This is the safest place Li Shouzhong thinks. Don't worry about the partition walls having ears. Li Shouzhong said directly before Li Miao could speak. "Now the dragon's body is not in good condition, so we can only..."
At this point, Li Shouzhong did not continue. I made a gesture with my right index finger.
Perhaps because he was worried that Li Miao wouldn't understand, Li Shouzhong continued. "You can only move once..." Li Shouzhong gestured with his right index finger again.
Li Miao was shocked. Is it already so serious? "Fourth Prince..."
"Two of the five ministers in the cabinet, including me, have already repaid part of the money they owe." Li Shouzhong did not directly answer Li Miao's question.
Li Miao seems to have asked the ministers to take the initiative to return part of the owed silver. Although this was not a direct stance, it undoubtedly expressed recognition of the fourth prince. At least he showed his support for the Fourth Prince’s recent work!
The two cabinet ministers returned some of the silver owed to the Ministry of Revenue. Don't look at it just to mean it, but this is the attitude. In addition, Li Miao knew that his mentor Li Shouzhong did not owe the Ministry of Revenue any money.
It seems that the fourth prince has the emperor's approval. At least the emperor approved it before he became seriously ill. If Li Miao's estimate is correct, the emperor must have prepared the imperial edict to make the fourth prince the prince.
Otherwise, why would the two cabinet ministers take the initiative to return part of the money owed to the household department? It's just that he already knew the news that the fourth prince was canonized as prince. Just being a favor.
Asking the cabinet ministers to take the initiative to stand in line, the fourth prince does not have the strength yet.
Next, Master Li Miao and his apprentice spent a long time playing riddles in the study bedroom. Li Miao has nothing to do. He can't tell his mentor. Don't worry, I'm here! He could only follow Li Shouzhong's wishes.
Li Miao finally understood what his teacher wanted to express.
The emperor received an urgent report from Tian Yonggang, the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou, three days ago. Then during emergency cabinet deliberations, he suddenly became seriously ill.
The emperor should be conscious now, but only his right index finger can move his whole body.
The opinion of the cabinet ministers at that time was to announce the identity of the fourth prince and crown prince. Let the fourth prince preside over the affairs of the court. Anyway, the imperial edict for the fourth prince to be crown prince has already been drafted. It just hasn’t been announced yet.
After listening to the cabinet's opinions, the emperor's right index finger did not move. Maybe the emperor has had enough and has been in pain for two days. I don't want it to happen to him and the Fourth Prince again.
It may also be that the emperor felt that there was still hope for his recovery. To put it bluntly, the emperor does not want to delegate power yet. The importance of power is once again illustrated.
Dai Quan, the roundworm in the emperor's belly, obviously didn't want the fourth prince to preside over the government. So, the emperor spoke his mind.
Let the cabinet temporarily handle government affairs, and major matters require the approval of the emperor's right index finger. Dai Quan's proposal was immediately positively recognized by the Emperor's index finger.
Fortunately, there have been no major events in the past few days, and general affairs are handled by the cabinet.
This is obviously not a long-term solution. Therefore, two ministers in the cabinet have taken the initiative to repay part of the money owed to the Ministry of Revenue. The intention of supporting the prince to preside over the government is self-evident.
And what about the weekly court meeting? The current imperial doctors are helpless to deal with the emperor's condition. All of them would just shake their heads. Even Li Shouzhong is inclined to have the fourth prince preside over the government.
Obviously, a country cannot live without a king for a day. The current military situation in Jinzhou has been put on hold.
But it is clear that the cabinet cannot be of one mind. Zhang Yongheng, the second assistant to the cabinet, prefers to establish the eldest prince. Although the eldest prince's mother's family is not obvious. But he is a kind-hearted person and he is the eldest son of the emperor. Apparently there are many people who think this way.
The emperor has a total of four adult princes, and now the fourth prince has a clear advantage. If Dai Quan had not been loyal to the emperor, it would have been almost certain that the fourth prince would inherit the throne.
