"That dog emperor kills ministers at every turn. I heard that he even took off the head of the chief minister. We send people to bribe and spread rumors and let the dog emperor kill that dog official Chen Qiyu again. Isn't that enough?"
Everyone in the meeting hall couldn't help but be overjoyed when they heard the sound. Yes, why didn't they expect this? They all turned their heads and looked over, and found that this time, it was Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son who was speaking, but not Zhang Dingguo, but Zhang Kewang. .
This time, even Prime Minister Huiden praised: "Yes, this is a good idea. As expected of someone who can read and write, he has an idea!"
Among the four most capable adopted sons of Zhang Xianzhong, they were brave in fighting and, most importantly, able to read and write, and were well-known among the bandits. Therefore, Prime Minister Hui Deng said this.
Zhang Xianzhong laughed loudly when he heard the compliment, obviously very proud.
Relatively speaking, Zhang Kewang performed better than the other three adopted sons based on this, so he became the leader among Zhang Xianzhong's many adopted sons.
"You scholar, you have a lot of thoughts, that's good!" Luo Rucai also praised it, but people who heard it didn't know whether the praise was sincere or not!
However, Luo Rucai was right. If you read this book too much, you will have more thoughts, and you may not listen to Zhang Xianzhong. In the original history, he eventually betrayed Zhang Xianzhong's last words and surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but his final outcome was not good either.
Luo Rucai was nicknamed Cao Cao, so he naturally had his own clever ideas. Based on this promising idea, he added: "We can also lead the army to take some actions to make Chen Qiyu's dog officer guilty. In this way, with a multi-pronged approach, I believe that Chen Qiyu's dog officer will be killed by his master sooner or later. !”
"Yes, Huang Hu, how about we go fight Fengyang again? Haha!" Wang Guangen, the bandit leader, also said excitedly.
"..."
This provided a direction to deal with, and other bandit leaders also spoke one after another. Suddenly, the meeting hall became very lively.
At the door, Zhang Kewang felt proud when he heard this. He turned his head slightly and glanced at Zhang Dingguo, disdain flashed in his eyes.
It seems to be saying, you alone are worthy of fighting with me?
No matter what these bandits are doing, Emperor Chongzhen has already led his army southward and is about to reach Xi'an.
This is the Guanzhong Plain, and the grain fields that can be seen at a glance are at least much more than those in Yan'an Prefecture, which makes Emperor Chongzhen somewhat gratified.
To be honest, there are few rivers in northern Shaanxi, and the land is cracked under the severe drought. This made Emperor Chongzhen very worried. It was only in the Guanzhong Plain area that he could still see green, which made him feel better.
You must know that relying solely on the money and food accumulated by the feudal prince's palace can only be used as a temporary relief. Even if it is transported from other provinces, it is unrealistic. There will be too much loss on the road. The most important thing is that Shaanxi can produce its own food and achieve self-sufficiency.
Zheng Chongjian, the accompanying governor of the three sides, saw that the emperor was very concerned about the grain fields, so he smiled and introduced them to the emperor. In fact, the frontier officials of the Ming Dynasty also knew the importance of this food, so they paid more attention to it. However, most of these grain fields were owned by feudal princes and powerful landlords.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't take it seriously. It didn't matter if it was theirs. If anything, it was because he was the emperor. As long as there is food, they can be allowed to hand it over to tide over the famine. Those who know more about things will supplement them. If you dare to plunder a dime, you will clean it up when you turn around. In an emergency, you have to do something extraordinary!
While he was discussing the food issue, a fast horse suddenly came flying over.
Zheng Chongjian raised his head and took one look, and immediately said to Emperor Chongzhen seriously: "Your Majesty, I am the one who is exploring the road at night."
When the army marches, it is of course necessary to send Ye Bu Zhou out in all directions, and there is no room for any sloppiness. If you don't stop galloping back at night, maybe there is an important military report.
Regarding this, Zheng Chongjian felt a little strange. Because according to previous news, the main force of Li Zicheng's army had already rushed into Henan Prefecture. There are only a small group of thieves left in southeastern Shaanxi and around Shangluo Mountain, which is not enough to fill the gap between the teeth of the army. It seems that there is no need to be in such a hurry.
When he thought about it, he was suddenly startled: Could it be that a new bandit was causing trouble somewhere else?
