Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table
Chapter 180: Title Innovation
Chapter 180: Title Innovation
After hearing this, Du Yinxi quickly reminded: "Your Majesty, the man in Nanjing has revealed the news to the traitor general Zuo Liangyu, saying that the Nanjing navy has almost been completely lost. Therefore, the traitor general Zuo Liangyu collected ships and prepared to load the supplies with food and grass. With all the water transportation, the main force will be able to cross some prefectural cities that they have not occupied and reach Nanjing directly, so we need to prepare as soon as possible!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Qing Du, I'm just afraid they won't come!"
There was a strong sense of confidence in his words.
When Du Yinxi saw it, he was a little confused as to what the emperor's confidence was based on. After all, the thieves were very powerful. But since the emperor had said so, he had nothing to say and immediately left to wash up and rest.
Seeing Li Laiheng facing Du Yinxi out of the palace gate, Emperor Chongzhen's face suddenly darkened, and he said in a hateful voice: "How has the imperial court ever treated those people so badly? It actually wants to kill me again and again. This is a human minister." Way?"
After hearing this, Lu Daqi also echoed with hatred: "Your Majesty, these people are favored by the emperor in this life. They don't want to serve the country when the country is in crisis. Instead, they want to kill the king for their own selfishness. Investigate, we must strictly investigate and investigate these shameless people." Come out and kill the nine tribes!"
Civil servants and nobles are in opposing positions, not to mention that these behaviors of nobles have no bottom line.The civil servants can now confidently suppress the Xungui Group!
Of course Emperor Chongzhen would not miss this opportunity and immediately issued an order to strictly investigate.
He even deliberately asked Fang Zhenghua to spread the news brought by Du Yinxi in a short time, and also sent the matter to the capital by fast horse, severely scolding all the nobles, and asking all the nobles to reflect on themselves.
After failing to kill the king once, he colluded with the thieves and tried to kill the king again. How could he, the king, be patient and not be furious?
Suddenly, this matter suddenly became the biggest news topic at the moment, even overshadowing the news topic that the bandit army had marched towards Nanjing.
This matter was discussed in the streets, teahouses and restaurants.
"These nobles are so evil that they even dare to kill the emperor!"
"Yes, more than once. It seems that they really want to kill the emperor!"
"Now the world is in chaos and there are thieves and bandits everywhere. The ancestors of these nobles were awarded titles based on their military exploits. Now instead of killing thieves to serve the country, they want to kill such a good emperor. I don't know if their ancestors' coffin boards can hold it. !”
"It must be severely punished. How can the court support such a white-eyed wolf!"
"But we still don't know which nobles did it!"
"Anyway, none of the nobles are good. Maybe their ancestors are indeed powerful, but which of our nobles in Nanjing City can bear the burden of the court? We can have fun in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling!"
"Really, if you suppress the thieves and don't see any movement from them, why can you always enjoy the glory and wealth?"
"..."
Most people's comments are like this, just thinking that the whole group of honors will be punished.
They may be really angry at their nobles for daring to kill the king several times, or they may be suffering from the troubled times, but they don't see these nobles being able to kill thieves and save the country, or they may simply dislike them.In short, taking advantage of this rare opportunity, they all shouted at Xungui to kill him.
Of course, there are some people who have doubts about this.
"This is just what Mr. Du said. It may not be true, right?"
"Yes, there is no conclusion about the shipwreck yet, so just saying that there are nobles who want to kill the king again and again. Isn't it a bit unfair?"
"Yes, maybe someone has wronged them and that's not necessarily the case!"
"..."
For these remarks, more people will refute them.
"Huizhou Prefecture surrendered after hearing the news, isn't it a fact? 50 taels of silver were dug out of Huizhou Prefecture. Such a big thing is easy to confirm!"
"No, Master Du was chased all the way to Yingtian Mansion by the rebels. This is also a fact!"
"Also, I heard that dozens of craftsmen who repaired the ship were killed by iron nails driven into their heads. If there is no problem, how about killing them to silence them?"
"..."
Although there is no final conclusion yet, there are many doubts that can prove that there are nobles who really want the emperor to die.
After such public opinion fermented for several days, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to summon all the nobles of the capital to appear.
In the Wuying Hall, headed by Duke Xu Wenjue of Wei, there were also the Marquis of Funing Zhu Guobi, the Marquis of Longping Zhang Gongri, the Marquis of Linhuai Li Zushu, the Marquis of Huaining Sun Weicheng, the Marquis of Lingbi Tang Guozuo, the Marquis of Anyuan Liu Zuochang, the Marquis of Yongchang Xu Hongjue, and the Marquis of Dingyuan Deng. Wenxun, Xiangcheng Bo Chang Yingjun, Daxing Bo Zou Cunyi, Ningjin Bo Liu Yunji, Nanhe Bo Fang Yiyuan, Dongning Bo Jiao Mengxiong, Ancheng Bo Zhang Guocai, Luozhong Bo Huang Jiuding, Cheng'an Bo Guo Zuoyong, etc., they stand very big. A group of people.
However, without exception, all nobles are trembling with fear.
Especially Xu Wenjue's face turned pale.Because the people rumored to want the emperor's death were the first Duke, the second Marquis and the second Uncle. There were more Hous and Uncles, but he was the only one who had the title of Duke.
Since the Duke of Wei was ennobled, this crisis has been the worst.
Soon, Emperor Chongzhen arrived, and all the nobles knelt down and shouted long live!
Emperor Chongzhen stared at them coldly and did not call them equal, because it was normal for him to vent his anger.
I only heard him shout in a cold voice: "I led my troops south to put down the rebellion. As a result, some of you did not want to serve the country and followed your ancestors' meritorious service in killing thieves for the court. Instead, they tried to kill the king. Such shocking things had never happened in the Ming Dynasty. ?”
Every nobleman lowered his head, no one dared to raise his head, or even move, for fear of attracting the emperor's attention and anger.
"Look at you, do you have the skills of your ancestors? Can you still go into battle and kill the enemy?" Emperor Chongzhen continued to shout angrily, "Enjoying the glory and wealth, coexisting with the country, thinking that you can sit back and relax, if you don't practice the skills passed down from your ancestors, you will only eat, drink and have fun every day. , can you share your worries? I want to see how many of you have the skills of our ancestors and are worthy of the title awarded to you by the imperial court!"
At this point, he shouted sternly: "Come on, let's pass the order to the Beijing Camp to assemble, and set up a show at the Beijing Camp Campus!"
Hearing this, all the nobles' faces turned paler.To test their abilities in the Jingying school grounds would be like taking off all their clothes!
However, in the anger of the emperor, none of them dared to object and had no reason to object.
So, soon, the soldiers from the Beijing camp who were not sent out for duty gathered on the school grounds.
Emperor Chongzhen stepped onto the general stage and immediately began to assess the abilities of these nobles without any hesitation.
Enemy-killing skills such as riding and shooting, swords, guns, swords and halberds.
Since then, all kinds of ugly scenes have been staged on the Jingying campus.
Some had difficulty mounting their horses, and some even almost fell; they could not draw their bows, their faces turned red from holding back; they were out of breath after waving their weapons, and so on, all the soldiers in the Beijing camp were stunned when they saw it.
Just this, he turned out to be a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty? Where did the ancestors' ability to make great military exploits go?
On the general stage, Emperor Chongzhen would not tolerate this group of dandies. He sat on the main seat, looked at the ugly nobles, and shouted coldly: "In the capital camp, you can choose anyone at will, and compete against each other for assessment!"
On both sides of the general stage, Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong, Gao Jie and others all had expressions of contempt on their faces.With this group of people, no one can beat them, this is obvious!
Xu Wenjue and others had never thought that such a thing would happen, and they were all stunned.However, the emperor was not joking at all, and they had no choice but to obey the order.
So, a group of nobles looked at the shorter or thinner soldiers in the Beijing camp and rushed to grab them.As a result, there are no exceptions, and they are no match at all!
It can be said that the school review was a huge humiliation and humiliation for this group of nobles.
The layer of brilliance that covered their bodies with the glory of their ancestors was completely stripped away.
In the end, a group of distinguished nobles stood in front of the general stage, panting and sweating profusely, with their heads down.
