The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 104 The [-]-word chapter asks for subscription.

"Father, what is going on?"

In Wu's study, Wu Sangui looked at his father anxiously.

Apparently he was notified by Wu Xiang, who had just rushed back from the barracks.

"Ugh!"

Wu Xiang sighed, and explained to him the rumors these days, and the fact that Zhu Cihong came to the Wu mansion to go to the latrine that day, and praised Chen Yuanyuan a few words.

"Father, in this way, His Majesty was indeed a coincidence that day? It wasn't..."

While Wu Sangui was furious after hearing this, he was relieved.

Annoyed, it was clearly because someone didn't want him to have a good time, so they arranged it on purpose. What was relieved was that His Majesty didn't intend to visit his concubine.

"Father has already investigated, His Majesty ate a bowl of rice bran that day, presumably his stomach was spoiled, but now the key is not whether His Majesty really likes Yuanyuan, but the attitude of our Wu family...

well!My father told you a long time ago that this girl is a disaster, but you didn't listen to it back then and insisted on bringing her back..."

Wu Xiang was also full of helplessness.

In the past few days, it has been rumored that he has trouble sleeping and eating.

"Zhiniang thief, if you let me know who is against me, Wu Sangui, I will have to take his skin off."

Wu Sangui also gritted his teeth with hatred.

He naturally understood what his father meant.

It's like everyone knows now that his Wu family has a peerless treasure, and even His Majesty praised it when he saw it.

As a subject, no matter whether His Majesty likes this treasure or not, he has to take the initiative to donate it to show his loyalty.

If he continued to pretend to be deaf and dumb, what would the emperor think?Will he have to doubt the loyalty of the Wu family?

Thinking of this, Wu Sangui also looked resentful and helpless.

"Father, what should we do now?"

"What else can I do?"

"This girl can't stay in our Wu family no matter what, otherwise my Wu family will be killed by her sooner or later."

"But..." Wu Sangui was obviously reluctant.

"You bastard, look at how promising you are, are you going to risk your future and the future of my Wu family for a woman?"

Wu Xiang cursed bitterly, he had strongly disagreed with his son bringing Chen Yuanyuan back.

One is that this girl has entered the palace, and the other is that after this girl was sent back to the Tian Mansion by the Supreme Emperor, in order to increase the value of this girl, the Tian Guozhang almost exaggerated her to the sky, and everyone knew about it.

Wu Sangui was also scolded with his head drooping, his face was tangled for a while, and finally he said helplessly: "Father, my child is now a great general, and a loyal and brave prince who is hereditary and irreplaceable. I can't directly dedicate Yuanyuan to you. Your Majesty?"

"In this way, the child will not be scolded as a treacherous minister of the evil master in the future?"

Obviously, although Wu Sangui cared about Chen Yuanyuan very much, compared with his own future and the future of the Wu family, a woman is not worth mentioning.

So I am more worried about my reputation being damaged, and I don't want to carry the hat of a charmer seeking glory, and be looked down upon by others.

"This is really not easy to handle!"

Wu Xiang was also troubled for a while, and hated those gossiping people to the bone, and what the key people said was the truth.

"What's more, the boy and the imperial concubine have a festive relationship. If Yuanyuan is presented to His Majesty, she will definitely hold a grudge against the boy in the future."

"That's right, the imperial concubine must never offend you again... If you have it, you can simply send Yuanyuan to the imperial concubine's mansion. As for how the empress will deal with it, it is none of my Wu family's business!"

Wu Xiang slapped her hands, and Wu Sangui's eyes lit up after speaking.

It is well known that he had a feud with the imperial concubine, and it is perfectly normal to send a concubine to serve the empress as apology, so his reputation will be preserved, and the loyalty of the Wu family will be shown.

Simply the best of both worlds.

When he came to Chen Yuanyuan's courtyard, Wu Sangui was still a little bit reluctant, but when Chen Yuanyuan saw his appearance, he knew that he might change hands again, obviously he had also heard the rumors.

Looking at Wu Sangui, he said calmly: "Is the general going to dedicate the servant's house to His Majesty?"

"Yuanyuan, I... well, I really shouldn't have listened to my father back then. I wish I had married you back then." Wu Sangui sighed with shame on his face.

"Don't blame the general, maybe this is the fate of the slave family!"

Chen Yuanyuan smiled bitterly, and there was endless sadness in the smile.

