In early autumn, the weather in the north is cooler, and the bricks, tiles, and vegetation in the Forbidden City are dyed golden.
Under the eaves of the corridor, the warm sunlight in the evening passes through the gaps between the overlapping red pillars, casting a golden light track on the wooden floor.
Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian wore a bright yellow robe with twelve chapters and walked between light and dark with a raccoon slave in his arms. Ginkgo leaves fell on the ground outside the palace, carrying him and the empire through another difficult year.
In fact, speaking of it, the situation this year is not too bad compared to the previous one.
Although the Shandong rebels crossed the sea and surrendered to the Eastern captives, the famous king of the captives in the north had been eliminated. The imperial court strengthened its military preparations in Xuanfu. It formed an encirclement against the rebels in the Taihang Mountains, Zhenbao and Henan. Liaodong also won a small victory.<
/p>
The Shandong rebel was Kong Youde, who led more than 10,000 soldiers and family members across the sea to Houjin in April this year; the famous king among the captives in the north was Lin Dan Khan, and the Ming court's last intelligence about Chahar was that he fell into the arms of Liu Chengzong. p>
Shanxi, Beizhi, and Henan are surrounded by Shaanxi rebels. Last year, the Yellow River burst at Mengjindu, and there was another flood this year. It is foreseeable that the war situation will turn around next year.
The Xuanfu strengthened its military preparedness because although the scourge of the Northern invaders had been eliminated, the court officials believed that the Later Jin Dynasty would also invade the invaders from the Xuanfu. In order to enhance the defensive capabilities, Xuanfu sent out 137 Western cannons and 137 red cannons to all roads in the Xuanfu.
They destroyed 269 cannons, including forty-eight cannons.
In addition, there are 170,000 kilograms of gunpowder, more than 430,000 large and small lead bullets, and more than 950,000 large and small iron bullets.
As for the small victory in Liaodong, it was due to the Eastern Lu's Autumn Campaign. Zu Dashou found out that the Jin army had set up camp thirty miles away from Ning, so he sent the camp's middle army Shi Dayong with three thousand troops to ambush to prevent its invasion.
Xingshui Castle.
This army has battalion generals Zu Zeyuan, Zu Keyong, Wang Tingchen, Li Juzheng, and Zhongqianbao General Qian Youlu. Under the tuanlian town mark is Wang Zhidong of the camp, and the battalion generals Zhang Tao, Zhang Fengxiang, Qianbo General Cheng Jiru,
Zhou Yuji and others.
On the next day, hundreds of Jin army vanguards indeed invaded Xingshui Fort. Together with Cui Shijie, the captain of the capital, who did not stop at night, they collided with the commander-in-chief Zhang Chengliang. After being defeated, they retreated. The two Jin troops did not stop at night to pursue them.
Thousands of ambush soldiers rushed over, and two thousand ambush soldiers of the Ming army followed suit and drove the enemy back.
In fact, the battle was not bad, but Emperor Chongzhen was very angry. On the one hand, it was because the battle was good, but the Chinese army Shi Dayong died in the battle. This is secondary.
What's more important is that you can no longer detect the truth by scratching your tongue.
The war between the two sides became more and more intense, and the Donglu soldiers became more determined to die. Originally, catching a tongue could reveal the enemy's strength, but in this battle, dozens of tongues were captured, but they could not detect the enemy's strength.
Among the captured prisoners, the strength of the Jin Kingdom's border raiding army fluctuated between 500 and 30,000, and it was impossible to tell which one was real and which one was fake.
This resulted in Emperor Chongzhen... having no choice but to trust the frontline generals.
This incident made the emperor unhappy. He knew that he should trust the frontline generals, but the problem was that the frontline general was Zu Dashou, and he had very complicated feelings for Zu Dashou.
If you say this person is disobedient, then he is indeed disobedient.
In the Jisi Incident, Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, and Zu Dashou led his army to escape outside the pass without permission. Yuan Chonghuan wrote to him and came back, which was regarded as the end of the battle to recover the four cities of Yongping, Luanzhou. However, after that, Yuan Chonghuan was killed, and Zu Dashou returned to the front line of Jinzhou.
, basically never left the military camp again.
In other words, wherever he goes, the Biao camp will follow him, and Dongchang fans will not be able to catch him even if they want to.
But it cannot be said that he was disloyal and did not dare to fight and was useless to the court. In the Battle of Daling River, Zu Dashou defended until he ran out of ammunition and food. He first ate horses and then people, and finally surrendered. After surrendering, he managed to escape back to Jinzhou and continue to defend the city.
.
There was nothing the court could do against him, because this man was indeed capable of fighting and was indeed willing to fight for the court.
Chongzhen has gradually understood that the emperor can indeed do anything, but the emperor is also a human being, and as a human being he must bear the cost of making decisions.
To a certain extent, he is engaged in the most difficult profession in the world. Ordinary people can make any decision, but they may not have to bear the price.
Because ordinary people may not be able to make decisions when they make decisions. If they fail to make decisions, they naturally do not need to bear the cost. The emperor is different. Most of the things the emperor wants to do can be accomplished. He can remove and kill any civil servants and generals. p>
As soon as the thought moves, the person is gone. When the person is gone, the price is paid, and it is too late to regret.
