Night often casts a mysterious and terrifying veil on the originally majestic and solemn palace.
Under the guidance of the eunuch carrying the palace lantern, Yang Sichang walked through the dim palace roads, passed through numerous palace gates, passed countless guards, and finally arrived at the door of Xinuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.
Year after year of natural disasters, it was difficult to collect taxes, and the household department was empty, so much so that there was no money left at all.
After years of consumption, the internal funds are extremely short of money. Before they are collected, every money has already been used.
Therefore, Chongzhen also ordered to save as much as possible on the expenses of the palace. Therefore, the palace lanterns were not bright. In many places, the palace lanterns were simply stopped and left vacant.
On weekdays, Chongzhen also saves as much as possible on food and clothing, and is very frugal.
In the last few years of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen even asked the palace servants to sell the utensils in the palace in order to prepare military pay...
Yang Sichang looked around the cold palace and felt something stuck in his heart, like a knife cutting.
Even though he has entered the palace countless times, he still can't help but feel sad every time he sees such a scene.
It is said that the emperor is rich all over the world, but now, he used to be reluctant to light up all the palace lanterns in the palace.
The country is so poor...
Yang Sichang did not wait long. As soon as the eunuch entered the pavilion, Wang Chengen walked out of the Nuan Pavilion and respectfully invited Yang Sichang into the Nuan Pavilion.
"My dear, please sit down."
As soon as he entered the Nuan Pavilion, Chongzhen directly motioned for Yang Sichang to sit down.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Chongzhen's attitude was gentle, but Yang Sichang did not forget the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers. He still bowed to Chongzhen respectfully, and then slowly sat down.
Looking at Yang Sichang, Chongzhen felt that the heavy burden on his shoulders was slightly lighter.
Every time he saw Yang Sichang, he felt very at ease.
Nowadays, the chaos among the rogue bandits in the pass has been eliminated, the military department is in order, and the chaos in the court is no longer as chaotic as it was a few years ago. These are the results achieved by Yang Sichang since he took office.
But thinking of the current crisis, Chongzhen's brows that had just relaxed couldn't help but wrinkle again.
When Liu Yuliang asked himself to supervise the military situation, he felt quite relieved.
However, after being here for many days, he had achieved nothing. After leading the army into Hejian Mansion, he seemed to be unable to control his troops, which caused many complaints from surrounding states and counties.
Chongzhen's face became even worse. Now the war situation took a turn for the worse. The Qing army marched in, destroyed the formation and city, and captured the people and looted the land.
On paper, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers in each town, but it was just a joke. The Qing army was unstoppable, invincible, and seemed to be in a no-man's land!
The people outside the city suffered from plunder due to wind and snow, but as the emperor, he was the emperor.
But all they could do was watch the cities fall and the prefectures and counties in ruins everywhere, but they couldn't do anything about it.
The successive turmoils caused the displaced victims to gather outside Beijing. As time went by, more and more victims poured into the capital.
The country was in dire straits, the household department was almost empty, and it was difficult to even provide food and salary for the soldiers in the towns. What could be used to provide relief to the victims?
Every day and every night, a large number of people died of cold and starvation in the wind and snow, and there was nothing he could do.
The memorial in his hand was as light and fluttering as silk, but Chongzhen felt it was as if it was extremely important.
When he first came to the throne, the country was already in shaky state, suffering from internal and external troubles. There was constant chaos in the court, endless natural disasters in the inner province of Shaanxi, and rampant banditry outside the Nine Borders.
He thought that as long as he was diligent and attentive, he could save the situation and revive the country.
A dear minister, a distant person, is an understatement in the book, but he spent twelve years not being able to understand it.
What kind of minister is a wise minister, and what kind of minister is a villain?
Looking through the history books, he could identify the names one by one in the history books.
But sitting on the throne, sitting in the main hall, looking at the separated ministers below, it is really difficult to tell them apart.
He originally thought that Yuan Chonghuan was, but Yuan Chonghuan, who was full of righteousness and vowed to him during the duel on the platform for five years, was not.
Since Yuan Chonghuan took office in Guanning, the Ministry of Household Affairs has transferred military pay for him, the Ministry of Industry has provided equipment for a period of time, the Ministry of Personnel has employed people, and the Ministry of War has mobilized troops and selected generals. All internal and external matters have been fully coordinated.
But what's in exchange?
What happened was that at the end of the second year, the slaves came to Beijing!
In exchange, he killed Mao Wenlong and destroyed the real Great Wall of Liaodong!
What we got in exchange was Liaodong, which gradually lost control, and what we got in exchange was Donglu, who was as fierce as a tiger!
Are those rotten scholars who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality, those ministers who speak righteously and righteously, and those innocent people who talk nonsense regardless of reality, really good ministers?
Chongzhen lowered his eyes, his eyes full of fatigue.
