The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 213 Yang Sichang

"The big thing is almost a success, it was a mistake by a few yellow-mouthed scholars, so that's it!"

With a sad face on his face, Yang Sichang sat decadently on the chair in the middle hall, thinking of everything during the day, he couldn't help but sigh after all.

Now the southern invaders and the northern captives are in troubled times, and the country is exhausted. As Minister of the Ministry of War, he knows better than anyone how difficult the current situation is.

Only after taking office as Minister of the Ministry of War did Yang Sichang truly understand what kind of land Daming is now in.

Thousands of heavy burdens were piled up on him, and all kinds of affairs piled up like a mountain for him to decide. He had just passed the year of destiny, but most of the beard and hair on Yang Sichang's face had turned white.

Those courtiers with hypocrisy and hypocrisy are all thinking about fighting for power and profit.

Those who are full of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism are actually full of profiteers!
"False talk is useless, superfluous words are harmful to the important, empty talk is harmful to the country, and it really hurts people!"

Chen Xinjia was sitting on the right, his expression was quite angry at this time, and his brows and eyes were full of sadness like Yang Sichang, and he said in a hateful voice.

He spoke with a slight Sichuan accent. He was originally from Changshou in Sichuan.

Chen Xinjia has a straight face, narrow eyes and long eyebrows. He is in his forties. He is proficient in literature and knows about side affairs. He has been an official in Liaodong for many years.

On April [-] this year, Lu Xiangsheng's father, Lu Guokui, died on his way home after visiting Lu Xiangsheng in Yanghe.

In May, when Lu Xiangsheng learned of his father's death, he was so distressed that he went to Qishu and asked Ding You to guard him.

Now the acting governor of Xuanda is Chen Xinjia. Chen Xinjia was originally the governor of the Xuanfu, and this time he took the position on the recommendation of Yang Sichang.

The reason why Chen Xinjia was in the capital was precisely because of the peace talks.

Yang Sichang ruled inside, while Chen Xinjia and Liaodong governor Fang Yizao ruled outside.

But right now, peace talks have become impossible.

"The captives from the north and the bandits from the south are all disasters..."

Yang Sichang lowered his head slightly, resting his forehead with his hand, his tiredness could not be concealed between his brows.

"Autumn is approaching, and the peace talks have been broken. The Jiannu tribes will definitely be ready to move, and most of them will look for opportunities to enter again. Now that you are replacing Lu Jiandou in charge of Xuanda Town, you must be careful to prevent Jiannu from entering again."

Yang Sichang looked haggard, looking at the city and side walls on the map.

The peace negotiation with Jiannu was actually just a stopgap measure. The reason why the current national situation is so dangerous is actually because the power is too scattered and cannot be held together at all.

The turmoil caused by the rogue bandits in the pass has restrained too many troops and too many provinces.

Those rogues didn't do production, but looted everywhere, destroying every place they went.

Now Shaanxi, Henan, Nanzhili and other places have been greatly damaged, and taxes have been reduced a lot as a result.

It made the already unsustainable finances even worse.

Chen Xinjia saw Yang Sichang's frown, thought for a while, and changed the subject.

"The situation in the south seems to be improving. I heard that Mr. Hong Heng and Sun Baigu jointly wiped out Chuang Ni in Long'an Mansion?"

When mentioning the situation in the south, Yang Sichang's frowning brows relaxed, and he opened his mouth with a somewhat smile on his face.

"In two great victories in Mianzhou and Jiangyou, more than 6 heads were captured, and nearly [-] people were captured. The rest broke up and walked into the mountains of northern Sichuan."

"Although Li Zicheng, the chieftain of the thieves, escaped, the management team under his command either surrendered or died. It is reported that there are only a few thousand people who fled."

"Old Hong Heng has now led the troops back to Shaanxi, and now Fu Yunzhong has taken over Northern Sichuan, and Hou Liangzhu is staying in Long'an Mansion to organize the extermination of the remnants of the thieves."

Although the deadline for suppressing the bandits in March has passed, it is a good thing to be able to wipe out the bandits anyway.

In fact, Yang Sichang himself knew that it was too much force, but he didn't have much to do. Now that the country is in a difficult situation, the emperor is a little anxious.

In order to win the support of the emperor, there are some things he can't help himself.

"With Hou Liangzhu around, Li Zicheng should not be able to make trouble."

Chen Xinjia looked slightly relieved, he didn't know much about the situation in the Mainland.

Not long after he took over as governor of Xuanda, he was already so busy with the internal affairs of Xuanda that he had no extra energy to take care of other things.

Hou Liangzhu once conquered Chongming, An Bangyan and his accomplices Mo De and Yang Zuo, who were called "Southwest Qijie" at that time.

As long as Hou Liangzhu is around, Sichuan will be absolutely safe.

