Wu Sangui failed to invade Sichuan, but Wang Guangen of Yunyang rebelled first, which was beyond everyone's expectations.

After receiving the news, all the important ministers and generals in the camp came to see the emperor.

But what surprised them was that the emperor was very calm and did not seem to be affected much.

"Sit down. It seems that you are very well-informed." Zhu Yihai greeted everyone to sit down. The Laizhou Bay fort is not big. The main fort is currently completed, and the outer trenches, embankments, etc. are still under construction, because the main fort has five

It has sharp edges and corners, so it is called a five-sided fort or a five-star city.

"Your Majesty, I think Wen Anzhi's army reorganization was a bit excessive." The person who spoke was Pingguo Gong Zheng Zhilong. Previously, the imperial court began to reorganize the army in various places, and the Zheng family in Fujian was also deeply affected.

Now that Wang Guangen is rebelling, Zheng Zhilong thinks the time is right and immediately speaks out against it.

But Zhu Yihai was just making tea.

Wang Guangen rebelled. He was shocked at first, but he soon calmed down and didn't even care much. Wang Guangen previously guarded Yunyang. This place is very important. It can contain Hanzhong, Xiangyang, Jingzhou and other places. If it is guarded, it will be sure.

Yes. But Yunyang has been holding on to the isolated city for many years, and to be honest, it is actually very weak.

After setting up Zhongkai Town, they expanded their army aggressively, but those soldiers were only good in numbers and lacked sufficient food, pay, and equipment. Yunyang Town was destined to be unable to become an elite force for a long time.

Before the imperial court reestablished its authority and reorganized the new army, Wang Guangen finally rebelled. This was an accident, but there was nothing to avoid if it happened.

Although Zhu Yihai also admitted that this was an accident, it should have been avoidable. After all, Yunyang was an outer town, on the front line, and still surrounded by enemies. For such an outer town, more advantages should be given to generals like Wang Guangen.

More autonomy.

But if something happens, we can't regret it, let alone stop eating because of choking, and turn around to punish Wen Anzhi or Zhu Dadian, or even the imperial court's overall plan to reorganize the entire army.

He could clearly see what Zheng Zhilong was thinking.

"Wang Guangen rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the captives. He was just greedy for power and was seduced by the Tatar king. He himself was not firm in his position and could not blame others.

Isn’t it said that the Tatars promised to make Duke Ping the King of Fujian, but Duke Ping remains unmoved?"

The emperor's words actually defeated Zheng Zhilong's army.

Zheng Zhilong suddenly knelt down.

"What do you mean by loving me?"

"I dare not deceive the Holy Lord. There was indeed someone who claimed to be an envoy from the Tartars before. He approached me on the way and said that he wanted to be crowned the king and be crowned the king, and to be the governor of Fujian, etc. However, I didn't believe it. I just thought it was a swindler and deceived the traitor, so I drove him away. Afterwards,

I didn’t take it seriously and failed to report it to the Holy See in time, so I am guilty.”

"In times of trouble, it is common for there to be many liars, so why is this so sinful?"

Zheng Zhilong knelt there, "There were mutinies in Huguang, Sichuan, and Yunyang one after another. I thought that although the imperial court's intention to reorganize the army was good, it also had to judge the time to seize the situation.

Just like when the saint personally decided to recruit the Anshun camp, how courageous it was.

Not only did he disregard his past grievances, but he also granted him the title of duke and marquis, gave him a camp title, and gave him great powers to do things at his convenience. Shunying also established two towns, Zhongzhen and Zhongyi, one after another.

However, less than a year after the establishment of the two towns, the imperial court had to change its course again and reorganize the Loyalty Camp and other areas. The original thirteen towns were reduced to six thousand or even three to five thousand. This aroused suspicion. It was suspected that the birds were crossing the river and burning the bridge.

Jin Gongzang, they were originally from Shunying. Many people in Zhongyi Town later rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the captives. This may not be without these reasons.

Another example is the previous mutiny of the generals in Sichuan, and now Wang Guangen's rebellion, which was all caused by the army's seizure of power.

I would like to advise your Majesty that for the sake of the overall situation, we should postpone the reorganization of the army, especially the troops on the front and border areas. This is not because we are not reorganizing, but we cannot rush for a while."

Chen Qianfu stood aside and objected, "I thought it was okay for the imperial court to organize the army. The troops and horses are not organized. Although they are large in number, they have no combat effectiveness. Moreover, how can we provide food and pay? How can we provide weapons?

What is needed in war is elite soldiers, not quantity. "It's more elite than more."

"Just like before in Sichuan, Wang Xiang dared to privately seal the title of General of Thirty-six Towns. Where did he get the qualifications and courage? He even dared to recruit yellow thieves. What could he do with these cannibals?

He expanded his army uncontrollably. One of the thirty-six towns was called three to five thousand, and the other was called ten or twenty thousand. How could the imperial court supply it and how could Sichuan support it?

Don't wait until we get to the battlefield and bring disaster to Sichuan first."

Zheng Zhilong retorted, "But now the main enemy of the imperial court is the Tatars. The imperial court is so anxious to organize the army and has forced everyone to rebel. How can they fight the Tatars?"

Other ministers also joined in, each supporting one side.

