The windows of the room were opened, making it bright and transparent. The slightly hot sunlight came in, making the smell of herbs not strong, and the atmosphere was extremely serious.
There are several jars of herbal medicine on the table, steaming out, and just smelling it in the nose is very bitter.
In addition, two candles as thick as a baby's arms were burning continuously in the room, exuding a scent.
This is a candle extracted from the fat of fur seals (seals). Even though there is no shortage of fur seals in Lake Baikal, they are still a rare luxury product in Fengjing City.
Even though the room was very bright, it still gave people a sense of ambiguity, and the aura of the dying person could not be concealed.
Shunzhi coughed, looked at the soup cans, and said in a deep voice: "Sir, don't talk too much, you have to take care of yourself."
"As the saying goes, seventy-three or eighty-four, if the king of hell doesn't come, he will go away. I have run out of gas, so don't waste those medicinal materials..."
Hong Chengchou's face was pale, and his originally rounder cheeks had become thinner and thinner. Only his eyes were brighter, exuding a little vitality.
At seventy-one years old, he obviously knew that his life span was short and he was very optimistic.
It's a pity that no one knows Shunzhi's pain.
Hong Chengchou was both civil and military. Although he had the intention of surrendering to the enemy and betraying his country, it is undeniable that he had a long-term vision and superb methods of governing the country. He was a first-class talent for assisting the left, both locally and in the court.
In other words, he is the minister who governs the country.
The Eight Banners only knew how to fight, Fan Wenchen, Ning Wanwe and others only knew how to play politics. Hong Chengchou was the only one who had both.
Shunzhi gets a headache when he thinks about what will happen in the future.
"Your Majesty, now the imperial court has been in the North Sea (Lake Baikal) for a long time. The Rakshasa people's stronghold has been destroyed. They dare not fight against them and can only trade."
Hong Chengchou took a breath and stared at the thirty-year-old Qing emperor with sharp eyes:
"In Mobei in the south, tens of thousands of Chechen Khan tribes have been devouring and cannibalizing. Ming people dare not mess around. Zhasak Khan tribe colludes with Rakshasa and is timid. It seems that the Qing Dynasty has reached the point where there is no threat."
"Be prepared for danger in times of peace. Although I am leaving, I still can't let go of Your Majesty——"
After such a long period of time, Hong Chengchou's face became a bit paler, and the concubine who was serving him hurriedly beat his back and took another sip of medicine before he regained his composure.
Shunzhi saw that his expression had recovered a little, and then he waved his hand: "You all, please step aside——"
"twitter--"
Both men and women, including Tang Ruowang, all left the room and guarded Zheng Jun outside the door.
Now, only Hong Chengchou, who was half dead on the bed, and Shunzhi, who was listening, were left.
"The number of people in Fengjing Prefecture is increasing. If the veteran's prediction is correct, in a few years, the number of people in the Qing Dynasty will exceed two million."
"Now it's 1.8 million." Shunzhi said clearly: "It's only been two months since I learned about it."
When they first came to Beihai from Liaodong, the Eight Banners, Manchu, Mongolian, and Han, totaled only 400,000 people. After conquering the entire Buryat Mongolia, they got 600,000 people.
The Chechen Khan tribe, plus some Mobei tribesmen, easily obtained 300,000 people.
In other words, after sufficient food and material supplies were obtained, whether it was the Mongols or the Eight Banners, Dingkou continued to breed, increasing by five to six million in more than ten years.
And all this was due to Hong Chengchou's large-scale farming. Animal husbandry and agriculture supported each other, causing the population of the Qing Dynasty to continue to grow.
"One million and eight hundred thousand." Hong Chengchou murmured, and then said: "Do you have millions of people under your Majesty's leadership?"
Shunzhi choked, thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Fengjing Mansion, including Bao Yi, only has eight or nine hundred thousand!"
When they first arrived in Beihai, almost all the nobles of the Eight Banners were wearing sackcloth and wearing filial piety, and the prestige of the imperial power continued to decrease.
After all, at this time, Shunzhi and Kangxi had not experienced the reduction of power, and the imperial power was only the largest Eight Banners nobles.
The meeting of kings and ministers who discussed government affairs was the center of power for the entire Qing Dynasty.
The Central Plains were lost, the old nest in Liaodong was gone, everyone was separated, and there were complaints. It seemed that military chaos might break out at any time.
In this case, a crisis may break out at any time, turning the entire Manchu Qing Dynasty into another Northern Yuan Dynasty.
In order to gain a foothold and consolidate imperial power, Shunzhi listened to the opinions of civil servants and the nobles of the Eight Banners, and distributed the Buryat Mongolian tribes one by one according to their distance and merit.
