The white porridge and pickled mustard is enough, why am I wearing a royal robe?

Chapter 196 Peace of mind

Wenhua Hall.

Emperor Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair and looked at the ministers. He originally wanted to wait until the seduction plan failed, and then inform the six ministers about the Kitchen King. The Kitchen King was out of his control. Is this true? Ways of ways.

Who knew that news about the Kitchen King would still spread from outside the palace.

All the ministers are smart people and know that the chess piece he arranged may fail.

After all, in that news, there were rumors that the imperial assassin was found out and killed.

Although it was not a glorious thing to take the initiative to speak out about this matter, and it even slapped him in the face, there were too many things in Emperor Chongzhen's life where he was slapped in the face.

For example, the Sinner's Edict was the most derogatory to the emperor's majesty.

Emperor Chongzhen issued six edicts on sinners in his life.

The first time in 1635, the peasant uprising army captured Fengyang, the central capital, and dug up the ancestral graves of Lao Zhu's family.

The second time was two years later. The drought in the north was already extremely serious. Coupled with the locusts everywhere, the people exchanged their children for food. Emperor Chongzhen also wanted to impose three taxes, and the momentum of rebellion spread throughout the north.

"Yang He."

In the past, when the Kitchen King conquered a city, he usually used all his troops in one group. Now, the troops are divided into three groups. From this point alone, it can be seen that the Kitchen King's ambition has become bigger and bigger.

Emperor Chongzhen rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.

That is Yang Sichang.

Emperor Chongzhen said that the Kitchen King's intention was obvious, and he had no intention of hiding it from anyone. Yonghe recruited troops and horses with the intention of marching eastward. All the troops and horses went down the southeast of Yan'an, and another small group of troops and horses headed towards Xi'an.

Zhou Yanru's strategy is indeed a plan to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron. If it can be properly appeased, it will be difficult for the Kitchen King's power to expand in Henan and Shandong, and he will encounter huge resistance. After all, Emperor Chongzhen also knows that if these foolish people can take good care of themselves, While alive, one would not dare to do anything rebellious.

"At the moment, the Liao people have not yet gone south, but the Kitchen King has sent three groups of troops to plot Xi'an, Henan, and Shanxi. Henan is the hinterland of the Central Plains, Shanxi is the gate of the capital, and Hubei is adjacent to the important tax town in the south of the Yangtze River. If If we don’t stop him, the Kitchen King’s soldiers and horses will be like the flood that breaks the embankment, and there will be no chance of stopping him.”

Emperor Chongzhen frowned. Although the Kitchen King claimed to be the reincarnation of the Kitchen King, the court had found out that the Kitchen King was once just a soldier outside Tianjin City, repairing the city of Tianjin. Those who started the Kitchen King's career were those who Laofu, a servant of the Kitchen King.

This is such a huge force. The Kitchen King is already powerful. If he wins these people, the Kitchen King's power will expand to such an extent.

If it hadn't been for this man who delayed the best opportunity to annihilate the Kitchen King, the Kitchen King would not have expanded to where it is today.

The sixth time, when the capital fell, Emperor Chongzhen wrote the sixth edict of sin on his robe, saying that he had been emperor for seventeen years, but it was the ministers who delayed him, and he hoped that the thieves would not harm the people of the capital.

"Perhaps we can analyze it from the origin of Kitchen King."

The influence of the Kitchen King is getting bigger and bigger, and it is becoming more and more difficult to destroy the Kitchen King. From the thousands of people at the beginning, to later, thousands of cavalry appeared, including magic soldiers and invulnerable bodies.

An ordinary emperor would be forced to issue an edict to sin against oneself, but he had no choice but to do so. Of course, the edict to sin against oneself issued by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty due to his conscience was not included in this count.

According to the normal historical trajectory, Yang Sichang would serve as the Minister of Etiquette of Dongge University in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, and he would propose the strategy of "reconciling foreign affairs before settling the domestic affairs".

Zhou Yanru continued in line with Lai Zongdao's words.

"Yang He should be killed directly if he raises a Japanese who is hiding trouble."

Emperor Chongzhen shuddered, it was too terrifying to let such a person control so many soldiers and horses in the hinterland of his Ming Dynasty.

In fact, if someone else used this strategy, he would be able to come up with a better solution.

I just don't know why he went from Tianjin to Shaanxi, but after a little thought, I can figure out why he would send Yang He to eliminate these bandits if they were in Tianjin.

"I believe that the Kitchen King rebelled because he had no way to survive, and the same was true for his subordinates when he raised the army. Such officials who deduct workers' wages should be strictly investigated, to prevent the worst, and to provide relief to the victims in Henan and Shandong in advance. Why can the Kitchen King be like this? The snowball usually gets bigger and bigger, and most of the people under his command are disaster victims who have nowhere to live. If the court can appease the people, how can the people be deceived by the Stove King?"

