The sixteenth day of the first month of the ninth year of Chongzhen.
The Lantern Festival has just passed, and the people of Shuntian Prefecture are still immersed in the celebration of the festival.
Zhu Dadian, the governor of Shandong, led 50,000 soldiers of King Qin of Shandong to Shuntian Prefecture.
When the people of Shuntian Mansion saw the arrival of the army, they realized that the war might come to Shuntian Mansion again.
When Shandong Qinwang's army was stationed in Tongzhou.
Several cavalrymen who had been rushing for 800 miles rushed into the capital in a hurry.
Emperor Chongzhen was in the Qianqing Palace and urgently summoned his cabinet ministers and Yang Sichang to the palace to meet the emperor.
Yang Sichang looked at the leaflet handed out by the thief in yellow in his hand.
He learned from this that thieves in yellow broke into Mengjin County on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting died for their country, and more than 100,000 Ming troops were wiped out.
The thieves in yellow have divided their forces to attack Shanxi and Henan.
Yang Sichang looked at the flyer in his hand.
In order to force the Ming army to surrender, the thieves in yellow distributed a large number of leaflets.
The leaflet introduced in detail the battle of Mengjin County.
After verification by all parties, most of the contents on the leaflets of the thieves in yellow are true and reliable.
The leaflet of the Thieves in Yellow mainly describes the misery of ordinary soldiers in the city starving after the Qin army besieged the city, and the tragic deaths of Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting.
It is described in large strokes of ink that more than 60,000 Ming troops were captured by them. The captured Ming troops were treated very well.
The Ming army that surrendered voluntarily received a huge reward.
The capital was preparing to support Mengjin County's reinforcements, but before they could be formed, Mengjin County was captured by thieves in yellow.
Wen Tiren said with emotion: "The yellow-robed thieves moved too fast. It took only two months after the yellow-robed thieves sent out troops and they captured Mengjin County.
Lu Xiangsheng attacked the rebel Li Zicheng, but failed to capture him for more than half a year.
The thieves in yellow are too powerful, how can we stop them?"
"What should we do? Henan is too close to the capital. With the ability of the thieves in yellow, the local army may not be able to delay it for too long."
Kong Zhenyun heard the stories of the cabinet ministers, and he thought of the methods of Qian Qianyi and other Donglin Party in Nanjing.
He felt that this method could save Ming Dynasty.
Kong Zhenyun said loudly: "The thief in yellow is too abominable. We must not let the thief in yellow take over the world. He will dig up the roots of our gentry.
This time we must get His Majesty’s consent to organize group training and let the gentry send troops to protect themselves.”
When Wen Tiren and others arrived at Qianqing Palace, they heard the sound of breaking porcelain coming from the room.
Wang Chengen led a group of young eunuchs and immediately stopped Wen Tiren and others.
"My lords, please wait outside Qianqing Palace.
Your Majesty is very angry right now."
Wang Chengen was extremely nervous now. He had just killed three young eunuchs and two palace maids with a stick.
Wen Tiren and others could only wait outside Qianqing Palace.
They communicated with each other with their eyes, and no one said a word, silently waiting for the situation in Qianqing Palace.
The defeats of Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting made Emperor Chongzhen feel great frustration.
The two governors entrusted with important tasks by Emperor Chongzhen, together with more than 100,000 elite Ming troops led by them.
The imperial court spends huge amounts of military money every year, but it fails to produce the desired results.
More than 100,000 Ming troops only received a few thousand casualties from the yellow-clad thieves.
The huge psychological gap made Emperor Chongzhen's mentality somewhat unbalanced.
Emperor Chongzhen quickly adjusted his mentality and asked the young eunuch to clean up the Qianqing Palace.
He recruited cabinet members and Yang Sichang to enter the Qianqing Palace.
Emperor Chongzhen saw these important ministers entering the Qianqing Palace.
He said angrily: "Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting are too poor at leading troops. I trusted them so much before.
They used this record to fool my trust.
Even if the thieves in yellow were to kill more than 100,000 people one by one, it would still take a long time to kill them.
