The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 250 Jinan!

Night often puts a mysterious and terrifying veil on the original majestic and solemn palace.

Guided by the eunuch carrying a palace lantern, Yang Sichang walked through the dim palace road, crossed the heavy palace gates, passed countless guards, and finally came to the gate of the West Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

Years of natural disasters, taxes and taxes are hard to collect, the household department is empty, and there is even no money left.

After years of consumption, the internal money is also extremely scarce, and every penny has been used before it is collected.

Therefore, regarding the expenses in the palace, Chongzhen also ordered to save as much as possible, so the palace lanterns were not bright, and even palace lanterns were simply stopped in many places, leaving them vacant.

On weekdays, Chongzhen's clothes and food are also saved as much as possible, which is very frugal.

In the last few years of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen even asked the palace people to sell the utensils in the palace in order to prepare for the military salary...

Looking around at the cold palace, Yang Sichang felt something stuck in his heart, like a knife cutting.

Even though he has entered the palace countless times, every time he sees such a scene, he still can't help but feel sad.

It is said that the Son of Heaven is rich all over the world, but now, it used to be that he was reluctant to light all the palace lanterns in the palace.

The country is so poor...

Yang Sichang didn't have to wait long, the eunuch who was said to have just entered the pavilion, Wang Chengen had already walked out of the warm pavilion with his back foot, and respectfully invited Yang Sichang into the warm pavilion.

"Ai Qing, please sit down."

As soon as he entered the warm pavilion, Chongzhen directly motioned Yang Sichang to sit down.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern."

Chongzhen's attitude was gentle, but Yang Sichang did not forget the courtesy of a monarch and a minister, he still respectfully saluted Chongzhen first, and then sat down slowly.

Looking at Yang Sichang, Chongzhen felt that the burden on his shoulders was slightly lighter.

Every time he sees Yang Sichang, he can feel very at ease.

Now that the chaos of the rogues in the pass has disappeared, the military department is in order, and the court is no longer chaotic as it was a few years ago. These are the achievements Yang Sichang has made since he took office.

But thinking of the current crisis, Chongzhen's brows that had just been relaxed could not help but wrinkle again.

At the beginning, Liu Yuliang asked himself to inspect the military situation, which made him feel quite relieved.

But after going for many days, he has achieved nothing. After leading the army into the Hejian Mansion, he seemed unable to restrain his subordinates, which caused many complaints from the surrounding states and counties.

Chongzhen's complexion was even worse. Now the situation of the war has turned to the downside.

On paper, there were hundreds of thousands of battalions in each town, but it was just a joke. The Qing army was invincible all the way, and seemed to be in the land of no one!

The people outside the city suffered from the wind and snow looting, but he was the son of heaven and the emperor.

But he could only watch helplessly as cities fell and counties were destroyed, but he couldn't do anything about it.

The continuous turmoil caused those displaced victims to gather outside Beijing, and as time went by, more and more victims flooded into the capital.

The country is in dire straits, the household department is almost empty, and even the food and salaries of the battalions in the towns are difficult to provide, so what can they use to relieve the victims.

Every day and every night, a large number of people froze and starved to death in the wind and snow, and he had nothing to do.

The melody in his hand is as light as silk, but Chongzhen feels as if it is a thousand weights.

At the beginning of his accession to the throne, the country was already on the verge of collapse, internal and external troubles, the court was in constant chaos, natural disasters were endless in the inner province of Shaanxi, and captives were rampant outside the nine borders.

He thought that as long as he was diligent and dedicated, he would be able to restore the situation and revive the country.

A virtuous minister, a villain, is an understatement in the book, but it took him 12 years to not be able to understand it.

What kind of courtier is a virtuous minister, and what kind of courtier is a villain?
Flipping through the history books, looking at the names in the history books one by one, he can recognize them.

But sitting on the throne, sitting in the hall, looking at the separate group of officials below, it is really difficult to tell them apart.

He originally thought that Yuan Chonghuan was, but during the duet on the platform, Yuan Chonghuan, who was full of integrity and swore to him, was not.

Since Yuan Chonghuan took office in Guan Ning, the Ministry of Households transferred military pay for him, the Ministry of Industry supplied equipment for a period of time, the Ministry of Officials employed personnel, and the Ministry of War dispatched troops to select generals. All internal and external affairs were fully coordinated.

But in exchange for what?
In exchange, at the end of the second year, Jiannu came to Beijing!

In exchange, he killed Mao Wenlong and self-destructed the real Great Wall of Liaodong!

In exchange for Liaodong, which is gradually losing control, in exchange for Donglu who looks like a tiger!

Those rotten Confucians who are full of benevolence and morality, those ministers who are full of righteous words, and those Qingliu who disregard reality and wantonly talk, are they really good ministers?

Chongzhen lowered his eyes, his eyes were full of tiredness.

