On August 13, at the court meeting in Huangji Hall, Zhu Youjian's face was ashen and his body was very tired while sitting on the throne.
Last night, bad news came from Huguang Kuaima. The new army from the Beijing Camp was defeated by the Jiangbei Army at the foot of Yuezhou City. The Jiangbei Army pursued the new army for hundreds of miles. One hundred thousand new troops from the Beijing Camp were unable to cross the Yangtze River. At the Yuezhou Prefecture,
There was no way to escape, and the entire army was almost wiped out.
Cao Bianjiao, the uncle of Dingxi, crossed the Yangtze River in a small boat and fled to Xiangyang Prefecture in the north of Huguang. However, Cao Bianjiao believed that he had ruined 100,000 new troops. He suffered a nervous breakdown due to pessimism and despair. He actually fell ill and was said to be dying.
It turned out that the new army in Beijing camp was in Shaanxi and the power in Huguang was unstoppable. Zhu Youjian thought that he could rely on the new army to rebuild the world and become a hero who would leave his name in history. Unexpectedly, all his credentials disappeared overnight and things turned around again.
We arrived at the initial difficult situation.
Not only that, the sentinels on the front line even said that the Jiangbei Army was marching north and was about to cross the Yangtze River and attack northern Huguang.
Now that the 100,000-strong New Army has been defeated, there are no troops to defend from Huguang, Shaanxi to Shanxi and even Beizhili. Is Jiangbei Army going to attack the capital with this posture?
Zhu Youjian's reform in the north and the equalization of land taxes cut off the most fundamental interests of the gentry. As the private army of the gentry, the Jiangbei Army and Zhu Youjian were already enemies of each other. Shi Kefa and Wu Sangui made a gesture of heading north. Do they want to give up?
The emperor himself?
Zhu Youjian had no sleep last night. He tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep.
However, the bleak situation has just begun.
At this time, the officials in the court had obviously received the news.
Previously, the emperor went on a killing spree in the capital to suppress civil servants, relying on the force of the new army in the capital. At that time, the emperor had powerful troops, and officials did not dare to disobey. The big bosses of the Donglin Party sat back and watched their comrades being killed in silence.
However, at this time, the Beijing camp was completely defeated, and the emperor only had 20,000 new troops to guard the capital. The situation was completely different. The officials of the Donglin Party became more active.
Is it time for the power that was originally taken away by the emperor because of the new army in Beijing to be returned to the Donglin Party?
Now Jiangbei's army marches north with the power of victory. If the emperor does not compromise with the civil officials, then Jiangbei's army can really do anything.
In the Ming Dynasty, imperial examinations were used to select scholars. As long as they won the Jinshi, they would naturally become a member of the gentry. According to the previous practice, Jinshi could collect fields and donate them. If they did not pay the land tax, they would have nothing to lose. And the civil servants inside and outside the court
All of them were Jinshi, and all of them were natural spokespersons for the interests of the gentry. Even if Zhu Youjian took power and killed many people in the past few years, the civil servants in the court were still in the Cao camp and their hearts were in the Han Dynasty.
In the final analysis, the civil servants in the court were all on the side of the gentry, and Zhu Youjian could not kill them all.
Now that all the troops in the Beijing camp have been wiped out, the reform in the north no longer has the support of force. The civil servants, especially the members of the Donglin Party, looked at each other with excitement on their faces. The bad news about the emperor was their good news.
What they have to do next is to launch a general attack on the emperor and completely abolish the reforms in the three northern provinces!
Wang Duo, the chief minister of the cabinet, shook off the sleeves of his official robe and stood up.
This Wang Duo has always been a rat at both ends, and he will fall to whichever side the wind is strong. When the Beijing camp was strong, he watched Fan Jingwen being executed by the emperor without saying a word. However, at this time, the new army was defeated, and the Jiangbei army marched north.
When the time comes, he will stand up and speak for the gentry in the world.
"Your Majesty Wang Duo has something to say!"
"explain!"
