Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 173 Digging again
When people in the lobby heard the sound, they all turned to look at Li Zicheng. They wondered why he was laughing.

That Chen Yongfu surrendered to the court, how can he still laugh about it?

Or maybe he thought that he would buy a horse with a huge amount of money, even if he shot his eyes out, but ended up acting lonely, so he laughed in anger?
Only Song Xiance seemed to have thought of something and smiled.

After laughing for a while, Li Zicheng stopped laughing, but still had a smile on his face and asked, "Do you know what this means?"

When the others heard it, they immediately looked at each other.

What else could this mean?Doesn't it mean that your eldest brother's charm is not enough, and people have rebelled? What else can you do?

Song Xiance had already confirmed what Li Zicheng was going to say, but he knew that Li Zicheng wanted to show off, so he didn't answer and just watched Li Zicheng pretend.

Seeing the confused looks on the faces of his brothers, Li Zicheng laughed again, but this time he laughed silently, and then gave the answer: "This must be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who personally led the troops south, so that's why Chen Yongfu could surrender." Go back!"

Upon hearing this, others thought, it was indeed so, otherwise, Chen Yongfu would not have surrendered to the court!
After confirming this, Liu Zongmin immediately said with great joy: "Haha, this is a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Song Military Advisor's plan finally came true!"

"No!" After hearing this, Yuan Zongdi quickly corrected him: "This is a must to attack the enemy, so that's why the Ming Emperor led the army south!"

After hearing this, Li Guo nodded and said: "Yes, he didn't have to save Qufu back then, but Yingtian Mansion must be saved. Otherwise, His Highness would conquer Yingtian Mansion and proclaim himself emperor. Like Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Absolutely nothing like this is allowed to happen!”

After they finished speaking, they actually raised their wine glasses together and toasted to Li Zicheng.

"Your Highness, it will definitely work this time!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations, Your Highness!"

"..."

Li Zicheng was also happy after hearing this. He also raised his wine glass, but instead of drinking it himself first, he raised his glass and looked at Song Xiance and said: "The military counselor's plan is absolutely perfect. As expected, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was mobilized to lead the army to rescue Ying Tianfu." Then when the weather gets better in the next year, Gu will lead the army into the north again, and then turn the world upside down!"

Song Xiance's strategy was actually very simple. Since he couldn't defeat the army led by the Ming Emperor, he would mobilize the Ming Emperor's army to attack Yingtian Mansion, force the Ming Emperor to lead elites to come to the rescue, and then let Zuo Liangyu go south After dealing with the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng led an army into the north again, disrupting the situation in the north and once again dragging down the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Just like back then, when they were bandits, they could not defeat the imperial officers and soldiers. Then they wandered around and disrupted the entire Central Plains. Slowly, the imperial officers and soldiers would become weaker and weaker, and the final victory would be It belongs to him, Li Zicheng.

When Song Xiance saw Li Zicheng toasting him, he quickly took the wine glass. When he was about to say something, Bai Wang, who had heard the news, looked at them and interrupted: "It is said that Li Laiheng was discovered among the imperial officers and soldiers!"

Li Laiheng is one of Li Guo's many adopted sons, but he is also the most famous one.In the past, he was Li Guo's most powerful arm.Therefore, these people here all know Li Laiheng.

When Bai Wang said this, the atmosphere in the lobby suddenly became colder.

During the previous Battle of Changping, only a few people escaped back. After Li Zicheng found out, he immediately made the decision to go south.Therefore, those soldiers of the Dashun Army who did not return to the army were classified as out of contact.

Not to mention the era of war, even in ordinary times of peace, the transmission of news will not be fast, let alone news like Li Laiheng and others, will not be deliberately spread.

Therefore, Li Zicheng had no idea about Li Laiheng's situation.

That is to say, this time Emperor Chongzhen led the army south, and Li Laiheng was responsible for some of the sentinels, so it was known and spread out. However, Bai Wang's statement is not certain, but a rumor.

However, if there is news, it is usually true.

