nanming man

Chapter 75 Under the Plague

Drought, thieves, plague, and barbarians were the main problems faced by the Chongzhen court in the last years of the Ming Dynasty.

They intersected and woven into a big net, tormenting the Ming court, binding the Ming dynasty tighter and tighter, and finally strangled the Ming dynasty completely.

The barbarians emptied the treasury of the Ming Dynasty and raised taxes on the people, which made the Ming Dynasty unable to provide relief when it was facing a severe drought.In turn, natural disasters, rogue bandits, and plagues consumed Daming's vitality and made Daming even more powerless to face the barbarians outside the pass.

This time Li Zicheng conquered the Yellow River, flooded the girders with water, and killed millions of souls. Within hundreds of miles, there were swollen and rotten corpses everywhere. A great plague arose because of this, and the source of the disease was carried by the refugees. Rapidly spread to the four directions.

A disease more terrifying than a drought swept through Zhongzhou in a very short period of time and spread to Shaanxi and Jiangnan.

In Tongguan, Shaanxi, the plague has spread here. Every day in the military camp, officers and soldiers are infected with the disease, and people continue to die. This makes the city of Guan a sense of despair, and the soldiers become numb and lifeless amidst the constant deaths.

Inside the pass, in a ravine, puffs of thick smoke spiraled up. Officers and soldiers wearing red cotton armor covered their faces with thick cloth, and in groups of two, they were throwing corpses down the ravine for burning.

At this time, Sun Chuanting, the supervisor, was wearing iron armor, an iron helmet on his head, holding a sword in his hand, staring at the fallen corpses with tired and sunken eyes, and his heart was very heavy, "How many people died today."

"Return to the supervisor, there are 17 people." A general replied with his fists clasped.

"How many people are infected?" Sun Chuanting didn't show sadness or joy on his face.

"There are two more tents of soldiers in the standard battalion, and they are all infected." The general said sadly: "There are also several tents of soldiers infected by Zongbing Zheng."

Sun Chuanting's heart tightened. The total number of troops under his command was more than ten thousand. If this continues, Qin's army may lose half before fighting the intruders.

"Is the doctor's medication effective? Has there been a cure?" Sun Chuanting asked in a deep voice.

The general sighed, "Master Supervisor, the medical officer prescribed a lot of medicine, but nothing improved."

Sun Chuanting was silent for a while when he heard the words, he glanced at the distance, landed in a valley, suddenly pointed there with his finger, and said in a cold voice: "Zhang Qianhu, do you see that valley? You have people build some tents there, and you will be infected. All the soldiers are placed there, no one is allowed to enter or leave, and if there are any sick people in the camp, they will be sent away immediately."

Zhang Qianhu's name was Zhang Zhen, and he was a hereditary Qianhu officer of the Qin Army. He was terrified when he asked, and understood that Sun Chuanting wanted to abandon his sick brothers and wanted them to fend for themselves.

Zhang Zhen was shocked, but there was nothing the medical officer could do, and Sun Chuanting had no choice but to take this countermeasure. Zhang Zhen was silent for a while, then raised his spirits and clasped his fists: "I understand."

However, Sun Chuanting's expression became serious, and he continued to order: "Soldiers who have entered the valley are not allowed to leave the valley without authorization, and those who flee without authorization will be directly punished on the spot. In addition, from now on, Tongguan will be closed, and no one from the east will be allowed to enter the pass to prevent disease. diffusion."

"Yes, I'm taking orders from a lowly position!" Zhang Zhen clasped his fists in a deep voice.

At this time, a cavalryman suddenly galloped down the hillside, got off his horse in a hurry, climbed up the hill in a hurry, and knelt down on one knee behind Sun Chuanting: "I report to the supervisor, your majesty hastened to let the supervisor leave the pass quickly to meet the intruders." !"

Sun Chuanting couldn't help trembling when he heard the words, but he didn't turn around.

Zhang Zhen turned around and took a few steps forward, picked up the order that the cavalrymen had raised above their heads, and turned around to present it to Sun Chuanting.Sun Chuanting didn't take it, but looked up, staring at the smoke and dust of the burning body with wandering eyes, as the heat rose slowly, it covered the sky and made the sky gloomy~

In the 15th year of Chongzhen, in July, the peace negotiations were leaked, and Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, was imprisoned. In September, although several scholars launched a rescue, they said, "According to the law of the country, the enemy's soldiers are not thin and the city does not kill Da Sima." But Chongzhen Annoyed that Xinjia had exposed the peace talks, he beheaded Chen Xinjia in the city on September [-].