Ever since she was forcibly redeemed by Natian Guozhang and brought to the capital, she knew her future destiny.

.........

The Imperial Concubine's Mansion is also the original Chengguo Mansion, and it is only a few streets away from the Wu Mansion. Although the plaque is still the Mansion of the General Protecting the Country, everyone is used to calling it the Imperial Concubine's Mansion, and all men usually walk around it. of.

In order to avoid suspicion, Hong Niangzi only left a thousand female soldiers in the mansion, and some court ladies and maids. They left the barracks every day and returned to the mansion at night.

This kind of treatment is really unprecedented.

But almost everyone understood what was going on, so no one wentssip, not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't dare.

Then Chen Yan was killed for more than 3000 knives, and the only charge was a simple one, making rumors about the emperor.

Apparently Zhu Cihong wanted to use this as a warning to the literati all over the world that they dared to put shit on the emperor's head.

"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui is asking to see you outside the residence!"

"Oh! What is that guy doing here?"

The red lady was taken aback, this was the first man other than the little emperor who dared to visit her.

"Ma'am, he seems to have brought a woman with him." The female soldier added.

"Take him into the living room."

The red lady became even more curious, waved her hand, and then ordered someone to change into a military uniform for her before heading to the living room.

"The minister Wu Sangui kowtowed to see the empress, the empress is a thousand years old."

"The concubine Chen Yuanyuan has met the imperial concubine, the empress is a thousand years old..."

As soon as the red lady walked into the hall, Wu Sangui quickly stood up and saluted.

Chen Yuanyuan who was standing behind also quickly saluted, and took a peek at the red lady with envy in her eyes.

As women, this noble concubine is about the same age as me, but her fate is so different. If this noble concubine is the woman who can control her own destiny the most in the world, then she, Chen Yuanyuan, is the one who can control her own destiny the least in the world. woman.

Chen Yuanyuan couldn't help sighing in her heart.

"You don't need to be too polite, just sit down!"

The red lady waved her hand, glanced at Chen Yuanyuan, and was amazed by her peerless appearance.

"Thank you madam."

Wu Sangui folded his hands and sat down, while Chen Yuanyuan was still standing behind.

"Marquis Wu, you don't go to train soldiers and garrison fields, but you come here to ask to see this concubine, what's the matter?" Hong Niangzi was still as straightforward as before.

"I used to be ignorant and disrespectful to my empress, but now whenever I think about it, I blame myself, and today I am here to make amends!" Wu Sangui said directly as he cupped his hands.

"No need, this concubine has already said that it has been written off, so don't think too much about it, Marquis Wu, and go back to train and farm with peace of mind!"

The red lady waved her hand and said indifferently.

She hadn't thought about it for a long time.

Naturally, Wu Sangui could tell that her words were true, but he had no choice but to say: "Your Majesty is magnanimous, and I admire you so much, I am grateful, but I know that the crime is serious, and I wish I could..."

"Snapped!"

"Wu Sangui, are you still finished? You want to make amends, right? Okay, then this concubine will fulfill you today. Come, pull me down, and hit me with fifty army sticks."

The red lady saw him babbling and putting on airs, she slapped the armrest impatiently and shouted.

A row of female soldiers standing on both sides immediately rushed forward upon hearing this.

Frightened, Chen Yuanyuan trembled all over.

Wu Sangui also hurriedly got up, waved his hands and said urgently: "Don't, don't misunderstand, your mother misunderstood, I came to ask for an audience this time because I heard that my mother loves rhythm, and there happens to be a maidservant in my family who is good at this, so I specially come here to present it to my mother, and I hope The empress accepts it."

"What?"

The red lady stared at Chen Yuanyuan suspiciously, and then at Wu Sangui, wondering what the hell this guy was doing. She loves music, why didn't she know?
What's more, since she is a woman, if he wants to make amends, he should give him a war horse or a treasured sword. What's the matter with sending a beauty?

"Miss Hong..." The female general Hong Ling at the side thought for a while, then whispered in Hong Niang's ear.

Apparently Hong Niang stayed in the mansion except the barracks, and had no contact with the outside world at all, so she didn't know the rumors from the outside world, but Hong Ling went out often, knew the recent things about the Wu family, and guessed Wu Sangui's purpose here.

After hearing this, the red lady suddenly realized, she was also surprised for a while, and then with a smirk, she came to Chen Yuanyuan and thought about it carefully.

"Well! It really is beautiful and beautiful, I feel pity for it!"

