After Chongzhen read it, he handed the letter to Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang was speechless after reading it again.
After a long time, Chongzhen sneered and said: "I really didn't know that Huang Taiji hated Pang Gang so much that he actually wrote a letter asking me to use his head in exchange for peace between the two countries. Yang Aiqing, what do you think?"
Yang Sichang said without thinking: "Your Majesty, please let me speak frankly. I think that even if Pang Gang is unruly, arrogant and domineering, it is not the Tatar's turn to point his fingers. Even if he is to be punished, we have to let him be punished."
Come on your own, when will it be the turn of those barbarians to tell us what to do?"
"Well, my dear, what you said makes sense." Chongzhen's face softened a little, and then he said: "We don't need others to worry about our affairs in the Ming Dynasty. Although Pang Gang will be punished by me sooner or later, Huang Taiji's move
But it also proves one thing, after these Jurchens have been running rampant for so many years, they finally have someone they can be afraid of."
Speaking of this, Chongzhen felt a little sad but also a little happy. The sad thing was that a general like Pang Gang, who was so capable, was getting farther and farther away from the imperial court. The happy thing was that with Pang Gang here, he looked at the normal situation.
Do the domineering Jurchens still dare to come to Ming Dynasty to steal things without restraint?
Yang Sichang looked at Chongzhen's face. He understood Chongzhen's feelings very well. A general who was so feared by the Tatars was not under the control of the court. No matter who became the emperor, he would feel uncomfortable. What's more, the Tatars also threatened in the letter if they wanted to negotiate peace.
, the prerequisite was to kill Pang Gang, but they didn't bother to use their pig brains to think about it. If Pang Gang was so easy to kill, would it be their turn to speak? The imperial court would have cut him into pieces long ago.
Just when Yang Sichang was thinking about it, Chongzhen handed him another letter. Yang Sichang took a look and found that it was written by Ma Mian, who went to Qingzhou to declare the decree. It not only told what they saw and heard after arriving in Qingzhou, but also
He also wrote down the reasons and requirements for Pang Gang not to send troops, which made Yang Sichang very frightened.
"Good fellow, the governor of the three provinces, thanks to him he can speak aloud. He is not afraid of being strangled to death." Yang Sichang's hand trembled when he took the letter. This was the first time in the nearly 300 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty that he had spoken so arrogantly.
After reading it, Yang Sichang hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, this Pang Gang is really too rebellious. I think he must be severely punished. Otherwise, where is the majesty of our country and where is the law of the country!"
"Okay, okay, stop pretending!" Chongzhen waved his hand impatiently and said angrily: "If Aiqing really wants to worry about me, then send someone to capture Pang Gang."
When Yang Sichang saw that Chongzhen was unhappy, he quickly laughed a few times, lowered his head and remained silent.
After scolding Yang Sichang, Chongzhen saw that he was pretending to be stupid and asked displeasedly: "Yang Aiqing, I asked you to come here to pretend to be deaf and dumb. I want to ask you, how should you deal with Ma Mian and the letters from outside the customs more appropriately?"
Yang Sichang pondered for a long time before saying: "I still say the same old saying, our Ming Dynasty will never compromise with those barbarians. No matter how Pang Gang is not, he is still a member of my Ming Dynasty. It is not their turn to dictate. As for how to deal with Pang Gangzhi
Regarding the matter, I think that our army is currently lacking, and it is really not appropriate to start a war again. As for the post of governor of the three provinces that Pang Gang wants, we have to give it, and we cannot give it all. I think it is better to give him the right to collect food and recruit troops on the spot in Hubei.
, after all, if you want Pang Gang to contribute to the country, he will not send troops without giving him some sweetness."
Having said this, Yang Sichang also secretly complained that the emperor was really stingy. Although the title of Champion is noble, no matter how noble the title is these days, it is not as tangible as the visible benefits. After all, no one is a fool. It is thankless.
No one can do it.
Chongzhen was silent for a moment, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he was about to say something. Suddenly a crisp voice came over, "The child has met his father and the queen."
