"What's wrong?"
Wu Zongda said angrily: "It is the duty and power of civil servants like us to correct the mistakes of the emperor. What qualifications does that sycophant have?"
Lu Xiangsheng sighed and said: "Haiguo generally believes that heavy rains, snowstorms, hailstorms, and droughts are all caused by the water cycle. If he puts forward a new theory, he should be allowed to prove it, or the imperial court should organize people to prove that what he said is right. It's still wrong. If he is really wrong, it won't be too late to hold him accountable. It's not appropriate to block someone's mouth and then just seal the coffin and convict him!"
Wu Zongda was so angry that his body began to shake: "You put it lightly! Do you know that his fallacy is to subvert the way of heaven and has extremely sinister intentions? If his conspiracy succeeds, our descendants of Yan and Huang will lose their thousands of years of faith. They will all be overthrown, and the entire Ming Dynasty will be destroyed!"
Lu Xiangsheng hesitated to speak. Seeing that Wu Zongda was furious, he still chose to remain silent.
Wu Zongda is almost going crazy right now. If he adds fuel to the fire, he can't afford it if his blood vessels burst.
Wu Zongda also knew that getting angry would not help. He took a few deep breaths, barely suppressed the boiling anger in his chest, sat down, picked up the tea cup, drank it all in one gulp, and said stiffly: "Lu Jiandou, if you still think that you are a scholar , please make a statement, lead troops to Beijing immediately, call on all armies to fight against the thieves, serve the country and the people, and kill that treasonous and unethical person!"
Lu Xiangsheng shook his head and said: "I'm afraid this can't be done. This year, there have been blizzards in the grasslands for more than 40 days in a row, killing countless cattle and sheep. The Mongolian tribes have gone crazy and are migrating southward. Now the borders are tight. If Lu leads his troops north to the capital, When Ning Haijun saw that Cheng Shijie was in danger, he had to go north to the capital to rescue him. From now on, the Liaodong border defenses are empty. If the Tatar slaves take advantage of this opportunity and sneak in, life will be ruined, and even the capital will be in danger of being besieged again! "
"The Tatars who built slaves are just some people who are greedy for petty gains and have no ambitions. They invade the border just to rob some people and food. They can't make much trouble, so don't worry about them for the time being! But the sycophant is a serious problem of the Ming Dynasty. , If it is not eliminated in one day, the poison will be endless!”
Wu Zongda shouted violently: "Lu Jiandou, you are favored by the emperor and hold a heavy army. You are really the hope of the people in the world. Now you should stand up for the country and the people! Lead troops to the capital immediately, punish the traitors and sycophants, and clear the emperor's side. Don't hesitate!"
By the end, Wu Zongda spoke almost in a commanding tone.
Lu Xiangsheng listened quietly, with a calm expression. Only the corners of his mouth twitched, revealing an extremely bitter smile. The fists hidden in his sleeves had already been clenched to reveal the veins.
From Lu Xiangsheng's point of view, he no longer had any hope for Wu Zongda and the princes of the dynasty. Now the disaster situation was like a fire and the military situation was like a fire. He, the governor of the five provinces of South Zhili, was already anxious and angry, and he wanted to get rid of Li Zicheng immediately. Lead the Tianxiong army north to put out the fire.
But Wu Zongda, on the other hand, had not thought about how to provide disaster relief or how to save the common people whose families had been destroyed by the snowstorm. He also had not thought about the hundreds of thousands of Mongolian troops that seemed to be crashing on the shore. If he was not careful, the entire north would be filled with smoke. The bones are exposed in the wild, the bare ground is thousands of miles away, and ten rooms are empty.
Lu Xiangsheng was filled with bitterness. How long ago did these scholars become so selfish and ugly? In order to keep the little power in his hands, he really did not care about anything. Are these also taught by the sages!
Although Cheng Shijie can be called a treasonous person, everything he did was for the common people of the world. He led the people to reclaim wasteland, build factories, and make his own swords, guns and weapons. If Cheng Shijie hadn't been guarding Liaodong, he would have suppressed the slaves. Panting, Lu Xiangsheng didn't believe that the Manchu princes could still sit in the capital.
If Wu Zongda really followed Wu Zongda's wishes and led the Tianxiong Army secretly to the north, he would not need too many people, even three to five thousand people, to rush into the capital and kill Cheng Shijie in his mansion.
It is estimated that Emperor Chongzhen will grit his teeth and take the blame for Yuan Chonghuan just like when Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong. After all, Cheng Shijie was already a dead man at that time.
But the problem is, Cheng Shijie is not Mao Wenlong. After Mao Wenlong was killed, the Dongjiang Army was in chaos. That was because Mao Wenlong had no son, but Cheng Shijie did. Cheng Shijie’s son was already thirteen years old. It was said that a while ago, Cheng Shijie brought He followed his son Cheng Jialong to Jiuzhou and killed everyone.
