yuan Chonghuan's construction of Ningyuan; after the completion of Ningyuan City, he also personally visited Ningyuan and other five cities with Yuan Chonghuan. The title of the right governor. However, worldly affairs always depend on each other. Since he was promoted and valued by Sun Chengzong, he was regarded as Sun Chengzong's man in the court for granted. Once someone wanted to attack and frame Sun Chengzong, he would take it for granted. Bear the brunt of it. There are so many memorials attacking and slandering him, and Sun Chengzong spent a lot of effort to resist him; of course, he himself also tried his best to deal with this dilemma, and as a general, the best "stop slander" The method is of course meritorious deeds—his weakest point, and the thing that is most likely to be criticized by others, is that he has no proud military exploits, and he has risen to the top thanks to Sun Chengzong's promotion... Since hard thinking has gained, he must of course put it into action as soon as possible to build up his military exploits to deal with the attack from the DPRK. Come September, the opportunity presents itself. A descendant, Liu Boxian, came to advise him and offered him a strategy to attack the enemy's city. Liu Boyi said that he was familiar with the real situation of several small cities that had been occupied by the Houjin Kingdom, and provided information: "Since Yaozhou City fell into the hands of the Houjin Kingdom, the Han people have been dissatisfied with it, and they have already organized in secret. Every day, the incident was carried out, the officials and soldiers of the Houjin were executed, and the banner was restored; and several guards of the Houjin had disagreements with each other, and they fought with each other from time to time. As he spoke, he took out a roster from his bosom, and what was written on it was the list of "righteous people" who had vowed to attack and kill Houjin officials together. Ma Shilong took it over and saw that there were thousands of people, and he cried out in his heart: "Isn't this a golden opportunity?" Liu Boyan suggested to him: "Your Excellency, immediately send troops to attack Yaozhou, so as to reap the merits of the cooperation between the inside and the outside!" He even showed a compassionate expression, and moved Ma Shilong with morality, mission, and responsibility: "The righteous people in Yaozhou are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and intend to raise an issue against Hou Jin; but the people are not regular troops after all. The opponent of Jin Garrison will be an eternal regret! If your lord sends troops to attack the city and cooperates with the inside and outside, you will have a very good chance of winning - as the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, it is his duty to save the people; let alone sit idly by and let the righteous people of Yaozhou take risks Difficulty, deal with Houjin with bare hands!" Of course Ma Shilong was moved. He called his subordinates to discuss it, and everyone agreed that such a "combination of internal and external cooperation" is indeed 100% sure. So, he immediately decided to send troops. The person responsible for this sure-fire task finally selected the forward lieutenant Lu Zhijia and the participating general Li Chengxian to lead 3,000 troops to attack Yaozhou. At the time of departure, all the people raised their emotions to the highest point in the sound of wishing the flag a victory, and the ceremonies of swearing in and sacrificing the flag were carried out with joy and encouragement. Unexpectedly, on the second day after the team set off, what came back was bad news... The team crossed the river from the Empress Palace and attacked Yaozhou at night, but they were defeated in the Liuhe River. More than 400 soldiers were killed, more than 600 abandoned armor, and the rest surrendered—there were no survivors of the 3,000 troops! After receiving the report, Ma Shilong was of course like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, which made him dumbfounded on the spot. After a while, he thought of sending someone to Liu Boxian to ask questions, but where is Liu Boxian in the whole camp? He came to his senses, and when he came to his senses, his whole body trembled and he sweated profusely: "I've fallen for Nurhachi's tricks!" It was too late to repent, the only thing he could do was to bare his upper body and kneel in front of Sun Chengzong to plead guilty: "The last general made a mistake in a treacherous trick, and he will hurt your lord more and more!"