Seeing Chongzhen's unkind eyes, both Qian Longxi and Li Biao felt guilty.
"When did the Ministry of Household Affairs distribute the food and salary to Dongjiang Town?" Chongzhen asked Bi Ziyan.
Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, thought for a while and said: "Since last year, every town has been in arrears in food and salary arrears. However, Dongjiang is located overseas, which is particularly difficult. In November last year and in March this year, some money and food were squeezed out twice Dongjiang issued salary silver. The total amount was 180,000 taels of silver and 500,000 dans of miscellaneous grains."
Chongzhen nodded, it was unrealistic to reissue them all. Except for Yang Fan, the prodigal, all the seized materials were auctioned, all the back pay for the past four towns from the expedition was repaid, and bonuses for meritorious service were fully paid in accordance with the court system.
Bi Ziyan can partially reissue, no one can say anything.
When Chongzhen heard that the Western Expeditionary Army was in arrears of pay, he was very angry. I deeply blame Yang Fan for being a prodigal. The finances are so difficult now. If you have this money, you might as well send it to me instead of giving it to these Qiu Ba. I can solve bigger problems here.
Fortunately, Yang Fan later asked Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War to escort more than 300 captured Mongolian nobles and supplies from the Shunyi Palace to Beijing, and sent the emperor 700,000 taels of Xinghe Bank banknotes. The emperor was delighted and put the matter down.
Chongzhen turned to Qian Longxi and said, "Qian Qing is responsible for this matter. Why did Mao Wenlong say that he did not receive money or food?"
Qian Longxi secretly complained in his heart. I really didn’t look at the almanac when I went out today, and one bad thing happened one after another.
When we just talked about the reasons for the mutiny, Dongchang found out that civilian officials had lost their military pay. The emperor didn't say anything, which didn't mean that he wouldn't pursue the matter, but that the emergency was one thing after another and he couldn't take care of it.
Now, Mao Wenlong revealed that Yuan Chonghuan had cut off the wages of Dongjiang Town. It's really hard to explain.
"Last year, Governor Yuan, in order to coordinate the supplies of the entire north for the five-year restoration of Liao, concentrated all the food and wages from the entire north to Juehua Island for storage. The entire Ji, Liao, Tianjin, and Shandong came to coordinate the supplies. After all, supplies are now available Difficulties can only be achieved by concentrating."
Chongzhen agreed on this point. With the current financial difficulties, the military expenditures issued by the imperial court were not enough. It’s all about tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall. Yuan Chonghuan centralized management of all money, food and materials, but was forced to do so. Good steel is used on the blade, and nothing should be wasted.
It is also necessary to divide things into priorities.
"The weather was cold last winter, and the Bohai Bay froze early and lasted for a relatively long time. The two delays caused the food and wages on Pi Island not to be delivered in time. The cabinet did not know that Pi Island was in such difficulty."
Qian Longxi pushed away all the responsibilities.
Chongzhen opened his mouth and found that he had nothing to say. The center is also like this now, where is it not in arrears? If Yuan Chonghuan is wrong, he himself is no better. Delinquencies are happening everywhere. The long-term debt owed for one or two years has not yet been paid. Is he, the emperor, also responsible?
"Now that the weather is getting warmer and it has been more than a month since the sea opened, we need to get the food and grass from the Dongjiang River as soon as possible. It is isolated out there and is much more difficult than Jiubian." Chongzhen said cheerfully. Urge them to ship as soon as possible.
"Yes, I will send a letter to Governor Yuan tomorrow." Qian Longxi said.
After handling the matter, Chongzhen said to Li Banghua: "Although Governor Zuo's approach is a bit extreme, it is excusable. The Ministry of War sent someone to Yantai to meet Governor Zuo. Let him not worry, I have already taken care of this matter. The thing is, the food and salary allocated last year and this year will be transferred to Pi Island as soon as possible."