Since he took office, he has been diligent in political affairs, and he has demanded himself in everything according to the standards of the sages and sages that the ministers said.

He killed Wei Zhongxian, he withdrew the mine supervisor, the tax collector, and the Jinyiwei.

After the eunuch party was removed, the imperial court praised it and said: "All are upright and prosperous."

Is everyone in full swing?All are in full swing!
Since it was a dynasty full of righteousness, and since the princes and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were all righteous, why are the people in Shaanxi, Henan and other places struggling to live, why are the nine borders getting more and more troubled, and why the situation in Ming Dynasty is declining!

It has been twelve years since his elder brother died of illness.

For twelve years, all his efforts were completely useless.

Localities, provinces, states, governments, countries, and the world, everything is getting worse and worse.

Chongzhen raised his hand and rubbed his swollen and painful temples. Too many messy thoughts accumulated in his heart, which made him feel more and more exhausted, with a deep feeling of powerlessness in his heart.

"Jinan..."

Chongzhen put down the memorial presented by Sun Chuanting in his hand, sighed lightly, and asked after being silent for a long time.

"What's going on over there?"

Yang Sichang sat in the lower seat. He had been sitting down for quite a while, but Chongzhen didn't open his mouth so naturally he wouldn't speak first.

"Return to Your Majesty..."

Yang Sichang's eyes flickered, he paused for a while, and replied.

"The Guanning army's defeat in Linqing was too sudden. The soldiers of the Shandong government were trapped in Dezhou and could not be rescued. The eastern captives marched in two directions, with a combined force of [-], and entered the siege of Jinan city."

Yang Sichang's voice was low, and the resentment towards Gao Qiqian deepened in his heart.

He refused to rush to help in the battle of Jiazhuang, and he didn't dare to fight in the battle of Linqing. He didn't even last for a day, leaving him little time to react.

With [-] remnant soldiers who lacked food and clothing and had owed their salaries for half a year, Lu Xiangsheng could fight back and forth with [-] Qing troops in Jiazhuang, and even killed the enemy.

He raised his head and lurked in Linqing City to eat and clothe himself warmly, leading the Guan Ning Army with millions of salaries every year, more than 2 people, couldn't last even a day?

A waste that is not enough to succeed, but more than fails!

Yang Sichang was completely disappointed with Gao Qiqian. At first, he thought that Gao Qiqian agreed with his strategy of negotiating peace and avoiding war because Gao Qiqian also had some political vision.

But now it seems that Gao Qiqian simply doesn't understand military politics at all, has a false name, has no political and strategic vision, and is just greedy for life and afraid of death.

A killing intent flashed deep in Yang Sichang's eyes, Gao Qiqian's defeat disrupted everything he had planned.

Also, the combat power of the Guanning Army is really outrageous.

Hou Gongji, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, was quickly defeated in Quzhou, so that the door of Daming Mansion was wide open.

Yang Sichang knew very well whether Guan Ning's army could fight, Guan Ning's army could fight, but they didn't want to fight.

Hou Gongji, as the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Town, has many elite cavalry under his command, and Quzhou City can rely on him, how could he be defeated so quickly?

After the defeat, all the thousands of cavalry disappeared, and they sent people to search for them, but they couldn't even find their shadows, and now they don't know where he, Hou Gongji, is.

Do you think Yang Sichang is stupid, or is Yang Sichang stupid?

"Guan Ning..."

Yang Sichang said Guan Ning silently in his heart.

Liaodong has been out of control for a long time. For a long time, huge Liao salaries have been sent to the northeast of the empire, where an extremely ugly monster has been raised.

After Yuan Chonghuan took office in Guanning, the Liao people guarded the Liao soil and supported the Liao people with the Liao soil, Liaodong became more and more out of control.

On the third day after Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned in the second year of Chongzhen, the Guanning Army disobeyed the imperial edict and directly withdrew from Beijing and returned to Liaodong. At that time, the Donglu army was still in the suburbs of Beijing.

Then the Donglu army took the opportunity to attack again. Mangui led a lone army to fight the Donglu at Yongdingmen, but was defeated and killed in the end. As a result, the Donglu army plundered hundreds of miles of land in the later period, but it was unstoppable.

Yang Sichang's eyes froze. The reason why he wanted to negotiate a peace was because he clearly knew that the Guanning Army was unreliable. Jizhou Town was very close to Liaodong, and was actually greatly influenced by the Guanning Group.

So he wants to foster a force that he can control, a new army that can fight. After calming down the pass, he will concentrate on fighting outside, and by the way, completely solve the camps and towns that have already had the momentum of warlords such as Liaodong and Jizhou.

Yang Sichang's eyes were cold, and he replied in a deep voice.

"Jinan City is the capital of a province. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city, and it is still a city of King De, so we must save it."