Chen Xinjia died, and the Ming Dynasty lost the possibility of peace talks with the Qing Dynasty.

On September 15th, [-]th year of Chongzhen, the land of Liaodong was already covered with snow. This year's snow fell earlier than in previous years, which completely disrupted the farming season. It is expected that next year will be another disaster year.

In Shenyang City, in the Manchu Palace, several large candles were lit around the main hall, and a brazier was set in the center, making the temperature feel scorching hot.

On both sides of the main hall sat a group of men full of hostility. Their scalps were all bald, with only a small piece of hair the size of a copper coin and a three-inch long braid on the back of their heads.

They were all wearing cotton clothes snatched from the pass, and a brocade robe over them. There was a large pot of boiled meat in front of them, and a dagger was directly inserted into the fat, looking very rough and barbaric.

On the main seat of the main hall, there is a person sitting, a little white and fat, it is Huang Taiji, the chieftain of the Qing Dynasty. Compared with the group of full-faced generals below, Huang Taiji's expression is undoubtedly relatively kind, with only a pair of inverted triangle eyes. It looked very sinister.

His white and chubby figure makes him look very kind, but in fact he has fought in the battlefield for many years and killed hundreds of demons with his own hands.

"I recently got the news that Chen Xinjia, the master of harmony, has been beheaded by Chongzhen. It seems that the peace talks in the Southern Dynasty are not sincere enough, and I am still a little unconvinced." Huang Taiji has no expression on his face, and his emotions and anger are invisible, so that the people below don't know him. idea.

When Chen Xinjia was imprisoned in July, Huang Taiji got the news through careful work.From then on, while waiting for the Ming Dynasty's further handling of Yihe, he actively prepared and was ready to enter the Kou Pass again at any time.

Now that Chen Xinjia was dead, it undoubtedly gave him an excuse, and he could claim that the Ming Dynasty had no sincerity in the peace talks, so he deliberately played tricks on him, and then went to the pass to rob.

"Khan, we wiped out more than [-] thieves in Songshan, and captured the bird supervisor. Nan Chao is not convinced, so let's beat him up again." Belle Abatai laughed loudly.

The people on both sides also laughed, each of them was so arrogant that they no longer took Ming Dynasty seriously.

Sitting on the side, Dorgon said speculatively: "Since we have won the Battle of Songshan, I don't think there is any need for peace talks at all. Just continue the fight and win Beijing is not a problem."

Duoduo and others quickly echoed, threatening to take Beijing and conquer the Ming Dynasty, and they were dissatisfied with Huang Taiji's cautiousness.

"Okay!" Huang Taiji waved his hand to tell everyone to shut up, squinted his eyes at Dorgon, and said with a gloomy look in his eyes: "This year, the snow falls early, and the weather is abnormal, and next year's harvest will be affected. The thieves are fighting against the Ming thieves in Henan, and Li Zicheng is just a mob. I cannot let the Ming thieves wipe out Li Zicheng. In addition, according to detailed reports, the Ming State intends to build ships in Denglai, Shandong. If they want to contain me, I cannot let the Ming thieves This plan is successful, and it is decided to declare it in the near future.”

Huang Taiji didn't really want to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, he just wasn't as impatient as the others, and he knew that the time to destroy the Ming Dynasty hadn't come yet.

Since his ascension to the throne, he has launched five entrance battles, and even broke through Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, but he chose to withdraw in the end because he believed that the time was not yet ripe, and the Manchus could not gain a firm foothold in the pass.

When everyone heard about the Ming Dynasty, they immediately became a little excited. The Ming Dynasty is now their back garden, and they can go directly to get anything they need.

"Khan, I am willing to be the vanguard and take the lead in breaking through the customs." Abata stood up excitedly.

Huang Taiji smiled on his face, "I will take you as the appointed general to preside over the expedition. But you have to be clear that this expedition has three purposes. Thieves, so that the Ming thieves can't deal with the Liu thieves with all their strength, and the third is to hit Shandong and burn the shipbuilding of the Ming thieves. Do you understand?"

Huang Taiji's thinking was very clear, and what he said was very clear. Abate immediately accepted the order with a smile, but Dorgon and others beside him were a little displeased.

At this time, Huang Taiji took a look at everyone, then stood up, waved his hands and ordered, and said loudly: "Okay, I will pass on my will, and the day will be clear~"

Many Manchurians were gearing up and eager to try~
(End of this chapter)