Chapter 317
As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while insiders watch the door.
Fan Wencheng is also a man who knows the military. He noticed that although many of the young people who were clearing away the snow on the road did not have uniform military uniforms, when they were doing things, they advanced and retreated in a well-organized manner, with a certain degree of relaxation. .
He also noticed that after the snow and ice, Ning Haijun also repaired the road when clearing it. There were obvious traces of repairs on the road. A lot of small stones were used on the road shoulder, which was very strong. It seemed that Ning Haijun The troops have spent a lot of effort on this road.
You must know that they have just entered Liaoyang and are still seven or eight hundred miles away from Jinzhou. Why does Ning Haijun spend so much effort on the roads in Liaoyang? Fan Wencheng didn't believe it if Ning Haijun was not prepared for military operations.
In fact, Fan Wencheng really guessed this right. The director of the Liaodong Management Committee is now Sun Zhiwan. Although he is a civil servant, but with Sun Chengzong, his grandfather, sitting in Liaodong and giving him face-to-face advice, even Sun Zhiman can't think of building it. A slave would take risks, but Sun Chengzong had been fighting with Jiannu for most of his life, and Sun Chengzong knew Jiannu too well.
In the face of such a catastrophe, Sun Chengzong told Sun Zhiman to be on guard against Jiannu going south. After receiving the order from Cheng Shijie, the Ning Navy General Staff put all Ning Navy officers stationed in Liaodong on first-level combat readiness, and even ordered Preparing for the ice-covered coast, Ning's navy could not land at any time to support the army. Chen Wanshun, director of the Jinzhou Shipyard, transformed an icebreaker based on the five-tooth battleship of the Sui Dynasty.
Feeling incredible, right? The five-tooth battleship of the Sui Dynasty was equipped with six shooting poles on the left and right, fifty feet high. A huge stone is attached to the top of each wooden mast, with a windlass underneath. During battle and when an enemy ship is approaching, the windlass can be used to quickly lower the huge stone and destroy the enemy ship. If you miss a hit, you can quickly put it away and put it back again. If enemy ships are surrounded on all sides, they can also use a "six-pronged attack", which shows how strong their combat effectiveness is.
Of course, this so-called racket pole looks like a scale in appearance, and the boulders are the weights. It uses the principle of leverage to drop boulders weighing thousands of kilograms. A small warship simply cannot withstand the impact. Chen Wanshun also adopted this principle, but added a pulley set and a gear set. If the sea surface was frozen, he would use this racket pole to smash the ice.
Escorted by a group of Ning Haijun soldiers, Fan Wencheng rode a carriage and headed towards Jinzhou along the path cleared by Ning Haijun soldiers. On the road, you can see a large number of four-wheeled carriages at any time, loaded with loads of goods. Supplies are heading towards Liaoyang and Liaozhong.
Although you can't see what supplies are loaded on the carriage, you can tell without thinking with your head or with your knees that it must be military supplies for the front line.
What made Fan Wencheng feel most incredible was that all the inns and forts he passed were under strict military control. Even if the Kingdom of Jin launched a surprise attack, they would not be able to trick them into opening the city gates.
The most unbearable thing for Fan Wencheng was that he and his convoy were watched by many people along the way. The officers and soldiers of the Ning Navy or the people of Liaodong who were watching them looked at their convoy with unkind eyes and seemed to be considering where to strike. Fan Wencheng was puzzled.
Why did the submissive people of the Ming Dynasty actually experience such big changes when they arrived in Liaodong?
What a magical land.
Admiral Ning, who was responsible for escorting Fan Wencheng and his party, was a team from the Liaoyang Defense Department. Ma Hong, the leader of the team, looked unhappy: "Damn it, I never thought in my life that one day I would be able to protect these stupid buildings. slave!"
"The two countries are at war without killing each other. Besides, Lao Ma, we are soldiers!"
Instructor Hope earnestly advised: "Now that the heavy snow is causing disaster, we in Liaodong are okay. At least the house has not been crushed by the snow, and there is no shortage of food, let alone firewood for heating. But what is the Central Plains like? I think you should not be too Stranger, we have a feud with Jiannu, so even if we can’t solve the problem, we can still explore the possibility of solving it.”
Ma Hong looked at Hope and said, "I want to take a knife and chop these bastards right now!"
