weaving

Chapter 211

This victory is only four months since the last time the Meridian Gate sacrificed prisoners, but its significance is not the same.

The last time, it was mainly to boost the morale of the army, and only Jialazhangjing of the Qing army was captured, and only a few hundred heads of the Qing army were captured.

But this time, the Qing army has completely retreated, and Gyeonggi once again returned to stability and peace. What's more, the one who captured and killed this time was the banner leader Belle Yuetuo, the commander of the Qing army inlaid with a red flag, and the Qing army's Jia Lazhangjing and Niu Luzhangjing. Members, thousands of heads of Qing soldiers.

Its scale far exceeds the previous great victories against the Qing army. It can be described as a miracle in the world.

…………

Amidst the cheers of the people in the capital, Chen Xinjia, Zhang Cheng and other generals escorted the body of the slave chief Yuetuo to the gate of Daming. He was tied high on a cart and wore his gilt armor. He stared at the people of the Great Ming capital with unrepentant eyes.

After that, there were dozens of carts, full of heads of Qing soldiers, and captured banners, golden drums, armor and weapons. The scene was extremely shocking!
Here, the mighty Han generals stood guard on both sides, passed through the Daming Gate, and went straight to the square in front of the Meridian Gate. Each of them was only allowed to bring a hundred soldiers. Xuanda and dozens of generals from Shaanxi led the Thousands of officers and soldiers lined up outside the Meridian Gate.

Emperor Chongzhen had already been waiting here, and the officials in Beijing even stood on both sides and waited for each other.

When Lu Xiangsheng's coffin came up, Emperor Chongzhen groaned as he supported the coffin, weeping uncontrollably. The eunuchs and ministers were all beside him to comfort him in a low voice, asking the emperor to take care of the dragon's body.

Yang Sichang bowed and stood behind Emperor Chongzhen, also crying like rain, seemingly crying very sadly, Zhang Cheng saw it in his eyes, and was quite moved by his appearance.

Seeing everything in front of him, Zhang Cheng looked up at the sky, with tears in his eyes:
"Director, have you seen it? You deserve all of this!"

In front of the Meridian Gate, after the grand victory ceremony, the body of Zhenbei Le Yuetuo, the slave chieftain of the Qing Dynasty, was sent to the Taimiao, and the heads of the Qing soldiers were transported to the West Market to build a Jingguan.

On that day, the capital had a carnival, and the people were boiling for a long time!
…………

On the same day, after the victory ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen gave a banquet to Chen Xinjia, governor of Xuanda, Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, and Zhang Cheng, a guerrilla in Xuanzhen, in the imperial garden. He also called the cabinet Xue Guoguan and Yang Sichang to accompany the banquet.

While the monarchs and ministers in the imperial garden were feasting on the celebration banquet, the people of the capital were also in a carnival, especially in the place where the heads of the West City were piled up, there were so many spectators that it was difficult to squeeze a seat.

And the officials of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Officials, and the Ministry of Rituals are also busy discussing nervously, how to appraise the merits of the various kings and generals, and how to reward them?
Of course they can't decide, but at least they have to come up with approval standards and a reward plan for adjudication.

In the imperial garden, Emperor Chongzhen expressed warm words of encouragement and condolences to Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia, Zhang Cheng and other great heroes in his mind. .

…………

On March 12, 24th year of Chongzhen, in the Forbidden City, Beijing, in the imperial palace.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen was carefully reviewing the previous list.

The Qing army retreated, and the ruling and opposition parties breathed a sigh of relief. After the victory at the Meridian Gate yesterday, the related aftermath matters were in full swing. Those who made meritorious service needed to be rewarded, and those who died in accidents also needed to be punished.

Emperor Chongzhen ordered Yang Sichang, a cabinet minister, to lead the officials to lower rewards and punishments. Yang Sichang reported the five incidents of the accident, namely, the loss of opportunity to defend the border, the ruin of the city, the loss of feudal feudal feudal feudal lord, the loss of the commander, and the support of soldiers to wait and see.

