When Mr. Shunshui excitedly arrived at the Ming Dynasty Palace in the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou with Chen Yonghua's autographed letter, it was already the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the forty-eighth year of Chongzhen.
On the third day of the first lunar month in the forty-eighth year of Chongzhen, Liu Jinzhong's army entered the Suzhou capital city abandoned by Yue Le. He immediately moved his headquarters into the Humble Administrator's Garden. At the same time, he also asked his military adviser to check Zuo Yin to act as the prefect of Suzhou, and ordered His confidant Zhang Jishan was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Su Song's army, and he also ordered Deng Guangming, the former deputy commander of Xushun Gongfu, to lead troops to capture Songjiang. He has the intention to turn the land of Susong into his own territory!
Of course, Liu Jinzhong's behavior of talking to himself and occupying territory is natural to him.
This time, he made great contributions to putting down the Nanjing Rebellion!
He broke the Nanjing Imperial City!
He captured Geng Jingzhong's Dongwang Mansion!
The troops of Geng Jingzhong and Yue Le were also chased by him and fled all the way from Nanjing to Zhejiang!
Because he chased so hard, braving the humid cold wind of the south of the Yangtze River on a cold day, he couldn't even get a hot bite of New Year's Eve dinner. Only then did he rush to kill these two people before that bastard Yue Le destroyed Suzhou and Songjiang into nothingness. The whole area of the mansion has been taken over by Quan Xu—this is Suzhou and Songjiang!
In the early Ming Dynasty, there was a saying that Suzhou and Songjiang accounted for half of the world's tax revenue.
Of course, this statement is an exaggeration. After Zhang Juzheng's reforms in the Wanli year of the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou's annual tax revenue reached more than 2.5 million shi, and that of Songjiang next door was more than 900,000 shi. The two mansions plus one are 34.5 million stones!
The entire southern Zhili's rated land tax is just over 6 million dan, and Su and Song Prefectures account for more than half.
In addition, except for Southern Zhili, the rated land tax of any province in the Ming Dynasty is not as high as the sum of these two prefectures. In fact, the only provinces that exceed Suzhou are Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong, and even five provinces. The rated land tax is not as good as that of Songjiang Prefecture.
Moreover, the Second Mansion of Susong and Song Dynasty, which had paid so many land taxes, was already very peaceful during the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty, and it became even more prosperous due to the large-scale export of silk and the large inflow of overseas silver (at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the land taxes were paid in silver, and one stone The amount of silver discount is fixed, so the inflation caused by the inflow of silver is beneficial to the Susong Second House). By the time Liu Jinzhong occupied Suzhou, the prosperity of this southeastern city was even higher than that of Nanjing!
As for the taxes of Xuzhou, which Liu Jinzhong had previously allocated from Li Zhongshan, and Haizhou, which he captured without a single blow, the taxes are not comparable to those of Suzhou, let alone Suzhou Prefecture. Even Xuzhou and Haizhou cannot be compared with Kunshan County. !
Who wouldn’t be tempted by such a good piece of land? So Liu Jinzhong wanted to appoint Su Song as the governor of Shandong and Henan. Let the younger generations do the great undertaking of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.
He is an old general, he has already made enough achievements, and he has reached the title of King of the North. He doesn't want to make any more progress, and he can't make any more progress. He just wants to lie down and enjoy the good things. Is there anything wrong with that?
Therefore, when Liu Jinzhong heard that the visiting Zhu Shunshui said that the "Sanzhongtang" wanted him to hand over Suzhou and Songjiang, and also wanted him to seize Zhejiang, which was currently controlled by Geng Jingzhong and Yue Le, he immediately became very angry.
"Why is it me again? I'm not the only one who can fight in the Ming Dynasty, right? Now I'm doing well in Suzhou and Songjiang. I don't want Zhejiang. I'm a contented person. I'm satisfied with just two prefectures, Xuzhou and Haizhou. , Chaozhou, I don’t want them anymore, I want Suzhou and Songjiang.
Mr. Dongshan, please comment, in this battle to protect the country and eliminate the traitors, I, Liu Jinzhong, have made enough contributions, right? Isn’t it an exaggeration for me to seal Susong Town? Moreover, this Susong Town is Yue Le's territory, and I grabbed it myself. Why can't I be the governor of Susong Town? "
What Liu Jinzhong said was so convincing. After he finished speaking, it was the turn of his military advisor Mr. Dongshan and old man Cha Zuoyincha to make suggestions.
The old man Zha’s original name was Zha Jizuo, also given the courtesy name Yihuang. In his early years, he also fought with the King of Lu, Zhu Yihai, against the Qing Dynasty. He and Huang Zongxi and Zhu Shunshui were both officials in the same dynasty. They fought against the Qing Dynasty together, defeated the Qing Dynasty together, and fled together. They had a remarkable life. years. But later, Zha Jizuo did something disgraceful, that is, he participated in the prosecution of Zhuang Tingqin's Ming Dynasty case - he was not the only one to report it, but there were at least four whistleblowers.