"It's easy to kill them. If you ruin the plans of the staff and the commander, do you have the brains to kill them?"
Hope said with a fierce look on his face: "Actually, I want to kill these bastards more than you do!"
"伱......"
"I'm from Liaodong, and I'm from the same place as Marshal Cheng!"
"Phoenix Mountain Guards Thousand Households?"
"Yes, there are more than ten thousand of us in Fenghuang Mountain. Five to six hundred of us escaped and were chased by Jiannu along the way. By the time I ran to Lushun, we were the only ones left..."
At this point, Hope's eyes were frighteningly red: "I'm the only one left. I vowed to kill Jiannu for revenge, but it's a pity that I only killed two, which is far from enough!"
Looking at the murderous eyes, Fan Wencheng felt like a thorn in his back. Just as Fan Wencheng was driving towards Jinzhou, Sun Zhidao, director of the Liaodong Management Committee, also received the news that Fan Wencheng was carrying the Dajin Credentials as envoy to Liaodong. .
Sun Zhiman couldn't figure out the purpose of establishing slaves. As the saying goes, people become better with age, but Sun Chengzong explained the purpose of establishing slaves in one sentence: "They are here to ask for help."
Sun Zhili said with disdain: "What are they daydreaming about? Although we in Liaodong now have food and money, how can we support the slaves? Even if the food is used to feed pigs, it is absolutely impossible to give it to them!"
Sun Chengzong smiled lightly: "Yongyan, you are also a big official now, and the situation is about to open up!"
"No matter how well-organized it is, it's impossible to accept slave-building blackmail, right?"
"Maybe you really have to accept their blackmail!"
"How can this be?"
Sun Zhidan shook his head and said: "If I compromise with Jiannu, the director of the management committee will definitely end up in trouble!"
Sun Chengzong smiled lightly and said: "You rejected Jian Nu in one breath. I'm afraid this director of the management committee has gone too far!"
"What confidence does Huang Taiji have?"
"Do you think Huang Taiji has no cards?"
"What cards does he have left to play?"
"He has so many cards!"
Sun Chengzong smiled bitterly and said: "Over the years, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty have been captured by slaves. What if Huang Taiji exchanges these people for food? Would you like to exchange or not?"
"Don't change!"
"If they don't change, Jiannu will kill these captive soldiers and civilians as soon as possible, and then kill the traitors under the Han banner. Finally, it's the Mongols' turn. This heavy snow has caused heavy losses to Jiannu, but the problem is, it will not let them The country will be destroyed!"
Sun Zhili had some difficulty making a decision: "Do you really want to accept their threats?"
"if not?"
Sun Chengzong smiled and said: "Suffering a temporary loss is not necessarily a disaster, and taking a temporary advantage is not necessarily a blessing. Taking a temporary loss not only wins people's hearts and reduces conflicts, why not do it?"
Sun Zhiyi picked up a newspaper. He was actually just reading the newspaper to cover up his inner panic. However, at this moment, his eyes fell on the newspaper. The front page of the newspaper read: "Natural Disasters and Man-made Disasters" !”
This is an article signed by Cheng Shijie. To be fair, Cheng Shijie's writing skills in later generations are still good. At least most of the speeches used by leaders in meetings were written by Cheng Shijie. But the problem is, if Cheng Shijie's vernacular writing style was used in the Ming Dynasty, It doesn't look like much anymore.
Cheng Shijie uses a straightforward narrative and vernacular to explain to readers the causes and processes of terrible natural disasters such as heavy rains, snowstorms, hail, typhoons, and droughts. After reading his article, Sun Zhiman broke into cold sweat.
After several years of operation, the influence of "Liaodong Times" has spread throughout the north. The high-ranking officials naturally disdain this kind of newspaper that writes articles in vernacular, but the children of poor families and ordinary people like it very much. They think that the articles in the newspaper are not only Easy to understand and full of very valuable information and knowledge to take away.
Therefore, the circulation of "Liaodong Daily" has now increased to 500,000, including about 350,000 in Liaodong, 100,000 in Northern Zhili and Gyeonggi, and 50,000 in Dayuan, Luzon and Nanyang. Of course, demand still exceeds supply.
But the capital is the capital after all, and no matter how the supply exceeds demand, the capital will not be cut off. At this moment, there are people everywhere in the streets holding newspapers, reading eagerly, and even reading to everyone.
