The food in the East Palace was very fragrant, but the two of them tasted the same as Jue Wa. They frowned and talked in whispers, until around three o'clock in the afternoon, a eunuch came in a hurry, and Emperor Chongzhen summoned the prince and Chang Yu into the inner palace.
The two people stood up in a hurry and hurriedly left Duanben Palace and walked towards Qianqing Gate. On the way, they met the eunuchs and palace maids who saw the two men with heavy and unkind faces. They did not dare to go forward to greet them and greeted them from a distance.
There were still some officials waiting outside the Qianqing Gate to meet the saint. When they saw the two people approaching, they started talking in low voices. There was a person giving a gift. Zhu Cihong thought it was okay and forced a smile to return the gift. Chang Yu just flashed past with a dark face, which made him angry. The ministers secretly cursed, as expected, the dead eunuchs all had the same virtues, and once they gained power, they were extremely arrogant.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Eunuch Chang, the Emperor is in the Imperial Garden." As soon as they entered the Qianqing Gate, two eunuchs came to greet them.
The Imperial Garden, located outside Kunning Gate and Xuanwu Gate, is full of pavilions, pavilions, waterside pavilions, and exotic flowers and plants. It is an excellent place for the royal family in the inner palace to take a walk in front of flowers and under the moon.
Today's weather is gloomy. It's not a good time to visit the garden. Why is the emperor so good? Chang Yu muttered in his heart, but then he thought about it. Emperor Chongzhen is diligent and has been dealing with government affairs since morning. His head must be about to explode. Come out to cool down. pressure.
The two followed the eunuch through the Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, and Kunning Palace, exited the Kunning Gate and entered the Imperial Garden. They walked among the flower branches of the pavilions and buildings until they reached the Qin'an Palace.
Qin'an Hall is located in the middle of the imperial garden. Simply put, it is a dojo. Because Emperor Jiajing believed in Taoism, he made great repairs and set up a dojo, which was managed by special eunuchs and Taoists.
Yes, there were monk temples and Taoist temples in the imperial city, and there were monks and Taoist priests, but they were all ordained by old eunuchs.
Chongzhen stood leaning on the railing in front of the palace, looking haggard and frowning deeply. He looked worse than the previous two days. He thought he had been overworked on state affairs in the past two days.
"Your Majesty, Chang Yu, comes to see you." Chang Yu kowtowed with the prince in front of the palace.
Only then did Chongzhen regain his composure, glanced down at the two of them, and slightly raised his hand to say, "Come here and talk."
Chang Yu and Zhu Cixiang quickly walked up the steps and walked to Chongzhen's side.
"Your Majesty, I have something to ask you." Chang Yu took a step forward and said.
Chongzhen turned to look at him and smiled reluctantly: "I know what you want to say, but Chang Yu, do you know that no matter how rampant the thieves are, they are just domestic thieves, but the Manchu Golden Dogs are different. They are outside thieves, and they don't just want to To swallow up the Ming Dynasty, I will also destroy the thousand-year-old bloodline of the Han people in the Central Plains. I hate the intruders and even the golden dogs of the Manchu Dynasty, but..." As he said this, he closed his eyes and shed two lines of tears.
Chang Yu took a deep breath. Who in the future would say that Chongzhen had ever thought of joining forces with the Qing Dynasty to destroy Li Zicheng, and that he would lead a wolf into the house. One mistake was to give up the inheritance of his ancestors. How dare he.
"You can defeat thieves in one fell swoop in Taiyuan, and I believe you can also defeat the Qing dogs outside the customs. If it doesn't work for you and Wu Sangui to protect Ningyuan, you can still defend Shanhaiguan."
Chongzhen looked at Chang Yu with tears in his eyes and a sad face: "It's a pity that the enemy troops are approaching the city, but there is no one in the civil and military circles who can use me, and no one can use me. I can only count on you, Chang Yu, don't let me down. Don’t disappoint the Ming Dynasty!”
Collapse!
The king of this country, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, who had risen from high to high, finally collapsed under the strong pressure, and his confidants collapsed. From another perspective, no one knew that he was about to destroy his country and his family, and how much pressure he had to endure every day. It may collapse, and Chongzhen is no exception.
"I swear to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the royal family to the death. I am willing to go to the border to resist the enemy. If I go through fire and water, I will be shattered to pieces, and I will fight the Qing dog back." Chang Yu was actually quite sad in his heart. He knelt down in front of Chongzhen with a pop, and Zhu Cixiang was beside him.
I was already sobbing uncontrollably.
"Get up and talk." Chongzhen stretched out his hand to help him, and Chang Yu took advantage of the situation and got up: "Your Majesty, the bite of domestic dogs and wild dogs hurts people. I went to the north to beat the dogs, but the dogs in the south are crazy. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Mr. Shi."
Chongzhen was slightly startled, his face extremely ugly, and he sighed: "Do you know where the intruder is at this time?"
"I don't know, but he was defeated and left. He was looking for Liu Fangliang, the leader of the thieves. When I came from Taiyuan, Liu Fangliang was still in Lu'an Prefecture (today's Changzhi) and the bandits were in Pingyang Prefecture (Linfen), which was only three hundred miles apart.
Although the mountain road is bumpy, these days must have come around."
Chang Yu thought for a moment, raised his head and said.
Chongzhen's eyes brightened slightly: "Go on."
"The leader of the thieves, Liu Fangliang, was part of the East Route Army. After crossing the Yellow River, he first captured Huaiqing Mansion (today's Qinyang City), but did not directly capture the nearby Weihui Mansion (Ji County, today's Weihui City).
He went to Lu'an Prefecture in the northwest because Changzhi has been an important place for military strategists since ancient times. He wanted to capture it first and then move on to other prefectures. I expected that his next move would be either Weihui Prefecture or Zhangde Prefecture (today's Anyang)." Chang
Yu said again.