"Most of the bandits in the pass have calmed down now, only Luo Rucai and He Yilong and more than ten battalions in the south have not surrendered."

"Then Luo Rucai seems to be planning to enter Shaanxi again, but Mr. Hong Heng has already led the troops back to Xi'an Mansion, so Luo Rucai can't make any waves..."

Talking about the situation in the south, Yang Sichang seemed to think of something, his expression sank slightly, and he stopped talking for a long time.

Chen Xinjia waited for a long time, but he didn't hear Yang Sichang speak again. He thought about it, and still spoke.

"Cabinet..."

Yang Sichang's expression returned to normal.

All the good news and good news came from the south, but he didn't know why he was always restless.

He recommended Xiong Wencan at the beginning because he valued Xiong Wencan's military strategy ability.

But he didn't expect that he had already warned Xiong Wencan in advance that he would focus on suppression and supplement it with comfort.

As for the two thieves Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong, they must be killed and not indulged.

However, Xiong Wencan did not listen to his opinion, and chose to focus on appeasement, supplemented by suppression, and he also chose to recruit Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong without authorization, and even passed him when recruiting and directly handed over the memorial to the emperor. .

The emperor was eager to quell the internal turmoil, and allowed Xiong Wencan to appease him, but Yang Sichang had no way to stop it.

Yang Sichang was depressed, Zhang Xianzhong seemed to have many problems.

The reason why it was more successful in convincing seems to be that it used a lot of money to get through the gate. Many people in the court and localities seem to have received a lot of money.

The matter of Zhang Xianzhong being caressed has become a foregone conclusion.

The emperor didn't even hold him accountable for digging Fengyang's mausoleum, so what could he do to stop the appeasement?
Xiong Wencan regarded Zhang Xianzhong as Zheng Zhilong, but he didn't know that there was a difference between Zhang Xianzhong and Zheng Zhilong.

The rogues were extremely cunning, and it was not uncommon for them to surrender and rebel. Once Zhang Xianzhong rebelled, the good situation in the south would disappear in an instant.

"nothing……"

Yang Sichang waved his hand lightly, feeling helpless in his heart.

In order to be able to lay a net with four positive points, six corners and ten sides, he proposed to levy 280 million yuan in salaries and recruit 12 troops.

Many people in the court said that he was drinking poison to quench thirst, and Sun Chuanting unceremoniously disobeyed his wishes, and even wrote a letter bluntly stating that his strategy was wrong.

Whether it is drinking poison to quench thirst, Yang Sichang himself does not know.

But many times, people have no choice.

Even if he knew that what was placed in front of him was a glass of poisoned wine, he still had to drink it in order to live longer.

Now that the country is in crisis and the locality is in trouble, another 280 million yuan has been collected and suppressed.

Once a large-scale famine occurs again, according to the current state's finances, it will be unable to relieve the victims at all, and it will arouse even greater civil uprisings at that time.

But if we don't collect the 280 million salaries and don't recruit more soldiers, how can we survive the current situation where most of the rogues have disappeared?
For Sun Chuanting, Yang Sichang felt more helpless.

Sun Chuanting is a talented general. When he first took office, he defeated Wang Gao Yingxiang, which greatly frustrated the morale of the bandits.

But Sun Chuanting is now confronting him everywhere, so that it is extremely difficult to implement the plan he wants to implement.

Seeing that they did not punish Sun Chuanting, the rest of the people became more and more presumptuous.

Yang Sichang closed the file on the table. In his current position, many things cannot be decided by his will. Most of the time, everything he does is involuntary.

Sun Chuanting is a loyal minister and a talented general... He wants to use it, but he can't use it, and he can't use it...

Originally, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting jointly wiped out the intruders, and he wanted to give a sum of gold and silver as a reward.

But now the national treasury is empty, and the peace talks have come to naught. Xuanda and other places have already spent most of the money in order to defend against the invasion of slaves.

Wanting to ask for money is even more difficult than climbing to the sky.

During this period of time, Yang Sichang tried his best to reach a reconciliation intention with Jiannu, which also moved the emperor quite a bit.

The internal situation of the Jiannu in the North is no secret. Although the Jiannu today looks fierce, in fact, the interior is not much better than the Mongolian tribes in the Longqing period.

Like the Mongolian tribes under the rule of Alta, the Jiannu were equally powerful in the military, but they were not in harmony with each other internally.

Jiannu internally implemented the law of eight kings discussing government. Although Huang Taiji claimed the emperor by stealing the country and was the head of Jiannu in name, he was also subject to many checks and balances, and there were still many forces within him who did not obey his discipline.

Just follow the example of Alda Fenggong during the Longqing period to temporarily stabilize the Jiannu in the north, and then implement the strategy of dividing and attacking, and it will not be long before Jiannu will probably be in chaos.

