December 3, the eighth year of Chongzhen.
Yang Sichang was at Yihong Mansion, accepting a banquet from his friend Chen Xinjia.
"Yang Shangshu, your Majesty has appointed you as Shangshu of the Ministry of War.
Wen Tiren is about to fall, and there will definitely be a major change in the cabinet. When the time comes, Yang Shangshu, who is in great power, will definitely be able to join the cabinet. "
Yang Sichang listened to Chen Xinjia's praise and thought about the current situation in the court.
The imperial court secretly negotiated peace with Jiannu, and the Ningjin defense line did not need to invest too much money in maintenance.
However, in Shanxi, Henan and other places, large sums of money were needed to maintain the army to prevent yellow-clad thieves and break-ins.
The gentry in the south collectively resisted taxes, and there were many natural disasters in the north. The court's control over local areas weakened and it could not collect much money.
The imperial treasury was empty, and Emperor Chongzhen began to force ministers and nobles to donate money, and also stopped the salaries of the Ming Dynasty clan.
The fifth son of the emperor, Zhu Ci [Huo Zhen], died suddenly and violently. It was rumored that Emperor Chongzhen was immoral and the disaster should be on his son.
Yang Sichang could clearly see that this was the power whose interests were harmed and was threatening Emperor Chongzhen.
The Forbidden City is like a big sieve, and the forces inside are intricate.
Emperor Chongzhen had no way of controlling the Forbidden City.
Emperor Tianqi's death was unclear, and many emperors and princes in the Ming Dynasty died in unclear ways.
Emperor Chongzhen could only stop soliciting donations, and the court could not collect taxes. It also cost a lot to fight every day, and the Ming court went bankrupt.
This is why Emperor Chongzhen sent him to negotiate peace with Hou Jin.
The nomads just want some property, jewelry, and slave women, which can be easily satisfied.
The thieves in yellow want the Ming Dynasty of the old Zhu family and the lifeblood of the gentry.
When dealing with the peace faction of the yellow thieves, the Ming court only wanted to delay the decisive battle, and no one dared to propose peace with the yellow thieves.
Emperor Chongzhen was unable to do anything about the empty treasury and could only transfer the pressure to his first assistant, Wen Tiren.
Wen Tiren had no choice. The only thing he could do to receive a large amount of silver now was to clear up his accumulated debt.
Under normal circumstances, the gentry were only exempted from the basic land tax. The gentry also had to pay additional payments from the court, such as Liao pay.
But the gentry had many ways to avoid paying taxes.
The imperial court's additional contributions from the gentry were transferred to the tenants and farmers, and all the taxes that could not be transferred were owed.
The power of the gentry was great, and there were people in the court. They did not pay taxes, and the local county magistrate did not dare to urge them to pay.
In order to collect taxes, many places also relied on the gentry to assist in collecting taxes.
As long as the gentry is allowed to pay taxes, there will be civil unrest, and the officials who collect taxes will be immediately dismissed from their posts and imprisoned, and no one will dare to demand payment.
In some places, taxes have been embezzled by local officials, and the holes have never been filled.
The tax arrears of the gentry and the taxes of corrupt officials formed a huge local debt.
This is a hornet's nest, no one dares to touch it.
Wen Tiren had no choice but to disturb this hornet's nest.
He only implemented this policy in Beizhili and Shandong, two wealthy areas in the north that had not suffered from military disasters.
A large amount of taxes were collected and a large number of officials were dealt with to ensure the operation of the court.
However, Wen Tiren's approach offended the entire officialdom and formed a wave of government collapse.
The opposition was so loud that Yang Sichang found that Emperor Chongzhen would not be able to handle it, and Wen Tiren would soon be dismissed by Emperor Chongzhen.
The Wen Party left the cabinet, freeing up many cabinet positions.
Yang Sichang is not qualified to serve as the chief minister of the cabinet, but there is no problem in entering the cabinet.