It is one thing to be dissatisfied with the status quo. Emperor Chongzhen is not sure whether changing the status quo will make the situation worse. Therefore, Zu Dashou is still alive and well, and is a very popular minister.
In fact, although Emperor Chongzhen disliked Zu Dashou very much, he also knew very well that if all the officers of the Ming Dynasty had Zu Dashou's talent and integrity, it wouldn't be a problem for them to seize the east, north or west.
This is a man who does not want to die himself, but does not mind the death of others, but he is also a competent general who uses all means to attack the enemy.
If you can fight in the field, fight in the field. If you can't fight in the field, run away. If you run away and have food, defend the city. When the food is gone, eat the horses. After the horses are eaten, eat the people. The people will not be eaten. Finally, they will kill their colleagues and surrender. After surrendering, he will run out and continue.
Defend the city.
Far away Li Yongfang, if Li Yongfang had the integrity of his ancestors, Nurhachi would not be able to take Fushun; nearby Kong Youde, if Kong Youde had the integrity of his ancestors, he should segregate Shandong until his death instead of sending artillery to Huangtaiji thousands of miles away. p>
What’s more, those general soldiers responsible for Hehuang’s defeat should have deceived Liu Chengzong and then fled back to fight again!
Hey, why are you thinking so much?
Emperor Chongzhen shook his head, combed the hair of the raccoon slave in his arms, and walked step by step towards Qianqing Palace, resigned to his fate.
In the past two years, Zhu Youjian has become more and more fond of the word resignation.
My heart is very tired. I have made some decisions that I cannot tell whether they are right or wrong. Some decisions I later thought were wrong and the situation has deteriorated. Some decisions people think are right, but the situation has deteriorated.
But he had to do it, so Chongzhen named himself Deyue.
He was very contradictory. Things in the world were already showing signs of exhaustion when he succeeded to the throne. His father ordered his mother to die, and his brother liked to play with little boys. These are all manifestations of his failure to abide by moral etiquette.
He longs to restrain himself and the world with morality and etiquette, but his blood is irritable and irritable.
He admitted that he was incompetent, but when the affairs of state were left in the hands of officials, those people did not appear to be any more capable than he was, so he killed these people and made things even worse.
What else can we do? Just leave it to fate.
In the Qianqing Palace, an interesting invitation was waiting for him. The invitation came from Liu Xiangyu, saying that his son Liu Chengzong was getting married.
When Chongzhen heard about this invitation, he immediately became furious. The Western Bandits captured Hehuang, so they dared to send me invitations? Every official who sent the invitations to the capital should be executed.
But my anger soon subsided and I just thought it was funny. Even if I sent the invitation, I wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding.
This is the first time someone has sent me an invitation, which is quite new.
After reading Liu Xiangyu's letter, the handwriting in Guange style was square and the tone was smooth. Just like the former magistrate of Mizhi County, he reported Liu Chengzong's actions in the past few years, conveying the news of the death of the Mongolian Khan and the good harvest of Hehuang.
As well as the news that Liu Chengzong was supported by Mongolian Wara outside the Great Wall and called Dunta Ulu Sidaiqing Khitan Khan, and that Liu Chengzong was about to get married.
Well, the letter is very good... The emperor felt very frustrated after reading it. He was so disgusted that he didn't want to correct the memorial all day long.
Emperor Chongzhen was not unhappy about the fact that Liu Chengzong supported the Great Khan Duntaurus in the north of the Great Wall. On the contrary, he was very happy.
As long as he doesn't come to compete in the Central Plains, it doesn't matter if Liu Chengzong calls himself the general of the universe.
Even after annexing Hehuang, Chongzhen could not hold any hatred towards the Liu family and his son. What if his ancestor Dashou could stay in Liaodong without a tael of pay from the state, make the Eastern captives obedient, and make him the hereditary king of Liao? /p>
Chongzhen can accept these weird things happening in the world.
He has no hatred for most of the rebel leaders in his heart. He can understand why these people rebelled, and he also knows that the cause of the matter was natural disasters and the court's failure to do what the court should do.
But understanding is understanding, he has tried his best, but the situation has not improved at all. The others are rebels, and they can segregate themselves and govern themselves, or change dynasties; he is the emperor, so he naturally has to defend his country.
What makes Chongzhen disgusted is mainly because he is reflecting here: Except for Qin Liangyu, everyone in the world is either a waste or a thorn. God has also made stumbling blocks. Floods, droughts, and locust plagues are coming all over the place. What is going on?
Liu Xiangyu came to give him eye drops with his son's certificate of merit. Lao Zhu's family went to funerals and Lao Liu's family held weddings, which made him feel sick.
With the state of affairs in such a bad state, how could Liu Chengzong be able to enjoy life outside?
He is so envious!
In fact, although Chongzhen was not capable of running the country well, he had a way to deal with the emerging regime of Liu Chengzong - making him governor-general of the three sides of Shaanxi.