Dai Quan now has a lot of say. After all, he is a roundworm in the emperor's belly!
Li Shouzhong only cares about the stability of the government. Therefore, I still tend to support the fourth prince in my heart. But Li Shouzhong will not directly take sides.
Officials at the level of cabinet ministers generally rarely stand directly in line. Unless there are special circumstances.
Li Shouzhong was most worried about the military situation in Jinzhou. It was obvious that the Jurchens were preparing to capture Jinzhou City.
Tian Yonggang, the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou, was a veteran of the Taishang Emperor period. Proficient in military strategy and brave in battle. It has been more than ten years since he was promoted to Jinzhou General Soldier due to his meritorious service. The title of Marquis was also achieved with real swords and guns.
Tian Yonggang has 100,000 troops in Jinzhou. No matter how greedy the officials in the DPRK are, no one dares to touch his military salary. Everyone knows the significance of Jinzhou City to the Zheng Dynasty.
Even after the emperor came to power, he had to win over Tian Yonggang. Over the years, the annual military expenditures of Jinzhou City and Shanhaiguan were equivalent to nearly half of the total expenditure of the imperial court.
But the imperial court did not dare to weaken even half a point. Jinzhou City and even Shanhaiguan were too important.
Shanhaiguan mainly relied on the containment of Jinzhou City. Therefore, as long as Jinzhou City is not lost, Shanhaiguan will be as stable as Mount Tai. Wu Yingxiong, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, was a direct descendant of the emperor and had 50,000 soldiers and horses.
In addition to five thousand personal soldiers, Wu Yingxiong's men still have some fighting strength. The other 45,000 soldiers and horses are just a number. Empty wages account for more than half.
Less than half of the troops and horses were left, and they were just barely able to eat enough to make up the numbers. Not to mention combat power.
But Wu Yingxiong was not in a hurry. As long as Jinzhou City is not lost, Shanhaiguan will be impregnable. When Jinzhou City is lost, Shanhaiguan will definitely not be able to take it back.
Even with 50,000 elite soldiers, it would be difficult to defend it. Therefore, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan has been a bad job these years. Wu Yingxiong has grown fat and strong over the years.
Tian Yonggang, the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou, has been having a hard time these past few years. Jinzhou City is equivalent to an isolated city, although the military pay from the imperial court is fully paid.
But over the years, the people outside Jinzhou City were almost captured by the Jurchens.
The Jurchens' field strength was amazing, and Tian Yonggang could only watch the people being kidnapped. A large amount of land outside the city was abandoned. The price of food in Jinzhou City was astonishingly high, and most of the food was supplied within the customs.
Naturally, food prices have doubled. It is simply impossible to support such a large army with military pay alone. Of course the court knew about these situations, but there was no good solution.
If the budget is increased again, the Zheng Dynasty will not be able to bear it! Sooner or later you will be dragged down! Therefore, Tian Yonggang could only stick to Jinzhou City and live one day at a time.
Fortunately, in the past few years, the Jurchens have also stopped coming to Jinzhou City to harvest grass and valleys. Therefore, Tian Yonggang left 10,000 soldiers to defend Jinzhou City, and the remaining 90,000 soldiers and horses left the city to farm. Solving stomach problems is important.
In recent years, I have seen that the lives of soldiers have become easier. At least you don’t have to worry about going hungry.
It is inevitable that the combat effectiveness of soldiers and horses that have been farming for several years will decline. In addition, the population around Jinzhou area is sparse, and the military strength cannot be supplemented. Jinzhou City's combat power also suffered a serious decline.
Tian Yonggang was so anxious that he could not get a solution every time he went to the court. Tian Yonggang was mentally and physically haggard. He was not yet fifty years old, but his hair was full of gray hair. We know that it will be a matter of time before Jinzhou falls.
The problem with Jinzhou City is that it is isolated and its logistics cannot be effectively guaranteed. It is not difficult for the Jurchens to capture Jinzhou City. The key is how much price they are willing to pay.
