I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 418 Don’t even think about catching up with Lu Jiandou
Chapter 418

Shanhaiguan is indeed a very good target, and it is a good target that cannot be replaced. In fact, after the destruction of Jiannu, if Cheng Shijie wanted to capture Shanhaiguan, he did not need to fight at all. This problem could be solved through negotiation.

However, the problem is that the next opponents are Li Zicheng and the Nanjing Xiaoting. As for the other grass-head kings, they are all used to make up the numbers. Neither Li Zicheng nor the Nanming Xiaoting is so easy to deal with.

In history, the Hongguang court, which was the first to be established in the Southern Ming Dynasty, only existed for eight months before being destroyed by Duduo. The longest-lasting regime of King Gui Yongli only lasted for 16 years, which was completely different from the Southern Song Dynasty, which had enjoyed a reign of 152 years. And words.

In fact, Nan Ming's weakness is only relative. In fact, purely in terms of combat, he is definitely not weak. But the problem is that talking about strength without his opponent is a hooligan in itself.For Nanming, what made matters worse was that the downstream Jianghuai, midstream Jingxiang, and upstream Sichuan-Shaanxi defense lines of the north-south boundary were in the hands of different forces. None of these forces could be commanded by the Nanming court.The front line of Jianghuai is the four towns of Jiangbei and Zuo Liangyu, who is self-respecting. Jingxiang is partly in the hands of the remnants of Li Zicheng's Dashun Army, and Sichuan is in the hands of Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi regime.

These forces are also hostile to each other and attack each other.Moreover, these forces themselves are full of internal conflicts, and they often break out into internal strife.

The current historical time and space has completely changed because of Cheng Shijie, a butterfly from another world. First of all, the Zhang Xianzhong Group no longer exists. Although Zhang Xianzhong no longer exists, the Li Zicheng Group is stronger than in history, and until now, Li Zichengdu He endured not proclaiming himself emperor, but held the King of Qin in order to order Guanzhong.

The real reason for the rapid collapse of the Dashun Army in history was Li Zicheng. He was distracted and his good cards were played to pieces. In this time and space, neither the Nanjing small court nor Li Zicheng's Guanzhong were corrupted as quickly as in history. , especially since the Nanjing Small Court did not have time to form the four towns in Jiangbei, at least the warlords and generals from all over the country had no intention of dissing the Nanjing Small Court. They were all waiting to see what methods Cheng Shijie would take to deal with them.

But Cheng Shijie really didn't want to give those warlords official posts and make wishes, so he resorted to wooing them to deal with them. The harm and sequelae caused by this would be huge.

Another question is how to deal with Wu Chongming who killed Gao Di.

This matter was very difficult to handle. The next day, Cheng Shijie attended the cabinet meeting. Cheng Shijie handed the information about the Shanhaiguan uprising to the cabinet prime minister Sun Zhidan. Sun Zhidan took a look and handed it directly to the deputy prime minister Yang Yunniang. , Yang Yuniang pushed it with both hands, indicating that she didn't want to look at it.

Sun Zhidao heard that Yang Yunniang had been alone with Cheng Shijie for a long time last night and stayed in the palace, so he naturally followed Cheng Shijie to know this information in advance.

Among the cabinet members, Zhang Huaize, Chen Zilong, Song Yingxing, and Fang Yizhi are technical officials, and of course Yang Qingyun and Mo Hua are also technical officials. It can be said that the current cabinet is composed of military, political, and technical officials. The three factions were divided. Whether it was Zhang Huaize or Song Yingxing, they were not interested in this matter.

Sun Zhidao saw that no one had started to speak. He looked at Cheng Shijie and asked seriously: "Your Majesty, the current situation is like when the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu were in power. If Guanzhong and Nanjing join forces, we can do everything we can." Are you sure of winning?"

If we simply look at the military, the current Royal Army of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be killing gods when gods are blocking it, and destroying Buddhas when Buddha is blocking the way. The most fundamental problem is not to unify the world, but to solve internal problems.

Peasant uprisings in history were basically plucked by others. Although Cheng Shijie is not considered a peasant uprising, the current situation is like the heroes competing for power in the late Sui Dynasty.

Cheng Shijie looked at Sun Zhiman and said: "There is no opponent for our Royal Army in the world, and the same is true in the whole world. The difference is just how much time it takes, but now, the biggest enemy for us is no longer outside, but within us. "

Song Xiance responded: "The king's words hit the mark. At this time, outsiders think that our army is extremely powerful and dare not disobey it, but in fact, it is empty internally and cannot support the war. The victory in Beijing laid a strong foundation for the Ming Dynasty. The residual power can even bring blessings for decades, but it has also caused great internal friction and requires at least three years of recuperation. The current situation is that it is better to be quiet than to move."

Compared with the generals who only thought about making achievements, becoming marquises and generals, and being promoted to marshals, Song Xiance's pattern was actually larger, and he considered more comprehensive issues. Although this war was won by Cheng Shijie, it left behind a It was a huge mess. Not only was Beizhili destroyed, but the problem was that the Dashun Army accepted Ning Haijun's adaptation, but it left huge hidden dangers.

