"Your Majesty, great victory, Taiyuan is restored!"

Early in the morning, before Zhu Yihai woke up, General Secretary Shen Wenzhong came with a glowing face to announce the good news.

"Taiyuan?" Zhu Yihai chatted with his eldest son Hongjia until almost dawn last night, and he was still sleepy. "What, Taiyuan is restored?" He suddenly woke up and was a little unbelievable.

"Aren't the eight towns in Hebei fighting against Baoding? How can they regain Taiyuan?"

What happened is a bit fantastic. Zhu Yihai patrolled the Central Plains to the west and drove all the soldiers and horses from Shandong and Henan to Hebei. With the last decree, the soldiers and horses entering Hebei were reorganized into Shanxi and Hebei.

The town provincial camp plus six regiment training towns are under the command of two governors, Tu Guobao and Ma Guozhu.

He deployed troops in the Central Plains and pointed his sword at Huguang.

They let the Hebei side bluff and contain some Tatar soldiers and horses, but they did not let them take serious action. However, Ma Guozhu and Tu Guobao had so many soldiers, no matter whether they were strong or not, at least they were in large numbers, claiming to be more than 100,000 soldiers.

In addition, the situation in various parts of the Ming Dynasty is now very good, so many officials and generals in Hebei and Shanxi have also contacted either directly or secretly. In short, few of them are determined to stay with the Tatars.

However, Geng Zhongming of Liaodong, Li Shi of North Korea, and others were not willing to be left alone. They were all beating the drowned dog and killing him while he was sick. Geng Zhongming and the Korean New Army were extremely brave at this time. Anyway, the Tatars have become insignificant outside the customs.

They lived like wolves and tigers. They said they were conquering the Tatars for the Ming Dynasty, but in fact they were robbing and killing people everywhere outside the customs.

They won't let go of this kind of advantage. Even if the emperor says to slow down outside the customs, don't be anxious, take your time.

But Geng Zhongming and the North Koreans promised well on the surface, but in fact they became more and more aggressive.

This caused the Tatars to be on fire everywhere, focusing on one thing and not the other.

Tu Guobao, the governor-general of Zhili, besieged Baoding, and then the imperial camp also harassed Tianjin and Shanhaiguan at sea. Jierhalang was busy moving the Qing court from Beijing to Chengde outside the customs.

This move of the capital brought about a huge disadvantage, which was that the morale of the Tatars completely collapsed, especially the surrendered generals in Zhili and Shanxi. The Tatars had all moved their capitals, which was a fool's errand.

Everyone is in danger, looking for a way out, and thinking of ways to atone for their sins.

It should be said that Tu Guobao and Ma Guozhu are indeed relatively capable. On the Tatar side, there are governors and governors, and they are also strong men. Nowadays, there is even more trouble, and they have become proficient in the tactics of bluffing, recruiting surrender, and instigating rebellion.

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Tu Guobao bluffed with a hundred thousand troops to besiege Baoding, but Ma Guozhu quietly entered Shanxi with his men and horses.

Because the traitors Zhang Ji, Bian Dashou and Shi Tingzhu had no good intentions for a long time, they had been doing smuggling trade with them secretly. In order to avoid being discovered by the two young sons of Jierhalang who came to Shanxi, they even took the wife directly

Pass and Guguan were both given to the Ming army.

It was originally agreed that these two passes would be given to the Ming army just to facilitate the smuggling business, but Ma Guozhu, the former Tatar governor of Shanxi Province, was not so trustworthy.

Tu Guobao bluffed and besieged the city in Baoding, and Yuying Navy attacked Tianjin and Shanhaiguan in Yangyang.

Ma Guozhu secretly led his troops through Niangzi Pass, and then made a surprise attack all the way to Taiyuan City. When Taiyuan was discovered, it was already surrounded.

At this time, there were not many soldiers in Taiyuan City, because Tu Guobao had previously attacked Baoding with great fanfare, and the Ming army over there attacked Tianjin, causing the three Tatar governors of Baoding to rush around asking for help.

But at this time, there were no troops in Beijing, but Prince An Yue Le wanted to guard Beijing and Tianjin. Governor Ma Guanghui, governor of rivers Yang Fangxing, governor of water transportation Wang Wenkui, and governor Lang Tingzuo discussed it and decided that Baoding could not be abandoned, and Beijing and Tianjin could not come to help, so they decided

Can ask for help from Xuanda Shanxi.