Li Guo was Li Laiheng's adoptive father, and he usually valued his adopted son. When he heard the news about Bai Wang, he was naturally most embarrassed.He remembered what Li Laiheng had asked him and his attitude before the Battle of Changping, and he was sure that Li Laiheng would not make a mistake in surrendering to the court.

So, he said bitterly: "Don't let me meet him on the battlefield, otherwise I won't be able to spare him!"

The smile disappeared from Li Zicheng's face, and he frowned and asked, "Where is Gao Yigong? Is there any news about Gao Yigong?"

Among the people who didn't escape, the one he cared about the most was Gao Yigong. After all, it was his wife's brother who came.Gao Yigong disappeared, but he never sent the news back to Shaanxi to let Gao Guiying know.

After hearing this, Bai Wang hesitated for a moment, and then reported truthfully: "I heard...I heard that the imperial court was also surrendered, but I can't be sure, but someone in Li Laiheng swore that he had seen him."

Once I heard this, it was very possible.Li Zicheng didn't expect that his wife and brother would abandon him and surrender to the court, so where would he put his face?If this is true, I might have to change to a queen!

Seeing his face darken, Niu Jinxing quickly smoothed things over and said: "The situation is unclear now. Everything is just hearsay and may not be taken seriously. Even if they really surrender to the court, they may not be sincere. In the past, there were not many Is it possible for someone to surrender to the imperial court and then fall out with the imperial court again?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin, who had the most important leadership responsibility in the Battle of Changping, quickly agreed: "Yes, the imperial officers and soldiers rushed up at that time, and many brothers had no time to escape. They may have had no choice but to surrender to the imperial court."

After hearing this, Yuan Zongdi also said kindly: "Don't worry about it so much now. Since the emperor has gone south, let's make preparations to go north!"

When Li Zicheng heard what they said, his face looked a little better. He nodded and said, "In this case, as discussed before, each ministry will mobilize elites to prepare to go north after the new year."

After he finished speaking, Song Xiance frowned slightly and said, "Is the emperor leading his elite Beijing camp south or something? We still need to find out more about this before we talk!"

At this point, when he saw others looking at him, he explained: "Logically speaking, if the emperor leads the troops south to fight with us, he should not lead the surrendered troops south that have just surrendered. But since Li Laiheng is here, then the emperor It’s better to find out exactly how many troops there are and what kind of troops they are, and don’t be self-righteous!”

After hearing this, Niu Jinxing also agreed, shaking his head and saying: "There is a saying in the art of war. If you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight without danger. You still have to find out what the enemy's situation is!"

This is the simplest truth. After hearing this, Li Zicheng ordered Bai Wang: "Send more detective horses to find out as soon as possible!"

"General, I obey!" After hearing this, Bai Wang immediately accepted the order with his fists clasped, and then hurriedly left.

When the door was opened, another gust of cold wind rushed into the lobby, making everyone feel that it was so cold outside!
Three days later, on the day before New Year's Eve, Li Zicheng and others were drinking and having fun again.

In fact, on this snowy and freezing day, there is nothing more pleasant than heating pots of rice wine and drinking while waiting for the Chinese New Year.

Just like last time, the joyful atmosphere in the lobby was interrupted again by Bai Wang.

This time, Bai Wang closed the door of the lobby first, with excitement on his face, obviously there was good news.

Upon seeing this, Li Zicheng took the initiative to ask: "Is there any news?"

"Your Highness, good news!" Bai Wang heard this and quickly replied excitedly, "It is confirmed that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty led his troops south, but there are only [-], and they are now stationed at Yangzhou Mansion..."

Hearing this, Liu Zongmin couldn't help but be stunned. He couldn't help but interrupt him and said: "How much? Fifty thousand? Is that right?"

You know, there are 50 people here, and they are called millions.If the emperor only leads 5 troops southward, how can he fight?Deliver food?It’s not enough to fill the gap between teeth!

