The timeline goes back to the third day of September, three days before Fang Ziling arrived in the capital, and also the day when Yang Sichang's death note was delivered to the capital.
The entire Forbidden City seemed to be shrouded in a cautious and scary atmosphere because of the emperor's bad mood.
Chongzhen has been depressed for a whole month and cannot relax.
More than a month ago, he heard that on the Huguang battlefield, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly came out of the mountains controlled by the Miao and native peoples in western Hunan and attacked Changde, Changsha, and Hengzhou. He killed King Rong and King Ji successively.
In the end, even the emperor's uncle Gui Wang's family was wiped out.
King Gui Zhu Changhui went to Hengzhou in the seventh year of Tianqi. That year Chongzhen was already seventeen years old. So it can be said that King Gui was the closest to Chongzhen among all his uncles. When he was a child, he often walked around and went to his seventh uncle's house.
play.
In contrast, those uncles who had a bad relationship with Chongzhen's biological father left the capital much earlier. For example, the third uncle who was suspected of seizing the throne, King Fu Zhu Changxun, was vassalized in the 42nd year of Wanli. At that time, Chongzhen
He's only three years old and doesn't remember anything at all.
When the other fourth uncles and fifth uncles came to vassal, Chongzhen was still young and did not have a deep impression on him. The seventh uncle was a late vassal because he was young and posed no threat to the imperial power. He was the closest to Chongzhen, so he did not expect that Zhang Xianzhong would kill his whole family.
When he received the news, Chongzhen cried with sincerity, much more sincerely than when his third uncle Zhu Changxun was killed last year. After being sad, his anger towards the local officials and generals in Huguang became even more intense, and he wanted to intensify his punishment on them.
penalty.
However, after the fall of Changsha and before the fall of Hengzhou, Chongzhen had already sent envoys to severely hold officials in Huguang accountable, and ordered that the governor of Huguang, Fang Kongzhen, be demoted to a civilian position and brought to Beijing for questioning.
Therefore, just seven or eight days later, when he heard that King Gui had been killed again, Chongzhen could not immediately increase the punishment immediately. He could only hold back his anger, hoping that after Fang Kongzhen and others were escorted to the capital, they could unify and follow the latest situation in detail.
Find out the guilt.
Anyway, the war situation in Huguang has become like this. Maybe worse bad news will come every few days, so it is better to save up together and settle the general ledger! If an imperial edict is issued every time a piece of bad news comes, then the imperial edict is too worthless.
Not serious anymore.
From then on, Chongzhen chose not to read the bad news in Huguang for the time being, and wanted to save some money until Fang Kongzhen arrived.
And soon, a series of new bad news broke out on the Henan battlefield. Li Zicheng plundered Huaiqing, Wei Hui, Zhangde, Daming and other prefectures around Kaifeng, killed King Zheng, King Zhao, and Yang Sichang's grandson Chuanting Zuo Liangyu was forced by the imperial edict.
He advanced rashly and was severely defeated by Li Zicheng in Zhuxian Town.
These bad news are far more serious than the problem of Zhang Xianzhong in Huguang, especially since Damingfu is already part of Beizhili, which means that Li Zicheng's tentacles have already reached the edge of Beizhili!
So for the next half month, all of Chongzhen's attention was attracted by Li Zicheng, and he no longer had time to care about what was going on with Zhang Xianzhong.
The country's power had declined to this point, and Chongzhen was completely confused.
This year, all fronts in the Ming Dynasty have been completely defeated!
Hong Chengchou has clearly sent back the news that the Qing Dynasty has been surrendered, and most of the hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the Nine Borders have been wiped out. In the summer and autumn, the Tatars were not idle outside the pass, and continued their aggressive attacks, uprooting all Wu Sangui's strongholds outside Shanhaiguan one by one.
The remaining troops in Liaodong were increasingly losing blood.
As winter approaches recently, things have calmed down a bit, but according to Jinyiwei's inquiries, it seems that it's not that the Tatars are weak in fighting, but that Huang Taiji is finally critically ill, and the Tatar banners seem to be turning their energy to waiting for opportunities to seize power.
The Ming Dynasty's only hope outside the customs is that after Huang Taiji's death, the Tatars' power transition will not be smooth and civil war will occur.
Li Zicheng destroyed the whole of Henan, plus every corner of Hebei, Shaanxi, and Shanxi, and Zhang Xianzhong destroyed Huguang.
Chongzhen almost felt that he was completely hopeless.
