Shi Kefa's loss of power allowed a group of officials who were good at profiteering and speculation to take charge of the affairs of the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty. The character and morality of such people can be imagined, not to mention that they would definitely not devote all their thoughts to governing the country.
.In particular, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo and others took the credit for "setting the strategy", and the ministers in the imperial court recruited these generals to form external aid. This resulted in civil and military conflicts in the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty, disputes among generals, and fierce internal strife.
No time for him to care.
Especially at this moment of national crisis, if Nanming wants to achieve something, it must maintain internal stability. Throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is civil servants, military generals, or eunuchs, no matter which party gains power, the prestige of the imperial court
But they were always supreme. Especially the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, who always held the imperial power firmly in their own hands.
From the perspective of the military generals, until the end of Chongzhen, except for Wu Shigong, Zuo Liangyu, Wu Sangui and other few people, the tradition of the noble and the military was hard to return. But when the military generals of Nanming discovered that they had turned over, their "
The singing voice of the "turned-serfs" became extremely loud.
Because Shi Kefa was hesitant on deciding the policy, Zhu Yousong asked for help from the generals. When Hongguang was established, those generals took the credit for "making the policy". And those generals regarded the emperor as a puppet, and the court had a false reputation.
, a situation in which warlords control the imperial court has taken shape.
As a result, four groups of warlords gradually formed within the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty. They all divided themselves into one party, completely ignored the imperial orders, and acted domineeringly. They only thought about protecting their own strength and gaining a place of prey. In this regard, Shi Kefa and others were known to have made a big mistake.
People still want to try their best to save this situation. But those warlords are already too big to lose.
As soon as the Hongguang Dynasty was established, Zhu Yousong summoned Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang Yueguang and others, and asked them to quickly discuss matters such as employing people, guarding the river, setting up troops, and managing pay. So Shi Kefa submitted a memorial, in addition to reaffirming the establishment of four towns.
When talking about the issue of governors, he said: "There are four towns, and they cannot be without governors. They should be stationed in Yangzhou and dispatched appropriately." At this time, Shi Kefa and others also wanted to use civil servants to control those generals.
The Hongguang court decided to confer Gao Jie with the title of Xingping Bo, guarding Xuzhou and Sizhou areas; Liu Liangzuo with the title of Guangchang Bo, guarding Fengyang and Shouzhou areas; Jingnan Bo Huang Degong with the title of Marquis, guarding Chuzhou and Hezhou areas. Zuo Liangyu was granted the title
The Marquis of Ningnan guards the Anqing area, and divides his troops to guard the Huai'an and Yangzhou areas.
Judging from this deployment of troops, the four towns proposed by Shi Kefa and the so-called base of progress were all within the territory of South Zhili, while the governor's station was closer to Yangzhou, a short distance north of the Yangtze River. Therefore, some people at the time had already seen
Shi Kefa had no long-term plan and only wanted to protect Jiangnan.
At that time, the main force of Runing's army had all moved north to the capital. The Lu army in Shandong was also severely beaten by the Qing army that had just entered the country to capture and plunder, and its attitude was unclear about whether to submit to the Southern Ming Dynasty or the Great Ping Dynasty. Therefore, the Hongguang court was fully
You can contact Liu Zeqing's troops to surrender or even attack and seize Shandong. The Huguang area occupied by the Runing army is even more empty of troops. However, the Nanming army did not dare to attack Shandong, Henan, Wuchang, Xiangyang and other Huguang areas, and just huddled in the Yangtze River.
The defense line only wants to maintain the current situation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Of course, people like Shi Kefa may not be able to see this, but they made such a decision for the following reasons:
First of all, because Wu Shigong was a noble son of the former Ming Dynasty and an old minister of the former Ming Dynasty. In addition, he was classified as a military commander of the Donglin Party, so he was inextricably linked to many nobles and officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
relation.
Therefore, Hongguang monarchs and ministers believed that Wu Shigong could be "winnable". They even thought that Wu Shigong's current proclaimed emperor might be just a "stopgap measure." He might be like Zhang Bangchang when the Northern Song Dynasty fell, and would eventually surrender to the Hongguang Dynasty.
of.
Taking a step back, if the two countries could divide the river and govern, Hongguang would be able to accept it. Therefore, they even sent envoys to Beijing to explore the possibility of "stopping troops and negotiating peace", hoping that they could stay on the same side.
Secondly, since the Ming Dynasty was destroyed at the hands of the peasant army and the Qing army, the Hongguang monarchs and ministers both hated the peasant army and the Qing army and were as afraid as tigers and wolves. So they imagined that Wu Shigong's Daping Dynasty could withstand the peasant army.
The joint attack with the Qing army established a barrier for Nanming. It would be best for all three parties to lose in the end, allowing Nanming to pick up a piece of cake.
Third, because Ruan Dacheng and other officials close to the Runing Army entered the Hongguang court, and officials funded by the Yangzhou business group and the Jiangnan business group acted as mouthpieces, many officials in the Hongguang court did not advocate taking the initiative to attack Wu Shigong's Daping Dynasty.
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If those officials did not know much about the policies of the Runing Army in the past, they now have a thorough understanding of the national policies of the Daping Dynasty. After all, even if the Daping Dynasty attacks, as long as those officials "turn things around" in time, they will
It is still a high-ranking official position, and the family wealth can be protected. Just like what Zhou Yu said to Sun Quan back then: All ministers can surrender.
