Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 199

The army marched westward in a mighty manner. Officials along the way, as long as the emperor passed through the jurisdiction, came to greet him one after another. The situation was very different from when Emperor Chongzhen went south.

When he arrived at Jiujiang Prefecture in Jiangxi Province, Jiangxi Governor Xie Xuelong and Huang Daozhou, the imperial envoy who inspected agriculture, were both here to greet him.

Before Jie Xuelong, Huang Daozhou recommended the impeachment of Yang Sichang and was demoted, saying that he was "light as a leaf, but as heavy as a mountain". As a result, he was accused by Yang Sichang and others of being a "party patron", and was cut by Emperor Chongzhen's imperial staff at eighty points. After his death, he was moved to imperial prison and sent to Guizhou.

Therefore, in Jie Xuelong's impression, Emperor Chongzhen did not distinguish between right and wrong, so he favored Yang Sichang. What was the result?He was a boastful man who was manipulated by Zhang Xianzhong and the bandit. In the end, he committed suicide in shame because he killed Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang.

What he didn't expect was that when the rebels were about to change dynasties, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly rose up, personally led the troops and turned the tide, pardoned him, and reinstated him as governor of Jiangxi.

To be honest, when he saw Emperor Chongzhen again at this time, he actually had mixed feelings in his heart: Your Majesty, you are so good at fighting, why have you been dormant for so many years?

He and Huang Daozhou had the highest official positions. After leading other officials to visit Emperor Chongzhen, they prepared to report his situation in Jiangxi for more than six months.

What he didn't expect was that his good friend Huang Daozhou came out one step ahead of him and sincerely reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty the Holy Ming, you really got another 90 shi of grain from Zheng...Pinghaihou. I was wrong!"

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was a little surprised. This famous diehard in the court actually took the initiative to admit his mistake. It was really rare!
So, he smiled slightly and said: "I have said that facts speak louder than words. I hope you will remember this sentence in the future."

Huang Daozhou was slightly distracted, and then solemnly said: "Wei Chen has written it down!"

He is good at everything, but he is quite stubborn. As long as he thinks he is right, he dares to criticize the emperor, even if he is demoted six levels or even demoted and resigned.In most cases, people who can stick to themselves are still very valuable.But sometimes, persistence is not the right thing to do.

Emperor Chongzhen taught him a lesson, letting him know that you can persist, but facts are true, and they are far better than words!

Jie Xuelong next to him was also a little surprised. He didn't expect to see his friend admit his mistakes, and he admitted his mistakes to the emperor whom he had criticized many times. It was really rare!
Thinking of this, when he looked at the emperor again, he felt more respectful, and then truthfully reported to Emperor Chongzhen his official duties in Jiangxi.

In summary, although he worked very hard, Jiangxi has many mountains, tough folk customs, and there are bandits hiding in remote areas, so it is really difficult to deal with it.If you march with a large army, the bandits will disappear into the mountains and forests; if you ignore them, they will come out to plunder.

Just listen to Jie Xue Long said: "...Although there are difficulties, I am confident that we will gradually eliminate them, but it will take time."

Emperor Chongzhen understood very well and nodded and said: "Small groups of bandits hide in deep mountains and old forests, high mountains and dangerous valleys, and it is indeed difficult to eradicate them. While you continue to eradicate them, you must also vigorously restore people's livelihood everywhere and make people's lives easier. , Only in this way can the root cause be cured!”

"Wei Chen obeys the order!" Jie Xuelong listened and responded quickly with a respectful attitude.

In the past, he might not be very convinced, but now that the emperor has turned things around, his ability is so great that even his good friend Huang Daozhou is convinced, he is even more convinced of what the emperor said.

Emperor Chongzhen rested for the night in Jiujiang, and mainly emphasized to the local officials that they must put the people first. Another thing he told them was to re-measure the land and re-register it.

The next day, he continued to lead the troops and set off.

After passing Jiujiang Prefecture, we entered Huguang Province.Ma Ke and others continued to leave the team and headed north, while Emperor Chongzhen continued to lead the army along the Yangtze River through Wuchang Prefecture, Yuezhou Prefecture, and when they arrived at Shishou City in Jingzhou Prefecture, Du Yinxi, who was based in Huguang, came to greet him.

He was not there when the reward was awarded in Nanjing, so when the imperial edict arrived and made him the second-class Guanghua Bo, he was so surprised that he reportedly composed three poems to express his gratitude.

In the Ming Dynasty's more than 270 years of history, only two civil servants were knighted. Now, he, Du Yinxi, has also been knighted!

Everyone has the desire to honor their ancestors. How could he be able to endure such an overwhelming favor from the emperor!
Therefore, when he saw the emperor, he first thanked him.

