Yang Cao asked: "Is it necessary to close the net in the city?"
Wu Mu said: "Don't move for the time being. The bandits are very mobile. After the failure to chase Xu Tong, Tieliang Temple has long been deserted. The city is now a dead move. There is no interaction with the outside of the city. Now the enemy is hiding us." Ming, the source of information is relatively single. We need to expand the sources of intelligence as much as possible. If we keep this bait, we may catch fish. Sooner or later, they will contact Liang Cunhou, not to mention attacking the Liang family. Do we want to attack other families? Kill the minions outside the city. , the city is just fish and meat on a plate, if the dishes can be more sumptuous, I don’t mind dinner being served a little later.”
Capital, Forbidden City
Qianqing Palace, the largest palace in the inner court, is nine rooms wide and five rooms deep. Gray light and shadow are reflected from the window panes behind the throne, mottled and scattered in the palace. The copper incense burner on the throne steps exudes faint smoke and fog. The mist shrouded everything in a layer of twilight.
Chongzhen hesitated for a moment and picked up a memorial from the imperial case in front of him. Xiong Wencan's memorial had been transferred from the library for some time. The fall of Guangdong made Chongzhen a little stunned. The Kun thieves, or Australians, were still here yesterday. The fine wine in the glass bottle on the desk has now become a problem that needs to be faced on the desk of the empire.
The fragrant tea on the imperial desk had long since gone cold, and the tip of the ink pen had dried up. Chongzhen suddenly stood up from the imperial throne, stood silently for a long time with his back to the golden lacquer screen, and suddenly threw the memorial in his hand to the bottom of the stairs with a snap. Ben stretched out in the air, like a graceful butterfly, floated suddenly, and fell weakly on the gold bricks in front of the temple.
Chongzhen paced quickly in front of the imperial case in annoyance, and suddenly said loudly: "Xiong Wencan has harmed the country! We are powerless to fight against the Eastern pirates! We have no way to level the bandits! Now we can't even fight against the sea pirates! I have been determined to cheer up since the beginning of my imperial career. , approaching the gentleman and retreating from the villain, abolishing the garrison and middle-ranking officials, appointing Donglin, trusting his confidants, and entrusting him with the city. When everyone enters the court, they only know how to argue about differences and similarities, fight for power, and form parties for personal gain. What will be gained in exchange for this? Defeat. The pay is low, and the enemy from the East is facing me across the wall from the capital city! Who is responsible for the loss of Guangdong now? I am not untrustworthy to all the civil and military ministers, but who can really cheer up and be honest? Doing things? Xiong Wencan spoke arrogantly beforehand and tried to hide his wrongdoing afterwards. He could not be appeased and was unable to win the battle. I repeatedly tolerated him and only hoped that he would be punished and reinstated. However, he only doubled his corruption, failed again and again, failed his kindness and derelict in his duties. Now You have the nerve to ask for troops, but Xiong Wencan is incompetent! Everyone in Guangdong will punish you!" After saying this, Chongzhen's pale face became abnormally flushed, and his heavy breathing echoed in the hall, but there was no one in the empty hall. respond to his question.
Wang Chengen silently walked down the steps, knelt down and whispered: "Your Majesty is bound to the country, please take care of your holy body." Chongzhen sat back on the throne with some dejection. His breathing gradually subsided. He waved his hands gently and said: "There are many affairs in the country. In the beginning of the year, I sacrificed my enemies and invaded Xingyang and captured Zhongdu. I have sinned against the spirits of the ancestors of heaven and earth." , now that Guangdong has been lost again, with water and wind leaking from all directions, I have seen enough of the depressing things that continue to rise in the face of sky-high prices. It has been accumulating for a long time, so I am complaining. These words can only be blabbed by you who care about yourself. Just a few words, nothing happens, please pass the notice to the cabinet, right?" He murmured, as if speaking to Wang Cheng'en, but he kept staring out the window, his eyes tired and blurred.
Silence, it was unusually quiet in the main hall of Qianqing Palace. Several cabinet ministers lowered their eyes to their chests. They had already read Xiong Wencan's memorial, but everyone seemed to be ignoring it intentionally or unintentionally. There were enough troubles, but no matter No matter how reluctant you are, reality must be faced.