Chongzhen looked up. A pretty figure was already standing next to Queen Zhou, looking at him timidly. It turned out that it was his daughter who had arrived. When he saw Zhu Ailao, a smile appeared on Chongzhen's face. He waved:
"媺娖, come to our father."
"Hee hee, Father is the best." Seeing that Chongzhen was not angry when she ran over, Zhu Auao threw away the panic in her heart. She smiled and came to Chongzhen's side, hugged his neck and hung on her father's body like a baby.
.
"Father, you haven't visited your daughter for a long time. Your daughter misses you so much."
Chongzhen gave birth to many children, but only three sons and two daughters survived. He loved this daughter very much on weekdays. At this moment, he was helpless by Zhu Aona, so he could only say with a straight face: "Look at you, I want to
What does it look like? You are fourteen years old and you still act like a child. Come down quickly."
"Oh!" Only then did Zhu Yurao remember that there was another minister here, and she quickly pouted and released her hand from holding her father's neck.
After looking at his daughter lovingly, Chongzhen turned to Yang Sichang and said: "I have also considered my love for you, but I am worried that if Pang Gang is given the power to control Hubei, he may be in trouble in the future."
Yang Sichang sighed secretly in his heart. Although the emperor's worries were reasonable, now that the court was asking for help, it had to show some sincerity. But now the emperor's heart had obviously not turned around. Now it was clear that it was no longer the case.
You have taken the imperial court seriously, but you are still holding on to your arrogance, so what can you do?
Before Yang Sichang could answer, Zhu Yuyao rushed to say: "Father, Father, is the Pang Gang you are talking about the Qianhu who defeated the Tatar army outside the city wall last year?"
After listening to his daughter's words, Chongzhen couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "I am no longer a Qianhu, but a champion."
"What, he is already a champion?" Since Zhu Yuyao was not well-informed in the palace, she did not know much about the outside world, but she was still very clear about the fact that there had been no knighthood in the court for more than a hundred years.
. Therefore, when she heard the news, her beautiful eyes immediately widened with an expression of disbelief on her face.
Just when Zhu A'a was holding Chongzhen's hand and wanted to ask something, Queen Zhou on the side said: "A'a, your father is busy, please don't disturb him."
"Oh!" Zhu Yuyao responded aggrievedly, walked over and snuggled into Queen Zhou's arms, watching eagerly as her father handled government affairs.
At this time, Chongzhen was also very helpless. Pang Gang's behavior of not seeing the rabbit but not the hawk really gave him a headache. Finally, Chongzhen said helplessly: "Okay, Yang Aiqing, please make a decree now and give him the king's flag."
Bring him over, I will tolerate this for the time being, if he cannot pacify Hubei, I will settle the old and new 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. Outside Qingzhou City, there are bright yellow wheat ears everywhere. Countless people are harvesting wheat, and the fields are filled with the sound of laughter.
Since this year, while Pang Gang has been vigorously recruiting refugees, he has invested no less than one million taels of silver in the development of agriculture in Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou.
With Pang Gang's unrelenting support, water conservancy projects have been carried out in these places. Dense canals and waterwheels can be seen everywhere. The hard work has finally paid off.
Since the beginning of the autumn harvest, good news has been spreading frequently in Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou. News of good harvests have come from various places. This also made Pang Gang, who was a little nervous, finally relieved.
In order to show his closeness to the people, Pang Gang also took a group of generals to participate in the wheat harvesting activity. Unexpectedly, before he could harvest a few pieces of land, his hand was cut by a sickle and he had to leave early. This also made people who had never participated in
Pang Gang, who had gone through such labor, was greatly depressed.
However, Pang Gang's depressed mood did not last long, and soon Hua Yan asked to see him and informed him of the current harvested grain output.
"Sir, as of yesterday, Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou have harvested a total of 3 million dan of grain. This food is enough to feed the people in the three states and there is still a surplus. According to the originally agreed tax, we can harvest 500,000 dan.
About food."
"Well, well done!" Pang Gang nodded happily and asked: "Hua Qiang, please do the math. If I recruit more troops, how many soldiers and horses can I feed with these 500,000 shi of grain?"
