In July of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Shanhaiguan was surprisingly lively.

More and more wanderers from the world rushed to Shanhaiguan, hoping to see the Yuqing Sect Altar recognized by Shenguang with their own eyes. When Zhang Tianshi appeared in the capital with a first-class ceremonial war and then rushed to Shanhaiguan, it triggered a new climax of cultivating immortals and achieving fruit.

Of course, these rich and leisurely people will not go on the road alone. Even if they only bring a servant, they will be persuaded by their peers to go back because of the lack of "wealth" in the "law partner's wealth land".

Not long after, going to Shanhaiguan to worship the true immortal became a standard for measuring a person's status and financial resources. If the children of a senior official of a department do not even go to Shanhaiguan, they will definitely be discussed behind their backs: "Look at who is younger, it would be fine if they can't pass the Jinshi exam, but they can't even afford to go to Shanhaiguan."

This trend soon broke out from the capital, and flew all the way to Shanxi and the two Huaihe Rivers.

For Huizhe merchants, it is natural to send their children to Shanhaiguan to accumulate incense. Among them are Yiyinglou's contribution to Jiangsu, and there are also strong promotions from the Zheng family, the richest man in Yangzhou. When they knew that the kind-hearted man was from Jiangnan, they completely regarded him as a village party, and even if there was no benefit, they would have to support themselves. Otherwise, when they talked about their children's experiences in Shanhaiguan in front of their fellow villagers, they would have no choice but to talk about them.

What's more, the benefits are extremely great!

A brocade bag as big as a palm can hold a sack of things. If you exchange a few more, wouldn’t it be a fleet of people alone? And this is not considered the tax savings brought by secretly passing the test.

However, the life of Shanxi merchants was not easy.

Many Shanxi merchants knew that the kind-hearted people had a grudge with the Wang Dengku family, and they didn't know what happened on the day the capital begged for rain. Concubine Tian, ​​the Wang family's backing in the palace, was thrown into the cold palace. Mr. Tian was deposed as a commoner. The Ministry of Revenue, with the amazing efficiency of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, concealed the Wang family's property in the capital into the officialdom in one fell swoop. The charge was: selling inferior goods.

The situation encountered by the Wang family made the Shanxi merchants in danger as a whole. They believed that if they did not boycott each other, it would be their turn tomorrow. The Jin party in the court connected everywhere and wanted to work with the Chu party and Zhejiang party to suppress the emperor's unreasonable and wanton acts.

But they did not expect that it would be fine for civil servants to join forces to fight against imperial power, but it would be absolutely unrealistic to ask the Chu Party and the Zhejiang Party to fight against the kind people.

If a southern official couldn't think about it and followed the Jin Party to submit a memorial, his family's ancestral tomb might be dug up the next day.

If it weren't for Chongzhen, he still needed to balance the forces of the various parties in the court, the Jin Party would have been defeated in this battle.

...

In an ordinary courtyard in Zhangjiakou, several half-old men gathered together with a serious expression.

"In the current plan, we must first send our children from the family to Shanhaiguan to accumulate incense and exchange for the Qiankun bag!" Wang Dengku said in a deep voice.

"What if that demon broke his promise?" someone asked.

"He also needs credibility." Wang Dengku had a sinister face, "If he really dared not redeem it according to the list, we would take the opportunity to stink him!"

"There are also the kind of stones to choose the Spiritual Aggregator," said someone, "The prince wants to be more."

"That kind of stone is in the hands of the fox demon, it's not easy to work with." Wang Dengku said sadly. "Let the prince wait first. He won't blame us, right?"

"That won't be the case. Last time we sent them the artillery drawings, I heard that they had already made forty people and were having fun." The man replied.

"That's good. That's good." Wang Dengku said repeatedly, "I heard from the prince that at the end of July this year, at the latest in early August, the Khan will personally conquer the Daling River. This is a good opportunity for us to make contributions!"

When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.

