I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

"Do you regret it?"

Hearing Cheng Shijie's accusation, Emperor Chongzhen smiled bitterly. To say that Emperor Chongzhen did not regret it would definitely be false. Both Cheng Shijie and Lu Xiangsheng had reminded him that the Northern Expedition does not mean that the Northern Expedition should not be carried out, but that it requires the right time. , and the more Northern Expedition troops are not, the better.

More troops means more consumption. This is very certain. In history, there have been many cases of defeating more with less. For example, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Fu Jian led an army of one million to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Xie Xuan led an army of [-]. The soldiers of Qianbei Prefecture defeated the many with less, and directly defeated Di Qin, who had unified the north and had an army of millions.

There was also the Battle of Hubu Dagang. Although the Liao army was said to have 70 troops, in fact it only had 5 cavalry and 40 infantry. However, it was directly defeated by the Jin army.

Even in the Ming Dynasty, the Battle of Daling River was the most painful battle fought by the slaves since the Chongzhen Dynasty, and it injured one thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred losses. If we fight a few more battles like this, even if there is no such thing as Cheng Shijie Butterflies from another world can also defeat Jiannu. If Lu Xiangsheng's suggestion is followed, the Northern Expedition will be led by the elite Tianxiong Army and a small number of Guan Ning Army cavalry after the beginning of spring. Even if the battle is defeated, Jiannu will suffer heavy losses.

It's just a pity that Emperor Chongzhen insisted on having his own way, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in front of Emperor Chongzhen. How could he not regret it?
But what's the use of regret, it can't bring the dead back to life!The disastrous defeat in this battle also allowed Wen Tiren and others to open the country directly and welcome Jiannu Huang Taiji as the new king. Almost half of the entire Beizhili was lost.However, the problem was that even though the facts were right in front of him, Emperor Chongzhen did not admit his mistakes, but instead blamed them on Cheng Shijie.

In the end, Emperor Chongzhen did not admit that he would regret it. Instead, he looked directly at Cheng Shijie and said seriously: "Cheng Shijie, I promoted you step by step. I have never trusted anyone as much as I do you, not even the Lu Qing family. No. I want to know, what kind of person am I in your heart?"

Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "In my heart, you are a friend who is easily impulsive, suspicious by nature, has many shortcomings, but is not a bad person at heart."

Emperor Chongzhen was stunned: "Friend? Do you think I am a friend?"

Cheng Shijie said very seriously: "Yes. You gave me your trust, and you promoted me step by step to become a responsible frontier official. Without promotion and appreciation, I don't know where I would be wandering now! I will always have this love. Remember, even though I know that keeping you will lead to endless troubles, I still insist on finding a way out for you so that you and your family can live without worries. This is how I repay my friend."

"If people give you one point, you should give others ten points... My friend, Cheng Shijie has a friend like you, which is the greatest blessing of my life, Zhu Youjian!"

"I think so too!"

Cheng Shijie had nothing to do, so he asked: "What kind of emperor is Emperor Ling of Han in your heart?"

When Cheng Shijie chats with Emperor Chongzhen, it is best to use the Han Dynasty as an example, because Emperor Chongzhen's cultural level is not high. Apart from the Three Kingdoms and the script, he really doesn't know much. On the contrary, he knows the most about the Three Kingdoms.

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and said: "He is a very capable emperor and a legend."

Among all the emperors in the world, Emperor Chongzhen actually liked Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong very much. However, Han Ling Emperor was the last emperor with real power in the Eastern Han Dynasty, not a puppet.Like Emperor Chongzhen, he was not an emperor originally, but became the emperor by chance.

Judging from historical records, the politics under his rule were chaotic, the power of the eunuchs reached its peak, the ministers acted recklessly, the country's finances were seriously corrupt, and the people were in dire straits.He is a complete fool.

