The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 397 Internal and external troubles
"It is most difficult for infantry to attack from below, but the various towns bravely took the lead, and the sound of recovering the earth shook the earth and mountains. Although many cavalry soldiers on the left and right wings were killed or wounded, no one retreated."

"After five days of fierce fighting, we finally broke through the mountain gate. The bandits were exhausted and retreated. The various towns advanced to retake the East and West Stone Gates and stationed in Rufeng Mountain."

"I will supervise and verify the true situation of this battle, and list it according to the facts."

Capital.

Forbidden City.

In the Qianqing Palace.

Chongzhen held the letter sent from Liaodong in his hands, and his hands were even shaking with excitement.

"Okay, okay, okay..."

Since the end of last year, the country has been in a bleak state.

A major epidemic broke out in the three prefectures of northern Zhili, drought and locusts continued in Henan, and the disaster spread to six provinces.

The rebellion of the Northwestern Tartars, the thieves of the Southeast, the army of Wang Jun of Shandong, and the army of thousands of thieves in Southern Zhili caused great turmoil and unrest.

The troops that went in to suppress the rebellion were defeated on many fronts.

Within a few months, two military commanders and prime ministers fell into the hands of the thieves one after another.

When the towns within the pass heard of the enemy, they became frightened. The bandit army marched into the south of the Yangtze River and was invincible wherever they went.

Tens of thousands of soldiers from the four provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Nanzhili did not dare to engage in a battle with the bandits and fled at the sight of them.

Outside the northern pass, the Jiannu gathered a large number of troops and besieged Songjin, intending to take over the entire Liaodong area.

Such a big country is like floating catkins in the wind and duckweed in the rain.

All these things weighed heavily on Chongzhen's mind.

It was as heavy as Mount Tai, making it difficult for Chongzhen to breathe.

Many times in the middle of the night, Chongzhen would suddenly wake up from nightmares.

In the nightmare, the Jiannu army broke into the palace, the Li Zicheng army broke into the palace, and the Wanze army broke into the palace.

The capital was in ruins and the country was exhausted.

Looking around the world, there is no army that can support the king.

He died, his country was destroyed, and his rivers and mountains were lost.

I will never regret my body and bones.

death.

Chongzhen was not afraid.

What he feared was the changes of the sun, moon, mountains and rivers.

What he feared was that the country would fall and he would be speechless in front of his ancestors.

Sometimes Chongzhen thought that if the Ming Dynasty perished due to internal troubles, it might be a decent ending for it.

Although I don’t want to admit it.

But in this world, has there ever been a country that lasted for a thousand years or a dynasty that lasted for ten thousand years?

Long live, long live, long live, long live, is just an empty promise. In this world, who can truly live a long life?

But if we die at the hands of foreign invaders...

Chongzhen clenched the newspaper in his hand.

The mountains and rivers are about to become the land of China, and the sun and the moon have reopened to dominate the sky.

The Mongols had lived in the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years, and their clothing and etiquette had disappeared.

People in the north hardly consider themselves as Chinese.

They have forgotten the surnames of their Chinese ancestors and instead used the names of barbarians and beasts as a compliment.

Although more than two hundred years have passed, its influence has not been completely eliminated.

If this happens, the mountains and rivers will be shattered and overturned again.

I am afraid……

Chongzhen closed his eyes. He didn't dare to think about the consequences.

The lights in the Qianqing Palace were still dim.

Only where Chongzhen sat and where several ministers were sitting were lit, and the rest of the place was dark.

In the huge Forbidden City, there are only a few places with lights.

Naturally, all these were rules set by Chongzhen in order to save money.

The country is exhausted, the deficit is serious, and it has been spending too much money to make ends meet for a long time.

Now that we are at war on all sides and the expenses are even greater, how can we dare to be extravagant and wasteful?

It was unknown how long it had been, but Chongzhen felt that the chaotic thoughts in his mind had calmed down a lot, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

Within sight, Zhang Sizhi, Chen Xinjia and several other cabinet ministers stood quietly on both sides of the palace.

Chongzhen sighed in his heart.

