His sudden interest in Zheng Sen was not just a whim. In fact, the court had taken a breather recently and could free up its hands to deal with the Kun thieves.
The year before last, when the rebels captured Guangzhou and swept across Guangdong and Guangxi, the imperial court discussed the matter of marching to the south. However, the imperial court was defeated in Guangdong and Guangxi. Almost all the troops and guards originally deployed in Guangdong and Guangxi were destroyed. Even Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, only led a few remaining soldiers. The defeated general fled into Hunan and has survived to this day.
Losing an army, losing territory, and abandoning two provinces. If it had been before, Xiong Wencan would have been punished and sent to prison, and his head would probably be rotten at this moment. The reason why Chongzhen has kept him until now is that he is not willing to change his position easily because of the serious affairs of the border area. What's more important is that the imperial court has no soldiers to support Guangdong and Guangxi, and no one who can control the situation.
He thought many times about taking Xiong Wencan to Beijing and interrogating him in prison. However, Wen Tiren advised him that there are currently no less than a dozen civil and military ministers who can deal with rogue bandits, and there are only a few who can compete with Donglu. Only officials who know the situation of Kun bandits and have fought against Kun bandits are very few. Wang Zunde He has been dead for several years, and Xiong Wencan is the only one left. Therefore, he could only hold his nose and let him "repay his crime and make meritorious service."
Chongzhen didn't know anything about the Kun thieves. Over the years, the sporadic memorials, Tang newspapers and factory guards' secret reports gave some glimpses of this difficult enemy. In particular, he read "Pingkun's Notes" written by Jincheng Yulan many times. I know that I am facing a brand new opponent, different from Donglu and rogue pirates, Japanese pirates and Hongmao. All knowledge about the Kun Thief, both in the government and in the public sector, comes from this booklet. This is why he has to tolerate Xiong Wencan until now.
Last year, he revealed his intention to seek Kun to his cabinet ministers. Except for Wen Tiren, the cabinet ministers were vague and disapproving of this. It is said that the imperial court was worried about internal and external troubles at the time, and could not care about the distant war in the south.
No matter how troublesome the thief is, "challenging Kun" must be done. Otherwise, he would not be able to face the fierce debate between the government and the public. How would future generations view him as an emperor? Although Emperor Xuanzong abandoned Annan at the beginning, Annan was just a foreign territory and was not considered a lost territory. Guangdong and Guangxi, one of the thirteen envoys of the two capitals, came down from the hands of Emperor Taizu. How could they be abandoned in his hands? ! The imperial court has lost two chief envoys. If it does not raise troops to attack, wouldn't it become a joke that "the whole world is not the king's land"? Will the increasingly domineering warriors still take the imperial court in their eyes?
As an emperor, he could not discuss some difficulties with his ministers, so he could only sigh secretly.
These days, apart from the fact that the cabinet has agreed to send more "Guangdong pay" starting from the ninth year of Chongzhen, there is no final decision yet on who will be the superintendent and which troops will be mobilized. The attitude of Wen Tiren, whom he has always relied on, is also quite ambiguous. The words conveyed the hope of "caressing".
Given the current situation of the imperial court, "stroking" might not be an option. But his intuition told him that Kun Thief's appetite was probably very large, and they would not agree to any easy conditions. Even if they were promised a Qiongzhou Prefecture, as the cabinet ministers said, they might not be satisfied. What's more, the matter of ceding territory was fiercely discussed among the people. Such a thing, which was so disrespectful to the whole world, made the emperor shudder just thinking about it.
Only by letting the thieves know the power of the imperial court can they possibly surrender.
It is ridiculous to say that the Donglu occupied a bitter cold land in the northeast. The old slave was just a small personal guard under Li Chengliang's tent, with hundreds of troops and only a few dozen in armor. It had only been twenty or thirty years since my grandfather started the army in his later years, but the imperial court had been defeated one after another and completely lost its territory in Liaodong. As for this bandit, I heard that when he first arrived, he only had a few large ships and a few hundred people, and wandered to Qiongzhou, a remote place in the south, to Industry and commerce were barely surviving, but now they have trained elite soldiers and generals to take over Guangdong and Guangxi in one fell swoop. My Ming Dynasty has thousands of miles of land, billions of people, and thousands of civil and military officials, but it has no choice but to deal with the two barbarians, one in the north and one in the south, and has no choice but to think of "pacifying"...
Thinking of this, the emperor felt miserable in his heart. He still didn't understand that Da Ming was obviously very powerful, but he ended up in this situation!
Concubine Tian saw that he didn't speak after dinner, and her face was stunned. Knowing that he was worried about state affairs again, and fearing that his worries and anger would accumulate after the meal, he hurriedly diverted his attention by talking about the "miraculous doctor" and "elixir medicine" that had been rumored in the capital recently.
Although the capital is magnificent in size, due to its large population and its location in the north, it is troubled by wind and sand all year round. The urban environment cannot be complimented. In the early years, the country was strong, with competent officials and some management of environmental sanitation. However, in the last years of the dynasty, people were uncertain and social order was disordered. The original management system was in name only. In recent years, due to the influx of Donglu people into the city, infectious diseases such as diarrhea, cough, and fever are prevalent everywhere. Although infectious diseases are mainly prevalent among the lower class people who lack clean drinking water and have poor environment, But high-ranking officials are not alone. Many people are sick, and many officials have taken leave for this reason. But according to the standards of the 17th century, this was not enough to qualify as a "plague".
