After Chongzhen finished reading it, he handed the letter to Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang was speechless after reading it.

After a long time, Chongzhen sneered: "I really don't know. It turns out that Huang Taiji hated Pang Gang so much, and he actually wrote to me to use his head to exchange for peace between the two countries. Yang Aiqing, what do you think?"

Yang Sichang said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, please redeem the old minister for being frank. The old minister thought that even if Pang Gang was unruly and arrogant, it would not be the turn of the Tartars to point fingers. Even if he wanted to punish the Ming Dynasty, we must let the Ming Dynasty come by himself. When will it be their turn to point fingers at us?"

"Well, my dear words are reasonable." Chongzhen's expression eased a little, and then said, "Our Ming Dynasty doesn't need anyone to worry about us. Although Pang Gang will be punished by me sooner or later, Huang Taiji's move also proves one thing. They, the Jurchens, have been rampant for so many years, and finally there are people who make them feel scared."

Speaking of this, Chongzhen's heart was both a little sad and a little relieved. What was sad was that Pang Gang was a general who was able to fight, so why did he go further and further away from the court? What was relieved was that Pang Gang was here, and he saw that the Jurchens who were domineering in their daily life dared to come to the Ming Dynasty to snatch things unscrupulously.

Yang Sichang looked at Chongzhen's face. He understood Chongzhen's feelings very well. A general who made the Tartars so afraid of was not under the control of the court, and it felt uncomfortable if anyone was the emperor. What's more, the Tartars threatened in the letter that if they wanted to negotiate peace, the prerequisite was to kill Pang Gang, but they did not touch their pig minds. Think about it, would it be their turn to speak if Pang Gang was so easy to kill? The court had already dismissed him.

Just as Yang Sichang was thinking a lot, Chongzhen handed him another letter. When Yang Sichang saw it, he found that it was written by Ma Mian, who went to Qingzhou to announce the imperial edict. It not only mentioned what they saw and heard after they arrived in Qingzhou, but also wrote out the reasons and requests for Pang Gang to not send troops. Yang Sichang was frightened.

"Good guy, the governor of the three provinces, he can say it out loud. He is not afraid of being forced to death." Yang Sichang's hand holding the letter was trembling. It was the first time that such arrogant words had happened in the nearly three hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

After reading it, Yang Sichang quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this Pang Gang is so rebellious. I think it must be severely punished, otherwise where is the majesty of our Ming Dynasty and the national law!"

"Okay, okay, don't pretend!" Chongzhen waved his hand impatiently. He said angrily: "If my dear really wants to share my worries, then send someone to catch Pang Gang back."

When Yang Sichang saw that Chongzhen was unhappy, he quickly laughed dryly and lowered his head and stopped talking.

After Chongzhen scolded Yang Sichang, he saw him pretending to be stupid and asked unhappily: "Yang Aiqing, I asked you to come here to pretend to be deaf and dumb. I ask you, how should you deal with Ma Mian and letters outside the pass?"

Yang Sichang pondered for a while before he arrived: "I am the same old saying, I, the Ming Dynasty, must not compromise with those barbarians. No matter how Pang Gang is not, he is also from my Ming Dynasty. It is not their turn to make trouble. As for how to deal with Pang Gang's affairs, I think that now our dynasty is short of troops, so it is really not appropriate to make a big move. As for Pang Gang's position as the governor of the three provinces, we must not give it to you, nor can we give it all. According to me, it is better to give him the right to collect grain and recruit troops on the spot in Hubei. After all, if Pang Gang wants to contribute to the country, he will not send troops without giving him some sweetness."

Speaking of this, Yang Sichang secretly complained that the emperor was really stingy. Although the title of Champion Hou was noble, no matter how noble he was now, he was not as good as visible benefits. After all, no one was a fool. No one could do thankless things.

Chongzhen was silent for a moment, and the corner of his mouth squirmed for a moment and was about to say something, suddenly a crisp voice came, "The child has met his father and his mother."

Chongzhen looked up. A pretty figure was already standing beside Queen Zhou, looking at him timidly. It turned out that his daughter was coming. When he saw Zhu Niu, Chongzhen showed a smile on his face. He waved and said, "My mother, come to my father's side."

