Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 946 Rising Dragon
The windows of the room were opened, bright and transparent, and the slightly hot sunlight shone in, making the smell of herbs not strong, and the atmosphere was extraordinarily serious.

There are several pots of herbal medicine on the table, steaming, just smelling into the nose, it is very bitter.

In addition, in the room, two candles the size of a baby's arm were burning continuously, exuding a fragrance.

This is a candle made from the fat of fur seals (seals). Even though there is no shortage of fur seals in Lake Baikal, it is a rare luxury in Fengjing City.

Even though the room was very bright, it gave people a sense of trance, and the aura of the dying person could not be buried.

Shunzhi coughed, fixed his eyes on the soup cans, and said in a deep voice: "Sir, don't talk too much, the most important thing is to take care of your health."

"As the saying goes, 73, 84, if the King of Hades doesn't come and go on his own, the old man has already run out of fuel, so don't waste those medicinal materials..."

Hong Chengchou's face was pale, his originally round cheeks had become thinner, only his eyes were brighter, exuding a little vitality.

At the age of 71, he obviously already knows that his life expectancy is not long, so he is very open.

It's a pity, who knows Shunzhi's heartache.

Although Hong Chengchou had the intention of surrendering to the enemy and betraying the country, it is undeniable that he has a long-term vision and superb means of governing the country. He is a first-class assistant talent both in the local area and in the court.

In other words, he is the ruler of the country.

The Eight Banners can only fight wars, Fan Wenchen, Ning Wan and I can only play politics, Hong Chengchou is the only one who has both.

Thinking of the future situation, Shunzhi had a headache.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court has been living in the North Sea (Lake Baikal) for a long time, and the Raksha people's stronghold has been destroyed. They dare not fight against the enemy and can only do business."

Hong Chengchou took a breath, and stared at the thirty-year-old Qing emperor with piercing eyes:
"In Mobei in the south, the Chechen Khans have tens of thousands of tents, and they have already devoured them. The Ming people dare not mess around. The Zasak Khans colluded with Rakshasa and were timid and fearful. It seems that the Qing Dynasty has reached a point where there is no threat."

"Be prepared for danger in times of peace, although the old minister is going, but still can't let His Majesty—"

After such a long passage, Hong Chengchou's face turned pale again, while the concubine who was serving at the side hurriedly beat his back and took another gulp of medicine to regain his strength.

Shunzhi saw that his complexion had recovered a bit, so he waved his hands: "You all step back—"

"twitter--"

Both men and women, including Tang Ruowang, all left the room and guarded Zheng Jun outside the door.

Now, only Hong Chengchou, who is half dead on the bed, and Shunzhi, who is listening, are left.

"Fengjing Mansion has a large number of people. If the veteran's prediction is good, the number of people in the Qing Dynasty will exceed 200 million in a few years."

"It's 180 million now." Shunzhi said plainly, "It's only been two months since I found out."

When I came to Beihai from Liaodong, the Eight Banners, Manchu, Mongolian, and Han, totaled no more than 40 people. After conquering the entire Buryat Mongolia, they got 60 people.

The Chechen Khan, together with some Mobei people, easily got 30 people.

In other words, after receiving sufficient food and supplies, whether it is the Mongols or the Eight Banners, Dingkou will continue to breed, and it has increased by 60 to [-] in more than ten years.

And all this is thanks to Hong Chengchou's wanton farmland, and the mutual support of animal husbandry and agriculture, which made the population of Manchu continue to grow.

"180 million." Hong Chengchou murmured, and then said, "Does His Majesty personally command a million people?"

Shunzhi choked, thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "The whole Fengjing Mansion, including the coat, is only 90 or [-]!"

When they first arrived in Beihai, almost all the nobles of the Eight Banners wore sackcloth and filial piety, and the prestige of the imperial power continued to decline.

After all, at this time, Shunzhi and Kangxi had not experienced the reduction of power, and the imperial power was just the largest noble of the Eight Banners.

The meeting of kings and ministers discussing politics was the power center of the entire Qing Dynasty.

The Central Plains was lost, and the old nest in Liaodong was gone. All the wives were scattered, and there were many complaints. It seemed that military chaos might break out at any time.

Under such circumstances, a crisis may erupt at any time, making the entire Qing Dynasty another Northern Yuan Dynasty.

In order to gain a firm foothold, and also to consolidate the imperial power, Shunzhi listened to the opinions of civil servants and the nobles of the Eight Banners, and distributed the Buryat Mongolian tribes one by one according to their distance and merit.

At that time, Shunzhi owned the Zhenghuang Banner, Xianghuang Banner, and Zhengbai Banner, and received the largest piece of cake, nearly one-third of the land and tribes.

