() On the fourth day of November in the second year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty discussed the safety of the capital with his cabinet members in the Wenhua Hall. It was very quiet inside and outside the palace, except for the sounds of Emperor Chongzhen and his ministers discussing matters. The eunuchs and maids were all
We know that in extreme circumstances, small mistakes can turn into big ones.
Han Xu, the chief minister of the cabinet, was already sixty-seven years old, with a strong back and a strong spirit. However, Emperor Chongzhen still gave him a seat as a sign of respect. At this time, he was talking eloquently: "Your Majesty, don't worry.
Jianlu lives in a corner of Liaodong, which is bitterly cold, and has very few supplies. He cannot mobilize a large army to come around. Zunhua is a strong city, not to mention the place where the governor's office is located. There are many soldiers and generals. Jianlu will either not go, or he will be blocked if he wants to go.
Under the city."
Emperor Chongzhen was still a little worried. According to Zhong Jinwei, this time the Jianlu invaders came out with all their main force to invade the capital. If this is true, how to resist it? Will King Qin issue an edict or not? What a shame the news is coming now.
Too little, and it is impossible to confirm whether it is as Zhong Jinwei said, or as what Chief Assistant said.
Emperor Chongzhen frowned, thinking about something on his mind.
After Han Xu finished speaking, he saw Emperor Chongzhen and just listened without speaking. He looked back at his colleagues and did not agree with him. He had to turn back to Emperor Chongzhen and wait for him to express his opinion. At the same time, he sorted out his words in his mind.
, I didn’t find anything that didn’t make sense.
Suddenly it felt that the hall was very quiet, and no one was talking. Emperor Chongzhen woke up from his meditation, and his brows did not lift because of Han Xu's statement: "The chief minister thinks Zunhua can be defended?"
Han Xu was stunned. Logically speaking, we should hold on, but if we can't hold on, it's better to be safe: "Your Majesty, there is no problem in holding on to Zunhua for a few days. If Jianlu attacks Zunhua, the imperial court will understand the situation.
We can quickly mobilize surrounding troops to relieve the siege."
"If Zunhua persists for several days and fails to defend before reinforcements arrive, and Jianlu breaks through Zunhua and goes straight to the capital, does the chief assistant have any good strategies?"
This is really going to lead to the worst result. It seems unreliable to rely on the capital camp alone. After thinking about it, he replied to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, the capital has three battalions, totaling about 81,900. If your majesty feels defensive,
If the strength is not enough, we can ask the ministers of the capital to lead their families to coordinate the defense of the city. In this way, the number of people will be enough."
Emperor Chongzhen's brows relaxed a little, but he was still a little worried: "How are the combat capabilities of the ministers and their families?"
"Your Majesty, to defend the city, you only need to be brave and strong. In wartime, you can recruit strong people and rely on the city to defend the enemy. This is normal in wartime."
"Shan, we can use this method when the capital war comes." Emperor Chongzhen thought it was good and nodded in affirmation.
Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps outside the main hall, and a chamberlain stepped inside and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, the King, the Minister of War, has come to see you on urgent matters outside the hall!"
It's urgent to ask for a visit. Is there any bad news? Emperor Chongzhen will think the worst when he hears anything now. He hurriedly entered the palace to ask for help.
The people in the palace stopped talking and turned their heads towards the palace door.
The sound of rapid footsteps accompanied by panting came from far and near, and Wang Qia, Minister of the Ministry of War, appeared at the entrance of the palace. He hurried a few steps and knelt in the palace: "Your Majesty, a total of more than 100,000 Jianlu and Mongolian tribes have been identified.
, captured the Santun camp and Zunhua in one day. The reinforcements rushed from Shanhaiguan, General Pingliao, Shanhaiguan commander Zhao led the training camp and led 4,000 Guanning cavalry, and the entire army was wiped out."
Emperor Chongzhen suddenly stood up. What, there were 100,000 captives? Zhao led the whole army to be wiped out? Three camps, Zunhua fell in one day?
These pieces of news hit Emperor Chongzhen on the head one after another, like a bolt from the blue.
After hearing Wang Qia's words, Han Xu, the chief minister of the cabinet, could no longer sit still. He had just finished comforting the Holy Father when he received such news, as if he had been slapped hard in the face.
Wenhua Palace was extremely quiet at this time, and only Wang Qia's breathing sounded like thunder.
Confucianism emphasizes calmness and calmness, even if the mountain collapses without changing the complexion, but under such big news, no one in the palace could remain calm.
Wang Qia knew that as the Minister of the Ministry of War, something so important had happened, and he was afraid that he would be sad. He had no time to take care of himself at this time, so he said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, now it is time to issue an edict to King Qin!"
Emperor Chongzhen's dizzy state was interrupted and he regained his consciousness. He could not issue an edict to the world's diligent kings unless it was absolutely necessary. So, he asked Han Xu, who had just stood up: "What do you think, the chief minister?"
There are hundreds of thousands of captives, and it is probably difficult to defend with the current strength of the capital. Moreover, the land of the capital cannot be lost. To ensure that nothing happens, we can only issue an edict to the diligent king: "Your Majesty, I agree."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the other people in the Wenhua Palace. No one dared to take responsibility for the fall of the capital, and they all agreed.
It was against this background that the first edict of King Qin of the Chongzhen Dynasty was sent to all parts of the country.
Han Xu, the chief minister of the cabinet, returned to his house. He had no intention of eating and sat alone in his study. No one was allowed to enter without being summoned.
