stubborn thief

Chongzhen versus Liu Chengzong.

Actually, I admire you very much.

He knew that this was a real thief who was plotting day and night to seize his world.

To put it bluntly, Chongzhen never thought that Liu Chengzong, Huang Taiji, Lin Danhan or others were his enemies.

Or are all of these rulers the same? As the best among men, who would look down on others and who would regard others as opponents?

No one is worthy of it.

Even they are not worthy of being each other's opponents.

Their opponents are far more powerful than any one of them.

Chongzhen was like a quack doctor. What stood before him was not a powerful pathogen called the Later Jin, but the old, frail, terminally ill and even rotten body of the Ming Dynasty.

The same thing happened to Liu Chengzong. His opponent was his hungry appetite and the groups of antisocial people around him. He had to tie the madman's bridle to feed his mouth and use his crazy brain to command his legs.

If one of them is distracted and not managed properly, a Zhang Yichuan would get out and kill people on both sides of the Huanghuai River.

Zuo Maodi didn't know this, so he mistakenly thought that Chongzhen hated Liu Chengzong deeply.

In fact, Chongzhen hated Huang Taiji.

Because the Eight Banners really kept holding a chisel and chiseling his skull, it really hurt, and it never stopped.

Liu Chengzong was different.

He is still here like an alchemist, testing prescriptions from one official to another.

Sometimes I had to bear the pain of removing two ribs to provide disaster relief to Shaanxi; sometimes I took the wrong medicine and found a handful of arsenic in my hand, which caused diarrhea.

But there is no other way. As an emperor, regardless of his ability, he must try to save his Ming Dynasty and heal the rotten broken leg.

As a result, Liu Chengzong picked up the saw without saying a word and cut off his rotten leg.

Although Chongzhen felt somewhat lost because of the sudden loss of a leg, after the pain, he felt relieved because some of the responsibilities on his shoulders were reduced.

In fact, as early as when Zhang Yichuan entered Henan, Chongzhen had secretly sent people to inquire about the various miscellaneous taxes levied by the Fu clan in Suzhou, Songjiang and Changzhou.

Mainly because of the precedent of Liu Chengzong, Chongzhen once underestimated the seriousness of the siege of the vassal states.

I thought it would be the same as the Su and Han clans, where princes, dukes and even royal family members would not die, and those who should run away would run away, and those who should surrender would surrender.

Since you have surrendered, your uncle will live a good life with Liu Chengzong. For my sake, Liu Chengzong will definitely not make things difficult for you.

The King of Bu Han and the King of Su are still alive and well.

I am here and will take over your property, creating a situation where everyone is happy.

I never expected that the barbarian Zhang Yichuan would really kill the prince if he caught him.

As a result, the news of Prince Wan'an's death frightened Chongzhen so much that his face turned green. He was afraid that Wan'an would harm Prince Fu again, so he quickly sent Zhang Renxue to provide support.

It was not until the crisis of Prince Fu was resolved that Chongzhen remembered that the Shaanxi vassal state also had property in the mainland. Although it was small, every little bit of it was still meat.

So he instructed the Ministry of Rites to count and inspect the properties of Qin, Su and Han vassal states in the mainland, preparing to abolish these three vassal states.

Of course, this relaxed and happy mood only lasted for a month.

It started from the loss of Shaanxi and ended when Zuo Maodi told him that Liu Chengzong was preparing to become king.

As soon as he heard that Liu Chengzong wanted to become king, Chongzhen's sense of crisis emerged uncontrollably.

The emperor cursed in his heart: "Why are you calling yourself a king? Why don't you just stay in Shaanxi and govern my northwest?"

His inner feelings towards Liu Chengzong are too complicated.

Envy, admiration, fear, mixed with an inexplicable contempt, and the arrogance of having everything under control.

This is actually because he has no idea about the concept of abandoning Shaanxi.

He didn't even have any idea that Zhang Yichuan was running around in the heart of the Central Plains. He just heard from others that he was getting closer and closer to his ancestral tomb.

Just like those emperors who grew up in the deep palace, Chongzhen’s kingdom was just that map.

No matter how large the territory of Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Office was, or how wide the scope of Zhang Yichuan's rebel troops' activities was, it was not as shocking as the Jin army's arrival at the outskirts of Beijing after the Ji Si Incident.

What he hated most in his heart was always the Later Jin Dynasty which destroyed his dignity.

To him, the wars that took place in the world were just data on money, food, and manpower.