"Wu Hou, are you willing to give away such a beauty?"

"It's good that the lady likes it." Wu Sangui also looked embarrassed, thinking that I'm willing to give up!

"Hehe, if that's the case, then this concubine will accept it."

"Come here, take this lady down, so that she can be resettled."

The red lady waved her hand.

Seeing that she accepted it, Wu Sangui heaved a sigh of relief, and immediately took his leave and left, unwilling to stay any longer.

……

Qianqing Palace.

Knowing that Wu Sangui sent Chen Yuanyuan to the noble concubine's mansion, Zhu Cihong almost dropped his jaw in shock, and had to praise his operation.

Naturally, the recent rumors couldn't be hidden from him, and he also wanted to see how Wu Sangui would respond.

If Wu Sangui was reluctant to part with Chen Yuanyuan and chose to hold onto Chen Yuanyuan and not let go, then he can rest assured in the future.

How much can a guy who only knows how to be greedy and lustful and puts all his attention on women have anything to offer?It's not worth his wariness at all.

But now Wu Sangui sent Chen Yuanyuan away without even batting an eyelid, and even gave it to Hong Niang, which not only preserved his reputation, but also showed his loyalty, which made him even more jealous.

There is no way, as the emperor, when the system is not perfect and the military power is not fully grasped, all courtiers and generals must be on guard against suspicion, even Hong Niangzi is no exception.

If Hong Niangzi's defense is one and Zhou Yuji's is two, then Wu Sangui, who has a previous criminal record, is definitely as high as twenty, and now he is even closer to thirty.

And once someone exceeds fifty, then they must start to solve it.

If Wu's father and son knew Zhu Cihong's thoughts, they would probably faint from crying, and they would definitely shout that the power of heaven is unpredictable, the power of heaven is unpredictable!

In fact, regarding this matter, Zhu Cihong was also helpless.

This is obviously because all the nobles and upper-class people in the capital are jealous and targeting the Wu family, so they are booing one after another.

As the emperor, it's really not easy for him to intervene in this kind of matter.

One thing is that the Wu family is in the limelight, so it's good to suppress it, otherwise it would be bad for everyone to curry favor with the Wu family.

Second, everyone is not spreading rumors, but just stating the facts. Although they have bad intentions, they don't care about the matter.

As an emperor, he still had to reason and speak the law, at least on the surface, he had to persuade people with reason, and he still understood the truth that too much was too much.

If Chen Yuanyuan is Wu Sangui's wife, then he can use the excuse of provoking the relationship between the monarch and his ministers to severely punish those who make rumors.

But a concubine, in ancient times, was just a plaything, an item, and gave each other a gift.

Just when Zhu Cihong was thinking about whether to compensate Wu Sangui, Liu Xi's report came from outside the door.

"Your Majesty, Lu Fang is back."

"Oh, bring it in."

Zhu Cihong urged.

Immediately forget about such little things.

Lu Fang was the eunuch who was sent to Nanjing to raise food last time, and escaped after a narrow escape. Zhu Cilang remembered his loyalty, and was sent to Henan to negotiate with the intruders once Jiannu was defeated. It has been almost a month now.

"Slaves pay homage to the emperor."

"Get up, Lu Fang, can King Chuang agree to give up Shanxi and Henan?"

If King Chuang is not willing, then he has no choice but to let Hong Niangzi send troops south to deal with the intruders first. In this way, I am afraid that the new emperors in the south of the Yangtze River will be enthroned.

But no matter how anxious he is about the south, he will not allow King Chuang to continue occupying the Central Plains and Shanxi.

It's a pity that he has no shortage of soldiers and horses now, but he lacks food and grass, so he can't support the two-front battle no matter what.

Otherwise, if the two armies go south, where is the need for such trouble?
"Returning to the emperor, this servant is lucky enough to live up to his fate this time. After repeated threats from the servant, the intruder is finally willing to surrender, agreeing to cede the two provinces of Henan and Shanxi, and promised to withdraw completely by the end of October."

Lu Fang said hastily.

"Okay! This mission is well done, and I will definitely reward you a lot."

Zhu Cihong was overjoyed and praised him fiercely.

King Chuang was willing to compromise, which was a good thing, so he could immediately let Hong Niangzi lead the army south.

After Chuang Wang fled all the way back to Henan, he was relieved to see that the Ming army did not come after him, but not long after, Zuo Liangyu heard that the Chuang army was defeated, and was going to go north to beat the dog in the water.

