At the end of the fourth year of Taichu, under Da Qi's high-pressure polar circle rule, various conflicts that had been suppressed finally broke out.
From Shenyang to Xuzhou, from the inner court to the border, from the army to the civil affairs, from the Hun River to the Huai River, there are many polices in the north and south, and there are beacons everywhere. There is no peace in this huge empire.
Affected by the civil strife in Shenyang, Jin Yinghe and Zheng Yishi's regiments were reorganized.
The army is stationed in North Korea, Shanxi, Henan, and Mongolia. As of the end of November, the empire's proud Eleventh Corps had a force of 100,000 troops, but the real number of troops that could be mobilized was only 20,000 in Liaodong.
The most terrible thing is not the shortage of troops, but the serious lack of resources.
After ten years of continuous high-intensity war, Qi's national power has been seriously overdrawn. Now once it loses supplies from Huguang and Nanming, the empire's supply lines suddenly become in danger.
The problem has always been internal.
Although the new cabinet headed by Lu Xiangsheng did not advocate comprehensive reforms like Chen Xin, they all agreed that the current high-pressure model in Daqi was no longer sustainable.
Lu Xiangsheng suggested that the collection of surplus grain from farmers in Liaodong, Shandong and other places should be reduced to the level of the first year of Wuding.
If the tax collection standard is reduced to the first year of Wuding, only half of the grain will be received.
The eleven regiments that maintain the foundation of the empire will soon be short of food, and collapse is inevitable.
Unless the imperial court can solve the problem of the White Lotus Sect in Shandong and the refugees in Huguang before next summer's harvest, and gain benefits from the two military operations (at least no more bloodletting), Xie Yang and others concluded that Guan Nei and Liaodong will then will crash.
Extravagant talk of reform is a fool's errand. Time is running out. Feeding war with war has become the only possibility to survive.
Between the two battlefields of Shandong and Huguang, which one comes first and which one is the main battlefield?
The time has come to test the strategic determination of the imperial decision-makers.
Lu Xiangsheng reminded the Emperor that the reason why Chen Xin dared to speak nonsense in the Dazheng Palace that day was because he had widespread public support in Shandong, or he might have colluded with Haozuo. Killing this thief would cause Shandong to become even more chaotic, and any further efforts to suppress the rebellion would not be worth the gain. so·····
"Although Chen Xin is dead, there are still many people in the government and the public who want to reform. Your Majesty must keep an eye on this force! I think that I can use the death of the thief as an opportunity to implement reforms in Qilu and leave the mess to the local powerful , Your Majesty can concentrate on dealing with Huguang."
Liu Zhaosun thought for a long time and felt that what Lu Xiangsheng said was correct. He just asked out of curiosity:
"In the past, all the powerful people in Shandong have been wiped out by me. Where are the powerful people left?"
Lu Xiangsheng patiently explained:
"Weeds are hard to get rid of. If you don't dig the ground for weeding, how can the grass die? Although the land of Qilu is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, the people are eager to enter the officialdom, which is the best in the world. The officials, big and small, sent by Your Majesty in recent years have been serving the purpose and violating the rules. He was born in Huainan and followed the local customs. He is so powerful that he has long since hollowed out the Daqi system. He is just Chen Xin with countless trumpets."
Liu Zhaosun hesitated. Although he did not understand history, he knew to some extent the dangers of separatist vassal rule in the late Tang Dynasty, which was the final cause of the Tang Dynasty's demise.
"Aren't you afraid of repeating the old things of the late Tang Dynasty?"
Lu Xiangsheng said confidently: "Your Majesty is so worried because the Chu people carved boats and asked for swords. Why? It's all because our dynasty is different from the late Tang Dynasty. The military, personnel and financial power of our dynasty are all under your control. The only thing missing is food and grass. If If we can concentrate our forces to pacify the Jianghuai River, we can revive the dead and make the whole game work. Shandong is just a small area, and a few powerful people are in power. When the time comes, your Majesty will issue an edict and the army will march across the river and demolish the bridge."
The Supreme Emperor asked in confusion: "Crossing the river and demolishing the bridge? Are those powerful and powerful rats willing to make wedding clothes for the imperial court?"
Lu Xiangsheng smiled and said, "Why not? I heard that Your Majesty fought with the White Lotus Cult back then. How come you don't remember the White Lotus Cult?"