A few days ago, Tian Yonggang got a tip. The Jurchens are preparing food and grass to feed at least 200,000 horses and horses for two months.
And a large number of craftsmen are still being recruited. Apparently preparing for a siege.
Tian Yonggang had long been prepared to sacrifice his life for the imperial court. But I didn't expect the Jurchens to come so fiercely. So fast! So Tian Yonggang quickly sent someone to report the military report from Jinzhou City to the court.
Tian Yonggang is just doing his best to obey fate. Tian Yonggang also knew the situation in the court. I wouldn't wait until now if I had a way.
Over the years, no matter how corrupt the imperial court was, it had never deducted a single tael of silver from Jinzhou City.
Accompanying the urgent report from Jinzhou was a memorial from Tian Yonggang. Every word is bloody. The only son among the soldiers released from Jinzhou City left, and almost all the few civilians in the city were gone. Only less than 70,000 troops and horses were left.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of food and grass in the city. Tian Yonggang and more than 60,000 soldiers are willing to live or die with Jinzhou City.
The emperor did not know whether he was grateful for the loyalty of the soldiers of Jinzhou City, or whether the fall of Jinzhou City was imminent. Fainted on the spot. And the court was in chaos because of this. The courtiers paid more attention to the prince.
Li Shouzhong's current anxiety is mainly in Jinzhou City. As for the reserve position in the court, Li Shouzhong didn't care. Once Jinzhou City is lost, Shanhaiguan will definitely not be able to hold it. The Great Zheng Dynasty is in danger!
We must know how much effort the Dazheng Dynasty put into building Jinzhou City, spending a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and it took several years to build this huge city.
This project was criticized by many people back then. It exhausted the national strength accumulated by the Zheng Dynasty over the past many years. It is simply a waste of people and money. How wise it seems now!
Li Miao quickly used silver needles to help her mentor heal his body. There were some words that Li Miao couldn't explain. I can only advise Li Shouzhong to relax. The dry words had no effect at all, and Li Shouzhong was obviously much more decadent.
Of course Li Miao knew. The real target of the Jurchens this time is the Liaodong Bureau, which is the Dalian area. When the weather gets colder, the loose soil becomes solid and frozen.
The cavalry can ride on it. That was when the Jurchens sent their troops to Liaodong.
As for whether the Jurchens are targeting Jinzhou City, Li Miao also thinks about it! As long as Jinzhou City does not surrender, it will be considered a one to one battle loss. It would also cost 70,000 Jurchens to fight. The Jurchens can’t afford it!
Besides, even if the Jurchens captured Jinzhou City, the Liaodong Bureau was still there, and the Jurchens still did not dare to attack Shanhaiguan. Still contain the Jurchens!
This is why Li Miao is trying to use up all his luck. One of the reasons why we want to capture the entire Dalian area. The main purpose is to completely block the sea lanes. Limit the rapid development of Jurchens.
This time the Jurchens also recruited a large number of craftsmen. Obviously this is bad news for the Liaodong Bureau. The mausoleum is not a huge city! However, the five-meter-high mausoleum is less than one meter thick.
The mausoleum is still easily breached. But Li Miao is not very worried. As long as it is not a field battle, the guards of the tomb are also the subjects that they practice the most all year round.
As long as the Jurchens are ready with siege equipment. It shouldn't be difficult to break through the mausoleum. Li Miao's only worry now is whether he has enough luck.
Now that the Jurchens are attacking the Liaodong Bureau, the Jurchens belong to the restored territory. The Liaodong Bureau did not have the right name of the Zheng Dynasty and was still an occupied territory.
So Li Miao was still a little worried that the Jurchens were desperate. If Li Miao runs out of luck by then, the Liaodong game will be considered a win. Li Miao will definitely not end well.
I hope that the Jurchens' leadership level will be online and they will not make unnecessary sacrifices.