Who would have thought that King Fu, Ma Shiying, and the princes of Donglin would send people to win him over at this time.

After some weighing, Zuo Liangyi resolutely gave up the idea of ​​raising troops to go north, and decided to actively participate in this political activity in Jiangnan.

Because at this time he had already inquired clearly, this time the new emperor almost made all the commanders in charge of suppressing the thieves his uncle, but he forgot about Zuo Liangyu.

How can Marshal Zuo, who has an army of millions, bear this?

Originally, he planned to defeat the intruder, and then find a reason to write a letter to plead guilty, and congratulate the new emperor on his enthronement.

But now that those people in Jiangnan are going to start a new stove, he naturally wants to support them with bundles of firewood.

Seeing that Zuo Liangyu didn't take advantage of the fire to rob, and hearing that Jiannu had entered the customs, Chuang Wang was completely relieved and began to lick his wounds, but he also kept an eye on the situation in the capital.

When the news came back that the Ming army defeated more than [-] Jiannu cavalry in Tongzhou, and the coach was still Hong Niangzi, King Chuang almost fainted from fright.

Because at this time, there were less than 15 horses in his hands, and most of them were holding bamboo spears.

Not to mention Hong Niangzi and Wu Sangui, even Gao Jie and Zuo Liangyu may not be able to win all the fights. Fortunately, at this time, the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to negotiate.

Without much hesitation, King Chuang agreed to become a minister and cede Shanxi and Henan.

In Shanxi, his control was not strong at first, and some places had directly changed their flags. Once the Ming army came, I am afraid that all of them would have to turn back.

Although Henan is a little bit reluctant, but this year's drought and locust plague, not only can't get much food, but it is a burden, and there is no danger to defend, it is better to return it to the Ming Dynasty, return directly to Guanzhong, and buy a year or two to recuperate.

"Chen Gaojie, Liu Liangzuo, greet Your Majesty!"

"Well, the two lovers are flat, please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo carefully sat down on the small stools, each with only half of their buttocks, wondering in their hearts, why did His Majesty call them here so urgently?
"You two lovers, today the intruder has sent envoys to Beijing to ask for surrender, expressing his willingness to submit to Daming, and withdraw from the two provinces of Shanxi and Henan. Now that the north is in ruins, it is not appropriate to use weapons again. After careful consideration, I agreed to the intruder's request." Please come down and let him live in the northwest temporarily.

However, this thieves wolf is ambitious and his thieves are hard to tame. The reason why he submits and surrenders this time is mostly due to the situation.

I want the two of you to lead the army to guard Henan and Shanxi, train troops and prepare for war, are you willing to go? "

Zhu Cihong didn't hesitate and said directly to the two of them.

He intends to send Gao Jie to guard Henan. This guy and King Chuang have a never-ending feud against his wife.

Even if he surrenders to King Chuang, Gao Jie will never surrender, so it is perfect for him to guard Henan.

Shanxi was guarded by Liu Liangzuo.

The two are also considered veterans, and if they are to guard the two provinces, at least there will be no major disturbances in the two provinces.

"The minister will never give up!"

Both of them hurriedly got up and prayed.

In fact, staying in the capital like this, with nothing to do all day long, the two of them wished to leave the capital as soon as possible.

Although the two of them were a little surprised that His Majesty would accept the intruder's request to surrender, they were not surprised.

Because the news has been spread in the capital, that is, the southern provinces have not yet congratulated the new emperor on his enthronement, and even plan to establish a new emperor, so His Majesty must first solve Jiangnan.

"Well, get up!"

"I'm still at ease with the two lovers. This time, I will allocate 30 shi for food and [-] taels of military pay to each of you. After arriving in the two places, you must strictly restrain your subordinates. If there is any looting of the place again , then don’t blame me for not remembering your military exploits!”

Zhu Cihong nodded, and his tone was quite severe at the end.

This time, he was going to pay the two of them a year's worth of food, grass, and military pay, and sent a military eunuch to oversee the monthly payment.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the ministers will strictly restrain the soldiers under their command. If there is any violation of law and discipline, I would like to raise my head to see Your Majesty!"

The two hurriedly promised again.

Now that His Majesty is sitting on 30 tigers in the five armies, the two of them can't give birth to a rebellious heart at all.