Emperor Chongzhen felt secretly resentful.

The third time, Li Zicheng broke through Kaifeng and drowned hundreds of thousands of people. The Qing army successfully broke through and massacred the people of Shandong. Emperor Chongzhen believed that he was incompetent and had military misconduct.

"The origin of the Stove King? What can you analyze?"

Emperor Chongzhen issued the order six times.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Kitchen King has long been separated from the ranks of bandits and should be classified as a rebel. He occupies the land of the three prefectures, trains millions of people, and hides tens of thousands of soldiers. The disaster he caused is no less than that of the Liao Dynasty in the north. "People," Lai Zongdao stood up and said with cupped hands, "there are vague rumors that the bandits in Huguang Shuzhong and Qinzhong and Henan are all led by the Kitchen King."

The Kitchen King was a bandit because the official in charge of repairing the city deprived his servant Laofu of his food and wages. The Kitchen King had no food to eat and no pay to collect.

"I'm anxious for you all to come here this time to prepare for a rainy day. If my strategy fails again, how should I deal with the Stove King?"

It is conceivable that with the appeal of the Kitchen King and the ability of the Kitchen King, how many people would respond to the call, probably no less than one hundred thousand.

"The Stove King has escaped my control," Emperor Chongzhen said slowly.

"Although this plan cannot directly annihilate the Kitchen King, it is a blow to the bottom of the pot and can cut off the continued expansion of the Kitchen King's power. Under these conditions, wouldn't it be better to think about how to annihilate the Kitchen King?"

Emperor Chongzhen's heart moved, it was indeed so.

"The Stove King not only annexed my territory, but also promulgated a doctrinal program to rule the people. They did not recognize me, but recognized the Stove King. At present, the encirclement and suppression, the assassination, and the surrender are unsuccessful. Now, I am trying another strategy. Can it be effective on Kitchen King?"

What he plans is the entire world of the Ming Dynasty, and the Stove King is taking bigger and bigger steps.

For the fourth time, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong captured a large area of ​​land, and the Jingxiang area fell into the hands of bandits. Emperor Chongzhen believed that he had improperly hired people.

Now, the Kitchen King's target is around the southwest, the land of Shanxi, the land of Henan, poor farmers, and there are so many people who can't survive.

The Kitchen King's men are basically poor farmers, people who cannot survive due to drought.

The fifth time, Li Zicheng broke through Tongguan and marched to the capital. The Ming Dynasty was about to fall. Emperor Chongzhen was very courageous and wanted to personally lead troops to attack Li Zicheng. In order to motivate his subordinates, he sinned against his own edict.

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought of a name in his mind.

Lai Zongdao was at a loss for words, his thoughts turned rapidly, and he said this sentence.

"I know everything you said, but how can I stop it? How can I stop it?"

"At that time, there was a famine in the Central Plains and robbers arose. Sichang asked to open gold, silver, copper and tin mines to dissolve his party. He also neglected border affairs and planned many things. The emperor was different from his talents.

Sichang worked hard to revive the brush, and the emperor thought he could do it. When every couple must move, everyone will listen to what is being played and say: "I hate using you late."

The method of encircling and suppressing the bandits of "four squares and six corners, and spreading nets on ten sides" was also proposed by Yang Sichang.

Of course, Yang Sichang is Yang He's son, and Yang He has been exiled by the nine tribes. As his son, Yang Sichang cannot avoid it.

"Yes, but who should handle this matter? Do you have a suitable candidate?"

Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"Perhaps Hong Chengchou can give it a try."

Lai Zongdao said.

"Huh? Hong Chengchou? Wasn't he demoted to a commoner by me?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.

He is like this. If he makes a mistake, from top to bottom, from the first and second grade officials to the eighth and ninth grade officials, they will sit down and beat him to the end.

Hong Chengchou was directly demoted to a commoner by Emperor Chongzhen because he had failed to assist Yang He last time.

"Yes, but Hong Chengchou, who was involved in politics before, knows the sentiments of the people in Qinzhong, is an upright man, and has experience in dealing with refugees, is actually the best person to implement this matter," Lai Zongdao said, handing over his hand.

"Then follow what Qing Lai Ai said," Emperor Chongzhen nodded in agreement.

The big stone in his heart finally fell away. Although this strategy can only restrain the Kitchen King, it is at least much better than before without any method.

"Your Majesty, I have a question," Zhou Yanru suddenly stood up and said.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, I heard that although the Kitchen King has many soldiers and generals, he has no one who can govern the people and manage political affairs," Zhou Yanru said with his hands in hand. The expressions of the ministers around him who knew about the matter changed slightly, and they seemed to know what Zhou Yanru was going to say.