Liu Zhaosun recalled the scene when he landed in Shandong and conquered the Wenxiang Sect.
"It's nothing more than a vacuum hometown, no biological parents, the annihilation of the red sun, the catastrophe of the white sun, and other such nonsense. Bai Lian and He Chen Xin's faction are incompatible. Unless the powerful are willing to kill, they must form a team to protect themselves."
"I'm afraid that they will beggar their neighbors and cause trouble to neighboring provinces."
"Your Majesty will ask Henan and Beizhi to strengthen self-protection."
Liu Zhaosun sighed and said: "This is just a hardship for the people of Shandong."
Lu Xiangsheng said with emotion: "If this is not the case, and the north and south are corrupted, it will not only be the people of Shandong who will suffer. Your Majesty will only blame the matter on the minister. If the people suffer, the blame will be borne by the minister."
~~~~~
After repeated discussions, the monarch and his ministers decided to concentrate their efforts on solving the Huguang problem. The White Lotus Sect in Shandong was handed over to the local government, allowing the powerful to recruit troops, train to defend themselves against enemies, and kill thieves for the court.
This plan was opposed by the ministers. This move was equivalent to automatically recognizing the legal status of local powerful people, fundamentally denying the legitimacy of the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System", and would inevitably shake the foundation of the country.
Liu Zhaosun pushed hard against all objections, vigorously implemented it, and asked officials from the six ministries to immediately draft relevant details.
In order to prevent the ministers from constricting the conquest of Jianghuai, the Supreme Emperor simply went a step further and set the goal of the battle as conquering Jiangnan and wiping out Nanming.
With the intention to fight established, Liaodong, Henan, and Northern Zhili entered a state of war readiness again. Cavalrymen with small flags on their backs ran through villages, forts, and towns, shouting loudly to convey to the people of the empire that the army was about to march south.
The Civil Affairs Bureau was required to prepare 50,000 shi of military rations, 10,000 shi of fodder, and cotton-padded clothes, leather boots, and other items needed for 20,000 people within two months.
When Dongfang Zhu came to the Civil Affairs Yamen to announce the decree, he found that the Yamen was empty except for Xie Yang and his guards.
The war was about to begin, but the civil affairs office responsible for collecting grain and grass was so deserted. The eunuch was a little surprised, so he asked: "Master Xie, where is Director Liu? There are others."
Xie Guangkun raised his head, and Dongfang Zhu saw that his hair was completely bald. Then he suddenly remembered that Xie Yang's right-hand assistant Liu Yue'er had hanged himself in front of her husband Yang Tong's grave last month, leaving behind a six-year-old son.
"There are not enough manpower to suppress the soldiers. The people from the Chamber of Commerce and Civil Affairs have all gone to collect grain. I am the only one here."
"Oh, I heard that a peasant woman in Jingan Fort was beaten to death by you yesterday because she refused to pay her grain. Is this true?"
Dongfang Zhu Buwu Bagua asked.
Xie Yang didn't say a word, and the two guards from the civil affairs looked at the eunuch who suddenly broke in with evil intentions.
Dongfang Zhu didn't care about this. He had just come from the Navy Yamen to announce the decree. He had been busy announcing the decree in the past few days. He couldn't keep warm and was exhausted.
He dragged a square stool over and sat down, regardless of the dust on it, picked up the teapot on the table and drank.
After a while, Xie Guangkun's faint voice came to my ears.
"Father-in-law, that was the stool that Director Liu had when he was alive..."
Dongfang Zhu made a sound, jumped up, and looked up to see Liu Yue'er still wandering in the Yamen.
A chill ran down his spine, and he abandoned the imperial edict and fled from the civil affairs office without even exchanging pleasantries.
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the nine corps began to mobilize their troops, passed Shanhaiguan, bypassed the entire territory of Shandong, and quickly went south along the North Zhili Post Road.
On New Year's Eve in the fourth year of Taichu, various troops gathered in Xinyang, Henan Province. After a short rest, they went south along the Yangtze River and entered the Jianghan Plain.
The war is coming.
Qiao Yiqi started to be busy again and continued to serve as the first prison officer of Daqi.
