It was just after midnight, and there was still half an hour before the Royal Exchange opened. However, Wang Tao and Sun Tinglan, good friends, had already arrived at Qingfeng Tea House early, drinking tea while waiting for the Royal Exchange to open.
Sun Tinglan said: "Wang Gong, I heard that your Majesty has summoned dozens of soldiers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to coordinate the matter, and has held a meeting in Yilun Hall for seven consecutive days? I don't know what they are discussing?
"
Wang Tao looked around and saw no one around, and whispered: "My virtuous brother, don't go out to do great things. Your Majesty has summoned all the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to discuss the matter. The soldiers are raising troops to discuss the Northern Expedition."
"Northern Expedition?" Sun Tinglan's eyes widened.
"Shh." Wang Tao quickly signaled Sun Tinglan to be silent, "This is top secret."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw a newsboy rushing past the window, waving a newspaper in his hand and shouting loudly: "Sell newspapers, sell newspapers, the latest news, His Majesty the Emperor wants to launch an expedition to the north, in Yilun
In the hall, all the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the generals of the army were summoned to hold meetings for several days to discuss military plans in secret..."
】
"Gah?" Sun Tinglan was stunned when he heard this.
Didn't it say it was top secret? How come it got published in the newspapers?
Wang Tao even looked constipated and embarrassed.
However, the pedestrians on Chaoku Street suddenly became upset.
"Child, give me a point and a newspaper."
"Kid, give me one, it's five cents, there's no need to look for it."
In a short time, hundreds of newspapers in the newsboy's pocket were sold out.
Immediately afterwards, cheers like a mountain roar and a tsunami rang out on Chaoku Street.
There were faint sounds of crying, and many scholars were so excited that they burst into tears.
The emperor, the emperor, and the queen have learned from the experience. We, the Ming Dynasty, are finally going to raise the heavenly troops for the Northern Expedition!
In less than half a day, the news that the Ming Dynasty was about to launch its Northern Expedition spread throughout Nanjing.
Whether they were the scholars studying in the Imperial College, the vendors pushing carts and selling goods on the street, or the workers working hard in various workshops, they all cheered and looked proud after hearing the news.
It can be seen from this that the Northern Expedition was what the people aspired to.
Of course, it is impossible for any national policy to be supported by everyone.
For example, during the Northern Expedition, court officials, merchants, gentry, traffickers, workers, and even the girls in the South Courtyard all cheered, but many people also secretly sneered.
For example, a few frustrated people gathered in the Sihai Restaurant at the entrance of Wuyi Alley.
They are all old acquaintances of ours, including former cabinet minister Qian Qianyi, Huang Daozhou, Baoguo Gong Zhu Guobi, Chengyi Bo Liu Kongzhao and Ningnan Bo Zuo Mengeng.
Yes, that's right, Zuo Menggeng has been stripped of his royal title.
Even the Marquis was not saved, only Ning Nanbo was saved.
Putting down the Hanlin Daily in his hand, Huang Daozhou sighed and said: "The war is fierce and dangerous, how can it be easy to fight? Once the war begins, I don't know how many men will die on the battlefield and have their bones buried in other places."
"The poor bones by the Wuding River are like people in a spring boudoir's dream. What a pity." Qian Qianyi also shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that these foolish men and women are still there cheering, but they don't know that their husbands and their
My son, I’m afraid I’ll never come back again. Throughout the ages, countless dynasties have made northern expeditions. Many have failed, but few have succeeded.”
The scholar at the table next to him couldn't help but retort: "The Taizu of this dynasty regards Xu Da as his handsome man, doesn't that mean it's the end?"
"That was only the one time." Zhu Guobi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to do it a second time."
"Not necessarily." The scholar retorted again, "Everything has one thing and two parts. If the first Northern Expedition of this dynasty is successful, the second Northern Expedition will definitely be successful as well."
"A scholar's opinion." Zuo Mengeng said disdainfully.
"Pedantic views." The scholar replied again, "Cowardly views."
Zuo Mengeng was furious: "Who do you think you are? You are not qualified to talk about military matters."
The scholar retorted again: "I wonder who this dear fellow is? I hope you can tell me."
The surrounding drinkers laughed loudly, and Qian Qianyi, Huang Daozhou and others almost poked their heads under the table.
After all, Zuo Mengeng was young and vigorous. Although his title was downgraded to earl, his mentality had not yet adjusted. He immediately got up and bullied the scholar, and struck him with a straight punch in the face.
This punch stung a hornet's nest. The scholar just said hello, and dozens of scholars rushed in from the entrance of Wuyi Alley. They pushed Zuo Mengeng to the ground and beat him.
Zuo Menggeng said that I was Dingnan Bo.
Those scholars said it was you who was beaten!
The Zuo family still has many nursing staff.
But seeing that the person who was beating someone was a student from the Imperial College, how could he dare to step forward?
Not to mention now, even if we go back four or five years, they, the slaves of the noble family, would not dare to touch the students of the Imperial College. These people really cannot be provoked. They couldn't be provoked before, and they can't be provoked even more now.
Qian Qianyi and Huang Daozhou could only stamp their feet and lament: It is an insult to gentlemen.
…
Compared with Nanjing, the reaction of the gentry and common people in Beijing was obviously more pessimistic.
A few days after Dorgon's meeting at Prince Rui's Mansion, rumors spread all over Beijing. In the end, there were even rumors that Chongzhen was preparing to mobilize two million troops for a major northern expedition.
So the Jin gentry in Beijing began to abscond.