Chongzhen said: "The thief is knocking on the sea. Guangdong has been occupied for a long time. The previous Xiong Wencan's memorial has been submitted to the cabinet for draft and review by the Ministry. Now Xiong has written again asking for help. Can you come up with a countermeasure? Wen Qing, you have already As the chief assistant, you can tell me."
Wen Tiren walked forward calmly and bowed. For him, everything was already familiar. Reality hit the fragile self-esteem of this strong-minded young monarch one after another. The experience of being close to the feudal lord did not accumulate the foundation of an emperor for him. Facing him, He seemed impatient and confused about the complex political situation. Not many people really supported the thatched hut in Ming Dynasty. Most of them would just take advantage of the chaos to dig out a piece of mud or pull away a handful of thatch, leaving it to sway even more in the wind and rain.
The young emperor no longer trusts the opposition gentlemen, nor the ministers in office. No one can give him a sense of security. Re-trusting the officials and ministers is an unfriendly indicator for the courtiers, but for Wen Tiren, it is not a bad sign. This is not good news. A lonely king and a lonely minister must rely on each other for trust and trust. A lonely minister or a single husband? It doesn't matter, power is the pinnacle of reality.
Wen Tiren said loudly: "Your Majesty, there have been many meetings between the Cabinet and the Ministry of War regarding the Kun thieves. However, the Kun thieves are overseas visitors and they are located in a remote area of Qiongzhou. Little is known about their affairs. Guan Xiong Wencan submitted the document. Although the Kun thieves falsely claimed The survivors of the former Song Dynasty, but they all have short brown hair. Judging from their clothes, rituals, calendars, utensils, and cannons, they are mostly similar to those of the overseas Red Barbarians. Most of their people are from the north, so they should be living in a foreign land and living next to the Red Barbarians. The pirates are by no means our descendants from China. They occupied Lingao and had private trade with Guangfu for several years. They have only begun to plunder today. Although they are ferocious, ugly and rebellious, it can be seen that the Kun thieves have no great ambitions, otherwise Why should he be imprisoned in Lingao when his troops are well-equipped? Xiong Wencan said that the fall of Guangfu was actually caused by thieves who took advantage of the convenience, incited evil spirits, led unruly people, and laid ambush in the dark for several years before they were able to deceive the city. Look at his previous actions. The method of warfare is obviously better than that of naval warfare. The defeat of Qiongzhou was due to an attack halfway across the river. We lost all the boats and tens of thousands of troops were trapped in Qiongya without help or food. This time we attacked Guangdong. First, we were defeated. After defeating our navy, we relied on ship artillery to attack the shore and capture Humen again. The same was true when we arrived at Antelope Gorge and Zhaoqing. With the boat division as the vanguard and the infantry as subordinates, we began to fight on foot. However, once the navy was defeated, The infantry was unable to support itself and retreated to Wuzhou. The Wuzhou Kun thieves resorted to their old tricks and bombarded the city with generals on boats, forcing the people to fill trenches and ant infestations. The traitors responded, causing the military city to fall. After the city was broken, the Kun thieves set fire to it. Burning the city, he did not seal the sword for three days, taking pleasure in killing and looting as his heart. Corpses lay in the wilderness, with heads as high as mountains. The tragedy was indescribable. Xiong Wencan led his troops to fight against the Kun bandits on Bangshan outside the city, with enemies on all sides. Nine rejected Kun Feng, but the situation was unstoppable, so he led his troops to retreat into Guangxi. From this we can see that when the Kun thieves marched, the soldiers never left the boat or the land, and the troops only marched along the river. The Kun people have always been famous for their sharp guns and artillery. Their artillery and firearms are no less than those of the Franji people, and I heard that the Kun people are not only strong in water warfare, but also brave in land warfare. I imagine that all the soldiers are proficient in combat skills. This can be compared to the Japanese pirates in the past. Wang Zhi and his ilk occupied a corner of the Japanese country in the past, and they repeatedly attacked. On the seaside, the disaster was also severe. When Qi Shaobao came out, he created the Yuanyang Formation and the Sancai Formation. Although the Japanese pirates were sharp with their swordsmanship, Qi Shaobao used military formations to thwart their conflict. , then the Japanese invasion will be at an end. So when we think about it, the Kun thieves never fight in formation with us. It is obvious that they are better at fighting alone on the water than in formations. Therefore, they always use their own strengths to avoid their own shortcomings. Although the Kun thieves Kou Yan is rampant. After all, they are just a gang of bandits. I have never heard that the Kun people are good at bow and horse. Now that they can hardly advance into Wuzhou, they only confront Xiong from a distance. It shows that they are already tired of the old soldiers of the division. Without an enterprising spirit, it is nothing more than a scabies disease in the end. All it takes is a strong army to serve as the backbone, and a disciplined division to invite battle into the wilderness, forcing them to fight decisively, setting up an upright flag, forming a majestic formation, and using infantry as the backbone. It is true that the cavalry army is a strange thing. The clouds gather, the wind disperses, and the clutches and clutches change. If the main culprits are defeated, then the civilians they hold hostage will inevitably disperse. It should not be difficult to defeat them. If the Zhejiang troops can be mobilized to help suppress it, Kun's troubles will be solved."
