"Your Majesty, several arrows were shot in from outside the East Gate last night, with letters tied to them."

In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, just as Chongzhen was about to lie down to rest, the chief minister of the cabinet, Li Banghua, arrived in a sedan chair.

"What's written in the letter?" Chongzhen sat up straight.

News that can alarm Li Banghua is most likely true.

"Wang Yongji, the governor of Ji and Liao, is leading 5,000 Guanning troops to defend the emperor. They are expected to arrive outside the capital tomorrow morning! Wu Sangui, the general of Liaodong, is leading 10,000 Guanning troops to defend the emperor. They have already arrived in Yutian and are expected to arrive in the capital in three days!"

call…

Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, although Wu Sangui and Wang Yongji arrived slowly, they finally arrived.

The capital had been under siege for five days, and they were the second army to come to the rescue.

"I understand. Just let them enter the city when the time comes! Your Ministry of War will be responsible for the specific identity verification."

Li Banghua hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, according to the court's rules, the army cannot enter the city. I mean to let them camp outside the city and fight the bandits in the field!"

The Ming Dynasty had a rule that the army could not enter the city to support the king. This rule should be related to Zhu Di's rebellion, so no matter whether the king was a prince or not, he could not enter the city.

This was also one of the reasons why the Ming army suffered heavy casualties during the Ji Si Rebellion.

"Rules?" Chongzhen smiled bitterly. The crystal was about to be stolen by the enemy, so why bother making rules?

"I broke the rules when I allowed Tang Tong to enter the city. What's the harm in breaking the rules again? They have traveled thousands of miles and have no baggage to begin with. Letting them camp outside the city at this time will only chill the soldiers' hearts!"

Li Banghua frowned, thought about it, and nodded in agreement.

Rules are meant to restrain people, not the emperor.

What can restrain the emperor is never the rules, but the emperor himself.

"Lord Li, do you think the bandits will retreat when the Guanning Army arrives?"

Li Banghua shook his head, which seemed to mean that he would not withdraw his troops, but it also seemed that it was difficult to say what to say.

"Speak." Chongzhen was a little dissatisfied.

When Li Banghua is arguing with others, his words can kill them, but when chatting with him, I dare not say anything.

"I think the bandits will retreat to Xuanfu." Li Banghua analyzed seriously.

"Tell me about it."

Li Banghua nodded, "Xuanfu is one of the nine important towns in our dynasty. It can covet the capital if it advances, and it can retreat to Datong if it retreats. It is a place that can be attacked if it advances, and defend if it retreats."

"Although Juyong Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is too close to the capital, and the bandits will not stay here."

"So I think if the bandits retreat, they will retreat to Xuanfu."

Chongzhen nodded.

The situation is indeed like this, it is as expected and there will be no surprises.

Of course, it is not ruled out that Li Zicheng would retreat to Datong.

"Lord Li, do you know what I want to ask?"

"Yes, Your Majesty wants to know how to arrange the defense of the capital after the bandits retreat!"

That’s right! Chongzhen slapped his thigh happily.

What Chongzhen was considering was how to arrange the defense line of Beijing city in the post-bandit era!

The reason why Huang Taiji was able to break into the pass repeatedly was not because of his cavalry and cannons, but because of the news about the Mongols.

In February of the first year of the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji personally led his elite troops to attack the Dorlot tribe in Aomulun, capturing more than 11,000 people. In September, he led the Manchu and Mongolian troops to attack Chahar, and returned victorious after chasing them to the Xing'an Mountains. After defeating the Chahar Mongols, Huang Taiji learned several routes to enter the pass.

The route is actually very simple. It is to dig a hole on the Great Wall at the appropriate location and then drill through the hole to enter the pass.

Li Banghua was well prepared. He reached into his sleeve, took out a letter and handed it over.

Chongzhen was in no mood to watch it, so he asked directly: "Mr. Li, please speak frankly. I don't want to watch it now."

"Yes!" Li Banghua cleared his throat.

"The most important thing in defending the capital is Jizhou Town!"

"Jizhou Town is 300 miles away from the capital. To the east, it can support Shanhaiguan, to the north, it can guard Xifengkou, and to the west, it can support the capital, Juyongguan, and even Xuanfu!"

"In the second year of Chongzhen, it was because the Jizhou garrison was lax in its military preparations and lacked manpower that the Jiannu used the barbarians (referring to the Mongols) as a guide and invaded the Central Plains!"

"I believe that stationing a large number of troops in Jizhou will not only deter the Jiannu, but also protect the capital!"

"It's just..." Li Banghua stopped talking halfway.

Chongzhen smiled faintly: "Does Lord Li not trust me? Or is he not as powerful as the Ming Dynasty? Just speak frankly!"

"It's just that the Guanning Army is too small. If they are stationed at Shanhaiguan, they can't station at Jizhou Town."

Chongzhen understood Li Banghua's intention.

He wanted to transfer the Guanning Army to garrison Jizhou Town, but he was afraid that after some of the troops were transferred away, the remaining troops would not be able to defend Shanhaiguan.

"Lord Li, you are overthinking. I will use the Guanning Army to guard Shanhaiguan, but I will not use them to guard Jizhou Town."

"Does Your Majesty not trust them?"

Chongzhen didn't say anything, but nodded slightly.

Some things can only be understood but not expressed in words. What he said to the cabinet before was obvious enough. There are many people in the palace and they all have many ears. It would be better not to say such things in the future if possible.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the Guanning Army, but that he didn't trust Wu Sangui.

This kind of political opportunist only thinks about himself. He is not loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but to himself.

but.

The Ming Dynasty and its emperor have too few people to use!

The attitude towards the Guanning Army is that it can be used but cannot be reused.

They were used to guard Shanhaiguan, but not to guard the capital.

Historically, Wu Sangui was able to open the gate of Shanhaiguan, and by the same token, he could open the gate of Beijing.

"Then who will Your Majesty use to guard Jizhou Town?" Li Banghua was a little puzzled.

The Ming Dynasty is now deploying troops everywhere, and its manpower has long been stretched to the limit. If it doesn't use Wu Sangui and the Guanning Army, who else can it use?

Chongzhen thought for a moment and asked, "Lord Li, if I send you to train the troops, how long will it take for the newly recruited soldiers to be able to fight?"

Li Banghua closed his eyes and thought about it seriously.

Military training is not just about practicing killing.

First of all, it’s equipment. Cavalry need horses, and after having horses, they also need weapons and armor.

If there is sufficient money and food, at most 10,000 people can be equipped in one month.

Of course there is a faster way: requisitioning equipment from garrisons in other regions.

Now that the equipment is complete, the rest is the real work.

The cavalry practiced riding, archery, etc.; the infantry practiced forming battle formations, using bows and crossbows, and various firearms.

Li Banghua frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty, I need at least half a year to train the soldiers so that they can fight."

"Okay!" Chongzhen stood up.

"Draft an edict immediately and send it out as soon as the bandits retreat. Let Gao Di, the general of Shanhaiguan, lead 10,000 soldiers to garrison in Jizhou Town. Ask the Ministry of War to recruit 30,000 new soldiers to Jizhou Town to train and prepare for war."

"It doesn't matter if there are not enough war horses. Didn't I tell you yesterday about the heavy infantry of the Jiannu? You can equip the soldiers with double armor and build chariots according to that standard."

"What they have, my Ming Dynasty must also have! What they don't have, my Ming Dynasty must have even more!"

"I am not afraid that the Jiannu will not come, I am just afraid that they will not come. As long as they come, the Central Plains will be their burial place!"