Since he took office, he has been diligent in political affairs, and everything is required of himself in accordance with the standards of the sage and emperor mentioned by those ministers.
He killed Wei Zhongxian, withdrew the mine supervisors, the tax collectors, and the royal guards.
After the eunuchs were removed, the imperial court held a praising meeting and said: "Everyone is doing well in the court."
The public is in full swing? Everyone is in full swing!
Since the dynasty is full of righteousness, and since all the ministers in the dynasty are righteous, why are the people in Shaanxi, Henan and other places in dire straits? Why are the nine border troubles getting worse and worse? Why is the situation of the Ming Dynasty deteriorating!
It has been twelve years since his brother died of illness.
For twelve years, all his efforts were completely in vain.
Local, provincial, state, political, national, world, everything is getting worse and worse.
Chongzhen raised his hand and rubbed his swollen and painful temples. Too many messy thoughts accumulated in his heart, making him feel more and more exhausted mentally and physically, and there was a deep feeling of powerlessness in his heart.
"Jinan..."
Chongzhen put down the memorial presented by Sun Chuanting in his hand, sighed softly, and remained silent for a while before asking.
"How's the situation over there?"
Yang Sichang was sitting at the bottom. He had been sitting for a while, but since Chongzhen didn't speak, he naturally wouldn't speak first.
"Return to Your Majesty..."
Yang Sichang's eyes flashed, he paused for a while, and then answered.
"The defeat of Guan Ning's army in Linqing was too sudden. The Shandong soldiers were trapped in Dezhou and could not be rescued. The Eastern captives marched in two directions, with a combined force of 60,000, and besieged Jinan City."
Yang Sichang's voice was low, and his resentment towards Gao Qiqian deepened in his heart.
He refused to rush for reinforcements in the Battle of Jiazhuang, and did not dare to fight in the Battle of Linqing. He did not even last a day, leaving him little time to react.
Lu Xiangsheng, with his 9,000 remnant soldiers who were short of food and clothing, and even owed their pay for half a year, could fight back and forth with the 40,000 Qing army in Jiazhuang, and even killed as many enemies as they could.
He lurked in Linqing City, fed and clothed, and took with him the Guan Ning Army, which was supported by millions of dollars in salary every year, more than 20,000 people, and he couldn't hold on for even a day?
A piece of trash that fails to succeed and fails to succeed!
Yang Sichang was completely disappointed with Gao Qiqian. He originally thought that Gao Qiqian agreed with his strategy of negotiating peace and avoiding war because Gao Qiqian also had some political vision.
But now it seems that Gao Qiqian simply does not understand military affairs at all, has a false reputation, has no political and strategic vision, and is just greedy for life and afraid of death.
A hint of murderous intent flashed deep in Yang Sichang's eyes, and Gao Qiqian's defeat disrupted everything he had originally planned.
Also, the combat power of Guan Ning's army is really outrageous.
Hou Gongji, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, was quickly defeated in Quzhou, so that the door of Daming Mansion was wide open.
Yang Sichang knew very well whether Guan Ning's army could fight. Guan Ning's army could fight, but they just didn't want to fight.
As the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Town, Hou Gongji had many elite cavalry under his command, and he had the city of Quzhou to rely on. How could he be defeated so quickly?
After the defeat, all the thousands of cavalrymen disappeared. I sent someone to search for them, but thousands of them couldn't even find their shadows. Now I don't know where Hou Gongji is.
Do you think he is Yang Sichang stupid, or do you think he Yang Sichang is stupid?
"Guan Ning..."
Yang Sichang silently recited Guan Ning in his heart.
Liaodong has been out of control for a long time. For a long time, huge amounts of Liao salary have been sent to the northeast of the empire, where an extremely ugly monster was raised.
After Yuan Chonghuan took office in Guanning, sparse Liao people to guard the Liao land, and used Liao land to support the Liao people, Liaodong became more and more out of control.
On the third day after Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned in the second year of Chongzhen, Guan Ning's army ignored the imperial edict and directly withdrew from Beijing and returned to Liaodong. At that time, the Donglu army was still on the outskirts of Beijing.
Then the Donglu army took the opportunity to attack again. Mangui led a lone army and fought fiercely with the Donglu at Yongding Gate. In the end, they were defeated and died. In the later period, the Donglu army plundered hundreds of miles of land without being restrained.
Yang Sichang's eyes were slightly sharp. The reason why he wanted to negotiate a peace was because he knew clearly that Guan Ning's army was unreliable. Jizhou Town was very close to Liaodong and was actually greatly influenced by the Guan Ning Group.
Therefore, he wanted to build a force that he could control, a new army that could fight. After pacifying the pass, he would concentrate on fighting externally, and by the way, completely eliminate the warlord camps such as Liaodong and Jizhou.
Yang Sichang's eyes were cold and he replied in a deep voice.
"Jinan City is the capital of a province. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city, and it is also a fiefdom of King De. We must save it."