However, in fact, from the perspective of Emperor Chongzhen, Liu Hong was a very capable emperor. His reign was short, he died young, and he became the emperor as a puppet at the age of 12. It was Liu Hong who provoked his relatives and In the struggle of the eunuchs, with the support of the eunuchs Hou Lan and Cao Jie, they successfully defeated the general Dou Wu and the Taifu Chen Fan, and completely controlled the power.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly woke up and knew where his problem was wrong.

Liu Hong, who also unexpectedly became emperor at a young age, saw the problems of the Eastern Han Dynasty at a glance. At that time, the power of the Eastern Han gentry reached its peak, completely neglecting the imperial court. The imperial decrees could not be conveyed to the local government at all. The powerful and the gentry were the real The emperor, but he... listened to the Donglin Party.

Cheng Shijie said: "Do you understand now?"

"Some understand, some still don't understand!"

Cheng Shijie said: "In this world, no matter the gentry, officials, or ordinary people, they all need to eat. So here is the problem. We all know that Zhang Jiaoqi had millions of Yellow Turban believers before the incident. This Taiping Taoist believer is also called Wu Dou Mi Taoism. You can get five pecks of rice from Taiping Road, and one million yellow scarfs are 50 shi of rice. People outside Zhang Jiao Fang, where do you get 50 shi of rice? Where do these 50 shi of rice come from? Have you ever thought about it?"

Emperor Chongzhen was slightly startled: "Where did it come from?"

"Based on the productivity of the Han Dynasty, these 50 kilograms of rice would require 30 acres of fertile land to be produced in a year, and these 30 acres of fertile land would require at least 50 acres of common people to cultivate it. Of course, this is not how the account is calculated. To obtain 500 acres of fertile land, With the Han Dynasty’s tax of thirty to one stone, at least fifteen million stone of grain would have to be produced. Even if it were ten to one, it would still require the output of five million stone of grain!”

Emperor Chongzhen vaguely understood: "Is this food provided by the nobles?"

"That's right!"

"Then why did they provide these grains to Zhang Jiao?"

"Because they want power. After the Party was imprisoned, the Party members, that is, the nobles, were driven out of the court by the eunuchs. If they wanted to return to the center of the court, they needed a reasonable opportunity, and the best way was to have a turmoil spread across the country. So they wanted to return to the center of the court. Zhang Jiao appears, the Yellow Turban appears!"

Cheng Shijie's interpretation of the Three Kingdoms is different from that of most mainstream people. That is because he looks at the Three Kingdoms period, just like some people read Journey to the West backwards. From different perspectives, they will draw different conclusions and different opinions. View.

Why did Liu Hong attack the party members? Because the party members regarded the emperor as a puppet. They were all members of the party from top to bottom. Because the imperial examination system maximized the power of the gentry, and the emperor was sidelined, he could only choose to cooperate with the eunuchs. As for the It is a fact that Liu Hong spared no effort to amass money and sell his official positions and titles, because he wanted to support the military power. Only the army could protect the imperial power. An emperor without military power was also a puppet who could be manipulated by others.

This is just like Cheng Shijie and Sun Zhidan discussing why Cao Cao wanted to kill Bianzhi, why Cao Cao wanted to massacre the city in Xuzhou, and why Mi Zhu supported Liu Bei. To put it bluntly, they were all based on naked interests.

Boss Cao wanted to attack Qu County, Mi Zhu's hometown, because at that time in the land of Qingxu, only Mi Zhu's family had money and food. They had tens of thousands of children and hundreds of millions of money and food. It could be said that they were as rich as any other country. Only with the family's money and food can Boss Cao revitalize his basic market.

The nobles of Yanzhou introduced Lu Bu to Yanzhou, not because Lu Bu won the hearts of the people, but because he was a wise master, because Lu Bu could fight and was the only one who dared to fight Cao Cao. Why Lu Bu couldn't sit in Xuzhou was because Xuzhou chose Liu Bei at that time.