Shanxi Governor Shi Tingzhu objected to sending troops to rescue Baoding, but Jierhalang's sons Jidu and Ledu were in charge of Shanxi's military and political power. Shanxi Governor Zu Dashou had been in Beijing and moved to Chengde at this time. The two young princes insisted on sending troops to rescue.

There was nothing Shi Tingzhu could do.

In the end, they simply allowed the two young princes to take away the elite Eight Banners of Shanxi.

They went north from Taiyuan, entered Lingqiu via Pingxing Pass, crossed Taihang Pass and Zijin Pass, and entered Yizhou in Baoding Prefecture, just behind Baoding.

Shi Tingzhu and others originally thought that since they couldn't be stopped anyway, they might as well just let them go, which would also facilitate their smuggling business.

Who would have expected that Ma Guozhu would suddenly march out of Jingxing and attack Taiyuan City.

Ma Guozhu surrounded Taiyuan, but he was not in a hurry to attack the city. He rested his troops for two days, and then began to persuade them to surrender while sending troops to sweep the outskirts of Taiyuan.

Ma Guozhu also used a trick on Shi Tingzhu.

He quietly evacuated some of his troops from the city every night, and then arrived with great fanfare during the day. So every day, there were more camps under the city, and soldiers and horses from all walks of life gathered together with flags.

He also had people deliberately spread all kinds of news.

One time, the Liaodong Ming Army had already captured Shenyang, the other time, the Hebei Ming Army had captured Baoding, and the next time, the Navy had captured Tianjin.

Tomorrow, the emperor will kill Nikan again in Nanyang, and the day after tomorrow, Wu Sangui will kill Obai Li Guohan in Guanzhong, and then Meng Qiaofang will surrender.

In short, all kinds of news are flying all over the sky.

The city of Taiyuan was in shock every day, and people were in panic.

Ma Guozhu sent people to shoot arrows into the city to persuade him to surrender. Zhang Ji, the chief envoy of Shanxi Province, was a corrupt official. Seeing the Ming army gathering at the city gate and encamping for ten miles, his face turned pale with fright.

After some thought, he quietly sent someone out of the city to see Ma Guozhu.

Ma Guozhu was no stranger to Zhang Ji, an old friend. They exchanged secret letters between the two sides, and soon Ma Guozhu knew everything about Taiyuan City.

Zhang Ji also received a guarantee from Ma Guozhu, saying that as long as he behaved anyway, he would not be held accountable for his crimes after Taiyuan was restored, and he would also seek credit for him.

Zhang Ji is no longer interested in being an official. What he cares about now is saving his life and the large amount of property he has accumulated in Shanxi in the past two years.

After receiving the promise, Zhang Ji also moved around. Bian Dashou, the magistrate of Taiyuan, was the man who had dug up Li Zicheng's ancestral grave, and had secretly engaged in smuggling with Zhang Ji a long time ago. The two quickly reached an agreement.

Within a few days, Zhang Bian and his two surrender factions had gathered a large number of officials, generals, and gentry in Taiyuan. They also went to persuade Shi Tingzhu several times.

Even the people around Shi Tingzhu were bribed by them.

Shi Tingzhu was not a fool. He couldn't understand the situation in Taiyuan City. He hesitated again and again, and finally asked Zhang Ji to negotiate with Ma Guozhu on his behalf to try to get some good treatment.

Ma Guozhu and Shi Tingzhu were also familiar with each other. They had been ministers of the same palace before outside the customs. After several secret discussions, Shi Tingzhu met Ma Guozhu under the city in the middle of the night and got Ma Guozhu's personal commitment.

When the Jidu brothers heard the news in Baoding, they quickly led their troops back to Taiyuan. As a result, they rushed all the way. As soon as they arrived at Pingxing Pass and climbed Taixi Mountain, they received news that Taiyuan had been lost.

Shi Tingzhu was very wicked. Although he surrendered, he was worried about his family members in the Tatars, so he had to let Ma Guozhu cooperate in a play.

Ma Guozhu led his troops to attack the city, and Shi Tingzhu led his troops to meet the enemy. The two sides fought. Then the gentry in the city suddenly switched sides and opened the city to meet the enemy. The Ming army he had already killed retreated. As a result, Taiyuan was lost. In the end, it was attacked from both sides and was helplessly surrounded.

He drew his sword and committed suicide, but his subordinates seized the sword and he was eventually captured.

Anyway, the loss of Taiyuan is not his problem.

It was the Jidu brothers who didn't listen to his persuasion and fell into the Ming army's plan to divert the tigers away from the mountains. They took away the few soldiers and horses, giving the Ming army an opportunity. Then he originally could win in a fight to the death, but was defeated.