Emperor Chongzhen stood up, walked to the front of the general stage, looked down at the group of nobles below, and shouted in a cold voice: "How dare you, a bunch of wimps, to plot against me!"
It can be heard from these words that the emperor is still furious that someone wants to kill the king.Of course, no emperor can remain indifferent. Fury is the most normal reaction!
Emperor Chongzhen looked down at the group of them. No one dared to raise his head and look at him. Even if he did not participate in the regicide, he was still a loser.
He pointed at the nobles below, turned to look at the group of military generals behind him, and shouted in a cold voice: "Do you think, just by themselves, they can be the nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
Wu Sangui and others were stunned for a moment after hearing this. They did not expect that the emperor would ask them this.
Among them, Wu Sangui was a little hesitant. Listening to the emperor's wishes, it seemed that he wanted to abolish these nobles.
If he replied that these people were not worthy of being honored by the Ming Dynasty, the emperor would take advantage of the situation and seize the title directly.The world will think that these people were deprived of their titles because of their answers.This is not good.
Others don't know it clearly, but Wu Sangui knows very well that these people themselves are indeed incompetent, but with their hundreds of years of hereditary titles, their relationships are intertwined, and there are many people who have interests in them.
Just like Wu Sangui himself, he comes from a family of generals in Liaodong. This does not mean that he is very good at fighting, but that the Guan Ning Army is in the hands of people like them, forming an interest group.
Of course, this happened in the past, but the truth is this.
If Wu Sangui speaks out of conscience at this time, people who are close to these nobles will hate him and may take revenge on him in the future.
Although he is not afraid, it will be very troublesome.It shouldn’t be caused by just one sentence and causing a lot of trouble!
However, if you do not speak according to your conscience, the emperor will ask angrily in front of you, will the emperor be satisfied?
While Wu Sangui was still weighing the pros and cons, generals such as Gao Jie and Ma Ke, who were born into rough men, did not have so many ideas at all, and immediately answered Emperor Chongzhen's words loudly.
"They don't deserve it!"
"Let them be the soldiers of the last general, even the last general will not want them!"
"..."
Wu Sangui and a few others heard them talking there, and when they saw the emperor's cold eyes glancing over, they didn't hesitate anymore and immediately expressed their opinions.
Anyway, it just means the same thing: these people are not worthy of being honored by the Ming Dynasty!
It was the same in the original history. This group of nobles in Nanjing were good at fighting for power, but when the Manchu and Qing troops approached Nanjing, no one thought of fighting. Instead, they all rushed to shave their heads and change clothes, and surrendered!
After receiving the general's reply, Emperor Chongzhen turned to look at the imperial guards standing on and off the stage, and immediately asked them: "Do you think they are worthy of being honored as nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
The captains of the imperial guards had no scruples and responded in unison: "They are not worthy!"
Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at the soldiers of the Beijing camp on the school field, his anger dropped, and he shouted loudly: "Do you think they are worthy of being honored as nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
The soldiers in the Beijing camp did not have any scruples, and with contempt for these nobles, they responded in unison: "They are not worthy!"
Under the stage, all the Nanjing dignitaries' faces turned pale, and many of them couldn't even stand and sat down on the ground.
They know that their title is most likely over!
Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen then announced that he would seize the title and be deposed as a commoner.But this is not over yet, they must continue to cooperate with Jin Yiwei to investigate the regicide case.
In Nanjing City, most people were happy to hear the news.
Not to mention anything else, just the fact that these hereditary nobles almost occupied most of the huge benefits in Southern Zhili, such as grain fields, profitable business, etc., made others jealous and harmed their interests.
After all, there are only so many benefits. These hereditary honors are more valuable, and others are less.
It's just that in the past, others had no choice but to endure the annexation and annexation by these hereditary nobles.
But things are different now. The seizes are deposed as commoners, and the properties in their names will inevitably fall apart. Even the grain fields dedicated to their names cannot be saved.
The less they benefit, the more benefits others will have.
This change caused by the regicide case even became a story version and began to circulate.For these nobles, they all take pleasure in their misfortunes and are used as negative examples.
However, it was not over yet. A few days later, even bigger news broke.
It was Emperor Chongzhen who carried out the title reform and sent it to the capital to announce it to the world.
First, the titles of the Ming Dynasty were divided into five levels: prince, prince, duke, marquis and earl.Each level is divided into third level, second level, first level and descending level inheritance.
In other words, there are four types of earls: third-rate earl, second-rate earl, first-rate earl and descended-inherited earl. The same is true for other titles.
For descending inheritance, take the prince as an example. If the first generation is a prince, then his son can only inherit the title of a county king corresponding to that level, and his grandson can only be a duke of the corresponding level. If this continues, each generation will be reduced by one level. .
Secondly, people with different surnames can be crowned kings based on their military exploits. The clan title will be based on this example. There will no longer be generals who govern the country, generals who assist the country, generals who serve the country, etc. and it will be a descending inheritance system.
In other words, if a person with a different surname has outstanding military exploits, he can be named a county prince or even a prince; and the emperor's sons were originally princes, that is, vassal princes, hereditary, but after this title reform, they are no longer princes. Hereditary inheritance is not replaced, but inheritance is reduced to a lower level.The grandson of Emperor Chongzhen could only be a county prince.After the county king, there are no generals, but dukes, and no more after the earls.
Emperor Chongzhen also specifically stated that, except for the royal family, no distinction was made between civil and military officials, and titles were only based on military exploits. Even civil servants could be knighted if they had both civil and military skills and performed military exploits.
This is actually considered acquiescence, not his original creation.For example, during the Zhengde period, Wang Shouren quelled the bandits in Nanjiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, and the Chenhao Rebellion. He was awarded the title of Xinjian Bo for his merits and became one of the three civil servants in the Ming Dynasty who were awarded titles for military merit. The other two were Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji and Wei Wei. Ning Bo and Wang Yue were all awarded titles for military merit.
Thirdly, if the knighthood for military merit is a descending inheritance system, the descendants of the descendants who wish to ascend the title must pass the examination of the emperor, and not everyone can inherit the title.There is no distinction between men and women in inheriting a title. As long as the father recommends it and the daughter passes the emperor's examination, she can inherit the title.
Fourth, the Ming Dynasty’s existing title, the son of Emperor Chongzhen, was converted into a second-class descended prince, each hereditary vassal prince was converted into a third-class descended prince, and each hereditary prince was converted into a third-class descended prince, so etc.
There are also dukes and princes. Those who are not hereditary will be converted to the second-class corresponding title; those who are hereditary will be converted to the third-class corresponding descended title.
Emperor Chongzhen also specifically noted that after he made this decision, Emperor Taizu had a vision of his approval, saying that the Ming clan had suffered a lot, and that such an innovation would be beneficial to the long-term destiny of the Ming Dynasty.
When this decree was announced to the world, it immediately caused a huge sensation.
"Now, those nobles are acting like monsters and have brought trouble to other nobles and the royal family members. They will definitely be scolded to death!"
"How can you curse them to death? You have thoughts of killing them, right?"
"Speaking of which, the current emperor is really ruthless. He has even affected his own son's title. Then others will have nothing to say!"
"I can't say how ruthless it is, but you don't have to look at it. There are too many clans. In a few generations, the court will not be able to pay out salaries. Starting from the Jiajing period, there are people who are in arrears with their salaries and even starve to the point of begging."
"That's true. I've also heard that in order to save salaries, the imperial court doesn't even recognize the children born in the clan. If they don't give Jade Butterfly, they can justifiably miss out on their salaries. It's a bit miserable. It's not as good as ordinary people!" "So that's why! Well, although the current emperor’s policy of revamping titles seems a little bad for his son, it is really beneficial to the long-term development of the Ming Dynasty.”
"Haha, and what's more, people with foreign surnames can be crowned kings based on their military exploits. How about it? Are you thinking of joining the army? Nowadays, several of the general soldiers in our Ming Dynasty were promoted from the rank of junior soldiers through meritorious deeds. Maybe some of them will be able to do so. He’s the king!”
"Why don't you say anything after so many people died? If you want me to say it, it's better to have both civil and military skills. Civil servants can also be knighted. It's safer!"
"..."