At that time, Shunzhi owned Zhenghuang Banner, Xianghuang Banner, and Zhengbai Banner, and received the largest piece of cake, nearly one-third of the land and tribes.
The Chechen Khanate was also divided up in this way.
The consequence of this is that the entire Fengjing Mansion is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and Shunzhi also controls the tribes and land.
Using the Eight Banners of Manchu and Eight Banners of Han to suppress the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and then using the Eight Banners of Han to check and balance the Eight Banners of Manchuria, it can be said that the entire imperial power has been revitalized.
But this alternative enfeoffment also obviously weakened the central government.
The sequelae was that after leaving Fengjing Mansion, the emperor had to discuss everything with the Eight Banners nobles, and it would not work to go his own way.
"Many newborns seem to have forgotten that Liaodong is their hometown." Hong Chengchou said with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "It is good to serve the capital, but if you forget to fight, you will perish."
At this point, he suddenly stood up slightly and said: "The first disaster for the imperial court is that the Eight Banners are arrogant and do not obey the king's orders."
"The second is to be at ease. If a soldier has no fighting spirit, he will fall into an unstoppable state."
"Are you talking about Shaowu?" Shunzhi was stunned and felt that it was a bit impossible: "As far as I know, Beihai is more than three thousand miles away from Beijing. If you send a few thousand cavalry, it will be fine, but if you send more than 20,000 cavalry, you will only die. .”
"And we still have Fengjing City, but the cavalry can't take the city."
As a result, a contradiction arises.
At a distance of thousands of miles, if infantry is used, the material supply alone can drag down the Ming people to death; and if only cavalry is used, even if a large number of Qing troops are defeated, the strong Fengjing City will make them collapse.
Naturally, people in the Qing Dynasty felt at ease.
After all, who would have thought that canned food would have such a long shelf life? It is completely inconsistent with what people think at this time.
"Your Majesty, living in Beihai, the imperial court is just another Northern Yuan Dynasty." Hong Chengchou said, hating iron and steel: "The most important thing for the imperial court now is to fight."
"Whether it's going north to deal with the wild men in the forest, or going south to wipe out the Ming people's tribe, we need to do it."
As he spoke, he was panting: "Only in war will your orders be fully implemented."
Hearing this, Shunzhi suddenly realized.
Only war can unite the Eight Banners and show the imperial power. But if there is peace for a long time, the distance will continue to shrink the imperial power.
"Sir, I understand."
After hearing these words, Hong Chengchou felt relieved, and his whole face was filled with blood and radiance.
Returning to the light——
Shunzhi sighed and had his family members called over.
Twenty years after Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, although his wife was in the south, he had many concubines, mostly clan daughters and Han women.
There are also a few heirs, so there are no regrets.
Soon, a group of women came in with their children. Shunzhi shook his head and left directly.
After Hong Chengchou finished giving instructions, his eyes were astigmatized. He didn't even look at the group of women and murmured:
"I'm sorry for my mother, I'm sorry for my wife and children..."
I don't know how long it took, but a loud cry echoed through the entire house. Shunzhi just walked out of the yard and sighed:
"With the order, Mr. Hong will be granted the title of Zhongxiang Gong and five thousand taels of money will be given to him for funeral expenses."
"Yes!" The eunuch on the side responded quickly.
Sighing, Shunzhi got on the carriage.
"Your Majesty!" Tang Ruowang consoled him, "You are considered extremely honorable. Mr. Hong will definitely be happy if he has knowledge underground."
"These are just for living people to see."
Shunzhi shook his head: "It is a pity that this loyal dog Hong Chengchou died, but I am sighing because the heroes of the entire Qing Dynasty are gradually withering away..."
In Fengjing, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also often held imperial examinations, but only Han Chinese and senior Manchu and Mongolian officials participated.
If thirty people are admitted to a subject and only about two hundred people compete, how many talents will be drawn?
Living in a corner is indeed a slow poison, and you will definitely die if you continue to do so for a long time.
"War is inevitable."
Shunzhi murmured, his eyes gradually becoming firmer.
…
At this time, Thang Long City in Annan was caught in a fierce battle.
It was originally estimated that the Qin army would encounter layers of resistance before arriving at Thang Long, which would weaken its energy and disrupt its logistics. By the time they arrived at Thang Long, they were already exhausted.
At this time, Zheng Jun was recharging his strength, annihilating them in one go, and reuniting the entire Annan.
But before his 100,000 soldiers were assembled, the Qin army came from the sea and directly surrounded Shenglong City.
At this time, there were only 30,000 troops in the city, which could only barely defend the city. The 10,000 troops outside the city were helpless at all.
"Your Majesty——"
Zheng Zhao was wearing armor and patrolling the city with a pair of men and horses, his face full of seriousness.