Of course, if he didn't report it, he would be punished because when Zhuang Tingqin's father, Zhuang Yuncheng, published the "Ming History Collection" compiled by his son, in order to show the authority of the book, he included Zha Jizuo in it. The names of eighteen Jiangnan celebrities were engraved on it, claiming that they participated in the editing.
Among these eighteen people, except for Fan Xiang, Zha Jizuo, and Lu Qi, who were found guilty and acquitted, and a few died of illness or were not caught, the rest were all executed in late solitude, and their families were made slaves of Ning Guta!
Regarding this matter, it would be useless even if Wu Liuqi went to court to plead for mercy. Then Wu Liuqi was just a "county general soldier" and his official was not as big as Liu Jinzhong!
Therefore, Wu Liuqi did not fish for Zha Jizuo when he was involved in the Ming History Case - Wu Sangui had to be the one to lure people out of such a big case as the Ming History Case. Wu Liuqi was not that capable, but the friendship between Zha Jizuo and Wu Liuqi was still It brought him unexpected benefits. That Wu Liuqi's son Wu Qifeng recommended him to his boss Liu Jinzhong (Wu Liuqi was the county commander-in-chief of Chaozhou), and Liu Jinzhong never had many scribes around him, so it was quite rare to have Zha Jizuo (now called Zha Zuoyin), so he was sealed. A military advisor.
Military Advisor Cha is already seventy-six years old this year. He was almost dying of old age, but since he became a military advisor, he has suddenly become more energetic!
Mr. Dongshan has made a comeback, how can he be willing to die of old age? Zhuge Liang suddenly became energetic and followed Liu Jinzhong with a feather fan all day long, pretending to have all his plans.
It sounds like Liu Jinzhong has no energy now, so of course I have to cheer him up.
"Your Majesty, you are wrong!"
Liu Jinzhong was stunned, why am I the one who is wrong? Shouldn't it be Mr. Shunshui who is wrong? Where do you come from, old man?
"My lord," Old Man Zha said, waving his feather fan, "do you know the real purpose of King Li Ying's invitation to send troops to Zhejiang?"
"I know, doesn't he just want to take back the two extremely wealthy mansions of Suzhou and Songjiang?"
"No, it's not that Suzhou and Songjiang are not important to him." Old Man Zha waved his hand, "Although Suzhou and Songjiang are fertile, they have never been used for military purposes. In the past, Zhang Shicheng sat here. Although he was richest in the world, his hands were Without elites who were good at fighting, they were eventually suppressed by Ming Taizu who was entrenched in the lands of Western Wu and Huaixi.
Now the source of troops in Huaixi is controlled by King Li Ying, and the prosperous hometown of Guangdong is the fundamental land of the Li family. It is now controlled by his brother Ji Zhen, so King Li Ying is neither short of soldiers nor money.
And King Li Zhong who occupies Wuchang, Hanyang, Huangzhou and other places is also the nephew of King Li Ying. If the three nephews of King Li Nan and King Li join forces, and then collude with Lu Sanhao who controls Yingtian Mansion, these eighteen sons will The prophecy that dominates the world may not come true! "
"What?" Liu Jinzhong was shocked when he heard this. "Mr. Dongshan, are you saying that Li Zhongshan also wants to imitate Geng Jingzhong and rebel and become the emperor? Mr. Shunshui, what do you say?"
Zhu Shunshui quickly shook his head and said: "Don't worry, King of the North. King Li Ying has no such plans now! He just wants to be a general, record the affairs of the minister, and supervise all domestic and foreign military affairs."
Old man Zha said without any yin or yang: "You haven't added Jiuxi yet, have you?"
"Not yet," Zhu Shunshui followed Old Man Cha's words and said, "Right now, he can't cover the sky with one hand. After all, the Ming Dynasty still has the North King and the Yi King!
But now, King of the North, you are disobeying the order of supervising the country, refusing to send troops to attack Geng Jingzhong, and occupying the imperial state capital. Isn't this giving the King of England an excuse? Your Majesty, please consider carefully. With your strength of occupying the Second Mansion of Su and Song and having 20,000 troops, if Li Zhongshan comes to attack you with the order of supervising the country, can you defeat him? "
"I, I" Liu Jinzhong was frightened, but after thinking about it, he felt something was wrong, "Isn't that true? He hasn't even captured Anqing yet! After Anqing, there are still Taiping, Chizhou, Ningguo, Huizhou, Guangde and other places to recover. , and then we have to go west to attack Jiujiang and capture Jiangxi. He has a lot of work!"