Bai Wang heard this and quickly replied: "Yes, it's fifty thousand. Tan Ma couldn't believe it at first, so he verified it once. The Ming Emperor stayed in Xuzhou for three days before continuing south. There was no army behind him. If we continue to go south, there will only be [-] in total!"

After confirming the news, the people in the lobby were a little surprised. They looked at each other and couldn't believe the news.

War is no joke, and the number of troops is definitely one of the key reasons for victory or defeat.If you have more troops, you will be able to kill the enemy.At this point, they are all experienced.

For example, when Cao Wenzhao led more than 1000 elite Guan Ning troops, he chased them and beat them until they fled here and there. Finally, they secretly gathered on various hills and exhausted them to death with a force far exceeding Cao Wenzhao's. Cao Wenzhao.

It is undeniable that the Beijing camp led by Emperor Chongzhen can indeed fight. However, if the strength of the troops is very different, believe it or not, history will repeat itself and it will not kill him!

However, Li Guo, who had witnessed the Battle of Changping, frowned and said: "It's okay to be careful, and we can't be careless. That Beijing camp, led by the Ming Emperor, is indeed unstoppable. Don't talk about others, just talk about it. That Zhou Yuji was a fierce general before, and He Zan, Wei Shizhen and others were all knighted by the emperor based on their military exploits!"

Upon hearing his words, Liu Zongmin also remembered the fearless momentum of the entire Beijing camp charge, and nodded and said: "Indeed, even though it is only 5 troops, it cannot be underestimated."

Seeing what his two important generals said, Li Zicheng's expression became more solemn.However, before he could speak, he heard Bai Wang say: "None of them are accompanying him on the expedition. As I found out, the generals accompanying the emperor to the south this time are Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Ma Ke, Huang Degong..."

At this point, he glanced at Li Zicheng, and then continued: "Gao Jie, whom he met in Xuzhou, also followed the emperor south."

Everyone knows the grudge between Gao Jie and Li Zicheng. Under normal circumstances, no one would mention this name in front of Li Zicheng, so as not to make Li Zicheng unhappy.

But at this time, Li Zicheng became excited after hearing this, and immediately confirmed: "It's really these people, not Zhou Yuji and the others?"

In his opinion, Zhou Yuji and others, who were the first to follow the Ming Emperor in the southern and northern wars, were the foundation of the emperor and the elite of the Beijing camp.

These are the same people he is a little afraid of.

After Bai Wang heard this, he immediately replied: "There is indeed no such thing as them. I heard that Zhou Yuji stayed in the north to guard the front line of the Great Wall to prevent the Qing soldiers from entering the pass again."

When Li Zicheng heard this, he was happy and said immediately: "That means that among the people who followed the Ming Emperor southward, Huang Degong and Wu Sangui were the more powerful. Tang Tong, Ma Ke, and Gao Jie were all defeated generals. . I just can’t figure it out. Why did the emperor bring these mediocre people south?"

Huang Degong was one of the three general soldiers of the original Yongwei camp, and his reputation at the beginning was still higher than that of Zhou Yuji.At the beginning, Li Zicheng and the others were defeated, but later on, the soldiers of the original Yongwei camp were exhausted and there was no elite replacement. In the end, their strength was not enough, and they have been hiding in Fengyang Mansion for defense.

As for Wu Sangui, Li Zicheng has actually never fought against him, but after all, he is a general of Guan Ning Army, so his strength is definitely good.

As for other general soldiers, in the past two years, when they encountered Li Zicheng's Dashun Army, they were either defeated or fled after hearing the news, and they were no longer valued by Li Zicheng.

After hearing his words, Bai Wang hesitated a little and then added: "The general also found out that Gao Yigong... Gao Yigong was also among the imperial officers and soldiers going south. Like Li Laiheng, he was only a member of the Beijing camp. Will."

When Li Zicheng heard this, his face suddenly darkened and he shouted: "You deserve it!"