…
Chongzhen was depressed and stayed up late to review the memorials. He was so busy that he sadly fell asleep on the royal eucalyptus. Empress Zhou saw that he did not return to the palace very late, so she took her maids with her and came to the Wenhua Hall with midnight snacks.
Visiting class.
Chongzhen had not favored her for more than a year, so that Empress Zhou did not dare to disturb her at night for a long time. In the past two months, she occasionally stayed at her place to spend the night, but there was absolutely no love between men and women. That was just because of Chongzhen
My favorite Concubine Tian Guifei just died of illness in July.
When Concubine Tian died, news of the fall of Changsha came back from the Huguang battlefield almost at the same time. The dual grief and anger were superimposed, which also made Chongzhen's mood even more unstable, and the punishment of relevant officials was also intensified.
After the death of Concubine Tian, Chongzhen left the court for three days and suffered a serious illness. He recovered slightly in August, and then he changed his mind and allowed Empress Zhou to attend her illness.
Empress Zhou was not greedy for favors. She knew that she was getting old and her beauty had faded, so she would be very satisfied if she could show her face around the emperor and serve the emperor.
As an aside, historically, after Concubine Tian's death, Concubine Tian's father and cousin Tian Hongyu, in order to maintain the family's influence in the palace, began to search for beautiful women at the end of that year, hoping to send them to the palace to replace his daughter's original position.
, got the favor of the emperor, and then found Chen Yuanyuan.
Of course, all of this has been completely shattered by Chen Shuren's butterfly effect. Chen Yuanyuan has been taken into Chen Shuren's back house for two and a half years, and she has done all kinds of tricks.
When Queen Zhou came to the Wenhua Hall, she wanted to go straight into the inner hall, but she met Chongzhen's confidant eunuch Wang Chengen at the door. Queen Zhou was curious and asked: "Why is Wang Daban here? Is your Majesty asleep again?"
When Wang Chengen saw that it was the queen, he quickly saluted and then said: "Your Majesty has come just in time. Your Majesty just got tired and fell asleep again. I didn't dare to disturb you.
However, Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of War sent a "posthumous form" from Mr. Yangge of Huguang. Mr. Yangge seemed to be critically ill, but the content of the form was actually good news. The statement stated that Shen Shuren, governor of Anlu, defeated Zhang Xianzhong.
Killed Zhang Xianzhong's puppet governors Wang Shangli, Zhang Hualong and Ma Weixing, wiped out tens of thousands of enemies, recovered Changsha and Hengzhou, and captured surrendered generals Yin Xianmin and He Yide alive.
Another captured bandit reported back that Zhang Xianzhong himself was also injured in the battle of Hengzhou, and his face was damaged by the firearms used by the army. His appearance was completely disfigured, one ear was cut off, and he was even poisoned by lead. This was a great joy.
This servant is hesitant, not knowing whether to disturb the Holy Master or not..."
Empress Zhou looked happy, then frowned, and made a gesture: "Wang Daban, how many times have I told you! This palace is just a female, the harem is not allowed to participate in politics, and the affairs of the foreign dynasty should not be mentioned in the future!
"
After the virtuous queen finished her posture, Queen Zhou changed her face to a slightly kinder one: "But forget it this time, I know your majesty very well, how can you sleep peacefully on the royal eucalyptus like this? I woke up in the middle of the night,
I'm afraid I'll blame myself again for not handling government affairs enough, and end up having to deal with it.
It is better to shout and tell the good news. Your Majesty will be happy and can put down the government affairs and go back to the palace to sleep peacefully all night. I will go in first to deliver the soup and medicine. After waking up, you can talk about the business."
Empress Zhou knew Chongzhen very well, and knew that her husband would not be able to sleep well if he was so worried, so why not give him good news to make him feel good for a few days.
After receiving the blessing of the good news, Queen Zhou even stiffened her walking posture. She walked gracefully into the inner hall, touched her husband's forehead with her own hands, and after seeing her husband's body move slightly, she said softly:
"If Your Majesty is tired, please go back to the palace to rest. It is not comfortable here. We are busy with state affairs, and we must take care of the dragon body. Come, drink this bowl of medicinal food first to calm your mind. The Tian family girl's spirit in heaven must also hope that Your Majesty will always be healthy.
"
Chongzhen was lost in the lake and subconsciously opened his mouth. Empress Zhou had already taken a silver pick and fed him a mouthful. The warmth entered his throat, and Chongzhen became more awake.
