Traveling through the Ming Dynasty, as soon as you open your eyes, you will die

Chapter 14 Reorganization of the Forbidden Army
  Everyone carried Zhang Zhiji back to the palace hall.

"Go directly to the bedroom." Lu Mou ordered.

Everyone hurriedly carried Zhang Zhi back to the bedroom and put him on the bed.

Lu Mou imitated his father Chongzhen's treatment of Luo Binggong. He directly pulled a chair and sat on Zhang Zhiji's bedside with an affectionate and caring expression.

Then he looked at the panting Xiao Guogong and said: "You know about my violent collection of debts in the past few days."

Zhang Zhiji smiled calmly: "I have never borrowed money from any government office."

"I know this. I just want you to know that the current court can't even come up with the 300,000 taels of silver that King Qin paid to transfer Guan Ning to Beijing. This is a helpless move on my part."

Zhang Zhiji misunderstood again: "The emperor is in a difficult situation, and I know that. However, in the past three years or so, in order to provide food for the imperial army who have no money and food from the court, I have filled in all my savings. The imperial army has not dispersed yet. Sir, I really can't help you. If the prince needs it, then this ancestral house is left. You can take it and sell it." Then he looked at the familiar houses around him, with a look in his eyes. Deeply sad.

Good, very good, this is enough to prove that he still has a bright mind. In my heart, I am not like those bastard officials who have given up on Ming Dynasty, and I am not like Luo Yangxing, who is already at both ends. In the Ming Dynasty, there were many loyal ministers like Zhang Zhiji and Luo Binggong.

Lu Mou smiled and shook his head: "I'm not here to collect debts from you, let alone raise donations from you. I'm asking you to send troops."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiji shook his head and sighed: "To be honest with you, the prince, I have been unable to provide money and food for half a year. Now there are only 80,000 forbidden troops in name. In fact, there are only 80,000 left. And everyone is too hungry to hold a sword or a gun. Standing in line at every turn, soldiers who fainted from hunger often fell to death. It was impossible to go into battle. If it weren't for the residual power of my ancestors, the imperial army would have mutinied and looted the capital long ago. "

This is a historical fact recorded in history. No need to doubt.

"I ask the Duke to tell me whether the Forbidden Army is still loyal to the Ming Dynasty, no, Your Majesty?"

Zhang Zhiji nodded solemnly: "When it comes to loyalty to the royal family, no one in the world can compare to the Imperial Guards."

"If I give you enough money and food, well, I'll make up for half a year's salary arrears first, and I'll never default on arrears in the future. Can the Forbidden Army still fight?"

Zhang Zhiji asked doubtfully: "Now, can the emperor still have millions of silver? Can the follow-up be guaranteed?"

Lu Mou said proudly: "To be fair to the Duke, this time I collected more than five million silver in total, which is only one-third."

Zhang Zhiji punched the edge of the bed: "These moths." But in a blink of an eye, he understood that the emperor now had money in his hands.

"Just now, the prince said that the Imperial Army would be given half a year's additional military pay and food?"

Lu Mou was a little embarrassed: "I have some money in my hand, but the war is coming, and the follow-up expenses will be countless. Therefore, I can only owe the soldiers some more."

"That's enough. As long as half a year's back pay is paid, the loyalty of the soldiers will be restored again."

Alas, loyalty still needs money to cultivate. If you don’t have money, who will play with you?

"The prince said that he will never default on arrears in the future?"

"We will start making up the amount from January this year and continue distributing it without any default."

"In this way, by repaying arrears, the families of the soldiers can have food and clothing, the soldiers will no longer have to worry about anything, and their combat effectiveness can be restored."

"How long does it take to regain combat effectiveness?" Lu Mou grabbed Zhang Zhi's already heated hand and asked eagerly.

"Half a year."

Lu Mou shook his head in disappointment: "The country is about to be destroyed, it's too late." "If the prince spends money to reward the soldiers with wine and meat for ten days, he can kill the enemy in half a month."