Starting from mid-November, a group of Daqi officials who opposed the Southern Expedition, as well as generals who participated in the rebellion, and the Zheng Zhilong family who had been detained for many years, were beheaded in front of Guangji Gate.
The Hun River was dyed red with blood.
Qiao Yiqi, who was on the beheading platform, began to look numb as he threw the beheading token.
~~~~
On the third day of December in the eighteenth year of Hongguang's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1642), Hongguang Emperor Zhu Changhui summoned his ministers at the Huangji Palace in Nanjing to discuss the war.
Instead of recuperating in the past few years, in view of the recent changes in the north, especially the coming and surrender of the Qi army in Xuzhou, the Southern Ming emperors and ministers realized that their northern neighbors were indeed in trouble.
Ming Dynasty vs. Qi Dynasty, war or peace? Is it a full-scale Northern Expedition or is it just a matter of time? This is the issue that needs to be discussed and resolved in court today.
Yin Jian is not far away. Liu Zongzhou, who last advocated the Northern Expedition, has turned into a withered skeleton, and Wu Sangui, the Pinglu general who was the most persistent in the Northern Expedition, has no bones left.
Therefore, whether it is war or peace, the ministers dare not speak easily.
Chief Assistant Ruan Dacheng looked around and saw that a group of his staff had their heads lowered and said calmly as always:
"Your Majesty, I believe that peace is worse than war."
Zhu Changhuan was undecided about the battle. Although there may be civil strife in Qi, it had fought against Liu Zhaosun many times over the years. The Ming army was almost completely defeated. The two sides faced each other without a draw. The fear of the Qi army had penetrated into the bones of Emperor Hongguang.
"Why do you say peace is worse than war? Please tell me, Grand Master,"
Ruan Dacheng cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, the country must not be trustworthy. The former Ming Dynasty and Qi State formed an alliance, and the two sides turned their hostilities into friendship. Only then did Jiangnan recuperate for more than ten years. Now the Ming Dynasty is rich and powerful, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and trade with Southeast Asian countries is prosperous. Earning tens of millions every year, if we start a war again, it may not be a good idea."
When the ministers saw the chief minister's speech, they all agreed. After all, war was a matter for military men. Civil officials, who were constantly fighting with each other, reached a rare agreement: for the time being, they would watch the fire from the other side, and wait until the Qi Dynasty weakened, then it would not be too late to start the northern expedition.
Zhu Changhuan looked at the group of obedient ministers and felt a little bored. He was about to announce his resignation when two people suddenly stood in front of the palace.
"Your Majesty, don't listen to the words of corrupt scholars. I believe that the Qi tyrants must be eliminated. Today, the Ming Dynasty has allowed the Liu thieves to kill each other, and the Qi army in Xuzhou has come to surrender. This is a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition. This opportunity must not be missed and it will not come again! Don't stop. On the Jianghuai River, we should strive for the Northern Expedition, restore our old land, sweep holes and plow gardens, and point our sword at Liaodong!"
Zhu Changhuan felt the blood rising in his heart, sweeping holes and plowing the courtyard, pointing his sword at Liaodong. Things that he had never dared to think about before were now possible to come true!
The person speaking was none other than General Pingthief, Prince Shaobao, and Ningnan Marquis Zuo Liangyu. Although this man suffered repeated defeats, he was still a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Hongguang nodded with satisfaction and asked again:
"I wonder how many troops Ningnan Marquis needs. When can we start the Northern Expedition? Where will we take the route to the north? How much food and military pay will we need? Who can be a pioneer general? What are the chances of winning?"
"This..." Zuo Liangyu obviously did not consider these issues thoroughly.
Ruan Dacheng was about to laugh.
"Thirty thousand elite troops each are sufficient for the north and south routes. The troops, horses, money and food are all prepared by the ministers themselves! At that time, there will be two land and water routes, one will go north by boat from Nanjing to occupy southern Liaoning, and the other will go west from Xuzhou, taking only Henan, Liu Thief Huguang is in chaos, filled with refugees, and is surrounded by enemies on three sides. We don’t care about the top or the bottom. As long as we win in Liaonan and Henan, my Northern Expedition will be a success!"
The ministers all raised their heads and looked at the 20-year-old loyal and filial uncle Zheng Chenggong, the chief military officer of Fujian.
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