Although the inspection of smuggling at sea is extremely intense, it is not difficult for Chongzhen to know Liu Shizi's policy in Qinghai. In fact, it is nothing special. Equalizing land and paying taxes is similar to the policy at the founding of every dynasty.
And with this kind of policy, let alone bringing peace to the world, it is impossible to even bring peace to Hehuang every year.
Chongzhen knew this very well in his mind. Hehuang was at peace because it had neither drought nor floods, and they sacked Lintao Mansion.
Therefore, as long as Liu Chengzong is appointed as the governor of the three sides, Liu Chengzong, who can prosper at sea and become a king, will become a waste like all the talented officials in the world.
However, Chongzhen had no intention of sealing this official position. After all, Liu Xiangyu sent him an invitation to a happy event, and there was no need for him to announce his funeral.
Chongzhen did not recognize Liu Chengzong's virtue. Since his first contact a few years ago, he believed that Liu Chengzong lacked moral character.
At that time, he agreed to block the traffic of pirates and pirates, but now he is a pirate himself, and he also holds the title of Great Khan of Mongolia.
When it comes to guarding the fence, it means pulling out all the stakes of the fence. In the past, the northwest border of the Ming Dynasty was in Xining, but now it has been moved to Lanzhou.
What's more, even before Lin Dan's bones were cold, he had to take eight of his wives.
But one good thing about Chongzhen is that although he is headstrong, he always keeps things in mind. He knows who he can offend and who he cannot afford to offend.
For example, Liaodong's ancestor Dashou, his family of princes, relatives, and Liu Chengzong were all people with no moral bottom line and could not be offended. He knew that his words as an emperor sounded like farts in the eyes of these people, no matter what.
Can’t live.
He never cares about those who can't be controlled.
This is just like a gentleman who can bully others. Some people have rules in their hearts and everything about them is brought about by rules, so they can be restrained by rules; but some people have no rules in their hearts at all, so how can they be restrained by rules?
.
When you meet people who have no rules in their hearts, the power is there if you believe it, but if you don’t believe it, you don’t have it.
But Chongzhen recognized his own virtue. Although the war between the two sides was inevitable in the next ten years or even longer, he did not mind giving some gifts on such happy occasions.
Thinking of this, he asked the eunuch standing beside him to summon Yang He from the Ministry of Rites to enter the palace. Then he laughed in the empty hall and decided in his heart on the candidate for the envoy - Cao Huachun.
Eunuch Cao's face turned green when he found out about this.
He thought to himself: Who did our man offend?
After receiving the emperor's order, I should have gone through all the dragon pools and tiger dens, but I didn't want to go to Xining City.
"Don't worry, it's a good thing this time. Give him some gifts and bring me a letter by the way. Liu Xiangyu's letters have been sent over. He is an elder after all, so I should have a reply."
Cao Huachun was about to cry: "Your Majesty, it was a good thing last time. You gave him an official title. Your Majesty doesn't know that the slave has gone to great lengths to escape. Then Liu Shizi will not let the slave go no matter what.
Ah!"
"Then what should we do?" Chongzhen said with a straight face: "There are many people who have been to Xining. Only you and Yang Shangshu can come back. Do you want me to send Yang Shangshu there again?"
Cao Huachunxin said, Your Majesty, you also know that no one can come back alive!
Am I afraid that I won’t be able to come back? What I’m afraid of is that you become pen pals with that Liu Shizi’s father!
Forget it once or twice. When the time comes, I will be called to deliver messages to the dragon's pond and tiger's den every day. When I enter Xining, it will be like returning to my own home. Is this ridiculous?
But in the final analysis, the slave had no choice but to go. Cao Huachun was deeply unwilling to go. At this juncture, the emperor had spoken. He had no choice but to follow the emperor's wishes and ask: "What does the emperor want to give to Liu Thief?"
Etiquette?"
"Hetao."
Cao Huachun didn't understand it at first, but later he understood it, but became even more confused: "Hetao? Grandpa, the Hetao is in the north, but Liu Thief is in the west, separated by Gansu and Ningxia. This..."
Chongzhen had a smile on his face, this was probably the happiest thing for him recently.
"Since the Donglu occupied the border area of Xuanda, they have wanted to exchange rewards and trade in Zhangjiakou. And now, although the Donglu are rampant, the surrendered barbarians are flocking to the north to block the pass. There is a chance to recover the Hetao, but it is difficult for the Donglu to spy on it. The government and the public are in short supply.
, not enough to send troops to retaliate."
Chongzhen said it categorically: "Now that the Liu family has been recognized by the Tatars as a bad young fool, I will give him the Hetao, teach Datong to trade with him, and give him a good Hetao. It is better than asking the Eastern barbarians to kill millions of my innocent sons."
Gotta go."
"This..."
Cao Huachun didn't dare to answer the conversation. This matter was no longer something he could discuss. He needed the ministers of the court to talk to the emperor about it. By accident, Hu Duntu was gone, and another even more powerful villain came. p>
Seeing his expression, Chongzhen laughed easily. He didn't care about Cao Huachun's fear. He just gritted his teeth and said: "If he has the courage to be loyal and courageous, and regroups to fight against the Donglu, I will not hesitate to part with him."