"Husband, is this the military situation in Liaodong?"
When Liu Zhaosun looked back, he saw Yang Qing'er, the Western Queen, wearing a tulle and holding a steaming bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup, standing behind the Taishi's chair.
Liu Zhaosun often stayed up late. She heard from Lao Songtou that lotus seed soup could reduce heat, so she often got up in the middle of the night to cook it for the emperor.
"Don't worry Qing'er, it's not Liaodong."
The emperor looked back and smiled, like a tiger taking a nap, closed his eyes and put his big hands on the armrests of the Taishi's chair, thinking silently.
It is most appropriate to describe the current Emperor Wuding as accompanying the emperor like a tiger.
Nowadays, the emperor is moody, and his temper is difficult to grasp by the officials around him.
In order to prevent corruption from happening, the emperor became more and more harsh on his ministers, especially on the eunuchs in the harem. On the way to the palace, a young eunuch accidentally broke a blue and white porcelain that Yang Qing'er brought from Linqing. When the emperor heard about this, he immediately beheaded the young eunuch. In the past few months, countless eunuchs and maids have been killed and punished for various trivial matters. The tolerant and relaxed atmosphere around the emperor in the Kaiyuan era has gone forever. Everyone in the palace is terrified and walking on thin ice, not daring to do anything again. Any slack.
Priest Francisco couldn't stand it anymore, and privately commented that since the explosion of Wang Gong Factory, the archbishop seemed to be possessed by the devil from hell, and he was no longer as kind and wise as before.
Because of this rumor, the missionary around the emperor was sent to the Zhaoyuan gold mine to mine, and his life or death was uncertain.
The cruelty and bloodshed were gradually engulfing the emperor's heart, but these cruelties were often only directed at outsiders. In front of Yang Qing'er, the emperor was still as amiable as before, and he and the queen were treated as husbands on weekdays. This was unbelievable to outsiders.
"Chen Xin reported that on November 30th, Wu Aheng and Meng Jinbao led the navy back from Australia. The Liaodong Fleet is now stationed at Dengzhou Yingzui Port."
"ah?"
Yang Qing'er was shocked, and quickly put the lotus seed soup on the table, took the memorial from the emperor, read it hastily, and said with surprise on her face:
"Great! This time the Navy is back, His Majesty is more powerful than ever, and the Liaodong war has a better chance of winning!"
Liu Zhaosun nodded, but his face was a little gloomy.
Yang Qing'er was familiar with grain and grass management and knew that the war in Liaodong was difficult. After Shandong was pacified, reinforcements to Liaodong were quickly put on the agenda, but Emperor Wu Ding made no move. Every time the army, civil affairs, and peasant associations urged to send troops, Emperor Wu Ding vetoed them on the grounds of freezing weather and lack of food and grass.
According to the emperor's plan, reinforcements could not be sent until the weather gets warmer next spring. In the twelfth lunar month of winter, braving the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero, crossing the Liaoxi Corridor to attack Shanhaiguan was destined to be a disaster for the infantry. After Li Xianzhong was killed in the bombing in the capital, the remnants of the bandits in the capital retreated to Shanhaiguan, with at least tens of thousands of troops.
"The navy fleet is back, but it was attacked on the way and many warships were lost. My enemies are becoming more and more numerous."
Emperor Wu Ding looked indifferent and handed another memorial from the desk to Yang Qing'er. Yang Qing'er quickly opened the memorial and read it in a hurry, and her face suddenly turned pale:
"Ah, Zheng Zhilong rebelled? Still attacking Daqi Navy in Fuzhou?"
Liu Zhaosun picked up the lotus seed soup on the desk, tilted his neck and drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said lightly:
"Zheng Zhilong was originally a pirate and has never changed his mind. I don't blame him. I only blame him for trusting them in the first place."
"I," the emperor poured the red paint into the inkstone and stirred it with the tip of his pen. The red paint flowed into a river and flooded the inkstone.
"I will make this pirate live and die."