"I believe that the defeat of the new army in the Beijing camp is just a matter of days."
"It is precisely because the emperor did not cultivate virtue, did not uphold benevolence and righteousness, was superstitious about the benefits of firearms, changed the methods of his ancestors, and fought with the scholars of the world, that led to today's defeat. I believe that the most important thing now is to fight in Beizhili, Shaanxi and
The three provinces of Shanxi announced the failure of the reform and put an end to the perverse and evil law of equalizing taxes."
After hearing Wang Duo's words, the eyes of the civil servants lit up. At this moment, it is naturally the best thing to have the chief minister of the cabinet to take the lead.
Zhu Youjian felt cold when he saw Wang Duo, the wall-riding faction, jumped out and fired the first shot. He couldn't help but cough a few times.
The Emperor once let Wang Duo go when he saw that he didn't do what he did. Unexpectedly, Wang Duo would repay his kindness in the end.
But the civil servants pressed forward step by step.
"My minister Gao Wenjin thinks that the new law should be abolished!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
As if they had agreed, the civil servants jumped out one after another and put pressure on Zhu Youjian.
Seeing so many people jumping out to attack him, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but cough a few more times, and finally took a breath.
When Wang Chengen saw that the civil servants who had been submissive yesterday were collectively forcing the emperor today, he was so angry that blood rushed to his head. He waved his sleeves and shouted: "The Beijing camp has just been defeated, are you going to rebel?"
Wang Chengen shouted sternly: "Jiangbei Army is still in Huguang! Are you thinking about the affairs of the three northern provinces?"
Wang Duo looked at Wang Chengen, laughed loudly, and said, "The noble man doesn't know something."
"Although the Jiangbei Army is still in Huguang, there are battalions and garrison troops in various places in the three northern provinces. These local troops are opposed to the reform. Now that all the troops in the Beijing Camp have been wiped out, there is no need for the Jiangbei Army to go north. The soldiers and horses in these places are also
It is enough to catch all the officials sent by the emperor to various places to reform the law."
"If the emperor takes the initiative to announce the failure of the reform, he can still save some royal dignity and be compatible with the civil servants and generals. If the emperor stubbornly resists, I am afraid that not only the south will rebel, but the local army in the north will also rebel. The situation by then will probably be impossible.
Cleaned up..."
Wang Duo Tuqiong saw this and began to threaten Zhu Youjian.
The generals of the local army were promoted by civilian officials. The army's salary and food were all provided by civilian officials. Over the decades, they all became civilian officials. Previously, the Beijing camp was so powerful that these local armies did not dare to make any noise. At this time, the Beijing camp was defeated.
The local army may raise a rebellion at any time like the Jiangbei army did.
If Zhu Youjian does not compromise, it may be a situation where soldiers and horses from the north and south attack Beizhili together, and soldiers and horses from all walks of life "clear the emperor's side" together.
Gao Wenjin, the minister of civil affairs, suddenly shouted: "The matter has come to this, the emperor should not hold on any longer. If the reform is declared to have failed, everyone will stop fighting, and he can still be the emperor of peace!"
The officials of the Donglin Party looked at each other for a while, with excitement on their faces. One by one, they raised their hands and said, "I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"Emperor Cheng should have made plans early! Declare the failure of the reform."
Zhu Youjian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Although the Beijing camp has been defeated, Zhu Youjian is not someone who gives in easily. Although the emperor does not have a new army, he is still the staunch emperor.
"At least in the capital, I still have 20,000 new troops!"
With a slap on the armrest of the throne, Zhu Youjian shouted loudly: "Wang Duo has a dazzling look and talks nonsense. He can no longer be an official. From today on, he will be demoted to a commoner!"
"Gao Wenjin incited hundreds of officials to fight against me. His crime is unpardonable. He should be thrown into Dongchang Prison and interrogated carefully!"
In the astonished eyes of all the officials, Zhu Youjian waved his sleeves and said loudly: "Whoever dares to talk about reform is like Wang and Gao!"