More than half of the officers and soldiers surrendered directly to the thieves in yellow.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, how did they lead the troops?
According to my decree, the three clans of Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were exiled for a thousand miles."
Wen Tiren wanted to persuade Emperor Chongzhen, but he saw Emperor Chongzhen's eyes as if he wanted to kill someone.
He swallowed the words he was about to say immediately.
Emperor Chongzhen did this just to vent his anger.
But his influence on future Ming army generals was too bad.
From now on, every general will be cautious about protecting himself and will only find ways to shirk responsibility instead of having the courage to take responsibility.
Emperor Chongzhen took out a leaflet about the thieves in yellow and immediately tore them into pieces.
"The thieves in yellow are making rapid progress and have defeated more than 100,000 Ming troops.
The thieves in yellow explained on the leaflet that their troops were divided into two groups and headed straight for Shuntian Mansion.
All my beloved ministers are the pillars of the country, how do you think we should deal with the attack of the thieves in yellow now?"
The cabinet members all stared at Wen Tiren, but none of them spoke.
The military strength of the thieves in yellow is too strong, and they cannot brag about it at this time. Once they are sent to the front line by Emperor Chongzhen to supervise the battle.
If you encounter a thief in yellow and don't have the corresponding skills, it will be a dead end.
Wen Tiren gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty has been attacked by enemy forces and reached the capital more than once.
In the end, it was our Ming Dynasty that survived.
The yellow-robed thieves' attack seems fierce now, but their stamina is insufficient.
As long as the troops of King Qin from all over the country arrive and we fight the yellow-robed thieves in the capital, we will definitely win in the end.
But now the yellow-robed thieves are divided into two groups. The border troops in Datong Town cannot let them come to Shuntian Mansion and let them resist the yellow-robed thieves in Xuanfu."
Emperor Chongzhen listened to Wen Tiren's suggestion and immediately agreed.
The thieves in yellow were divided into two groups, and Ming Dynasty also deployed King Qin's army on both sides.
Emperor Chongzhen listened to other people's suggestions.
Kong Zhenyun did not mention organizing regiment training, but he planned to use this policy in exchange with Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately looked at Yang Sichang.
Yang Sichang's performance during this period won the trust of Emperor Chongzhen.
When Yang Sichang looked at Emperor Chongzhen's expression, he knew that he had to give some meaningful advice.
There is no way to win the trust of Emperor Chongzhen if he is ambiguous.
"Your Majesty, the thieves in yellow are launching a massive attack this time.
I read the contents of the yellow thief's leaflet and found that the yellow thief army attacking Henan was less than half of the total strength of the yellow thief.
The thieves in yellow will definitely attack the Ming Dynasty from Sichuan, Guangdong and other places.
The thieves in yellow don’t just want to invade a certain area, they want to take down the Ming Dynasty once and for all.”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard Yang Sichang's analysis, he became excited.
Yang Sichang's words completely revealed the facts that he did not want to face.
The thieves in yellow are not like nomads.
Prepare to grab a handful and leave, they want to seize the Ming Dynasty.
The thieves in yellow will definitely encroach every step of the way and want to completely occupy the Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Chongzhen's voice was trembling. He looked at Yang Sichang and asked, "Yang Aiqing, how do you think I should deal with the thief in yellow?"
Yang Sichang said bluntly: "Your Majesty, some time ago, I thought that Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting could hold off the thieves in yellow for a while.
We have enough time to train and prepare for war.
Now Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting have only resisted the yellow-robed thieves for two months, and King Qin's troops from various places have not all arrived yet.
We don't have time to train at all.
The current army of officers and soldiers is huge despite their large numbers.
But past wars with yellow-robed thieves have proven that without the support of muskets and artillery.
Even with three or four times the strength of the yellow robed thief, there is no way to defeat the yellow robed thief.
The current army of King Qin can only continue to delay the attack of the thieves in yellow. It is extremely difficult to block the attack of the thieves in yellow."
When Yang Sichang spoke, he observed Emperor Chongzhen's expression and kept thinking about his words.
I saw that Emperor Chongzhen was very patient and listened to what he told about the situation.