Hua Yan pondered for a while, and then he replied: "Our troops and horses are about 50,000, plus 20,000 navy, that's 70,000. In addition to the food and grass that supplies the existing troops and horses, if we collect 50,000
Soldiers and horses, this food can support us until next year's spring harvest..."
"So many?" Pang Gang said happily: "Okay, then we will recruit another 50,000 troops."
"What, another recruitment?" Hua Yan was startled. Sir, "If we recruit so many soldiers again, our food will be a little tight!"
Pang Gang said calmly: "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 master seemed to have something on his mind. 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 Manchu Qing Dynasty and Li Zicheng, he knew very well that this was not a reason for him to sit back and relax. Although Shandong is now
It seems to be very prosperous, and business has also developed greatly, but everything needs strength to guarantee it. Before the rogue bandits and Tatars are completely defeated, all of this is likely to become a mirror.
"Sir, Eunuch Ma wants to see you!" A voice rang outside the signing room.
"Invite him in!"
"As you command!"
Soon, Eunuch Ma walked in with a drake step. As soon as he entered the door, he said with a look of relief: "Master Marquis, our family congratulates you! The emperor has agreed to your conditions. The emperor has issued an imperial edict and rewarded you."
Your king ordered the flag to control the civil and military affairs of Hubei Province. Officials below the fourth rank can be killed first and then punished!"
Pang Gang and Hua Yan looked at each other, and they were a little surprised. Although Chongzhen discounted Pang Gang's request, Pang Gang knew that this was the biggest concession that Chongzhen could make, but this
Still can't meet Pang Gang's requirements.
"This is not enough!" Pang Gang slowly shook his head: "Eunuch Ma, what I want is the power of governor of the three provinces, but the emperor only gave me one land in Hubei. If the bandits move to Hunan or Henan, I will
So what?"
Eunuch Ma gave a wry smile and said, "Master Marquis, let me tell you the truth. According to the emperor's temperament, it is the maximum tolerance for him to retreat to this step. It is impossible for you to control three provinces at once."
Pang Gang shook his head and said, "Really? Since the Emperor is in such a difficult situation, I don't want it any more. You should quickly put away the imperial edict and the king's order flag. They will go where they came from. I won't serve you anymore!"
"What, you want to resist the decree!" Having said this, Eunuch Ma couldn't stand it no matter how good-tempered he was. He said with a cold face: "Master Pangda, you have to think carefully about what the consequences will be if you really want to resist the decree!
"
It doesn't matter if Eunuch Ma threatens you like this, Pang Gang, who has a bad temper, also sneered: "Okay, I want to see what the consequences will be, and I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. This is the condition. If the emperor is not happy, just ask
He should send someone to Hubei himself. I don’t want to serve you any more! Here comes someone, let’s see him off!”
As Pang Gang finished speaking, the door was opened, and two personal guards stood in front of the door, with their right hands on the handles of their swords, their cold eyes fixed on Eunuch Ma, and their left hands made a gesture of invitation.
Eunuch Ma, who was shaking with anger, roared loudly: "Pang Gang, you are a thief with no king and no father. You will regret it!"
"Hmph!" Pang Gang snorted coldly from his nostrils: "Okay, I've been waiting for this day. Come and see the guests off!"
"boom........"
When the door was closed, Pang Gang took a long breath and closed his eyes slightly. At this time, he seemed calm, but his heart was turbulent. His refusal meant that Hubei would be in a very short period of time.
Fall in time. Is this right or wrong?
"I'm not the savior, and I can't save so many people..."
New Year's Eve of the tenth year of Chongzhen
The Chinese Lunar New Year is a day that is originally celebrated by thousands of families. Not every family can celebrate and have a reunion dinner together.
At least this is the case in Xiangfan, Hubei. Half a month ago, Li Zicheng captured Xiangfan and then led his troops to capture Wuchang Prefecture, the capital of Hubei without stopping. The governor of Hubei surrendered and was captured, but Li Zicheng had his head chopped off.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Zongmin led 50,000 thieves and attacked Yuezhou Prefecture, with the intention of swallowing up Hunan in one fell swoop.
The fall of Wuchang shocked the entire Ming Dynasty. This also meant that the Ming Dynasty surrendered a provincial capital to the rogue bandits. It also sent a signal to the whole world that the entire Ming Dynasty was dominated by foreign powers. Rebellion with the rogue bandits was no longer an option.
