Naturally, such a big thing as the Shandong civil uprising spread quickly in the capital.
It is related to the Confucius family in Qufu, so the impact is greater and the attention is naturally higher.
Many people inside and outside the court were speculating on the court's attitude.
Should the focus be on annihilation and suppression, or should the focus be on appeasing and calming people down?
In this regard, most people in the capital tend to appease him!
After all, this is related to Qufu Yanshenggong, and there are several examples of popular uprisings in Jiangnan in the past. This kind of popular uprising is different from the rebellion caused by bandits.
However, there are also a small number of people who, after judging what happened in the court over the past year and a half, feel that the current court is already capable of handling local affairs and will not be so weak.
When Duke Xingguo returned to Beijing, he escorted Hou Xun, the former governor of the five provinces, and Zuo Liangyu, the famous commander-in-chief. They were all cut into pieces with a thousand swords, and their heads were sent to the nine border provinces to wake up the rebellion.
However, the number of people who hold this view is too small. Most people in restaurants, teahouses, and government offices think that the court will focus on appeasing them, and at most they will capture and kill a few of the mob leaders. Correspondingly, those Dongchang fans are also likely to The imperial court withdrew to appease the popular uprising.
Everyone in the capital was guessing this, and they were all paying attention to what was going on in the court.
However, they didn't wait long before the emperor's decree came out.
The content was naturally something that none of them expected. He ordered Duke Xingguo and the commander of Jinyiwei to lead nearly 30,000 cavalry troops outside the city to Shandong to quell the chaos.
Duke Xingguo's ability to lead troops has been proven for more than a year. As for the nearly 30,000 cavalry outside the city, most of them were elite bandits. Before coming to the capital, they had swept across the grasslands and deserts, so there was no doubt about their strength.
No matter how violent the civil uprising in Shandong becomes, this army will definitely be able to suppress it once it arrives.
As soon as this decree came out, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household immediately started to move with great fanfare, and the supplies to the army outside the city also accelerated. Even the war bureau belonging to the palace had carts of firearms transported outside the city.
According to the news spread throughout the city, after completing the supply arrangements, the army will set out to quell the chaos in Ludi in five days.
As soon as the news spread, there were many fast horses in the capital and they hurried to Shandong.
Zhang Mingwei, as the commander of the Jinyi Guards, certainly knew about these movements, and he also knew who those people who left quickly were probably.
The so-called military principles of rapidity and surprise did not apply to Zhang Mingwei's counterinsurgency campaigns.
The reason why the army delayed the deployment and spread the news of the troop dispatch was all intentional by Zhang Mingwei.
Regarding the civil uprising in Shandong, he did not really want to use force to suppress it. It's not that I'm worried that the losses of the troops under my leadership will be too great, but that I'm afraid of hurting the roots of Shandong's people's livelihood.
Therefore, he deliberately asked people from all over Shandong in the capital to send the news back.
If he knew that the imperial court was going to send an army that they could not defeat to suppress the rebellion, and that they would go on to rebel and cause trouble, Zhang Mingwei would never tolerate it.
Judging from previous cases, this kind of popular uprising was actually instigated by local powerful people behind the scenes. In line with the idea that the law does not punish the public, and because of the partiality of local officials, the court usually tried to appease the people. In this way, most of the troublemakers will receive wages, or even no wages at all. Those who are instigated and induced to cause a farce will end in the end.
However, if they knew that the imperial court would send elite troops to suppress them forcefully, Zhang Mingwei believed that most people would not dare to make trouble again and would flee home before the army arrived.
If it is neither of these two situations, it doesn't matter. Anyway, he has a strong army in his hands, and the emperor has given full authority to Zhang Mingwei in Shandong affairs. Naturally, it can depend on the situation.
Although there were still some voices in the capital that opposed the imperial court's strong suppression of the Shandong civil uprising. But the emperor's decree has been issued and the army is already taking action, so these people cannot control it.
Five days later, Zhang Mingwei said goodbye to Chen Yuanyuan with some regret. The New Year's Eve of the 16th year of Chongzhen had to be spent on the road again.
Empress Zhou didn't want Zhu Yu'a to be so busy anymore, but Zhu Yu'a was happy and Emperor Chongzhen supported her, so she would spend this year on the road.
Gao Yigong and others were originally transferred to Shanhaiguan after resting in the capital, but now they are all heading to Lu under the command of Duke Xingguo.
Zhang Mingwei told them the purpose of this expedition before setting off.
When Gao Yigong and others heard that they were going to suppress the civil uprising, and that behind the civil uprising were local powerful men causing trouble, they were all excited. They even joked with each other. Isn't this what they used to do!
For that, they are happy to get back to their old business!
……………………
On the Shandong side, the imperial envoy Zuo Maodi was in Jinan City, the capital, while the eunuch Wang Erbiao, the eunuch Wang Erbiao, the eunuch of the Bureau of Ceremonies, was in Yanzhou City. The main forces of the civil uprising surrounded Yanzhou.
