It has been seven years since Wang Dehua took over as the Chief of Li from Wei Zhongxian's party member Wang Tiqian, but he has never seen Chongzhen so sad or crying so hard in these seven years. The sad howling made him panic, and he turned around and looked around. Most of the eunuchs and maids stood holding their breath outside the curtains and under the eaves. A few timid ones were already kneeling on the ground and shaking. A few steps away, Ma Yuancheng, the new eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace, stood with red eyes and his shoulders hunched from crying.
"Are you a dead person? Why don't you hurry up and send a message to the ladies!"
After being kicked by Wang Dehua, Ma Yuancheng came to his senses, rubbed his waist with one hand, and ran away as promised. This Ma Yuancheng was the eunuch in charge who took over from the incompetent imperial eunuch Zhao Quan last month. He had been working in Shangyin Supervisor before. As an errand, he can be regarded as an old man who has experienced two dynasties, but he dare not let go of anything in front of Wang Dehua, and he will be as obedient as he wants.
After driving Ma Yuancheng away, several young eunuchs from Shangshan Supervisor came over carrying red lacquer food boxes and saw Wang Dehua from a distance. The leading eunuch hurriedly saluted and said: "Old ancestor..."
"Silence!" Wang Dehua pointed at the palace door behind him and cursed: "Are you tired of living? How dare you come at this time!"
The eunuch was stunned and replied: "In the past, meals were served at this time. That's right!"
Wang Dehua glared at him: "If you can get a few meals from the Pope, our family will reward you heavily!"
"That's a small job..." The eunuch was completely unaware that something had happened. He was smiling brightly and was about to thank him when two tall eunuchs carrying a bright yellow shoulder carriage rushed over and climbed up the stairs, followed by Ma Yuancheng and several palace maids were running out of breath.
Wang Dehua rushed up quickly, waited for the chariot to be settled, and hurriedly came over to salute and carefully reported: "Long live my lord, the Queen is here."
There was silence in the palace, and Empress Zhou said with tears: "Your Majesty, my concubine is here..."
There was still no sound in the palace, and the eunuchs and maids were all stunned. Wang Dehua resisted the urge to go into the palace to have a look, and reported in a low voice again: "Long live my lord, the queen is here."
Chongzhen's feeble voice came from the palace, "Queen, please go back, I don't want to see anyone, I only want to see my ancestors."
Hearing this, Queen Zhou trembled all over and said in shock: "Why, the emperor is going to see his ancestors?" She was uneasy, fearing that her husband would be too sad and do something bad.
In the palace, Chongzhen saw no movement outside and said impatiently: "Let's go, let's go! Only I can be quiet!"
Hearing her husband's crying voice, Queen Zhou felt sad, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Then, will I send the lunch in before leaving?"
"Hahaha…"
Chongzhen in the hall smiled bitterly, "How can I still think about eating? How can I swallow it? I want to go to the Fengxian Hall to kowtow to my ancestors, and I have to apologize! I am an unfilial descendant!" After saying that, he pushed the door open and went out. He didn't even look at Queen Zhou, let alone take a chariot, and walked to Fengxian Hall.
Queen Zhou saw this and was busy following on foot. Wang Dehua and other eunuchs also hurriedly followed. There was silence all the way.
After Chongzhen entered the Fengxian Hall, he knelt in front of the ancestral god and cried loudly, feeling even more sad than before in the Wenhua Hall.
"Your Majesty, take care!"
Unauthorized entry was prohibited, so Empress Zhou followed her and knelt down outside the Fengxian Hall, not daring to go in to comfort her. She cried and conveyed the order to the field. The second concubine Yuan, Prince Yong and Prince Ding came together.
When Concubine Tian and the Crown Prince arrived, everyone knelt down outside the palace gate and advised the Emperor to think of the common people in the world and not to be too sad and damage the holy body.
The numerous eunuchs and maids who were accompanying them saw the queen, the concubine, the prince and the two young kings all crying sadly. They all sobbed with red eyes, and there was a burst of crying inside and outside the Fengxian Palace.
"Your Majesty----"
An old and hoarse cry came, and everyone turned to look, but it was Mrs. Liu who had arrived. Mrs. Liu was in her eighties. Among the concubines of the previous dynasty, she was the oldest and the most respected. Chongzhen lost his mother when he was young, and he had suffered many injuries. She raised her for a long time. There was no queen mother in the Chongzhen and Tianqi dynasties, so the Queen Mother's Jade Seal in the palace was in charge of Concubine Liu.
When Empress Zhou saw Mrs. Liu coming, she hurriedly stood up and helped her: "Old ancestor, why did you alert me?"