After Cheng Shijie's explanation, Emperor Chongzhen understood where he was really wrong. It was not that he didn't trust Lu Xiangsheng. Lu Xiangsheng was just a person. Even if he listened to Lu Xiangsheng's words at that time, Guan Ningjun would still rebel, and Huang Taiji would also It will also lure the enemy to go deep and intercept and kill the Northern Expedition army.

The difference is that Lu Xiangsheng may not fall into the trap. After returning from an armed march, the loss will not be that big. In fact, unless Cheng Shijie leads the Ning Navy in the Northern Expedition, and without the assistance of other armies, victory is possible.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to the Donglin Party and eradicated Wei Zhongxian. In fact, there was nothing wrong in eradicating Wei Zhongxian. He was not a member of Chongzhen. However, Wei Zhongxian's legacy at that time should be taken over by eunuchs such as Cao Huachun or Gao Qiqian, and the attack on the eunuch party should not be expanded. , the result is that the eunuch party just changes its leader.

Just like the fight between the donkey and the elephant, if they continue to fight, the final result will be far better than listening to the Donglin Party.

Cheng Shijie stayed with Emperor Chongzhen for eight days. As the regent of the Ming Empire, Jian Guo actually went to such a remote place and stayed there for eight days, doing nothing but riding horses and riding horses with a deposed emperor who had lost everything. Hunting, fishing, it’s just incredible.

But for Cheng Shijie, this is all trivial. If no one urges him, he can stay here for half a year!

Cheng Shijie looked at Emperor Chongzhen who seemed to have accepted his fate and was quite enjoying the carefree life after being abolished. However, he knew exactly what kind of fate he would face after he stepped down from the peak of power.There is no family ties in the Tian family. How many emperors had a good ending after handing over power?

Many emperors still cling to power even though they are too old to walk. Why?Isn't it because of fear? I'm afraid that after handing over power, I won't end up well, or even bring disaster to my descendants!

Emperor Chongzhen made a huge mistake. Fortunately, Cheng Shijie was a nostalgic person and tried his best to save his life and let him live in seclusion in such a picturesque place. He also tried to keep his family intact, but Cheng Shijie didn't seem to have killed all of them. Meaning, he is already very satisfied.Now he just hopes that his child will not arouse Cheng Shijie's suspicion, not get involved in the political whirlpool, and grow up in peace, so he doesn't ask for anything!And the only one who can do this is Cheng Shijie.

Cheng Shijie came to see Emperor Chongzhen and found that he was not depressed and had a good attitude, so he was relieved. He was really afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would die. After all, Emperor Chongzhen was not bad at heart, he was just a little eager for quick success and quick gain. He was already better than most leaders Much better.

No one is perfect.

Of course, Cheng Shijie cannot give up his current rights unless... Cheng Shijie dies.

Just when Cheng Shijie was preparing to wait for the army to go south to pacify the small court in the south of the Yangtze River before leaving, another problem arose in Beizhili.

"Your Majesty, it's an emergency!"

Cheng Shijie took a look at the information and was speechless.

Human life in the Ming Dynasty was very worthless. They froze to death, starved to death, died of illness, and were killed. In short, it was very difficult to live in peace. However, it was not easy to fight or force people to do corvee service. It was not easy to have their own land. .

The result was a massive epidemic, a terrible plague.

According to the judgment of the Ministry of Health, it should be plague.

Cheng Shijie knew that the city of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty would be easily captured by Li Zicheng. The most fundamental reason was not that the defenders of Beijing betrayed the Ming Dynasty, but because of the plague.

The Great Plague in the late Ming Dynasty began in the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633) in Shanxi.It spread to Hebei in the 14th year of Chongzhen, and spread to more areas with Li Zicheng and the Qing army.In the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641), the plague spread to Beijing, causing a large number of deaths in the Beijing population.

The great plague in the late Ming Dynasty wiped out "the children in the neighborhood, with or without coffins, and the nine gates counted more than 1643." From August to December 8, Beijing conservatively estimated that the death toll had Up to one-fifth of the city.