Only then did Yang Sichang prepare to say what he thought was the right choice.
"Your Majesty, I think we can only increase our winning rate by doing two things now.
The first thing is to move the capital. Shuntianfu is no longer suitable as the capital.
The main attack direction of the thieves in yellow must be Shuntian Mansion. With our current military strength, there is no way to compete with the thieves in yellow.
Once Shuntian Mansion is captured, the entire Ming Dynasty will collapse.
Only by moving the capital can we solve this problem."
Yang Sichang knew that this matter was extremely difficult, but he still said it.
He could tell based on his experience that Shuntian Mansion could no longer be defended.
Even if they can defend the first wave of attacks by the thieves in yellow.
But the thieves in yellow are now well-established, and they will soon launch a second wave of offensive, and a third wave of offensive.
With continuous attacks, the thieves in yellow could fail many times, but as long as the Ming Dynasty failed once, the Ming Dynasty court would collapse.
Because the emperor of Ming Dynasty was in Shuntian Mansion.
Once the emperor was captured or died, the blow to the Ming Dynasty would be too heavy.
But moving the capital is also extremely difficult, especially when a war is imminent.
The tradition of the Ming Dynasty is that the emperor guards the country and the king dies in the country.
During the Tumubao Revolution, the capital was not moved, and when heavy troops of the Later Jin Dynasty attacked, the capital was not moved either.
Now that the thieves in yellow are attacking, they may not be able to move the capital.
Even if Emperor Chongzhen made up his mind, he might not be able to move the capital, and would have to divide and disintegrate the civil service group.
The gentry and nobles born in the north are definitely not willing to move their capital.
Most of the family property and land are in the northern region.
It is basically impossible for them to give up their own interests.
The gentry born in the southeast would not object to moving the capital.
When Yang Sichang saw the hesitant look in Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, he felt that there was no hope of moving the capital.
Some officials in the imperial court strongly opposed it, and Emperor Chongzhen could not make up his mind, so moving the capital would definitely fail.
Emperor Chongzhen hesitated for a moment and said: "The imperial court will discuss the matter of moving the capital with the officials tomorrow.
What is the second method Yang Aiqing mentioned?"
Yang Sichang immediately said: "We alone may not be able to stop the thieves in yellow.
Hou Jin also has a blood feud with the yellow-robed thieves, so we invite Hou Jin's Eight Banners soldiers to enter the pass to jointly resist the yellow-robed thieves."
When Wen Tiren heard about Yang Sichang's plan to move the capital, he strongly opposed it.
But he saw that Emperor Chongzhen was somewhat moved, so he did not openly object in the Qianqing Palace.
Prepare for the court meeting tomorrow and mobilize all officials to strongly oppose it.
Now the only way to move the capital is to the south, which is the headquarters of the Donglin Party.
He had a lot of trouble with the Donglin Party. Once the capital is moved, the Donglin Party will inevitably take control of the court again, and he will definitely not end well.
Yang Sichang actually wanted to lure Hou Jin's Eight Banners soldiers into the pass.
Wen Tiren couldn't bear it anymore and objected strongly: "I am opposed to inviting the Eight Banners soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty to enter the pass. It is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away.
If we invite soldiers from the Later Jin Dynasty and Eight Banners to enter the customs, it will definitely cost a lot of money.
If we spend these costs on King Qin's army, we may not be able to stop the thieves in yellow.
The tragic experiences of the two Song dynasties are worthy of everyone’s vigilance.
The Northern Song Dynasty cooperated with the Jin people, and the Southern Song Dynasty cooperated with the Mongols, which ultimately led to extremely painful lessons.
The son-emperor Shi Jingtang led the Khitan people into the Pass, and his infamy lasted for thousands of years.
Your Majesty also absolutely does not want to be an emperor and invites the Eight Banners soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty to enter the pass. This is an insult to our ancestors of the Ming Dynasty."
Many cabinet ministers also spoke, saying that they had witnessed the brutality of Hou Jin's soldiers and horses.
Thinking of the tragic situation during the Song Dynasty, he sternly rejected the strategy of inviting Eight Banners soldiers to enter the pass.