"The Ministry of War has issued an order that Zu Kuan, the deputy commander in chief, will lead the troops of the headquarters to rush south to help."

"At the same time, Gao Qiqian was ordered to gather the Guanning army, and Sun Chuanting led the Shaanxi army to rush to rescue and relieve the siege of Jinan."

Jinan City must be saved, even if it cannot be saved.

King De is in Jinan, if he doesn't save him, he will lose his relatives, a crime Yang Sichang can't afford, and no one can bear it.

However, how to rescue is particular about it, and we can make a fuss about it.

As long as people can see that there is an intention to rescue, it is considered saved.

Not being rescued is not a big problem, just find someone to bear the responsibility for the fall of the pro-vassal.

In the blink of an eye, many people's faces flashed in Yang Sichang's mind.

It was extremely lucky that Jiazhuang was able to draw in the first battle. Sun Chuanting's soldiers were unable to attack such a long distance, nor were they able to force the [-] Qing army to feel dangerous and withdraw from the siege.

The fall of Jinan is almost a foregone conclusion. Now that it is a foregone conclusion, what needs to be considered is naturally how to make the loss of Jinan's fall smaller, and at the same time whether to consider whether it can benefit from it.

The two towns of Guanning and Ningxia have been out of control for a long time. This time Jinan fell and Shandong suffered a lot. Although the losses caused were huge, we can still make a fuss from this to weaken the authority of the two towns of Guanning and Ningxia.

One win and one loss in the two battles between Zhending and Jiazhuang have proved many things. The Shaanxi soldiers can fight, and the Xuan army is brave.

What Guochao can rely on is not only Liaodong and Jizhou as before.

At this time, the power was cut and the soldiers were taken for the reason of defeating the army and seizing the feudal clan. Even if the Guanning Group was unwilling to do so, they had to swallow the bitter fruit they had created.

Yang Sichang's eyes were normal, and he had a plan in his mind in an instant.

The arrogance of the two towns of Guanning and Ningxia increased day by day, and they even listened to the tune and did not listen to the announcement.

He still doesn't know the truth about Gao Qiqian's side.

In the end it was Gao Qiqian who didn't want to go, or Guan Ningjun didn't want to go.

For this incident, tough methods must be used, killing chickens to scare monkeys, knocking mountains and shaking tigers, so as to control Jiliao.

Unclear rewards and punishments are not enough to convince the public.

If meritorious service is not rewarded, the meritorious officials will be disappointed.

If there is no punishment for wrongdoing, it will lead the crowd to follow suit, and the court will lose its prestige.

You can't rule an army without power, and you can't rule a country without power!

"Jinan...but there is still help..."

Chongzhen raised his head, and there was a little hope in his eyes. He knew that Jinan was besieged by the Qing army, but he was still unwilling to let go of his expectations.

"There are nearly [-] soldiers in Jinan City. If we call together the defense forces, we can have tens of thousands of people. Jinan City is solid. If we manage it properly, the Eastern Captives may be able to conquer the city."

"You only need to defend a little, and when the reinforcements arrive, the siege of Jinan will be resolved overnight."

Yang Sichang told Chongzhen that the Eastern Captives might be able to conquer the city, but in fact he had already given up Jinan in his heart.

Although he had urgently ordered the deployment of reinforcements from various states to help Jinan, Yang Sichang knew very well that this was just a drop in the bucket.

Counting the time, I am afraid that the Qing army has surrounded Jinan for two days now, and the battle of Jinan has already broken out.

But to answer Chongzhen, it is naturally impossible to directly say that Jinan is about to fall.

And what he said was not false.

As long as reinforcements arrive, the siege of Jinan will indeed be resolved overnight.

But in fact, how could the reinforcements arrive.

The Ministry of War issued urgent orders, but after Zu Kuan led the troops to the south and entered Jinan Mansion, he hesitated all the time, looking for various reasons.

And Guan Ningjun is still wandering around Linqing for a generation, and he is also looking for reasons to prevaricate.

Sun Chuanting wrote back expressing his willingness to rush to help, but made it clear that it would be difficult to fight alone.

But even if Sun Chuanting dared to fight, Yang Sichang would not choose to let Sun Chuanting fight alone.

Sun Chuanting's soldiers are capable of fighting and must be preserved. Now that this situation is thrown into Jinan, there is absolutely no return.

Liu Yuliang still has [-] to [-] troops to mobilize under his command, but Liu Yuliang is still in Baoding Mansion at this time, and the army is also in Baoding Mansion, and the far water cannot save the near fire.

Yang Sichang's words aroused the hope in Chongzhen's eyes, and he asked.

"Who is in charge of Jinan City now?"

"Shandong Left Chief Envoy, Zhang Bingwen."

　I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, so I didn't hold on to say yes. I'll try to keep updating these few days, and then I'll make it up slowly.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)