Even if Huang Taiji can temporarily stabilize the situation in the department, it doesn't matter. The Jiannu in the north will be dealt with sooner or later, but at this stage the real confidant is still inside.

There is not much actual loss in opening the border market and sealing the name.

Yang Sichang is now very clear about the situation on the Nine Sides. He has been in charge of the Ministry of War for a while and is familiar with most of the affairs.

Moreover, when his father was still alive as the governor of the three sides, Yang Sichang also heard a lot of secrets from his father. There are many businessmen on the nine sides who are secretly doing business with Mongolia and Jiannu. fiscal.

Instead of this, it is better to directly open the border market and let the country earn this money. On the contrary, it can generate an extra income and alleviate the current financial crisis of the country.

It's just...the top of Daming's court is not his Yiyantang after all...

In June, Kong Zhenyun, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was dismissed and returned, and Liu Yuliang was replaced as the chief assistant of the cabinet.

In the same month, Yang Sichang was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Rites and a Bachelor of Dongge University. He joined the military affairs and was still in charge of the military affairs, and finally became a cabinet minister.

Although Chongzhen now holds Yang Sichang in high regard, the Son of Heaven has yet to speak on the matter of peace talks.

Yang Sichang tried his best to persuade the emperor to seize the opportunity to negotiate peace with the Qing Dynasty. He successively criticized the critics for disregarding the situation of the Ministry of War and only empty words to mislead the country.

But in the end, all the memorials fell into the sea, and no approval was obtained.

The fact that Yang Sichang himself presided over the reconciliation also aroused fierce criticism from courtiers and a lot of impeachment.

Among them, Huang Daozhou, Shao Zhan's official, was the one who criticized him the most. He continued to criticize and impeach him on the grounds that he seized love and joined the cabinet.

On July [-], that is, a few days ago, the emperor called the cabinet and ministers to discuss matters on the platform.

Sure enough, the reconciliation was criticized by Huang Daozhou, the lecturer on Jingyan Ri, and others.

When the platform was arguing, although the emperor protected him, he also let him win the argument and get rid of impeachment.

But what if he won the argument and got rid of the impeachment? Yang Sichang didn't care about that at all.

The court discussions were raging, the emperor backed down, and did not express any explicit support for the peace talks. The matter of reconciliation was over, and everything returned to the original point.

Yang Sichang rubbed his swollen head, and when he moved his eyes to the map on the table, the pain in his head, which was already aching, intensified a little.

When he was governor, he had worked with Chen Xinjia for a long time. He knew Chen Xinjia's talent, so he recommended Chen Xinjia.

It's just that Chen Xinjia can't replace Lu Xiangsheng's role.

Lu Xiangsheng's character is quite stubborn, and he is somewhat similar to Sun Chuanting.

But Chen Xinjia couldn't completely replace Lu Xiangsheng. Chen Xinjia's ability was indeed much inferior to that of Lu Xiangsheng. Moreover, the new official had too many affairs to deal with, and he didn't know much about his generals and defense lines.

There is no hope of reconciliation at the moment, and as autumn is approaching, Jiannu may look for an opportunity to go south again.

Now this has almost become a sieve-like nine sides, how can we stop those Jiannu Jiabing who are like wolves and tigers.

When the time comes, the army of founding slaves will raid the south. If he cannot solve the problem, his prestige and foundation will definitely be shaken...

"Ugh……"

Thousands of words turned into a sigh.

Yang Sichang closed his eyes, the current situation is constantly deteriorating, but everything he has done for so long has been completely in vain.

……

The capital of the Ming court was full of quarrels, and the peace talks with Jiannu failed after all.

In the north, however, a consensus has been reached within the Qing Dynasty.

Now that the matter of the tribute opening has come to naught, it is better to speak with the sword in hand.

Chongzhen 11th year, August 23rd.

Huang Taiji appointed Dorgon, Prince Rui, as the commanding general to lead the left-wing army.

Belle Yuetuo was the general of Yangwu, who commanded the right-wing army, and Belle Dudu and other deputy ministers fought against each other on two fronts.

Yue Tuo destroyed the Great Wall from Qiangziling in the north of Miyun on September 22, and Dorgon entered from Qingshanguan on September 28...

……

"Mr. Zhonglie Huang Shizhai Dao Zhou":
Dao Zhou said: "If you don't say everything today, you will be responsible to your majesty; if your majesty kills your minister today, your majesty will be responsible to your majesty."

The emperor said: "You have learned all your life, and you will never become a sycophant!"

Dao Zhou kowtowed, then knelt again and played: "I dare to dissect the word "loyalty and sycophant".

In front of the king's father, the wife is independent and outspoken as a sycophant, how can she be loyal in front of the king's father?Loyalty and sycophants are not parted, evil and good are confused, how can it be cured?

(End of this chapter)