As for the Zhu family dynasty, who can control so much? On the contrary, if you focus on the war now and are too harsh, if you offend that Wu Bizhu of Runing, everything will be over. Even if you are an official,
As a human being, you should leave a way out!
Fourth, the Runing Army was still stationed on the front line with Nanming, and a certain number of troops were stationed. Hongguang Jun and his ministers were not sure of defeating them in one fell swoop, so they did not dare to act rashly.
Now in Huguang, Henan and Shandong, there are nearly 30,000 Xiongchui Town and local troops led by Zhou Xun and Zhang Biao; there is an alliance of Runing Army left behind in Runing and Guide, led by Xue Qiang.
There are 20,000 new soldiers, 2,000 soldiers of the Internal Affairs Department, and more than 7,000 militiamen of the Workshop Department, totaling more than 36,000 people. In Shandong, there are two newly formed towns of the Daping Army led by Xiong Zhengen and Chi Ming, plus Liu Zeqing
The remaining Lu army troops numbered more than 16,000, totaling 45,000 troops. This strength was actually not weaker than the troops controlled by Nan Ming.
Fifth, although Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Gao Jie, Zuo Liangyu and others still have many troops in their hands, they are all newly defeated generals and have experienced repeated defeats. In addition, there are a large number of strong men and women in their troops.
The combat effectiveness of the soldiers who came was actually not worth mentioning.
Moreover, these military generals all knew the powerful combat effectiveness of the former Runing Army, so they were unwilling to take the initiative to provoke, lest they become the first target of the Daping Army's attack.
So now, although the armies of these generals are intersecting with the Daping Army in Fengyang Prefecture, Huguang area and Jiangbei area, the two armies are engaged in a tacit understanding of "sit-down war". No one is willing to open fire first and maintain the
A strange state of truce.
Finally, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Zuo Liangyu and others have been favored by Emperor Hongguang because of their meritorious service in "setting up the strategy". They are full of ambition and arrogance, and they are pursuing the fight for the prosperous land in the north of the Yangtze River. In that case, they can live in peace.
Days can threaten the court. Otherwise, once the Northern Expedition is far away from the center of the court, how can they control the government? No one is willing to do that. Those who were recovered by thirteen gold medals died unjustly in Fengbo Pavilion.
Yue Wumu.
Moreover, when Shi Kefa became the governor, he was already out of power, so he could not command the "four towns" at all, so he had to run around and mediate between the four towns, like a proud man, unable to do anything.
These military attachés were awarded titles for their merits in making decisions, and everyone regarded themselves as "disciples of the emperor", and their daily behavior was unruly. For example: Shi Kefa, the academician of the Superintendent of the Division, often quoted "imperial edicts" in his speeches, and Gao Jie was very surprised when he heard them.
He didn't take it seriously and contradicted him face to face: "Purpose, purpose, what purpose! You have seen someone walking around in the Huangji Palace!"
Huang Degong once knelt down to listen to the edict being read out by an envoy. He felt that it was not to his liking. He got up before he finished reading, and went to his hands to raise the case. He shouted: "Go! Go quickly! I don't know what the edict is!"
These generals had such an attitude towards Emperor Hongguang, so how could they obey the restraints of the civil officials? Moreover, once they were dissatisfied with the court officials, they would go to Shuyun to "beg for rectification before the army."
When Liu Liangzuo met with Emperor Hongguang, he once said boldly: "The ancestors of the world have been ruined by white-faced scholars. It is appropriate for Cao Cao to put it away in a high cabinet. After killing the thief, I can take it, wipe it, and let him enjoy it."
Yes! Now please stop the administration and do not make any inconveniences."
Shi Kefa, who was helpless, also wrote a letter to Gao Hongtu, a scholar in the army, saying, "Suppress the evil, and avoid it!". The generals were so arrogant that the emperor and courtiers were helpless.
They also made friends with foreign vassals for help, but he was also controlled by those generals, so he did nothing.
Gao Jie was originally ordered to settle his family outside the city of Yangzhou, and then lead his troops to the north. However, Gao Jie, coveting the wealth of Yangzhou, requested that his family be resettled within the city. When the people of Yangzhou saw that Gao Jie's soldiers were looting and burning in nearby villages, they went on strike one after another.
Gao Jie was not allowed to enter the city. So Gao Jie became angry and ordered an attack on the city.
Yangzhou Jinshi Zheng Yuanxun intervened and negotiated with Gao Jie to only allow the families of officers and soldiers to settle in the city and not to station troops in the city. Unexpectedly, the people of Yangzhou were furious and killed Zheng Yuanxun on the spot. Shi Kefa, the superintendent's scholar, personally came to Gao Jie's military camp outside Yangzhou City and tactfully said
After repeated consultations, it was finally decided to make Guazhou near Yangzhou the place where Gao Jun settled down.
Zuo Liangyu, Marquis of Ningnan, had already become the weakest one during the Chongzhen period and had to do his own thing. The edict of Hongguang's supervision of the country and his accession to the throne was issued to Wuchang, but he refused to read it for a time. However, under the persuasion of He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, Lu Ding, the deputy chief of discipline supervision and discipline under his subordinates, and others
, and then reluctantly started reading Chengli.
When other generals in the Southern Ming Dynasty, such as Zheng Zhilong and Fang Guoan, saw this, they each considered their own interests and did not care about national affairs.