The final result was determined, Zheng Xizhao, the director of Jizhen, Sun Maolin, the sub-supervisor, Chen Zubao, the governor of Shuntian, Zhang Qiping, the governor of Zhending, Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, Zu Kuan, the general of the aid and suppression, etc., went down to the divisions of the prefectures and counties. 36 people died, and more than [-] people were demoted.

The former Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, Liu Yuliang, who asked himself to inspect the army, was also dismissed, and he was ordered to return to his original place immediately. The original assistant Xue Guoguan was finally promoted to the position of Chief Assistant.

Emperor Chongzhen basically had no objections to the punishment list drawn up by Yang Sichang, except for a slight adjustment.

However, Emperor Chongzhen pondered for a long time about the list of rewards, and finally called Yang Sichang to speak.

"Zhang Cheng has made so many great achievements, but he only actually taught the avant-garde commander of the Xuanfu, and acted as a guerrilla guard for the Shangbei Road in Xuanzhen?"

Pointing to Zhang Cheng's name on the award list, Emperor Chongzhen was full of doubts and asked Yang Sichang to explain.

Zhang Cheng was originally in the guard system, and his family had a hereditary military position in Xuanzhen. However, his father was weak and studied hard, so his uncle Zhang Yan inherited the military position, and he was promoted to a general through hard work.

And after Zhang Cheng joined the army, under the care of his uncle, he was also promoted to the commander of the cavalry.

But for Zhang Cheng's astonishing feats of killing Ma Zhan and Yue Tuo repeatedly, no amount of rewards can be overstated!

Now, to be able to guard Xuanzhen all the way with the guerrilla position is already a high-ranking low-level assignment, and the only difference is the title of a general.

In addition, Zhang Cheng's title of being the best of the three armies was given by Emperor Chongzhen himself. Even for the sake of the emperor, Zhang Cheng, who guards the whole way, should at least appoint a general, even if he appoints a deputy commander. Pass.

Faced with Emperor Chongzhen's question, Yang Sichang hurriedly said respectfully: "Returning to the emperor, this humble minister's intention is also to preserve my loyal and brave general of the Ming Dynasty."

Seeing that Chongzhen was listening carefully, Yang Sichang continued: "General Zhang has done a lot of meritorious service, but he is young and inexperienced, and his sudden rise to a high position will make him arrogant.

If you don't remember his achievements temporarily and let him continue to practice, General Zhang is a person who knows the general situation, and he will be able to understand the imperial court's intention of preservation. "

Emperor Chongzhen's face paled slightly, he paced slowly in the pavilion, Yang Sichang's words reminded him.

Although Zhang Cheng is commendable for his loyalty and bravery, Fang Zhi is 22 years old and has already been promoted to a high position as a commander of the guard.

If he builds new achievements in the future, and the news of success comes, according to Zhang Cheng's performance, it is not impossible. At the end of the day, there will be nothing to seal, nothing to reward, what should we do?
As early as after the Battle of Mafang, Emperor Chongzhen had paid special attention to Zhang Cheng, and then the victory of Shiqiao and the sacrifice of captives left a deep impression on Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen also had an in-depth understanding of the later battles between Gaoyang and Huolu. Even the defeat of Julu was due to the disparity in strength, and it was not a crime of war.

Moreover, Zhang Cheng not only fought bravely, but also was quite resourceful. During Lu Xiangsheng's army, he made many suggestions and suggestions.

Daming has generals like this, Emperor Chongzhen feels somewhat comforted, it’s not like Daming didn’t dare to fight good generals
However, if Zhang Cheng is too outstanding, it is not good. If the reward is too high this time, not only may he be coquettish and arrogant, but it may also make other generals jealous, which will be detrimental to the country.

If Zhang Cheng is appointed as a general or deputy commander now, not to mention the vacancy of Xuanzhen, he is so old, he suddenly occupies a high position, and he is under the command of a heavy army, which is followed by unpredictable ambition and ambition. delusional.

Will Zhang Cheng still be so loyal to the court?
(End of this chapter)