Concubine Tian's father was also sick, and the illness was quite serious at one time, which made Concubine Tian worried. However, palace rules did not allow concubines to visit their families, even their biological father. You can only have people prepare some medicines from the Royal Pharmacy and deliver them to your home. Not long ago, my family finally came to report that my father's illness was cured. It was said that he had taken the miracle doctor's medicine, and the diarrhea that had been unstoppable stopped in just two days.
The medicine prescribed by this miracle doctor has remarkable effects after taking it, especially for cough, fever and diarrhea. Therefore, it immediately caused a sensation in the capital. Even the emperor who was deep in the palace heard about it - after all, one of the daily tasks of Dongchang and Jinyiwei was to report market news.
Chongzhen did not take this matter to heart: there were many dignitaries in the capital. Since humans have seven emotions and six desires, there are also three disasters and six disasters. Therefore, monks, Taoists, fortune tellers, and doctors have always been the most enthusiastic to come to the "Treasure Land above". The emergence of a "god" is nothing new. As long as they don't "confuse the public with evil words", they usually don't bother to ask.
When Concubine Tian talked about this, he just regarded it as a pastime after dinner, listened casually, and didn't take it seriously. It was only when Concubine Tian said: "...the medical skills of this miracle doctor Zhou are indeed superb, especially the medicines he prepared himself, which are almost as effective in corresponding symptoms, and are no less effective than the medicine of the thief..." He suddenly got a thrill. , said sharply: "What did you say?!"
Concubine Tian originally saw the emperor's gentle face, with his eyebrows half-closed, and his face full of relaxation and enjoyment. Unexpectedly, his face suddenly turned ferocious. She couldn't help but feel frightened in her heart, and said in a panic: "I said that the medicine of the miracle doctor is extremely effective..."
"No, it's not inferior to anyone else's medicine?!"
"The thief...the thief..." Tian Guifei secretly complained in her heart, there was no reason to say what she was doing! Although she was in the harem, she knew a little about the current situation in the DPRK through the eunuchs around her and her father's family members who sent gifts every month. The emperor wrote on the screen of Qianqing Palace that one of the four major dangers in the world today was included.
"Thieves with beards, thieves with beards," Chongzhen recited the word repeatedly and asked after a while, "Where did this Zhou miracle doctor come from? Where did your father invite him?"
"It was recommended by the new Minister of War, Mr. Wang." Concubine Tian did not dare to hide it.
That is Wang Yehao. Chongzhen thought. After the death of Zhang Fengyi, Minister of the Ministry of War, he has been in charge of the ministry with the title of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War. However, the emperor felt that he was not a suitable candidate for the Minister of War, so he replaced Yang Sichang, who was at home with Ding You. At the same time, in order to allow Wang Yehao to run his errands with peace of mind, he was given the title of Minister of the Ministry of War.
However, this person has never been favored by Chongzhen. Although he was quite competent as governor of Zhejiang and Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, he was a member of the Zhejiang Party. Although he was eunuchd in the sixth year of Tianqi because of the Wang Gongchang incident However, the past events of the Zhejiang Party in the Afu Eunuch Party made the emperor feel grudge against these old members of the Zhejiang Party.
Most of the famous monks and Taoist doctors in the capital had powerful gentry and noble families behind them - they couldn't stand without this. It’s not surprising that Wang Yehao is Doctor Zhou’s backer. Tian Hongyu is Concubine Tian’s father. It is common for Wang to recommend a miracle doctor to treat illnesses in order to please the “father of the country”.
However, Chongzhen was very afraid of the harem interfering in politics. Wang Yehao's move made him wonder if this person had something up his sleeve and wanted to use Concubine Tian to give him some wind. His face suddenly became gloomy.
Concubine Tian saw that his expression suddenly darkened, and she became more and more flustered. She was about to say a few words to explain, but suddenly remembered that her father had said that if you encounter a difficult situation, it is better to stay still than to move, and simply stay silent and wait for others to speak first.
Fortunately, the emperor was in a good mood today. Looking back on it, he was able to ask the miracle doctor on his own, and it seemed that the request had nothing to do with it. So his expression quickly returned to a relaxed state, but he remembered the incident between Wang Yehao and Divine Doctor Zhou. He secretly reminded himself that he would ask Wu Mengming to investigate this matter carefully tomorrow.
"What is the name of this miracle doctor?"
"I don't know about this, I just mentioned it when my family came to the palace to deliver the letter..." Concubine Tian replied cautiously. She had more or less guessed what the emperor had just thought.
"Let's not talk about this miracle doctor," Chongzhen shook his head, "You are now saying that it is more effective than Kun Thief's medicine - does the capital have Kun Thief's medicine?"
"I only know about seven or eight kinds of Kunthi's medicines that are popular in the capital. Most of them are household safety medicines. The most famous ones are Zhuge Xingjun Powder and Biwen Powder."
Chongzhen remembered that during the Jiaxu scientific expedition (1634), Jinyiwei secretly reported that someone had purchased a large amount of pill powder and distributed it free of charge to the scholars who came to Beijing. The main medicine distributed was Biwensan, and it was said that the effect was not bad. As for the people who distribute medicines, they are just some big local people who want to do good deeds. He put it down after hearing this.
"Biwensan is not a pharmacy in Guangli..." He said casually, suddenly remembering that Kun Thief started from Guangdong? It turns out that the thief Kun's tentacles had already reached into the capital at this time!
(End of chapter)