Yang Qing'er put down Wu Aheng's memorial and was so angry that her eyebrows hung upside down and she gritted her teeth and said:
"My husband treats this Zheng family well, but I didn't expect him to be so cruel. When Wu Aheng docked at Penghu Island for supplies, he suddenly launched an attack and sank three of our ships!"
The emperor had experienced too many conspiracies and betrayals, but he was calm when he heard about this incident. He was silent for a moment, dipped his brush in the red paint in the inkstone, and wrote on the back of Wu Aheng's Tang newspaper: "I understand, return to Jinan quickly."
After finishing writing, he summoned the eunuch Dongfang Zhu, the eunuch Bingbi, the chief ceremonial officer, and said to Dongfang Zhu:
"Eunuch Dongfang, send someone to Dengzhou and ask Wu Aheng and Meng Jinbao to come to Jinan to see me."
Dongfang Zhu agreed, respectfully took the newspaper from Emperor Zhu Pi, and was about to go out slowly when he suddenly remembered something and said cautiously:
"Your Majesty, I haven't turned over the cards tonight."
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand.
"No need, tell the concubines in Kunning Palace that they don't have to wait for me. I will be with the queen and concubine tonight."
After the emperor finished speaking, he stood up from the imperial chair, picked up Yang Qing'er, who was as light as a swallow, and strode to the Babu bed.
Dongfang Zhu knelt on the spot, not daring to raise his head, waiting for the emperor to go away. He faintly heard the laughter of the queen and concubine coming from the dragon bed.
Eunuch Dongfang didn't dare to stay or even take a peek. He knew the emperor's methods and killed people just like killing chickens. He quickly packed Zhu Pi and retreated slowly.
After more than three months of training and polishing by the emperor, Dongfang Zhu had changed from the former corrupt and lustful Eastern official who harmed others, to the submissive and obedient eunuch in front of him.
Of course, Dongfang Zhu would do this only in front of the emperor.
In his bones, Eunuch Dongfang is still the same ruthless and local snake he used to be. Moreover, after castration, under the original rogue temperament, he has gained a bit more sinisterness and ruthlessness that only eunuchs can have.
Eunuch Dongfang is an upgraded version of the 9,000-year-old Wei Zhongxian. Because he has a higher starting point, he surpasses Wei Zhongxian in terms of personality and power.
Emperor Wu Ding needs such people now, and needs these knives to help him kill.
After leaving the palace and returning to Zhenfusi, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Dongfang Zhu waved his hand to summon a Tiqi who was on duty at night and asked him to deliver the edict to Dengzhou.
Tiqi received the edict and said, trembling all over: "Don't worry, ancestors, I will send someone to climb up early tomorrow morning..."
Dongfang Zhu tightened his cloak and suddenly cursed under the dim lantern and candlelight:
"Tomorrow? Long Live the Lord is in a hurry to let people come to Beijing! If you miss the important military and national events, our family will skin you first! Then we will kill your whole family!"
The Tiqi was so frightened that he quickly knelt down on the ground, kowtowed on the cold bluestone floor, and said in a panic:
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, let's go!" As he said this, he got on his horse and rushed towards Dengzhou.
"Stand,"
Dongfang Zhu called Tiqi to stop, but Tiqi was still in shock. He was afraid that he would do something wrong again. He felt uneasy while sitting on the horse and could neither move forward nor dismount.
Dongfang Zhu took off his cloak, put it on Tiqi with his own hands, patted Tiqi on the shoulder, and said: Gu Qi
"Your Majesty is wise and wise today. You must not be negligent when doing things for the Long Live Lord. It's cold on the road. Wear more clothes to avoid freezing your body."
Tiqi's eyes were red and he was about to kneel down and kowtow. Dongfang Zhu waved his hand and said: "Go, go back quickly, the emperor has big things to do!"
~~~~~
Two days later, Liaodong Navy Commander-in-Chief Wu Aheng, Deputy General Meng Jinbao, and Chengxuan Envoy Lu Demin came to Beijing following the imperial edict.