Emperor Chongzhen also frowned. He naturally knew about this, but he didn't want to mention it too much.

"However, the people who govern the people under the Kitchen King are all officials of our Ming Dynasty. Among them, there are many important officials such as Chen Qiyu and Geng Ruqi."

Zhou Yanru raised his eyes and looked at Emperor Chongzhen.

The veins on the latter's forehead were throbbing. How could he not know these things? He was the governor of his five provinces and a governor.

"go on."

"I think that if we don't promulgate it, if another official defectes to the enemy, he will be held responsible for his death," Zhou Yanru bent down and said.

Some local officials and their family members more or less live in the capital, or are officials in the capital.

Zhou Yanru's words pointed the finger directly at these people.

Those who surrendered to the enemy should kill the nine tribes, but that would involve a lot.

Now, Zhou Yanru's words are to let Chongzhen make the decision.

"Your Majesty, I think this is absolutely impossible," the Minister of Industry's expression changed, and he quickly stood up and said. He has a relative who is an official in Shanxi. Now the Kitchen King is sending troops to Shanxi. Who can guarantee that his relative will not join the Kitchen King?

If things far away in Shanxi implicate him, where can he go to redress his grievances?

"That's enough," Emperor Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "There is no need to mention this matter again."

This matter was too involved, and there were so many local officials. If Zhou Yanru's words were followed, it would probably take three days and three nights to kill them all, and the court might even be killed until there was no one left.

Zhou Yanru stood up straight. He was not surprised that this proposal was rejected. He raised this matter just to beat some officials in the DPRK.

"Is there anything else?"

Emperor Chongzhen asked in a deep voice.

All the ministers remained silent.

"Retreat from the court."

After retiring from the court, Emperor Chongzhen continued to deal with memorials. In handling political affairs, Emperor Chongzhen was extremely diligent. Again, he really wanted to revitalize the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report."

Jiang Xin knelt on the ground and said that if Emperor Chongzhen had no one available for the time being, he would not be able to stand here and continue to serve the emperor.

"Huh? Say."

Emperor Chongzhen raised his head and finally solved some of Kitchen King's affairs. He didn't want to hear any bad news.

"Among the three troops sent by the Kitchen King, one was led by Geng Zhangguang, the son of the former governor of Shanxi, Geng Ruqi. There were only five hundred people when they left the city."

"Huh? Five hundred people," Emperor Chongzhen sneered, "It was a good plan. He wanted Geng Zhangguang to absorb the victims along the way."

Emperor Chongzhen immediately realized why the Kitchen King did this.

"However, there is no need for you to report this kind of thing, right?"

"Your Majesty, Geng Zhangguang is accompanied by two magic weapons."

Jiang Xin quickly said the most important thing.

"Magic weapon? What kind of magic weapon is it?"

Emperor Chongzhen asked quickly, and he also realized the importance of this matter. How important are the Kitchen King's magic weapons? One is a long-range attack weapon and can take the enemy's head a thousand steps away. The other is good at defense. Two people can control it and can withstand thousands of troops. These two magic weapons are usually used by the Kitchen King. Protected by heavy troops.

Now, a team of 500 people, with two magic weapons, escaped from the city where the Kitchen King's heavy troops were located.

He had always wanted to get the Kitchen King's magic weapon to see what it was.

But there has never been a chance.

Now, this opportunity is right in front of us.

"It seems that they are the magic soldiers who are good at defense. Both of them are covered with cloth and pulled by chariots."

Jiang Xin said.

Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath. This was most likely not the Kitchen King's conspiracy.

The Kitchen King must have underestimated the enemy, thinking that with 500 people, his reputation as the Kitchen King could strengthen his army along the way.

The two magic weapons are also for safety reasons.

Emperor Chongzhen stood up. This was an opportunity, but he seemed to have thought of something, and he was a little annoyed. He originally thought that if he could capture two magic weapons and let craftsmen copy them, he would be able to separate himself from the Stove King. The balance is broken.

But he thought that from the two ordinary Kitchen King Transformations that he had captured, up to now, even with the whole country's efforts, no one had been able to create the magic weapon.

Not to mention, these two magical weapons, Kitchen King, should be more difficult to imitate.

What can he do even if he captures them, there are two magic weapons, but the Kitchen King is known to have more than a dozen such magic weapons.

Moreover, the Kitchen King can continuously transform such magical weapons, and one will fade away, making the two magical weapons even more useless.

The power gap is too huge.

"No, no matter what, this is an opportunity. There are only five hundred people. We must find a way to intercept these two magic weapons."

(End of this chapter)