"Hehe, Father is the best." Seeing that Chongzhen was not angry when he saw him running over, Zhu Mei's little panic was thrown out of the sky, and she smiled and came to Chongzhen, hugged his neck and hung it on his father's body to act coquettishly.

"Father, you haven't been to see your daughter for a long time. My daughter misses you to death."

Chongzhen gave birth to many children, but only three sons and two daughters could survive. He loved this daughter very much on weekdays. At this moment, he was left with no choice but to say with a stern face: "Look at what you want. You are fourteen years old, and you are still like a child, come down quickly."

"Oh!" Zhu Mai remembered that there was another minister here, and quickly pouted his mouth and let go of his hand holding his father's neck.

After looking at his daughter lovingly, Chongzhen turned to Yang Sichang and said, "I have considered my wish, but I am worried that if Pang Gang is granted the power to control Hubei local areas, it may be too big in the future."

Yang Sichang sighed in his heart. Although the emperor's worries make sense, the court now has to ask others for sincerity. But now the emperor's heart has obviously not turned around yet. Now they are clearly not taking the court seriously. You are still holding an air, so how can you do it?

Before Yang Sichang could answer, Zhu Mai rushed to say, "Father, is Pang Gang you are talking about the thousand-household that broke the Tartar army outside the city wall last year?"

After hearing his daughter's words, Chongzhen couldn't help but smile bitterly: "They are no longer thousands of households, but champions."

"What, he is already the champion?" Because Zhu Mai was not well-informed in the palace and did not know much about the outside world, she was still very clear about the fact that she had not been awarded a title in the court for more than a hundred years. Therefore, when she heard this news, she immediately widened her beautiful eyes and looked in disbelief.

Just as Zhu Mai was catching Chongzhen's hand and still trying to ask something, Queen Zhou next to him said, "My father is busy, don't disturb him."

"Oh!" Zhu Mai replied aggrievedly, walked over and snuggled in Queen Zhou's arms, and watched her father handle government affairs with eager eyes.

Chongzhen was also very helpless at this time. Pang Gang's lack of rabbits and no eagle really made him a headache. Finally, Chongzhen said helplessly: "Okay, Yang Aiqing, you will issue an order now and bring him the king's banner. I will endure this tone for the time being. If he cannot pacify Hubei, I will settle the new and old accounts with him."

Although Chongzhen spoke in a vicious tone, everyone could hear the resentment in his words...

Chongzhen mid-October

It is the autumn harvest season. The outside of Qingzhou City is full of yellow wheat ears, countless people are harvesting wheat, and the sounds of laughter are everywhere in the fields.

Since the beginning of this year, while Pang Gang has vigorously gathered refugees, he has invested no less than one million taels of silver in Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou to develop agriculture.

With Pang Gang's unsupported support, water conservancy has been promoted everywhere in these places, dense canals and water trucks can be seen everywhere, and hard work has finally been reported.

Since the autumn harvest began, both Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou have been getting good news, and news of a bumper harvest has been heard from all over the country, which also made me feel a little nervous. Pang Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In order to show his favorable behavior, Pang Gang also took a group of generals to participate in the wheat harvesting activity. Unexpectedly, before cutting a few pieces of land, his hand was cut by a sickle and had to leave early, which also made Pang Gang, who had never participated in such labor, was greatly depressed.

However, Pang Gang's frustration did not last long, and Huayan soon asked to see him and reported to him the current harvested grain output.

"Sir, as of yesterday, Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou have harvested a total of 3 million stones of grain. These foods are enough to allow the people who feed the three states to have surplus. According to the originally agreed taxes, we can harvest about 500,000 stones of grain."

"Well, it's done well!" Pang Gang nodded with relief and asked again: "Hua Experience, do you think about it. If I recruit more troops, how many soldiers can this 500,000 stone of grain support?"

Huayan pondered, calculated silently before answering: "Our soldiers are about 50,000, plus 20,000 naval forces are 70,000. In addition to the food and grass that supplies existing soldiers, if we are collecting 50,000 soldiers, these foods can be used to harvest the spring grain we are late next year."