"Queen! I'm not stupid yet, I can still move my legs and feet. When Concubine Tian said that the ancestral mausoleum was burned down by bandits, the Emperor was so angry that he cried and didn't even take a bite of food. I, I feel bad!" Concubine Liu! With red eyes, he stepped forward with a dragon-head crutch, tremblingly patted the door and said: "Your Majesty, all the ancestors are here to watch you. They know your heart, and they still want you to say this for them! You How can you do this without eating or drinking? The Ming Dynasty conquered by Emperor Taizu Gao still relies on you!"
Empress Zhou felt a bit angry when she heard the words seemed to be complaining. She glanced at Concubine Tian and was somewhat grateful to her for being well-behaved and clever, but also secretly blamed her for being meddlesome. Just as she was thinking about how to tell the difference, she heard Chongzhen's hoarse voice. He shouted: "Hand towel." He hurriedly took the soaked hand towel from Ma Yuancheng's hand, gently opened a corner of the door and handed it over. Chongzhen took it and wiped his face before ordering everyone to enter the palace.
After everyone bowed in front of the ancestral god, Chongzhen sighed loudly, stroked the prince's head and choked with sobs: "Our ancestors have never seen such tragic changes in their country for three hundred years. Since I became emperor, I have respected the heaven and the ancestors, worked diligently and loved the people, and have never lost my virtue. .I didn’t expect that the bandits would be so rampant and difficult to control, and the chaos would become more and more intense, to the point where the ancestral mausoleum was destroyed and the central capital fell. How could I be worthy of my ancestors!”
He suppressed his crying, closed his eyes for a while, and then said: "You don't need to comfort me. I know in my heart that I won't make nonsense. I must take the head of the bandit and present it to the Ancestral Temple to comfort the spirits of my ancestors in heaven. I will wash this place with snow." What a shame!"
Concubine Liu sighed and said with tears, "My dear, it's hard for you too."
Chongzhen said sadly: "My ancestors were all children with little virtue and little ability, and they did not receive a good inheritance for our ancestors. In those days, Lord Shenzong did nothing to rule and had few affairs at home. How comfortable it is to be an emperor! When it comes to grandson, he has caused so many disasters. I am really at a loss, and my ancestors are not able to live in peace, so they have to worry so much and feel ashamed!"
"I have watched you grow up. Master Shenzong and your father and brother have left you with this mess. It will not be easy to clean up. You have to do well so that ZTE can have hope."
As Concubine Liu spoke, she couldn't help covering her face and crying. Concubine Tian stepped forward to help her and advised: "Ancestor, isn't this a good thing for the Emperor? If you are sad again, won't you be provoking him again? We juniors are all I won’t agree!”
"I feel sad to see the emperor lose weight again."
"Oops! Old ancestor, have you forgotten that Liu Bei didn't ride a horse for a long time, his spleen was reborn, he was doing nothing, and he cried with emotion? The emperor's Qing has been reduced, which is the proof that he has been working hard on state affairs and ZTE has made progress!"
After everyone persuaded him, Chongzhen was in a better mood. After sending Concubine Liu away, no one was left to accompany him to the meal. Lunch was already simple due to the cost reduction, with only four dishes and one soup, and no meat or fishy food. Chongzhen felt a sense of pain in his heart. , this lunch was extremely difficult to eat. Not only was it tasteless, but after two bites, it reminded me of the burning of the ancestral mausoleum. I was so sad that I burst into tears, threw chopsticks, and felt confused. Ma, but also had to care about the dignity of the king, and suppressed his grief and anger to eat.
After eating like this intermittently for half an hour, Chongzhen pulled off the sky blue napkin and waved everyone away. He originally wanted to rest on the imperial couch in the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, but he felt that his chest was filled with boredom and he did not feel sleepy at all. He sat alone. After pondering for a long time, Wang Dehua came in and ordered:
"The decree was drawn up. Under the command of Hong Chengchou, he quickly marched into the army to encircle and suppress the rogue bandits in the east. They were not allowed to appease. Under the command of Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian, Governor of Water Transport and Governor of Lu, Feng, Huai, and Yang Prefectures, he moved the town to Fengyang and restored the imperial mausoleum. The prince-in-law Ran Xingrang I went to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to my second ancestor."
After Chongzhen finished speaking several decrees in one breath, he took a long breath and said: "The bandits have not been suppressed, and the mausoleum was shocked. I want to move out of the main hall of Qianqing Palace, tidy up the wooden house next to Wenhua Palace, and go there I sit in meditation and abstain from guilt. Unless there are any ceremonial events, I wear black clothes and manage government affairs on weekdays. I reduce my meals and abstain from pleasure, and share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers until the day when the invaders are defeated."
After hearing this decree, Wang Dehua was shocked and hurriedly stopped him and said: "Long live the Lord, did you mean to save yourself from guilt? You can't do that! You can't light a fire in that wooden house, it's freezing..." Before he could finish his words, Seeing Chongzhen's sharp gaze, he was so frightened that he stopped talking and changed his words: "Yes, yes, I will go down and prepare now."
