Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Let's see how the war with Jian Nu goes. If it doesn't go well, we will hold them accountable.

Now that the court is full of people, we must not allow such bad apples to cause chaos in the court."

Zheng Sanjun made the final conclusion.

"It's the Duke of England who is more difficult to deal with. He is too doting on Zhang Shikang and I'm afraid he won't give up." Fang Fengnian said in a low voice.

He was finally allowed to join the cabinet some time ago. Everyone else present made a lot of efforts, so Fang Fengnian was very humble in front of others.

“If it was a hundred years ago, the nobles would still be afraid of him, but Shutian, times have changed. How dare these nobles become our enemies now?

In my opinion, the biggest problem now is still the emperor. Since Zhang Shikang entered the court, the emperor has changed a lot.

To be honest, I have been a little confused about this emperor lately."

Liu Zongzhou took over the conversation.

Ever since the emperor organized the nobles to raise funds, his actions have been frequent and always beyond their expectations. This is definitely not a good thing.

Especially after Zhang Shikang came to power, he repeatedly became enemies with the Donglin clan and did not even conceal his hostility, and the emperor was inevitably influenced by him.

"If the emperor insists on his own opinion and refuses to listen to us, something unbearable may happen. Anyway, let's wait until we get to Dingzhou to discuss everything."

……

On the evening of November 5th, in Dingzhou camp.

From a distance, the camp was dotted with bright lights from braziers. Although the weather was cold, the camp was very lively at this time.

It was dinner time. Except for the soldiers on duty who remained motionless, the other soldiers in the barracks sat in groups.

They stretched out their cracked hands and, while warming them by the fire, boasted about how brave they were in the battle, how many Tartars they had killed, and how thrilling the process was.

There was an iron pot placed above the fire, and steam was rising from the pot. The horse meat being stewed was already cooked through, and the steaming aroma filled the entire camp.

After a war, many war horses always died. In those years, even if a war horse died in battle, it would not be wasted.

"Brothers, let me tell you, the Tartar's scimitar was only this far away from my neck."

Zheng Chong stretched out a finger and gestured to Xu Wenyuan and others.

"I could feel the chill from the scimitar, but I was not afraid of danger. I killed the Tartar with just one blow, and he was a Niulu!"

"Tsk, if you weren't bragging, my surname wouldn't be Xu." Xu Wenyuan sneered.

He saw it with his own eyes. If it weren't for Zheng Chong's two subordinates who tried their best to deal with the Tartar, Zheng Chong would have been stabbed in the buttocks.

I don't even have the energy to brag here.

"I'm serious, Brother Xu, please don't disbelieve me! There are people from the supervision team who testified that when we went to verify the combat achievements, Sun Dasheng was there too."

Zheng Chong said this and winked at Sun Dasheng who was chewing horse meat beside him.

Sun Dasheng's mouth was full of oil, and he was chewing a horse leg with great enthusiasm. Hearing this, he smacked his lips and said:

"Ah, yes, yes."

Then we continued to eat meat.

Although horse meat was not very tasty and there were not many spices in the military camp, it had a strong fishy smell, but no one cared.

It is rare to have meat to eat.

Everyone was chatting animatedly when suddenly the surroundings became quiet.

"It's big brother, big brother is here!" Wang Jingduo, with the sharpest eyes, pointed at a group of people not far away.

Zhang Shikang was seen coming out of the central army tent, and Emperor Chongzhen was walking with him. Zhang Shikang smiled and waved to the soldiers from time to time, and Emperor Chongzhen occasionally raised his hand, but his movements were always a little stiff.

However, Emperor Chongzhen had a rosy complexion and it was obvious that he was very happy.

The soldiers around were also very happy. Those who survived the war had gained something.

They had previously discussed what rewards each of them could get. Due to the chaos on the battlefield, cleaning up the corpses and checking the military achievements took a lot of time.

Your Majesty and Marquis Guanjun have been in the central army tent since the afternoon, along with the general in charge of checking military achievements.

Now seeing all the adults coming out of the big tent, everyone understood that the calculation of military merits seemed to have been completed.

And the visit of His Majesty and Lord Earl must be announced to everyone.

Thinking back to the promise His Majesty made to them before the war, everyone held their breath.

The group walked to a high slope in the middle of the military camp, and Zhang Shikang said to Lu Xiangsheng:

"Master Lu, please read it."

According to military practice, the reading out of military achievements is an extremely serious matter. Generally, all officers and soldiers should stand in silence and assemble to formally read out the achievements on the parade ground.

But Zhang Shikang felt that the soldiers had been tired after a day's work and there was no need to stick to the old rules. It was a good opportunity to celebrate while everyone was having dinner.

Lu Xiangsheng glanced at the soldiers around him and unfolded the document in his hand.

Because there were so many people, Lu Xiangsheng cleared his throat and raised his voice as high as possible:

“Your Majesty, in the Battle of Jingshui, we killed 21,800 enemies in total. Among them, 4,132 were from the Eight Banners of Manchuria, 7,314 were from the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and 9,634 were from the Eight Banners of Han.

There were more than 5,700 prisoners, including more than 300 from the Eight Banners of Manchuria, 1,200 from the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and more than 4,300 Han troops.

They captured 11,700 war horses, more than 16,000 sets of armor, more than 24,000 pieces of weapons, and 140,000 shi of grain and fodder.

There were also more than 6,000 civilians abducted by the Jiannu, all of whom have been released.

"The latest report is that General Wei led the cavalry in pursuit, and Dorgon's troops fled in panic from the eastern section of Xifengkou Gorge. General Wei also captured more than 700 heads of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and is now on his way back."

During the entire reading process, no one made a sound. This was a victory they fought for with their blood and lives.

Many soldiers at that time were almost in a state of rage due to the stimulation of Emperor Chongzhen. In this state, they were fearless and brave, and almost all of them performed exceptionally well.

The madness of each individual affected the whole group, and they were almost like mad beasts fighting each other.

But this situation also had a big side effect. Many soldiers became exhausted when the outcome of the battle was already decided, and hundreds of people fell into a coma.

Now when they think of the battlefield, many people still feel scared. Even they themselves can't understand why they didn't feel fear at that time.

They all stared at Lu Xiangsheng in embarrassment, and even after the battle situation was announced, many people were still unable to extricate themselves.

It was not until Zhang Shikang stepped forward and shouted "May the Ming Dynasty win forever" that everyone seemed to have found an outlet for their emotions.

That is the joy after clearing one's own name, that is the pride after avenging the king, that is the cry that has been accumulated in the heart for a long time.

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

"Your Majesty is victorious!"

……

The sound waves rose and fell and could not stop for a long time.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the countless soldiers and suddenly smiled.

They laughed at his stupidity for repeatedly thinking that the soldiers in the border towns only knew how to ask for food and money, but were unable to help them suppress the rebellion.

They laughed at him for entrusting his hopes to the wrong people and putting all his hopes on the civil and military officials in the court, thus missing out on great opportunities for twelve years.

Guan Junbo is right. Only by holding military power and winning the loyalty of the soldiers can one have everything.

……