Needless to say, Cheng Shijie's article stirred up a thousand waves and shocked everyone into a daze. In the next few days, figuring out the pot lids at home became a favorite thing for many people. Every time after cooking, when the pot lids were cold, someone would lift them to see if there were really water droplets falling like rain. Those who had the conditions even bought ice cubes and put them on the pot lid, then opened it to see if the water droplets inside turned into frost flowers or ice beads. The ancient saying "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen" made them throw it into the clouds. Outside.
Countless experiments have proven that what Cheng Shijie said is correct. Water, ice, frost, etc. are indeed formed by condensation of water vapor. This simple fact made everyone's heads buzz, and they could hardly tell the difference. The east, west, north and south were cleared.
In the cabinet. Wen Tiren, Wang Yingxiong, Wu Zongda and other ministers each held a newspaper with gloomy expressions and remained silent.
What made them look so ugly was naturally Cheng Shijie's article. This article was like a powerful hand, slapping their faces from left to right, and a loud slapping sound could be heard through the newspaper.
In fact, being slapped in the face is nothing. Who can get into this position? Who is not an extraordinary character who is as thick-skinned as a bulletproof vest and can do what he says? The problem is, Cheng Shijie is not only slapping them in the face, but also tearing them down!
This article smashes into the dust the theory of "God's right of kings" that has been circulating for thousands of years, and tells everyone clearly: that majestic God is just a lie made up by a group of people with ulterior motives, and there is no truth at all. exist!
The so-called emperor's misconduct and disasters from heaven are even more fucking nonsense. People treat you as fools! This is simply stripping the skin of the scholar-bureaucrat group, and no matter how patient they are, they can't help but become furious!
Wang Yingxiong slammed the newspaper on the table and said sternly: "That sycophant is really rebellious and lawless. He doesn't know that the sky is too high, but he dares to talk nonsense, and he is not afraid of being struck by lightning!?"
Wu Zongda sneered: "He is pouring dirty water on us, trying to get away with it! He is afraid that the people of the world will know that it is because His Majesty favors him, a sycophant, that such a serious natural disaster has been caused, and he is afraid that the people will eat his flesh raw after knowing the truth , so to sensationalize and attack the way of heaven... to put it bluntly, it is a death struggle!"
It may be an exaggeration to say that Cheng Shijie is dying, but Cheng Shijie's situation is really not good now. The concept of "God's power is unpredictable" is deeply ingrained in China. Even the aloof emperor had to succumb to the majesty of God, let alone his ministers!
In ancient times, every time there was a natural disaster, the emperors had to prepare a large number of sacrifices, fast and bathe, and hold a grand sacrificial ceremony to pray devoutly to God for mercy. Not to mention the ministers, in the Han Dynasty, every time there was a natural disaster or special event, According to celestial phenomena, the three ministers will take turns to take the blame and resign. Now that a large-scale hail disaster has occurred across the country, literati across the country are targeting Cheng Shijie. The pressure can really drive people crazy!
Wen Tiren let out a breath and said in a gloomy tone: "This sycophant really doesn't care about anything in order to keep his family's wealth! I will never let him go if he says such treacherous words to him! I mobilize all the officials, Mobilize all the students from Taiyuan College to submit a letter together, and be sure to take him down and cut him to pieces with a thousand swords! If this man does not die, there will be endless troubles!"
Wu Zongda hesitated and said: "It's easy to talk about those officials, but there are quite a few students from Taiyuan College who were deceived by his monstrous words. I'm afraid it won't be easy to mobilize them..."
Wen Tiren shouted: "Stupid! Don't they understand that this sycophant is digging up the roots of the scholar-bureaucrats like us! If he doesn't die, we, the scholar-bureaucrats, will one day be driven into a state of eternal destruction by him, let alone retain the respect we have today. I’m afraid I won’t even be able to save my life!”
Wen Tiren has always been known for his gentleness and elegance. Even his political opponents are impressed by his demeanor. But now he has thrown all these things out of the sky. His face is twisted and his eyes are spitting fire. It is so terrifying that it scares Wu Zongda into fighting. During the war, all the ministers in the cabinet were also silent!
Wen Tiren waved his hand vigorously and said loudly: "Tell those students that if they want to get ahead, they can go to the sycophant. Even if they make up random charges, they are innocent and have merit. Otherwise, they can't talk about getting ahead, even if they return to their hometown and become a farmer's boy." Not available!"