Except for those hereditary vassal kings, county princes, as well as those in the capital and some hereditary titles, everyone else praised Emperor Chongzhen's title innovation, especially those civil servants who wrote articles praising the emperor for his eternity. The appearance of a holy king!
Not to mention, this matter is endorsed by Emperor Taizu, who can object?
Of course, the most important thing is that those who want to oppose actually have no real power. Even if they want to oppose, they have no voice.
As for Emperor Chongzhen's own son, as a father, he has made a decision, can he still object?Unless he dies and the subsequent emperor changes it.
However, this policy is beneficial to the emperor's position. Otherwise, the unaffordable salary has already caused headaches to many emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Do you want to have another headache?
For Emperor Chongzhen, after cleaning up the garbage in Nanjing City, the next step was to deal with the main force of the bandit army with all his strength.
At this time, it was already March of the 18th year of Chongzhen.
In the area east of Yingtianfu, all-out farming was going on. Emperor Chongzhen even sent out a few civil servants he could use to inspect farming and strictly control farming.
As for the area west of Yingtian Mansion, it might be a war zone, so he couldn't care about it for the time being.I just hope that the war will end as soon as possible so that the area west of Yingtianfu can catch up with the planting and make some repairs as much as possible.
According to information gathered by Ye Bushou, Li Zicheng's army numbered approximately 20, starting from Huguang and heading east along the north bank of the Yangtze River.However, not long after setting off, when they arrived in Hezhou, they suddenly stopped and stopped moving forward.
According to the news brought back by Du Yinxi, Emperor Chongzhen already knew that the reason why Li Zicheng's army stopped advancing was because Zuo Liangyu sent a message to Li Zicheng, saying that he had a better way to deal with him here.Li Zicheng probably felt that if he could achieve the same goal without digging ancestral graves, he would not dig them. Therefore, Li Zicheng stopped and waited for news from Zuo Liangyu.
As for Zuo Liangyu, he issued a military order in Nanchang, gathering the main force of about 10 horses to march eastward along the Yangtze River, and his son Zuo Menggeng led 5 horses to occupy Huizhou Prefecture, and formed an encirclement situation from the south of Yingtian Prefecture. .
Of course, today's Emperor Chongzhen already knows that Zuo Menggeng's journey was more about obtaining the 50 tael deposit and getting information about him from Nanjing nobles.
Now, Du Yinxi has escaped and Nanjing nobles have dealt with them all by themselves.Zuo Liangyu should have known that his plan had failed, and he was probably going to act together with Li Zicheng again.
While Emperor Chongzhen continued to ask Ye Busu to intensify his efforts to inquire about information, he began to prepare his army for war.
Du Yinxi, who had come back from rest, was left by his side, and was directly granted the title of Minister of the Ministry of War and Bachelor of Wuyingdian, and as an assistant minister of the cabinet, he counseled military affairs and handled political affairs.
The post of Minister of the Ministry of War is a fictitious position, and the main official position is that of cabinet minister.
Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou, under the instruction of Emperor Chongzhen, directly reported that they found out that Liu Kongzhao, Zhao Zhilong, Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi and other nobles were involved in the regicide.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen decreed that the rebel ministers should have killed the nine clans, but in memory of the merits of their ancestors, they opened the door to only one family and confiscated their property.
He had squeezed most of the property of these honorable nobles, and there was actually not much cash left.But there are a lot of shops and properties.Now, all these have been confiscated.
This matter was investigated by Lu Jiude, Han Zanzhou, Jinyi Guards, and Lu Daqi, who led the Nanjing city defense troops.Emperor Chongzhen was not worried about them enriching their own pockets, because the current Jin Yiwei were all his spies.
Around mid-March, further news about the bandits came.
As expected, Li Zicheng's army set off again, and together with Zuo Liangyu's troops, marched by land and water along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River. The momentum was very large. The actual strength was about 40, but it was said to be one million.
At present, in addition to the [-] Beijing troops brought by Emperor Chongzhen from the south, there are also [-] Nanjing troops that have been reorganized and can be used in field operations. The generals are General Liu Zhaoji, deputy generals Yi Bangcai and Ma Yingkui.
If these three generals were in the original history, they would have led troops to reinforce Yangzhou in the city defense battle, and eventually died in Yangzhou Prefecture.
At that time, the city of Yangzhou was defeated, and Liu Zhaoji led 400 soldiers to continue fighting in the streets until the entire army was killed.Lieutenant General Yi Bangcai committed suicide after realizing that he had no way to save his life.The deputy general Ma Yingkui, wearing white armor and with the words "Serve the country with all his loyalty" written on his back, died fighting in the street.
Generally speaking, Emperor Chongzhen only had a total of 7 horses in his hands. Specifically, there were only more than 1 cavalry, all of which were cavalry in the Beijing camp, and all of which were infantry in Nanjing.
The enemy's strength, including the regular army and not counting the bandits and bandits from all over the country, is 40.
Seventy thousand versus 40, a huge disparity in military strength.
As the Dashun Army moved eastward and got closer and closer to Yingtian Mansion, the news began to become more and more tense.
Large numbers of refugees fled to Yingtian Mansion, and the news they brought made everyone in Yingtian Mansion very worried.
"The thieves' army is overwhelming, so densely packed that I don't know how many there are!"
"The Yangtze River is full of pirate ships, almost all of them covering the river surface!"
"..."
People outside Yingtianfu City began to flee their homes as the number of refugees increased day by day.
The traitor army was pressing down on the territory, hoping that the traitor soldiers would show mercy. Qiu did not commit any crime, so he might as well flee eastward. However, the emperor's love for the people was absolutely true.
However, when the emperor led his troops to Nanjing, there were only 5 troops in total. As long as they were human, they could be seen with eyes.Therefore, when faced with countless thieves, even many wealthy households in Nanjing chose to go east to take refuge.
For them, it would be best if the emperor could stop the rebels in Nanjing or even defeat them.If the reinforcements cannot be defeated, then they are not in Nanjing anyway.
Martial law has also begun in Yingtian Mansion, especially in Nanjing City.
All refugees should go eastward and cannot enter Nanjing City to prevent the rebel army from sending troops pretending to be refugees and sneaking into the city.The people of Nanjing City are also allowed to leave but not enter.
Emperor Chongzhen also issued a decree to the eastern states to ask local officials to resettle refugees in an orderly manner to ensure that farming in the east was not affected.
In Wuying Hall, a simple sand table from Yingtian Mansion has been set up.Emperor Chongzhen and his men discussed the military situation on the sand table.
I heard Emperor Chongzhen say: "Refugees are swarming eastward. If it takes too long, the eastern states will not be able to help too many refugees. Once the capacity is exceeded, the states and counties that have finally settled down and resumed farming will be praised. . Therefore, the upcoming battle should be fought quickly!"
When Du Yinxi heard this, he was immediately worried and quickly advised: "Your Majesty, the bandit army is large and powerful. From the perspective of the art of war, our army should stick to the fortified city and rely on the tall Nanjing city wall to first defeat the bandit army's vigor and exhaust the enemy." The best strategy is to reduce the thief’s strength and food supplies, and then look for opportunities to engage in a decisive battle with the main force of the thief’s army!”
After hearing this, Lu Daqi nodded and echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, a quick victory is just what the thieves want. Although it is beneficial to the plight of the refugees, if the war is invincible, not to mention the plight of the refugees, the national destiny will also be affected. Your Majesty, please consider it carefully!”
From a military point of view and from a conventional point of view, Du Yinxi and Lu Daqi's statement is very reasonable.
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not think so because he was confident of winning the war.
Therefore, after listening to their words, he smiled slightly, then looked at the group of generals and said, "Are you confident in defeating the bandit army?"
Among these generals, Tang Tong and Ma Ke had fought with the emperor, so they were the first to answer resoundingly: "Have confidence!"
The two of them took the lead, and then the other generals from the Beijing camp followed and echoed loudly: "Have confidence!"
The slowest to respond were Liu Zhaoji, the elite commander of Nanjing, and others.Although Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu and others answered a little late, their expressions showed that they were confident, but Liu Zhaoji and others, although they answered, were a little hesitant.
Obviously, those who lack confidence are the generals in Nanjing.
