Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 94 I'm Coming

"What, your Majesty has personally led the troops here?" Zhou Yuji was shocked when he heard this and said, "Your Majesty has a body of thousands of gold, how can he come to the front line in person!"

He had emphasized before that the bandits might cross Yanmen Pass and attack the Datong line, so he suggested that the emperor go to Yanghe behind Datong so that he could feel more at ease.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen not only did not go to Yanghe, but instead came to Ningwuguan, which really worried him!
Zhu Sanle, on the other hand, saw Zhou Yuji in such a hurry, so he smiled and comforted him: "Your Majesty is not a helpless person, so there is no need to worry too much. You see, Your Majesty, he came from the capital..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Zhou Yuji running out in a hurry.Seeing his worried look, Zhu Sanle was speechless.

He originally wanted to enlighten Zhou Yuji by saying that the fact that the emperor could travel day and night from the capital to Datong showed that he was a good horseman. If there was any problem, running away would not be a problem. Moreover, Emperor Taizu had given him divine power to deal with ordinary situations. Don't panic.

He didn't believe that Zhou Yuji would not have thought of what he was thinking of, but it was obvious that the emperor valued Zhou Yuji, and Zhou Yuji was also very worried about the emperor. It was true that the emperor and his ministers cherished each other!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little envious, so he said no more and hurriedly followed out.

Three miles away from the north gate of Ningwuguan, Zhou Yuji rushed over on horseback and finally met the army led by Emperor Chongzhen. He soon saw the emperor whom he had not seen for several years.

When he first saw Emperor Chongzhen riding a horse, he recognized him at a glance, but he seemed very strange again and felt that he was not the same person in his impression.

When the Yongwei Camp was newly built and still in training in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen also wore a golden helmet and armor and rode a tall horse to inspect it.

Now, Emperor Chongzhen did not wear the golden helmet and golden armor. It seemed to be just an ordinary-colored leather armor. However, the impression he gave Zhou Yuji was even more powerful than when he wore the golden helmet and golden armor, and he exuded a heroic aura invisibly. , instead of the embroidered pillow that felt like before.

If Zhou Yuji himself was a tiger, when he first saw the current Emperor Chongzhen, he had an intuition that he had encountered a tiger that could threaten him!
It was only then that he suddenly remembered that Jin Zhensun had told him that Emperor Taizu had given the current emperor great power. It turned out to be true!The current emperor was inspired by Emperor Taizu's magic, so he had this new impression?
In front of the emperor, Zhou Yuji was stunned for a while and then came back to his senses.

He immediately thought that the emperor had traveled day and night to come to the rescue, and now he even came to Ningwuguan in person to give him the greatest reinforcement.For a moment, Zhou Yuji felt that the emperor valued him the most, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

How could I be so virtuous and capable that the emperor of today should pay so much attention to rescue me? It would not be an exaggeration to say that I did not care about my own safety!
Thinking of this, he was still a little far away from Emperor Chongzhen, so he immediately got off his horse. Even though he was wearing armor, he knelt down and kowtowed to the ground, saying loudly: "General Zhou Yuji is late to greet you. Long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live." !”

Emperor Chongzhen naturally recognized him immediately when he saw him.

This is the famous fierce general Zhou Yuji in the late Ming Dynasty. Looking at the armor on his body, you can see at a glance that there are still blood stains and traces of arrows...

Seeing him paying homage, his voice seemed to be choked with sobs. Emperor Chongzhen quickly dismounted his horse, hurried over, personally stretched out his hand to help Zhou Yuji, and said at the same time: "Thank you for your hard work, Qing Zhou, I'm here!"

Fang Zhenghua naturally dismounted and followed him. He found that in the past, the emperor was very calm when meeting anyone, either waiting for his ministers to come to pay homage, or sitting on his horse and waiting. However, this week, the emperor did not say goodbye on horseback. He asked Zhou Yuji to get up by himself, but got off his horse to help him. This shows that Zhou Yuji's status in the emperor's mind was high!
Others also discovered this, and they all envied Zhou Yuji's importance in the emperor's heart!