The ministers pursed their lips, and their eyes flashed fiercely, like a group of wild beasts surrounded by hunters. The image of the gentlemen in the past was completely ruined.
The Confucian theory that has been passed down for two thousand years has been strongly questioned. Their trick of deceiving the common people is likely to be exposed. How can they endure this!
Wang Yingxiong said fiercely: "Not only do we want to mobilize the students of Taiyuan College, but also the scholars of the world. This sycophant's article is equivalent to putting himself on the opposite side of the scholars of the world. How can we let go of such a good opportunity! Thousands of people have pointed out that, If he ends up in vain, I want to see what he can do to deal with the anger of students all over the world!"
Wu Zongda said: "You must be quick! That sycophant often makes unexpected moves. If you delay for a long time, something may happen again, which will make him stand up! It is best to organize an army and attack him with lightning speed." He takes it, once and for all!”
It's okay not to mention this. When I mention it, everyone smiles bitterly. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, how many people dare to confront Cheng Shijie? Even the extremely fierce Jian Nu was made to be beaten by hanging, so these useless generals of the Ming Dynasty... better save it!
Wen Tiren smiled bitterly: "Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, the only one who can rival that sycophant is Lu Jiandou!"
Wu Zongzong's eyes flashed fiercely: "I'm going to find Lu Jiandou and tell him how powerful he is! Although he is a feudal official, he is also a scholar. It's impossible not to understand how powerful he is!"
Wen Tiren said: "This is the only way!"
…
While the cabinet was discussing how to deal with Cheng Shijie, Cheng Shijie was in the imperial study. He looked at the battle reports sent from Datong, Xuanfu, Jizhen, and Yulin, and said angrily: "Those guys have simply read the book into the dog's belly." ! Now the entire north is in mourning, and the Great Wall's thousands-mile defense line is full of smoke. They don't think about how to provide disaster relief, and secondly don't think about how to support the Great Wall's defense line. Instead, they focus on forcing Your Majesty to issue an edict to punish themselves. This is simply looking down upon human life! This is looking down upon human life! Your Majesty, even if It will not help to issue an edict to blame oneself ten times. The snow disaster will not stop because of this. On the contrary, the people will become desperate because they cannot get relief. Once the Great Wall defense line is breached, the entire north will be on fire. It is difficult to stabilize the situation. The situation is going to be in chaos again!"
Emperor Chongzhen still met a close friend. Zhang Xianzhong unexpectedly captured Fengyang, the central capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the Longxing site of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He excavated the Ming imperial tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestors and burned it. The raging fire and smoke continued for several days. as long as.
Emperor Chongzhen took a step that was very embarrassing for his self-esteem, that is, he issued the "Edict of Sin" to the whole world for the first time, and admitted to the people of the world for the first time the policy mistakes of the imperial court and the dangerous situation of the world.
The edict said: "I use Liang De to inherit the great unification, and intend to renew the world and restore the old traditions of my ancestors. Unexpectedly, I relied on non-human beings, which led to the rise of bandits. The husband who built the state originally belonged to our barbarians, and Liu Fen was originally I am an innocent son. If I am able to control the emperor properly, how dare I go against my appearance? In the prosperous world, there are many civilized and military people, but they have no choice but to boast and deceive people, but the actual achievements are rare. The captives only come in three times, and the bandits last for seven years. Master and disciple are exposed. , Li Shu’s relationship..."
Now under the influence of Cheng Shijie, this otherworldly butterfly, originally in the tenth year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in the north. The Central Plains, thousands of miles away, were starved to death, and the people were in dire straits. However, local officials were still forcing people to pay for food, exploiting the people, and people were boiling with resentment in many places. Faced with such a crisis, Emperor Chongzhen was very clear-headed, but he had no choice but to do so. The mountain was high and the emperor was far away, and the central court was beyond its reach to deal with the corruption of grassroots officials.
Later, Chongzhen issued another edict.
But the problem is, Cheng Shijie firmly believes that the so-called natural disaster warnings are actually nonsense. They are just natural weather phenomena and also man-made disasters. It is caused by the inaction of officials.