"The Ministry of War has sent an order. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zu Kuan will lead our troops and horses to rush south for reinforcements today."
"At the same time, Gao Qiqian was ordered to gather Guan Ning's army, and Sun Chuanting led the Shaanxi army to coordinate the rescue and relieve the siege of Jinan."
Jinan City must be saved, even if it cannot be saved, it must be saved.
King De was in Jinan. If he did not save him, he would lose his vassal status. Yang Sichang could not bear this crime, and no one could bear it.
However, there is something important about how to rescue, and you can write an article about it.
As long as people can see that there is an intention to rescue, it is considered a rescue.
Not being saved is not a big problem. Just find someone to bear the responsibility for the fall of Shin-han.
As his eyes moved, many people's faces flashed through Yang Sichang's mind.
It was extremely lucky that the battle in Jiazhuang was a draw. The troops under Sun Chuanting did not have the ability to attack such a long distance, nor did they have the ability to force the Qing army, which numbered as many as 60,000, to feel danger and withdraw.
The fall of Jinan is almost a foregone conclusion. Now that it is a foregone conclusion, what needs to be considered is naturally how to make the losses of Jinan's fall smaller and whether we can make profits from it.
The two towns of Guan Ning have been out of control for a long time. This time Jinan fell and Shandong suffered a lot. Although the losses caused were huge, they could still make a fuss out of this to weaken the power of the two towns of Guan Ning.
The two battles between Zhending and Jiazhuang, with one victory and one loss, have proved many things. Shaanxi soldiers can fight and Xuan's army is brave.
The country can rely on more than just Liaodong and Jizhou as in the past.
At this time, the Guan Ning Group was forced to reduce power and seize troops on the grounds of defeat and falling into the vassal state. Even if the Guan Ning Group was reluctant, they had to swallow the bitter fruit they had caused.
Yang Sichang's eyes were normal, and he had a plan in his mind in an instant.
The arrogance and arrogance of the two towns of Guan and Ning grew day by day, and for a time they even listened to the instructions but refused to listen to the propaganda.
He still doesn't know what the truth is about Gao Qiqian.
Is it Gao Qiqian who doesn't want to go, or Guan Ningjun who doesn't want to go.
In this incident, tough measures must be taken, killing chickens to scare monkeys, knocking mountains to shock tigers, in order to control Ji Liao.
Unclear rewards and punishments are not enough to convince the public.
Failure to reward meritorious deeds will make the meritorious officials feel disheartened.
Failure to punish them will lead others to follow suit and the court will lose its prestige.
You can't run an army without authority, and you can't rule a country without authority!
"Jinan... there is still hope..."
Chongzhen raised his head, with a little hope in his eyes. He knew that Jinan was besieged by the Qing army and was in danger, but he was still unwilling to let go of his expectations.
"There are nearly three thousand soldiers in Jinan City. If the defense people are summoned to strengthen their strength, there will be tens of thousands of people. Jinan City is strong and solid. If the deployment is done correctly, the Donglu may not be able to conquer the city."
"As long as we defend for a while and wait until reinforcements arrive, the siege of Jinan will be lifted soon."
Yang Sichang told Chongzhen that the Donglu might not be able to conquer the city, but in fact he had given up on Jinan in his heart.
Although an urgent order was issued to dispatch reinforcements from various states to assist Jinan, Yang Sichang knew very well that this was just a drop in the bucket.
Calculating the time, I am afraid that the Qing army has surrounded Jinan for two days now, and the battle of Jinan has already broken out.
But to answer Chongzhen, it is naturally impossible to directly say that Jinan is about to fall.
And what he said was not false.
As long as reinforcements arrive, the siege of Jinan will indeed be solved soon.
But in reality, how could reinforcements arrive?
The Ministry of War issued urgent orders repeatedly, but after Zu Kuan led his troops southward and entered Jinan Prefecture, he hesitated and looked for various reasons.
And Guan Ningjun is still wandering around Linqing, looking for reasons to stall.
Sun Chuanting wrote back and expressed his willingness to rush to help, but made it clear that it would be difficult to fight alone.
However, even if Sun Chuanting dared to fight, Yang Sichang would not choose to let Sun Chuanting fight alone.
Sun Chuanting's soldiers are capable of fighting and must be preserved. In this situation, if you invest in Jinan, you will definitely never return.
Liu Yuliang still has 20,000 to 30,000 troops under his command that can be mobilized, but Liu Yuliang is still in Baoding Prefecture at this time, and the troops are also in Baoding Prefecture. Far water cannot save nearby fire.
Yang Sichang's words made Chongzhen's eyes even more hopeful, and he asked.
"Who is in charge of Jinan City now?"
"Zhang Bingwen, the political envoy to the left of Shandong Province."
Sorry, I'm not feeling well, so I couldn't hold on and say yes. I'll try to keep updated in the past few days, and then I'll make up for it slowly.
(End of chapter)