Obviously, Cheng Shijie is now paving the way for Cheng Jialong. Cheng Jialong may be too young to convince the public, but the problem is that a large number of Ning Haijun's generals are from the Dongjiang Army. After Mao Wenlong was killed, the Dongjiang Army has already They were dissatisfied with the imperial court, and it was Cheng Shijie who brought them together.
Once something unexpected happens to Cheng Shijie, Ning Haijun will immediately rebel. Lu Xiangsheng is not willing to face off against hundreds of thousands of Ning Haijun. Of course, what Lu Xiangsheng doesn't know is that Ning Haijun is actually a naval infantry cavalry, adding up to thirty There are over 100,000 troops stationed in Luzon, more than 30,000 troops stationed in Daguan, and nearly 20,000 troops stationed in Manchuria.
If Ning Haijun rebels, the consequences are absolutely unimaginable. If something happens to Cheng Shijie, Ning Haijun's strategic plan has been formulated. They will first send troops to attack Jiannu, send troops to Guangning, Liaoyang, and Shuangcheng, and surround Shenyang on three sides. , eliminate the Jiannu, and dominate the entire Liaodong.
Subsequently, after the Ning Navy eliminated the Jiannu, they attacked the Guan Ning Army westward, advancing both by land and water, sweeping across the capital. At the same time, Da Yuan and Lu Song also sent troops to attack inland from the coasts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fuguang. The General Staff of the Ning Navy The Ministry's plan is that after half a year, the Ming court will simply not be able to bear it.
Lu Xiangsheng remembered what his general Li Chongzhen said to him: "Don't have any hope for those in the cabinet! The cabinet has long become a field of Shura fighting for power, and those people have long forgotten their ideals and should The responsibilities they bear, what they think, do, and say every day are all for the purpose of fighting for power. For them, power is everything, and power is their life. Whether they like it or not, they will be involved. In that dirty whirlpool, until it is completely swallowed up."
"The country has long been gone in their eyes. Although they keep talking about the people, they have never thought of doing anything for the people. On the contrary, they have tried every means to squeeze the blood from the people's skinny bodies to support them. Those fat-headed bastards behind you! With national power in the hands of such a group of bastards, what hope does this country have?"
Li Chongzhen's words were a bit treacherous and made Lu Xiangsheng very angry several times. If Li Chongzhen hadn't been loyal to him and brave and resourceful, he would have been one of the three giants of the Tianxiong Army, and Lei Shisheng had become his right-hand man.
In the past, he had always thought that Li Chongzhen was too extreme and was just complaining after suffering the consequences of civil servants. Only now did he suddenly realize that what Li Chongzhen said was right. Those in the cabinet were really a group of people who would rather let the entire country The bastard who refuses to let go even after death.
Wu Zongda is now so irritable, talking about "the world" and "the common people", and has awe-inspiring righteousness. It seems that he is willing to sacrifice his life for the country and the people. In fact... it is because Cheng Shijie's water cycle theory has played tricks on all the scholar-bureaucrats. The rules of heaven and earth that have existed for more than a thousand years have had a fatal impact, making him completely panic and crazy, right?
He was so forceful in forcing himself to lead his troops northward, completely ignoring the clouds of war at the border and the imminent war, and completely ignoring the hard-won results. If he retreated, Li Zicheng would be resurrected.
They desperately want to get rid of Cheng Shijie, and millions of people are completely forgotten... That's right, even if the Jiannu and Tatars enter the customs, the unlucky ones will only be the common people. They are the literati and bureaucrats hiding in Beijing. nothing. Even if the Jiannu invaded Beijing and destroyed the Ming Dynasty, the most they would do is change their masters. What are they afraid of?
After thinking about this, Lu Xiangsheng said in a low voice but extremely resolutely: "Master Wu, the military situation is critical. The Tianxiong Army is seriously insufficient in strength. Regarding the matter of leading troops into Beijing...I forgive Jiandou...you cannot obey your order!"
Wu Zongda stared intently, with monstrous anger igniting in his eyes, wanting to turn the whole world into ashes: "Lu Jiandou, you have to think clearly about the consequences. Once these words are spoken, everything is irreversible."
"Lu Mou has thought clearly. From now on, Lu Mou and the Tianxiong Army will become your mortal enemies that you must eradicate at all costs."
"Since you know it, why are you still colluding with Cheng Shijie? What benefits has Cheng Shijie given you?"
"Nothing at all!"
Lu Xiangsheng said calmly: "I just do what I should do. We have different ways and don't conspire with each other! Sir Wu, please do it!"
Wu Zongda got on the bus angrily and went back to Beijing without making any stop.
Lu Xiangsheng went out to see him off, but they ignored him.