After hearing this, Du Yinxi did not change his opinion. He still saluted Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, it is a good thing for generals to have confidence, but the outcome of a war depends not only on confidence, but also on strength, and is not determined by will." !”
This time, Lu Daqi didn't speak.But looking at his expression, he still agreed with Du Yinxi.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen just smiled faintly and said: "I'm afraid Du Qing doesn't know that I dare to lead [-] troops south to quell the rebellion. I'm not saying that I'm going to die. I'm sure of it. My goal has never been to defeat the rebel army. Rather, we should try to eliminate the traitor army as much as possible, so that after winning the war, we can minimize the impact of the traitor army's defeat on various places. The traitor army is difficult to exterminate because of their movement. This is what I am worried about, do you know?"
Du Yinxi couldn't help being stunned after hearing this.
In his opinion, the main force of the bandit army has gathered together, and it is so strong that it has the advantage of crushing them. How to win is a nerve-wracking matter.Unexpectedly, the emperor was thinking about what would happen after the war, fearing that after the rebel army was defeated, they would wander around again as before.
The level of consideration is not the same!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Lu Daqi.
Lu Daqi's experience in leading troops was much richer than him.If he couldn't see where the emperor's strong self-confidence came from, could Lu Daqi see it?
Unexpectedly, Lu Daqi was as confused as him. Obviously, he never expected that the emperor's goal was so high!
While they were thinking, they heard Emperor Chongzhen say to Du Yinxi: "Qing Du is familiar with Zuo Liangyu's rebels. According to the information you provided before, Prime Minister Ma Jinzhong and Hui Deng can be easily recruited, right? "
When Du Yinxi heard this, he quickly replied: "Wei Chen has been in charge of the logistics of the rebels and has had contact with them. Ma Jinzhong and Prime Minister Hui Deng are not direct descendants of the rebel general Zuo Liangyu. Therefore, the distribution of grain and grass supplies They were all inferior. They were originally recruited by the imperial court, but they had no choice but to be coerced by the traitor Zuo Liangyu. "
Emperor Chongzhen nodded when he heard what he said. This was almost what he thought, and this could be used.
After looking at the sand table for a while, he said without frowning: "Li Zicheng's troops are marching from the north of the Yangtze River. We have to let him cross the river before taking action! It is best if there is a navy to defeat them after they cross the river. Navy, if we block the Yangtze River like this, it will not be easy for Li Zicheng to escape back to the Central Plains after his defeat!"
If Zheng Zhilong can listen to the court and participate in this war, then he will be more confident.With the strength of Zheng Zhilong's navy, there must be no problem.
But the key issue is that Zheng Zhilong will definitely delay before the outcome of the Battle of Nanjing is decided.And it does take a lot of time for the Fujian Navy to rush to the Yangtze River.
It's a pity that we don't have any navy on hand.
Otherwise, the navy of the Dashun Army actually collected fishing boats along the river to transport grain and supplies and cross the river.With their current abilities, they simply don't have the ability or time to build a warship.
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw a chamberlain entering the palace and announcing: "Long live my lord, Yan Yingyuan, the former Jiangyin canon, is requesting an audience in front of the Meridian Gate!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Was this really a sleepy pillow?
But that's not necessarily the case. Yan Yingyuan came back after being away for so long. There is also a possibility that he couldn't find Gu San Mazi's lair, or that Gu San Mazi didn't want to be recruited!Even if he accepts the recruitment, his strength is still a question mark!
In short, don't be too happy first, let's take a look at the situation.
With this thought in mind, he immediately ordered an audience.
The soldiers in the Beijing camp had met Yan Yingyuan and knew what tasks the emperor had assigned to Yan Yingyuan.But neither Du Yinxi nor Lu Daqi knew the situation, so they were surprised at this time.
The original Jiangyin Classical History? How could a mere Classical History be valued so highly by the emperor?Who is this Yan Yingyuan?
Thinking about this, they were also curious, wanting to see who Yan Yingyuan was?
After a while, the chamberlain led Yan Yingyuan into Wuying Hall.
Yan Yingyuan didn't seem surprised to see so many people in Wuying Hall. He just stepped forward to greet them and shouted long live the mountain.
Emperor Chongzhen was standing on the sand table to discuss matters, so he directly asked Yan Yingyuan to stand down.
Du Yinxi and Lu Daqi were both looking at him, and they couldn't help but be a little surprised when they saw that Yan Yingyuan was tall and had a long beard, a bit like the famous ancient general Guan Yunchang.
Of course, it may be that Yan Yingyuan deliberately imitated him like this, but no matter what, it reminds people of Guan Yu, so he feels that this person must be a capable person.
On Yan Yingyuan's side, after hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, he stood up and took the initiative to play: "Your Majesty, I have been searching for more than a month before I contacted Gu San Mazi. Because of the previous wind disaster, he had been hiding in his lair. On Chongming Island at the outlet of the Yangtze River. He and his men heard about His Majesty's affairs in Yangzhou Mansion, so they agreed to serve His Majesty without hesitation."
Having said this, he paused, and then added: "He has more than 100 ships, but most of them are fishing boats and merchant ships. He is packing up his things now and will come to Yingtian Mansion soon. I will be worried. It took too long to go, so I rushed back to report the news!"
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy after hearing this, and then immediately asked: "As you see, what is the combat effectiveness of Gu San Mazi's fleet? Can it block the Yangtze River? Or, after the bandits cross the river, they will not be harassed. Did the bandits escape across the river after their defeat?"
At this point, he remembered something and immediately added: "The bandit army does not have a regular naval force. The main generals in the army are also northerners and do not understand water warfare."
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, his expression was very serious. He thought for a while before replying: "Your Majesty, most of Gu San Mazi's men are fishermen. They usually rob houses on the Yangtze River and the sea, mainly because they have many boats and are familiar with the water. That’s it. And they are just pirates and have no training. If you rely on this alone, it will be difficult to stop the bandits from crossing the Yangtze River!"
Emperor Chongzhen was a little disappointed when he heard this, but looking back and thinking about it, it seemed that this was normal.If Gu San Mazi's fleet was really powerful, they wouldn't be scared off by Yan Yingyuan's three arrows.
While he was thinking about it, he heard Yan Yingyuan continue to say seriously: "However, the army is unpredictable. Since the last general is in charge of the navy, please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will not let the traitor army escape north!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but look into his eyes and saw the confidence in his eyes. Just by looking at him, he gained confidence.
This confidence is not confidence in Gu Sanmazi's fleet, but confidence in Yan Yingyuan himself.
So Emperor Chongzhen smiled. After a while, he said to Yan Yingyuan: "I believe that if you need anything, please ask it as soon as possible. If I can satisfy you, I will definitely meet your needs!"
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, he was not polite at all, and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I wonder how many sailors there are in the Nanjing Navy? I want to see and select some. In addition, I want to Collect more ships and craftsmen who can renovate them. In addition, we need to allocate more gunpowder and the like."
Although most of the warships of the Nanjing Navy sank due to wind disasters, which of course were probably caused by man-made damage, most of the sailors were still there.However, because they were involved in the shipwreck regicide case, many people were arrested.
At this time, the most important targets, the nobles, had been dealt with, and Emperor Chongzhen had no hesitation and immediately said to Yan Yingyuan: "I have agreed to all of your requests. The sailors of the Nanjing Navy went to Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou to request , whether he is in prison or not, it is up to you to choose."
"I also give you a decree to recruit ships, and ask all states to cooperate with you. You can also choose craftsmen and other things."
Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen emphasized: "But there is not much time left for you. The vanguard of the rebel army has already arrived at the next door. I want to make a quick decision, so I will wait for the rebel army from Jiangbei to cross the river." Prepare to launch a war and defeat the traitor army. You must be able to cut off the north and south of the Yangtze River when the war starts!"
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, he immediately clasped his fists in his hands and echoed: "The last general has received the order!"
After finishing speaking, he saw that the emperor had no other instructions, so he immediately resigned and left in a hurry.
Du Yinxi watched his back disappear at the entrance of the palace, and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, this is a tiger general!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and did not comment. He just waited for Yan Yingyuan to prove himself.Afterwards, he began to continue discussing the military situation.
At the same time, Li Zicheng also led an army and rushed towards Nanjing in a mighty manner.