That's why when some generals lost a battle and killed innocent people to claim credit, the emperor would smile very kindly; while some generals lost a battle and were immediately dragged out and chopped to pieces.

The reason is that you asked me for money, and the money came from me. The defeat is a real pain.

The emperor didn't feel anything when others raised their own food and money to fight and were defeated.

But to Zuo Maodi, Liu Chengzong was as threatening as an ancient beast with its bloody mouth, and his communication with Chongzhen was completely incomprehensible.

Zuo Maodi described the terrible side of Liu Chengzong, saying that his army plowed the land of all the wealthy households in Shaanxi and divided up the fields. Their administrative efficiency and ability to exploit the people's power were extremely high.

On the contrary, his Hancheng County, because of the long-standing problems and wealthy families, could not reach that level no matter how hard he tried.

  When Chongzhen heard this, he was full of doubts and almost blurted out: Wouldn't it be a solution to the dilemma if you ask him to send soldiers to help you plow the field?

Of course, Chongzhen didn’t say it.

Although he had become the emperor, for Chongzhen, in fact, these eight years he was just learning how to be an emperor.

After all, he is not the prince.

By now he had learned that it was best not to discuss problems with his ministers, but to simply raise the problem and see if the ministers had a solution.

If not, find another minister and let them discuss it.

The emperor cannot participate in discussions. Once he starts speaking at length, no one can always be right and mistakes will always occur.

The center of the empire gathers the smartest people in the world, and these bastards just rely on their intelligence to look down on everyone.

If the emperor made any mistake in his words, he would inevitably be looked down upon.

He has become much more mature than when he first ascended the throne, but he is still far from being mature enough for his dying empire.

Even though Chongzhen listened to the threats exaggerated by Zuo Maodi, he only saw from Hancheng that Liu Chengzong could cooperate.

To put it bluntly, Liu Chengzong would not bite an egg without a crack.

Zuo Maodi never expected that after he exaggerated the threat posed by Liu Chengzong, Chongzhen summoned the Prime Minister Wen Tiren as soon as he finished his memorial.

The emperor introduced the latest developments of the Marshal's Office to the Prime Minister, and the first thing he said was: "I intend to stop Liu from claiming the title of king, so I want to make him the King of Qin. What do you think, old man?"

Wen Tiren's thirty years of self-protection in the officialdom almost failed at this moment.

Because the emperor didn't want him to declare himself king without permission, he immediately appointed him the King of Qin.

  Your Majesty, you are afraid that the title he calls himself king sounds unpleasant, right?

Let's pick a nice one for him first?

But after all, he is old and wise. Wen Tiren just raised his eyebrows, sat on the chair with his old bones, and said calmly: "I am ignorant and stupid, and I will only rely on the wise judgment of the emperor."

This was Wen Tihen's usual tactic. Whenever Chongzhen asked a question that was of great importance and had nothing to do with him, he would shake his head and let Chongzhen make his own decision.

He is really a charlatan, occupying the position of Prime Minister but doing nothing, just living a idle life.

This clever brain will only work for you at full capacity when it is needed to hurt your political enemies.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. The environment in the central government is like this. The fire of party strife has fallen on us, and we have no choice but to work with all our strength.

According to Chongzhen's character, he would have been dissatisfied with his behavior and kicked him into prison long ago.

But there is really no way, this person is too comfortable using it.

Chongzhen's kingdom is just a pile of data that no one can remember.

Wen Tihen's strong memory and quick calculation, as well as his sensitivity to criminal law and money, ensured that Chongzhen could always see his kingdom.

On this basis, Chongzhen had to accept the fact that he did not make decisions on major or minor matters, and just regarded him as his aide and advisor, rather than the prime minister of the empire.

Fortunately, at this time, Yang Sichang came to Beijing to report on his work, and someone who could give Chongzhen advice came. Chongzhen admired Yang Sichang very much, not because he had any extraordinary military talent, but because Yang Sichang started his career in the Ministry of Revenue.

The foreign ministers during the Chongzhen period basically had two resumes.

Either they have strong ability in managing money and grain, and they are either in charge of grain and grain in the local area, or they are in charge of grain and grain in the Ministry of Revenue.

Or, he cursed Wei Zhongxian.

Of these two resumes, the former was more favored by Chongzhen.

Because he has always been short of money, to the point of being anxious.

Yang Sichang was currently the governor of Shanxi and Xuanda. When he was summoned by Chongzhen, he hurried to the platform to make a report.

