He bowed his head and cupped his hands: "I am stupid, I only hope for His Majesty's Holy Judgment."
At the court meeting the next day, the proposal to exchange military rations for disaster relief rations was thrown to the courtiers.
The focus was not on supporting the marshal's army to stop the Eastern invaders, but on the fact that even if the rebels had to be given food, the emperor, who loved his people like a son, was willing to exchange disaster relief food from the rebels to help the people of Shanxi.
In fact, the Ministry of War and Household Affairs did not agree with this proposal.
It is normal for the Ministry of War to disagree. They are planning a strategy of attacking Tongguan from Henan and Xi'an from Yunyang, trying to take back Guanzhong where the Marshal's Mansion has been cleaned.
At this time, the imperial court has entered into strategic cooperation with the Marshal's Mansion in the north, which no one can accept.
As for the household department, it's a bit hidden.
Yu Gong, this is actually a good thing for the Ministry of Household Affairs. After all, if Shanxi buys grain for disaster relief, even if it costs one hundred thousand taels, it will be difficult for the provincial government to squeeze it out.
It is possible for the private sector, but if private merchants buy grain, the grain must be sold, and if sold, it will definitely not fall into the hands of the victims who are about to starve to death.
The price of food never rises irrationally. If it rises to seven taels and one stone, it means that someone can afford this price.
Instead, Tongzhou's grain was exchanged for Hancheng's grain. This grain could be transported directly to the provincial capital, where it would be managed by the governor Wu Gang and put into the hands of the food-deficient victims to the greatest extent possible.
The government and the opposition parties' ability to provide disaster relief to Wu Zong is obvious to all.
At that time, he brought 100,000 taels to provide relief to Shaanxi Province. He also solicited donations of 36,000 taels and 3,000 stone grains from the feudal lord Fu Shen of Shaanxi to provide relief to the four prefectures of Yan, Qing, Ping, and Xi.
The amount of money spent was down to the millimeter, and the number of victims rescued was down to the last detail. A total of 240,345 people were rescued.
They distributed cattle breeds, helped the hungry people, built post stations, replenished military supplies, bought mules, paid military salaries, and built cities and towns. In the process, they were detained by various counties and falsely reported more than 1,300 taels. Later, they should be pursued as much as possible.
return.
Of course, the result was indeed unhelpful to the chaos in Shaanxi, but that does not mean that Wu Gang's disaster relief was a failure. On the contrary, he did his job to the best of his ability.
It's just that the budget given by the court is to save a few mouthfuls of food per person. Even if he goes to the extreme, he only makes sure that the victims who deserve to eat eat those few mouthfuls of food.
At this time, if Shanxi receives not 100,000 taels of silver, but 100,000 stone grains, coupled with the administrative capabilities of Shanxi Province, then compared to the relief provided to Shaanxi in the past, the supplies will be more than ten times abundant.
Back in Shaanxi, even if one hundred thousand taels of silver were exchanged for grain, it would only be exchanged for more than ten thousand stones of grain.
But in private.
No official in the Ministry of Revenue could guarantee that the 100,000 shi of grain they took out from Tongzhou was the same thing as the 100,000 shi of grain that Liu Chengzong had on the other side of the border.
This is Beijing!
It's not like a remote area in Shaanxi, where Wu Zong, a censor, could get things done exactly as long as he was strong enough with the emperor's orders.
One hundred thousand shi of rice white flour turned into millet yellow flour, millet yellow flour turned into stale old grain, stale old grain turned into stone sand, the soldiers who transported the grain were afraid and robbed themselves, and the grain managers were afraid and burned down the warehouses.
These very coincidental things may not happen, but no one can guarantee that they will not happen.
They may not happen at the same time.
The officials of the Ministry of Revenue did not understand the killing talents of Liu Chengzong's men, how could they still not understand the conduct of the noble relatives and subordinate officials in the imperial court?
When something goes wrong, the emperor will be held accountable.