Chongzhen took a breath, and his expression became gentler than before: "Then, who do you think the thief will hit first?"
Chang Yu raised his eyebrows: "Zhangde Mansion, the reason is very simple. Zhangde Mansion is located due east of Changzhi, and the straight-line distance is only three hundred miles away. However, Wei Hui is still hundreds of miles south of Anyang. Of course, the thieves will attack at close range.
The city is slowly encroaching on its surrounding areas."
Chongzhen touched his palms with a look of disbelief on his face: "Although I know that you are extremely intelligent, brave and resourceful, and you are no less capable than the capable ministers and generals in the court, but I still didn't expect that it would be like this. With you by my side, I am truly blessed.
What a blessing for the Ming Dynasty."
"The emperor has rewarded you," Chang Yu said quickly, but he felt very ashamed in his heart. He was so smart, just because he knew this period of history. After Liu Fangliang crossed the Yellow River, he captured Huaiqing Mansion, went straight to Changzhi, and then went east to kill someone.
The Carabineers captured Weihui and Zhangde Prefecture, then went north to Daming Prefecture... and captured various states and counties at a speed comparable to that of a high-speed train.
But Chongzhen didn't know the truth about this. He only knew that this kid was so smart that he could guess everything without even counting. Only Zhu Cixiang, who was silent next to him, knew why Chang Yu knew.
It should be the "dream" entrusted by the gods.
"As you expected, the bandit troops are divided into two groups at this time, heading straight to Zhangde Mansion and Wei Hui. I'm afraid that by this time tomorrow, the two houses will already be in the hands of thieves." Chongzhen sighed, and the muscles on his face twitched.
A few times, it was clear that he was extremely angry inside.
There were no soldiers in the Central Plains. The only defenders and officials fled and surrendered. No one could resist the rebel army as they passed by. Those cities were not captured at all. To be precise, they were taken over. They did not waste a single soldier at all. They were worthless.
Compared to when the Japanese invaded the country.
"If this continues, I'm afraid that the bandit army will take advantage of the trend and move northward. At that time..." Chang Yu frowned deeply: "I heard that the emperor sent Master Shi, the Minister of War, to suppress the bandits. Master Shi has no soldiers, no generals, and no food. How can we resist it? All ministers also
Any good ideas?"
It is an iron rule that internal officials are not allowed to engage in political affairs.
But this is also an external statement. Chang Yu is a confidant, and at this time he is valued by Chongzhen. He does not care about the lies, and after a moment of reflection, he said: "Although Shi Ke's talent is not as good as that of Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong and others, he is not a person who talks about war on paper.
He has been leading the army to fight against thieves from the eighth to the twelfth year of Chongzhen. He has very rich practical experience, and he also has considerable experience in refining and training the army while serving as Minister of War in Nanjing."
He paused slightly and then said: "As for the troops, I have dispatched Shandong General Liu Zeqing and Xuzhou General Gao Jie to go immediately. The two troops have no less than 50,000 men and horses to face the enemy head on. In addition, Taiyuan Zhou Yuji led his troops to block the attack from behind. Taiyuan
There are still more than 50,000 capable troops. I will attack with a force of 100,000 in front and behind. The bandit army... should be difficult to defeat. At least it can relieve the danger of the Central Plains."
Chang Yu secretly sighed, Chongzhen no longer has the confidence and courage to speak now, because the entanglement with intruders for more than ten years has long lost his self-confidence. How many soldiers and horses have been invested, how many capable ministers and generals have been killed in the battle, and finally what happened?
…
But what leaves Chang Yu speechless the most is that fate is so wonderful!
In the end, Shi Kefa couldn't escape his fate with the commander-in-chief of the four towns!
In history, when thieves invaded Beijing, although Emperor Ming died, the Ming army still had certain strength. Among other things, the generals of the four towns in Jiangbei, Huang Degong, Liu Zeqing, Liu Liangzuo, and Gao Jie were among the leaders. If these four people could be united,
, whether it is a head-on attack or an encirclement and interception, they can severely defeat the Qing army, at least it will not be as unbearable as recorded in history.
However, history is cruel. The four men each supported their own troops and were not convinced, but they still fought with each other openly and secretly. For example, Gao Jie assassinated Huang Degong several times, and Gao Jie himself was ambushed by Xu Dingguo, and finally
What was really painful was that Shi Kefa was busy mediating between the four kings. In the end, these people only focused on internal strife and took advantage of the Qing army.
At this time, Chongzhen asked Shi Kefa to lead two of them to fight against the intruders. Chang Yu was really worried whether he could suppress these two young men.
"Your Majesty, not long after the Taiyuan battle, all the troops and horses were exhausted. Although they can be mobilized, the long journey will be embarrassing for a while. How to solve the problem of food and grass? There are also Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie's troops. Whether they can be mobilized is still a problem. Where is the food and grass?" Chang Yu asked the biggest headache.
The question is thrown out.
Previously, when the bandit army went north to Taiyuan, the prince told Chongzhen about his dream. Chongzhen was horrified and ordered Liu Zeqing and others to go to Beijing. However, they all made excuses not to come. Only Tang Tong came with eight thousand men and horses who were tired of their travels.
"I have given an order. If he dares not to move, I will kill him immediately," Chongzhen said angrily.
"If he uses the excuse of lack of food and grass to move his troops, how can the emperor kill him?" Chang Yu asked again.
Chongzhen's face darkened, and then he sighed: "I have been discussing this matter with the courtiers in the past few days. Now that I have silver in my hand, it should not be difficult. But how do you plan to defeat the Manchu Golden Dog?" (To be continued)