The Prime Minister Fan Fucui retired and returned home in May.

Although former grand secretaries Zhou Yanru, Zhang Zhifa and He Fengsheng had been summoned to the court.

However, the journey is long and it is estimated that it will take until September to reach the capital.

Chongzhen's gaze first fell on Zhang Sizhi.

Fan Fucui retired and returned to his hometown. The person who is now temporarily taking over the position of Prime Minister is naturally Zhang Sizhi, who was the Second Prime Minister.

However, Zhang Sizhi's abilities are mediocre and he is not up to the task.

He was completely clueless about military affairs, and his government affairs were also mediocre. He mostly tried to protect himself.

Chongzhen also knew what Zhang Sizhi was thinking.

Zhang Sizhi is quite old, and I'm afraid he just wants to retire as soon as possible and live a stable life.

Chongzhen felt desolate. There were constant factional struggles in the court, and many people were trying to protect themselves, harbor evil intentions, or have ulterior motives, completely ignoring the chaotic situation.

Chongzhen moved his gaze, slowly sweeping across the ministers in the hall, and finally stopped on Chen Xinjia.

Although Chen Xinjia has many faults, his courage to take on responsibilities alone is already a hundred times better than anyone else here.

"Chen Aiqing."

Chongzhen put down the newspaper in his hand, his eyes softened a little, and called out.

"The minister is here."

Chen Xinjia took light steps, stepped out from the line, and spoke in a serious voice.

"Although we won the battle of Rufeng Mountain, Lord Hong submitted a memorial stating that if we take Rufeng Mountain now, we will be able to hold off the Jiannu for a long time between Song Mountain and Xing Mountain."

Along with the Tangbao, there was also a memorial from Hong Chengchou. Chongzhen was very hesitant about the suggestions.

"Minister Hong said that the Jiannu have been besieging the city for a year, with tens of thousands of elite soldiers deployed, and their food and grass consumption is also huge. Now the Jiannu are short of food. The cavalry eats two meals a day, and the infantry eats one meal a day. It is estimated that by winter, the Jiannu's food will be exhausted, and then the Jiannu will retreat."

"The Jiannu's goal in this battle is to seize Jinzhou, so as long as we can relieve Jinzhou and force the Jiannu to retreat on their own, and maintain the status quo of Ningjin, we will be victorious."

"The Qing army is still increasing its troops. We can send a batch of food and grass to recruit some soldiers to guard Jinzhou, and then retreat temporarily..."

Chongzhen looked at Chen Xinjia, and he actually agreed more with Hong Chengchou's advice.

All 130,000 troops from the nine important border towns were in Liao.

If we make a mistake, we will lose everything and repeat the defeat at Sarhu...

The Ming Dynasty was no longer the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli period.

The Ming Dynasty at that time could afford to lose, even if it meant losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, because it still had hundreds of thousands of elite troops in the nine borders.

But the Ming Dynasty now cannot afford to lose, it really cannot afford to lose.

The northwest, southeast, Central Plains, and Liaodong were all in turmoil, with natural and man-made disasters everywhere.

The court patched up the situation, but over the years the situation continued to deteriorate.

"What do you think, Mr. Chen?"

Chongzhen looked at Chen Xinjia. He was really hesitant and didn't dare to go for this idea.

Chen Xinjia looked solemn, with worry all over his face.

"Your Majesty, what Governor Hong said is indeed a mature and prudent statement."

Chen Xinjia bowed slightly and said, "In mid-May, there was no report from outside Jizhen at night. The Jiannu were mobilizing troops and sent an edict to Mongolia to gather troops, intending to enter the border again. Your Majesty is aware of this."

"The elite troops of the nine frontiers are all concentrated in Liaodong, and the local defenses are empty. If the Jiannu come in a roundabout way, once they break through Jizhou, they can go all the way south and directly attack the capital."

"Currently, 70% of the troops in the north are in Liao, and 30% are in the south."

Naturally, 70% of the troops in Liaodong were under the command of Hong Chengchou.

The remaining 30% are naturally under the command of Sun Chuanting.

