weaving

Chapter 421 Reserve a way out for everything

In Chicheng Castle General's Office, Zhang Cheng discussed military affairs with the officials and generals. Yan Qingrong, Chen Zheng and others first reported the affairs of the North Road during Zhang Cheng's trip to the East Road.

Zhang Cheng opened his mouth again and said: "Yang Ge's department has repeatedly suggested to His Majesty that he would like to send our troops to Huguang and Sichuan to help suppress the bandits, but at that time our army's training was so shallow that it was difficult to fight, my commander declined many times.

But today the intruders broke into Yu Province, my soldier Chen Gel urged me again and again, but my commander couldn't delay, so I hurriedly dispatched troops to go, but my army on the North Road has just formed, and it has not yet been tempered by the battle. Good or bad is yet to be known.

As the saying goes, if you don't think about advancing, think about retreating first, and you must reserve a way out for everything.Beilu is the place where I started my career, and it is also where my foundation is. I entrust you all to protect me now, and you must work together. "

"Please rest assured, the deputy commander, we will work together to protect the North Road, and wait for the deputy commander to return from victory!"

…………

It turned out that when the cabinet minister Yang Sichang went to Huguang to supervise the division to suppress the bandits, he had privately sent a message to Zhang Cheng, asking him to step up his drills, and he might be required to lead the army to the front line of Huguang to participate in the battle against bandits.

However, the cabinet minister Yang Sichang has gone smoothly since he supervised the division to suppress the bandits. He once forced Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Li Zicheng and other giant bandits to their defeat.

But history is always repeating. Every time when the thieves are about to be defeated, there will be a turning point. After a big victory, there must be a big defeat. It has become a law.

Originally when the situation was good, Yang Sichang was also high-spirited and did not intend to transfer Zhang Cheng to lead the army, but as the situation changed rapidly, the officers and soldiers suffered repeated defeats, and it was difficult to stop the thieves, so he repeatedly asked Zhang Cheng to lead the army to help .

And the failure of the front line was attributed to the uselessness of the Sichuan soldiers and the embarrassment of the Qin army. In the end, Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, was dismissed and arrested. Successor.

In fact, in the first half of the 12th and 13th years of Chongzhen, the situation of the war against thieves in Huguang was extremely optimistic, so Yang Sichang felt that even if Zhang Cheng was not transferred, it might be okay, but now the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Only Zhang Cheng has the ability to save the crisis.

Therefore, he rushed to the imperial court several times, asking the Ministry of War to dispatch Zhang Cheng to send troops immediately, but Zhang Cheng always refused on the grounds that the army had not been trained and could not be moved lightly.

But now the situation is different, Li Chuang actually broke into Henan Province, and his momentum is growing day by day, threatening to seal off important areas, the court was shaken, and my soldier Chen Xinjia wrote to Zhang Cheng several times, asking him to send troops to Henan.

Zhang Cheng is also in an urgent situation and cannot delay any longer. In fact, he also wants to send troops to Henan to fight against the rogues.

After all, in the late Ming Dynasty, the army was the first, but the military merits were the second. But only by making military merits can one improve one's prestige and military position. Only in this way can one justifiably expand its territory and expand its strength.

Earlier, if he sent troops according to the order, he would definitely enter the hinterland of Sichuan to fight. In this way, he would be too far away from his base, and there would be too many uncertainties in wartime. After a fleeting moment, it is like a dream in Nanke.

But sending troops to Henan is different. He already has the will to control Datong and Shanxi, and Henan is connected to Shanxi, and the distance from Xuanzhen is not too far away, so he can still take care of it in the future.

What's more, now Li Zicheng happened to be there to make a fuss, but his real strength was far from being as terrifying as when he invaded the capital of the Ming Dynasty a few years later.

At present, it is only a big momentum, but its combat power is still questionable. He is the best candidate for him to test the army. What's more, at this moment, Niu Jinxing, a down-and-out man, has joined Li Zicheng's command.

It made Li Zicheng's rogue team show their political intentions that they shouldn't have. This is the root cause of the panic in the court. It can be said that Zhang Cheng sent troops to Henan at this time, and the timing, location, and harmony of people were almost all taken!
…………

In fact, there is another main content of today's topic, and that is "famine".

Since the beginning of this year, except for a few rare places such as Xuanzhen North Road and East Road, it has rarely rained in Jifu, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other provinces and cities.

There is no harvest in severe drought, and now it costs thousands of dollars for a bucket of rice. Ordinary people eat it by peeling bark, sawdust and chaff, or digging white mud from the mountains.

Especially the migratory locusts, which cover the sky after a severe drought, are even more difficult to treat. Wherever they gather, the seedlings and reeds are all gone, and even the bones of weeds are gone.

It happened that blessings are unparalleled, but misfortunes never come singly. There is a severe drought in the north and floods in the south!
In May of this year, Suzhou, Songjiang, Huzhou and other prefectures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, known as the land of fish and rice, had torrential rains day and night.

As the saying goes, after a catastrophe, there must be a catastrophe!

Every time after a catastrophe, there will be a plague. Those who are lucky enough not to die in the catastrophe will face the threat of death from the catastrophe again. It is difficult to survive, and even the whole village, town, and city will die. Not a few.

Drought also ran rampant on the East Road, but the North Road was less affected. This was mainly due to the various water conservancy facilities and field ditches that Zhang Cheng called on everyone to actively repair when he first arrived on the North Road.

In addition, there was a lot of snow on the North Road last year, but the snow on the mountains in various places melted slowly, which allowed the water volume of each stream to be maintained and basically guaranteed the irrigation needs of the various fields on the North Road.

But the East Road does not have these conveniences. Most of the farmland and cultivated land on the East Road are located in the plains. Although the drought is not as severe compared to Henan, the harvest has also been greatly reduced.

But it was still possible to maintain it so that the hungry people would not be everywhere. What's more, at this time, Zhang Cheng's forces had entered the East Road, and a large number of refugees were led by him to the North Road.

Moreover, he also mobilized grain from the North Road to the East Road. It was still the old way, using work for relief, so that the hungry people on the East Road went to build roads, build canals, and cultivate wasteland, in order to exchange for food to keep themselves alive.

Because of this, Zhang Cheng was praised as a living Bodhisattva by some soldiers and civilians!
Moreover, although the Xuanfu side was also affected by the locust plague, it was far weaker than Henan and Shanxi. What's more, it was more efficient in organizing the extermination of locusts than Henan and Shanxi.

It is precisely because of this that the soldiers and civilians on the East Road are very convinced of Zhang Cheng, and they have incomparable trust in the disciplined army of the North Road, which also makes Wu Zhizhong's recruitment of courage on the East Road smoother.

Yan Qingrong said: "Deputy Marshal, thanks to the construction of canals and water storage last year, this year's crop harvest can be guaranteed. My North Road is the least affected in Xuanzhen."

He continued with a look of pride: "According to the order of the deputy commander, I took advantage of the good harvest last year, and I bought a large amount of grain on the North Road, and the harvest is good now, and the warehouses in all the castles are full. of."

(End of this chapter)