Hearing the emperor speak so easily, both Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but be speechless for a while. But the two of them quickly came to their senses.
During the Ming Dynasty, there were indeed many rebellions. The Tusi Rebellion in the northwest and southwest was also very large in scale and spread to many surrounding provinces. There was also the Rebellion of Bandits, which wreaked havoc on the Qin and Jin Dynasties, as well as the Central Plains, and even the Fengyang Emperor Mausoleum. They have all been dug up; but the biggest one still belongs to the Jianlu rebellion in Liaodong, which has become so overwhelming that it cannot be controlled. When the commotion was at its worst, the capital was in danger and the whole country was required to be diligent. The territory controlled by Jianlu was not only Liaodong, but also the entire Mongolian grassland and North Korea, all of which were surrendered to Jianlu.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty actually attached great importance to the Jianlu in Liaodong, and almost treated the Jianlu as a rival of a country. The whole country has been busy for twenty or thirty years to put an end to the rebellion in Liaodong.
Therefore, it was quite exciting for Hong Chengchou or Lu Xiangsheng to stay up all night and watch the destruction of Jianlu.
However, for the emperor, the She'an Rebellion in the northwest does not count. Other rebellions include the rebellion of the bandits, which has already set off a prairie fire, or the Jianlu Rebellion, which vaguely competes with the Ming Dynasty and overwhelms the Ming Dynasty in terms of military strength. , he personally took action to pacify them. Full of plans, the emperor personally took action starting from the twelfth year of Chongzhen, which lasted only six years. In the meantime, he also eliminated bandits, fought and provided disaster relief, rectified the officialdom, punished profiteers, etc.
Calculating it this way, it seems that the elimination of Jianlu is indeed not a big deal for the emperor!
Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng looked at each other, smiled, and then bowed and echoed: "I obey the decree!"
After finishing speaking, Hong Chengchou added with a smile: "To be honest with your majesty, being able to destroy this Jianlu is really a great emotion for me. I have no sleep all night, and I think it is worth it to entertain me."
Emperor Chongzhen smiled and pointed at him without saying anything else.
Lu Xiangsheng on the side became serious and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "The Japanese invaded North Korea. Your Majesty, what do you mean, not only to defeat these Japanese troops, but also to attack across the sea and conquer the Japanese?"
At this time, the chamberlain had already brought a high-backed chair over, and Emperor Chongzhen sat on it. He first looked at Shenyang City in the distance, where the fire was still very strong, and then looked at Lu Xiangsheng, nodded and said: "The Japanese country lives on the four major islands. , if you manage it carefully, you can still feed a lot of people, at least more than Jianlu in its heyday."
When saying this, Emperor Chongzhen pointed at Shenyang City. Then he looked at the two close ministers in front of him and continued: "Once its national power becomes strong and its population is limited by the sea, it will definitely not be willing to live on the island forever. Their coveting of the mainland cannot be changed by time. In the past Wanli years It has happened before, and it will happen again in the future. If one day, the Japanese country is strong and the Ming Dynasty is in civil strife, the Japanese country will definitely take advantage of the situation and attack the Ming Dynasty again. In this case, I will take advantage of the strong Ming Dynasty to destroy the Japanese country. !”
This was the first time for Hong Chengchou to hear Emperor Chongzhen being so open and honest. He couldn't help but be a little surprised. He felt that the emperor had great ambitions. He had thought of this and was already ready to do it.
And Lu Xiangsheng is a little better than Hong Chengchou. Because he had already noticed from Emperor Chongzhen's decree that the emperor was very concerned about Japan.
At this time, after hearing Emperor Chongzhen speak so clearly, Lu Xiangsheng immediately responded: "Your Majesty's words are reasonable. In this case, I am willing to be your Majesty's vanguard and defeat the Japanese country!"
When Hong Chengchou heard this and saw the admiration on the emperor's face, he couldn't help but glance at Lu Xiangsheng and said to himself: "Jiandou, Jiandou, have you forgotten that you are a civil servant, not a military general? "
Thinking like this, he also immediately expressed his stance and replied: "Wei Chen's battlefield martial arts skills are not as good as his, but His Majesty's decree is that Wei Chen will do his best!"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this. At this time, the chamberlain had already placed a table next to him, poured tea, and the temperature was just right.
Emperor Chongzhen reached out and picked it up, took a sip, and after thinking for a moment, he said a little seriously: "The two beloved ladies are my right-hand men, so I have some ideas that I would like to discuss with them. of!"
Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng immediately became awe-struck. They knew that what the emperor said next must be very important, so they immediately paid full attention and listened attentively, leaving the excitement of Shenyang City behind.