Thanks to the picture, Du Yinxi immediately reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "The main remaining force of the Li thieves has entered Yunnan and formed an alliance with the chieftains who rebelled last year. The Duke of Guizhou has sent someone to ask for help, saying that if the imperial reinforcements are no longer available, he will I can’t hold on any longer! Your Majesty, do you want me to lead the army to reinforce you?”

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen did not answer immediately, but thought for a while and asked: "Today, how many chieftains in Yunnan and Guizhou are rebels, and how many still obey the imperial orders?"

Upon hearing this, Du Yinxi showed a bit of embarrassment and said: "Yunngui and Guizhou are now in chaos. There are all kinds of news, and it is impossible to verify the truth. As for the news from the Duke of Guizhou, the deputy guarding envoy Yang Weizhi and the official Wang Yunkai defended Chuxiong City, and there were many chieftains in the surrounding areas to help them. Therefore, the rebels could not capture it, and the Duke of Guizhou was able to gain a foothold in Yongchang. But now that the remnant army of the thieves Li has joined, the situation in Chuxiong City has become dangerous. . This news was at least a month ago."

Emperor Chongzhen listened and recalled the original history. It seemed that the remnants of the Great Western Army entered Yunnan and defeated Sha Dingzhou. Talents representing the imperial court such as Yang Weizhi and Mu Tianbo turned the crisis around.

However, in this plane, the changes caused by the butterfly effect have been great.Li Zicheng was driven into Yunnan and Guizhou by himself. Now it is really unknown whether Yang Weizhi, Mu Tianbo and others can resist.

As he was thinking about it, Du Yinxi continued to play: "The chieftains in Huguang near the border of Guizhou used to form strongholds to protect themselves. Later, after Li's defeat, they also sent troops to attack Li's remnant army. Now Also listen to the orders of Weichen."

Emperor Chongzhen had a headache when he heard this.

His original plan was to have all the chieftains rise up in rebellion, and then he could justifiably deal with them.But now, it seems that only a small number of toasts dare to rebel, so it is a bit impossible to achieve what they want.

With this in mind, Emperor Chongzhen said to Du Yinxi: "In that case, you call all the obedient chieftains and ask them to send troops into Yunnan and Guizhou for rescue. In short, there is only one option for this battle, which is to listen to the court's orders and send troops Suppress thieves; all those who rebel, disobey orders, and disobey in disguise will be punished. Don’t be afraid of making things worse, I want them to use practical actions to prove which side they are on!"

Hearing this, Du Yinxi was a little worried, so he reminded Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, if this happens, the northwest will probably be even bigger than the She'an Rebellion!"

The She'an Rebellion, from the first year of Tianqi to the second year of Chongzhen, affected the four provinces of Sichuan, Qian, Yunnan and Guangxi, causing more than one million casualties.

Therefore, Du Yinxi was very worried. If the emperor acted like this, he was afraid that the world situation, which was about to improve now, would become corrupt again.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled faintly and said: "This is an opportunity I give to the chieftains. Either they will serve me sincerely or they will be destroyed by me. There is no third way. You can tell those chieftains not to look at the Central Plains and others. The land is still in the hands of the rebels, and it will be easy for me to pacify them!" Du Yinxi had seen the combat power of the emperor and his subordinates in the Battle of Nanjing during the Battle of Nanjing.However, when he heard the emperor's words, he still reminded him: "Your Majesty, Yunnan and Guizhou are mountainous, and the fighting style is different from the outside world. If the rebels do not fight decisively with the main force of the imperial court and attack them on the move, I am afraid it will take a long time and it will be difficult. Destroy it!"

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

As for guerrilla warfare, I definitely know more than people of this era!

To deal with guerrilla warfare, it is actually very simple, just remove the fuel from the bottom of the cauldron!

With this in mind, he comforted Du Yinxi and said, "You are too worried. I have already planned how to pacify Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. There is no need to worry about this matter!"

When Du Yinxi heard this, he looked at the emperor. To be honest, he was a little worried that the emperor had won too many battles and was bloated.It is easy to regain the Central Plains and other places, and it is easy to deal with the chieftain rebels in Yunnan and Guizhou, which have high mountains and dense forests.However, this is a completely different way of playing!

So, he remembered that the emperor had favored him and granted him a title, so he persisted and said: "Your Majesty, I wonder if there is any way to quell the chaos in Yunnan and Guizhou?"

Seeing his persistent look, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but think of the previous Zodiac Zhou.