(End of this chapter)
After hearing this, Du Yinxi quickly reminded: "Your Majesty, the man in Nanjing has revealed the news to the traitor general Zuo Liangyu, saying that the Nanjing navy has almost been completely lost. Therefore, the traitor general Zuo Liangyu collected ships and prepared to load the supplies with food and grass. With all the water transportation, the main force will be able to cross some prefectural cities that they have not occupied and reach Nanjing directly, so we need to prepare as soon as possible!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Qing Du, I'm just afraid they won't come!"
There was a strong sense of confidence in his words.
When Du Yinxi saw it, he was a little confused as to what the emperor's confidence was based on. After all, the thieves were very powerful. But since the emperor had said so, he had nothing to say and immediately left to wash up and rest.
Seeing Li Laiheng facing Du Yinxi out of the palace gate, Emperor Chongzhen's face suddenly darkened, and he said in a hateful voice: "How has the imperial court ever treated those people so badly? It actually wants to kill me again and again. This is a human minister." Way?"
After hearing this, Lu Daqi also echoed with hatred: "Your Majesty, these people are favored by the emperor in this life. They don't want to serve the country when the country is in crisis. Instead, they want to kill the king for their own selfishness. Investigate, we must strictly investigate and investigate these shameless people." Come out and kill the nine tribes!"
Civil servants and nobles are in opposing positions, not to mention that these behaviors of nobles have no bottom line.The civil servants can now confidently suppress the Xungui Group!
Of course Emperor Chongzhen would not miss this opportunity and immediately issued an order to strictly investigate.
He even deliberately asked Fang Zhenghua to spread the news brought by Du Yinxi in a short time, and also sent the matter to the capital by fast horse, severely scolding all the nobles, and asking all the nobles to reflect on themselves.
After failing to kill the king once, he colluded with the thieves and tried to kill the king again. How could he, the king, be patient and not be furious?
Suddenly, this matter suddenly became the biggest news topic at the moment, even overshadowing the news topic that the bandit army had marched towards Nanjing.
This matter was discussed in the streets, teahouses and restaurants.
"These nobles are so evil that they even dare to kill the emperor!"
"Yes, more than once. It seems that they really want to kill the emperor!"
"Now the world is in chaos and there are thieves and bandits everywhere. The ancestors of these nobles were awarded titles based on their military exploits. Now instead of killing thieves to serve the country, they want to kill such a good emperor. I don't know if their ancestors' coffin boards can hold it. !”
"It must be severely punished. How can the court support such a white-eyed wolf!"
"But we still don't know which nobles did it!"
"Anyway, none of the nobles are good. Maybe their ancestors are indeed powerful, but which of our nobles in Nanjing City can bear the burden of the court? We can have fun in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling!"
"Really, if you suppress the thieves and don't see any movement from them, why can you always enjoy the glory and wealth?"
"..."
Most people's comments are like this, just thinking that the whole group of honors will be punished.
They may be really angry at their nobles for daring to kill the king several times, or they may be suffering from the troubled times, but they don't see these nobles being able to kill thieves and save the country, or they may simply dislike them.In short, taking advantage of this rare opportunity, they all shouted at Xungui to kill him.
Of course, there are some people who have doubts about this.
"This is just what Mr. Du said. It may not be true, right?"
"Yes, there is no conclusion about the shipwreck yet, so just saying that there are nobles who want to kill the king again and again. Isn't it a bit unfair?"
"Yes, maybe someone has wronged them and that's not necessarily the case!"
"..."
For these remarks, more people will refute them.
"Huizhou Prefecture surrendered after hearing the news, isn't it a fact? 50 taels of silver were dug out of Huizhou Prefecture. Such a big thing is easy to confirm!"
"No, Master Du was chased all the way to Yingtian Mansion by the rebels. This is also a fact!"
"Also, I heard that dozens of craftsmen who repaired the ship were killed by iron nails driven into their heads. If there is no problem, how about killing them to silence them?"
"..."
Although there is no final conclusion yet, there are many doubts that can prove that there are nobles who really want the emperor to die.
After such public opinion fermented for several days, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to summon all the nobles of the capital to appear.
In the Wuying Hall, headed by Duke Xu Wenjue of Wei, there were also the Marquis of Funing Zhu Guobi, the Marquis of Longping Zhang Gongri, the Marquis of Linhuai Li Zushu, the Marquis of Huaining Sun Weicheng, the Marquis of Lingbi Tang Guozuo, the Marquis of Anyuan Liu Zuochang, the Marquis of Yongchang Xu Hongjue, and the Marquis of Dingyuan Deng. Wenxun, Xiangcheng Bo Chang Yingjun, Daxing Bo Zou Cunyi, Ningjin Bo Liu Yunji, Nanhe Bo Fang Yiyuan, Dongning Bo Jiao Mengxiong, Ancheng Bo Zhang Guocai, Luozhong Bo Huang Jiuding, Cheng'an Bo Guo Zuoyong, etc., they stand very big. A group of people.
However, without exception, all nobles are trembling with fear.
Especially Xu Wenjue's face turned pale.Because the people rumored to want the emperor's death were the first Duke, the second Marquis and the second Uncle. There were more Hous and Uncles, but he was the only one who had the title of Duke.
Since the Duke of Wei was ennobled, this crisis has been the worst.
Soon, Emperor Chongzhen arrived, and all the nobles knelt down and shouted long live!
Emperor Chongzhen stared at them coldly and did not call them equal, because it was normal for him to vent his anger.
I only heard him shout in a cold voice: "I led my troops south to put down the rebellion. As a result, some of you did not want to serve the country and followed your ancestors' meritorious service in killing thieves for the court. Instead, they tried to kill the king. Such shocking things had never happened in the Ming Dynasty. ?”
Every nobleman lowered his head, no one dared to raise his head, or even move, for fear of attracting the emperor's attention and anger.
"Look at you, do you have the skills of your ancestors? Can you still go into battle and kill the enemy?" Emperor Chongzhen continued to shout angrily, "Enjoying the glory and wealth, coexisting with the country, thinking that you can sit back and relax, if you don't practice the skills passed down from your ancestors, you will only eat, drink and have fun every day. , can you share your worries? I want to see how many of you have the skills of our ancestors and are worthy of the title awarded to you by the imperial court!"
At this point, he shouted sternly: "Come on, let's pass the order to the Beijing Camp to assemble, and set up a show at the Beijing Camp Campus!"
Hearing this, all the nobles' faces turned paler.To test their abilities in the Jingying school grounds would be like taking off all their clothes!
However, in the anger of the emperor, none of them dared to object and had no reason to object.
So, soon, the soldiers from the Beijing camp who were not sent out for duty gathered on the school grounds.
Emperor Chongzhen stepped onto the general stage and immediately began to assess the abilities of these nobles without any hesitation.
Enemy-killing skills such as riding and shooting, swords, guns, swords and halberds.
Since then, all kinds of ugly scenes have been staged on the Jingying campus.
Some had difficulty mounting their horses, and some even almost fell; they could not draw their bows, their faces turned red from holding back; they were out of breath after waving their weapons, and so on, all the soldiers in the Beijing camp were stunned when they saw it.
Just this, he turned out to be a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty? Where did the ancestors' ability to make great military exploits go?
On the general stage, Emperor Chongzhen would not tolerate this group of dandies. He sat on the main seat, looked at the ugly nobles, and shouted coldly: "In the capital camp, you can choose anyone at will, and compete against each other for assessment!"
On both sides of the general stage, Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong, Gao Jie and others all had expressions of contempt on their faces.With this group of people, no one can beat them, this is obvious!
Xu Wenjue and others had never thought that such a thing would happen, and they were all stunned.However, the emperor was not joking at all, and they had no choice but to obey the order.
So, a group of nobles looked at the shorter or thinner soldiers in the Beijing camp and rushed to grab them.As a result, there are no exceptions, and they are no match at all!
It can be said that the school review was a huge humiliation and humiliation for this group of nobles.
The layer of brilliance that covered their bodies with the glory of their ancestors was completely stripped away.
In the end, a group of distinguished nobles stood in front of the general stage, panting and sweating profusely, with their heads down.