Song Xiance's Dashun Army adopted the method of land reform and basically completed land reform in eastern Henan, eastern Shandong, northern South Zhili, and part of North Zhili.

This policy conflicts with the established policy of the Ming Dynasty, and also conflicts with the development policy of Liaodong. As the saying goes, we should not worry about scarcity but inequality. Because different policies have caused a series of problems.

Moreover, although Song Xiance was the former commander-in-chief of the Dashun Army and the leader of the No. 13 to No. 18 brigades, the problem was that Song Xiance had never regarded himself as a general, and the rank of marshal had no interest in Song Xiance at all. , his biggest goal is to replace Sun Zhiwan and become the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Sun Zhiman nodded and said: "That's right. At this time, it is better to attack the enemy than to capture it. At this time, it is better to use slowness than to use haste."

Zhou Ning raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, according to the current general trend of the world, there are many things that we can actually accomplish through negotiation."

"What do you mean? You want to reward Wu Chongming heavily for betraying the commander-in-chief?"

Zhang Yu said angrily: "Today he can betray Gao Di when facing a strong enemy, and one day he will betray the king when facing a strong enemy. Do you want to accept surrender and betrayal indiscriminately?"

"It's not indiscriminate, it's just...it's just that the method must be skillful, firstly to avoid internal turmoil, and secondly to avoid dissent among forces that may surrender."

After reading the resume of Wu Chongming whom he had just investigated, Chen Guodong shouted: "There are so many unfaithful and unjust generals like Wu Chongming. If they all surrender, let them be ministers in the same palace as a certain person, what a disdain!"

It can be said that Chen Guodong really dislikes Wu Chongming. He is even more disgusted with Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo. Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang only switched to Cheng Shijie because of Zhang Xianzhong's death. However, the problem is that Wu Chongming can be regarded as a slave of the third surname. , he was originally Li Ru's personal soldier, but after Li Rusong died, he followed Li Ruzhen.

From Li Rusong to Li Ruzhen, and then to Wu Xiang. With Wu Xiang's promotion, Wu Ruzhen became Wu Xiang's direct descendant. However, his real success was because of Gao Di, but the problem was that Gao Di clearly showed favor to him. , if Shanhaiguan cannot be defended and Wu Chongming is defeated and surrenders, Chen Guodong can't say anything.

But the problem is that Wu Chongming's nature is so bad. He is just like Lu Bu during the Three Kingdoms period. If Wu Chongming is treated as a daughter to buy horse bones, then I don't know how many Wu Chongming will surrender to Cheng Shijie in the future. By that time, He didn't even dare to close his eyes while sleeping.

"Guodong, sit down first and let Zhou Ning finish!" Although Chen Guodong's position is not as good as that of Zhou Ning, the chief of general staff, the problem is that Chen Guodong's qualifications are much older than Zhou Ning's. He and Shen Ming met The same, they are all disciples of Cheng Shijie, and there are even seventh-rank officials under the prime minister's sect, let alone Cheng Shijie's disciples.

Of course, now Chen Guodong has taken on his own role. He should be regarded as the unnamed Jin Yiwei and the admiral of Dongchang.

Eliminate all threats in their bud.

However, Chen Guodong did not dare to make a mistake in front of Cheng Shijie. Cheng Shijie asked him to sit down, so he sat down.

As the regent of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Shijie's reforms of the Ming Dynasty also included the improvement of the status of ministers. In fact, starting from the Qin and Han Dynasties, the relationship between ministers and the emperor was like the relationship between the chairman and the shareholders and executives.At higher and lower levels, the emperor would sometimes reward ministers with such privileges as not following the emperor, being honored as a minister without being famous, and going to the palace with swords and shoes.

In fact, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, including the Tang Dynasty, officials always sat when they went to court to meet the emperor. Only in the Northern Song Dynasty did the emperor stand.In the Song Dynasty, officials were asked to go to court from sitting to standing. This change was really huge, which shows that the status of ministers has been reduced a lot.But it hasn't been reduced to the lowest level yet.By the Ming Dynasty, ministers could no longer even stand when going to court, they had to kneel.

Kneeling in the Ming Dynasty was no longer considered lowly, but in the Qing Dynasty it was even more excessive. Kneeling before going to court was always to discuss matters with the emperor, and the ministers still had the right to speak.After Yongzheng established the Military Aircraft Department, when discussing major matters, ministers almost always knelt and listened directly to the emperor, and then wrote down what the emperor said to do. This is called kneeling and recording.This marked the complete peak of imperial autocracy.The status of ministers dropped to the lowest level.

The policy adopted by Cheng Shijie now is that it is more like the senior management meetings held by companies in later generations. Everyone is sitting. The only difference is that Cheng Shijie is still sitting in the first place, but it is not a dragon chair, just an ordinary grand master's chair.

Watching Chen Guodong sit down, Zhou Ning said: "After the news of our army's victory in Beijing came out, people kept writing to me secretly, but most of them were just showing their goodwill. Now Wu Chongming has surrendered because of his high rank. , generals and officials from all over the country are watching, if the king gives Wu Chongming a high-ranking official title, he will definitely go down without a fight!"

