Ming Zuo

Chapter 145 The Rotten Daming
Everything came very suddenly.

Just when Chongzhen was dreaming of the dream of a sage king descending into the world and rejuvenating the Ming Dynasty, and when the courtiers were fighting for power and gaining power and criticizing endlessly, Houjin's army rushed into the sheepfold like a tiger.

The rotten nine sides are no longer Daming's barrier, just like the gate of a brothel, allowing people to come in and out.

Benefactors will give money, but Houjin not only refuses to give money, but also kills him.

On October [-]th, Abatai and Azig attacked Longjing Pass, and it took only an hour to break through the pass.

At the same time, Jierhalang and Yuetuo broke through Da'ankou.

The consequences of reducing military pay appeared immediately.

When the Jin army attacked Han'erzhuang, Li Fengze, the left battalion officer, led the crowd out of the city to ask for surrender.

The next day, Huang Taiji conquered the Hongshan Pass, and all the troops of the Houjin Third Route entered the pass.

The sentry in Sanhetun immediately sent a message to warn, and the government and the public were shocked.

Ironically, Zuo Menggeng received the military news two hours earlier than the court.

From this we can see how shocking the corruption of the Ming Dynasty was.

Facing the situation where tens of thousands of Empress Jin troops broke through and entered, Chongzhen was in chaos.The first thing that came to mind was to use Sun Chengzong to take charge of the defense of Gyeonggi.

But this idea was jointly opposed by Wang Zaijin, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru and others.

The reason is that Sun Chengzong is very old, and he has been out of battle for a long time, so he can't use it.

Chongzhen suppressed his panic for the time being, and waited for the good news to come.

Then the news from the front line was so good that the entire capital was panicked.

On October [-], Zhao Ledjiao, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan who was first alerted, immediately led [-] cavalry back to aid.

On the first day of November, Zhao led the teachings all the way to Santunying.Unexpectedly, Zhu Guoyan, the general soldier, refused to open the door.

Helpless, Zhao Ledjiao had no choice but to rush to Zunhua, planning to rest in Zunhua while blocking Houjin.

On the fourth day of November, when Zhao led the Ministry of Education to the outskirts of Zunhua, it was suddenly besieged by Azig and other departments of the Houjin Army.

Zhao led the teaching to die in battle, and the entire army was wiped out.

The next day, Zunhua City fell.

A series of bad news completely stunned the emperor and ministers of Ming Dynasty.

Chongzhen couldn't sit still any longer, and immediately held a court meeting to discuss countermeasures.

After reading the note, Hou Xun threw it into the fire, and waited until the note was completely burned before getting up and entering the court.

In the court hall, hundreds of officials gathered, and the atmosphere...

Of course they can't get along.

"The ministers misled the country! The generals misunderstood the country! Yuan Chonghuan misunderstood me!"

Chongzhen's furious roar resounded through the court, and under the splashed saliva were the deeply buried heads of the officials.

After Jin Dabing came under pressure, everyone felt panic,
Is this another civil fortress change, or was the capital broken and the Ming Dynasty cut off?
Chongzhen scolded for more than an hour, but there was no response at all.All I can feel is sadness.

Obviously there were many ministers gathered in front of him, but the stinging pain brought by that loneliness still made Chongzhen afraid.

"Decree to call Master Sun back to Beijing."

Hearing that Chongzhen still wanted to recall Sun Chengzong, all the non-Donglin officials were unwilling.But in the face of Chongzhen's selective eyes, all of them can't help shrinking their heads.

Originally, Chongzhen revealed his intention to suppress the Donglin Party before, which made these people very happy, and felt that they could take the opportunity to rise to power.

Unexpectedly, when the crisis broke out, the first thing Chongzhen thought of was Sun Chengzong who was close to the Donglin Party.

The reputation and influence of the two generations of emperors are too great.

Once he is allowed to return to the court, the life of the non-Donglin family will be even more sad.

But in the face of crisis, until no one can come up with a solution, there is no reason to object.

But Zhou Yanru felt that this was a good opportunity.

Since Sun Chengzong can't be prevented from coming back, let's take the other members of the Donglin Party.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanru came out more and more, and immediately released his ultimate move.

"Your Majesty, today's calamity is caused by the improper preparation of the Ministry of War, negligence in defense, and chaotic deployment of the enemy."

Zhou Yanru's shot was like a signal.

Xiang Yu, who had already had a tacit understanding in the review of the Ministry of War, followed immediately.

"Your Majesty, the eastern captives are rampant today because all the armies are abolished and there is no court. In the past, King Shizong killed one Ding Rukui, and all the armies were terrified. They all fought to the death, and the powerful Tatar enemies fled in fear. The situation today is just like in the past. Without thunderbolts, the armies cannot be inspired."

The poor Wang Qia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, was dumbfounded. He never thought that these people would want his own life.

Without waiting for him to make a distinction, Zhou Yanru and his group of officials swarmed forward, speaking with one voice, and the discussion was excited.It seems that if Wang Qia is not killed, Hou Jin cannot be forced back.

Wang Qia was not good at words, and he was useless in the face of the siege.

However, Han Yu, Qian Longxi and others were all silent, and no one stood out, allowing Wang Qia to fall into death step by step.

The most worrying thing is that Chongzhen didn't show anything amidst the attacks of the ministers.The mood of a face changed several times, and the gaze became more and more dangerous.