Emperor Chongzhen stood up, walked to the front of the general stage, looked down at the group of nobles below, and shouted in a cold voice: "How dare you, a bunch of wimps, to plot against me!"
It can be heard from these words that the emperor is still furious that someone wants to kill the king.Of course, no emperor can remain indifferent. Fury is the most normal reaction!
Emperor Chongzhen looked down at the group of them. No one dared to raise his head and look at him. Even if he did not participate in the regicide, he was still a loser.
He pointed at the nobles below, turned to look at the group of military generals behind him, and shouted in a cold voice: "Do you think, just by themselves, they can be the nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
Wu Sangui and others were stunned for a moment after hearing this. They did not expect that the emperor would ask them this.
Among them, Wu Sangui was a little hesitant. Listening to the emperor's wishes, it seemed that he wanted to abolish these nobles.
If he replied that these people were not worthy of being honored by the Ming Dynasty, the emperor would take advantage of the situation and seize the title directly.The world will think that these people were deprived of their titles because of their answers.This is not good.
Others don't know it clearly, but Wu Sangui knows very well that these people themselves are indeed incompetent, but with their hundreds of years of hereditary titles, their relationships are intertwined, and there are many people who have interests in them.
Just like Wu Sangui himself, he comes from a family of generals in Liaodong. This does not mean that he is very good at fighting, but that the Guan Ning Army is in the hands of people like them, forming an interest group.
Of course, this happened in the past, but the truth is this.
If Wu Sangui speaks out of conscience at this time, people who are close to these nobles will hate him and may take revenge on him in the future.
Although he is not afraid, it will be very troublesome.It shouldn’t be caused by just one sentence and causing a lot of trouble!
However, if you do not speak according to your conscience, the emperor will ask angrily in front of you, will the emperor be satisfied?
While Wu Sangui was still weighing the pros and cons, generals such as Gao Jie and Ma Ke, who were born into rough men, did not have so many ideas at all, and immediately answered Emperor Chongzhen's words loudly.
"They don't deserve it!"
"Let them be the soldiers of the last general, even the last general will not want them!"
"..."
Wu Sangui and a few others heard them talking there, and when they saw the emperor's cold eyes glancing over, they didn't hesitate anymore and immediately expressed their opinions.
Anyway, it just means the same thing: these people are not worthy of being honored by the Ming Dynasty!
It was the same in the original history. This group of nobles in Nanjing were good at fighting for power, but when the Manchu and Qing troops approached Nanjing, no one thought of fighting. Instead, they all rushed to shave their heads and change clothes, and surrendered!
After receiving the general's reply, Emperor Chongzhen turned to look at the imperial guards standing on and off the stage, and immediately asked them: "Do you think they are worthy of being honored as nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
The captains of the imperial guards had no scruples and responded in unison: "They are not worthy!"
Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at the soldiers of the Beijing camp on the school field, his anger dropped, and he shouted loudly: "Do you think they are worthy of being honored as nobles of the Ming Dynasty?"
The soldiers in the Beijing camp did not have any scruples, and with contempt for these nobles, they responded in unison: "They are not worthy!"
Under the stage, all the Nanjing dignitaries' faces turned pale, and many of them couldn't even stand and sat down on the ground.
They know that their title is most likely over!
Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen then announced that he would seize the title and be deposed as a commoner.But this is not over yet, they must continue to cooperate with Jin Yiwei to investigate the regicide case.
In Nanjing City, most people were happy to hear the news.
Not to mention anything else, just the fact that these hereditary nobles almost occupied most of the huge benefits in Southern Zhili, such as grain fields, profitable business, etc., made others jealous and harmed their interests.
After all, there are only so many benefits. These hereditary honors are more valuable, and others are less.
It's just that in the past, others had no choice but to endure the annexation and annexation by these hereditary nobles.
But things are different now. The seizes are deposed as commoners, and the properties in their names will inevitably fall apart. Even the grain fields dedicated to their names cannot be saved.
The less they benefit, the more benefits others will have.
This change caused by the regicide case even became a story version and began to circulate.For these nobles, they all take pleasure in their misfortunes and are used as negative examples.
However, it was not over yet. A few days later, even bigger news broke.
It was Emperor Chongzhen who carried out the title reform and sent it to the capital to announce it to the world.
First, the titles of the Ming Dynasty were divided into five levels: prince, prince, duke, marquis and earl.Each level is divided into third level, second level, first level and descending level inheritance.
In other words, there are four types of earls: third-rate earl, second-rate earl, first-rate earl and descended-inherited earl. The same is true for other titles.
For descending inheritance, take the prince as an example. If the first generation is a prince, then his son can only inherit the title of a county king corresponding to that level, and his grandson can only be a duke of the corresponding level. If this continues, each generation will be reduced by one level. .
Secondly, people with different surnames can be crowned kings based on their military exploits. The clan title will be based on this example. There will no longer be generals who govern the country, generals who assist the country, generals who serve the country, etc. and it will be a descending inheritance system.
In other words, if a person with a different surname has outstanding military exploits, he can be named a county prince or even a prince; and the emperor's sons were originally princes, that is, vassal princes, hereditary, but after this title reform, they are no longer princes. Hereditary inheritance is not replaced, but inheritance is reduced to a lower level.The grandson of Emperor Chongzhen could only be a county prince.After the county king, there are no generals, but dukes, and no more after the earls.
Emperor Chongzhen also specifically stated that, except for the royal family, no distinction was made between civil and military officials, and titles were only based on military exploits. Even civil servants could be knighted if they had both civil and military skills and performed military exploits.
This is actually considered acquiescence, not his original creation.For example, during the Zhengde period, Wang Shouren quelled the bandits in Nanjiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, and the Chenhao Rebellion. He was awarded the title of Xinjian Bo for his merits and became one of the three civil servants in the Ming Dynasty who were awarded titles for military merit. The other two were Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji and Wei Wei. Ning Bo and Wang Yue were all awarded titles for military merit.
Thirdly, if the knighthood for military merit is a descending inheritance system, the descendants of the descendants who wish to ascend the title must pass the examination of the emperor, and not everyone can inherit the title.There is no distinction between men and women in inheriting a title. As long as the father recommends it and the daughter passes the emperor's examination, she can inherit the title.
Fourth, the Ming Dynasty’s existing title, the son of Emperor Chongzhen, was converted into a second-class descended prince, each hereditary vassal prince was converted into a third-class descended prince, and each hereditary prince was converted into a third-class descended prince, so etc.
There are also dukes and princes. Those who are not hereditary will be converted to the second-class corresponding title; those who are hereditary will be converted to the third-class corresponding descended title.
Emperor Chongzhen also specifically noted that after he made this decision, Emperor Taizu had a vision of his approval, saying that the Ming clan had suffered a lot, and that such an innovation would be beneficial to the long-term destiny of the Ming Dynasty.
When this decree was announced to the world, it immediately caused a huge sensation.
"Now, those nobles are acting like monsters and have brought trouble to other nobles and the royal family members. They will definitely be scolded to death!"
"How can you curse them to death? You have thoughts of killing them, right?"
"Speaking of which, the current emperor is really ruthless. He has even affected his own son's title. Then others will have nothing to say!"
"I can't say how ruthless it is, but you don't have to look at it. There are too many clans. In a few generations, the court will not be able to pay out salaries. Starting from the Jiajing period, there are people who are in arrears with their salaries and even starve to the point of begging."
"That's true. I've also heard that in order to save salaries, the imperial court doesn't even recognize the children born in the clan. If they don't give Jade Butterfly, they can justifiably miss out on their salaries. It's a bit miserable. It's not as good as ordinary people!" "So that's why! Well, although the current emperor’s policy of revamping titles seems a little bad for his son, it is really beneficial to the long-term development of the Ming Dynasty.”
"Haha, and what's more, people with foreign surnames can be crowned kings based on their military exploits. How about it? Are you thinking of joining the army? Nowadays, several of the general soldiers in our Ming Dynasty were promoted from the rank of junior soldiers through meritorious deeds. Maybe some of them will be able to do so. He’s the king!”
"Why don't you say anything after so many people died? If you want me to say it, it's better to have both civil and military skills. Civil servants can also be knighted. It's safer!"
"..."
