"What is reality? It means that we need to see the current situation clearly and adjust according to the situation, instead of talking about some perfect-sounding plans that are divorced from the current situation. When what we say is divorced from reality, no matter how perfect the plan is, it is nothing more than a fantasy.
.”
Zhu Ling's military strategies have obviously increased in recent days, and his insights into some strategies are sometimes as good as Wang Jiayan's.
"There is no doubt that Liu Zeqing should be killed. But when to kill is a point of contention between you. If we follow what you said and wait for a suitable time before killing, if intruders attack Shandong during this period, we have not organized an effective
How should we deal with it? Let Liu Zeqing resist?"
"Do you think Liu Zeqing will resist the intruders?"
"Of course not. Even if he did, he would hide it from the court, use publicity, and find a reason to deceive him." Fan Xianchao said immediately. Liu Zeqing's character has been deeply ingrained in their hearts in the past few days.
"We must kill him as soon as possible and stabilize Shandong as soon as possible. We will send people to garrison there and wherever assistance is needed, we must make arrangements in advance. I don't want to fight an unprepared battle."
After Zhu Ling finished speaking, everyone suddenly realized. What they said about killing slowly seemed rather childish and ridiculous when explained at this moment.
"Your Majesty, how should we kill him? Is it the Hongmen Banquet or?"
At this time, Meng Zhangming asked. How come Liu Zeqing is also a Shandong general, and a domineering general. According to this person's temperament, he must be protected by his own private soldiers. If he is willing to die openly, I am afraid he will directly
escape.
"I have a plan in mind. The most important thing is his private soldiers. If I find that his private soldiers cannot be won over when I get there, I will trap and kill them all."
"According to the order!"
The army soon arrived in Cangzhou. The county magistrate here heard that a large army had arrived outside the city. He was so frightened that he did not even see the flag clearly. He hurriedly ordered people to surrender, but he did not know that the person who came was actually the emperor.
When the envoy arrived in front of the army in panic, he discovered that the army was flying the flag of the Ming Dynasty! And there was a dragon pattern engraved on it. He immediately understood and realized that this was His Majesty's team.
However, the surrender document he held in his hand directly exposed him, and he was personally escorted in front of Zhu Ling by the soldiers.
Looking at the surrender document in this man's hand, Zhu Ling couldn't help but sneer. He wanted to surrender in such a panic before the army outside the city arrived. He was really as cowardly as a mouse!
"Wang Qing, look at this document, it's very well written."
After that, Zhu Ling handed the document directly to Wang Chengen, and Wang Chengen handed the document to Wang Jiayan. After Wang Jiayan read it, he immediately snorted and looked at the envoy with murderous eyes.
"Your Majesty, I think all the officials in Cangzhou need to be beheaded! Before the army arrives, each one of them is vying to be the rebel who surrenders. If these rebels are not killed, they are really in vain for the kindness of Ming Dynasty!"
Hearing Wang Jiayan's words, the envoy was so frightened that he was trembling all over. He was the only one who came out to deliver a message. Who knew that this large army was brought by His Majesty? They always remembered that His Majesty was trapped in the capital.
Where to escape?
I even heard that King Chuang had hundreds of thousands of troops besieging the capital. Did His Majesty really escape from such a heavy siege? Could it be that His Majesty in front of me is fake, that he is neither King Chuang nor a slave-builder, but suddenly raised an army?
The rebel?
"How was Sima Jingru's reconnaissance?"
Zhu Ling smiled and did not reply. Instead, he asked about Sima Jingru's situation. After all, he led hundreds of people ahead, so he knew the situation ahead relatively well.
"Reporting to your Majesty, General Sima Shen has just sent someone to inform the ministers that there is no unusual movement ahead, and your Majesty can enter the city with confidence." Fan Xianchao stepped forward to report.
"Then let's enter the city. The army has been running around for half a day and it's time to rest. Although we are still in Beizhili, we are not far away."
After saying that, Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao beside them bowed and took orders, leading their troops and riding straight towards Cangzhou. They lost their backs in a cloud of smoke and dust.
Looking at the envoy who was so frightened that he had peed all over his body, Zhu Ling asked someone to pull him away in disgust. Don't kill him, just let him leave on his own and don't think about going back to be an official.
"Your Majesty, it can be seen from Cangzhou that the local officials of the Ming Dynasty, especially the Ming Dynasty, have lost their fighting spirit. This army has not yet clearly seen which side it belongs to, so it actually sent people out to surrender. It is really ridiculous."
Indeed, it is true that there was no such thing as surrendering in advance. But such a ridiculous scene actually happened to an official of the Ming Dynasty. As a high official of the imperial court, he was naturally extremely angry.
Wang Jiayan also had the spirit of a military commander, and when he saw this scene, he wanted to kill him directly. He hated that these people's bones were so fragile, even if they could not resist, they would not stop there.
"Wang Qing, I want to say something. Maybe this sentence touches the face of my ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, but I still want to say it. I want to say that since the period of Emperor Jiajing, the Ming Dynasty has begun to go downhill, but I can't see anything in the early stage.
, but the root cause is there. I have worked hard to rule for seventeen years, but how many people have been replaced and how many people have been killed?"
Having said this, Zhu Ling clasped his hands behind his back and paced sadly: "But what's the result? The Ming Dynasty has long-standing shortcomings that cannot be changed by me alone in more than ten years. Even if I were replaced by other emperors of the Ming Dynasty, they would be like this."
Hearing this, Wang Jiayan couldn't help but lower his head. What His Majesty said is true. The army came along the way. Everywhere they went, they saw countless refugees wandering, and countless people didn't even have decent clothes. And what about those officials?
, all of them were so full of food that Wang Jiayan would have killed them all if His Majesty hadn't refused.
But he also knew that even killing them would be useless. I am afraid that the officials who took office were still like this. It was not a question of whether they could be cured or not, but that most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty were corrupt and deep-rooted. This kind of culture has already penetrated into large and small businesses.
It is extremely difficult to eradicate in small officials.
Let’s talk about the hundreds of officials in the capital. His Majesty previously asked officials at all levels to donate silver. Many officials were crying and struggling. They all said that they didn’t have a few cents of silver at home, and some even cried out that Your Majesty wanted to kill them.
But what about the facts?
His Majesty was so cruel that he sent Jin Yiwei to search the properties of several ministers, including Chen Yan, who was crying for poverty. However, he did not expect that Chen Yan had a hundred thousand taels of silver hidden in his home. There were also many silver ingots buried underground. Unexpectedly, it also surprised them.
Can't believe it.
His family only had more than ten thousand taels of silver, and he donated three thousand taels to His Majesty.
"If these cannot be resolved, the Ming Dynasty will eventually be dragged down by corrupt officials." Zhu Ling suddenly turned around and said solemnly to Wang Jiayan.
"Kill some people. In troubled times, heavy laws should be used. It seems that local officials are used to living a comfortable life. They deceive the government's decrees and ignore the safety of the people. It is because of them that the Ming Dynasty is so weak."
When he heard that people were going to kill people, Wang Jiayan was naturally the first to agree. As a hawk in the court, he had always pursued force rather than the Confucian etiquette practiced by some civil servants.
"Your Majesty, do you want to start from Cangzhou? I feel that most of the officials in Cangzhou should be killed, but not all of them are rebellious officials. Maybe there are a few loyal people among them. If used well, Cangzhou will be our great Ming Dynasty
The first state and county to come back to life."
"Let's go, the officials in Cangzhou are waiting for us."