The same is true for the Chechen Khan.

The consequence of this is that the entire Fengjing Mansion is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and it is also Shunzhi's pro-leaders and land.

Using the Manchu Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners to suppress the Mongolian Eight Banners, and then using the Han Eight Banners to check and balance the Manchu Eight Banners, it can be said that the entire imperial power has been revived.

But this kind of alternative enfeoffment is also obviously weakening the central government.

The sequelae are that, after leaving the Fengjing Mansion, the emperor has to discuss everything with the nobles of the Eight Banners, and it will not work to go his own way.

"Many newborns seem to have forgotten that Liaodong is their hometown." Hong Chengchou said with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Although Fengjing is good, if you forget the battle, you will perish."

Speaking of this, he suddenly raised his body slightly, and said: "The disaster of the imperial court lies in the pride of the Eight Banners and their disobedience to the king's order."

"The second is to be at ease. Soldiers have no fighting spirit, and it is hard to fall."

"You mean Shaowu?" Shunzhi was stunned, feeling a little impossible: "As far as I know, Beihai is more than three thousand miles away from Beijing. It would be fine to send a few thousand cavalry, but as long as there are more than 2 people, they can only be sent to death." .”

"And we still have Fengjing City, the cavalry can't take the city."

In this way, a contradiction is formed.

For a distance of thousands of miles, if infantry is used, the supply of supplies alone can kill Ming people; and if only cavalry is used, even if the huge Qing army is defeated, the strong Fengjing city will make them collapse.

Naturally, the whole Qing Dynasty felt at ease.

After all, who would have thought of such a long-term shelf life as canned food?It doesn't fit what people think at this time.

"Your Majesty, living in the North Sea, the imperial court is just another Northern Yuan." Hong Chengchou said with hatred: "The most important thing for the imperial court now is to fight wars."

"Whether it's going north to deal with the savages in the forest, or going south to wipe out the Naming tribe, we need to do it."

As he spoke, he was out of breath: "Only in war will your orders be fully implemented."

Hearing this, Shunzhi suddenly realized.

Only war can unite the Eight Banners and let the imperial power show its prestige, but if there is peace for a long time, the distance will make the imperial power shrink continuously.

"Sir, I understand."

Hearing these words, Hong Chengchou was relieved, and a flush of blood appeared on his whole face, which was radiant.

Back to the light——

Shunzhi sighed and had his family members called over.

In the twenty years since Hong Chengchou came to the Qing Dynasty, although his wives were in the south, there were many concubines, most of whom were clan daughters and Han women.

There are also a few heirs, so there is no regret.

Soon, a group of women rushed in with their children, Shunzhi shook his head and left directly.

After Hong Chengchou finished his instructions, his eyes were astigmatized, and he didn't even look at the group of women. He murmured:

"I'm sorry for my mother, I'm sorry for my wife and children..."

I don't know how long it took, a loud cry resounded through the entire roof beam, and Shunzhi just walked out of the yard, sighing:

"An order is issued to posthumously grant Mr. Hong the title of Duke Zhongxiang, and to grant 5000 taels of money for the funeral."

"Yes!" The eunuch on the side hurriedly responded.

Sighing, Shunzhi boarded the carriage.

"Your Majesty!" Tang Ruowang comforted, "You are extremely honorable, and Mr. Hong will be delighted to know about it."

"These are just for the living to see."

Shunzhi shook his head: "It's a pity that the loyal dog Hong Chengchou died, but I'm sighing, the heroes of the entire Qing Dynasty are also withering day by day..."

In Fengjing, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties often held imperial examinations, but only some Han Chinese and high-ranking Manchu and Mongolian officials participated.

There are only 30 students admitted in one subject, and there are only about [-] people competing. How many good talents are there?

Living in a corner is really a slow poison, and it will definitely die if it goes on for a long time.

"War is inevitable."

Shunzhi murmured, his eyes gradually firmed up.

……

At this time, Annan's Shenglong City fell into a fierce battle.

It was originally estimated that the Qin army would encounter layers of resistance before arriving at Thang Long, which would drain their energy and attack logistics, and they would be exhausted when they arrived at Thang Long.

At this time, Zheng Jun recharged his batteries and wiped them out in one go, reunifying the entire Annan.

But before his [-] soldiers were assembled, the Qin army came from the sea and surrounded Shenglong City in one go.

At this time, there were only [-] troops in the city, and they could barely defend the city. The [-] troops outside the city were helpless.

"Your Majesty—"

Zheng Zuo was wearing armor, and led a pair of men and horses to patrol the city, with a serious face.

Facing the generals who greeted him, Zheng Zuo just nodded, and then left straight away, patrolling meticulously.