Finally, Chongzhen issued a verdict.

"Come here, put Wang Qia in prison, and have a strict trial afterwards."

"His Majesty……"

Wang Qia prostrated on the ground, heartbroken as if dead.

The big Han general rushed forward, not giving him a chance to speak at all.He took off the crown of his official uniform, and dragged him down like a dead dog.

This scene made many officials present chilling.

Hou Xun stood among the officials and watched the whole process carefully.This farce-like scene made him unable to contain his anger any longer.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Yanru, Xiang Yu and others are eloquent and full of tongues, and they are dedicated to attacking. At this time of crisis, instead of serving the country and retreating the enemy, instead of disturbing the government, the crime is unforgivable."

Hou Xun's appearance stunned everyone.

Because he has a very good personal relationship with Zhou Yanru, and they have frequent contacts.To be on such an occasion would completely tear his face apart.

In fact, even Hou Xun himself didn't know that he had been deeply influenced by Zuo Menggeng, and his way of thinking had undergone a great change.

If it were him in the past, he would not have any friendship with Wang Qia, so he would definitely not show up.

But after getting the idea of ​​overall coping from Zuo Menggeng, Hou Xun couldn't help but feel sad when he looked at the chaotic people in the court.

What's the use of such an imperial court, which doesn't distinguish between good and bad, and keeps fighting among themselves in times of crisis?
Zhou Yanru was called on the spot and couldn't avoid it, and he was also very annoyed.

"I'm stupid, I don't know what Hou Shilang said? As a minister, I should speak up and help His Majesty distinguish between loyal and evil, but I don't know what is the crime?"

Hou Xun is majestic and imposing.

"Eastern captives ravaged the capital, the people were devastated, and the country was in dire straits. Dare I ask Minister Zhou, what is the strategy to retreat from the enemy?"

Zhou Yanru flicked his sleeves, his expression unchanged.

"I act as an agent of the Ministry of Rites, and I can do something on my own. Why do I need to go beyond the strategy of fighting and defending?"

Hou Xun shouted loudly: "You are neither in charge of the Ministry of War, nor a general on the battlefield, so why talk about rewards and punishments?"

At this moment, Zhou Yanru was cornered.

You said that you are an official of the Ministry of Rites, and you cannot be asked about the war.As for the responsibility of the Minister of War, why are you so shameless?

In an instant, there was a lot of discussion in the court, and many people pointed at Zhou Yanru.

Of course, most of the criticism is not his transgression, but his villainous behavior.

Zhou Yanru's old face was flushed, and he couldn't help asking: "Hou Shilang is an honorable member of the military department, but I don't know what strategy is there?"

Hou Xun snorted coldly, gave him a final look, and turned to face Chongzhen.

"Your Majesty, the top priority is the way to deal with the enemy."

This remark made Chongzhen quite excited.

Although what Hou Xun said just now was quite intended to excuse Wang Qia, but the court meeting has been going on until now, facing Hou Jin's invaders, all the officials are like turtles, and they can't do anything, which completely disappoints him.

Now someone finally talked about the strategy of defending against the enemy. Regardless of whether it is true or not, at least this spirit of courage to do things must be rewarded by Chongzhen.

"Hou Qing can speak freely."

Hou Xun took a deep breath, straightened out his thoughts, and just started.

"Now Governor Yuan is going back to the army to rescue, and the journey is far away, which takes a lot of trouble. However, reinforcements from Xuanfu, Datong, Shanxi and other places will arrive soon. If there is no coordination, the army will be chaotic, and the Eastern captives may be defeated one by one."

Chongzhen couldn't help being horrified by his words, only then did he realize that he had overlooked something.

Before, he gave Yuan Chonghuan an order to return to aid quickly.

But now that Zunhua, the main road back to Beijing in Shanhaiguan, has been captured by Houjin, Yuan Chonghuan has to go around Yongping and Yutian.

No one can guarantee whether he can reach Jizhou before Houjin.

In case Yuan Chonghuan fails to occupy Jizhou first, he will have to choose another way to march.When reinforcements from all walks of life have arrived, who should I listen to?
Hou Xun said again: "Your Majesty, it is a good policy to restore Sun Ge. However, Sun Ge is far away in Gaoyang. Even if he runs at full speed, it will take time to rush back to the capital. It will take a long time to discuss countermeasures and purge the army. At that time The overall situation has collapsed, and it may be irreparable."

Hou Xun first affirmed Chongzhen's recall of Sun Chengzong.

In fact, in the face of the crisis of the post-Jin soldiers' pressure, apart from Sun Chengzong, the Manchu Dynasty could not find a second person who could coordinate and command the reinforcements from all walks of life.

The only problem is that Sun Chengzong is now in his hometown in Gaoyang County, Baoding Prefecture.

An old man who is nearly seventy years old, even if he travels all night, it will take three days to arrive in the capital.Discuss the strategy with Chongzhen again, straighten out the situation and the relationship, it won't take seven or eight days.

But the question is, will Houjin give Daming seven or eight days to prepare.

Obviously, judging from Hou Jin's speed, it is impossible for Daming to have such a long buffer time.

Chongzhen understood, and so did the officials.

For a moment, everyone was helpless and could only pin their hopes on Hou Xun.

(End of this chapter)