Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 492 Black Cloud Dragon's Anxiety
After the Jiannu army left the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the whole country to come to the capital for support. Xuanfu and Datong were not far from the capital to begin with, so after receiving the order, the two armies quickly arrived in the capital. In addition to the 5,000 Datong cavalry led by Man Gui, there were also troops from Xuanfu, and Lieutenant General Hei Yunlong, as the general of Xuanfu, was also among them.

Hei Yunlong arrived in the capital a little later than Man Gui. He led an army of more than 3,000 people, including 300 cavalry and the rest were infantry. His strength was not considered strong in the army supporting the king. After all, he was only a lieutenant general and had few troops under his command. Moreover, he had to send troops to guard the border after leaving the garrison, so it was impossible for him to bring all the troops with him.

After arriving in the capital, Hei Yunlong followed Xuanfu General Hou Shilu and fought against the Eight Banners soldiers several times. The scale of the fight was not large, just a small-scale battle. However, Hei Yunlong did not gain any advantage after several times, but suffered a little loss. This made him clearly understand the strength of the Eight Banners and the huge gap in strength between the two sides.

Just as Man Gui said, it was not a big problem to rely on the troops in hand and rely on the capital as a backing to conduct a defensive battle, but the consequences of taking the initiative to attack would be extremely dangerous. The combat effectiveness of the Ming army was not as good as that of the Eight Banners, and the Eight Banners were all cavalry units. The outer periphery of the capital was a smooth road, which was very conducive to cavalry combat.

Hei Yunlong originally thought that it would be enough to just hold on to the capital, but now Man Gui brought the news that the emperor urged him to go to war, which instantly chilled his heart. Hei Yunlong was not afraid of death. He had worked his way up from a low-ranking officer to his current position. His military exploits were real. During the Liaodong War, Hei Yunlong personally fought against the Eight Banners soldiers.

As a military commander, dying on the battlefield is his fate. Hei Yunlong has long been prepared to die on the battlefield. But not being afraid of death does not mean that he is willing to die. Who would want to die if they can live? Who would want to die in vain?

Hei Yunlong's base was not far from Mangui, and he soon returned to his base. When his son Hei Mingzhong saw his father coming back, he hurried forward and was about to ask about the situation and results of the meeting. Hei Yunlong waved his hand and asked directly, "Where is the sir?"

"Father, in your tent." Hei Mingzhong said in a low voice.

"Go, prepare some wine and food, and send me to my tent later."

"Yes!"

After saying that, Hei Yunlong went to his own tent. When he arrived in front of the tent, there were two fully armed Ming soldiers standing guard outside the tent. When they saw Hei Yunlong coming, they still stood straight without any gesture of greeting. And Hei Yunlong didn't seem to be surprised by the reaction of the two Ming soldiers. Instead, he nodded slightly to them, then walked past them, lifted the curtain and walked into the tent.

As a member of the royal defense force and an officer of the rank of lieutenant general, Hei Yunlong's tent was not as good as Man Gui and Hou Shilu's, but it was not bad either.

When he entered the tent, he saw a man sitting inside, holding a book in his hand, with tea on the table, reading leisurely. But the strange thing was that the man's dress was surprising, because he was wearing a very ordinary soldier's uniform, and looked no different from the lowest-ranking soldier, but his posture was as if he was the real owner of the tent, and the actual owner Hei Yunlong seemed to be a visiting guest.

Hearing the noise, the man looked up at the door. Seeing that it was Hei Yunlong who came back, he immediately smiled, put down the book in his hand, picked up the teacup in front of him and poured a cup of tea. He smiled and asked Hei Yunlong: "General Hei, have you met Marshal Man? How is it?"

"Not very good!" Hei Yunlong looked unhappy and said this in a bad mood. He walked directly to the man and sat down. He picked up the cup of tea that had just been poured for him and drank it all. Then he put the teacup down heavily and told the man about the meeting that Man Gui asked them to attend.

After explaining the situation in a few simple sentences, Hei Yunlong could not help but curse: "I don't know what that bastard came up with, and actually asked Marshal Manchu to attack. We are lucky to be able to hold on to the current situation. If we really fight, we can't win against the Jiannu with the troops we have. If we lose the war, don't you consider the consequences?"

"Hahaha!" The man burst into laughter, as if he had heard something very funny. Hei Yunlong was stunned at first, then a hint of anger appeared on his face, but it was quickly replaced by helplessness.

"General Hei, isn't this normal?" The man poured tea for Hei Yunlong and said with a smile, "Yesterday, Lord Sun Chengzong was transferred from the capital and took only 24 riders to Tongzhou. According to the court, Lord Sun went to the capital to rescue it. What do you think of this?"

Hei Yunlong opened his mouth and was about to say something, but the words didn't come out. As a military commander, and a frontier military commander who often fought in battles, Hei Yunlong couldn't understand the problem behind this operation.

If Sun Chengzong was indeed needed to support Tongzhou, then he should have led his troops to rescue it. But Emperor Chongzhen did not send a single soldier to Sun Chengzong, but only sent him 24 Jinyiwei to accompany him.

Sun Chengzong's talent is obvious to all, and his qualifications and prestige in the court are unmatched. Since Emperor Chongzhen reinstated Sun Chengzong, he has given him many official positions and honors. A few days ago, he also gave Sun Chengzong the important task of garrisoning the capital, and issued an edict to give him great power.