These troops are all from the Fubing near Thang Long. They are farming and practicing. They have been Zheng's soldiers for generations. They respect Zheng Zha from the bottom of their hearts.

As for King Li, apart from the civil and military ministers, ordinary people have already changed their dynasties!
After strolling around, Zheng Zuo left the city and returned to his own palace.

At this time, the civil and military personnel stood in two rows on the left and right, and greeted him respectfully.

"How is Li Shi?"

Zheng Zuo took off his armor, Niu took a sip of water, sat on the dragon chair, and asked casually.

"Your Majesty, hide in the hall and don't dare to mess around."

"It's good to be safe, so as not to make trouble for us."

Throughout Annan, the Li family has always been in charge, and the Zheng family has been in charge, and the cooperation has been seamless.

The reason why the Li family was not abolished was that the Mo family occupied Gaoping. Once the Zheng family became self-reliant, they would lose their righteous status and the entire rule would be in danger.

Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, they all support the Mo family in Gaoping, and they want to check and balance Annan.

If it wasn't for Gao Ping's support for the San Francisco Rebellion and being captured by the Qing army, Mo's family could at least persevere to the end.

Even so, Kangxi also repaired the situation and personally mediated the dispute between the Ruan family and the Zheng family, making them use Lingjiang as the boundary, and the north and the south opposed each other.

This situation in the Northern and Southern Dynasties persisted for more than two hundred years.

Zheng Zuo suddenly asked: "How long will the government army be able to assemble?"

"Now there are not many Qin troops outside the city. If they encircle them, they will be threatened."

"My lord, there are still 2 people gathered in the north of the city, and they have never entered the city."

At this time, someone raised his head and said: "There is not enough food in Thang Long City, it is difficult to supply more troops."

"In addition, the Qin army has been preventing the army from entering the city, and it is difficult for the government army to defeat the Qin army..."

"Waste——" Zheng Zuo said angrily, "I spent so much land raising them, and Is this how they serve me?"

Everyone was speechless.

Ten thousand Qin troops came from the sea, riding the wind and waves, like a sharp arrow, piercing through countless Zheng troops.

In ten days' time, [-] to [-] government troops were defeated, making no one dare to fight in the field.

The Zheng family's army followed the example of the Tang Dynasty.

Distribute land to soldiers, exempt from taxation and corvee, as long as they are required to serve in the army and provide their own food and weapons.

One hundred thousand troops can be summoned anytime and anywhere, which is why Zheng Shixiong occupies the Red River Plain.

Of course, because they were far away from their hometown, the morale of the soldiers would be low once they went south, and they couldn't defeat the Ruan family over and over again, forcibly creating a Southern and Northern Dynasties.

There are pros and cons.

"Report, the Qin army has begun to attack the city—"

"It seems that those Qin troops have begun to encircle them."

Zheng Zuo said coldly: "I don't know how many soldiers came from the south..."

The city wall of Shenglong is towering, and the soldiers are not afraid of danger, stepping on the ladder, and constantly climbing, their faces are full of enthusiasm.

On the city wall, the defending army shouted loudly, without any fear, and used weapons such as bows and arrows to fight back fiercely.

The Qin army rushed to the city wall like a tide. They threw stones at the city wall with huge catapults, and the city wall was shaken continuously.

The archers stood on the arrow tower and shot at Zheng Jun on the city wall, forming a fierce battle of arrows and rain.

Zheng Jun was not to be outdone. They used hot oil, stones, sticks, bows and arrows to defend. Every soldier was very brave and would rather die than surrender.They used various methods to resist the Qin army's attack.

The whole city was shrouded in gunpowder smoke, and corpses and bloodstains could be seen everywhere.Casualties on both sides were very serious, but the Qin army always had the upper hand.

In the distance, the King of Qin stared closely at the offensive and defensive battle, never shifting half a point.

Zhu Jing also watched silently, not caring about those casualties.

"I don't know how many people were killed or injured in this battle."

After a long time, King Qin sighed.

"Your Highness, the Qin army has been going smoothly all the way, and there are almost no tough battles. Without this tough battle, I'm afraid it would still be a waste."

Zhu Jing said calmly: "After unifying the whole of Annan, the real test will come. If you don't have a tested army, then your rule may not be stable."

"You don't have to ignore the unreasonable demands of those powerful families, just suppress them directly."

King Qin remained silent.

His nostrils were filled with gunpowder smoke, and he yawned a few times: "So, General Zhu, how many people do you think will have to die to take down Thang Long?"

"8000 people is almost enough." Zhu Jing looked at the battlefield in front of her and said without emotion: "This time the army will be formed."

(End of this chapter)