"Your Majesty," Old Man Zha shook his head and said, "Don't make such wishful thinking! Anqing can't hold out for many days anymore, and maybe it has been defeated now. After he defeats Anqing, can't he defeat you first? He How much trouble will it take to fight? Can we last for a month?"
"Hit me first?" Cold sweat broke out on Liu Jinzhong's forehead. "Did he ask me to hand over the Su and Song mansions and then attack Zhejiang just to find trouble? No, if I follow orders, what good will he do? Zhejiang The territory is much larger than that of Su Song! According to the edict of the Supervisory State, Zhejiang has been sealed to me!"
"The supervisory state also granted the capital of Fujian to King Yi!" Zhu Shunshui added.
"Why did King Li Ying do this?" Liu Jinzhong didn't understand.
"There are two reasons," Zhu Shunshui said. "The first is of course to get rid of the traitor Geng Jingzhong as soon as possible. Whether it is in eastern Fujian, Zhejiang, or several state capitals south of Anhui, Geng Jingzhong is still there. In the hands of the Jingzhong group. If these territories cannot be captured as soon as possible, King Li Ying, King Li Nan, and King Li Zhong will not be able to concentrate on attacking Jiangxi. Only by capturing Jiangxi can the territories of the three King Lis be truly connected!
The second reason is to show goodwill to King Bei and King Yi in exchange for your support for him to successfully become a general and a minister, so that he can take charge of the government. "
Old Man Cha saw that Zhu Shunshui had finished and added: "There is a third reason, which is to use Geng Jingzhong and Yue Le's stubborn resistance to consume the strength of you and Yi Wang. Geng Jingzhong and Yue Le are now trapped beasts and really want to fight. Life is not that easy to deal with!”
"It makes sense." Liu Jinzhong nodded, "I'm worried about this too. Although the Battle of Nanjing killed more than 20,000 men of Geng Jingzhong and Yue Le, the most capable men under Geng Jingzhong, Zeng Yangxing and Xu Wenhuan, did not participate in the Battle of Nanjing. They still have at least 30,000 troops on hand.
In addition, the Eight Banners garrisoned in Hangzhou did not participate in the Battle of Nanjing. There were thousands of them! "
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Geng Jingzhong had previously been so arrogant that he wanted to be the emperor. Of course he had some capital! Even if they lost a lot in Nanjing, they would still have tens of thousands of available troops.
Zhu Shunshui said with a solemn expression: "King Bei, no matter how difficult the battle between Zhejiang and Fujian is, you and King Yi must work hard to win it! Only if you two win a big victory and then occupy Fujian and Zhejiang, and become the horns of each other, can we intimidate each other. The Three Lis will make them dare not commit tampering. Only then can our vassal rule in the Ming Dynasty be maintained for a long time."
Liu Jinzhong nodded heavily and said in a low voice: "That's right. No matter how hard it is, I have to conquer Zhejiang, otherwise the world may be usurped by someone named Li tomorrow!"
He really believed it!
Zhu Shunshui and Zha Zuoyin glanced at each other, both snickering - the two old men still had a good relationship, and of course they were in cahoots.
Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu, and Wang Fuzhi all despised him as a person because of the old man Zha's report on the Ming Dynasty case, and refused to associate with him.
But Zhu Shunshui was not qualified to despise Zha Zuoyin - he himself was free and happy in Japan, and then despised the people who lived under the high-pressure rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty every day, asking them to have the same integrity as himself. This was not the behavior of a true great Confucian.
Of course Zhu Shunshui could have integrity, but he just wrote anti-statements every day, and after he had finished writing, he would send them to Beijing via North Korea, and Oboi could not do anything with him!
It is impossible for the Qing Dynasty to expedition to Japan, and there is no need to think about extradition. The shogunate monitors Mito Mitsukuni, one of the three imperial families, as his student. How can extradition be possible?
Therefore, Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu and others who lived under the butcher's knife of the Qing Dynasty like Zha Zuoyin can despise the old man Zha - Huang Zongxi's anti-book "Ming Yi Waiting for Visits" is much more powerful than any Ming history, and none of Huang Zongxi's disciples appeared Report, Old Man Cha is a scumbag in the eyes of these people! But Zhu Shunshui, who lives in Japan and has Mito Mitsukuni as his backstage, cannot despise Old Man Cha. He exchanged ideas with Old Man Zha, who was not afraid of the Qing Dynasty’s Literary Prison. But he was afraid that the Manchu butcher's knife had not been tested, and no one could guarantee it.
But now, Zha Zuoyin is neither afraid of the Manchus nor Geng Jingzhong!
"Your Majesty, I have a plan that will allow your Majesty to capture Geng Jingzhong easily!" Old Man Zha offered a plan while shaking his feather fan.