"Your Majesty is wise, with accurate information, Governor Zuo will definitely lead his troops to withdraw from the area." Li Banghua said.
Li Banghua understood that at this juncture, he could no longer force Mao Wenlong to rebel. The mutiny in Jizhen has not been resolved, and if the mutiny in Shandong is added, it will be really troublesome. Therefore, Mao Wenlong must be appeased at this time.
After listening to Dongchang's report, Chongzhen did not investigate the corruption issues that caused the mutiny because the top priority was to put down the rebellion first.
After dealing with Mao Wenlong's matter, the emperor just breathed a sigh of relief. Then I saw another urgent courier coming in with a speed of 600 miles.
Chongzhen became inexplicably nervous. There were too many bad things today, and he had a premonition that another one would come.
Bad thing.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, the latest frontline battle report. Hu Dawei and Meng Ruhu were defeated in Niwa Town, and most of the two thousand soldiers were lost. The remaining 700 people have retreated to the west side of the Chaobai River, joining forces with Zuo Liangyu , defend Hongqiao. Prevent the rebels from invading Tongzhou."
"The rebels have gathered tens of thousands of people. They crossed the Baoqiu River at midnight today and occupied Niwa Town. They are now approaching Hongqiao."
Suddenly, the ministers panicked.
"The rebels who were advancing east attempted to steal summer grain from Uncle Dingyuan's fields. They were repulsed by Uncle Dingyuan's slaves. More than 8,000 people in this group had already turned to Huairou. They looted along the way. They went to the countryside and robbed food and money. For three consecutive days, they failed to attack Huairou County. Instead, they went to Hongqiao to join the rebels advancing eastward. Currently, there are nearly 20,000 rebels on the east side of Hongqiao."
After the messenger reported the situation, he was left to rest. Six hundred miles without sleep, the physical exertion was extremely high. At this time, you must eat, drink water, and sleep for a while.
No one expected that these rabble could be so capable of fighting. Hu Dawei and Meng Ruhu led more than two thousand people, but they were defeated. The plan to use Baoqiushui as the first line of defense also failed.
Now, the top priority can only be to defend Hongqiao.
However, the capital's troops are now seriously insufficient. Jingying went to the northwest. Originally, Chongzhen prepared six thousand Rumi musketeers, five thousand brocade cavalry, Dong Jishu's Xuanfu soldiers, and Yang Fan's chariot camp. The patrol camp in the capital was also controlled by the emperor. It was supposed to be foolproof.
However, plans can never keep up with changes.
A poisoning incident caused the situation to completely collapse.
The capital is now severely under-strength. More than 10,000 people are undoubtedly not enough for the 50,000 to 60,000 rebel troops.
Chongzhen originally thought that sending more than 6,000 Xuanfu soldiers from Nanyuan would be enough to defeat these rabble. If you don't arrive first, you will be defeated first.
Although these Xuanfu soldiers were led by the Japanese pirates, they were dragged to collapse once. However, their combat effectiveness still ranks first among the troops in the capital.
Unless the chariot battalions, cavalry, and Rumi gunmen are mobilized, this force is sufficiently elite among the existing forces.
Dong Jishu was stationed in Tongzhou, and in addition to the Tongzhou Guardsmen, he brought with him three thousand battalions.
Now Hongqiao originally had Zuo Liangyu's 1,000-man garrison, plus the 700 men brought by the defeated Hu Dawei and others, there were not even 2,000 men. It will definitely be difficult for Zuo Liangyu to hold Hongqiao.
Although Hongqiao is a wooden bridge and can easily be blocked, setting fire to the bridge can prevent the rebels from crossing the Chaobai River, which has a large volume of water.
But there are many ships along the coast, after all, water transportation is developed here. Within a short time, the rebels could find enough ships. Crossing the Chaobai River is only a matter of time.
For a moment, Chongzhen felt his heart pounding and his mouth dry.