The main ones were the northern Jin gentry who had surrendered to Dashun before and later surrendered to establish slaves.
When the Dashun army invaded Beijing, they would not be martyrs for the Ming Dynasty. Later, when the Qing army invaded Beijing, they would not be martyrs for the Dashun Dynasty. Now that the Ming army is going to launch a large-scale Northern Expedition, they will naturally not be martyrs for the Qing Dynasty.
martyr.
Therefore, the wisest thing to do is to return to your place of origin to avoid the limelight of this war.
The calculations of these Jin gentry were really shrewd. They thought that if the Ming army succeeded in the Northern Expedition, wouldn't Chongzhen have to rely on them if he wanted to stabilize the situation in the northern provinces? They were roly-polys, no matter who sat on the dragon throne, they would not be left behind.
, so now, these northern Jin gentry will never become martyrs for the Qing Dynasty.
As a result, there was an endless stream of Han ministers who retired from old age and became officials.
Many Jin gentry living in Beijing also quietly returned to their hometowns.
For example, Zhang Jinyan, the former Minister of War in the Ming Dynasty, served as Minister of War in Dashun and Qing dynasties. However, he was dismissed from the post two years ago because he offended the Eight Banners dignitaries and has been idle since then.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After hearing the news this time, I quickly hit the road and headed back to Xinxiang.
Even the scholars from the Juren Camp of the Eight Banners Han Army began to abscond.
That morning, as soon as Meng Xueli arrived at the Fengtai camp from his apartment, he received a report from the duty officer Yu Chenglong: "Your Excellency, Yao Qisheng and more than ten southern officials intend to flee south."
"Yao Qisheng?" Meng Xueli frowned slightly.
Yao Qisheng was one of the more outstanding candidates among the more than two thousand candidates in Juren Camp.
After a brief thought, Meng Xueli immediately ordered Yu Chenglong: "Bring Yao Qisheng in."
"Hey." Yu Chenglong agreed, and immediately ordered Yao Qisheng to be brought to Meng Xueli's funeral home.
Meng Xueli asked Yu Chenglong and the other two people who were on duty to retire, and only he and Yao Qisheng were left in the carriage. Yao Qisheng looked at Meng Xueli with cautious eyes, as if asking Master Meng what he wanted.
"Yao Qisheng, I know what you are thinking." Meng Xueli said quietly.
"If it weren't for your exile to Tongzhou in the first year of Shunzhi, you would never be where you are today. With your character and ambition, you might be one of the six thousand Qinwang scholars at this time."
Hearing these words, Yao Qisheng felt regretful in his intestines.
If he had not recruited to join the Qing army in Tongzhou and returned to his hometown in Kuaiji, even if he was not one of the six thousand Qinwang scholars, he would have no problem being admitted to the first phase of the Imperial College.
But now, even if I go back, I can only take the fifth semester exam.
How can the status of the fifth issue be compared with that of the first issue?
What's more, if he is captured now, his life may not be guaranteed.
After a pause, Meng Xueli said again: "I will tell the regent that you did not abscond. You just followed my military order to buy pens, ink and paper. However, you will not abscond again from now on."
"Be sure to remember that this is the Fengtai camp, and the security is extremely tight."
"You can't even dodge the patrols of the Juren Battalion, how can you dodge the patrols of the Eight Banners Han Army and the Eight Banners Mongolia?"
"If you are caught by the Juren Camp patrol, there is still room for improvement, but once you are caught by the Eight Banners Han Army or the Eight Banners Mongolian patrol, no gods can save you."
"Why did you save our lives, sir?" Yao Qisheng frowned.
"Aren't you afraid that we will spread rumors in the Juren camp and disrupt the morale of the army?"
"Rumor? Is this really a rumor?" Meng Xueli exclaimed, "The fact is that the Ming army is really going to launch its Northern Expedition, and it will not be later than April at the latest."
…
News that a large number of Jin gentry and Han ministers were absconding reached Dorgon's ears.
Hou Fangyu was full of deep-seated hatred for these half-hearted "Han compatriots" and said to Dorgon: "Master, these half-hearted Yin and Yang people are the most abominable. Catch them all and kill them! It's just right to borrow the heads of these people."
Purify the hearts and minds of the people in Beijing and prepare for the war."
"Well, you can't solve the problem by killing."
Dorgon waved his hand and said: "The Qing Dynasty will never kill innocent gentry indiscriminately."
Hou Fangyu was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: When did the master become so tolerant and kind?
But after thinking about it again, Hou Fangyu understood why Dorgon did not dare to go on a killing spree.
The reason is very simple, because Dorgon's rule does not allow him to do this.
Due to the economic blockade of Nanming, the quality of life of the Eight Banners nobles deteriorated. The Eight Banners nobles were already full of complaints against Dorgon. There were even secret attempts by the Eight Banners nobles to get Fulin to take charge. If it weren't for the Qing Dynasty,
The composition of the army has undergone fundamental changes, and the Eight Banners in Manchuria no longer have the advantage. Dorgon may really have these secretly connected Eight Banners nobles ousted from power, and Fulin may really have taken over the government.
Therefore, if Dorgon goes on a killing spree against the Han gentry now, it will inevitably lead to the instability of the Eight Banners Han Army, the Green Battalion and Lian Yong Ye. At this point, who else can Dorgon count on? Just point to the 30,000 soldiers.
Eight Banners of Mongolia? When the time comes, these 38,000 Mongolian Banners will rebel in seconds and add insult to injury.