Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 93 Miracle
At Ningwuguan, as the sun set, the Dashun army that had been attacking for a whole day finally heard the sound of Ming Jin withdrawing his troops. They immediately receded like a tide. They wished they had wings on their feet and could fly away from this mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood. land.

Many of the battlements outside the city head of Ningwuguan had been blown away by artillery. As the war ended, a group of soldiers brought bags of soil and stones to fill the gaps.

The defenders and soldiers on the front line of the war did not care about rest and immediately began to treat their fallen comrades around them.

Zhou Yuji was no exception. He broke off the arrows blocked by his armor and commanded his personal guards to participate in saving lives and rescuing the wounded.

Right in front of him, a soldier whose stomach had been stabbed by the enemy was lying in the arms of his comrade, waiting for him to take his last breath.This injury is truly irreparable.

However, this soldier, who was already dying and looking to die, seemed to have come back to his senses when he saw Zhou Yuji appearing in front of him. He struggled to get up from his comrade's arms, so he had no choice but to look at Zhou Yuji and asked: "Big Handsome, Your Majesty...is the Emperor really here?"

Two days have passed, and the fierce battle has consumed their expectations, and they have some doubts about things that sound really hard for them to believe.

They believe in their commander-in-chief, but it has been two days and there has been no new change. Could that be a way for the commander-in-chief to boost morale?
They are a little confused!

Before dying, the soldier in front of them seemed to want to find out whether the emperor had come to save them?
After hearing this, Zhou Yuji knelt down on one knee, looked level with the soldier, and then replied seriously: "Liu San, I guarantee with my life that the emperor is indeed here."

He knew each of these men who followed him in the north and south, and could call each other by name casually.Seeing another subordinate die in front of him, he felt uncomfortable.

In order for Liu San to feel at ease before his death, he took the initiative and said: "Jin Guerji will return to Datong to report our battle situation to His Majesty. It will take about four days to send troops again. If you persist, maybe you can see His Majesty with your own eyes." .When the time comes, I will be in front of the emperor to ask for merit for you, my brothers!"

Here, he lied.

The proposal he gave was for the emperor to retreat to Yanghe to take charge, rather than rush to the front line of Ningwuguan.

As a minister, he was responsible for the emperor's safety and could not let the emperor endure more dangers; however, facing his men who were about to die and hearing his doubts and desires, he went against his will and told a little lie.

We have seen too much on the battlefield, maybe there will be a miracle. In order to see the emperor with his own eyes, Liu San could survive even if he was seriously injured!

It's possible, it's really possible!

At this time, when Liu San heard his words, he couldn't help but show a longing expression on his face, as if he was imagining the scene when he saw the emperor.

Suddenly, he tilted his head and lay in the arms of his comrade, no longer moving.But there seemed to be a satisfied smile on his face!
When Zhou Yuji saw it, he stood up silently, looked down at Liu San's face for a while, and then warned: "When you report your merits, don't miss anything!"

After saying that, he walked to the next place.

After a while, Zhou Yuji stood on the top of the city and looked at the sky to the west. The sun had set and only the clouds in the west were still red.A large flag fluttered in the wind in the corner of his eye. When he turned his head slightly, he saw that it was a four-character flag with the words "Serve the Country with Loyalty", which was also dyed red at this time.

There are some holes in the flag, which must have been made by the debris caused by the artillery bombardment of the city wall.

Even so, it is still fluttering in the wind!
Zhou Yuji turned to look at the bandit camp in the distance. It seemed that it had not changed. It was still endless and there was no telling how many people there were.

However, there was no trace of fear in his eyes, but instead there was determination that he had never seen before.

If the emperor is marching in person, can there be any better reinforcements than this?This battle must be won!

At this moment, he suddenly noticed that several fast horses were galloping over from the bandit camp. They crossed the Hui River and stopped a hundred steps away from the city head.

This movement also attracted the attention of other people on the city. I wonder what this rogue is up to?