It's a fool's errand, but it's possible to become a hero who follows the dragon.
After Li Zicheng captured Hubei, his reputation reached an unprecedented peak. Affected by this news, Zhang Xianzhong, who was still fighting hard in Sichuan, also captured most of Sichuan like a chicken. In this New Year, the entire Ming Dynasty
They were all caught up in a precarious situation.
After the Chuang army captured Wuchang, they seized the granary as soon as possible, but the result greatly disappointed Li Zicheng and many generals. The granary in Wuchang only contained less than 30,000 shi of grain, which was not enough for the more than 100,000 Chuang army.
They eat with their families for a month.
In order to raise food, Li Zicheng ordered the homes of all the wealthy gentry in Wuchang City to be raided. The result this time made them overjoyed. They exceeded the food supply by nearly 800,000 shi in total. This result also made Li Zicheng and the generals extremely happy.
With this food and grass, they will no longer have to worry about food and grass for at least half a year.
With the food and grass now available, Li Zicheng was extremely generous and began to open warehouses in the city to provide food relief. Li Yan, who had newly surrendered, also took the opportunity to ask Li Zicheng to "respect the virtuous and courteous people, eliminate violence and show compassion for the people," and "pretend to be benevolent and righteous, and ban soldiers."
Killing for lewdness and winning people’s hearts for big things.”
Under Li Yan's persuasion, Li Zicheng also accepted some of Li Yan's opinions, restrained his soldiers, arrested some who robbed poor people or insulted women and dealt with them according to military discipline, and declared to the soldiers in public: "Killing one person is like killing one."
My father, whore is like whore is my mother."
And Li Yan also knew the secrets of some public opinion propaganda. He sent people to dress up as businessmen and spread rumors among the people: "If you attack the king's benevolent and righteous teacher, you will not kill or plunder." He also made up nursery rhymes for children to sing everywhere: "Open."
"We opened the door early to welcome King Chuang, but when King Chuang came he didn't accept food." "We opened the door early to greet King Chuang, and everyone was happy to discipline him." It was in this year that the hungry people in Hubei were waiting for food like a drought, "Lest they could not succeed."
"To", "tens of thousands of people have succeeded since then", and for a time Li Zicheng's prestige among the people reached a peak...
The north wind whistled, and snowflakes continued to fall from the sky. At this time, the snow in Wuchang City was nearly two feet deep. Countless refugees in ragged clothes huddled under the corners of the high-walled compound. The war had left them lost.
Their home and everything, now they have nothing.
The New Year is approaching, and food, vegetables and firewood are becoming more and more difficult day by day. Although the Chuang army opens warehouses from time to time to provide food relief, they seem to have too much food and food for hundreds of thousands of people. Ordinary small households can hardly live a life. The Chuang army captured
After arriving in Wuchang, all the granaries were occupied by them. The consequence of this was that the price of food kept rising like a flood. The poor families looked at the sky and had no way to cry. They had no choice but to wait to starve to death.
.
Many ordinary people have no money to buy food and cannot buy food. They can only eat one meal a day, and one meal can only be half full. There used to be many open areas in Wuchang City with weeds growing. Recently, there are many
People carried baskets to dig up weeds, but there were more people than grass, so they were all dug up within a few days. After a snowfall the day before yesterday, there were no grass roots at all. Under such circumstances, people continued to die one after another.
Today, Li Zicheng hosted a banquet for the generals who broke into the army at the governor's office in Wuchang City. Hundreds of people gathered together, making the governor's office extremely lively.
In the lobby of the Yamen, Li Zicheng, who was wearing a new bright red dress, looked at his many subordinates and felt happy in his heart.
At this moment, sitting on his right were many generals, while on the left were Li Yan and several other scholar-looking staff members.
It is worth mentioning that after Li Zicheng captured Hubei and his prestige was greatly shaken, literati came to him one after another. Among these people, there were two people who were more valued by Li Zicheng. One of them was named Niu Jinxing, and the other was Li Zicheng.
One is named Song Xiance... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to (.) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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