But when Yang Sichang heard Chongzhen's idea of ​​preemptively conferring the title of king on Liu Chengzong, he seemed absent-minded and just asked, "Your Majesty, have you asked Elder Wen?"

Chongzhen nodded at first, then remembered Wen Tihen's reaction to this matter, and shook his head with a smile.

The two of them were in sync with each other. Just by looking at this, Yang Sichang knew that Wen Tihen would definitely not say a word, so he turned his head and glanced away in annoyance.

When he turned around again, he said to Chongzhen sincerely: "Everyone knows it, but they don't say it! Your Majesty, if you send an angel with an imperial edict to Liu, what will happen if he doesn't obey the edict?"

Yang Sichang thought to himself that Liu Chengzong would like to make you the King of Ming, and it is obvious that he will not agree to it unless you make him the King of Qin.

  By the time the Ming Dynasty's edict of conferring the title of king is sent through Tongguan, people will take it and circulate it among the ministers, treating it as a joke, and then confer themselves another title. How can you swallow your pride?

"In my humble opinion, Liu has always lacked loyalty and morality. Whether he is called a king or a king, he will inevitably commit crimes."

Yang Sichang shook his head decisively: "Your Majesty must not hope that by making him a king, you can bring peace to the northwest."

Chongzhen had never really thought about what to do if Liu Chengzong did not accept his title of king.

After hearing what Yang Sichang said, he thought about it carefully and felt that this was possible.

Liu Chengzong's way of doing things is upright, but he is crooked to the core.

Chongzhen felt a little embarrassed, but fortunately Yang Sichang was sincere to him, and he also believed that Yang Sichang was a minister with whom he could be open-hearted.

After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Then in your opinion, what should be done with the current situation? Are we just going to have to watch two emperors, one in the south and one in the north, and a king in the west?"

Yang Sichang knew that the highlight was coming, and he was not a guy like Wen Tihen who only cared about protecting himself.

On the contrary, Yang Sichang didn't care even if he lost his life in order to achieve his goal.

He thought for a moment and organized his words. After paying respect to Chongzhen solemnly, he said, "Your Majesty seems to put border security first, and eliminating bandits second. The foolish Khan in the northwest is of no concern."

"However, I believe that we must stabilize the interior before we can resist the external invasion. I think the general situation of the world is like a person's body, with the capital as the head, Xuanda, Ji and Liao as the shoulders and arms, and the Central Plains as the heart."

"In today's situation, the border war is burning outside our arms and shoulders, and we are in a hurry to take advantage of it; the banditry is causing chaos in our heart, and it is very deep. The urgent ones cannot be delayed, and the deep ones cannot be ignored."

"Now the poison is spreading in the abdomen and heart, the internal organs are festering, the essence and blood are drying up, the situation is critical, so I say that we must stabilize the interior before we can resist the foreign invasion. It is not that we should talk about resisting the foreign invasion later, but because resisting the foreign invasion is the most urgent, we have to stabilize the interior first."

Chongzhen actually didn't like the idea of ​​pacifying the country before fighting foreign enemies, and he frowned when he heard it.

Firstly, it is because of his impatient temperament and excessive idealism, and secondly, it is because of poverty.

He always thought that Liaodong was the place with the highest expenditure, and the problem of the Eastern Tartars must be solved first. As long as the Eastern Tartars were solved, the court's biggest expenditure would be gone.

The ideal situation is that by the time the salaries and taxes are increased, peace will return to the country, the people will have food to eat and clothes to wear, and the disaster of bandits will naturally be eliminated.

Now that the country was well governed, Liu Chengzong had no reason to march east.

  Chongzhen felt that Liu Chengzong was just a war supervisor, otherwise why did he shoot so many people but Zuo Maodi was spared?

He is the best choice of Han Khan and a good official personally certified by Liu Chengzong.

People's first impression is very important.

Chongzhen had a very good first impression of Liu Shizi.

This led to the emperor not believing that Zhang Yichuan was Liu Chengzong's man, no matter that he held the position of the commander-in-chief of Henan in the Marshal's Office.

That Zhang Yichuan is definitely a bandit, and he is completely different from the people under Liu Chengzong.

Fortunately, Chongzhen now hated Zhang Yichuan very much, so he could barely listen to Yang Sichang's advice to stabilize the country first.

He said, "So according to you, we should first suppress Zhang Zhi, then attack Liu Chengzong, and finally fight against the Eastern Tartars?"

Zhang Zhi is Zhang Yichuan.

The Ming Dynasty's Tangbao was copied incorrectly.