I heard the leader of the thieves shouting loudly to the top of the city: "Zhending Mansion has been captured by our Dashun army, and the capital will be captured soon. It is meaningless for Marshal Zhou to defend here. Your Highness has said that if Marshal surrenders the pass, he will be granted the title Stay tuned!"

Currently, those with the highest title in the Dashun Army are only marquises.Li Zicheng's salary as a marquis is not too high!
However, Zhou Yuji's expression only changed a little when he heard about the fall of Zhending Mansion. As for the subject of surrender and being granted a title, he seemed not to have heard at all.

"Commander Zhou, stop struggling to your death. Our Dashun army is ten times stronger than yours. How many more days can we hold on? Surrender. For the sake of yourself, your brothers and their families, you have to resist in every corner and destroy the city. !”

Zhou Yuji didn't mean to speak at all, he just reached out and took his bow from the guard.

When the thieves saw it, they immediately turned around and ran away cursing.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuji handed the bow to his personal guard again, then turned around and suddenly found that the soldiers on the top of the city were all looking at him with blank expressions.

He was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what was going on.

Just like Liu San, as two days passed, there was no news of any reinforcements, which made them a little shaken.

The fall of Zhending Mansion made them even more worried, so they behaved like this.

To be honest, Zhou Yuji didn't blame them.Now there are [-]% to [-]% casualties in the city. If it were a field battle, no matter how elite the army was, it would collapse.However, even in a city defense battle, facing such heavy casualties, it is impossible not to affect morale.

But so what?

The banner of loyalty to the country is here, this is the attitude!

Zhou Yuji looked around them, and when he was about to speak, he suddenly saw a fast horse galloping from the direction of the city, shouting loudly: "Commander, the reinforcements have arrived, Commander, the reinforcements have arrived..."

Hearing this, everyone was startled, and immediately turned their heads to look, with surprise appearing on their faces.

The long-awaited reinforcements are really coming?
Zhou Yuji himself was shocked and felt it was a bit impossible.

Because based on the distance, it was 360 miles, and the infantry took four days to reach the limit. How could it be possible to get there in two days?This is impossible!

If it is a cavalry army, it is possible.

While he was thinking about it, the fast horse rushed directly to the top of the city and reported to him happily: "Commander, three thousand Datong troops and horses, led by General Zhu Sanle, are less than three miles away from Ningwuguan!"

Behind him was a strange soldier.

After Zhou Yuji heard the report, he turned to look at the man, and heard the man immediately say: "The villain is Marshal Zhu's striker, Wu Keke, who is responsible for scouting at night."

When the surrounding soldiers heard their words, they were all very excited. The reinforcements were really coming, they were really coming!

However, Zhou Yuji was still a little strange and immediately asked: "How did you walk so fast and arrive today?"

Zhu Sanle did not have three thousand cavalry, but mainly infantry.He still knew this.

After Wu Ke heard this, he immediately replied: "Come back to Marshal, my Marshal Zhu set out four days ago according to His Majesty's order. He didn't dare to delay on the way, so he arrived at Ningwuguan today!"

"Four days ago?" After hearing this, Zhou Yuji made a calculation in his mind and immediately understood what was going on.

The emperor sent reinforcements without waiting for Jin Zhensun to report back!

When he thought of this, Zhou Yuji couldn't help but be very moved. He immediately raised his fists and saluted in the direction of Datong, and then hurried away, saying at the same time: "Let's go, I will meet your boss!"

On the top of the city, the sky was slowly getting dark, but everyone knew that there was a smile on everyone's face.It's really great!

Naturally, Wu Ke wanted to follow, but when he walked down the city and saw Ning Wucheng's men, he looked at them and smiled at him, and couldn't help but said: "Brother, do you know? The emperor has paid arrears. , more than 100 taels of silver!"

When I was in Datong, I was surrounded by colleagues who had paid their dues. It was really difficult to express my unexpected joy.Now that he came to Ningwuguan, he couldn't help but tell the unpaid wages. Otherwise, he would really feel like walking at night in brocade clothes. If he said it, he would be relieved.

No, he immediately added: "You will all be able to pay off your wages soon, brother!"

"Really?"

"heard!"

"..."