He also knew Empress Zhou very well. Seeing that she had a springy look on her face, she was very confident. She was not afraid of him getting angry if she was woken up, so he tentatively asked: "Is there some good news again? Are you eager to let me know?"
Queen Zhou was shocked. She didn't expect her husband to react so quickly, or that the old couple were so familiar with each other's ways that they were seen through.
Empress Zhou quickly became coy and shy: "No way, but I just saw Wang Daban waiting outside the palace. She didn't dare to disturb her. She said there was a good news. I don't know about the affairs of the foreign court, so I didn't ask in detail. Your Majesty, did you
If you have enough energy, just call in and ask. If you are exhausted, just go back and rest."
Chongzhen didn't point it out that an old husband and wife asking a few words about the war situation could not be considered as interfering in politics, so he gently opened the door and called Wang Cheng'en to come over and ask about business matters.
Wang Chengen spoke very sternly. He skipped the previous exchange with Queen Zhou and didn't mention a word. He just briefly and concisely stated the contents of Yang Sichang's suicide note.
As Chongzhen listened, Tong Kong suddenly shrank a few times, and stretched out his hands like skinny chicken paws: "Bring it to me quickly! Has the Ministry of War verified it?"
Wang Chengen quickly handed over another note: "This is the military exploits that Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of War temporarily verified during the night watch. Mr. Yang Ge's suicide note was also sent with the list of the heads of some thieves and some prisoners. The Ministry of War has verified it.
It’s just Mr. Yin and He Yide who haven’t arrived in Beijing yet.”
Of course, the memorials that can be sent to Chongzhen cannot be handed in casually. All relevant departments will check them at all levels to ensure that there are no false reports. Of course, Chen Xinjia of the Ministry of War also stayed up late and worked overtime.
Chongzhen's eyes widened and he looked at it carefully. After a long time, he closed the memorial that was crumpled by him: "Zhang Xianzhong, the dog thief! You also have this day. It's a pity, it's a pity, why Chen Shuren didn't pursue Zhang Xianzhong to the end, and took advantage of Zhang Xianzhong
The main force has been wiped out, so we can catch them all in one fell swoop! Why should we withdraw our troops and return north?"
Wang Chengen and others were standing by, listening to the emperor's only regret and emotion, so he could only be anxious and could not help the foreign ministers to speak.
However, Empress Zhou had no possibility of colluding with foreign ministers. Seeing that the emperor was not in a completely comfortable mood, she said cautiously: "Your Majesty, when the local governor withdraws his troops, there should be other appointments and transfers? Didn't Mr. Yang Ge write it?"
Chongzhen looked at it carefully again and found several reasons from the subsequent texts that had nothing to do with the victory: "...It turns out that Shen Shuren had already made an agreement with Yang Sichang a long time ago. After repelling Zhang Xianzhong, he would send troops to deal with Li Zicheng. Then
What a pity.
But there is nothing we can do about it. The war situation in Henan is so rotten. If I were in Xiangyang, I would definitely make the people of Henan tolerate it a little longer and let the Shen Shu people completely drive Zhang Xianzhong to an end and kill his whole family first..."
Neither Empress Zhou nor Wang Cheng'en dared to say a word after hearing these words. They thought to themselves: It is your previous decree to force Yang Sichang and Sun Chuanting to concentrate all their forces at all costs and step up the siege of Li Zicheng to rescue Henan...
How come in the end, when I heard that Zhang Xianzhong had a chance to be hunted down and beheaded, I suddenly heard that it was happening?
Chongzhen felt that the atmosphere was a bit cold, and he recalled that he had indeed changed his mind. He quickly ordered: "Well, seeing that Yang Sichang's expression was sincere and he had finally made some small efforts to redeem his past, let him accept his request.
After Fang Kongzheng was imprisoned, Huguang was indeed in chaos and urgently needed someone to take over. Since Shen Shuren had made great achievements in defeating Zhang Xianzhong, recovering three prefectures, and killing three puppet governors in a row, he was appointed governor of Huguang. However, it remained the same as before.
Also protect Xinyang, Jiujiang, and Anlu Chitai. When the court meets in a few days, we will discuss it with Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia, and then we will make it clear to the world.
This Chen Shuren is really a giant of our Ming Dynasty and a model of loyalty. I hope that after his promotion, he can help Yang Sichang reverse his decline and stop Li Zicheng from moving eastward and southward."
Although Shen Shuren's official title was designated as Governor of Huguang, he could also oversee six prefectures in the three neighboring provinces bordering Huguang, all of which were dangerous and poor places located around the Dabie Mountains.