Chen Xinjia was very happy to see Yang Sichang and clapped his hands.
Two brothel women wearing tulle clothes walked into the room carrying two glasses of wine.
"Yang Shangshu, there was news from Henan a few days ago that Guan Ning's army has arrived in Mengjin County.
The rebel Li Zicheng has been besieged by Tianxiong's army for a long time. With the help of Guan Ning's army, he will be wiped out soon.
Once the officers and soldiers have wiped out the last group of rebels in Henan, they can concentrate on dealing with the threat of the thieves in yellow. "
Chen Xinjia knew that Yang Sichang hated the thieves in yellow.
His father, Lord Yang Heyang, the governor of the three sides, was killed by the thieves in yellow.
Yang Sichang has a bloody feud with the thief in yellow.
"Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting are both capable people, and they will definitely have no problem dealing with small rebels.
Now that the wars in various parts of the Ming Dynasty have subsided, they can concentrate on dealing with the power of the thieves in yellow.
King Chuang and Hou Jin were only minor problems for the Ming Dynasty, while the thieves in yellow were the most serious trouble. "
Yang Sichang drank wine and thought about how to contact more gentry and get more people in the Ming court to support him and fight against the yellow thieves together.
Boom, boom, boom.
Someone knocked on the door very frequently.
Yang Sichang drank wine and motioned to Chen Xinjia to open the door.
A fifth-rank civil servant from the Ministry of War walked in and said in an anxious tone: "Yang Shangshu, the thieves in yellow are attacking Mengjin County in a large scale.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting's more than 100,000 troops were besieged in the small Mengjin County.
The emperor convened the cabinet and the Ministry of War officials to discuss matters. "
When Yang Sichang heard the news, he immediately stood up.
He strode outside and took a sedan chair to the Forbidden City.
Yang Sichang was on the sedan chair and asked the civil servant of the Ministry of War on the sedan chair next to him.
"Tell me the details of the matter."
This civilian official from the Ministry of War immediately introduced the major events that happened today.
"Yang Shangshu, this morning there was a messenger sent by Governor Lu Xiangsheng.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting jointly led the troops and broke through Mengjin County occupied by the rebel Li Zicheng.
Capture Li Zicheng alive and completely eliminate the rebel bandit entrenched in Henan.
When the Holy Emperor heard the news, he was very happy and immediately summoned the elders to discuss what rewards to give to Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting.
There were serious differences in the reward cabinet, and before the discussion was completed, the bad news came. "
When Yang Sichang heard the news, he was not surprised.
The news that kept coming back was basically good news.
The army of the rebel Li Zicheng has been compressed into a small county. It is only a matter of time before he is defeated.
Yang Sichang guessed: "So, as soon as Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting defeated the rebel Li Zicheng, they were trapped in Mengjin County by thieves in yellow.
The thieves in yellow used the rebel thief Li Zicheng as bait to lure Daming to Mengjin County.
The rebel thief Li Zicheng was able to persist for so long because of the support of the thief in yellow.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were too careless. Why didn't they pay attention to the surrounding situation during the siege?
They were unexpectedly successfully attacked by thieves in yellow. This was an army of 100,000 people.
If they can't stop the thief in yellow, Shuntian Mansion will be in danger. "
"Yang Shangshu, you are right, Henan Governor Babaili has just arrived in the capital in a hurry.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting defeated the rebel Li Zicheng, and were immediately surrounded by heavy troops from the yellow-robed thieves in Mengjin County.
The thieves in yellow sent out a large number of troops this time. The governor of Henan reported in his book that the thieves in yellow sent out an army of 340,000 to attack Henan.
Among them, the leader of the yellow-robed thieves, King Su He of Qin, personally led the troops. "
"This is completely nonsense." Yang Sichang angrily said, "The total strength of the regular army of the yellow-robed thieves is only over 300,000.
How could they go out in full force and send all their troops to the Henan area?