Zhou Yuji was helped up by the emperor. He was even more moved by such courtesy. After standing up, he still advised: "Your Majesty should not leave the capital. Your Majesty should be in Yanghe when you are on a personal expedition. This may be a battlefield, it is too dangerous! "

Emperor Chongzhen heard this and immediately laughed and said: "In today's world situation, it is the most dangerous thing for me to hide in the Forbidden City! So what about the battlefield. Back then, Emperor Taizu started from scratch and conquered the world differently. Now, so what if I do it again!"

Amid all the lofty words and ambitions, he didn’t take the battlefield seriously at all!
After Zhou Yuji heard this, especially when he saw the now heroic Emperor Chongzhen regaining his sense, he immediately felt that what the emperor said made sense and stopped trying to persuade him.Because he knew that it was useless to persuade him, the emperor was already here!

So, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, the bandits may have diverted their troops to Yanmen Pass. There will be a battlefield later. Please move to Ningwu Pass."

Emperor Chongzhen was a little surprised when he heard this, and immediately asked: "Is the bandit going to Yanmen Pass?"

If the bandits take Yanmen Pass, it means that Li Zicheng has realized that it is too difficult to capture Ningwuguan.

Zhou Yuji heard this and quickly replied: "The last general has not shown his full strength and continues to waste the rebel army. However, the rebel army may not be able to attack Ningwuguan for many days and suffer heavy losses, so he wants to use a two-pronged approach and continue to attack Ningwuguan with the main force. And send partial troops to bypass Ningwuguan."

As soon as he heard this, Emperor Chongzhen felt that the countermeasures he had taken before setting off might not work. The situation had changed too quickly, so he immediately asked: "Is there any strategy to recapture Yanmen Pass?"

After hearing this, Zhou Yuji looked up at the reinforcements brought by the emperor, thought for a moment, and then nodded and said: "The general is familiar with Yanmen Pass, and there is a small road leading directly to Yanmen Pass. The current thieves should not be aware that there are reinforcements at Ningwuguan, so Over at Yanmen Pass, we shouldn’t pay much attention to it, so if we take it by surprise, there shouldn’t be any problem in recapturing it!”

Having said this, he paused and then added: "But once Yanmen Pass is recaptured, the bandits will definitely be able to confirm that reinforcements have come from Ningwuguan, otherwise they will not have the force to capture Yanmen Pass!"

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen thought about it and said: "Since the bandits have sent out a partial force, rather than letting them harass the rear, it would be better to block this partial force. If the rear can prevent chaos, it is better not to cause chaos!"

The Datong Basin is one of the granaries of Shanxi. Now that the world is in chaos, Shanxi has become a battlefield. Once the supplies of Shanxi merchants are used up and military supplies need to be transported from other places, the consumption on the road will be too great.

Therefore, it is best for farming in the Datong Basin not to be affected by the war.Moreover, the supplies from Xuanfu and Datong will be transferred to the front line, and the pressure on the road will be less!

When he thought about it, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought that if he thought this way, how could Li Zicheng not think the same way?If we guard the two key points of Ningwuguan and Yanmenguan, we will not only ensure that the rear area will not be affected by the war, but we can also send out cavalry to harass the rogue rear areas.In this way, Li Zicheng should be very uncomfortable. Wouldn't it be better than the one-sided defense in front of him?
Thinking of this, he immediately told this idea to Zhou Yuji, who had been on the front line for a long time.

After Zhou Yuji heard this, he looked at the cavalry brought by the emperor and was immediately delighted. He quickly replied: "Your Majesty is wise, this strategy is far better than passive defense!"

He himself is not a general who likes to defend. He just suffers from the lack of troops, especially without cavalry, and it is difficult to defend Ningwuguan. Therefore, no matter how many ideas he has, he cannot implement them.But the arrival of the emperor gave him more tactical options.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen and Zhou Yuji just collided and found a better countermeasure, and they were both happy.Emperor Chongzhen immediately issued an order, and the army camped outside the city to rest and supplies were sent to Ningwuguan.

........................

Everyone in Ningwuguan was full of surprises, especially the soldiers under Zhou Yuji, who were inquiring about the news.

"The emperor is really here, coming to our Ningwuguan?"