"So many?" Pang Gangxi said: "Okay, then we will conquer another 50,000 troops."

"What, recruit more soldiers?" Huayan was startled. "If we recruit so many soldiers, our food will be a little tight!"

Pang Gang said lightly: "What are you afraid of? As long as you have soldiers, are you still afraid of not having food?"

Looking at Pang Gang's expressionless face, Hua Yan always felt that the adults seemed to have some worries. It seemed that he was worried about something.

Pang Gang was indeed worried because there was always an inexplicable sense of crisis lingering in his heart. Although he defeated the Qing Dynasty and Li Zicheng, he knew very well that this did not become a reason for him to rest assured. Although Shandong now seems very rich and its business has developed greatly, everything needs strength to ensure. Before completely defeating the bandits and the Tartars, all this is likely to become a flower in the mirror and the moon in the water.

"Sir, Eunuch Ma is asking for a meeting!" A voice rang outside the signing room.

"Please come in!"

"Abide by the order!"

Soon, Eunuch Ma walked in with a duck. As soon as he entered the door, he said with relief: "Marty, our family congratulates you! The emperor has agreed to your conditions. The emperor has issued an imperial edict and rewarded you with a flag of kingship, so that you can control the civil and military officials in Hubei Province. You can take action first and then report to officials below the fourth rank!"

Pang Gang and Huayan looked at each other for a moment, and the two were very surprised. Although Chongzhen gave a discount to Pang Gang's request, Pang Gang knew that this was the biggest concession that Chongzhen could make, but this did not meet Pang Gang's request.

"This is not enough!" Pang Gang shook his head slowly: "Eunuch Ma, I want the power of governors of the three provinces, but the emperor only gave it to Hubei. If the bandits wandered to Hunan or Henan, what should I do?"

Eunuch Ma smiled bitterly, "Mr. Marquis, let us tell you the truth. It is the greatest tolerance to be able to retreat to this point according to the emperor's temperament. It is impossible for you to control the three sanitary conditions at once."

Pang Gang shook his head and said, "Is that so? Since the emperor is so embarrassed, I don't want it. Please pack up the imperial edict and the king's flag. Where can I fight? I will not serve you anymore!"

"What, you want to resist the order!" Having said this, Eunuch Ma couldn't stand the good temper and said with a cold face: "Mr. Pang, you have to think about it, what will happen if you really want to resist the order!"

It doesn’t matter if Ma’s threat is so threatening. Pang Gang, who is angry with a bull, also sneered: “Okay, I want to see what consequences can be. I am not afraid to tell you the truth. This is the condition. If the emperor is unhappy, please ask him to send someone else to Hubei by himself. I will not serve you yet! Come and see off the guests!”

As Pang Gang finished speaking, the door was opened. Two personal guards stood in front of the door, pressed their right hand on the hilt of the knife, staring at Eunuch Ma with cold eyes, and made a gesture of inviting with their left hand.

Eunuch Ma, who was so angry that he was trembling all over, roared loudly: "Pang Gang, you thief without a king or a father. You will regret it!"

"Hmph!" Pang Gang snorted coldly from his nostrils: "Okay, I am waiting for this day. Come and see off the guests!"

"Bang........"

When the door was closed, Pang Gang breathed a long sigh and closed his eyes slightly. At this time, he seemed calm, but his heart was surging. His rejection meant that Hubei would fall in a very short period of time. Is this right or wrong?

"I am not a savior, and I can't save so many people..."

New Year's Eve in the 10th year of Chongzhen

The Chinese Lunar New Year is on this day when thousands of families were originally celebrating. Not every household can celebrate with their family.

At least this is true in Xiangfan, Hubei. Half a month ago, after Li Zicheng captured Xiangfan, he led his troops to capture Wuchang Prefecture, the capital of Hubei. After the Hubei Governor surrendered and was captured, Li Zicheng cut off his head.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Zongmin led 50,000 bandits to kill Yuezhou Prefecture, which was very much like swallowing Hunan in one go.