Su He, the king of Qin who was a thief in yellow, personally led his troops to attack.
The thieves in yellow launched an all-out attack on Ming Dynasty and wanted to seize Ming Dynasty.
It is impossible that only the thieves in yellow from Shaanxi are out.
The thieves in yellow from Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places will inevitably follow suit.
Even if they don't send troops to attack, the thieves in yellow must leave enough troops to defend.
It is simply impossible. Three to four hundred thousand people attacked the Ming Dynasty. "
Yang Sichang knew that the yellow-clad thieves could not possibly send an army of 300,000 to 400,000 to attack Henan.
This is because the governor of Henan was afraid of taking responsibility and falsely reported the strength of the yellow bandits to prove that he was incompetent and to blame himself for his own incompetence.
Yang Sichang took a sedan chair and quickly arrived at the Meridian Gate.
There are already several pavilion elders waiting here.
Let everyone wait for him here and immediately come forward to apologize.
When Yang Sichang walked towards here, he had already seen the elders quarreling fiercely.
They should have reached some consensus here, but also had great differences.
Wen Tiren waved his hand and said: "Everyone is here, let's talk as we walk.
Everyone knows what happened. Let's unify our thoughts first and deal with this matter after meeting the saint.
Now is the time when the life and death of the Ming Dynasty is at stake. Everyone should give up unnecessary disputes and face this difficulty together. "
Yang Sichang heard what Wen Tiren meant. His words came out of both public and selfish motives.
Everyone understands the truth of dying lips and cold teeth.
If the Ming Dynasty did not exist, there would be no need for these ministers and ministers to exist.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has reached a life-and-death moment, internal fighting will continue, leading to chaos in the center, and there is no way to mobilize the officers and soldiers to resist the yellow-robed thieves.
If the thieves in yellow really want to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, people like them will definitely not end well.
Wen Tiren's selfishness became even more obvious. During this period of time in the Ming Dynasty, the most intense party struggle was the overthrow of the government.
As the biggest victim, Wen Tiren certainly hopes that everyone will give up party fighting, go all out to deal with the thieves in yellow, and continue to maintain his position as chief assistant.
Yang Sichang predicted that the party struggle would not subside and the conference would weaken.
The thieves in yellow launched a massive attack, no matter whether the Ming Dynasty could win or not.
The current chief assistant is a hot potato, and no one is willing to pick it up.
Several cabinet ministers snorted coldly, but they said nothing.
Being silent is the biggest statement. They acquiesced in Wen Tiren's statement.
The fierce quarrel just now has already completed the exchange of corresponding benefits.
Now this mess is left to Wen Tiren to solve.
Everyone entered the Forbidden City and, under the guidance of the eunuchs, quickly approached the Qianqing Palace.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately received them.
They saluted Emperor Chongzhen and then stood up.
Yang Sichang looked at Emperor Chongzhen with his peripheral vision.
He found Emperor Chongzhen with a little panic in his eyes.
Emperor Chongzhen was not polite and directly consulted: "Everyone likes to hear it, the thieves in yellow are marching into Henan.
Dear friends, what can you do? "
Everyone was already prepared to hear Emperor Chongzhen's question.
Wen Tiren directly suggested: "The soldiers will block it, and the water will cover it with the earth.
The Beijing camp is now useless and cannot stop the army of yellow-robed thieves.
The minister asked the emperor to issue an edict and summon officers and soldiers from various places to serve the king.
The Ningjin Defense Line and Shanhaiguan Pass are also heavily guarded.
Now that Houjin has not harassed the border for a long time, the Ningjin defense line troops should be mobilized to go south to King Qin.
The border troops in Datong Town and Xuanfu Town are closest to Shuntian Prefecture. Many tribes in Mongolia are fighting with the yellow-clothed thieves. The Great Wall defense line is temporarily unobstructed, so the border troops should be mobilized.