After thinking about it, he felt that Du Yinxi was his confidant, so there was no problem in telling him, so he replied: "After I have pacified the world, I will also reform all the government affairs. In short, one principle is to make the people of Ming Dynasty able to Live a good life. The people under the rule of the chieftain are no exception. As long as ordinary people understand that they can live a better life as obedient subjects of the court, no one will follow the chieftain to rebel. Even if they want to fight guerrillas, they have no basis. This is my plan to remove the firepower from under the cauldron!”

Du Yinxi thought about it and couldn't help but be convinced. At the same time, he also knew that only a king of a country could do this kind of countermeasure.Otherwise, even the military and political powers of the feudal officials and governors of several provinces will be useless.Because this kind of thing must be reported to the imperial court, and all the ministers in the cabinet and the emperor must agree.

He was about to say something else, when suddenly, he saw a military officer in royal robes hurriedly entered the room and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Feng Liangmo, the counselor of Eastern Sichuan, has come to ask for help and is waiting for an audience outside the door."

Emperor Chongzhen was a little surprised when he heard this. Someone came from Sichuan?

So, he immediately issued an order to summon him.

Soon, Feng Liangmo came in to greet him.

He went down the Yangtze River at a very fast speed. He originally thought he was going to Nanjing to meet the saint, but he didn't expect that at Shishou in Huguang, he saw the emperor leading his army upstream.

Surprised, after receiving the gift, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Thief's troops are causing trouble in Shu..."

Feng Liangmo gave an overview of the situation in Shu, and then said: "The previous rumors were all based on people's panic. Now that I can see your Majesty leading the tiger and wolf army with my own eyes, I believe that the military morale of the soldiers and people in central Sichuan will be greatly boosted."

Originally, the imperial army in central Sichuan and Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi Army were fighting back and forth. However, due to the influence from outside Sichuan, the situation was broken.Fortunately, it was just a rumor. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he really felt relieved.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and said: "Thank you all the ministers in Sichuan for your hard work. I am leading the army to enter Sichuan to quell the rebellion of Zhang Thief."

Du Yinxi, who was nearby, heard that the bandit army in Sichuan was strong. He couldn't help but be a little worried, so he asked, "Then Zhang Thief also knows about the news that His Majesty defeated Li's army?"

Feng Liangmo heard this. Although he didn't know Du Yinxi, he still replied respectfully: "That's natural. Originally, Zhang Dingguo's troops were attacking Kuizhou Prefecture, but they withdrew after hearing the news."

When Du Yinxi heard this, he asked again: "According to you, many people know about Qin Chuan's request for help?"

When Feng Liangmo heard this, he immediately replied: "This is Ma Zhongcheng's intention. It should be able to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians of the imperial court!"

After Du Yinxi heard the answer, his expression was a little serious, and he immediately reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that the thief Zhang will jump over the wall and attack the imperial army in central Sichuan with all his strength, especially to compete for Kuizhou Prefecture, which is the only way to enter Sichuan."

When Feng Liangmo heard what he said, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly confirmed: "What do you mean, your Excellency, that Thief Zhang was afraid that Your Majesty would lead the army into Sichuan, so he attacked Kuizhou Prefecture with all his strength?"

Du Yinxi's expression was very serious, he nodded and said: "If I were a thief, and heard that your majesty's martial arts were outstanding, and saw someone asking for help, he would definitely be afraid of your majesty leading the army into Sichuan. Or run away! But, he is in Shu, and Where can I escape? Therefore, if I am the thief Zhang, I will have no choice but to jump over the wall and try my best to block His Majesty's way to Sichuan!"

I have to say that Du Yinxi is really discerning in his judgment of the situation.

At least Emperor Chongzhen at this time had the same view.

If Zhang Xianzhong really occupied Kuizhou Prefecture, it would be much more difficult for him to lead his army into Sichuan again.

With this thought in mind, he no longer hesitated and immediately conveyed the order to speed up his entry into Sichuan.

In fact, it is true that Du Yinxi is right.After Zhang Xianzhong learned the news from Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu and others, after discussion, he immediately assessed the situation and changed national policy.

First, he sent an envoy to Shaanxi to express to Li Zicheng his intention to join hands in resisting the imperial court; on the other hand, he personally led the army and rushed to eastern Sichuan.

Among them, Sun Kewang led the army to watch the imperial officers and soldiers at the Xuanwei Division in Bozhou, while Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi attacked Chongqing with all their strength, at least to hold back the imperial officers and soldiers in Chongqing.

As for himself, he and Li Dingguo attacked Kuizhou Prefecture with all their strength, intending to defeat the imperial officers and soldiers in Kuizhou Prefecture in one fell swoop and seize this road into Sichuan.

With Zhang Xianzhong's all-out efforts, the situation suddenly became very tense and even critical for the imperial officers and soldiers in central Sichuan.

(End of this chapter)