Daling River is a completely unfamiliar name for most people in the Ming Dynasty. However, for those who are interested in Liao affairs, it is a point that cannot be ignored.

The Daling River is located more than 30 miles east of Jinzhou, and is an important defense line to block Jinzhou. It is 800 miles long and is a hub connecting Liaodong and the Central Plains. When Qi State attacked Shanrong in the north, Cao Wei conquered Wuhuan, Former Yan entered the Central Plains, Northern Qi attacked Khitan, and Sui and Tang Dynasties pacified Goryeo, all of which used the Daling River Valley as the main march.

If the Daling River can be built like Ningyuan, it would be like there was another powerful pass in front of Shanhai Pass. If the Ming court wanted to consolidate Liao, it would have to build this city; if the Jin Kingdom wanted to conquer Ming, it would have to demolish this city.

Since the time of Yuan Chonghuan, the two sides have been very fierce in the competition for the two cities of Linghe, both have been built and demolished.

Last year, Huang Taiji detoured through Mongolia and rushed to the city of Beijing for thousands of miles. Yuan Chonghuan was arrested and imprisoned, and Zu Dashou fled back to Liaodong. Under the reprimand of Sun Chengzong, he continued to be the general of the Ming court and is now sent to build a city in Dalinghe.

"Boss," a black and thin man shouted, "Now there are a group of people outside Shanhaiguan who are full. If we send things over, we will easily be caught."

Wang Dengku thought for a while and said, "I think since the Khan is determined to fight, he will definitely not be short of military resources. If we can mix in the labor force of building a city in Daling River and secretly pour gunpowder into the city wall..."

A brilliant spark erupted in everyone's eyes, and they all applauded the boss's idea.

If gunpowder is sealed into the wall, just dig the wall and lit a fire when siegeing the city, wouldn’t it be the same as being bombarded by a cannon?

"Gao! The boss is really tall!" Everyone said together.

"Hehehe, as long as the Daling River is broken, Sun Chengzong will have to bear the responsibility of defeat and go home to hold his grandson! Even the gods and the emperor combined will not be able to save him!" Wang Dengku knew that the Jin Party had arranged a backup plan, so he decided to start directly from Sun Chengzong, a sturdy master with a foundation. Not only was the resistance less, but because Sun Gezong's reputation was too big, the deterrence caused was naturally greater.

Everyone's original excitement was instantly extinguished.

If the gods intervene, can the Jin Kingdom really win?

...

"Of course, we can't let them break the Daling River!" Qian Yiqun sat in the Shanhaiguan General's Mansion and looked at the high-ranking officials in surprise: "It's even more impossible to let Daling River go without fighting."

Qian Yiqun recalled the history lessons of his previous life, and the Battle of Daling River was a very critical battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In this battle, the Jurchens used the tactic of siege and attacking aid for the first time; they dispatched their own cannons for the first time; they realized the importance of military discipline for the first time and stopped slaughtering the city in a short period of time.

Moreover, this battle completely destroyed the Ming army outside the pass, and it can also be said to be the most elite force in the country, Guanning Iron Cavalry.

Compared with the Ming army, this battle was also the most sympathetic battle since the fight with the Jurchens.

Zu Dashou faced Huang Taiji's 50,000 flag soldiers, and held on from early August to ninth November. At that time, there were 30,000 soldiers and civilians in the city. After being trapped, they waited for reinforcements for a long time and slaughtered war horses to fill their hunger. Then they ate the dead, the civilians, the auxiliary soldiers... almost ate everything that could be eaten.

As for false surrender and stealing, they can do everything they can, but the results are very little.

When Zu Dashou finally surrendered, there were only 11,682 people and 32 horses left in Dalinghe City.

Two of the three people starved to death, which was much beyond the psychological endurance of a person. In this case, it is absolutely not a reasonable thing to blame Zu Dashou for surrendering.