Sun Zhidao nodded and said, "It is indeed true. I have received letters from all over the country, no less than three hundred of them, describing a lot of things!"

Zhou Ning continued: "Not to mention Shanxi, which has not yet been included in our territory. Even in Huaibei and Xianghan, which are far away from us, more than half of the generals have secretly surrendered to us. Not only that! Even Liu Zeqing, the governor of water transportation, Luonan You Shiwei, Deng Qi, You Zhaiwen, Zhang Yingchang, Xu Chengming, Ma Xu, Liu Liangzuo, etc. also submitted letters ready to surrender. If the king accepts their surrender, then Henan and Jianghuai can fall without a fight!"

Song Xiance and Sun Zhiman both exclaimed when they heard this, with joy in their voices.

Sun Zhibao said: "If Henan and Jianghuai are unified, and the north is unified, Guanzhong will be isolated. At that time, the king can move his troops southward or westward! There are as many scholar-bureaucrats in Nanjing secretly communicating with me as they are across the river. You can imagine what the crucian carp’s intentions are..."

"You mean... you want me to reward Wu Chongming heavily?"

Zhou Ning continued: "Your Majesty, although Wu Chongming is unfaithful, filial, benevolent and unjust, the matter must be prioritized. I believe that for the sake of the overall situation of the world, we should deal with it slowly and softly, rather than in a hurry. Don't be too tough."

As the saying goes, the butt determines the head, and the head determines the thinking. Although this matter can be considered military, Zhou Ning did not give a single case. In fact, judging from the attitudes of Chen Guodong and Chang Yu, they did not agree with heavy rewards, but We must use military means to solve this problem.

Cheng Shijie is also thinking, but the problem is a bit difficult.

If Sun Zhiwan's strategy is used, then not only Wu Chongming will surrender, but the huge Ming Dynasty bureaucrats and gentry group.The sequelae are very huge.

However, Cheng Shijie did not decide. Instead, he ordered Wu Chongming and a group of surrendered generals to come to Beijing. It takes fourteen hours to travel from Beijing to Shanhaiguan via the station system, but if it is an ordinary trip, it will take at least three days and cover hundreds of miles a day. It's fast enough that you can walk slowly in a carriage.

Just when Cheng Shijie was thinking about how to deal with Wu Chongming's problem, he said with some confusion: "Why Wu Chongming and not Lu Jiandou? I have made Lu Jiandou the governor of Anbei, alongside Chang Yu and Shen Mingyu. Isn't it enough to become the governor of Anbei?" Set an example for the world?"

Sun Zhibao said: "Your Majesty, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty. After defeating Chu, more than [-] ministers were enfeoffed, but the generals were still unstable and even wanted to rebel. Later, Zhang Liang, the remaining marquis, suggested that Yongchi be granted the title first, and Yongchi be sealed. And all the generals are safe. Your Majesty, you should know why."

Cheng Shijie suddenly realized that because those who had been granted the title of Liu Bang were all his cronies, those generals who were estranged from Liu Bang could not help but worry that they would not have a share, or even die.But Yong Chi was Liu Bang's enemy, and Liu Bang hated him the most. All the generals knew this.Yong's teeth are sealed, so what do others have to worry about?

The feud between Lu Xiangsheng and Emperor Chongzhen was well known to the world. Later, Lu Xiangsheng directly escorted Emperor Chongzhen to Liaodong and placed Emperor Chongzhen under house arrest. It can be said that Lu Xiangsheng has taken refuge with Cheng Shijie. He is considered to be the person closer to Cheng Shijie, which does not represent everyone. .

But Wu Chongming was different. He was a general of the Guan Ning Army faction. He joined Jiannu first and then blocked Cheng Shijie for nearly three months. Even if he didn't know much about the war, he knew that Cheng Shijie was very embarrassed by Shanhaiguan where Wu Chongming was located. If Cheng Shijie rewarded Wu Chongming heavily, it would be equivalent to Liu Bang's award of Yongchi.

What's more, Cheng Shijie reused Lu Xiangsheng because Lu Xiangsheng was capable and capable. When he became the prefect, he became famous all over the world. His suppression of the rebellion also made the peasant army tremble. Lu Xiangsheng would also be a good sword to deal with Li Zicheng in the future.

Cheng Shijie sighed and said: "I understand. I never ask for people's origins, only their abilities. Now that Jiannu has been destroyed, the difficult battle is almost over. Moreover, most of the generals and capable ministers in the world are just mediocre people. Don’t even think about catching up with Lu Jiandou.”

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Cheng Shijie sighed. In the past, he didn't understand why he could tolerate some officials who made mistakes. However, sitting in his position, he finally understood.Cultivating an official from emerging and standing out to taking charge of one's own affairs requires tempering one's will and character in a difficult and complex environment. The cost is too high. It is relatively easy to transform an official or general.

Cheng Shijie said: "Give Wu Chongming another chance. Whether he can seize it or not depends on him!"

(End of this chapter)