Except for those hereditary vassal kings, county princes, as well as those in the capital and some hereditary titles, everyone else praised Emperor Chongzhen's title innovation, especially those civil servants who wrote articles praising the emperor for his eternity. The appearance of a holy king!
Not to mention, this matter is endorsed by Emperor Taizu, who can object?
Of course, the most important thing is that those who want to oppose actually have no real power. Even if they want to oppose, they have no voice.
As for Emperor Chongzhen's own son, as a father, he has made a decision, can he still object?Unless he dies and the subsequent emperor changes it.
However, this policy is beneficial to the emperor's position. Otherwise, the unaffordable salary has already caused headaches to many emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Do you want to have another headache?
For Emperor Chongzhen, after cleaning up the garbage in Nanjing City, the next step was to deal with the main force of the bandit army with all his strength.
At this time, it was already March of the 18th year of Chongzhen.
In the area east of Yingtianfu, all-out farming was going on. Emperor Chongzhen even sent out a few civil servants he could use to inspect farming and strictly control farming.
As for the area west of Yingtian Mansion, it might be a war zone, so he couldn't care about it for the time being.I just hope that the war will end as soon as possible so that the area west of Yingtianfu can catch up with the planting and make some repairs as much as possible.
According to information gathered by Ye Bushou, Li Zicheng's army numbered approximately 20, starting from Huguang and heading east along the north bank of the Yangtze River.However, not long after setting off, when they arrived in Hezhou, they suddenly stopped and stopped moving forward.
According to the news brought back by Du Yinxi, Emperor Chongzhen already knew that the reason why Li Zicheng's army stopped advancing was because Zuo Liangyu sent a message to Li Zicheng, saying that he had a better way to deal with him here.Li Zicheng probably felt that if he could achieve the same goal without digging ancestral graves, he would not dig them. Therefore, Li Zicheng stopped and waited for news from Zuo Liangyu.
As for Zuo Liangyu, he issued a military order in Nanchang, gathering the main force of about 10 horses to march eastward along the Yangtze River, and his son Zuo Menggeng led 5 horses to occupy Huizhou Prefecture, and formed an encirclement situation from the south of Yingtian Prefecture. .
Of course, today's Emperor Chongzhen already knows that Zuo Menggeng's journey was more about obtaining the 50 tael deposit and getting information about him from Nanjing nobles.
Now, Du Yinxi has escaped and Nanjing nobles have dealt with them all by themselves.Zuo Liangyu should have known that his plan had failed, and he was probably going to act together with Li Zicheng again.
While Emperor Chongzhen continued to ask Ye Busu to intensify his efforts to inquire about information, he began to prepare his army for war.
Du Yinxi, who had come back from rest, was left by his side, and was directly granted the title of Minister of the Ministry of War and Bachelor of Wuyingdian, and as an assistant minister of the cabinet, he counseled military affairs and handled political affairs.
The post of Minister of the Ministry of War is a fictitious position, and the main official position is that of cabinet minister.
Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou, under the instruction of Emperor Chongzhen, directly reported that they found out that Liu Kongzhao, Zhao Zhilong, Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi and other nobles were involved in the regicide.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen decreed that the rebel ministers should have killed the nine clans, but in memory of the merits of their ancestors, they opened the door to only one family and confiscated their property.
He had squeezed most of the property of these honorable nobles, and there was actually not much cash left.But there are a lot of shops and properties.Now, all these have been confiscated.
This matter was investigated by Lu Jiude, Han Zanzhou, Jinyi Guards, and Lu Daqi, who led the Nanjing city defense troops.Emperor Chongzhen was not worried about them enriching their own pockets, because the current Jin Yiwei were all his spies.
Around mid-March, further news about the bandits came.
As expected, Li Zicheng's army set off again, and together with Zuo Liangyu's troops, marched by land and water along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River. The momentum was very large. The actual strength was about 40, but it was said to be one million.
At present, in addition to the [-] Beijing troops brought by Emperor Chongzhen from the south, there are also [-] Nanjing troops that have been reorganized and can be used in field operations. The generals are General Liu Zhaoji, deputy generals Yi Bangcai and Ma Yingkui.
If these three generals were in the original history, they would have led troops to reinforce Yangzhou in the city defense battle, and eventually died in Yangzhou Prefecture.
At that time, the city of Yangzhou was defeated, and Liu Zhaoji led 400 soldiers to continue fighting in the streets until the entire army was killed.Lieutenant General Yi Bangcai committed suicide after realizing that he had no way to save his life.The deputy general Ma Yingkui, wearing white armor and with the words "Serve the country with all his loyalty" written on his back, died fighting in the street.
Generally speaking, Emperor Chongzhen only had a total of 7 horses in his hands. Specifically, there were only more than 1 cavalry, all of which were cavalry in the Beijing camp, and all of which were infantry in Nanjing.
The enemy's strength, including the regular army and not counting the bandits and bandits from all over the country, is 40.
Seventy thousand versus 40, a huge disparity in military strength.
As the Dashun Army moved eastward and got closer and closer to Yingtian Mansion, the news began to become more and more tense.
Large numbers of refugees fled to Yingtian Mansion, and the news they brought made everyone in Yingtian Mansion very worried.
"The thieves' army is overwhelming, so densely packed that I don't know how many there are!"
"The Yangtze River is full of pirate ships, almost all of them covering the river surface!"
"..."
People outside Yingtianfu City began to flee their homes as the number of refugees increased day by day.
The traitor army was pressing down on the territory, hoping that the traitor soldiers would show mercy. Qiu did not commit any crime, so he might as well flee eastward. However, the emperor's love for the people was absolutely true.
However, when the emperor led his troops to Nanjing, there were only 5 troops in total. As long as they were human, they could be seen with eyes.Therefore, when faced with countless thieves, even many wealthy households in Nanjing chose to go east to take refuge.
For them, it would be best if the emperor could stop the rebels in Nanjing or even defeat them.If the reinforcements cannot be defeated, then they are not in Nanjing anyway.
Martial law has also begun in Yingtian Mansion, especially in Nanjing City.
All refugees should go eastward and cannot enter Nanjing City to prevent the rebel army from sending troops pretending to be refugees and sneaking into the city.The people of Nanjing City are also allowed to leave but not enter.
Emperor Chongzhen also issued a decree to the eastern states to ask local officials to resettle refugees in an orderly manner to ensure that farming in the east was not affected.
In Wuying Hall, a simple sand table from Yingtian Mansion has been set up.Emperor Chongzhen and his men discussed the military situation on the sand table.
I heard Emperor Chongzhen say: "Refugees are swarming eastward. If it takes too long, the eastern states will not be able to help too many refugees. Once the capacity is exceeded, the states and counties that have finally settled down and resumed farming will be praised. . Therefore, the upcoming battle should be fought quickly!"
When Du Yinxi heard this, he was immediately worried and quickly advised: "Your Majesty, the bandit army is large and powerful. From the perspective of the art of war, our army should stick to the fortified city and rely on the tall Nanjing city wall to first defeat the bandit army's vigor and exhaust the enemy." The best strategy is to reduce the thief’s strength and food supplies, and then look for opportunities to engage in a decisive battle with the main force of the thief’s army!”
After hearing this, Lu Daqi nodded and echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, a quick victory is just what the thieves want. Although it is beneficial to the plight of the refugees, if the war is invincible, not to mention the plight of the refugees, the national destiny will also be affected. Your Majesty, please consider it carefully!”
From a military point of view and from a conventional point of view, Du Yinxi and Lu Daqi's statement is very reasonable.
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not think so because he was confident of winning the war.
Therefore, after listening to their words, he smiled slightly, then looked at the group of generals and said, "Are you confident in defeating the bandit army?"
Among these generals, Tang Tong and Ma Ke had fought with the emperor, so they were the first to answer resoundingly: "Have confidence!"
The two of them took the lead, and then the other generals from the Beijing camp followed and echoed loudly: "Have confidence!"
The slowest to respond were Liu Zhaoji, the elite commander of Nanjing, and others.Although Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu and others answered a little late, their expressions showed that they were confident, but Liu Zhaoji and others, although they answered, were a little hesitant.
Obviously, those who lack confidence are the generals in Nanjing.
After hearing this, Du Yinxi did not change his opinion. He still saluted Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, it is a good thing for generals to have confidence, but the outcome of a war depends not only on confidence, but also on strength, and is not determined by will." !”