Now Cheng Shijie sent the investigation report of Liaodong to Emperor Chongzhen. The disaster in Liaodong was actually more serious than that in Gyeonggi Province. It snowed continuously for half a month, and the snow was about eight feet thick. However, the snow accumulation in Gyeonggi Province is only more than three feet, which is only one-third of the heavy snowfall in Liaodong.
"Cheng Qing, do you have any idea?"
"My lord, there is no perfect way, I can only give it a try!"
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Cheng Shijie and said: "You have to think clearly. You are fighting against ethics and Taoism that have been passed down for thousands of years. After taking this step, there is no turning back. If you fail, it will not only be you, but also My reputation will be ruined, and I will even... die without a burial place. This is by no means alarmist. If you look back now, it's still too late."
Cheng Shijie said calmly: "Turn back? If I turn back, I will be treated as a sycophant and killed to sacrifice to heaven. Then, Your Majesty will be forced to issue an edict of sin. Then, tens of thousands of people will continue to struggle in the snow disaster, displaced and hungry." All over the country... the Mongols broke through the border and invaded, and the slaves were killed until rivers of blood flowed. The country will be destroyed, and I will have no room to turn back!"
Cheng Shijie's words made both the monarch and his ministers fall silent.
Cheng Shijie never had any room to look back. It was doomed from the beginning. Even if he wanted to compromise, the scholar-bureaucrat class who had realized the fatal threat would not let him go! Those guys may seem sanctimonious and gentle, but once their vital interests are threatened, they will immediately become more ferocious than jackals!
This is an endless war. Cheng Shijie must fight them if he wants to survive and go further. His wealth, his huge army, and his unparalleled influence among merchants could not help him. The only thing that could help a little was his wisdom.
Finally, Emperor Chongzhen spoke: "I am going crazy!"
The next day, in the early morning, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict: "Cheng Jialong, the son of Cheng Shijie, canonized as General Longhu, Duke of Liao, Commander of Liaodong Capital, Quasi Prince Consort, and he will be engaged to Princess Kunxing. When Princess Kunxing turns fifteen, Marry Cheng Jialong as his wife."
This move was unanimously opposed by the civil and military ministers, because until the end of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor had never tried to personally appoint a child under the age of fourteen as a general. It was unreasonable for Cheng Shijie, a warrior, to be granted the title of Duke. His son inherited the title. His title will also be a matter of Cheng Shijie's death.
The Ming Dynasty had two kinds of dukes, but the problem was that the Duke of Wei was won by military merit. The Cheng Jialong was granted the title of Duke of Liao without even making any merit. Isn't that absurd?
But this time Chongzhen acted extremely stubborn. Without saying a word, he jerked off several of the most aggressive civil servants. Anyone who objected would be jerked off. He used this imperial edict to express his attitude to the officials.
At the same time, Cheng Shijie formally paid homage to Prime Minister Liaodong Town, Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Taiyuan Town (also known as Shanxi Town or Sanguan Town), Yansui Town (also known as Yulin Town), Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town (also known as Shaanxi Town) and Gansu Town Jiubian Military Affairs.
Prime ministers are all appointed specially for certain reasons, or they may be appointed and dismissed at any time. They have great powers and are above the governor.
Emperor Chongzhen thought that Cheng Shijie's appointment would be blocked by ministers, but the problem was that the appointment was passed without any delay.
In fact, what Emperor Chongzhen didn't know was that in the eyes of ministers, the greater the power, the greater the omissions. Especially those responsible for managing the military affairs of the Nine Borders. Ning Haijun, the ministers, could not get involved, but the military of the Nine Borders had been infiltrated into If the sieve is broken, what can Cheng Shijie do to command them?
What's more, as long as any defenders are mobilized and the Mongolian army swarms in, the people will be killed and blood will flow like rivers. Emperor Chongzhen can only kill Ma Su with tears.
So in this case, the ministers would naturally not stop Emperor Chongzhen from reusing Cheng Shijie. They just looked forward to how Cheng Shijie would end up.
Although Ning Haijun is said to have strong combat effectiveness, the problem is that Ning Haijun in Liaodong does not have wings. How can they fly to Jiubian?
With the appointment, all the pressure from Ming Dynasty was concentrated on Cheng Shijie.
It just depends on how Cheng Shijie responds.
PS: There are still twelve hours left. Please vote for me. Lao Cheng will continue to work hard and try to write another chapter in the evening.
(End of chapter)