"Well, I hope you will do what you say, don't be greedy for small profits, and ruin your future, go back and tell the soldiers, let them practice with peace of mind, at most three years, I will allocate their land in place!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After the two left, Zhu Cihong started to have a headache again.

For other officials in the two provinces, for the sake of stability, he can stay temporarily, but the governor must send one.

After thinking about it, there is really no suitable and reliable civil servant.

Zhu Cihong also sighed secretly, almost all the civil servants that Da Ming could use were almost exhausted by his father, so much so that he couldn't even find a governor now.

In the end, Zhu Cihong had no choice but to call Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu over, and let them go to inspect Shanxi and Henan.

He doesn't know the abilities of the two of them, but at least they are loyal. He would rather keep the stupid, corrupt and mediocre officials by his side than let them go to the place to cause harm.

The only troublesome thing is that the two of them, one Minister of the Household Department, who is also a scholar of the cabinet, and the other is the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and they go to governor of a province because of disagreement.

In fact, he also wanted to send a governor of Huguang to sit in charge of the two lakes.

After all, if he remembered correctly, Zuo Liangyu would be finished in March next year.

The gathering and arrangement of his millions of rabble must be arranged in advance so that there will be no chaos.

But if it is said that it is still possible to find talents for the governor of a province, then it is absolutely impossible to find the talents of the governor who are knowledgeable in military and civil affairs, capable, and loyal.

"You two dear ministers, I know that I have wronged you a little, but now that the country's affairs are difficult, you are the only officials who can reassure me and take on great responsibilities."

"Your Majesty trusts me highly, even if I demote myself to the third level, I will not hesitate!"

Seeing what His Majesty said, both of them were very moved, and they also understood that His Majesty did not want to assign them, but that there was really no suitable candidate.

In fact, the two are not against going to Henan and Shanxi.

Because staying in the capital now has nothing to do, apart from going to the yamen to drink tea and chat every day, there is nothing to do at all, so it is better to go to the local area to do some practical things.

"The two lovers misunderstood. I didn't intend to demote your ranks. You still go to visit the two provinces with the official titles of Grand Bachelor and Zuodu Censor."

Zhu Cihong hurriedly explained that this was also a compromise he thought of, after all, the court system should not be messed up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, please instruct the government affairs of the two places!"

"Actually, it's nothing. At present, in the northern provinces, the most important thing is stability and less trouble. My only request is not to starve to death anymore.

I will give each of you 30 taels of silver. Remember that these silvers are not used for salary, but for emergencies. You can also recruit a standard camp of 2000 people for transfer. If there is any turmoil, you can also You can ask the two generals to send troops to assist! "

As for tax collection, Zhu Cihong didn't expect the two to supervise him, he had Jinyiwei and Dongchang himself.

At present, in the four northern provinces, Zhu Cihong will not make any major moves, because he can't afford it anymore.

The best choice is to prevent local governments from collecting taxes, strictly supervise the implementation, and let the gentry in various places lead the people to recover slowly. After all, the gentry and the people are closely related.

Otherwise, with those civil officials and eunuchs, no matter how good the policy is, it will become a policy that harms the people and will only aggravate the situation in various places.

So doing nothing is the best policy.

After the two left, it was already dark, and Zhu Cihong also drove to the Imperial Concubine's Mansion, and wanted to take Hong Niangzi down no matter what tonight.

There is no way, the army will go south in three days at most.

The [-] Chinese Army can be said to be the most elite army in Ming Dynasty.

When I arrive in Jiangnan, I will definitely not be able to return in a short time.

He can't go in person now, the emperor is far away today, and it would be a lie to say that he is completely at ease.

Although Hong Niangzi has a strong personality and values ​​love and righteousness, the two are still in name only, not to mention that the girl likes literati, and there are as many talented people in Jiangnan who are suave and eloquent as dogs.

If he was abducted by someone, half of the country would be lost, and he would have to cry and faint.

Although it is risky to put her to sleep, it is smaller after all.

However, apart from Hong Niangzi, there is really no more suitable candidate. Although Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong are also loyal, whether they are loyal to him or to the Ming emperor is still open to debate.

What's more, both of them are loyal people. When they arrive in the south of the Yangtze River, even if they hold a large army, they may not be able to let go of those Mr. Morality.

And Hong Niangzi was born at the bottom, and her generals and soldiers were all rebels. She hated those gentry and landlords, and she was a natural sharp edge against hypocrites who talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality.

(End of this chapter)