"We don't need to argue like this." Zhu Yihai shook his head. He took a few sips from the teacup and then asked the ministers to sit down. "My lords, before Wen'an reorganized his army, he also reported to me, called today's Sichuan, and ordered

Not all, the army heads are all over the place, it is difficult to distinguish between the soldiers and the bandits, and the people are simply unable to support so many soldiers.

If the army is not reorganized, the center of Sichuan will collapse without waiting for the Tartars to attack.

I deeply believe these words, and I do not deny that Ma Gan, Zeng Ying, Wang Xiang and others made meritorious deeds in guarding the river and fighting against thieves.

There are state laws and family rules. Could it be that just because of his meritorious service, Ma Gan could ignore the economic strategies of the five provinces? Could it be that just because of his meritorious service, Wang Xiang, a general with the rank of deputy admiral, dared to privately recruit thirty-six towns and privately seal thirty-six towns?

General Liu Hangyin?

Do they still have the imperial court in their eyes?

Huguang has learned from the past. The five loyalists stood side by side and claimed to have hundreds of thousands of troops. However, they really started fighting, and each one ran faster than the other.

What's the use?

There are more soldiers, but the domineering capital of these military leaders makes them more lawless and dare to defy the court and ignore laws.

I am not reorganizing randomly, I am advancing in an orderly manner, and have done various things to deal with the aftermath, reuse the capable generals, retain the strong and capable ones, and eliminate the old, weak and disabled, in order to make more elites capable of fighting.

Even if you are laid off, you will be given severance pay.

Even after reorganization, the court and local governments were responsible for supplying money, food and equipment, leaving them to concentrate on training for war.

But if this is unacceptable,

Then I would rather fight a civil war with them first than defeat these military leaders.

Otherwise, how can I trust these people, and how can Ming Dynasty rely on these people?

When it comes to actually fighting the Tatars, who can trust them with their backs?

The city of Wuchang has already suffered a big loss once, and the city of Xi'an has suffered another defeat. Will it happen again?

From the Chongzhen Dynasty to the previous four towns in Jiangbei, Zuo Liangyu in Huguang, etc., which of these military leaders actually fought to the death for the imperial court?

Even if I risk the destruction of my country, I must defeat them first!"

The emperor's words became more serious and his tone was very stern.

Originally, Zhu Yihai didn't want to say this. He had even planned to issue a decree to appease the local military chiefs in various places, reward them with some money, increase their official ranks, and even be willing to suspend their comprehensive reorganization.

Slow down for a while and bear with each other for the sake of the country.

But when Zheng Zhilong took the lead and more than half of the imperial ministers also began to oppose the entire army, Zhu Yihai could no longer calm down.

If we give in at this time, we may not be able to stop it.

Gu Li

If we are about to retreat, wouldn't Sichuan's army reorganization be in vain?

Will the ongoing army reorganization in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places also have to be abandoned halfway?

"My lords, it's not me who is mean and ungrateful."

"I don't hesitate to confer titles and titles to the generals, and I don't hesitate to give more rewards and salaries to the soldiers, but the officers, titles, food and salary are one thing, and the army is another.

The army is there to fight, to drive out the Tartars, suppress the bandits, and protect the country and the people. It is not to be used as a bargaining chip by some people to blackmail the imperial court.

The ministers only care about the court, and I understand that.

But there are some things that must be done, and you cannot keep compromising out of fear. When does such a compromise end, and where does it end?

The Ming Dynasty has rotten to this point, and now it has finally improved a little bit. If we continue to compromise and give in, we will not be able to escape the disaster of national subjugation. We may not even wait until the Tatars are destroyed, but we will be destroyed by these warlords first.

Already.

Even if you are fighting outside, you must also be at peace inside.”

Zhu Yihai stared at Zheng Zhilong, "Ping Guogong is not only a bachelor, but also a young protector and the crown prince's eunuch. He is the Duke of the state. He is a high-ranking minister. He is wearing a gold and purple python robe and a jade belt, but he kneels down casually. How can he behave like a minister?

state?"

"The Liu Dynasty will take back the python given by Duke Ping and impose a fine of half a year's salary as punishment."

"From now on, purple-robed, golden and jade ministers of the third rank and above are not allowed to kneel down at will."

Zheng Zhilong's face turned red for a moment, but Chen Qianfu finally helped him up.

"The army is a powerful weapon of the country. Generals must not be allowed to expand their recruitment at will or appoint generals privately. The number of troops must be approved by the Ministry of War. Military attachés above battalion officers must be reviewed and appointed by the Ministry of War of the imperial court. Guarding generals must be ordered by the emperor."

"This is the imperial court's red line and cannot be crossed!"

Zhu Yihai knew very well that in troubled times only soldiers have power.

When he first raised the flag, he set a warlord route for himself. He wanted to be a big warlord. Only in this way could he ensure that he had power, instead of being used as a puppet like other princes of the South.

So he has always been wary of those military leaders.

He will not take mercy on anyone who dares to cross the line.

It is okay to appropriately grant some cheap power, but there must be a bottom line. The bottom line is that the numbers, troop levels, and appointment of officers must be controlled by the imperial court. Even food and salary will gradually be controlled by the imperial court.

Allowing the military leaders to break through these restrictions at will means that the imperial court loses control over them.

Why Wang Guangen was able to rebel? In the final analysis, it was because the sky was high and the emperor was far away, and the imperial court was never able to truly enter and control Zhongkai Town, so this situation occurred.
To be continued...