Shandong, southern Zhili and other places had not suffered military disasters and could dedicate part of their troops to serve the king. "
Emperor Chongzhen heard that Wen Tiren's only solution was to mobilize troops to help the king.
He was a little dissatisfied. Everyone knew what King Qin had to do.
But now the Ming Dynasty is short of money and food. To mobilize troops to serve the king, the first thing to do is to solve the problem of military pay.
Emperor Chongzhen asked several more pavilion elders, and they basically repeated Wen Tiren's idea and called on the troops from all over the country to serve the king.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were surrounded, and these people had no way to save them.
The treasury was already empty and money was needed to fight the war. They did not pay attention to where the money for the war came from.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Yang Sichang. He felt that the new Minister of War was a man who knew the military.
The most important point is that Yang Sichang has a blood feud with the thief in yellow, and he will definitely work hard to deal with the thief in yellow.
"Yang Aiqing, tell me what you think."
When Yang Sichang heard Emperor Chongzhen's inquiry, he immediately said: "Your Majesty, the elders have made it very clear about King Qin.
If we want to resist the thieves in yellow, we must mobilize soldiers and horses from all over the country.
Now the main problem is that the court has no money. I have a way to solve the problem of the court's lack of money and send troops to support Mengjin County. "
Emperor Chongzhen felt relieved when he heard that Yang Sichang had a solution.
Yang Sichang's tone was moderate and his words were clear, giving Emperor Chongzhen enough time to think.
"Your Majesty, Governor Lu Xiangsheng and Governor Sun Chuanting, the more than 100,000 officers and soldiers they command must be rescued.
This is the firearms army that the imperial court has worked hard to build. The current situation in the Ming Dynasty cannot accept such a huge loss.
Even if they cannot be rescued, tens of thousands of yellow-robed thieves must be eliminated to effectively prevent the yellow-robed thieves from going north.
It costs money to visit the king and send reinforcements.
Ming Dynasty has reached a very critical moment.
The dynasty has maintained its honors and nobles for more than two hundred years, and now it is time for them to reimburse the Ming Dynasty.
The noble sons are well versed in the art of war and have strong bodies.
Form an army composed of noble sons and let them rescue Governor Lu.
Those who do not want to go must pay five thousand taels of silver as military expenses.
The nobles can only choose to provide people or money. "
Yang Sichang directly targeted Xungui.
Since the Tumubao Incident in the Ming Dynasty, the Xungui Group has been suppressed by the civil servant group, and the power it holds has become worse with each passing generation.
But every noble family, whose family has been passed down for hundreds of years and has not yet been destroyed, is a wealthy family.
Yang Sichang slashed the sword directly at the nobles, and he would not suffer the strong backlash from the civil servant group.
In order to avoid bleeding, the civil service group will also support his idea.
Xun Gui now has money and does not hold too much power, so he is a suitable target.
Businessmen are the best targets, but now the small businessmen have been expropriated and are still able to do business. They are all big businessmen with backgrounds.
Wen Tiren saw that Emperor Chongzhen was deep in thought after Yang Sichang finished speaking.
He immediately said: "Your Majesty, we civil servants are all poor and talented people, and our honors have been passed down through our families for hundreds of years.
The wealth they control is astonishing. The Ming Dynasty is already in danger of life and death, so the nobles should be allowed to help. "
Emperor Chongzhen was hesitant at first, fearing that his nobles would resist too fiercely.
He received support from the civil service group and immediately agreed to this approach.
…………………………
The capital was extremely lively during this period, with a large number of nobles crying outside the Meridian Gate.
He wanted Emperor Chongzhen to take back his life, but he didn't even see Emperor Chongzhen's face.
They immediately came up with delaying tactics and cheated without paying. What could the court do?
Until the Jin Yiwei came to the door and took their family members to join the army, these people immediately panicked and could only take out a large amount of silver.
Only the British prince Zhang Shize and a few other nobles chose to join the army.
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