The three of them, along with twenty-seven generals and above, entered the Dongdu through the Qichuan Gate. Also entering the capital with them were more than a hundred natives and red-haired barbarians captured by the Liaodong fleet from Taiwan and Australia. .
Emperor Wu Ding met with a group of generals outside Chengyun Hall in Dongdu. After a brief prisoner presentation ceremony, the emperor left Wu Aheng, Meng Jinbao and Lu Demin to question.
The emperor gave the three of them seats and asked the maid to serve tea.
"I have read all three of your memorials the day before yesterday. I also know about Zheng Zhilong and the Satsuma clan. I will avenge you. I will not talk about these sad things for now. Let me talk about what I saw in Australia. "
Wu Aheng, Meng Jinbao, and Lu Demin looked at each other in shock. When they returned to Dengzhou, the three of them felt as if they had been there the other day.
It should be noted that when the Liaodong fleet set off from Kagoshima in Japan two years ago and headed south, the emperor was not yet the emperor. Now the Ming Dynasty has become the Daqi, the Ping Liaohou has become the Daqi emperor, and Kang Yingqian, Qiao Yiqi and others are trapped in Liaodong.
Jiannu, Korea, and Japan turned against each other, and even two pirates, Zheng Zhilong and Satsuma clan, stabbed Liu Zhaosun in the back.
For the three people who have not been back for two years, the world has changed beyond recognition.
"Ping, Your Majesty, Your Majesty,"
Wu Aheng was not used to it for a while. Lu Demin tugged on his sleeve, and the naval commander hurriedly changed his words.
"Everything went well on this trip south to Australia. It arrived in Taiwan one month after setting off from Kagoshima. When the fleet was replenishing, it was attacked by the local indigenous people. Finally, the general defeated them and captured some natives. After arriving in Australia, they encountered red-haired barbarians. ···”
Historically, Australia was still a wilderness during this period, with only sporadic European colonists visiting it.
Liu Zhaosun named Australia Australia just to make it easier to remember. Later, after the Qi Dynasty conquered the land, they gave Australia a more down-to-earth name: "Burial of Injustice".
Because here and the islands where New Zealand is located, will become the place where Daqi’s prisoners are exiled. Many criminals will either be buried in the belly of a fish in the wind and waves, or die in a foreign land due to unsuitable conditions. Of". (See Qi Shi Hongbao's "Min Miscellaneous Notes")
Lu Demin took over the conversation and continued to introduce to the emperor:
"Your Majesty is wise. After I landed with the two navy chiefs, I always remembered the teachings of my Majesty when I was in Tianjin. We should follow the high road and practice benevolence and righteousness. So I took the lead and did some trade with the red-haired barbarians on the island. Your Majesty used The rewarded silk was traded with the red barbarians in exchange for their glass... I didn't want these arrogant attitudes to say that Australia was discovered by them first and that it was the territory given to Europe by God. They asked the ministers to board the ship and leave immediately. An English sailor named Lu Bingxun got on the ship in the middle of the night and tried to burn the naval warship. Fortunately, Vice Admiral Meng noticed it in time. The ministers and others took the initiative and captured all the red-haired barbarians on the island. They didn't know how to deal with it. ·····”
Emperor Wu Ding pointed to a group of ragged red-haired barbarians and Taiwanese natives kneeling in the square outside the main hall.
"Meng Jinbao, are these unruly people?"
Meng Jinbao nodded and echoed loudly: "Your Majesty, these red-haired barbarians are really hateful. They support the Japanese and Liaodong rebellions. When the general and others were stationed in Australia, they saw their cargo ships. Transporting artillery to Liaodong and Kyushu Island.”
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand.
"kill!"
The three of them were stunned for a moment. Zhang Dong, who was standing next to them, had already strode out and skillfully called for the pacifiers and imperial guards to come forward.
Emperor Wu Ding added: "Except for the Englishman Lu Bingxun, all the other 327 prisoners were beheaded by me! They will be executed immediately!"
Wu Aheng looked at the emperor in bewilderment. Even the once most hawkish representative of the Kaiyuan Army was shocked by the emperor's actions.