He looked worried as he watched the smoke and dust raised by Wu Zongda's luxurious four-wheel carriage gradually disappear at the end of the road.
At this time, Li Chongzhen came to him, also worried, and let out a long sigh: "Oh, I'm afraid Ming Dynasty will be troubled from now on! Sir, do you want to..."
Lu Xiangsheng stared at Li Chongzhen: "What are you going to do?"
"Sir, if Master Wu returns to the capital, I'm afraid he will deal with you immediately!"
"If you have any dirty tricks, I will follow them!"
"Sir, you... you are afraid that you cannot defeat them!"
Li Chongzhen smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, although you are full of wisdom, you really can't deal with such despicable people..."
"You are too worried. I see that Duke Hai never fights an uncertain battle. Now that he has decided to fight this battle, do you think he will have no backup plan?"
Lu Xiangsheng smiled disapprovingly and said: "You'd better worry about it for the princes in power!"
Li Chongzhen said in surprise: "No matter how powerful Cheng Shuai is in fighting, he can't defeat those sycophants, right? Didn't Prince Yue die tragically in Fengbo Pavilion back then?"
"Do not worry!"
Lu Xiangsheng picked up the pen and started writing.
Li Chongzhen asked: "Sir, what are you doing?"
"Write a letter to Commander Cheng. I have refused to be courted by the princes of the day. I can refuse, but other generals may not have the courage. I want to give Commander Cheng a warning to prevent him from being plotted by villains. !”
Lu Xiangsheng smiled while writing the letter: "Is it not too much for the governor to use this news to exchange hundreds of war horses with Cheng Shuai?"
"This is a life-saving gift. Hundreds of war horses. Do you look down on Cheng Shuai? Cheng Shuai is a rich man. Or, do you want six thousand horses?"
…
After Wu Zongda left Runan, the more he thought about it, the more something was wrong. As a cabinet minister, he did not recruit any soldiers. After much thought, he decided to find a helper, Zuo Liangyu, who was formerly a disciple of Hou Xun.
The conditions Wu Zongda brought to Zuo Liangyu were not unfavorable: he allowed the Changping Army to expand its strength from 9,000 to 30,000, and within five years, he would transfer Zuo Liangyu to serve in the Ministry of War and train him to become the future Minister of the Ministry of War; , all officers of the Changping Army were promoted to one level, their pay was doubled, and they had the power to raise their own food in Changping Prefecture... Other conditions were good.
Zuo Liangyu was so shocked by the self-raised food fund that his eyes widened: "Sir, do you know what you are doing?"
Since ancient times, the power to raise and distribute military pay has been controlled by the central government. After the Song Dynasty, it was controlled by the civil servant group, which became their weapon to limit the power of the military. You can't even get military pay without our nod, so why bother with me? It's so easy to crush you to death!
No matter how difficult it is for the court, even if it is in arrears, even if it is selling iron, it must firmly hold this power in its own hands and never let go until the last moment, because once it is let go, the change of dynasty will not be far away.
There are two armies in the entire Ming Dynasty that can raise their own food and wages. One is the Ning Navy, which can raise its own food army in Liaodong, followed by the Tianxiong Army, which can raise food and wages in Daming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, and Guangping Prefecture. Even though the territory of Liaodong is much larger than the three famous mansions, in fact, the imperial court actually paid more attention to the Tianxiong Army.
However, in the second year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng of the Tianxiong Army raised his own military pay and recruited more than 10,000 young men to go north to Qinwang. He also fought a battle with the Jiannu in Daxing County, annihilating more than 600 Mongolian and Jiannu, and losing more than 2,000 people. horse.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen actually trusted Lu Xiangsheng more. When Lu Xiangsheng was awarded the title of Champion, Chongzhen's attitude could be seen. At the same time, Daming Prefecture and other three prefectures had a total population of more than 3 million, which was much better than Cheng Shijie's Liaodong.
But the problem is that Zuo Liangyu only owns Changping Prefecture, which governs the three counties of Huairou, Miyun and Shunyi, but it is under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. This is a useless thing. If he wants to rely on the land of one state to support 30,000 soldiers and horses, it is simply It's just a joke. If Zuo Liangyu were to raise taxes for a hundred years, he wouldn't be able to raise 30,000 horses.
What's more, is Cheng Shijie so easy to deal with?
If Cheng Shijie is so easy to deal with, will it be his turn again?
It’s clear that this money is meant to be earned but not spent.
No matter what, Cheng Shijie is still the crown prince's eunuch, the prince's consort, and the brother-in-law of Emperor Chongzhen. If Cheng Shijie is touched, no matter who endorses him, his life will not be saved at all, and the nine tribes will have to pay for it.
Zuo Liangyu pushed Wu Zongda back with one sentence: "The general will only obey the orders of the Ministry of War. Without the orders of the Ministry of War, nothing will happen!"