So no one can say what they really think, they can only talk about it, and they are unwilling to advance this matter anyway.
At this time, urgent reports came one after another from the border, and Huang Taiji's secret messages were intercepted.
More than one letter.
The first letter intercepted was a letter written by Huang Taiji to the coastal military officer, Pinglu General Chen Hongfan.
This letter was written a month ago. It was stuck in a piece of wood and erected on the shore of Lushunkou. It was discovered by the coastal defense soldiers. After reading the content, they quickly crossed the sea and reported it to Shandong.
In fact, the content of the letter cannot withstand scrutiny. It contains many specious things, which at first glance are deliberately intended to increase authenticity. For example, several names are said to be diplomats sent by Chen Hongfan, and the title of King Sanshun is also mentioned.
Later, the fox's tail was exposed, and he said that if he came to vote at that time, his fame would not be lower than that of the three kings; or he would serve as an internal correspondent in the Ming Dynasty. Please choose one of the two.
He even explained the reason why he put the letter in a piece of wood and left it on the coast. He said that he was worried about leaking important information, so he did not let the envoy Chen Hongfan sent to Shenyang come back.
In fact, it is a counter-intuitive plan, telling the truth and the opposite.
In fact, it was only at this time that Chen Hongfan received another threatening letter persuading him to surrender at Lushunkou.
It is said that in the Ming Dynasty, the foreign ministers are cheating and cheating, and the internal ministers are at odds with each other. Can the general reverse this situation? Think about it!
The previous letter was deliberately intercepted by the Ming army and sent to Chongzhen in person, but they did not dare to take any action against Chen Hongfan.
The reason why Huang Taiji alienated Chen Hongfan was that he received information that Chen Hongfan had troops and planned to station troops in North Korea, but he did not know the specific amount.
It is said that the heavenly army has one hundred thousand troops and four hundred warships. Huang Taiji felt that if there were only thirty to fifty thousand, it would be worthy of heaven.
Chongzhen thought the same way. He really thought Chen Hongfan had 30,000 soldiers.
Because Chen Hongfan's coastal general was in charge of Denglai Town and Shen Shikui's Dongjiang Town, including overseas troops, the imperial court had to have 30,000 troops.
But in fact, both Denglai and Dongjiang were destroyed long ago.
Shandong has always been a relatively safe base for aiding the Liao Dynasty. There are many militiamen in Haicao logistics, but there are not many troops that can fight, and there are many things to do.
Occupying a border with the water transport, there is the matter of the Luo Sect and the White Lotus Sect. When there is a famine, people will raise armies, and if the army raises troops, they must put down the rebellion.
This has always been the work of Yang Zhaoji, Yang Yufan and his son.
Their elite troops were everywhere suppressing rebellions and suppressing the militia, so it was impossible for them to hand over their headquarters to the command of Chen Hongfan.
As for Dongjiang Town, to put it bluntly, Shen Shikui did not dare to return to Shandong, and Chen Hongfan did not dare to go to Pi Island.
The mountain is high and the emperor is far away. The harassment of Hou Jin is not for the sake of emperor Ming, but just to survive. There are only a few thousand soldiers on the island, and 20,000 people have to go to the court to write letters and ask for supplies.
After all, if there were 20,000 people, the imperial court would be able to send thousands of weapons and supplies to the army, but if they didn’t give them horses, how could they land and fight if they didn’t give them horses?
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Chen Hongfan did not dare and could not control others.
He has more than 3,000 people in his own hands and has been busy recruiting troops in Shandong. He dare not fight or surrender. He dare not enter North Korea and dare not return. He is completely stuck in southern Liaoning.
It is precisely because of this that Huang Taiji's letter to Chen Hongfan did not cause the ministers in the DPRK and China to panic. Only Chongzhen was anxious.
But the second letter intercepted by the border wall made the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty tremble with fear.