This possibility is very high. In Qin, even after sleeping, you may receive news of rebellions and mutinies in many places. It was normal in the past.
Zheng Chongjian thought this, and when he turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen, he found that the emperor's face seemed a bit stern, and he seemed to have thought of this.
As he got closer, he could see that the Ye Bushou's face was indeed panicked, and he could tell at a glance that the news was not good.
Zheng Chongjian looked at it and was even more shocked. Today's military power is stronger than ever. I believe this point should also be clear if you don’t collect it this night. But he was still so panicked. Could it be that there was a huge riot somewhere? Or maybe a vassal king's clan was killed by rebels?
While he was thinking wildly, Jin Yiwei had already verified that he had not harvested that night and came over to report the situation: "Your Majesty, there is a locust plague in the Jingyang area. The overwhelming locusts are eating the crops there!"
"What?" Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this, and confirmed with some disbelief.
"What?" Zheng Chongjian was also shocked when he heard this. This news shocked him even more than hearing about the rebel rebellion.
I stopped listening all night, so I quickly reported it again.
In fact, in a year of severe drought, locust plagues should not be too normal. Because the dry season is conducive to locust breeding. Especially in the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty and severe drought, how could people still take preventive measures? Well-documented large-scale locust plagues occurred almost every year during the Chongzhen period. Not only Shaanxi, but also Henan, Shandong and other places have experienced locust plagues many times.
After Emperor Chongzhen confirmed the news of the locust plague, he couldn't help but feel worried. It's rare that the grain fields here in the Guanzhong Plain are okay, but another locust plague broke out. All that can be done now is to minimize some losses.
Thinking this way, he immediately issued an order and the whole army marched quickly to the locust disaster area. Even he himself followed the cavalry and rushed to Jingyang first.
As for the stray thieves, it's not important at this time, so you can let them go first.
It is only more than ten miles away to Jingyang, and it does not take much time for the cavalry to make the journey.
When Emperor Chongzhen led his army to the northern suburbs of Jingyang, not to mention the grain fields here, all the green that could be seen, including weeds, was gone. In the fields, you can still see some locusts flapping around alone.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel very heavy in his heart. It was originally a severe drought and the people's lives were difficult. Suddenly, there was a locust plague, eating up all the greenery in sight. If I hadn't come, I don't know how many people would have starved to death, and how many people would have taken risks and left. On the road to rebellion and survival.
When he got closer to Jingyang, Emperor Chongzhen saw that there were many people in the dark area in the north of the city. From a distance, they should be the people of Jingyang City.
They should be vigorously culling locusts! Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but think when he saw this.
Or maybe they heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves, which frightened the already frightened people in Shaanxi. The crowd showed obvious signs of dispersing, and seemed to want to escape into the city.
Although you can see red from a distance, there are also soldiers from the border army among the bandits. Moreover, if the army comes, will it be a good thing?
However, the cavalry troops led by Emperor Chongzhen were the Hussar Battalion and Guan Ning Army, the elite of the Ming Dynasty cavalry. They were so fast that the common people had no time to escape back to the city before they had already arrived.
Seeing the well-equipped cavalry coming, these people felt a little more at ease. What they feared most was the beggars-like imperial officers and soldiers.
"May I ask which army it is from and which officer is leading it?" A county magistrate came out of the crowd, followed by a group of squires, and asked the Ming soldiers in front of him with a smile.
However, he did not receive a reply. The Ming army officers and soldiers quickly made way for a passage, and then stood guard on both sides, eyeing the large group of Jingyang people with eager eyes.
In fact, these common people were also looking at these elite cavalry troops. Some looked fearful, some were a little curious, and some looked numb and lifeless.
The county magistrate was a little puzzled, but when he saw the formation, he knew that there must be a big shot leading the army, so he looked up at the passage that had been moved out of the way.
It's okay if you don't look at it, but when you look at it, you're shocked. I saw a group of generals surrounding a young man driving his horse over. The most important thing is that there is a group of Jin Yiwei closely following this young man, and even one of the Jin Yiwei is wearing a python robe. If he is not the commander of the Jin Yiwei, who else can he be!
Naturally, he had heard about the appearance of Commander Jinyiwei in Shaanxi. After all, Prince Rui's house was ransacked. This incident itself caused a sensation in Shaanxi.
