On the night of the 30th of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen, who had been so busy the previous year, finally had time to watch Huang Taiji's conversation while watching the New Year's Eve.
To be honest, this made him a little suspicious. Could it be the luck brought by time travel?
I just received a secret message from Lu Xiangsheng yesterday and wanted to know if the imperial court could find out the whereabouts of the Manqing Navy. No, Huang Taiji had already said that the Manchu navy was in Jinzhou.
But thinking about it carefully, it seems that knowing the news about Manqing Navy is actually inevitable.
Shanxi merchants were wiped out in one fell swoop, separated by Shanhaiguan. When there were no ships in the past, it was normal for the Manchus and Qing Dynasties to have no idea. But now that they already have ships, it is natural to think of doing business by sea.
To trade by sea, there must be ships. In this way, Huang Taiji will talk about his navy sooner or later.
At the first moment, Emperor Chongzhen's idea was to tell Lu Xiangsheng the news. It didn't matter how many Manqing navy there were. Anyway, it was impossible to have as many ships as Zheng Zhilong, and he couldn't be more capable than Zheng Zhilong. If he used his strength to crush them, he would definitely be able to defeat them. The Manchu navy was completely wiped out!
However, he just stood up, and before he said he wanted to be served by pen and ink, he suddenly froze.
Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian and other concubines who accompanied Emperor Chongzhen, as well as the prince, saw his move and couldn't help but stop their movements and turned to look at him.
It can be seen that the emperor is definitely thinking about something, his expression is very focused, and he even frowns for a while and looks happy for a while.
This made them all curious, wondering what the emperor was thinking?
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Emperor Chongzhen came back to his senses, suddenly felt a little strange, and said to them with a smile, "On New Year's Eve, just have fun and don't look at me like that!"
Hearing this, Queen Zhou knew that the emperor must have figured out something, and it was a good thing, so she smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know what happy things you have, please tell me so that everyone can be happy too, right?"
As soon as he heard this, Emperor Chongzhen knew why they were looking at him. After thinking about it, he sat back and looked at the curious eyes of the pairs. He smiled and said: "Don't look at Jianlu who seems to be very powerful. I just thought of a way, even if Jianlu can't afford it, he will be crushed by the Ming Dynasty in just a few years."
Upon hearing this, both concubines and princes immediately showed joy and complimented the emperor.
On the other hand, Queen Zhou, who was the head of the harem, frowned. Although she didn't speak, it could be seen that she was actually a little worried.
Emperor Chongzhen was in a good mood. When he saw Empress Zhou's expression, he couldn't help but smile and said: "This is not the court, and today is New Year's Eve. Our family is keeping the New Year's Eve. If you have anything in your heart, just say it. Let's talk freely. avoid!"
After he finished speaking, he pointed at Queen Zhou and said with a smile: "How about it, my queen, just say whatever you have to say. I still know the truth about loyal words that are harsh to the ears!"
When the others heard this, they couldn't help but immediately turned to look at Queen Zhou, somewhat surprised. But looking back, it seems that the Queen is such a person, and in this harem, she is the only one who has the qualification to remind the Emperor.
When Queen Zhou heard the emperor's words, her heart moved. She probably knew that the emperor had a good idea in mind, and she really wanted to take this opportunity to talk about it in front of everyone.
So, she satisfied Emperor Chongzhen's wishes and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, although our Ming Dynasty defeated Jianlu once in the Battle of Tianjin, the Jianlu still plundered countless people and animals from the pass, and we, Ming, were helpless. And over the years, Jianlu has fought and won countless battles. From this, it can be seen that the strength of Jianlu is not something that can be said casually. I hope your majesty will not underestimate the enemy!"
Hearing this, everyone else couldn't help but nod. Even the women and children in the deep palace have heard of Jianlu's reputation. Especially when Jianlu entered the pass several times, in the end it was actually Jianlu who plundered enough and withdrew on his own.
Therefore, they were all very curious, did the emperor underestimate the enemy, or did he really think of some good way to defeat Jianlu?
With this in mind, after listening to Queen Zhou's advice, they turned to look at the emperor to see what he would say?