Chongzhen lowered his head and listened carefully. After waiting for what he said, he said: "In a war, we fight nothing more than soldiers, horses, money, food, and materials. As Wen Qing said, where do the wages come from?"
Wen Tiren thought for a while and said: "The ministers and others have agreed that there is no place to pay now. The only way is to send more money, and we can collect Guangdong wages. The Guangdong wages are divided into two items. One is to lose all, that is, to send grains per mu. An additional levy of grain and rice from Guangdong, calculated at eight taels of silver per rice, can raise about 1.8 million taels of silver. The second is overflow land. Since the Wanli Dynasty, the records of land and acres have been unclear, resulting in many acres of land. It has not been included in the levy and levy. Now that the country is in dire straits, the levy will be added to these fields after verification. In this way, there will be hundreds of thousands more taels. The total of the two items will be at least about 2.1 million taels more. The tax period For one year, if Kun suffers from illness, Guangdong's salary will stop. Salt courses and silver, and students' free silver can also be slightly increased, so that it can be used."
Chongzhen sighed softly and said: "In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, new pay was allocated. If we continue to increase the payment year after year, the people will not be able to take a breather. This is a strategy to drain the lake."
Wen Tiren was silent for a moment and said: "Your Majesty is considerate of the public opinion, but the army's response is as urgent as the wind and fire. There is no time to delay. Supervisors such as Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou have moved thousands of miles to fight. Food and pay are urgently needed. Now that we are overthrowing the front and raising the flag, it is critical and we still need the soldiers to advance. We must never fail in our efforts. Only when the world is at peace can we take another turn to exempt ourselves from food and taxes and rest with the people."
Having said this, Wen Tiren paused for a moment, then continued: "The trouble is a trivial matter. Nowadays, thieves are wreaking havoc and bringing disaster to many provinces. It is a problem that affects the elbows and armpits. Your Majesty should take this as the main priority."
Chongzhen said: "How should Xiong Wencan be dealt with?"
Wen Tiren said: "He can be allowed to be demoted and temporarily assigned to his post after he has been convicted. Although Xiong Wencan has lost his army and lost territory, there is currently no one who knows the affairs of the army and knows the relationship between the army. He changes his commander before the battle. He is afraid that the morale of the army will be shaken and he will not know the details, so he will lose his job." In the current situation that has finally been formed, Xiong has repeatedly defeated the army, but he has been defeated and fought repeatedly. He is willing to take the risk and take the lead. Now he is trying to cheer up and contact the loyal and brave people of Guangdong. He will start an uprising in the near future. , he wrote this memorial to request that he be given the right to act expediently as a reward for his loyalty. After deliberation, I feel that I can grant his request."
When Chongzhen heard this, he nodded slightly and breathed out softly: "Yun, who can be the superintendent of Zheng Kun?"
Wen Tiren said: "Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng and others are all commander-in-chief. However, Xumi cannot be separated from the army to suppress the bandits. We also ask the Holy Heart to rule."
Chongzhen said: "You and I, the monarch and my ministers, will discuss this later."
(End of chapter)