Facing the generals who greeted him, Zheng Zha just nodded, and then left, patrolling meticulously.
These troops all come from the soldiers of the government near Thang Long. They farm and train at the same time. They have been soldiers of the Zheng family for generations. They respect Zheng Zha from the bottom of their hearts.
As for King Li, apart from the civil and military ministers who knew about it, ordinary people had even changed dynasties long ago!
After walking around, Zheng Zha left the city and returned to his own palace.
At this time, the civil and military personnel stood in two rows on the left and right and greeted him respectfully.
"How is Li?"
Zheng Zha took off his armor, Niu took a sip of water, sat on the dragon chair, and asked casually.
"The Lord is hiding in the palace and doesn't dare to mess around."
"Just stay calm and don't make trouble for us."
In the entire Annan, the Li family has always been in charge and the Zheng family has been the master, and the cooperation has been seamless.
The reason why the Li family was not abolished was because the Mo family occupied Gaoping. Once the Zheng family became independent, it would lose its rightful name and the entire rule would be in danger.
Whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, they all supported Gaoping's Mo family and wanted to check and balance Annan.
If Gao Ping hadn't supported the San Francisco Rebellion and was captured by the Qing army, Mo would have been able to persevere to the end.
Even so, Kangxi also made up for it and personally mediated the dispute between the Ruan family and the Zheng family, allowing them to use Lingjiang as the boundary to oppose each other between the north and the south.
This situation in the Northern and Southern Dynasties persisted for more than two hundred years.
Zheng Zha suddenly asked: "How long will it take for the government army to gather?"
"There are not many Qin troops outside the city now. If they wait for them to encircle us, it will be a threat."
"Your Majesty, there are still 20,000 people gathered in the north of the city who have not entered the city."
At this time, someone raised his head and said: "There is insufficient food in Shenglong City, and it is difficult to supply more troops."
"In addition, the Qin army has been blocking the army from entering the city, and it is difficult for the government army to defeat the Qin army..."
"Trash—" Zheng Zhu said angrily: "I spent so much land raising them, and this is how they repay me?"
Everyone was speechless.
Ten thousand Qin troops came from the sea, riding the wind and waves, like a sharp arrow, piercing countless Zheng troops.
Within ten days, 20,000 to 30,000 government troops were defeated, leaving no one to dare to fight in the field.
The Zheng family's army followed the example of the Tang Dynasty.
Distributing land to soldiers, exempting them from taxes and corvees, as long as they perform military service and provide their own food, grass and weapons.
A hundred thousand troops can be summoned at any time and at any time, which is why the Zheng family dominates the Red River Plain.
Of course, because they were far away from home, the soldiers' morale was low once they went south. They failed to defeat the Ruan family time and time again, and forcibly created a Northern and Southern Dynasties.
There are pros and cons.
"Report, the Qin army has begun to attack the city——"
"It seems that the Qin troops have begun to encircle us."
Zheng Zha said coldly: "I don't know how many soldiers came from the south..."
The Thang Long city wall is towering, and the soldiers are not afraid of danger, climbing on the ladders, their faces full of enthusiasm.
On the city wall, the defenders shouted loudly without any fear, and used bows and arrows and other weapons to launch a fierce counterattack.
The Qin army rushed towards the city wall like a tide. They used huge catapults to throw stones at the city wall, causing the city wall to shake.
The archers stood on the arrow tower and shot at the Zheng army on the city wall, forming a fierce arrow rain battle.
The Zheng army was not to be outdone. They used hot oil, stones, sticks and bows and arrows to defend. Every soldier was very brave and would rather die than surrender. They used various methods to resist the Qin army's attack.
The entire city was shrouded in smoke, and corpses and bloodstains could be seen everywhere. The casualties on both sides were very serious, but the Qin army always had the advantage.
In the distance, King Qin watched the offensive and defensive battle closely, never straying even an inch.
Zhu Jing also watched silently, not caring about the casualties.
"I don't know how many people were killed or injured in this war."
After a long time, King Qin sighed.
"Your Highness, the Qin Army has had a smooth journey. There is almost no tough battle. Without this tough battle, I'm afraid it would still be useless."
Zhu Jing said calmly: "After unifying the entire Annan, the real test will come. If you don't have an army that has stood the test, your rule may not be stable."
"You can ignore the unreasonable demands of those powerful families and just suppress them."
King Qin remained silent.
His nose was filled with gunpowder smoke, and he yawned a few times: "So, General Zhu, how many people do you think will have to die to take Shenglong?"
"Eighteen thousand people is enough." Zhu Jing looked at the battlefield in front of her and said emotionlessly: "This time the army will be formed."