Emperor Chongzhen saw the cabinet's strong opposition. He looked at Yang Sichang and said: "The Ming Dynasty should handle the affairs of the Ming Dynasty itself. We cannot ask for help from foreign enemies."
Yang Sichang was very disappointed. Emperor Chongzhen was too indecisive.
Now the crisis is obvious. Only by moving the capital can we save the Ming Dynasty.
There are enough taxes in the southeast, and enough taxes can be collected.
Some people have money and food, and the gentry is extremely resentful of the thieves in yellow.
Emperor Chongzhen also held the title of great justice. As long as he delegated power to the gentry, development would be extremely rapid.
In addition, he led the Jin Eight Banners soldiers into the pass.
The thieves in yellow, the Ming Dynasty, and the Later Jin Dynasty will form a pattern of three parts of the world.
Once this pattern is formed, the two weaker parties join forces to resist the stronger party.
Ming Dynasty will have time to recuperate and wait for the thieves in yellow to make mistakes, and there is great hope to regain the lost ground.
At the very least, the Ming Dynasty could maintain the pattern of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
…………………………
At the court meeting the next day, Emperor Chongzhen discussed the army of thieves in yellow with the officials.
News about the thieves in yellow defeating Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting.
Now almost all the well-informed people in the city have a clear understanding of what happened from the copied leaflets.
Everyone was shocked yesterday when the court announced the news, but today they behaved very calmly.
When Yang Sichang proposed moving the capital.
The court instantly turned into a vegetable market, and everyone was debating this proposal.
Most of the officials whose families were in the north found various reasons to oppose moving the capital.
Officials whose families live in the south support moving the capital.
However, different locations for moving the capital were proposed. Some believed that Nanjing was too close to the bandits in yellow and the capital should be moved to Hangzhou.
These officials have their own positions and their demands are different.
This kind of issue will be discussed in the parliament, and everyone's position is different, and it will basically not be passed.
Yang Sichang saw everyone quarreling, some supporting and some opposing, and the reasons they put forward were very sufficient.
These people are extremely short-sighted and only think about their own interests.
The great meeting ended with the noise of hundreds of officials.
There is no consensus on the issue of moving the capital.
Emperor Chongzhen met with the cabinet and Yang Sichang after the imperial meeting.
Yang Sichang immediately stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, in the face of national crisis, the prince should be trained.
I asked the prince to go to the south to recruit troops. Natural disasters are happening all over the north, the people are often hungry, and there are no good soldiers."
Yang Sichang's purpose was simple: the prince was the heir to the Ming Dynasty.
Once something happens here in Shuntian Mansion, the prince's status is undisputed and he can succeed immediately, so that the south will not be too chaotic.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the cabinet members and asked: "What do you think of this matter?"
Emperor Chongzhen supported the prince's move to the south.
Once there are irreversible consequences here in Shuntian Mansion.
He can die, but Ming Dynasty cannot die.
The prince's move to the south requires the support of the cabinet.
Kong Zhenyun immediately stood up and said: "Wei Chen feels that it is too weak to rely solely on the power of the official army to fight against the thieves in yellow.
The gentry should be called upon to organize group training, and the gentry should pay for and send troops to fight against the yellow-robed thieves together with the official army.
Wei Chen feels that it is appropriate to send the prince to the south to supervise the group training."
Kong Zhenyun found the place where he made a deal with Emperor Chongzhen.
He has communicated well with cabinet ministers before and won the support of everyone.
The current situation is critical, and organizing group training is beneficial to all gentry.
His attitude was obvious. If the prince wanted to go to the south, Emperor Chongzhen must agree to the gentry organizing regiment training.
Emperor Chongzhen knew that allowing the gentry to organize regiment training would inevitably lead to the emergence of vassal towns.
But now the situation is very critical, and Ming Dynasty is in danger. He agrees with the cabinet's opinion and allows the gentry to organize regiment training.
Emperor Chongzhen quickly issued an order and sent Zhou Yuji to escort the prince to Nanjing to supervise the team training.
Huang Degong's troops in southern Zhili did not need to go north to protect the prince.