However, now the commander of the Jinyi Guards only stays by the young man's side. Obviously, his status is not as high as this young man.
Suddenly, the Jingyang County Magistrate immediately remembered a rumor that the emperor had left the capital on his own expedition.
When he thought of this, his eyes suddenly opened wide with an incredible expression. Could it be that this young man is the current emperor?
He was just a juren and had not passed the palace examination, so he had never even seen the emperor. However, Li Ruolian reminded him: "The emperor is here, why don't you greet him quickly?"
Hearing this, the Jingyang County Magistrate and the squire behind him were frightened, and they did not dare to neglect, and quickly knelt down to greet him. Including the Jingyang people behind them, they were all frightened immediately and quickly knelt down. There were also some brave ones who secretly looked at the legendary emperor at the same time.
Emperor Chongzhen did not ask them to get up immediately. He glanced around and found that where these people had gathered before, there were tributes and the like. What were they worshiping? When he took a closer look, he immediately became angry.
When the locust plague comes, instead of quickly organizing the people to cull the locusts, they instead worship the locust god here. This is useless! Extremely stupid!
Anger welled up, Emperor Chongzhen immediately pointed to the altar table and shouted sternly: "As a parent official of Jingyang, locusts attacked, but you didn't think of killing them in time. Instead, you worshiped gods here. You have read all the books of sages for many years." Into the dog’s belly?”
The Jingyang County Magistrate was lying on the ground, trembling slightly. He knew that the emperor was angry and he was afraid that he would be in trouble. However, he was naturally unwilling to do so, so he lay there and recited: "Your Majesty, there are too many locusts to cull. And some people say that whoever wants to cull the locusts is disrespectful to the royal family, and the imperial censor will definitely be impeached." . Therefore, the lower officials discussed with them, and finally someone suggested worshiping gods, which is said to be very effective..."
"That's enough!" Emperor Chongzhen was very angry and didn't want to hear any more. He immediately interrupted, "Time is running out now. It's your business and I will settle the accounts with you later. Now let all the people in the city go to cull the locusts." , I will also ask the army to help, and these locusts must be exterminated to prevent them from harming other lands again!"
"The guilty minister obeys the decree!" Upon hearing this, the Jingyang County Magistrate immediately accepted the decree, and then quickly ordered the squires and subordinate officials behind him to arrange for the culling of the locusts.
As for Emperor Chongzhen, in addition to the troops who needed to be vigilant, all the troops immediately joined the team to cull the locusts.
Thus, an incredible scene occurred in the late Ming Dynasty.
The elite Tianzhi force put down their swords, guns, swords and halberds, picked up branches and brooms, and mingled with the people, culling the overwhelming locusts outside Jingyang City.
It has to be said that while the people of Jingyang were working hard to kill the locusts, they suddenly felt grateful from the bottom of their hearts to the officers and soldiers around them. For the first time in so many years, they felt that it was great to have officers and soldiers!
Many people would secretly glance in the direction of the emperor when they were sweating profusely. When he saw the emperor, he stood on a high place and commanded the army to cull the locusts. Under the scorching sun, even though there was an umbrella to protect me from the sun, I was still sweating profusely. However, the emperor didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he looked anxious, worried about them, and focused on killing the locusts.
In this regard, they all came to a conclusion in their hearts: Your Majesty is a good Emperor!
In the afternoon, Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three frontiers, led the infantry, which was basically from the Qin border troops, and saw it at the speed of a rapid march.
I have to say that Zheng Chongjian and these Qin border troops were very shocked by what they saw in front of them.
Outside Jingyang City, the emperor's powerful troops were everywhere, mingling with the people of Jingyang, busy in the fields and mountains, trying to kill the locusts all over the mountains and plains.
And their emperor had already joined the ranks of culling the locusts. He was holding a branch and waving it at the green locusts that were still frantically eating away at them.
This scene was deeply imprinted in the minds of each of their Qin border soldiers.
At this moment, there was no need to say anything more. Regardless of the exhaustion of the hurried march, all the soldiers immediately threw themselves into the ranks of culling the locusts.
The emperor is like this, the guest army is like this, as the master, how can you not try your best!
What about locust disasters? The emperor leads us to fight against the locust disaster!
Long live your Majesty!