After surrendering to the imperial court, he was just a general.Otherwise, in Dashun Kingdom, he would be Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, not a relative of the emperor!
However, when Song Xiance heard what he said, his heart moved and he immediately asked: "What kind of soldiers are the emperor leading?"

Upon hearing his words, Liu Zongmin and Li Guo immediately understood what he was asking and immediately showed concern.

Just listen to Bai Wang's reply: "The emperor's army going south includes our former people, and it seems there are quite a few."

Hearing this, everyone in the lobby looked at each other again.

Could it be that the emperor's brain was trapped by the door?He led his troops south to fight the Dashun Army, but he actually brought the Dashun Army with him who had no choice but to surrender?

If we say that after a long period of training and the morale of the military is won over, that might be okay.But how much time has passed?After just one quarter, they are just like new recruits. Do you dare to lead them south to fight against your old brothers?
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng immediately turned to look at his military advisor and asked seriously: "The emperor just led [-] miscellaneous soldiers instead of leading his elite subordinates south. Should we change our strategy and directly destroy the Ming Dynasty?" Emperor, is it all over?"

After hearing this, Song Xiance frowned slightly and said, "Weichen also thinks it's okay, but the emperor is not stupid. Why dare he go south like this? He must have something to rely on! But for a moment, Weichen couldn't understand this. The key is this!”

Niu Jinxing was Li Zicheng's chief steward. He had some ideas about this matter. He immediately said: "What else could this be? It's not that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was afraid of being beaten by us, so he kept all his elites in the north to prevent them." If we go north again, the situation he finally defeated will be messed up again!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng immediately slammed the table, pointed at Niu Jinxing and said, "Yes, that's the truth. That dog emperor was frightened, so he was forced to stay in the north with all his elite soldiers and generals!"

Others nodded after hearing this, thinking it made sense.

Song Xiance agreed with the same, and then relaxed his brows, and then said: "If this is the case, the emperor led these 5 horses south, he should not dare to fight us directly, but focus on defending the city. Most likely Yes, we should go to Yingtian Mansion, make sure Yingtian Mansion is not lost, and then find a way to deal with us!"

Indeed, if there are only [-] non-direct troops, they will definitely not dare to fight in the field, but it will be no problem to defend the city.All this can be explained.

Li Zicheng listened, nodded, and immediately asked: "Then what should we do next? If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty shrinks in Nanjing, it will be difficult to defeat him!"

When Song Xiance heard this, he followed his words and said: "Unless we lure the snake out of its hole and the emperor, we can annihilate it!"

In the wild, Li Zicheng had absolute confidence to destroy the emperor's mere 5 troops. Therefore, after hearing Song Xiance's words, he saw the dawn of victory and asked with a hint of excitement: "How to lure out this big snake?" ?”

Hearing this, the hall fell silent.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty must have known that his troops were insufficient, and it was not a direct army. It was not a special matter, and he would never dare to risk leaving the city!

It's not easy to lure a snake out of its hole!

For a moment, all these people in the lobby were thinking about how to lead?
Fortunately, there is already a precedent.

No, I heard Niu Jinxing say to Li Zicheng first: "Why don't you dig up the imperial tomb?"

Although the capital of the imperial court is now in the capital, the founding emperor was in Yingtian Mansion.Therefore, the imperial mausoleum of the founding emperor and empress of the Ming Dynasty is located in Yingtian Mansion, which is the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.

If the tomb of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was dug, that would definitely be unacceptable to every emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Zicheng immediately thought that when the Qing Dynasty proposed to dig up the imperial tombs in Changping, the Ming Dynasty emperor really had to lead all his troops to fight. He immediately felt that there was something wrong and immediately clapped his hands and shouted: "Okay, this is a good idea!"

But who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, he heard two people rushing to say, "No!"

Li Zicheng was a little surprised. When he heard the sound, he looked around and found that the two people speaking were Liu Zongmin and Li Guo. He was stunned again.

These two are his closest confidants, how could he object?
After Liu Zongmin spoke, he saw that Li Zicheng's face seemed a little ugly, so he quickly explained: "Your Highness, the matter of digging up ancestral graves is too..."