Hearing his words, the surrounding Ningwuguan soldiers couldn't help but respond one after another, with a hint of joy and expectation in their voices!

………………

One mile away from the north gate of Ningwuguan, Zhou Yuji met the reinforcements led by Zhu Sanle. Seeing the three thousand infantry troops escorting carts of grain and grass supplies, he felt even more excited. They were still far away, so he clasped his fists to express his thanks. Said: "Dashuai Zhu, thank you, thank you, thank you very much!"

Zhu Sanle did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly approached, clasped his fists in return, and said with a smile: "Commander Zhou, I don't dare to accept it. This is just following orders. Your Majesty has told me that when I go to Ningwuguan, everything will follow your arrangements. Then please tell me what to do next!"

Under the light of the torch, he saw that Zhou Yuji seemed a little surprised, so he quickly added: "Your Majesty has been talking about you and Ningwuguan, and he really attaches great importance to you. Don't shirk it, this is His Majesty's will, even though That’s the arrangement!”

When Zhou Yuji heard that Emperor Chongzhen valued him so much, and thought of the emperor leading his army to come to the rescue day and night, even a veteran who had spent his entire life in battles couldn't help but blush.This kind of kindness can never be repaid in a lifetime!
He no longer meant to refuse, so he asked first: "Are there any gunpowder and arrows among the military supplies you brought?"

In a city defense battle, long-range weapons are the most important.Gunpowder and arrows are both consumables. Even if some of the arrows can be captured, not many will survive the daily war.Therefore, he immediately asked about the situation of these supplies.

When Zhu Sanle heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "Before coming, His Majesty specifically told me, no, I brought all the gunpowder and arrows in stock in Datong, which will definitely be enough for a while."

After Zhou Yuji heard this, he couldn't help but praise, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Then, he said to Zhu Sanle: "When we enter the city later, put out all the torches to prevent the bandits from discovering the arrival of reinforcements. Do you think this arrangement is good? My men have been guarding the gate for many days and suffered many casualties." Therefore, starting from tomorrow, how about you gradually replace my men so that they can have some time to rest?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Sanle immediately laughed and said: "I originally thought that you would all replace me and let me guard it. But after listening to your arrangement, I think it makes sense. It is not easy to make mistakes, and it is not easy for thieves to find out. The army has been changed, I listen to you!"

Even though he spent only a short time with Emperor Chongzhen, he could still feel that the emperor valued Zhou Yuji.Although they are the same general soldiers, the portions are definitely different.Therefore, when he talked to Zhou Yuji, he consciously lowered his posture.In this way, the contact between the two armies became very harmonious.

………………

The atmosphere in the military tent of Dashun Army was completely different from that in Ningwu Pass. Although there were many civil and military officials present, the atmosphere was really depressing.

Li Zicheng looked at his men with a gloomy face and asked, "What's going on at Ningwuguan? Didn't you say that all the gunpowder can be used up in a few days? Why have we lost nearly 2 horses today?" Now, can the cannon on the wall still go off?"

No one spoke, so he shouted again and asked: "There must be quite a few dead officers and soldiers at the top of the city. Why are they still resisting so much?"

In the past few years, only Kaifeng City has been difficult to defeat. Everything else has gone smoothly. Especially in recent years, it has been invincible. Suddenly he encountered such an extremely hard bone. He was really annoyed.

More than 2 troops were killed. Even if it was just a miscellaneous army, it would definitely be a blow to the morale of the Dashun Army.

In the Chinese army tent, after Li Zicheng finished speaking and was silent for a while, Mianhou Yuan Zongdi came out and said: "Could it be that reinforcements have come from Ningwuguan, so the gunpowder is not exhausted and morale is still there? "

Hearing this, almost everyone turned their attention to military advisor Song Xiance, because Song Xiance had previously analyzed that the Ming Dynasty's officers and soldiers had no fighting spirit, and it was absolutely impossible for them to be together in the same boat when the enemy was pressing down, even if there was a court. The decree is mostly violated in local areas.