Yang Sichang didn't dare to say anything about this, but he was very speechless in his heart.

It is difficult to serve this emperor, he always thinks things are simple.

Can't we prioritize and do it simultaneously? They are not playing a turn-based game with us.

"In my humble opinion, the Eastern Tartars, Northern Tartars, Western Bandits, and Southern Bandits, when dealing with the Eastern Tartars and Western Bandits, we should..."

As Yang Sichang spoke, he looked around the palace and said, "I hope Your Majesty will dismiss the followers."

Chongzhen had no doubts about him and thought he was going to tell a secret, so he asked the eunuchs around him to leave.

Only then did Yang Sichang look moved and said, "I have been angry about state affairs for a long time. I have never known my own limits. Even if it means humiliation and death, I dare not avoid it. Today is the time for me to sacrifice my life and repay my master."

He paused before speaking his mind: "The situation in the world is bad today, and the deadlock is difficult to resolve. I hope Your Majesty will negotiate peace with the Eastern Tartars and Western Bandits!"

"Peace?"

Chongzhen was immediately furious.

You said you wanted to negotiate peace with Liu Chengzong, but Chongzhen was not in a hurry.

But do you want him to negotiate peace with the Eastern Tartars?

Chongzhen said angrily: "He proclaimed himself emperor and treated me like a nobody, and now you ask me to negotiate peace. Yang Sichang, what is your intention?"

"Your Majesty, calm down. I know that saying this is the greatest disaster in the world, and it will make me die without knowing where I am."

Yang Sichang had long anticipated Chongzhen's reaction, and he knew clearly that by saying this he was putting his life on the line.

But he still said it, his tone more sincere: "However, at this deadlock, the southern bandits have raised their flags and usurped the throne. We must first lay a net and send heavy troops to wipe them out."

"As for the Eastern Tartars and Western Bandits, we need to use a delaying tactic to slowly attack them. Liaodong only needs to defend itself and does not need to waste elite troops in a field battle with them. Although our food and money expenditures are huge, the Eastern Tartars are aggressive and aggressive, and it is even more difficult to support them."

"The western bandits must also guard the dangerous passes and rivers, and deploy heavy troops in Shanxi and Henan. If Liu claims to be king, then he will be king. We will explain the morality and justice to him, and we will suppress him if we can, and coax him if we can. If war is inevitable, we will kill several of his camps in Shanxi, and then try to negotiate peace."

"After we wipe out the southern bandits, we will strengthen our military forces internally, replenish the Central Plains' material resources, unite our forces and concentrate our minds on one place; externally, we will cut off their arms and branches."

"In the east, Shen Shikui and Chen Hongfan will reorganize the navy and send 20,000 soldiers across the sea to Korea to assist in defense, so as to prevent the Eastern Tartars from exploiting the vassal state's money, food and manpower."

"If Liu Chengzong in the west claims to be king, I, a humble official, would dare to ask Your Majesty to make Yang Qi outside the Great Wall king. This would make him suspicious and cut off his own arm, and then they would compete with each other. If it were not possible, it would win Yang Qi's heart and help defend the border, so as to prevent the eastern barbarians from invading Xuanyun from the west."

Yang Sichang finished speaking in one breath about his blueprint for recuperation, and then looked at Chongzhen with anticipation.

His plan was very simple. According to the current situation, he would not fight for what he had lost for the time being. He would try his best to avoid war while trying his best to keep the existing territory.

Anyway, if we go out to fight in the field and make merit, we will meet the field armies of the bandits in the east and the west, and it will be embarrassing if we lose the battle all the time. It is better not to take the initiative to fight in the battle.

At least to the Eastern Tartar, if you come, I will defend each city one by one; if you don’t come, I will negotiate peace with you. I don’t believe that you, the Eight Banners nobles, don’t want to enjoy wealth and are not tired of war.

As long as you are tired of war and negotiate peace, and don't fight a major war for five years, the economy of the Later Jin will collapse.

  The same goes for the Marshal's Office. You became the king, and the peasants under you were given titles. You also took over Xi'an and moved into a wealthy place. Who wouldn't want to enjoy themselves?

As long as we can negotiate peace, perhaps the mental outlook will undergo a huge change in two years.

And Chongzhen.

Chongzhen was in great shock.

"Appoint Yang Qi as king?"

He had never thought about this matter at all, but it was obviously more beneficial to the Ming court than enthroning Liu Chengzong as a king.

Chongzhen's eyes widened. (End of this chapter)