What's more, Zu Dashou was just a temporary measure. After this surrender, he quickly deceived Huang Taiji and fled back to Jinzhou with his men, and continued to hold on to Jinzhou for ten years. In the end, when Jinzhou fell, it was because he was besieged for many days, and food was cut off in the city and everyone fed each other. Zu Dashou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty for the second time.

Unlike other traitors, after Zu Dashou surrendered, it was like Xu Shu entering Cao's camp and no longer working for the foreign race.

Therefore, with such an important strategic position in Dalinghe and Zu Dashou's performance in this history, Qian Yiqun is absolutely unwilling to give up any of them.

Although this war will inevitably break out in history, Shanhaiguan has not yet unified its thinking. One group of people believes that Daling River has few reserves and the city has not been completely completed. They should be returned. At least they retreat to Jinzhou and Songshan. The other group of people have the view that Qian Yiqun not only needs to be defended, but also has to be defended.

The reason why they support the desperate defense is not as simple as Qian Yiqun, mainly because they are worried about the reaction of the court after losing Daling River. For these people, the city can be broken, and life can be lost, and there is no problem with the black veil on the top.

Sun Chengzong sat in the master's seat, saw everyone's reaction clearly, and finally said leisurely: "Lu Chou gathered 100,000 people, and he would not destroy the Daling River and leave after all. If Daling River is lost, Xiaoling River and Jinzhou will be even more unpredictable. I think that even if the gods and immortals don't speak, we have to keep it tight."

Since the commander had spoken, who would dare to go head-on? What's more, the Ming army's movements about the Jin Dynasty were unprecedentedly clear. Not only did they know the date of Huang Taiji's dispatch of troops, the number of troops, the food and grass they prepared, but also the marching route map where the Jin Dynasty planned to divide the troops into two groups.

The rangers who provided these news received high military awards, especially the rich man who provided the marching route map. As long as the Jin army sent troops to prove that it was true, they would be a general. At the beginning, Qian Yiqun only thought that Chongzhen gave him an empty position, but who knew that the court spent a lot of money this time. As long as he had the general, he could form his own battalion and participate in the battle, and was rewarded equally with the officers and soldiers of the Ming army.

This has opened up a new path to advancement.

At the same time, this emerging gang force is also recruited to avoid accidents in the future.

"Can Yuqing Hall provide some support?" asked a general.

Wu Xiang laughed in his heart: Taoist priests have come out to defend their country, why do the imperial court raises you for food? Isn’t this a humiliation for yourself!

"To be fair, I have helped a lot of Taoist." Qian Yiqun said angrily, "The Fox Clan has also given you a hundred Qiankun bags!"

"The Qiankun bag is only the size of a sack... It is too far from the genuine one." The man said with a frown.

"The bigger the body, the harder it is to refine this thing." Qian Yiqun explained patiently, "Now, one small one in three days is better than a dozen years to give a big one. Right? You may only have Shanhaiguan in more than ten years, so it is useless to be so big."

Everyone blushed when they heard this, but they did not dare to refute it.

"The Taoist priest is right!" Sun Chengzong patted the handrail and ended the debate, saying, "I will still have to share the burden with the king's salary and the people's wealth!"

Seeing that the old coach was not angry and powerful, everyone kept silent, waiting for the final order to send reinforcements to Dalinghe.

"Master," Zhang Jianjun refused to stop and said in response to Sun Chengzong's intimidation, "When the Xiaguan recovered Yongping, he once fought against the Jin soldiers. At that time, it was obvious that our army was in good wind, Xiaguan lit a fire and wanted to burn their camp. Who knew that when the fire was about to burn, it suddenly rained heavily, and even the wind direction was reversed. At that time, he thought that he was not lucky, but when the Taoist priest used such methods, Xiaguan was worried that there would be experts on the Jin soldiers to help?"

Qian Yiqun said to himself: I have seen this in "Draft History of Qing Dynasty"! But it was the case when the Jin soldiers fought for aid after Daling River, and it did not happen in the Battle of Yongping. If it was a God's will, it would be no coincidence when it was once!
Chapter completed!