Tianjin Wei, on the east bank of the Lu River, over a town called Zhangjiabao, the red-backed and black-lettered flag of King Chuang was already fluttering in the wind at dawn on March 24th.

This was a once prosperous town. There were tall rammed earth walls surrounding the town, and within the walls there were seven or eight criss-crossing streets. The houses along the streets all had shops, a layout of shops in front and houses in the back. Look at these.

The size of the shops shows how prosperous the town once was. But now the prosperity is long gone, and most of the shops have been closed for many years. The merchants who used to do business here have either gone away or moved to Luhe

Wang Qingtuo on the West Bank.

However, the oldest wealthy family in Zhangjiabao Town, the Zhang Baihu clan who settled here with the Ming army that went north as early as the Hongwu period, still live in this almost deserted town.

In fact, Zhangjiabao was originally a place for hundreds of households, and the position of one hundred households has been hereditary for generations. It has been passed down to fifteen generations now!

Nowadays, the military household system has long existed in name only, but there are still many hundreds and thousands of families who have become local tyrants in their hereditary territories. The Zhang Baihu family is such a tycoon! In the early years when the world was at peace, their family occupied the canal bank

The geographical location is favorable, but it has been prosperous for many years. The family has also produced many scholars and scholars, and it can be regarded as one of the few scholar-bureaucrats in Tianjin Wei.

By the way, military households and scholar-bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty were not two completely opposite classes. There was no concept of scholar-bureaucrats bullying military households or military households being inferior to civilian households. Although military households had more restrictions than civilian households when taking part in the imperial examination

, but the proportion of military-registered Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty to the total number of Jinshi was as high as 30% on average! The military household population in the Ming Dynasty accounted for far less than 30% of the total population. How could there be so many military households?

Well!

Therefore, the middle and upper-level military households and the scholar-bureaucrats are basically a group of people, and there is no such thing as a military-registered scholar being inferior to a civilian-registered scholar.

In addition to the 30% of military-registered Jinshi, the middle- and upper-class military households also monopolized military positions in the Ming Dynasty for a long time. It can be said that they took both civil and military positions, taking into account both hereditary and imperial examinations. They are the biggest beneficiary group of the Ming Dynasty... Say they

It’s no exaggeration to say that he is the backbone of tomorrow’s world.

Of course, it is the middle- and upper-class military households who have a better life, and the bottom must be miserable... But in any era, the poor people at the bottom are usually miserable. And the middle- and upper-class military households have lost their combat effectiveness due to various reasons, and the world will be miserable tomorrow.

The most fundamental cause of collapse.

If these hundreds of thousands of military households still had the fighting power of their ancestors during the Hongwu period, where would there be any rogues or Donglu? They would have been minced into pieces long ago!

Of course, Zhang Zongbao from a hundred households in Zhangjiabao does not have the skills of his ancestors to kill people. Although he has a secular job from a hundred households, he is actually a scholar. Before inheriting the secular job passed down from his ancestors, he also passed the imperial examination.

He was a scholar, wrote good poems, and was somewhat famous among the scholars of Tianjin Wei.

In addition, he also has two cousins ​​who have been elected. One of them is still an official in other places, and the other named Zhang Zongyi lives in Tianjin Wei City. He is the scholar leader of Tianjin Wei!

However, the Zhang family is a hereditary family after all. Even if they give up martial arts and literature, they are still not incompetent scholars. The two brothers Zhang Zongbao and Zhang Zongyi are both in their forties and almost fifty, and they can still gallop on horseback.

On the morning of March 24th, the two brothers set off from Tianjin Acropolis, led Tianjin Bingbei Daoyuan Yuzong, Tianjin Patrolman Yang Weihan and dozens of Yang Weihan's servants, and galloped towards the direction of Dashun.

Zhangjiapu occupied by the army.

But they are not going to recapture Zhangjiabao, but to visit Zhangjiabao to meet General Hao Yaoqi of Dashun Tianbing!

A huge achievement is waving to them!

Zhang Zongbao welcomed the Da Shuntian soldiers into Zhangjiabao yesterday evening, and immediately got an opportunity to perform meritorious service from Hao Yaoqi! With an autographed letter from Li Guo, he went to Tianjin Acropolis to meet the soldiers Dao Yuan Yu

Zong!