"Okay, now let's talk about reinforcements to Liaodong. How many warships and sailors do you have? How long will it take to transport my 60,000 troops from Dengzhou to southern Liaoning?"
Dongfang Zhu whispered from the side: "Your Majesty, Daqi now only has 40,000 troops..."
Liu Zhaosun said disapprovingly: "In three months, there will be 60,000."
At this time, the screams of the red-haired barbarians were heard outside the hall, and the violent killings began again. Wu Aheng and others stared blankly at the scene in front of them. He had never seen this kind of scene in the emperor.
Emperor Wuding saw that several naval officers were still in a daze, so he continued:
"Zheng Zhilong, Satsuma, Jiannu, Korea, Cossacks, England, France, the Netherlands... I will fight ten of them each. Remember, if you encounter these red-haired barbarians in the future, you don't need to ask for instructions, and they will be killed without mercy. "
~~~~~~
At the beginning of the twelfth month of the first year of Wuding, the Daqi Emperor's edict of sin spread to the south of the Yangtze River, along with various atrocities committed by the Qi army in Shandong, including confiscation of homes and genocide, burning, killing, and looting, to name a few.
All kinds of atrocities in Daqi aroused strong anger among the Hongguang monarchs and ministers. After reading the edict of sin, Hongguang Emperor Zhu Changhuan was furious and furious in front of his ministers Long Yan:
"Absurd! Ridiculous! Shameless! Thief Liu said that his biggest fault in the past was that he killed too few people, and he would be punished severely in the future. What kind of edict is this? Liu Thief will soon send troops to Liaodong. Ministers, can you take the opportunity to go to the north? Destroy this traitor in one fell swoop!"
Zhu Changhui threw the Liu thief edict he had obtained from the Qinhuai River merchants to the ground, looked up at the ministers in the hall, and was furious.
The ministers looked at each other in shock, but did not dare to speak. In the past few months, what Liu Thief did in Shandong was seen by all the gentlemen. All the properties and land purchased by the ministers in Shandong were confiscated by Liu Thief. , were given to the mud-legged ones, and the Liu thieves acted perversely. The Donglin party members had already regarded Baoqi as a scourge, and compared Liu Zhaosun to the likes of Xia Jie, Shang Zhou, and wanted to eat his flesh and hide his skin.
However, the Northern Expedition had just failed, and Liu Zongzhou, the one who advocated the Northern Expedition, had already lost his head, and in the end not even a single body was brought back.
The Qi army has now become a nightmare. In Nanjing, just mentioning the name Liu Zhaosun can have the magical effect of stopping children from crying at night.
"Ruan Yushi,"
Zhu Changhui set his sights on Ruan Dacheng, the censor of the left deputy capital. The emperor was full of expectations for Ruan Dacheng. This person had outstanding literary talents and had wide acquaintances. He had good relations with a number of celebrities such as Wen Zhenmeng, Zhang Dai, Fan Jingwen, etc., and had a large number of harmonious works.
There are poems such as "The star divination priest lies in the mountains, and the shadow makes the baby famous in the world, but the battle has stopped Yuguan, why not have deep plowing in Huawu" and other poems, which are deeply rooted in the Samadhi of Huanshan poetry.
Not only are his poems beautifully written, they are not divorced from reality, but they are completely in line with the gentle and honest poetry.
After Liu Zongzhou died, Zhu Changhui gradually attracted the attention of the emperor, and this literary figure naturally became the best candidate for the second Northern Expedition.
"Ah? Your Majesty, I think that at this time, the Donglu Liu bandits are fighting fiercely in Liaodong, and there is no victory or defeat, so it is better to let them kill each other, and your Majesty will reap the benefits."
Ruan Dacheng had bursts of cold sweat on his forehead. He was on good terms with Ma Shiying. Last time, he learned about the strength of the Qi army through Ma Shangshu. Liu Zong and Zhou Yinjian were not far away, and he was unwilling to go north to die again.
Lewen