This time, Lu Daqi didn't speak.But looking at his expression, he still agreed with Du Yinxi.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen just smiled faintly and said: "I'm afraid Du Qing doesn't know that I dare to lead [-] troops south to quell the rebellion. I'm not saying that I'm going to die. I'm sure of it. My goal has never been to defeat the rebel army. Rather, we should try to eliminate the traitor army as much as possible, so that after winning the war, we can minimize the impact of the traitor army's defeat on various places. The traitor army is difficult to exterminate because of their movement. This is what I am worried about, do you know?"
Du Yinxi couldn't help being stunned after hearing this.
In his opinion, the main force of the bandit army has gathered together, and it is so strong that it has the advantage of crushing them. How to win is a nerve-wracking matter.Unexpectedly, the emperor was thinking about what would happen after the war, fearing that after the rebel army was defeated, they would wander around again as before.
The level of consideration is not the same!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Lu Daqi.
Lu Daqi's experience in leading troops was much richer than him.If he couldn't see where the emperor's strong self-confidence came from, could Lu Daqi see it?
Unexpectedly, Lu Daqi was as confused as him. Obviously, he never expected that the emperor's goal was so high!
While they were thinking, they heard Emperor Chongzhen say to Du Yinxi: "Qing Du is familiar with Zuo Liangyu's rebels. According to the information you provided before, Prime Minister Ma Jinzhong and Hui Deng can be easily recruited, right? "
When Du Yinxi heard this, he quickly replied: "Wei Chen has been in charge of the logistics of the rebels and has had contact with them. Ma Jinzhong and Prime Minister Hui Deng are not direct descendants of the rebel general Zuo Liangyu. Therefore, the distribution of grain and grass supplies They were all inferior. They were originally recruited by the imperial court, but they had no choice but to be coerced by the traitor Zuo Liangyu. "
Emperor Chongzhen nodded when he heard what he said. This was almost what he thought, and this could be used.
After looking at the sand table for a while, he said without frowning: "Li Zicheng's troops are marching from the north of the Yangtze River. We have to let him cross the river before taking action! It is best if there is a navy to defeat them after they cross the river. Navy, if we block the Yangtze River like this, it will not be easy for Li Zicheng to escape back to the Central Plains after his defeat!"
If Zheng Zhilong can listen to the court and participate in this war, then he will be more confident.With the strength of Zheng Zhilong's navy, there must be no problem.
But the key issue is that Zheng Zhilong will definitely delay before the outcome of the Battle of Nanjing is decided.And it does take a lot of time for the Fujian Navy to rush to the Yangtze River.
It's a pity that we don't have any navy on hand.
Otherwise, the navy of the Dashun Army actually collected fishing boats along the river to transport grain and supplies and cross the river.With their current abilities, they simply don't have the ability or time to build a warship.
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw a chamberlain entering the palace and announcing: "Long live my lord, Yan Yingyuan, the former Jiangyin canon, is requesting an audience in front of the Meridian Gate!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Was this really a sleepy pillow?
But that's not necessarily the case. Yan Yingyuan came back after being away for so long. There is also a possibility that he couldn't find Gu San Mazi's lair, or that Gu San Mazi didn't want to be recruited!Even if he accepts the recruitment, his strength is still a question mark!
In short, don't be too happy first, let's take a look at the situation.
With this thought in mind, he immediately ordered an audience.
The soldiers in the Beijing camp had met Yan Yingyuan and knew what tasks the emperor had assigned to Yan Yingyuan.But neither Du Yinxi nor Lu Daqi knew the situation, so they were surprised at this time.
The original Jiangyin Classical History? How could a mere Classical History be valued so highly by the emperor?Who is this Yan Yingyuan?
Thinking about this, they were also curious, wanting to see who Yan Yingyuan was?
After a while, the chamberlain led Yan Yingyuan into Wuying Hall.
Yan Yingyuan didn't seem surprised to see so many people in Wuying Hall. He just stepped forward to greet them and shouted long live the mountain.
Emperor Chongzhen was standing on the sand table to discuss matters, so he directly asked Yan Yingyuan to stand down.
Du Yinxi and Lu Daqi were both looking at him, and they couldn't help but be a little surprised when they saw that Yan Yingyuan was tall and had a long beard, a bit like the famous ancient general Guan Yunchang.
Of course, it may be that Yan Yingyuan deliberately imitated him like this, but no matter what, it reminds people of Guan Yu, so he feels that this person must be a capable person.
On Yan Yingyuan's side, after hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, he stood up and took the initiative to play: "Your Majesty, I have been searching for more than a month before I contacted Gu San Mazi. Because of the previous wind disaster, he had been hiding in his lair. On Chongming Island at the outlet of the Yangtze River. He and his men heard about His Majesty's affairs in Yangzhou Mansion, so they agreed to serve His Majesty without hesitation."
Having said this, he paused, and then added: "He has more than 100 ships, but most of them are fishing boats and merchant ships. He is packing up his things now and will come to Yingtian Mansion soon. I will be worried. It took too long to go, so I rushed back to report the news!"
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy after hearing this, and then immediately asked: "As you see, what is the combat effectiveness of Gu San Mazi's fleet? Can it block the Yangtze River? Or, after the bandits cross the river, they will not be harassed. Did the bandits escape across the river after their defeat?"
At this point, he remembered something and immediately added: "The bandit army does not have a regular naval force. The main generals in the army are also northerners and do not understand water warfare."
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, his expression was very serious. He thought for a while before replying: "Your Majesty, most of Gu San Mazi's men are fishermen. They usually rob houses on the Yangtze River and the sea, mainly because they have many boats and are familiar with the water. That’s it. And they are just pirates and have no training. If you rely on this alone, it will be difficult to stop the bandits from crossing the Yangtze River!"
Emperor Chongzhen was a little disappointed when he heard this, but looking back and thinking about it, it seemed that this was normal.If Gu San Mazi's fleet was really powerful, they wouldn't be scared off by Yan Yingyuan's three arrows.
While he was thinking about it, he heard Yan Yingyuan continue to say seriously: "However, the army is unpredictable. Since the last general is in charge of the navy, please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will not let the traitor army escape north!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but look into his eyes and saw the confidence in his eyes. Just by looking at him, he gained confidence.
This confidence is not confidence in Gu Sanmazi's fleet, but confidence in Yan Yingyuan himself.
So Emperor Chongzhen smiled. After a while, he said to Yan Yingyuan: "I believe that if you need anything, please ask it as soon as possible. If I can satisfy you, I will definitely meet your needs!"
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, he was not polite at all, and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I wonder how many sailors there are in the Nanjing Navy? I want to see and select some. In addition, I want to Collect more ships and craftsmen who can renovate them. In addition, we need to allocate more gunpowder and the like."
Although most of the warships of the Nanjing Navy sank due to wind disasters, which of course were probably caused by man-made damage, most of the sailors were still there.However, because they were involved in the shipwreck regicide case, many people were arrested.
At this time, the most important targets, the nobles, had been dealt with, and Emperor Chongzhen had no hesitation and immediately said to Yan Yingyuan: "I have agreed to all of your requests. The sailors of the Nanjing Navy went to Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou to request , whether he is in prison or not, it is up to you to choose."
"I also give you a decree to recruit ships, and ask all states to cooperate with you. You can also choose craftsmen and other things."
Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen emphasized: "But there is not much time left for you. The vanguard of the rebel army has already arrived at the next door. I want to make a quick decision, so I will wait for the rebel army from Jiangbei to cross the river." Prepare to launch a war and defeat the traitor army. You must be able to cut off the north and south of the Yangtze River when the war starts!"
When Yan Yingyuan heard this, he immediately clasped his fists in his hands and echoed: "The last general has received the order!"
After finishing speaking, he saw that the emperor had no other instructions, so he immediately resigned and left in a hurry.
Du Yinxi watched his back disappear at the entrance of the palace, and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, this is a tiger general!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and did not comment. He just waited for Yan Yingyuan to prove himself.Afterwards, he began to continue discussing the military situation.
At the same time, Li Zicheng also led an army and rushed towards Nanjing in a mighty manner.
(End of this chapter)
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