Among the elders of the Kong family, many people were unwilling to pay for the thousand taels of silver. In the end, under the strong suppression of the elder of the second clan of the Kong family, they still scraped together all the money.
Kong Yinjing used a carriage to pull less than ten thousand taels of silver coins and rushed to Laizhou to see Hong Hengjiu.
Being descendants of saints can no longer bring direct benefits to the Kong family. What they, the Kong family's leaders, can do has become limited.
For scholars, reading is just a tool for being an official. Except for a few scholars who are simple-minded when they enter the officialdom, most officials show respect for Confucius. That is because there is Confucius, a sage, behind them. But once they When being an official has little to do with Confucius, Confucius's status will suddenly decline.
There was no imperial examination under the rule of Huzi Banner, nor did he show too much respect for Confucianism. Instead, he focused on practical learning.
What is good at the top must be good at the bottom.
The Tiger-Character Banner did not show an attitude of praising Confucius and Confucianism. The people who were officials in the Tiger-Character Banner naturally had a mediocre attitude towards Confucianism, and they did not have much respect for Confucius who was just one floor away.
Whether it is the officials of the Tiger Banner or the officials of the Ming Dynasty, they all value practical benefits. This is human nature, and it does not make any difference just because of a surname.
On Kong Yinjing's way to Laizhou, Dengzhou, which had not waited for reinforcements, surrendered with the navy, and the entire Dengzhou fell into the hands of the Tiger Flag.
Nowadays, the situation in Shandong is that the Tiger-Character Banner has the most power. Fu Zonglong, the governor of Shandong, led part of the Ming army to guard the city of Jinan Prefecture. Even though most of the prefectures and counties in Jinan Prefecture have been lost, it is still the most powerful Ming Dynasty besides the Tiger-Character Banner. military.
Wang Chengyin, who ran to Liaocheng, controlled Dongchang Mansion and was the weakest.
The news of the fall of the two mansions was not concealed for too long and quickly reached the capital.
When Chongzhen, who was in the imperial court, heard the news for the first time, he was furious on the spot and smashed several tea cups he usually liked.
"Your Majesty, the chief minister is outside asking for an audience." A young eunuch came in to report.
"Let him in!" Chongzhen said in a bad tone.
Since Han Xu became the chief minister of the cabinet, the situation in Ming Dynasty has never improved, which made him increasingly dislike Han Xu.
Soon, Han Xu was brought to Chongzhen by the young eunuch.
"I see your Majesty." Han Xu turned around and saluted Chongzhen.
Chongzhen picked up the tureen on the table, brought it to his mouth and blew on the hot air, took another sip, then put it back on the table beside him and said, "Is Han Qing here about Shandong?"
"Reporting to your Majesty, I am here precisely for matters related to Shandong." Han Xu frankly admitted his purpose of coming.
The veins on Chongzhen's forehead popped a few times, and he suppressed his anger and said, "Then let's talk about it, how should the Shandong issue be resolved?"
"I believe that the few soldiers and horses Fu Zonglong has alone may not be able to deal with the powerful rebels. We should mobilize soldiers and horses from Shanhaiguan to participate in the suppression of the rebellion in Shandong. Otherwise, if Shandong is in danger, the capital will be in danger." Han Xu said.
Chongzhen took a deep breath and said, "Once troops and horses are mobilized from Shanhaiguan and sent to Shandong, has Han Qing thought about what to do if the slave thieves from Liaodong invade?"
He ascended to the throne with great ambitions, but he still couldn't figure out why the situation was getting worse and worse. Not to mention compared with the emperor's brother, even compared with the emperor's grandfather, he considered himself to be diligent in managing state affairs and worked hard every day. Falling, not daring to rest for a moment.
"Abandon the Ningjin front line and stick to Shanhaiguan. In this way, a large number of troops can be mobilized to enter the pass." Han Xu gave Chongzhen's advice.
Chongzhen looked hesitant.
This method was indeed the best way to add a group of elite soldiers to the imperial court, but he was unwilling to give up on Ning Jin.
In recent years, the imperial court has spent a lot of money and food on Ning Jin's defense line, and it is really unacceptable to give it up like this.
"Your Majesty, once Shandong falls into the hands of the rebels, the rebels can not only block the water transportation and cut off the grain transportation to the capital, but also go directly north through Shandong without many obstacles and obstacles. But it is different at Shanhaiguan. Even if Without the two cities of Ning and Jin, the imperial court could also prevent slave thieves from going south from Shanhaiguan into the capital by guarding Shanhaiguan." Han Xu analyzed for Chongzhen.
Chongzhen hesitated for a long while and asked with a frown: "Is there no other way?"
Han Xu was silent.
"Han Qing, you are my chief assistant in the Ming Dynasty, and you are also my chief assistant. Think about it for me, is there any way to solve the rebellion in Shandong without losing Ningjin's defense line." Chongzhen was unwilling in his heart. Just give up on the Ningjin defense line.
He knows that it is easy to give up, but it is difficult to get it back.
After hearing this, Han Xu continued to persuade: "The slave thieves are outside, but the tiger thieves are inside. If the thieves who are in internal trouble are not suppressed, it will be difficult for the court to concentrate its efforts on dealing with the external thieves. I believe that the top priority is to get rid of the internal thieves. Once the internal thieves are eliminated, , What you gave up before can be regained in the future.”
"Is Han Qing sure he can get it back?" Chongzhen asked.
Han Xu nodded vigorously and said, "Definitely."
"Han Qing is confident, but why haven't Liaoyang and Shenyang Zhongwei been recaptured yet? Is it because the support from the imperial court is not strong, or is the imperial court sending too little money and food to Liaodong?" Chongzhen looked at Han Xu's face. superior.
Han Xu choked up when he heard this.
The imperial court sent a large amount of money and food to Liaodong every year, but the situation in Liaodong never improved much. Except for the fact that Yuan Chonghuan was still there and defended the city and won several battles, Ming Dynasty was the one who suffered the loss at other times.
"Why didn't Han Qing say anything?" Chongzhen did not let Han Xu go.
Even if the method proposed by Han Xu was feasible, he did not intend to let Han Xu go. In fact, Han Xu had let him down too many times, and he felt that the chief assistant should be replaced by someone else.
When asked, Han Xu had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "I believe that the reason why the situation in Liaodong is like this is largely due to tiger thieves. Because of tiger thieves, the imperial court not only lost money and food in the northwest and other places, but also We had to fight on two fronts, which involved the court's energy and a large number of troops."
"I understand what you said. What I want now is a solution! A solution." Chongzhen said repeatedly.
Han Xu said: "I still recommend as before, first reduce the troops to deal with the tiger bandits, and then concentrate on dealing with the slave bandits in Liaodong. If the civil strife is not eliminated, it will only affect the energy of the court and prevent the court from focusing on dealing with the slave bandits."
"Going south!" Chongzhen asked suddenly.
Hearing this, Han Xu was stunned for a moment and said, "What's going south? With Shanhaiguan here, the slave thieves will never be able to cross Shanhaiguan and go south, otherwise they wouldn't have bypassed Shanhaiguan and broke through Xifengkou in the first place."
"I'm not talking about slaves and traitors going south, but the imperial court going south." Chongzhen said with dissatisfaction, thinking that Han Xu was deliberately pretending to be at odds with him again.