Some cowardly surrendering factions were harmed.

Regardless of how the play went, Taiyuan was indeed recaptured by the Ming army.

Even without losing any blood.

After Ma Guozhu captured Taiyuan, he quickly led Li Jiyu, Xu Dingguo and Ding Qiguang to the north and captured Lingzhou and Daizhou.

The Jidu brothers came a step late with their troops. Daizhou had been recaptured by the Ming army. The brothers were still unwilling to lead their troops to attack. However, Ma Guozhu led his troops to defend the city. There were constant cannons and artillery, and there were several defensive positions outside the city.

The Qing army attacked the fort three times and suffered a disastrous defeat every time.

As a result, Ma Guozhu made another midnight sneak attack. The camp roared and the Eight Banners collapsed in the middle of the night. There was a roar of wind and cranes all the way, and soldiers were all over the grass and trees. They retreated to Pingxingguan for an inventory, stopping ten times and seven times.

After Ma Guozhu's victory, he was not in a hurry to go north. He guarded Daizhou himself, divided his troops to guard Yanmen Pass, Hepingxing Pass and Ningwuguan Pass, and then divided his troops to attack other prefectures and counties in Shanxi Province.

Ignore Daibei Datong Prefecture for now, and first focus on Taiyuan and Daizhou to sweep the rest of Shanxi Province.

"It's a pity that Baoding was not captured. Ma Guanghui and Shi Tingzhu defended it very tenaciously."

Zhu Yihai didn't take it seriously, "If the Tatars lose Taiyuan, how long can they hold Baoding?"

"How to deal with people like Shi Tingzhu, Zhang Ji, and Bian Dashou?"

Zhu Yihai despised these people because they were either old traitors or corrupt. However, considering the need to stabilize the hearts and minds of those who had surrendered in Zhili and Shanxi, he decided to appease them for the time being.

"Confer casual officials with the corresponding grades according to the original position, temporarily hold the original position, grant the title of wife and son, grant the title to the ancestors, grant one of his sons to the Imperial Academy, and grant the other son to the Martial Arts Hall, and let them be sent to Tokyo."

"Where are the Shanxi merchants?"

Shanxi merchants became angry when they heard the name Zhu Yihai, especially the Eight Families represented among them, representatives of traitors and profiteers.

However, considering the situation at hand, Zhu Yihai planned to endure it a little longer, "Didn't Shanxi merchants join forces with Zhang Ji and others to secretly smuggle trade and trade with us? We can continue to let them smuggle and use their channels to Daibei, Beijing and Tianjin,

As well as smuggling trade in Mongolia beyond the Great Wall, gathering intelligence, etc."

These profiteers should all be killed.

However, killing them now is too cheap and a bit wasteful. "Let them donate a sum of gold and silver, even if it is temporary atonement, then it will depend on their performance, and I hope they can make atonement for their sins."

"I hope they can contact the Mongolian tribes in Monan on behalf of the imperial court and convey my goodwill to the Mongolian tribes. I hope they can turn over the dark side and stop working for the Tatars.

If the Mongolian tribes surrender to the Ming Dynasty, they will definitely have a brighter future."

Especially the Ordos tribe in the Hetao area. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the Mongols have occupied the Hetao area. After the Ming Dynasty lost the Hetao area, the Tao captives became one of the serious border troubles of the Ming Dynasty. Although there were several plans to reinstate the area, they were ultimately not implemented.

After the Qing Dynasty defeated Lin Dan Khan, the Ordos tribe in the Hetao area surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty divided the Ordos Six Banners here, controlling the vast Hetao area in the south and northern Shaanxi, the Great Wall of Ningxia, and the North Langshan and Yinshan Mountains in the Yellow River in the north.

Of the regions, only Xitao, that is, Ningxia, is still in the hands of the Central Plains.

Both the front and back sets are in the hands of Six Banners of Ordos. The two sets are surrounded by the Yellow River on three sides. The land is fertile and can be cultivated with mulberry. It is two thousand miles from east to west, from the border wall in the south to the Yellow River in the north. The far one is eight or nine hundred miles, and the near one is two thousand miles.

Three hundred miles.

The Yellow River is full of dangers, but only the Hetao is rich.

The Hetao is both a good land for raising horses and a granary. Except in the northwest, there is no such good land.

When the Ming Dynasty lost the Hetao, it also suffered from the Hetao problem that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for two hundred years. The Hetao became the base camp for the southern Mongolian invasion.
To be continued...