Now the plague has appeared in Northern Zhili and has killed tens of thousands of people. You must know that since the first month of the first year of Dingxin, the food from Luzon and Danyuan has met the food needs of Northern Zhili and western Liaoning, and even Even the price of grain has dropped back to one, two or three yuan per stone of grain.

In response to this epidemic, Cheng Shijie has no good solution. First of all, unlike colds and colds, you can easily buy medicine. This medicine is a prescription medicine, and because the disease is basically extinct, the production volume is not high. If you buy it, it will easily attract the attention of the above. .

While returning to the capital, Cheng Shijie issued an important order to the Ministry of Health to catch rats nationwide.

Eliminating rats means eliminating the source of infection. Secondly, because rats will eat food, people are afraid of poverty and will continue to eat even grains and foods that have been eaten by rats. This has caused the large-scale spread of plague.

If we want people to take the initiative to kill rats, we must provide some compensation for killing rats, as was done in the 70s, so that the people's work will not be in vain.

Cheng Shijie's order was well implemented, and a multi-department action team led by the Ministry of Health was immediately established in the capital, led by Yang Qingyun, with the Royal Army and the militia cooperating.

First of all, publicity should be done to let people understand the dangers of rats and that food contaminated by rats must not be eaten. However, people can take contaminated grains and vegetables and exchange them with the government for new grains of the same quality.

The killed rats cannot be disposed of on the spot, but are destroyed in a centralized manner, burned and buried with quicklime. At the same time, the rat tail calculation method is used to catch five rat tails in exchange for one pound of grain.

When Cheng Shijie returned to Beijing, he saw countless people catching rats on the road. In particular, the factory urgently produced rat traps, and rat traps were distributed to people all over the country for free.

"Meet the king!"

"How is the situation now?"

"The situation is very serious!"

Sun Zhili smiled bitterly and said: "It can't help but that a large-scale plague has appeared in Beizhili. Plague has appeared in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Nanli, Henan, Shandong, and Huguang. However, the most serious one is Shanxi, which is beyond our reach!"

Cheng Shijie sighed and said, "Is the epidemic under control now?"

"It's under control for the time being, but the original plan was to attack Nanming in three ways..."

"There's no rush, the meat will rot in the pot anyway!"

But the problem is that the financial expenditure of the rat eradication operation is too large, especially the exchange of five rat tails for one pound of grain, and the exchange of grain contaminated by rats. The Ming Dynasty's treasury soon couldn't bear it.

As Vice Minister and Finance Minister, Yang Yuniang suggested that Cheng Shijie issue treasury bonds, but this proposal was immediately rejected by Cheng Shijie. Issuing treasury bonds was a backup plan adopted last year to deal with insufficient military spending.Yang Yuniang kept it in mind and decided to raise national bonds issued for disaster relief.

Yang Yuniang asked very puzzledly: "Why not?"

"First of all, except for Liaodong, the people of the Ming Dynasty are too poor and have no money at all. If they want to buy national debt, they don't have the money to buy it. Secondly, the people of Liaodong who can buy it have spent most of their money on expanding production capacity. The gentry who used their money to buy national debt broke up with us. They will definitely not buy it. If no one comes to buy the national debt, it will affect the credibility of the empire. No, absolutely not!"

"Then what should we do? The food in our hands will not last long. According to optimistic estimates, it will be up to half a month..."

Cheng Shijie said calmly: "The only way is to find a fat sheep and kill it for meat!"

"There are no fat sheep now!"

Yang Yunniang smiled bitterly and said: "With the land reform and tax collection, those gentry and wealthy families have almost eaten. The vassal kings and nobles are dying and running away. Those who are left behind are all poor ghosts..."

Cheng Shijie suddenly had an idea flash in his head: "Yes!"

"what?"

"Xiao Tian, ​​Xiao Tian seems to still owe us a beating, a spanking!"

Cheng Shijie said: "Inform the Military Department, the General Staff, and the Navy Department to hold a meeting in an hour!" (End of Chapter)