"Then it's still fake. Didn't the commanders all welcome him out? It must be true!"

"I really didn't expect that the emperor would come to Ningwuguan in person to provide reinforcements. It feels a bit like a dream!"

"No, I never thought there would be reinforcements coming to help me before, but I didn't expect that now even the emperor is here. It's like a dream!"

"..."

Except for the soldiers at the head of Ningwuguan City, who were waiting for the bandits to attack, other places, including the military camps, the injured and sick camps, were inquiring about each other's news. Even many wounded soldiers had forgotten their pain and were curious about the emperor's arrival. .

"Brother Wang, you are a veteran from the Brave Guard Camp. You must have met the emperor, right? What do you look like?"

"That's right. Of course I've met the emperor, but I'm stupid and can't tell!"

"Brother Wang, wait until we recover from our injuries. I'll pay you and treat you to a drink. Can you win? Tell me, what does the emperor look like?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Wang, tell me, we are all curious, we have never seen what the emperor looks like in our lives!"

"I...the emperor looks...ah...I really can't say..." "Brother Wang, I'm going to buy you a drink. I won't refuse. You should say that, you see, most of us have never met." Emperor, please tell me..."

"..."

The soldiers in the sick camp were all talking around a wounded man with his arms tied, and it was very lively.

Those seriously injured were lying on the bed, and those who could turn their heads turned to look. Those who couldn't, just lay there and listened.

The emperor, for them, is so high and mighty that they may never have the chance to see him in their lifetime. Now that they heard that the emperor has arrived at Ningwuguan, which is the closest to them, they naturally want to take a look. .

Brother Wang, who was too stupid to say anything, really didn't say anything. He was so anxious that his face turned red. He was just thinking about how to deal with these comrades. Suddenly his face was shocked and he stammered: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... "

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard a hearty voice coming from behind them: "Would you know what I look like by looking at it for yourselves?"

Hearing this, the wounded soldiers were shocked. Then they turned around and saw their commander at the entrance of the camp, accompanied by a man wearing leather armor. The man who had just spoken was this man with a face on his face. And looked at them with a smile.

This is the emperor?

The first thought popped up in their minds, and they froze there immediately.

Zhou Yuji saw them all dumbfounded and couldn't help but said quickly: "You haven't seen your Majesty yet?"

After being shouted at by him, these injured soldiers all came to their senses and quickly saluted with shocked expressions on their faces.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he immediately stretched out his hand and said, "The soldiers are all injured, no courtesy!"

Although he said this, most of the injured soldiers, as long as they could still salute, saluted.

This is the emperor, and the emperor has come to them!Calculating the time, the emperor should have come to visit them directly after entering Ningwuguan!
Everyone was very excited when they thought of this.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he quickly said kindly: "Without courtesy, please lie down. Don't move to the point of injury!"

Hearing his deep concern, these soldiers were even more excited and did not dare to say anything. They followed his instructions and went back to their beds.

Emperor Chongzhen started from the door, checking and asking the injured soldiers one by one about their injuries.

He found that most of the soldiers were injured by arrows, lead bullets from muskets, and stones from shelling the city wall. Of course, there were also some injuries from weapons. They should have been killed by the enemy when they rushed to the top of the city. of injuries.

It can be seen from their injuries that the battle at Ningwuguan was very fierce.

Most of the wounds were cleaned and then wrapped with cloth.Fortunately, it is only the second month of the lunar calendar and the weather is relatively cold, so inflammation is rare.Or maybe he didn't even see those who died of inflammation.

So, he immediately turned around and told the Jinyi Guards behind him: "Quickly send a message to the army doctor to bring herbal medicine over and treat the wounds of the injured soldiers again."

"According to the order!" After hearing this, the Jinyi Guards Commander in front of him responded immediately and left quickly.

Afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhou Yuji and ordered: "Anything that comes into contact with the soldiers' wounds, whether it is bandaging cloth or anything else, must be scalded with boiling water for a while. This will help reduce the number of wounds." Possibility of inflammation!”

As for disinfecting alcohol, he didn't have the conditions now, so he didn't mention it.

In short, he explained everything he knew about hygiene.

