Eight hundred and forty seventh chapter anger and sorrow
When news of the successive losses of Xiangyang, Wuchang and other places and the rebellion of Zuo Liangyu's tribe came one after another, Emperor Chongzhen decided that Wu Di would go to Huguang to supervise the division as an assistant minister. When he summoned the court officials, he told Wu Di in tears
He said: "You have served in a place where banditry is rampant for many years. If you have the skills to defend the war, you can go to Huguang to serve as my supervisor."
Previously, with the exception of Sun Chengzong in the early years of Chongzhen and later Yang Sichang, the governors generally held the title of Shangshu of the Ministry of War at most, and were rarely directly held by cabinet bachelors. Therefore, in the appointment of cabinet governors this time, it can be seen that Emperor Chongzhen was quite
Solemnly.
But Wu Di was very reluctant to this appointment. He knew that now that the general situation was over, it was difficult for the officers and soldiers to control it, and it was impossible to exterminate the "rogue bandits". Since it was destined to be impossible to succeed, going out to supervise the division was equivalent to going out to die, not death.
In the hands of the peasant army, they would be executed by the emperor after failure, or they would die in an unknown manner like Yang Sichang, and they would remain infamy for the rest of their lives.
But as a minister, Wu Di had to serve the king, and he could not do anything if he was forced to do so. After accepting the appointment, he proposed: First, he must have 30,000 elite soldiers under his personal command; second, he should first go south along the canal to Nanjing, and then take the camera
If you go up the river, you can defeat the bandits if you advance, and if you retreat you can defend the southern capital and the rich areas south of the Yangtze River.
It should be said that Wu Di's two demands were not excessive. After all, the Qing army was still fighting in Xuzhou and the Grand Canal area at that time. When Wu Di went south, he was likely to encounter the Qing army returning from the north.
However, in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, this was an excuse for Wu Dong to avoid the important task and ignore the important task. When discussing the matter with his ministers, he said unhappily: "The capital is using troops against the Tartars. How can 30,000 elite soldiers be used to fight against the Tartars?"
To gather together in a hurry? Not to mention that Nanjing is far downstream, why retreat now?"
But Wu Di replied: "Zuo Liangyu is arrogant and domineering. When Yang Sichang was in charge of the division, he issued ten orders in a row, but he did not send any troops. There was also Wu Shigong crouching tiger on his side. The ministers are not as talented as Yang Sichang. But Zuo Liangyu is currently
The power is greater than before. I have no troops in my hands and cannot exercise restraint, which will only damage the majesty of the imperial court. Going down the river from Xiangyang, it is very easy to attack Nanjing, so we should take care of both, rather than retreat."
Emperor Chongzhen could not refute what Wu Zong said, so he had to ask the Ministry of War to quickly discuss sending troops, but he was extremely dissatisfied with this Wu Zong. The national situation was critical, and even the ministers did not sacrifice their lives, which made him feel angry.
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But at this point, we can see something mysterious. Emperor Chongzhen and the court have actually completely abandoned Hou Xun. As for why Hou Xun was not removed from his official position, the court just wanted to use him to control Wu Shigong and Zuo Liangyu.
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Fortunately, at this time, another assistant minister showed "good qualities", which made Emperor Chongzhen's mood improve a little.
That is the chief scholar Zhou Yanru. According to the habit of the Qing army entering the pass, as long as it waits until the beginning of April, after the plunder is over, the Qing army will return to the outside of the pass. On the way back, the Qing army will pass through the capital again.
Nearby. Even though Emperor Chongzhen and his courtiers knew that the Qing soldiers were probably just passing through the capital this time, they still couldn't help but become nervous.
Zhou Yanru, who has always been shrewd, knew that the Qing soldiers would bring a large number of captured people and baggage, and he would definitely have no intention of fighting again. He would not suffer any big losses by presiding over the military affairs of the defense of the capital this time, and as long as the Qing soldiers were sent out safely
Beyond the Great Wall, you can achieve great success in driving away enemies and defending the imperial court.
Zhou Yanru also knew very well that the emperor was angry that Wu Di was procrastinating and refused to leave the capital after being ordered to do so, and he needed an example of courage among his ministers. For this reason, he invited himself out of the capital on April 4th.
Supervising divisions to defend against enemies. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a precedent for a chief assistant to personally lead troops in battle.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with Zhou Yanru's unique application. He was very happy. He felt that after all, he was his most trusted minister and could help him solve problems in times of crisis, so he immediately approved Zhou Yanru's request.
Zhou Yanru's dispatch of troops this time was really vigorous and resolute. On the second day after the emperor's approval, he made no preparations at all and left the city with a small number of Beijing camp officers and soldiers.
At this time, there were still three or four governors, five or six governors, and seven or eight general soldiers in the Gyeonggi region. There were many generals and more than 100,000 troops. However, the commanders in each area had adopted the policy of not contacting the enemy and only watched from the side.
Waiting and watching or tailing slowly, there is no battle to fight at all.
Zhou Yanru knew these situations, but he also made up his mind that doing more would be better than doing less. He thought that the Qing army would have to go back to the country sooner or later, so he just drank and had a party with his staff every day, and did not take the military situation to heart. His
As expected, the wishful thinking made a "bang bang" sound, just waiting for the Qing army to be eager to go home and not want to fight a tough battle anymore, so they would go straight to the Great Wall east of the capital, and then leave leisurely.
Zhou Yanru was very familiar with the tricks in officialdom and on the battlefield. He beheaded the stragglers and some innocent refugees captured by the various government troops to make up the numbers. He reported his victory to the emperor and said that he had killed more than a hundred people in battle with the enemy. The enemy had now been defeated.
He was expelled from the border areas and thus won a great victory. He treated Emperor Chongzhen as if he were a fool.
Emperor Chongzhen was really happy about the victory of the first auxiliary governor, because after all, there have been too few good reports of victory over the years. He commended Zhou Yanru again and again, bestowed special gold coins, and wanted to wait until he returned to the court with his army.
, and then promoted him to the rank of bachelor and grand master of Zhongji Palace. Under such comparison, Emperor Chongzhen hated Wu Di even more deeply, and soon issued an edict to reprimand Wu Di for delaying his stay, and ordered him to stop joining the direct cabinet.
Wu Di had no choice but to go to court to apologize and request to resign from his post. This request was immediately approved.
But paper can't cover up the fire, and Zhou Yanru can't hide his true thoughts at all. Because the most critical point is that the Qing army has not returned to the north at all. They are still fighting fiercely with the Runing army in the Xuzhou-Heze area.
So some officials impeached Zhou Yanru for "cheating and deceiving the emperor and humiliating the country." Emperor Chongzhen didn't believe it at first, but later the spies from the Jin Yiwei secretly reported what they had discovered in Zhou Yanru's army.
How he wanders around the outskirts of the capital and ignores military affairs; how he kills good people and takes credit for himself, but is cowardly and refuses to fight.
Emperor Chongzhen was furious and even felt sad. He felt that all the civil and military ministers from the first minister to the next were so deceitful and irresponsible for the terrible situation in the world. There was really no hope of turning the tide.
For many years, Emperor Chongzhen had always believed that it was the cliques of the courtiers for personal gain and perfunctory behavior that ruined the country's affairs. The various performances of these two assistant ministers and supervisors at this time further proved the cunning, incompetent, shameful and hateful nature of the courtiers.
At this time, the Qing army had not yet left the border, and the Shun army was roaring in the northwest. Emperor Chongzhen was ready to wait until the war came to an end before settling the accounts with the Autumn Queen. But he never expected that he would never wait until the day the Autumn Queen settled the accounts.