On the 10th, it will be March 17th, and Li Zicheng has entered the palace.

"That's good, but it's too late."

Zhang Zhiji stood up suddenly, his face became rosy again, and his complexion became much better: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, as long as you give me an additional fifty thousand silver, I will keep Li Zicheng outside the Bauhinia Pass for three months."

Zhu Lumou immediately saw hope and grabbed Zhang Zhiji's hand again: "Why is the Duke so sure?"

Zhang Zhiji was not without pride: "I also know that Beijing is not a target, so I quietly hid one of my own soldiers, three thousand troops, in Xishan."

Looking at Lu Mou's surprised expression, it means that you, a fat man, also want to abandon the Ming Dynasty. He quickly explained: "The soldiers I have hidden are waiting for the emperor to decide to abandon Beijing at any time, and we will protect the emperor in his hunt for Nanjing."

Lu Mou let out a sigh of relief. "Now my father and son would rather die in battle in Beijing than fulfill the legacy of the late emperor, so that the emperor guards the country and the king dies in the country. Let the world see that even if our Ming Dynasty reaches the end of the road, it is still strong and strong."

Zhang Zhiji's eyes turned red when he heard this, and he choked and asked, "Is it true that the emperor doesn't want to hunt south?"

"No, even if we hang Beijing, we will never leave even half a step, and we will never let foreigners get involved in the Han Dynasty."

Zhang Zhiji turned over and sat up, banging the edge of the bed with his fist: "Only two of my six generations of British fathers died in bed, and I deeply regret it. God, finally gave me another chance to die in battle."

"Then how do you plan to use this team?"

"Liu Mao, the garrison at Zijingguan, is a servant born in my family and was promoted by my father. He is loyal and brave and good at fighting. But the soldiers he leads have been without money and food for four years. The soldiers have to rely on their parents to beg, and his wife The girl has to keep the door open to survive, so she has no fighting spirit. If the prince gives them 50,000 silver, and I give him 3,000 servants and order him to defend Zijingguan, he will definitely be able to block Li Zicheng's main force from Zijingguan. At least half a year.”

Lu Mou suddenly stood up and clapped his hands: "As long as we block it for half a year, there will be a way. I will give you fifty thousand, no, one hundred thousand silver. Send someone to get my handwriting immediately and collect the silver."

After saying that, he wrote a handwriting in front of Zhang Zhiji and asked a Dongchang fanzi who was following him to quickly take Zhang Zhiji's people to get the silver and send it to Xishan to follow the army to Zijin Pass.

When Zhang Zhiji saw that the prince was acting vigorously and resolutely, he also ordered his people: "Take the three thousand soldiers to Zijingguan and listen to General Liu Mao's command. I ordered him to guard Zijingguan for half a year, otherwise he will not come back to see you again." Family parents.”

"Yes, tell General Liu that in March, preferably half a year, the situation will change drastically. You must hold on."

Lu Mou was so confident that he would have a solution in half a year. That was because historically, Li Zicheng's main force came from the plague outbreak area in Shanxi. After his army entered Beijing, the plague spread to the capital.

He fought against Wu Sangui of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in Yiyishi. He was victorious at first, but in a blink of an eye, the plague hidden among the peasant army suddenly broke out. The peasant army could not even carry swords and guns, so he returned with a huge defeat.

So why were the Qing soldiers not infected with the plague? According to later generations, the fleas that spread the plague were most afraid of the smell of horses, so they were physically immune.

As long as the peasant army can be held back at Zijingguan for half a year, there is actually no need to fight to the death, and Li Zicheng's army will be wiped out.

Zhang Zhiji immediately got off the ground and stood up. His body stopped shaking and his energy returned. "I honor your orders."

"Hey, how can the young master stand up from the ground?" The old housekeeper was surprised.

Zhang Zhiji looked at himself and couldn't help laughing: "Your Majesty gave me timely help, allowing me to contribute to the country again. The disease has been cured." After saying this, he laughed heartily again. As a result, he was deprived of oxygen and fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)