These injured soldiers were very grateful when they saw that the emperor cared about them so much and found ways to treat them, even if they didn't understand whether what the emperor said was useful or not.

After Emperor Chongzhen finished explaining, he glanced at the injured soldiers again and said seriously: "You can rest in peace and recuperate without any worries. If you can't fight again in the future, I will arrange for you to go to the local yamen to work with salary. It's not just you." , in the future, all those who become disabled while defending their family and country will have these arrangements. Don’t be afraid that you can’t do things, it’s not difficult, I will arrange for someone to teach you how to do things!”

He had considered this matter for a long time, and now he was speaking out in order to solve the army's worries, and also to further strengthen the morale of the army and boost morale.

In addition, the corruption in the late Ming Dynasty was not limited to those who were officials, especially the corruption of subordinate officials who worked underneath. It was also the group that had the greatest impact on the common people.It has always been Emperor Chongzhen's consideration to replace them with disabled veterans, and then use older veterans to replace the original subordinate staff.

Before setting off to the capital, he had said that he would reform the official system, and this was one of his ideas.

Most of the subordinate officials in the Ming Dynasty were passed down from generation to generation, and many of them were in the form of servitude and were not paid, which would inevitably make them think of ways to make money from the people.

This approach may have saved the cost of governance in the eyes of the rulers during the feudal era, but they never thought that it would just pass the cost onto the people.For future generations, it will be obvious that something is wrong and needs to be changed.

At this time, after Emperor Chongzhen revealed this arrangement, everyone was shocked.

Afterwards, the injured soldiers knelt down to thank the emperor again. To them, this was a great favor from the emperor!
Soon, as the emperor left the wounded barracks, the news spread immediately, and it immediately spread in Ningwuguan and the military camps outside.All the soldiers couldn't help but be extremely excited!
In this way, there is nothing to be afraid of in war!
A meeting was being held in the General Military Mansion of Ningwuguan. Zhou Yuji introduced the situation of Yanmen Pass and arranged the tactical deployment for capturing Yanmen Pass.

Emperor Chongzhen just listened and did not speak.

After all, among all the people, Zhou Yuji was the most familiar with Yanmen Pass and was a famous general. If he wanted to interrupt, there was no better way, so he might as well not interrupt.

If you are new to cold weapons, or fighting with a mixture of hot and cold weapons, you have a lot to learn, so it is always right to be humble.

According to Zhou Yuji's suggestion, Zhu Sanle led [-] infantry troops to sneak attack Yanmen Pass from the trail, led by his men who were familiar with Yanmen Pass.He Zan led his cavalry across the plains, attracted the attention of the defenders at Yanmen Pass, and recaptured Yanmen Pass in one fell swoop.

Emperor Chongzhen had no objection to this, so the army rested and was scheduled to set off early tomorrow morning.

As for Zhou Yuji, who was still reporting the rest of the news to Emperor Chongzhen, he heard him telling Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, when the bandits came yesterday to persuade them to surrender, they said that they had captured Zhending Mansion. If we count the time, they might We are about to attack Baoding. Once Baoding is captured, the capital will be in danger!"

This was what he was worried about. If the capital was captured by bandits, the impact would be huge.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen looked calm and replied to Zhou Yuji: "Before I left the capital, I already emphasized that the bandits would attack the capital from the south, especially Baoding. I also made arrangements, not to mention repelling the bandits. , if you guard it for a few days, there should be no problem!"

Zhou Yuji thought for a moment and then asked: "I wonder if your Majesty has issued an edict to King Qin? If the armies from all over the country can rescue the capital, they will have more time!"

Having said this, he emphasized: "The troops on the front line of Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan should not be mobilized, but the troops in Shandong and other places should be fine."

Zhou Yuji was afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would not understand, so he explained: "The captives outside the pass are fierce tigers, and they are eyeing the inside of the pass. To guard Shanhaiguan, it is very inconvenient to detour through the Mongolian grassland even to enter the pass. If Shanhaiguan is lost, the capital will be destroyed." If there is no danger to defend, the entire Yanyun land will be in danger. Therefore, the troops at Shanhaiguan cannot be touched."

(End of this chapter)