Because this letter was written to Liu Chengzong, it was particularly frightening because it mentioned the alliance to attack the Ming Dynasty and wait for him to get food and grass from the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Fengyi, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, could see clearly that this was just like Chen Hongfan's letter, which was just an act of alienation.
Because if Liu Chengzong wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty, there was no need for him to lead his army outside Jizhen. He could just cross the Yellow River from Fugu, Shaanxi and attack Shanxi.
Wang Jiayin had done the same thing so many times, and Liu Chengzong, who was more than ten times stronger than Wang Jiayin on both sides of the Yellow River, had no reason not to be able to do it.
But it's one thing to understand it, and it's another thing to say it out loud.
As the saying goes, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the eventuality.
What if Liu Chengzong is really evil?
Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue were immediately delighted when they saw this letter. This was the ironclad proof that they could not trade with Liu Chengzong.
The key point is that Huang Taiji's letter also mentioned something very crucial to the Ming Dynasty, that is, he told Liu Chengzong that Qing wanted to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, but was only bewitched by Liu Chengzong to attack the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, this matter cannot be said to be clever.
Because from Huang Taiji's standpoint, although he had a slight advantage in terms of military strength in Liaodong, that did not mean that his Eight Banners were truly powerful and invincible.
Rather, it just happened to catch up with the window when the Ming Dynasty had internal and external troubles, natural disasters and man-made disasters. Therefore, we never dared to give the enemy any chance to breathe. We could only use a storm-like offensive, even if the last drop of the wild Jurchen's blood was exhausted,
We must also continue to expand our advantages.
If you slack off even a little bit, the Eight Banners will be doomed.
It is impossible for him to negotiate peace with Ming Dynasty.
However, peace negotiation was something that the Ming emperors and ministers tacitly understood but everyone was willing to believe.
Ming Dynasty is about to be crushed by itself, and it needs a breather.
As a result, Huang Taiji promised to make peace with the Ming Dynasty, but he kept attacking and blamed the Ming Dynasty for not being sincere in negotiating peace.
With such a simple trick, Ming was fooled time and time again, and each time he was divided on the eve of the war.
This time was no exception. Some courtiers truly believed that Huang Taiji planned to negotiate for peace, while more people supported the peace negotiation from their positions based on their own petty thoughts.
But Chongzhen still didn't believe that Huang Taiji really planned to negotiate peace.
In other words, it's not that he believes it or not, but that he doesn't want to believe it at all and refuses to analyze it.
He was famously stubborn and could not listen to what others said. He only cared about the possibility of Liu Chengzong going south from outside Jizhen.
Zhang Fengyi, Secretary of the Ministry of War, gave Chongzhen a shot in the arm at this time and told Chongzhen very firmly that Liu Chengzong's visit to the edge of Jizhen could not be for the purpose of attacking the Ming Dynasty.
Because Tongguan and Wuguan are in hand, sending troops from Guanzhong to Huguang and Henan will gain much more than detouring to Jizhen to attack Gyeonggi.
What's more, even if we don't send troops from Tongguan, we have to cross the Yellow River to attack Shanxi. Going south directly from outside Xuanfu is much better than attacking the capital.
After all, there is no supply line on this road to Gyeonggi, so no matter how you look at it, it is dangerous for the troops.
The Ministry of War was quite familiar with some of Liu Chengzong's previous battles, and believed that although Liu Chengzong's troops were good at fighting, he did not like to take risks and rarely used conspiracies.
However, Zhang Fengyi also reminded Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, you should use less conspiracies and tricks, not use them less. Therefore, the three associations should still be careful and guard against withdrawal."
The Sanxie he refers to is the Sanxie Twelve Route Garrison in Yanbian, Ji Town.
Originally there were a lot of troops stationed in this direction, but in fact it has gradually become four towns, namely Jizhou, Miyun, Yongping and Changping, with the maximum number of troops reaching 140,000.