"Once the Jiannu break through the border, they will be able to march straight in, and when they are at the gates of the city, they will once again shake the people's hearts."

Chongzhen looked solemn, as the Ji Si and Wu Yin incidents had just occurred several years ago.

The scene at that time was deeply engraved in his memory. It was truly a great humiliation.

"Liaodong is located in a remote area, and the transportation of military pay and grain is extremely expensive. The country has long been in deficit, and only by gathering the money of the whole country can the current situation in Liaodong be supported."

Chen Xinjia sighed and said.

"The Northwest has been in chaos for a long time, and the troops in Sichuan and Shaanxi have been under martial law for a long time, and the money and food consumed every day are very large."

Li Zicheng relied on Qinghai as his stronghold and launched continuous attacks, but was unable to wipe out the rebellion in the northwest.

The soldiers in the towns of Sichuan and Shaanxi could only passively defend and were therefore exhausted.

"The southern towns were difficult to mobilize because they had no pay, and even the pensions for the soldiers killed in battle could only be paid at half the amount. The soldiers were full of complaints and unwilling to fight."

Chongzhen remained silent. The situation in the South was extremely bad.

After the defeat at Fengyang, almost all of the Southern Kingdom's elite soldiers were lost, and the country's military strength could only barely hold out.

The situation in Southern Zhili is not good now.

The bandit army was divided into four groups. One group threatened Nanjing, while the other three groups headed east to take the canal in an attempt to cut off the grain transport. At the same time, they also wanted to recruit grain workers as soldiers to expand their power.

Although Sun Chuanting led his troops to arrive in time, they could only barely block the offensive of the Wanze army and could not expand the results of the battle.

In the South, the position of Prime Minister has been difficult to decide, and the cabinet has no rules, so Sun Chuanting can only take over temporarily.

But Sun Chuanting is just one person after all, and he has no time to spare, so he can only stay in one place.

The commotion Zhang Xianzhong caused in the southeast was not small.

After the battle of Jiujiang, Zuo Liangyu had already begun to consider retiring.

Hou Xun’s death became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Zuo Liangyu now stationed his troops outside the city of Wuchang, using the excuse of rest and reorganization to stop advancing.

Wan Yuanji, who was originally the military supervisor, was able to restrain Zuo Liangyu with the help of his own prestige.

But not long ago, Wan Yuanji's mother passed away and Jiujiang was defeated, so he had to return home to mourn.

Now the position of Prime Minister of the South Country remains undecided.

The provincial governors had no way to control Zuo Liangyu.

"Zuo Liangyu is now standing still in Wuchang, but he is recruiting soldiers without any orders. The governor of Huguang reported that Zuo Liangyu has 13 battalions of soldiers under his command, totaling more than 40,000 people. They live in the mountains as camps and in the fields as schools. His reputation is very great."

"Zhang Xianzhong is rampant in Jiangxi. Now there are only seven battalions including Cao Bianjiao, Luo Rucai and more than 20,000 troops to suppress him. It is difficult to suppress him at all."

Liu Guoneng, the King of Chuangta, Li Wanqing, the King of Sheta, Xu Kebian, the King of Gai Shi, Wang Guangen, the King of Hua Guansuo, and Ma Shixiu were the thirty-six camps of bandits who had originally surrendered.

After they were appeased, they were basically met with cold eyes from everywhere.

The local civil servants were too arrogant, and the governors and other high-ranking officials were quite indifferent to them and did not trust them.

The person in charge of the appeasement at that time was Zuo Liangyu, but Zuo Liangyu did not take it seriously. Instead, he treated them equally, divided the food and wages equally, and unified the rewards and punishments.

It was also because of this that these troops subsequently began to only obey Zuo Liangyu's orders.

Even though Liu Guoneng, Li Wanqing and others were arrogant and disobeyed orders, the local governor did not dare to reprimand them.

Before this, Zhang Xianzhong surrendered and then rebelled again, and had already stripped a large number of people of their official titles.

Even Xiong Wencan, who was in charge of the appeasement, was escorted to the capital to pay with his life.