"To put it in perspective, since the end of Wanli, there have been constant disasters in our country, including floods in the south and drought in the north, locust plagues, and so on." Emperor Chongzhen looked at the two of them and said seriously, "Why is this happening, sir?" Do you know?"
This question immediately stumped Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou. If we put it in general terms, some people would say that the emperor's misconduct caused God to be angry and bring disasters.
However, now they were in front of the emperor, and the two of them were not ordinary people who would believe such a thing.
Therefore, after Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a moment, he replied: "Your Majesty, this is the reincarnation of heaven. According to historical records, disasters from heaven are also common!"
"The humble minister is stupid, please ask Your Majesty to clarify his doubts!" Hong Chengchou simply guessed what the emperor would say and replied directly.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen said to the two of them: "Such natural disasters are all caused by the cold weather. The specific connection involves a lot of natural knowledge, so I will not go into details..."
Not to mention, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng were really waiting for the emperor to give them a convincing explanation. Unexpectedly, the emperor actually said this, as if they were afraid that the emperor would waste his words, so they just ignored it. Suddenly, the two Jinshi couldn't help but look at each other.
However, they really have no doubt. As for the natural knowledge that the emperor said, if the emperor said it was second, who can say it is first? This is definitely not a matter of status, but knowledge.
"...This period of natural disasters, I call it the Little Ice Age." Emperor Chongzhen didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said, even though he was facing one of the smartest people in the Ming Dynasty. He believed that if he explained it, It would also confuse these two courtiers, so I simply didn’t say anything and directly concluded, “As Lu Qing said, according to historical records, I can conclude that together with the Ming Dynasty, there have been four Little Ice Ages! "
Saying this, he stretched out his left hand and started counting: "The period from the end of the Yin Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty was the first Little Ice Age. The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, and the Western Jin Dynasty were the second Little Ice Age. The end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty were the second Little Ice Age. It was the third Little Ice Age, and now, it is within the Fourth Little Ice Age!”
At this point, Emperor Chongzhen's face became very serious, and he said seriously: "In these Little Ice Ages, the weather has plummeted, causing floods in the south and drought in the north, and a large number of grain failures. The consequences of this are two All of you, my beloved, should be familiar with history, so I don’t need to explain it to you.”
After hearing his explanation, both Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng became very serious, thinking that the emperor attributed the current period to the same period of time that triggered the change of dynasties.
"The situation in the Ming Dynasty has been witnessed by both my dear friends." When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he said with emotion, "I have already tried my best to provide disaster relief and can barely maintain the current situation. But what's next? If the country is peaceful and the people are safe, then When the people are rich, the population will inevitably increase. What happens next? There will be greater demand for food, yes or no?"
After hearing this, although Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng understood this truth, at this time when Emperor Chongzhen pointed out the consequences of national peace and prosperity, they couldn't help but be speechless. Could it be that there is something wrong with the peace of the country and the people...
Emperor Chongzhen ignored what the two of them were thinking and continued: "I have introduced many new crops that can be planted outside the grain fields to supplement the shortage of grain. I have also purchased a large amount of grain from Nanyang, and there has been a steady supply. But for now, I have tried my best. However, as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I must be prepared for danger in times of peace and solve the food problem caused by the increase in population brought about by the well-being of the people in advance, right? "
Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou responded sincerely: "Your Majesty has foresight and foresight, and I admire him very much."
"Having Your Majesty in the Ming Dynasty is really a blessing for the people!" Lu Xiangsheng also sighed deeply, without any pretense.
Emperor Chongzhen pretended not to hear what they said, and continued to explain to them: "That's why I want to expand the territory and open up a living territory for our people in the Ming Dynasty. There will be enough grain fields to produce enough food." With food, we can survive this little ice age!"
Before the two of them could speak, Emperor Chongzhen immediately continued: "Securing the Hetao, recovering Liaodong, and incorporating North Korea into the territory of the Ming Dynasty all have this meaning. As for conquering the Japanese country, it also has this meaning, but to be honest, as for the Japanese country, I still don’t like Diandao. In addition to the reasons I gave you and the others for conquering Japan, there is another very important reason!”
Hearing this, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng could guess that Emperor Chongzhen's intention was to open up territory for the people of the Ming Dynasty. However, didn't the emperor say that he looked down on the Japanese islands? So what is this very important reason?
Out of curiosity, Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, why is it so important?"
Hong Chengchou was on the side. Although he did not speak, he nodded slightly. He was also curious about the emperor's reasons.
At this time, the two of them had already completely forgotten about the Jianlu in Shenyang City, and all their minds were focused on the emperor. Even the waiter serving next to him secretly listened with his ears pricked up.
Emperor Chongzhen did not show off, but pointed to the east and told them.
Miaoshuwu