Later, when Chongzhen ascended the throne, due to lack of military pay, the number of troops in Ji Town was greatly reduced, which triggered a mutiny. Today, there are only more than 30,000 defenders in Ji Town. There are not as many war horses in Ji Town as in the Wanli period. At that time, there were four horses.
Thousands of dollars.
Chongzhen thought for a moment and concluded that this was indeed the case.
A man like Liu Chengzong could not control anything, and Chongzhen did not dare to entertain the idea that Liu Chengzong really had not looted Jizhen.
After all, there are so many abstract things in this era, so it won’t be too surprising to look far away from the near.
"In this case, we have to put the food adjustment matter on hold, no."
As soon as Chongzhen followed Zhang Fengyi's words, he immediately changed his words: "No, let Qian Butang go out as an envoy with the imperial edict first. As for the internal ministers, let Zhi Xuzi go with him."
Cao Huachun was standing behind him, holding a fly whisk in his hands. Hearing these words, he stood stunned on the spot as if he had been struck by lightning.
He almost cried: Why is it me again!
Cao Huachun was really unhappy to meet Liu Chengzong, but it wasn't because Liu Chengzong treated him badly. In fact, it wasn't that bad.
And based on past experience, Liu Chengzong didn't have much interest in him, and the chance of keeping him by his side was very small.
But what can I say about the uncontrollable ferocity of the people in the Marshal's Mansion? In the Forbidden City, he only served Chongzhen, but when it came to Liu Chengzong, there were all Chongzhens in need of service.
I'm so tired from the business trip.
It's a pity that what he does is to serve the emperor, and he has to do whatever the emperor asks him to do.
Compared with Cao Huachun who was struck by lightning, Qian Shisheng had nothing to fear and worry about. The important officials of the imperial court were about to send envoys to the rebels and immediately put on airs.
He even felt that this was Chongzhen's concession to Li Jing, and told Mr. Wen Ge that if he was sent as an envoy, Li Jing must be imprisoned.
Wen Tiren smiled: OK, OK, good.
Wen Tiren had a good grasp of Chongzhen's thoughts. He knew the emperor's character very well.
Things that happened in the past made the emperor extremely unconfident about his own vision. However, his strong inferiority complex made the emperor extremely arrogant, that is, he was headstrong and would not listen to what others said. He would also feel embarrassed and even more stubborn.
This is also the reason why Wen Tiren never dissuades Chongzhen. When something goes wrong, he always just hopes for the emperor's sanction.
If you can't help but persuade, the more you persuade, and the more correct your advice is, the more embarrassed the emperor will feel.
This kind of thing has happened many times. When a good general dies, the emperor will cry, cry sincerely, and be very sad.
But when they are alive, they are not nice to others.
I am sending you here because the emperor thinks you are useless and wants Liu Chengzong to give you some trouble and torment you. It is best to deduct the money for you and save him a lot of trouble.
Wen Ge Lao Xin said, if you Qian Shisheng cannot come back, the emperor will probably regret it and feel that he has thrown away a capable minister who has been certified by Liu Chengzong.
But the emperor will not feel guilty in his heart, because if you have the ability, why don't you have the ability to come back?
On the surface, it seems that you are incompetent, but in fact, you are capable. The emperor was wrong.
But because of Liu Chengzong's bigger mistake, he was able to cover up the emperor's mistake.
Everyone is happy.
So it would be really fun if you were released.
You, the cabinet minister, must have nothing to do with you. Just go back to your hometown in Jiaxing and start a garden. If you don't do it well, you'll have to go to jail.
Because of the emperor's unconfident vision, he was recognized by Liu Chengzong.
Even Liu thief thinks you are useless, then you must be really useless!
However, when the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were sending off Qian Shisheng's mission, smoke and dust rose up from the northwest of the capital, covering the sky and the sun. From time to time, donkeys, mules, and carts would bring women, old and weak people close to the city, and everyone's face was pale.
Immediately, the urgent report was delivered to the palace.