Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 9 Li Yongfang’s personal letter

It's deep cold in Liaodong, and the howling north wind is mixed with large snowflakes. The slap on the face is like a dull knife cutting flesh, which is painful.

Wrapping his cotton armor tightly, Wang Qi turned his head and looked back. The team that stretched for several miles was moving slowly on the snow. Most of the cavalry were okay. They had good armor. They had horses to take care of them when they sat down. The march was relatively easy. On the other hand, most of the infantry were trudging through the snow on foot. Most of them were still wearing worn-out cotton-padded jackets with no lining or armor. Most of these soldiers were from within the customs and were not used to this kind of warfare. Every few miles of walking in extremely cold weather, someone will fall behind. In this hellish place, once you fall to the ground, there is no chance of getting up.

Nowadays, the entire Ming court is not just the Liaodong soldiers and horses that have been destroyed to this point, but the entire Ming Dynasty has collapsed.

In fact, since the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the military system of the guard station has shown signs of collapse.

By the time of Zhengde, the momentum of land annexation across the country was approaching madness, and the garrison station whose duty was to farm was no exception. The private lands of military households were either taken over by senior generals, or they were given some saline-alkali land that could not be cultivated at all. By the end of Zhengde, , there are more than 3,000 military guards in the country, and nine out of ten military households have fled. The remaining ones who have not fled are either private soldiers of generals, or they only have names on the military rolls, but no actual population, that is, they are eating empty pay.

During the Jiajing period, the guard system was hopelessly corrupted, and the recruitment system began to be promoted.

The money and food for recruiting soldiers did not come from high-ranking tycoons or elites, but from the lowest peasants. The government imposed extortionate expropriations, the landlords were greedy, and conflicts were deep-rooted. Even so, the money and food collected went through layers of exploitation and ended up in the hands of the military. , which is only enough for food and clothing.

In Liaodong alone, there were more than a hundred mutinies and killings of officials due to Qianxiang in the past ten years.

The officers and soldiers are hostile to each other, and they are like fire and water. Where can they get the fighting power?

Seeing that most of the infantry have yellowish muscles and skinny faces, they are all hanging on with their strength. With such combat power, how can they fight against Jiannu for their lives?
  "If it weren't for the rewards promised by the imperial court and the cakes drawn by your ministers, these soldiers would never have come here to fight against the slaves. Just relying on your two sentences to kill the slaves, you can achieve temporary glory and form a long-term war. If you don't have real money and silver to fill it, it's just a daydream!" Guerrilla general Liu Qu drove his horse to Wang Qi's side at some point. He seemed to see the doubts in Wang Qi's eyes and explained.

"The soldiers of the imperial court are so weak," Wang Qi rode his horse and walked with Liu Qu, and continued: "What about the private soldiers raised by the generals? Aren't they all fat and strong, with amazing fighting power?"

"Haha," Liu Qu smiled and glanced at the guards behind Wang Qi, as if with a hint of ridicule: "Wang Baihu, the private soldiers you talk about include not only Sun Degong's more than a thousand cavalry, but also The twenty-seven riders behind you can be regarded as your private soldiers. If you think about it this way, how do you think this phenomenon is caused?"

"Thank you, General Liu, for clarifying my doubts." Wang Qi didn't care about Liu Qu's ridicule to him.

I have been wearing my hat for a long time, and if I want to take it off, it cannot be solved with just a few words.

"Applause!!!"

While the two were having a conversation, right in front of the team, a team of Ye Fushou who had just been sent out had already galloped back.

"Report!" The scout leader dismounted from his horse ten steps away, sprinted in front of several people, and bowed: "Sir, a group of slave-building troops were found in front of us. By the time our troops came forward to check, they had lost their traces, and there was only one person left. Hiding behind the forest, he took the initiative to approach my scout and presented him with a letter, claiming that he wanted to see General Sun!"

Sun Degong stopped his horse, with deputy general Bao Chengxian beside him. Liu Qu and Wang Qi stopped on the other side.

The most critical moment is coming!

Sun Degong silently thought in his heart, then took a deep breath, pretended to be calm, and ordered: "Bring the people up!" Not long after, a man wearing a floral gown and a blue jacket was pressed up by three scouts. .

"Kneel down!" The three scouts showed no mercy to him and kicked him directly at the crook of his legs. The man groaned and fell to his knees.

With a plop, his body fell to the ground, and a small braid on his head was thrown from his neck to his chest. There was a bright copper coin at the end of the braid, which was particularly obvious in the snowy night.

"Jurchen?" Sun Degong looked down at the man, looking from bottom to top, stopping at his braid for a moment and then looking away.

"I am a Han, not a Jurchen," the man raised his head and retorted sharply: "I was sent by General Li Yongfang to report to General Sun. I want to see General Sun!"

"I am Sun Degong!" Sun Degong tightened the reins, took a few steps forward, and looked at the man: "Is there anything Li Yongfang wants you to bring to me?"

"Your Excellency, is this Sun Degong?" The man was overjoyed when he heard this. Before he could reply, he first grabbed the ground with his head and kowtowed three times. Then he raised his head and cried loudly: "Our army of tomorrow has finally arrived. I'm waiting for the Han people." Being enslaved by Jianzhou, burned, killed and raped, life is worse than death. Today, my lord is here, we, the Han people in Liaodong, can be saved!"

His voice is sad and his words are sincere, making those who hear them cry and feel confused.

"Oh!" Sun Degong waved his horsewhip at this time: "How is the current situation of Zhenwu Fort and Zhenwu Fort?"

"Sir, Jianzhou's soldiers and horses have been unable to attack Zhenwu for a long time and have shown signs of decline. Lord Li Yongfang sent a message to Lord. He is now leading more than a thousand Qingqi to attack from the flank. He is coordinating from within to attack the Huangtaiji Central Army Camp. At that time, the morale of the Jianzhou army is in great chaos, then the siege of Zhenwu can be solved, and the danger of Siping Fort can be solved!!"

When the words came out, everyone was shocked.

Not only Liu Qu, Bao Chengxian and others, but the cavalry team behind them in full armor were also in a commotion, with excitement, suspicion, and shouts of abuse.

Li Yongfang wants to return to Ming Dynasty? Do you want to unite with the Ming army to attack from inside and outside in one fell swoop and defeat the Jianzhou troops?

If it succeeds, then God will help the Ming Dynasty!
  Among the people who were astonished, only Wang Qi watched with cold eyes. Not far away from his horse, he watched Sun Degong's clumsy performance, the coldness in his eyes becoming more and more captivating.

"Do you have evidence? Do you have Li Yongfang's seal?" Sun Degong bent down, his eyes rolled around, his tone was urgent, and he looked anxious as if he wanted to swallow the man whole.

"This is a letter written by General Li Yongfang! Let me hand it over to you, sir!" The man took out a crumpled letter from his body and presented it with both hands.
  Not many people know that Wang Huazhen used Sun Degong to lure Li Yongfang to surrender, but many people still know that Sun Degong was authorized by Wang Huazhen to contact Jianzhou.
  At this time, almost everyone was looking at the letter, hoping that it was really Li Yongfang's personal letter.
  Too many people are eager for a victory.

It was a victory for Ming Dynasty against Jianzhou.

(End of this chapter)