Naturally, it was impossible for Wu Zongda to give an order to the Ministry of War. This matter could only be done secretly. If he got an order from the Ministry of War, wouldn't he have to tell Emperor Chongzhen directly that this matter was done after discussion among the few of us.
No matter what the name of Qing Junzi is, these people will definitely be settled by Qiu Hou, and Wu Zongda does not want to lose his nine tribes because of this.
Zuo Liangyu's attitude made Wu Zongda very angry, but the problem was that he was even more angry later. Zuo Liangyu directly said: "The general is busy with affairs, Master Wu, please come back!"
The big bosses in the DPRK obviously did not expect this situation. In fact, they roped in military generals and threw a bone at random. Some military generals were willing to be dogs, but it did not mean that the military generals were stupid. They could sacrifice their lives, but they were not willing to sacrifice their lives.
In fact, Cheng Shijie's position in the hearts of military generals is not like that of civil servants. Whether they are generals who have been serving as generals for generations, or generals who have relied on military merit to kill, they all know that Cheng Shijie is a flag of the Ming Dynasty. With Cheng Shijie around, their lives will be different. It can be easier, because Cheng Shijie is the target of the civil servant group. With Cheng Shijie, they can live behind closed doors.
Once there is no Cheng Shijie, they will have to go back to the past and let the civil servants call around. When Wu Zongda returns to the capital, their cabinet bosses meet, and they sadly realize that they have completely destroyed the country's military force. So when it came time to use it, there wasn't even an army worthy of use.
Just as the civil servant group was running around in order to kill Cheng Shijie without stopping for a moment, Cheng Shijie was also not idle. In the past few days, as Cheng Shijie's orders were issued to Liaodong, support from the Liaodong Ning Navy also arrived in the capital.
In fact, even if Wu Zongda succeeded, by the time he arrived in the capital with the Tianxiong Army or the Changping Army, Cheng Shijie was no longer alone. The first to arrive in the capital was the artillery unit of Ning Haijun. Yuan Shiliang led the Artillery Division of Ning Haijun. A total of more than 300 cannons arrived in the capital.
Along with the artillery troops, there were also 4,000 cavalrymen from the Cavalry Division, plus more than 4,000 reconnaissance cavalry, and more than 3,000 guards from the Division. Cheng Shijie could move up to 12,000 troops and horses.
After Cheng Shijie's troops arrived, they left the Cheng Mansion in the capital and followed Meng En to live in the military camp with Ning Haijun. This Ning Haijun, with more than 10,000 infantrymen, began to act as fire fighters, rushing to wherever the military situation was urgent. .
"Commander, are we too passive?"
Meng En smiled bitterly and said: "Generals can still hold on for a short time, but over time, I'm afraid..."
“It is indeed treating the symptoms rather than the root cause!”
Cheng Shijie sighed and said: "But we still need to hold on for a few more days. When our reinforcements arrive, it will be easier!"
Cheng Shijie has no choice now. All the vast expanse of waves in the Bohai Sea are covered by sea ice. It is as ice-like as iron plates, and not even a single board can be put into the sea. God's failure meant that the powerful Ning Haijun could only act as a bystander in this war. Although it had strong combat power, it could not help at all.
While they were talking, a group of cavalry ran over and said: "Commander, there is a large group of refugees in the direction of Jingan Fort!"
"Let's go over and have a look!"
Cheng Shijie naturally knew that refugees meant that the Great Wall pass had been breached by the Mongols.
Jingan Fort is one of the 138 forts on the Great Wall within the jurisdiction of Xuanfu. It is said that this is a castle with two inner and outer gates and an urn city. Even the best-equipped slaves want to conquer it. It’s not easy either.
If there are refugees here, the situation is quite bad.
Cheng Shijie didn't go far when he saw a large number of refugees.
These refugees had no idea how much hardship they had endured. Many of their shoes were worn out and their feet were red from the cold. Some girls had frostbite on their originally white hands and were crying in pain. He also saw a woman with disheveled hair. He looked a little crazy. When he saw a seven or eight-year-old girl, he pulled her over to look at her. While looking at her, he shouted: "My daughter, where is my daughter? Where are you?"
Apparently her daughter had been lost on the road and she was going crazy from the shock. No one blamed her, Da Kong walked past her silently, not having the heart to tell her that the child who was less than two years old on her back was dead.
There was also an old couple lying on the ground, beating the ground and crying bitterly. Their only son had died of illness on the road, leaving them helpless.
Cheng Shijie grabbed an old man wearing Confucian clothes and said, "Old man, where do you come from?"
The old man said tremblingly: "He came from Jing'an!"
"Did Jingan Fort fall?"
Cheng Shijie asked hurriedly: "How did it fall?"
"If the soldiers run away, they will be trapped!" (End of this chapter)