From this point of view, Sun Chengzong is almost the same as the legendary Grand Marshal of the Army, but no one expected that after only a few days, Sun Chengzong was sent to Tongzhou by Emperor Chongzhen, saying that he was going to rescue Tongzhou, but how could a court official of Sun Chengzong's level only take 24 Jinyiwei to rescue? Sun Chengzong is a human, not a god, and he can't make soldiers out of beans, so what can these 24 Jinyiwei do? Not to mention encountering a large group of Eight Banners cavalry, even if it is a small group of Eight Banners, Sun Chengzong and these 24 cavalry may have to kill them all. Emperor Chongzhen did this not only to send this important official far away, but also almost let him die directly. In just a few days, Emperor Chongzhen's attitude towards Sun Chengzong changed 180 degrees, which is really puzzling.

"Sir, why do you think this is happening?" Hei Yunlong asked, looking at the man sitting opposite him.

The man was playing with a teacup in his hand. He raised his hand and pointed in a direction with a smile: "I remember that Lord Sun went to Guanning Army the day before yesterday?"

"The Guanning Army has just returned. Lord Sun has been entrusted by His Majesty to command all the troops. Isn't it natural for him to inspect the Guanning Army?" Hei Yunlong wondered.

"Yes, it's as it should be." The man nodded with a smile, then sighed, "But it is rumored that when Lord Sun arrived at the army, he scolded Zu Dashou and others. Zu Dashou and the Guanning Army were scolded until their faces turned red, but no one dared to talk back. Have you heard about this?"

"I heard about it, so what? Lord Sun is highly respected. When he was the governor of Ji-Liao in Liaodong, all the troops of Guanning Army were his subordinates. Even Guanning Army was founded by Lord Sun. People say that Yuan Chonghuan has the final say in Guanning Army and has a high prestige. But in my opinion, Yuan Chonghuan can't be compared with Lord Sun at all. When Lord Sun is around, Yuan Chonghuan has no say..."

"Yes!" The man clasped his hands and said, "Yuan Chonghuan has been imprisoned. The Guanning Army broke camp and left in anger. The court watched helplessly as the Guanning Army marched eastward. I heard that in the end they had to ask Yuan Chonghuan in prison to write a letter to persuade the Guanning Army to return."

"This shows how much prestige Yuan Chonghuan has in the Guanning Army. And now Lord Sun is in charge of all the troops. The Guanning Army's attitude towards Lord Sun is even stronger than Yuan Chonghuan's. If you were the superior, what would you think when you saw this scene?"

Hei Yunlong was stunned for a moment, and he instantly understood the answer to the other party's words.

The other party was right. Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned for his own reasons, but another reason was his great influence on the Guanning Army. Especially when the emperor's edicts were of no use and the official documents of the court's Ministry of War were ignored, the Guanning Army could actually be called back by Yuan Chonghuan with just a letter. Facing such a minister, how could the emperor not be afraid?

If Hei Yunlong were the emperor, he would certainly worry about Yuan Chonghuan's power and no longer trust him. Sun Chengzong made a similar mistake, that is, Sun Chengzong's prestige in the Guanning Army was greater than Yuan Chonghuan's. When thinking of Yuan Chonghuan, it was natural for Emperor Chongzhen to suddenly become suspicious of Sun Chengzong, so he made a decision that was completely opposite to the previous one.

"There is another thing you don't know outside the city." The man said calmly: "Sun Chengzong met the emperor after returning to the capital, and gave the emperor an idea during a private discussion."

"Give me advice? What advice?" Hei Yunlong asked curiously. He really didn't know about this. Or rather, not only him, but also his immediate superiors Hou Shilu and Man Gui didn't know about it.

The man did not keep the audience in suspense and directly recounted the conversation between Sun Chengzong and Emperor Chongzhen. Although it was not a complete repetition, the meaning, especially Sun Chengzong's plan, was clearly stated.

After hearing all this, Hei Yunlong frowned slightly. He concentrated and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh and praised, "What a good plan! What a good plan! Such a layout is simply fantastic. Once this plan succeeds, not only will the situation in the capital be resolved, but even Liaodong can be settled in one battle. By that time, Liaodong will be pacified and there will be no more border troubles. Lord Sun is worthy of being Lord Sun. Only Lord Sun has such foresight!"

"Yes! Lord Sun Chengzong is an extraordinary man. His foresight and deep planning are unmatched. He is probably the only one in the world who can come up with such a plan. Although this strategy seems a bit risky, it is actually safe in every way when you think about it carefully. Moreover, if it is implemented well, it can wipe out the threat of Jian Nu. Even if it fails, it can rebuild Jian Nu and ensure Liaodong's stability for at least ten years. What a pity... what a pity..."

Yes, it's a pity. Emperor Chongzhen was worried about gains and losses, and had neither courage nor responsibility. He did not agree to Sun Chengzong's suggestion. Instead, he sought stability and only wanted to protect the capital. He forced Sun Chengzong to stay in the capital to be responsible for its defense.

That would have been fine, but the imperial edict changed its mind just after it was issued, because after Sun Chengzong went to the Guanning Army, Emperor Chongzhen became worried about Sun Chengzong again. He was afraid that he would become another Yuan Chonghuan, so he sent Sun Chengzong out of the capital under the pretext of asking for help from Tongzhou. He didn't even give him the army, and only allowed him to go to Tongzhou with 24 riding guards.

Now Hei Yunlong finally understood why Sun Chengzong suddenly went to Tongzhou, and why Man Gui inexplicably became the general in charge of various departments, and why the emperor sent eunuchs to the army as supervisors to urge Man Gui to go to war. All these changes were due to Emperor Chongzhen.

(End of this chapter)