Han Xu reflected on his words and deeds these days, especially today. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but sigh. He's old and can't accept it anymore. Since he was not aware of such a big crisis in advance, he just took it for granted. Now he can only
The only one who can rely on his own students is Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Jiliao. If he can repel the Jianlu, he should be able to survive this crisis. Otherwise, the least he can do is to take the blame and resign.
Just as he was thinking about it, there was a knock on the door. Han Xu couldn't help but feel a little angry. He had already told him not to disturb him, but there were still people who didn't open their eyes. Could it be that he was being bullied because he was old? Han Xu became angry and shouted angrily.
:"who!"
"Grandpa, it's me." A child's voice sounded.
When Han Xu heard this, he became angry and disappeared. It turned out to be his precious grandson. He was sixty-seven years old this year, but he only had such a grandson. He was so precious.
He walked over and opened the door, and saw his fair and lovely grandson standing at the door looking up at him: "Grandpa, my grandson is hungry and he wants to eat!"
"Okay, okay, grandpa will go to dinner with you." His face was kind, and the wrinkles on his forehead had relaxed. Regardless of how old he was, he leaned over and picked up his grandson with difficulty, "Let's go eat!"
All my thoughts are hidden in front of family affection.
The night sky in November is very clear, without a single cloud. The sky is full of stars, accompanied by a full moon. The cold wind blows from time to time, causing the chamberlain standing outside the palace to shrink down from time to time.
In the palace, Queen Zhou was advising Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, it's late at night, it's time to rest."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Empress Zhou who had just given birth to his first son this year, sighed, put a bookmark on the page he had just read, and closed the book. He turned to Empress Zhou behind him and said: "I accept the emperor's approval
My brother has entrusted me to ascend to the great treasure and take charge of state affairs. I am very frightened."
At this point, he was silent for a while, and then said: "Taizu once said that in everything, diligence will lead to success, laziness will lead to failure; thinking will lead to smoothness, and faintness will lead to stagnation. Therefore, those who are good at holding on to their ambitions will not be taken advantage of by laziness.
I take this as my motto, get up early and go to bed late, deal with state affairs, and take time to practice it all the time. But why, I am not afraid of hardship or tiredness, but in exchange for this, I have only a few times in this dynasty.
Is this the only time I have received the imperial edict from the King of Qin in the World?"
Normally, Emperor Chongzhen would not discuss state affairs with his harem, but today he was in a really bad mood and couldn't vent his depression. Empress Zhou's consolation made him pour out all the bitterness in his heart.
Empress Zhou has always been in the deep palace, unable to answer Emperor Chongzhen's puzzles.
Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen did not ask her to answer, and continued: "When I was still a believer in the king, I heard that Yuan Chonghuan was good at Liao affairs and had many victories against the captives. As soon as I ascended the throne, I just dealt with Wei Zhongxian, so I promoted him to the next level.
The governor of Ji Liao and the Minister of the Ministry of War. At that time, he replied to me that the Liao Dynasty was pacified in the fifth year, but now, the Jianlu invaders have come to my doorstep."
Emperor Chongzhen became angrier and angrier as he spoke, and his voice could not help but become louder.
Empress Zhou looked outside the palace worriedly, thinking that she would give a good warning to everyone outside the door tomorrow morning, and she might die if she chewed her tongue.
After Emperor Chongzhen said this, he felt a little better. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed: "But I don't dare to touch him now. Jianlu may attack the capital in the blink of an eye. I am still counting on him to lead his elite men."
The Guan Ning cavalry helped me repel the Jianlu."
He sighed again, looked at the burning oil lamp in the hall, and murmured: "Isn't there anyone who can really help me?!"
Although the voice was low, Queen Zhou still heard it and remembered something. She raised her slender eyebrows and showed a smile at the corner of her eyes. She said to Emperor Chongzhen gently: "Your Majesty, didn't the immortals descended from heaven save your Majesty a few months ago?"
Emperor Chongzhen didn't feel the slightest joy after hearing this. Looking at Queen Zhou's thin face, giving birth to a child was like a trip to hell. She has not recovered yet. The Queen has also worked hard.
A tenderness slowly rose in my heart, and she said softly to Queen Zhou: "My dear wife, Zhong Jinwei saved my life, but now, I have received the news that I am still in a coma. He has mentioned it to me before.
A situation like today will happen, and he also told me what will happen in the future. I have been hesitant whether to believe what he said. Sometimes I think I should believe it, and sometimes I think it is impossible. I have been hoping in my heart that the situation he said will not happen.
Because the situation is too bad." As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, he said to himself in his heart: The king of the Wang Kingdom!
Suddenly, he remembered that Zhong Jinwei seemed to have said a solution to the predicament before, and also said that it could cure the Ming Dynasty's disease. No, I have to go and see him, maybe he will wake up!
"I went over to see Zhong Jinwei." After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he stood up.
"Your Majesty, the night is already dark."
"It doesn't matter, come as soon as you go. I won't be able to sleep well tonight if I don't go over and see for myself."
It was indeed late at night, and Emperor Chongzhen did not want to go there in a big way, but quietly went to the side hall where Zhong Jinwei was, escorted by his chamberlain.
As soon as I arrived at the door of the side hall, I suddenly heard a voice coming from the side hall: "Sir, I will tell you something about my childhood."
"My maid is from Beizhi Tongzhou. I have an older brother who likes to dance with guns and sticks, and my mother is here. There is a swing in the yard of my house. Master, my maid has loved swings since I was a child..."
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned. Did Zhong Jinwei wake up? Didn't he report that he was still unconscious today? Could it be that he just woke up?
He was so happy that Emperor Chongzhen didn't even wait for the chamberlain to open the door, he directly opened the door and barged in.