If more soldiers were forced to surrender, I'm afraid they would lose their lives and property.

Chongzhen looked gloomy, and the situation in the South became increasingly difficult.

These arrogant and powerful generals under Zuo Liangyu's command are difficult to control.

When the country is in danger, I feel like leaving.

"Zuo Liangyu's nine warnings failed to materialize, and his wolfish ambitions were clearly revealed."

Chongzhen gritted his teeth and said hatefully.

Zuo Liangyu's current behavior is already tantamount to treason.

"They controlled a place, refused to obey orders, and when the local government refused to provide them with food and rations, they sent their troops to plunder everywhere."

"Setting up checkpoints and collecting taxes, and forcing people to pay money everywhere, this is truly lawless!"

When it came to the topic of anger, Chongzhen's face turned red and he couldn't help but cough violently again.

"Your Majesty, calm down."

Seeing that Chongzhen was unwell, a group of ministers in the palace spoke out to advise him.

After a long time, the coughing finally stopped, and Chongzhen calmed down. All his words turned into a sigh.

Chen Xinjia knew that Chongzhen understood the situation, so he spoke up.

"The situation is difficult now. Although Zuo Liangyu's intentions are known to everyone, he is still immature and will not cause any trouble in the short term."

"Zuo Liangyu is now in a difficult position. Although he does not obey orders, he still has tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. The court has a reputation for righteousness. Zuo Liangyu will not dare to rebel for the time being."

"The situation inside the Great Wall is getting worse and worse, and there are reports of banditry in Henan Province again."

"General Chen Wang, the bandit suppressor, reported that due to drought and locusts, many places in Henan have experienced civil unrest, and the momentum is quite large, so we have no choice but to lead our troops back to Henan to quell the rebellion."

Not only in Nanzhili, but also in Henan, there were reports of banditry, and it seemed to be on a large scale.

"The Wanze army also took this opportunity to attack Yingzhou and Haozhou."

"Now both cities are in the midst of war. Fortunately, when we were stationed there, Chen Wang ordered his soldiers to dig deep trenches and repair the city walls. When the bandit army came to attack, the soldiers from Hanzhong, Henan and other towns fought hard to stabilize the situation."

"Although we won, we suffered heavy casualties. The compensation has not been paid yet. We have already owed salaries for four months. The morale of the troops in the camps has already wavered."

"It's not just the troops under Chen Wang's command. The troops in all the towns in the South Country are all short of money and food, and it's difficult to maintain..."

"Moreover, the plague is rampant in Daming Prefecture and other places, and has spread to Shandong and other places. Rescue and treatment of diseases is another expense, and there will be even less money available for the military."

Chongzhen looked heavy-hearted and felt helpless.

How could Chongzhen not know the deeper meaning behind what Chen Xinjia said?

Money, food, money, food, and more money.

All the money and grain of the country are now used to support Liaodong, and there is also a need to solve the problems of famine and epidemics in northern Zhili. There is simply no surplus money and grain to support the south.

If the Jiannu army drags on until winter, they may indeed run out of food and fodder and have to retreat.

But according to the current situation, the court may not even survive until winter and will collapse internally.

"The current plan is really a helpless move."

Chongzhen was silent for a long time, and finally spoke again.

"I understand what Lord Chen means. Please allow me to think about it..."

Chongzhen sighed and waved his hand, wanting to end this cabinet meeting.

But God did not seem to want Chongzhen to make such a choice.

Outside the Qianqing Palace, the sound of horse hooves was very urgent.

Inside the palace, everyone turned their heads to look outside the palace.

Except for the emperor, riding horses was strictly prohibited in most places within the palace.

The only exception is extremely urgent military information.

But now, outside the palace, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.

After a few breaths, the sound of horse hooves stopped.

Bringing earth-shaking news.

This piece of news left Chongzhen with no other choice.

"Another uprising broke out in Shouzhang, Shandong. The bandit leader Li Qingshan gathered tens of thousands of people and occupied Shouzhang, Dongping, and Liangshan. The grain transport was disrupted!"