Shengke lives in the northwest corner of Wenhua Hall, but it is not close to the main hall. It is isolated on all sides, like a high-rise attic, far away from the world. The foundation of the house is made of thick logs, three feet above the ground. The wooden house has been idle for a long time and has not been used for many years. After it was opened, the railings and wooden steps were covered with dust, spider webs hung in front of the eaves and windows, and weeds grew along the south road in front of the house. In terms of scale and decoration, it was very different from the Wenhua Palace, and it became more and more obvious. It is a small and shabby place. It is unimaginable that there is such a dilapidated place in the magnificent palace.
Wang Dehua ordered people to clean up the Shengwei Residence overnight and seal the ventilation gaps. Early the next morning, Chongzhen stepped into the Shengwei Residence, kowtowed respectfully to the Jade Emperor, and sat with his eyes closed, meditating. , thinking about how to issue an edict to sin against oneself, and how to express it for the ancestors as soon as possible.
........
Hong Chengchou's life was not easy either. Ever since he led his army out of Tongguan, the officers and soldiers had been constantly attacking the enemy. The thieves were divided into several groups, moving east and west, gathering and then dispersing. The officers and soldiers of each department were slow to move, and it was difficult to supply food and grass. It was impossible to suppress them quickly. Time. The longer he delays, the harder it will be for his strategy of "pacifying thieves in June" reported to the court to be effective.
The house was leaking when it rained continuously. In October, Gushan deputy commander Ai Wannian, Liu Chenggong, Liu Guozhen, and guerrilla Wang Ximing sent 3,000 men to pursue the rebel army Lao Huihui's headquarters in Xiangle Town, Ningzhou. They were ambushed and captured. During the siege, Ai Wannian and Liu Guozhen were killed, Liu Chenggong and Wang Ximing were seriously injured, and more than a thousand officers and soldiers died.
When the news came, Hong Chengchou was horrified and did not dare to pursue the attack with a light army. He ordered all the troops to stand by in order to prevent them from being defeated one by one by the bandits.
In November, Cao Wenzhao, who was transferred from the Yansui Commander-in-Chief to the Support and Suppression Commander-in-Chief, heard that Ai Wannian had been killed in battle and was furious. He asked Hong Chengchou to send troops to avenge Ai Wannian.
Cao Wenzhao was a famous general in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. He was famous for his bravery and outstanding military exploits. He had never been defeated. When the rebels heard his name, they often fled. It was said at the time that "there is a Cao in the army, and the thieves will be frightened when they hear about it."
Hong Chengchou was overjoyed that such a fierce general asked him to attack the bandits, and he immediately agreed. However, he said that he had no soldiers to give to Cao Wenzhao, and only promised to serve as his rear guard, so Cao Wenzhao led 3,000 troops to the expedition.
On December 28, Cao Wenzhao's troops encountered an army of 80,000 rebels including Lao Huihui, Jiutiao Longguo Dacheng, Guo Tianxing, Cao Cao, Luo Rucai and others in Qiutou Town, Zhenning. Cao Wenzhao rushed to kill them and chased them. After killing the rebel army for more than thirty miles, suddenly the rebel army ambushed and surrounded Cao Wenzhao's army. During the fierce battle, one of his soldiers was captured, and he shouted: "General, save me!" Then someone in the rebel army recognized him. , said: "This is General Cao."
As soon as he heard that Cao Wenzhao was here, the rebel army surged up and surrounded him. Cao Wenzhao clashed with left and right, killing dozens of people and fighting for several miles. However, the rebel army came like a tide, and Cao Wenzhao could not do anything. He escaped and finally committed suicide.
Hong Chengchou, who had suffered successive defeats and lost generals, did not dare to report Cao Wenzhao's death to the court. Instead, he ordered all armies to celebrate the New Year on the spot and wait until after the New Year to join forces to surround the bandits. But just after the Lantern Festival, news came that the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum had been destroyed. The frightened Hong Chengchou no longer dared to stand still, and hurriedly urged the army to branch out and rush in for encirclement and suppression.
Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong separated their forces and left. Zhang Xianzhong went deep between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, while Gao Yingxiang headed northwest to Germany, met Luo Rucai and Hui Deng, and took advantage of the opportunity to kill back to Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou was shocked, and seeing that he could not catch up, he galloped to Shaanxi. Governor Sun Chuanting issued an urgent document and stopped people along the way.
............
In Guangde Town, Weihui Prefecture, Henan Province, Shi Dayong led 30,000 soldiers wearing sackcloth and filial piety, looking at Zhending from afar, crying, "Give me back General Cao!"
After thirteen cannons were fired, Cao Bianjiao, commander of the newly formed Army Cavalry Guard in Liaodong, led his 6,000 cavalry troops to attack Zhangde.