He originally wanted to say that he was immoral, but since he was talking about Li Zicheng, he definitely couldn't say it. Therefore, after a slight pause, he continued: "...it will make the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty go crazy. Your Highness has never seen it. In the Battle of Changping, the Ming Emperor was the first to charge despite the hail of bullets like a lunatic, and then all his men went crazy and charged after him!"

That scene has always been imprinted in his mind, and he cannot forget it even after such a long time.

That indomitable momentum was really scary.

After hearing this, Li Guo quickly echoed: "Yes, Your Highness, that will make the Ming Emperor go crazy and make them perform beyond their normal capabilities. Everyone will act like a madman. Just like a mad dog, it will bite people to death. Too dangerous!"

Li Zicheng didn't expect that the two of them would say this. His eyes suddenly widened and he shouted immediately: "Are you stupid? What we want is for the Ming Emperor to go crazy! He is not crazy. With his little military strength, he dares to leave the city. ?He's not crazy, he dares to be the first to charge? Don't we just want him to leave the city? If he still dares to charge first, that's not good. If we are prepared in advance and kill him, then the imperial officers and soldiers will be headless snakes. Isn’t this world about to be settled?”

This statement does sound very reasonable.

Others, such as Yuan Zongdi and others, all agreed.

However, after hearing this, Liu Zongmin and Li Guo looked at each other. For a moment, neither of them gave their approval.

The scene at the beginning, with tens of thousands of imperial officers and soldiers charging towards them under the leadership of the emperor, really shocked them.

However, they were also the ones who led troops to fight. After their rationality came back, they all agreed with Li Zicheng's statement.

The crazy style of play is indeed scary, but that's because you didn't think about it beforehand.If they are prepared in advance and charge like crazy without any plan, it will only make it easier for them to annihilate this kind of army.In the final analysis, war is not something you dare to fight for!
Therefore, everyone in the lobby reached a consensus. After the new year, they would gather the army to attack Yingtian Mansion, and then dig out the emperor's tomb and force out the Ming Dynasty emperor to annihilate him!

But whether this is the case in the end still needs to be supported by news.

Therefore, Bai Wang was sent out again to continue to inquire for information.

………………

At the same time, on the Yingtian Mansion side, the wind was blowing coldly, the snow was falling in the north, the road was long, and an army was rushing through the snow.

Needless to say, this army was the [-] soldiers from the Beijing camp led by Emperor Chongzhen.

The snow on the official road, even if someone walks and clears it, is already as deep as someone's knee.

The vanguard is responsible for clearing the road and clearing the snow.From time to time, the official road cannot be touched and falls into the fields on both sides of the official road, and the snow reaches the person's waist.

In the past, there probably wouldn’t have been such heavy snow, but this time it was the rain brought by the wind disaster. Because of the cold air, it caused heavy snowfall. The snow, which was much heavier than in previous years, was scattered in this world, in the vastness. , really only a piece of snow is left.

Emperor Chongzhen was in the center of the army, and he felt a little heavy along the way.

Although it is said that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest, if the snow is too heavy, it will not herald a good harvest but a snow disaster.

In the land south of the Yangtze River, it is estimated that many people will freeze to death.

Not to mention anything else, he was rushing all the way to Yingtian Mansion. In the villages along the way, he once saw that an entire village was buried in snow.

I learned from some surviving villagers that there were rumors of thieves everywhere, so the wealthy families hid in the city.Those who have no money can only stay in a village without any defense capabilities and pray to God to protect them from bandits.

But I didn't expect that God would join in the fun and bring such a big snow disaster.

Many houses of ordinary people have collapsed.Moreover, because this heavy snowfall was far beyond the unexpected, many villagers did not have enough firewood at home. When they wanted to replenish firewood, the snow was already too deep outside, making it very difficult to get firewood, and many people froze to death.

This is a year of great disaster!