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was not upset as expected. He just laughed, then glanced at the eyes that were looking at him, and said slowly: "I didn't just talk nonsense. The most important factor in the future is that I control the prisoners. All Shanxi merchants were caught in one fell swoop. At least in the short term, it would be basically impossible for Jianlu to buy what they wanted from Daming. As a result, Jianlu’s daily consumption could not be supplemented by outside sources, so he could only consume Liaodong produces materials. And Liaodong is barren, so it can be seen that the life of Jianlu will become increasingly difficult."
When he heard what he said, the prince seemed to want to speak, but he was still afraid of the emperor's majesty, so he looked at his mother.
Queen Zhou saw it and guessed what her son was thinking, so she encouraged him with her eyes.
As soon as the prince saw it, he opened his mouth and said, "Father, what should I do if Jianlu comes in again to rob me?"
Emperor Chongzhen looked over when he heard the sound. He didn't expect him to ask such a question, but he changed his mind a little. He nodded and answered him: "This is a good question. After all, Jianlu relied on entering the pass to plunder before, and gained a lot of money." Little supplies..."
When the prince heard this, he couldn't help but smile, very happy. After all, he was just a ten-year-old child, and he was much happier to be praised by his father, who was always afraid of him, than all the times he had been praised by his mother and queen combined.
However, Emperor Chongzhen then changed the topic and said: "But there is no guarantee of victory in a marching war. Jianlu would have to pay a high price if he wanted to detour from Liaodong to Mongolia. In case the plunder could not be carried out, Supplies, or if they cannot be brought into the pass at all, or even lose the battle, it will have a huge impact on the morale and strength of the Jianlu. No matter what, the slave chief will definitely weigh the gains and losses before sending troops..."
He spoke plainly and easily, and the women and children listened attentively.
"...In the past, there were Shanxi merchants who acted as their internal agents. They knew the situation inside the pass, and the slave chiefs had great confidence. Only if they could enter the pass and plunder enough supplies could the captives enter the pass. But now, the Shanxi merchants Having been destroyed by me, Jianlu has become deaf and blind. He does not know the reality inside the pass. There are many uncertain factors. The slave chief will definitely not dare to enter the pass again at will. This is one of them!"
"Secondly, in the previous battle in Tianjin, no matter whether the Jianlu were careless or not, the Jianlu were defeated anyway. This also gave them a warning. It shows that our Ming Dynasty does not have no army to fight. Of course, I personally conquered Hetao before. The affairs of the Tartars will also put pressure on the slave chief. These things combined will make the slave chief afraid to act rashly."
At this point, he looked at the prince and said: "With all this, the slave chief cannot take risks unless it is a last resort. After all, although our Ming Dynasty lost Liaodong, it will not have much impact, but if the slave chief suffers a big loss, it is very likely that he will be doomed." . Therefore, what I just thought of was to boil the frog in warm water. Let Jianlu feel that I am powerful, but I can still deal with it. Then, I will unknowingly consume Jianlu's strength. When Jianlu finds out, But they found that their strength had been greatly damaged and they were unable to initiate a major attack."
"So that's it, I understand, my father is really amazing!" The prince listened and echoed with an expression of admiration.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head in his heart. In fact, he just gave a rough idea. If that was all, it was just talk on paper. This prince, I don’t know, is he pretending to understand, or is he too young to understand more?
But on the surface, he didn't reveal what he was thinking, just be happy on New Year's Eve. After another conversation with his wife and children, Emperor Chongzhen left, taking a few personal servants with him to carefully sort out what he had just thought, and then have someone send it to Lu Xiangsheng the next day.
After finishing this matter, Emperor Chongzhen returned to his wife and children and continued to stay up late, but in fact, he was checking his eavesdropping seeds.
Today, Emperor Chongzhen has a total of six Class-A eavesdropping seeds, including Hong Chengchou, the governor of Xuanda, Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Baoding, Chen Qiyu, the governor of five provinces, Wu Zhong, a hundred households in Jinyiwei, Zhenturge in Gushan'e, Xiangbai Banner, and Zhang, the censor of the southern patrol. Pu's body. Among them, the Class-A eavesdropping seeds in Zhang Pu were recovered from Liu Yue, a Qianhu of Jin Yiwei.
There are two Class B eavesdropping seeds, one in the bodies of Sun Chuanting, the governor of Jiliao, and Li Ruolian, the commander of Jinyiwei.