Wang Erbiao, who escaped from Qufu and escaped death, has never had a good night's sleep. Every day, he was afraid that the bandits outside the city would suddenly enter the city, and that the people in the city would also make trouble and kill him!
Therefore, the Dongchang officers he brought with him almost hijacked the Yanzhou City magistrate and kept him on guard. We eat, drink, and eat together, and we can't be separated from him for a moment.
"My family tells you that the imperial court will definitely suppress the rebellion here. If you dare to indulge or participate in it, Duke Xingguo's troops can destroy thieves Li and Zhang. How can you still block Duke Xingguo's troops? "
"Don't think that I don't know that Duke Yan is behind him. He is asking for his own death. Killing officials is rebellion! If you collude with Duke Yan, you will also end up annihilating the nine tribes!"
"..."
At the beginning, Wang Erbiao would say this kind of threatening thing once a day or two to see if something was wrong. Later, he would remind him almost every day.
These words not only threatened these local officials to keep Yanzhou Mansion safe, but also encouraged him.
One thing he was right about was that behind these things was the instruction of the contemporary Yanshenggong Kong Yinzhi. Otherwise, in Shandong, especially in Qufu, nothing would happen without the consent of the Kong family.
At this time, in the lobby of Yanshenggong Mansion, Qufu County Magistrate Kong Daxia was reporting the current situation to Kong Yinzhi.
At the end, he said confidently: "Don't worry, I know the seriousness. That Wang Erbiao is the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the ceremony, and the godson of the eunuch Wang Chengen. He cannot be killed. At present, Yanzhou is temporarily Let’s remain in this stalemate for now and wait for the court’s next move.”
Kong Yinzhi had always been pampered all his life. He had never dealt with political affairs, and he had never experienced such a scene. He was persuaded by Kong Dazhao to agree, but afterwards he was always a little uneasy. After listening to Kong Daqi's words, he was still a little worried and said: "What if, I mean what if, what if the court really has to send a large army to suppress it?"
"No!" Upon hearing this, Kong Daqi vetoed without hesitation, "In Suzhou alone, there was the anti-tax civil uprising in the Wanli era and the Kaidu uprising in the Tianqi era. In which case did the imperial court forcefully suppress it? Isn’t it always the case that the thunder is louder than the raindrops? Nowadays, the civil uprising in our Lu area is even more powerful, and there is the influence of our Confucius family. Who among those in the officialdom is not a disciple of Confucius and Mencius? They want to give us face, How is it possible to send a large army to suppress it?”
"But...but I'm restless. I keep waking up from my dreams these days!" After hearing this, Kong Yinzhi said worriedly, "Don't forget, the people in power in the court now are not related to our Kong family. It’s hard to deal with Duke Xingguo!”
Hearing this, Kong Daqi was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, and said nonchalantly: "It's okay, didn't Qian Qianyi's article come from the capital? Duke Xingguo's new learning is also within the scope of our Confucianism. He can be considered a disciple of our Kong family, will he do anything random to us?"
As soon as he heard this, Kong Yinzhi became angry, and immediately said with an angry look: "That Qian Qianyi, I always thought that as a scholar leader, he was a model of iron-clad and unyielding, but in the end... he turned out to be an old man. Slippery! If others can't see it, why can't I see it? He is trying to please Duke Xingguo. As soon as his article is published, how many scholars will learn that new study? The content of the imperial examination mentioned before may not be known for many years. , you will be tested on the newly learned content!”
If this is the case, it will definitely have an impact on the status of the Kong family. But it's too early to worry about this matter now.
But also because of talking about this, Kong Yinzhi immediately remembered something, and said to Kong Daqi worriedly: "Did we not consider it before? If Duke Xingguo wants to suppress our Kong family, will it really happen?" Come with the troops. His ability to lead is really... really worrying!"
Kong Yinzhi saw that Kong Yinzhi was always worried about this and that. He couldn't help but feel a little contempt in his heart. How could he be the only one to be regarded as Yanshenggong?
Although he was thinking so in his mind, he still comforted Kong Yinzhi and said: "You and I did not participate in the civil uprising. The core members of our Qufu Kong family were all wiped out. Even if Duke Xingguo was powerful, We have to be reasonable, right? Otherwise, would all the scholars in the world agree?"
Thinking about it this way, Kong Yinzhi felt a little relieved.
"Besides, now in Shandong, there are civil unrest in Dongchang Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture far away from Qufu. Could it be that the civil unrest over there can still be blamed on our Kong family?" Kong Dagong said Seeing this, he continued to cheer him up and said, "Have you finished writing the memorial that was sent to the capital to accuse the factory guards of atrocities as I mentioned before?"
"According to what you said, it has been sent out. It is estimated that it has arrived at Jinan Mansion by now." Kong Yinzhi heard this and immediately replied.
After Kong Da Da heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "Okay, then just sit back and watch the show!"
However, just as he finished speaking, shouts came from outside.