The fall of Wuchang was shocked by the entire Ming Dynasty, which also meant that the Ming Dynasty gave up a provincial government to the bandits, and also sent a signal to the whole world that the entire Ming Dynasty was already a strong man from the outside and the middle. Following the bandits' rebellion was no longer a loss of heads, but could become a hero who followed the dragon.

After Li Zicheng captured Hubei, his reputation reached an unprecedented peak. Influenced by this news, Zhang Xianzhong, who was originally fighting hard in Sichuan, also captured most of the entire Sichuan like a chicken blood. In this New Year, the entire Ming Dynasty was in a storm.

After the Break Army captured Wuchang, it immediately seized the granary, but the result disappointed Li Zicheng and many generals. There was only less than 30,000 stones of grain in Wuchang's granary, which was less than 100,000 to eat more than 100,000 soldiers and their families for a month.

In order to raise food, Li Zicheng ordered the confiscation of the homes of all the wealthy gentry in Wuchang City. This time, they were overjoyed. They had exceeded nearly 800,000 shi of grain in total. This result also made Li Zicheng and his generals very happy. With these food and grass, they would no longer have to worry about food and grass for at least half a year.

With food and grass, Li Zicheng was rarely generous and began to open warehouses for relief in the city. Li Yan, who had been newly surrendered, also took the opportunity to "respecte the virtuous and respect the men and women, eliminate violence and mercy in the people," and "do not practice benevolence and righteousness, prohibit soldiers from killing lustful people, and win people's hearts and seek great things."

Under Li Yan's persuasion, Li Zicheng also accepted some of Li Yan's opinions, restrained his soldiers, arrested some of those who looted or insulted women from poor people and dealt with military discipline, and declared to the soldiers in public: "Killing one person is like killing my father, and lustful one person is like lustful my mother."

Li Yan also knew some of the mysteries of public opinion propaganda. He sent people to dress up as merchants and spread rumors among the people: "The army of the king of robbery and righteousness should not be killed or plundered"; he also compiled nursery rhymes to make children sing everywhere: "Open the door to welcome the king of robbery, and the king of robbery will not be paid when he comes", "Open the door early to worship the king of robbery, and everyone will be happy to discipline everyone." It was in this year that the hungry people in Hubei were looking at the clouds and the ghosts were like drought, "I was afraid that they would not be able to achieve their own achievements", "Ten thousand people would be able to achieve their own achievements", and for a time, Li Zicheng's prestige among the people reached a peak...

The north wind was swaying, and snowflakes kept falling from the sky. At this time, the snow in Wuchang City was nearly two feet deep. Countless ragged refugees were huddled under the corner of the high-walled courtyard. The war made them lose their homes and everything. Now they have nothing.

The end of the year is approaching, and grain, vegetables and firewood are getting more and more difficult day by day. Although the rebel army opened warehouses and provided relief grain from time to time, it seemed that there were more monks and less porridge in the face of hundreds of thousands of people. Generally, small families could not live a life. After the rebel army captured Wuchang, all the granaries were occupied by them. The consequence of this was that the price of grain was like flooding and rising constantly. The poor and small families had no way to look at the sky and cried, so they had to wait to starve to death.

Many ordinary people have no money to buy grain, nor can they buy grain. They can only have one meal a day, and they can only eat half full in one meal. There were many empty places in Wuchang City, with weeds growing. Recently, many people were carrying baskets to dig weeds, but there were too many people and few grasses. They were dug up in a few days. After a snowfall the day before yesterday, there were not even grass roots. Under such circumstances, people continued to die.

Today, Li Zicheng invited the major generals of the rebel army in the Governor's yamen in Wuchang City, and hundreds of people gathered together to set off the Governor's yamen in a very lively manner.

In the lobby of the yamen, Li Zicheng, wearing a bright red new clothes, looked at the numerous subordinates and felt happy.

At this moment, there were many generals sitting on his right, while on the left were staff members who looked like Li Yan and several other scholars.

It is worth mentioning that after Li Zicheng conquered Hubei, the reputation of the people was shocked, and literati came to join him one after another. Among these people, two of them were more valued by Li Zicheng. One of them was Niu Jinxing and the other was Song Xiance... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!