At this time, Song Xiance saw the eyes of the people in the Chinese army tent, and said to Li Zicheng: "There must be some change, otherwise Ningwuguan itself will never have the strength to fight again. Or maybe Ningwu Pass Guan Guan is already at the end of his battle, which is what happened in the past two days!"

At this point, in order to prove his words, he added: "In the past two days, I have carefully observed that the artillery on the city head will only be used to fight back when we bombard it with artillery. At other times, Even if the offensive was very urgent, they did not fire any artillery. Judging from this, the gunpowder must be extremely limited!"

After hearing this, Li Zicheng felt relieved and nodded and said: "The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have no fighting spirit. Only Zhou Yuji, an old dog, is still stubbornly resisting. I agree with the military advisor to explain. What about you?"

After hearing this, Liu Zongmin also came out and said: "The Ningwuguan wall is getting more and more damaged, and many gaps are too late to be filled. This shows that the manpower must be limited."

This is another detail discovered, which proves that what Song Xiance said is right.

In other words, Ningwuguan should not be able to hold on for a few days. With this understanding, the atmosphere in the Chinese military tent finally improved a lot.

However, Niu Jinxing stood up and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Highness, the army has gathered in front of Ningwuguan, and the food and grass consumption is very large. We have to transport more food and grass from Taiyuan."

When Li Zicheng heard this, he frowned again.

But before he could say anything, he suddenly heard movement outside the tent, and then saw his personal guard leading a messenger over to report: "Your Highness, Zuo Liangyu's troops are attacking Huguang, and local groups have rebelled in response. Commander Bai is under great pressure. , urgently need reinforcements!”

At this time, Zuo Liangyu claimed to have an army of one million, and the local armed forces took the opportunity to mobilize troops to respond. However, Li Zicheng's guard general Bai Wang only had 7 troops. There was a huge disparity in strength, so he urgently sent people to ask for help.

As soon as they heard this, everyone in the Chinese army tent was in an uproar, scolding Zuo Liangyu for being that mangy dog. He knew how to escape when the main force of the Dashun Army was there, and attacked again when the main force of the Dashun Army was not there. I really wanted to kill him. The body was broken into pieces!
Li Zicheng frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly called out: "Yuan Zongdi?"

"The general is here!" Yuan Zongdi responded after hearing this.

"You lead the right battalion southward to rescue Bai Wang, stabilize the situation in Huguang, and threaten Nanzhili!"

Yuan Zongdi's right battalion is one of Li Zicheng's five main field forces, and is the real elite of Li Zicheng's men.Li Zicheng sent Yuan Zongdi, obviously starting to plan for the south.

It's no wonder that in the north, except for Ningwuguan, all other places are surrendering after hearing the news.As long as he takes Ningwuguan, he will have no pressure.Most of the remaining troops of the Ming Dynasty fled to the south to eat.In this case, it is naturally reasonable to dispatch some troops to go south first at this time.

Naturally, Li Zicheng didn't know that his advance plan meant that when he was bitten by the tigers outside the pass that he ignored, his scattered troops made it difficult for him to stop the Manchu and Qing troops. As a result, he lost consecutive battles and was defeated one after another. He was defeated by the Manchu and Qing troops one by one. , there is no chance to come back again.

At this time, Yuan Zongdi stayed in front of Ningwuguan, feeling depressed. Hearing Li Zicheng's military order, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and immediately accepted the order so that he wouldn't have to spend time here.

After hearing this, Niu Jinxing added: "In this case, the pressure on food and grass will be lighter!"

Therefore, Li Zicheng planned to attack Ningwuguan for another two days to have a look, while Yuan Zongdi led the army south.

However, Zhou Yuji at Ningwu Pass did not know the inside story. He was a little worried when he saw the bandits breaking out of camp. He was afraid that the bandits would be impatient and send a partial army out of Yanmen Pass to threaten Datong, Yanghe and other rear areas.

The emperor is there, so there can be no mistakes.

As a result, he quickly sent a messenger to report to Datong, reminding the emperor to be careful of rogue thieves.

However, what he never expected was that on the third day, he had to report that the emperor himself had arrived leading the army.

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(End of this chapter)