There are more Level C eavesdropping seeds, and they are mostly placed in the capital.
After checking this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied with the system. It was too stingy, and the eavesdropping seeds were only given so much!
At this time, he has already tasted the benefits brought by eavesdropping seeds, so he is eager to have as many eavesdropping seeds as possible!
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard his concubines and children cheering. It turned out that it was the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign!
At this moment, in front of Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, lines of words that only he could see were slowly displayed.
"In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the host expelled the built captives in the pass, established the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty, raided the Shanxi Merchant Group, seized the resources of the Loop, and wiped out the bandits, laying a solid foundation for the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty. After the system evaluation, the host performed well. As a special reward, I will give you a Grade A eavesdropping seed!"
After reading it, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be overjoyed. He completely forgot that he had complained about the system before and wished he could kiss the system. Come with whatever you want, don't be too good!
After being happy for a while, Emperor Chongzhen fell into the trouble of happiness again: To whom should this Class A eavesdropping seed be more useful?
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, what big things have to be done? Emperor Chongzhen analyzed secretly in his heart.
First, the promotion of banknotes must continue. On this point, there is no doubt that the main thing is that the provincial branches must speed up the progress;
Second, the establishment of local procuratorates must also continue. Not only must it be done quickly, but the selection of local censors is also very important. It is better to have less than too much! This is related to local government administration, and there is no room for sloppiness!
Third, disaster relief, disaster relief, water conservancy construction and other matters in various places must be persisted and given sufficient attention.
Fourth, the verification of the quota of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry and the collection of debt arrears were the focus of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. This one is actually related to the third point. The most important thing is to look at the progress of Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi in the Jiangnan area. If it goes well, it can be promoted nationwide. If it doesn't go well, then this must go well. When necessary, I don’t mind killing chickens to scare monkeys!
When thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen made a note of this point before continuing to think about the next thing.
Fifth, the reconstruction of Dongjiang Town was the biggest military goal in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. In order for the Dongjiang Army to firmly hold Pidao, it is best to capture neighboring islands and land, threaten the Manchu and Qing flanks, and pin the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to Liaodong. This matter is also very important and must be focused on.
Sixth, the war in the northwest cannot be taken lightly. The rebel general Chai Shihua relied on the Urad tribe and borrowed troops from other tribes. It is unknown how much impact it will have on the southwest region.
Seventh, in the southwest war, although Qin Liangyu and the Baigan Army were sent there, it is still unknown that they may not be able to wipe out the Tusi rebellion. If it cannot be eradicated, the Tusi rebellion cannot be allowed to expand.
…
After thinking for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen roughly figured out seven major events in the thirteen years of Chongzhen. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen himself could not know whether something unexpected would happen later, and he could not predict it, so I won't say anything about it.
After thinking about these seven things for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Lan Tianbao, who was waiting at his side: "Tomorrow morning, I will bring my oral instructions to Dengzhou, saying that Zheng Zhilong took the initiative to bring food northward last year and solved the problem. It's a small trouble. I am very happy and specially approve him to come to the capital to reunite with his son for half a month."
Naturally, others don't know that these are actually excuses. The real reason is that Emperor Chongzhen decided to reward Zheng Zhilong with the newly acquired Class A eavesdropping seeds. Therefore, Zheng Zhilong will be a very key figure in the future, and it is also related to the strategy he wants to implement against Jianlu.
Fifteen days later, the angel rushed to Dengzhou.
Lu Xiangsheng took the secret test before, but he didn't really have high hopes, he just wanted to give it a try. He didn't expect that the emperor actually knew where the Jianlu Navy was.
He was overjoyed about this and said to Zheng Zhilong: "Now that it is known that the Jianlu Navy is in Jinzhou, there is no need to spend too much effort to investigate."
At this point, Lu Xiangsheng's face showed a strange look again, and he said in surprise: "It's just that the emperor requested in the decree that you can't go all out, and you can't kill all the Jianlu Navy at once. I don't know what this means. What's the meaning?"
Zheng Zhilong was also unclear, although it was not difficult for him to do what the imperial edict required. But why did the emperor do this? Isn't it troublesome?
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Lu Xiangsheng requesting him: "Since you are going to the capital, then go and see His Majesty and ask what is going on, right?"
