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

Chapter 506 Xu Xiancheng Visits the Troops

Emperor Chongzhen did not expect that the Xuanda army would be defeated like this. Even Man Gui and Hou Shilu were killed in the battle, and there were countless casualties in the army.

In such a disastrous defeat, Emperor Chongzhen did not care about the "death" of the military supervisor Lu Zhi. What he was most worried about now was whether Huang Taiji would make a comeback. With the disastrous defeat of the Xuanda army, the only capable forces in the capital were Zu Dashou's Guanning Army and Changping General You Shiwei.

You Shiwei and his troops were still stationed in Changping. He must not move anything because the imperial tombs of successive Ming emperors were there. Once Huang Taiji attacked Changping and captured the place, the imperial tombs would be disturbed, and Emperor Chongzhen would never allow such consequences.

Therefore, the only one they could rely on now was Zu Dashou's Guanning Army. However, after the Yuan Chonghuan incident, the Guanning Army had already had conflicts with the imperial court. Zu Dashou had previously just walked away with the Guanning Army. If Cheng Jiming had not given Emperor Chongzhen an idea and asked Yuan Chonghuan to write a letter to persuade Zu Dashou to come back, there would probably be no troops left to defend the capital now.

Even so, Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to trust Zu Dashou. In his opinion, Zu Dashou was Yuan Chonghuan's man. Since Yuan Chonghuan was not trustworthy, Zu Dashou was naturally not trustworthy either. In addition, Zu Dashou's previous actions made Emperor Chongzhen very wary of the Guanning Army. How could he be willing to hand over the defense of the capital to him?
But this time, Xuanda's army suffered a crushing defeat. The two main generals were all killed in the battle, and the whereabouts of the deputy general Ma Dengyun was unknown. In addition, more than 30 generals were killed in the battle. It can be said that not only were the Xuanda armies devastated, but even their main generals were gone.

"Where are the troops from other places going? When will they arrive in the capital?" Emperor Chongzhen asked weakly.

Wang Chengen, who was beside him, had no idea about this, but of course he had to answer the emperor's questions. After thinking about the news he had received from the Imperial Household Department, he immediately told Emperor Chongzhen that the troops from all over the country were already on the way and should be here soon, either today or tomorrow. Even if not tomorrow, they would arrive at least the day after tomorrow.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the troops from all over the country could arrive, it would be fine. Now he felt that the capital was too unsafe. Huang Taiji was eyeing the capital covetously and might attack again at any time. He felt uneasy without enough troops to protect him.

"Send the decree!" Emperor Chongzhen calmed down and said, "Xuanfu Lieutenant General Hei Yunlong is promoted to Xuanfu General, and given the title of Right Commander of the Rear Army Commander's Office. He is specially granted the Imperial Sword and ordered to reorganize the Xuanfu Army and lead the troops stationed in the capital to defend the king!"

"I obey your order!" Wang Chengen said hurriedly, walked to the side and quickly wrote an edict, then showed it to Emperor Chongzhen. After reading it, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and signaled Wang Chengen to use the seal and have someone send it to Hei Yunlong as soon as possible.

In this way, Hei Yunlong suddenly became the highest military commander in Xuanfu from a lieutenant general, and because Man Gui died in battle, he also led the Datong Army, which means that the Xuanfu Army was headed by him. In addition, Hei Yunlong was also given the title of Right Commander-in-Chief. Although this position was a nominal one, it represented the emperor's heavy use of him. In addition, he was temporarily in charge of the various troops stationed in the capital, which meant that most of Man Gui's previous power to command the various troops was handed over to Hei Yunlong.

"Your Majesty, the Xuan army suffered a crushing defeat yesterday. Generals Man Gui, Hou Shilu and others died for their country. Should the court comfort them? General Hei Yunlong made great contributions in the decisive battle with the Jiannu. The army is unstable now. Apart from this, should we show some more grace to the soldiers?" Wang Chengen reminded Emperor Chongzhen softly.

Although Emperor Chongzhen promoted Hei Yunlong, it actually didn't mean much whether he was promoted or not, because the Xuanda Army had been destroyed, and Hei Yunlong was the only surviving general of the Xuanda Army with the highest rank. He should have been in charge of the two departments. The decree of Emperor Chongzhen was just a recognition by the court. As for the position of Right General, it was just a nominal position and was actually of no use.

And controlling the various troops is just a title. You should know that when Man Gui controlled the various troops, it was the same. He could not command the Guanning Army at all. Zu Dashou did not even give face to Man Gui, let alone a mere Hei Yunlong? In addition, Man Gui, Hou Shilu and other generals died in battle, and the court had to give an attitude.

After hearing Wang Chengen's reminder, Emperor Chongzhen came to his senses and remembered the matter. He immediately thought about it and told Wang Chengen to draft a few more imperial edicts, including one to posthumously confer titles on Man Gui and Hou Shilu. In addition to the honors of their lifetime positions, he gave them more graces. In particular, the hereditary title of Jinyi Jianshi for their descendants further demonstrated his attitude.

In addition, the remaining generals who died in the battle were also posthumously honored, and their descendants were given the title of Jinyi Qianhu or Baihu, and were given grace. But these were far from enough. Now the army outside the city needed more practical things besides verbal grace, such as urgently needed money, food, medicine, etc. For ordinary soldiers, this was what they urgently needed.

However, Emperor Chongzhen was very straightforward in giving official positions, but became hesitant when talking about this, and his petty character was immediately revealed.

Medicines were fine. Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to send a few doctors from the Imperial Hospital to go out and collect some medicines for the soldiers. As for money and food, he was very uncomfortable and was thinking about how much to give. If he gave too little, his subordinates would be dissatisfied, and if he gave too much, he would feel really bad.