It turns out that Yuan Yuzong, whose hometown is in Puzhou, Shaanxi Province, secretly surrendered to Dashun because his biological mother Lei was acquired by Li Zicheng.

At that time, it was an inconspicuous existence. But a great achievement that no one expected, unexpectedly hit the heads of Yuan Yuzong and others.

Ming Dynasty Prince Zhu Cixiang and perhaps Emperor Chongzhen may have escaped from Beijing and are heading to Tianjin!

If Yuan Yuzong could help the Dashun soldiers capture Chongzhen and his son, it would be a great achievement, and he might be able to become a marquis!

Although brothers Zhang Zongbao and Zhang Zongyi are not qualified to be crowned princes, they are sure to succeed in their official career and become officials of either a big or small scale.

This is really a blessing from our ancestors...

…

At the same time, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard outside Wang Qingtuo's city wall. The Cao family's servants who were on duty on the city wall subconsciously widened their eyes. They had not slept all day and night, and now they were sent out to defend the city again. This

He was extremely tired, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, because the Emperor of Heaven and the Prince of Fujun were in Wang Qingtuo City at the moment.

For Wang Qingtuo and the Cao family, taking in the emperor or prince in distress was tantamount to a big gamble!

If the bet is won, the Cao family will be the first-class nobles in Jiangnan!

If you lose the bet... you will be exterminated!

Moreover, because of Zhu Cihong's methods, there is no chance that Wang Qingtuo and the Cao family will not gamble!

Hundreds of "Yiding cavalry" from the Guan Ning Wu family entered the city yesterday evening. Cao Huachun had to take more than 2,000 Cao family soldiers to follow Zhu Cixiang to meet him. On the 24th, Zhu Cihong led the troops.

The escape team finally arrived. Even if Wang Qingtuo and the Cao family completely boarded Zhu Cixiang's pirate ship, they would have no choice but to follow... Whether they will become rich or wealthy, or the whole family will be wiped out, they can only leave it to fate.

Who can care about the Cao family who got on the pirate ship now? If they can still fall asleep, they are too worried, right?

So when Zhu Cixiang and others were fast asleep, the Cao family were either quietly packing their things and preparing to leave, or they went to the city to stand guard, waiting in fear for the arrival of the Dashun Heavenly Soldiers.

Just when the Cao family in the city were frightened by the knights approaching from far away, more than ten knights had already galloped outside the city. They were not Dashun troops in white hats and green clothes, but men wearing mandarin duck war jackets.

The Ming army.

The first one rode to the city and shouted loudly: "I am a servant of Mr. Cao Town in Tianjin. I am here on the orders of the general of the town. Please speak to the steward of Eunuch Cao's house!"

At this time, Cao Huachun's nephew Cao Wenlu, who was on duty on the city wall, heard that Tianjin Cao Zongzong sent someone, and immediately talked to them on the top of the city. After asking about the purpose of his visit, Cao Wenlu flew down the city wall, and went straight to the city wall.

Rushed towards Cao Huachun's mansion.

Cao Huachun's house is now occupied by Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou, Empress Dowager Zhang, Li Xuanshi, and several concubines of Chongzhen. It can be regarded as the place where the Holy Emperor resides! Cao Huachun has also returned to his post and put on the eunuch's python robe again.

There was a lot of movement coming and going.

Because Chongzhen and others were traveling in carriages, they could squint in the carriage for a while when they were tired. Therefore, they were not as tired as those who came on horseback or on foot. After settling down, Chongzhen did not feel sleepy at all.

All the confidants, including Zhou Kui, the old emperor, Tian Hongyu, the father of Concubine Tian, ​​Gong Yonggu, the prince-in-law, Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xin Yue, and Wang Shide, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, were all called to their side, and they did not plot anything.

I was drinking with him.

Just when I was feeling suffocated from drinking, the sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside, and it wasn't just someone who came!

Emperor Chongzhen and the people who were drinking with him were all shocked, thinking they were from the crown prince! Just as they were frightened, Cao Huachun's voice came.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am so happy that Tianjin Governor Feng Yuanyang and Tianjin General Town Cao Youyi have led their troops to welcome us!"
Chapter completed!