"What's the plan? Tell me quickly."
"Your Majesty, you can write a letter and send it to Geng Jingzhong in Hangzhou, urging him to apologize, ask the prisoner to forgive his mistakes, allow him to cede land, and then make meritorious deeds."
"What?" Liu Jinzhong was stunned, "Can Geng Jingzhong, a traitor, beg for forgiveness and make meritorious deeds?"
Zhu Shunshui smiled and said: "My lord, if Geng Jingzhong can really repent, then you and King Yi can win without a fight. If he refuses to apologize, then his retainers and allies will know that the court is tolerant."
Old Man Zha shook his feather fan and said: "Your Majesty, this Geng Jingzhong is so obsessed that he wants to be the emperor. He will never repent! Therefore, Your Majesty's letter will only shake his military morale!"
"That's right!" Liu Jinzhong clapped his hands, "If he hadn't been thinking about being emperor all day long, I wouldn't have objected to him! Mr. Dongshan, who do you think can be an envoy to lobby Geng Jingzhong?"
Zha Zuoyin shook his feather fan and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I am old and untalented. I would like to go to Hangzhou!"
When Zha Zuoyin returned to Hangzhou, he returned to his hometown in fine clothes. No one dared to look down on him anymore.
Originally, people in Zhejiang Shilin despised him as a person and disdained to associate with him. But now he is the envoy of Liu Jinzhong, the Northern King of the Ming Dynasty, who represents the great righteousness. He came to Hangzhou to persuade Geng Jingzhong, the rebel king, to plead guilty.
Among Zhejiang Shilin, many people are now confused about Geng Jingzhong's pirate ship, and they don't know how to get off?
These people were originally working in the Ming Dynasty Prince's Palace, but why did they become anti-king gang members in the blink of an eye? What's even more exaggerated is that after the anti-king army was defeated in Hangzhou, the city of Hangzhou became auspicious every day. One moment someone discovered a stone tablet that said "Destiny is in Jing", and another moment someone discovered a heavenly book that said "King Geng shall be the emperor." Another moment there was a white elephant, an auspicious beast that Japan paid tribute to.
After a lot of auspiciousness comes out, of course it’s time to persuade them to come in—immediately, immediately!
Who knows when Lu Bu and his family will arrive in Hangzhou?
They are coming, how can Geng Jingzhong still be the emperor?
Therefore, those Zhejiang scholars who boarded Geng Jingzhong's pirate ship were instructed that everyone should write a form of persuasion to join. Anyone who did not write would be beheaded!
Everyone is afraid of beheading!
Therefore, Geng Jingzhong has received a lot of advice these days. With this auspiciousness, public opinion, territory and army, he can seize the time to become emperor.
In Geng Jingzhong's temporary palace, Geng Jingzhong, who had put on a dragon robe, was sitting on the throne. In front of him were dozens of ministers wearing Ming Dynasty-style official uniforms, all watching the candidate emperor transform from a He took out a small ball of paper from the tea bowl, and then saw him gently opening it, reading the words on it, and said with a smile: "The name of Jingzhen's country is Dajing! From now on, the world will be divided into four points instead of three points. .”
"I would like to congratulate the Emperor in advance, and I would like to congratulate me on your great peace and prosperity!"
The ministers below also know that Geng Jingzhong cannot last long, but they still have to play with him!
Everyone knows that Geng Jingzhong has this obsession. If he is not allowed to take the lead, he will not close his eyes even if he dies!
"My ministers, if you have something to report, please leave the court if there is nothing!" Geng Jingzhong said with interest.
"Your Majesty," Mu Tianyan, the former Jiangsu vassal who was brought from Suzhou by Geng Jingzhong and now the Yin of Lin'an Prefecture, came out to announce at this time, "Liu Jinzhong, the Northern King of the Ming Dynasty, sent an envoy to see you, Your Majesty."
"What? Liu Jinzhong's envoy?" Geng Jingzhong was angry on the spot, "Why did he, a green-faced prince, send an envoy here? Is it because his wife was molested by Lu Bu, the little boy, so he wanted to have sex with me?"
"Report to your Majesty," Mu Tianyan said, "according to this envoy, the Northern King has been ordered to join King Yi in attacking your Majesty, so the Northern King hopes that you can take the initiative to apologize, and both he and King Yi will excuse you. . When the time comes, at most you will be cut off a little bit of land and your title will be reduced by one level, and you will still be a minister of the Ming Dynasty."
Hearing these words, the eyes of the Dajing courtiers present brightened up - now that Dajing has not been formally established, it is not too late to apologize and surrender!
"Shut up!" Geng Jingzhong shouted, "If I don't apologize, I will act as the emperor's messenger and push out Liu Jinzhong's envoy and behead him!"
(End of chapter)