After thinking about it, Wang Chengen reluctantly said a number. When he heard the number, he couldn't believe his ears. What use could this little money and food be? We are fighting now! The Ming army outside is fighting for their lives. How can you, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, be so stingy and use so much money to reward the army? Wouldn't it make people all over the world laugh at you?
"The court is in a difficult situation! Money is needed everywhere. Now the Jiannu have surrounded the capital again, and the grain transport has been cut off. All the expenses of the capital depend on the grain transport. I don't know when I can repel the Jiannu. If the war continues, I have to consider the supply of the capital." Emperor Chongzhen said worriedly: "For the long-term plan, let the soldiers work hard first, and I will reward them generously after repelling the Jiannu! At that time, I will take out 500,000... No! 400,000 taels of silver to reward the loyal troops. Wang Banban, please do as I say on this matter. Explain it carefully to my Ming soldiers. It's not that I haven't thought about it, but the situation is like this. Once the siege of the capital is lifted, I will definitely not treat them unfairly!"

"I... obey your order..." Wang Chengen felt bitter in his heart, but he had no choice but to agree.

He knew his master too well. Maybe it was because he didn't have a good life when he was a prince, so he developed the habit of saving. But saving also depends on the situation and time. Why is it still a time to consider these things? Even the military service is so stingy, which is unimaginable.

However, the master later offered a huge reward of 400,000 taels of silver, which made Wang Chengen feel relieved. The fact that such a large sum of money could be taken out showed that Emperor Chongzhen was not unaware of the importance of the matter and understood that in order to defend the capital, he had to rely on the troops outside to support the emperor.

But the question is, wouldn't it be better to take out the money now? Wang Chengen originally planned to persuade him again, but when he saw Emperor Chongzhen's eyes sweeping towards him after he finished speaking, Wang Chengen swallowed the words that were already on his lips.

After leaving the palace, Wang Chengen thought about it and decided that it was not appropriate for him to go. His status was too high and he was also close to Emperor Chongzhen. Moreover, the situation outside was not peaceful and there was a certain risk. The same was true for the other eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department. So Wang Chengen thought about it and decided to send an ordinary eunuch. Feng Yunsheng, who had represented the court to entertain the troops before, was a suitable candidate.

However, it was not enough for Feng Yunsheng to go alone, he also had to send an official to accompany him to show the court's attitude. The cabinet elders and the six ministries were out of the question, and he could not even command the vice ministers. After much deliberation, he finally found a candidate and immediately rushed to arrange the matter.

Two hours later, eunuch Feng Yunsheng and a fifth-rank official, along with some people, including several low-level doctors sent by the Imperial Medical Bureau, left the city through Yongding Gate and headed for Xuanda's army.

Upon learning that the emperor had sent someone, Hei Yunlong quickly dressed up and went to greet him with his son and several low-ranking generals.

The angel was welcomed into the camp, an incense table was set up, and Feng Yunsheng read out the emperor's decree on behalf of the emperor. After the decree was read out, Feng Yunsheng politely helped Hei Yunlong, who was kneeling on the ground, up, and told him earnestly that he was now in charge of all the troops. Emperor Chongzhen hoped that Hei Yunlong could shoulder the heavy responsibility, reorganize the army as soon as possible, command the troops that were about to arrive, including the Guanning Army, to defend the capital and not let Emperor Chongzhen and the court down.

Hei Yunlong said that he had received the imperial edict and expressed his gratitude, and also made a promise to Feng Yunsheng. This made Feng Yunsheng very happy. Then Feng Yunsheng took out the supplies and silver given to him by Emperor Chongzhen for the army, and pointed to the imperial physician he brought with him, saying that this was the imperial physician sent by His Majesty to care about the soldiers in the army. He heard that General Hei Yunlong was also injured yesterday, so why not let the imperial physician help General Hei Yunlong first?
Hei Yunlong politely declined the offer, saying that his injury was not serious and had been bandaged. There were many injured soldiers in the army, so he asked the imperial doctors to help treat them as soon as possible. Feng Yunsheng nodded slightly and was very satisfied with Hei Yunlong's attitude. He then asked where the bodies of Lu Zhi and others were. After all, Feng Yunsheng and Lu Zhi had been friends in the palace for many years. This time, Lu Zhi died as a military supervisor. Out of friendship and colleagueship, he planned to restrain himself for Lu Zhi to put his mind at ease.

Feng Yunsheng's request was naturally a trivial matter. Hei Yunlong immediately said that Lü Zhi's body had been initially collected and Feng Yunsheng could take him there if he needed. Feng Yunsheng nodded in agreement and told the people around him to assist Hei Yunlong's subordinates in handling the follow-up matters. Then he followed Hei Yunlong and left.

After Feng Yunsheng and Hei Yunlong left, Hei Mingzhong was responsible for receiving the eunuchs and the official who came with them, and sent people to place the silver and supplies. At this time, the official who had not said much waved his hand to reject Hei Mingzhong's invitation. He asked the doctors to treat the wounded first. After the doctors left one after another, the official saw that Feng Yunsheng and other people who had come to entertain the troops were no longer around him, so he suddenly walked forward and came behind Hei Mingzhong in a few steps.

"Brother-in-law, why are you here?" Xu Xiancheng was very surprised. When the decree was announced just now, Xu Xiancheng recognized Zhu Shenzhui in the crowd at a glance. When he saw Zhu Shenzhui dressed as an ordinary flag, Xu Xiancheng was very surprised, but he did not show it. He only came over to recognize him after everyone else left.

(End of this chapter)