As long as Emperor Chongzhen could lend a hand to a village that the army passed along the way, he would send the army to help.It’s just a village, and it’s easy to clear the snow when there are more people.When we encounter people who are without food, we also allocate some food from the army, hoping that they can survive this winter.

This is the most difficult winter, but spring is not far away.As long as he persists for a while, Emperor Chongzhen believes that he can bring them a better life!
Finally, on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Emperor Chongzhen's army arrived outside Nanjing.

The Nanjing garrison eunuchs Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou led the civil and military officials of Nanjing City, as well as the nobles, to greet him five miles outside the city.

When Emperor Chongzhen came over, he also saw two rows of people standing on both sides of the official road holding tools for clearing snow, all the way to Nanjing city.

After seeing snow falling on the official road again, the patrolling soldiers shouted and drove the common people to clear the snow on the official road.

Many people were not wearing thick clothes, and they were freezing and stamping their feet while standing in the wilderness.

It was just Emperor Chongzhen who arrived in front of the team. When he glanced over, he saw some people lying in the snow, and then they were quickly dragged to the city of Nanjing by the patrolling soldiers.

When the civil and military officials saw the emperor's appearance, they, led by Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou, immediately knelt down and shouted long live the emperor.When people on official roads, whether they were soldiers or civilians, heard the news, they all knelt down to greet him.

Emperor Chongzhen rode forward and came to the front of the group, looking down at the leaders.

After Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou, there were the hereditary nobles here in Nanjing, the six ministers and nine ministers, etc., who knelt in two rows, divided into civil and military.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and did not immediately shout "Pingshen".

These civil and military officials did not dare to move, so they knelt on the official road and lowered their heads.

They all already knew that when the emperor was crossing the river, the boat he was riding in suddenly sank, and everyone on board fell into the freezing cold river water, including the emperor.

Thanks to the blessing of the emperor Taizu, he turned out to be able to swim. I even heard that the emperor saved people.

However, although the emperor was okay in the end, everyone knew that when such a big thing happened, the emperor was absolutely furious.

The Jin Yiwei had been sent to Nanjing City to investigate the shipwreck. Admiral Cao Jiang, Liu Kongzhao, was taken away by the Jin Yiwei while he was ill, and everyone in the mansion was also imprisoned.

If this matter is serious, it may be very serious.Conspiracy to kill the emperor is treason!No matter what his identity is, once he is found to be involved in such a thing, he will not be able to escape the execution of the nine tribes.

Just at the beginning of the year, in the capital, didn’t three hereditary princes plot against each other and were executed?

The current emperor will not show mercy at all if he kills his nobles!

Although the final outcome of the matter has not yet been decided, and it may not be the worst, but who knows how this matter will eventually evolve?

You must know that Liu Kongzhao won the trust of the current emperor before, so he was able to obtain the real power of Admiral Caojiang. He also persuaded the emperor to transfer Caojiang Censor and became the figure who monopolized the Nanjing Navy. This was also a rare scene in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, with the examples of the three princes in the capital, they were also trusted by the emperor before the emperor broke out, but they didn't just kill them!
With these things in mind, the civil and military officials in Nanjing knelt there like clay Buddhas, fearing that they would arouse the emperor's wrath.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and suddenly heard a movement. He looked up and saw that some of the people kneeling on both sides of the official road had fainted again.But now they are all kneeling and no one dares to help.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen snorted coldly, and then shouted: "Get back on your feet!"

After saying this, he rode away and passed through the civil and military officials.

After these civil and military officials stood up, they retreated to both sides, not daring to let out a fart, and watched as the imperial guards followed the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen came to the side of the fainted commoner, and then motioned to Zhenghua below.

When Fang Zheng saw this, he jumped off his horse himself, went over to check, rescued the common man, and then reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live Lord, he is hungry."

Emperor Chongzhen understood as soon as he heard this. These were the kind that were recruited by the Nanjing government and brought their own food to work, that is, they were handymen.

These hungry people probably had no food at home and had little to eat. They had been standing in this freezing wilderness for an unknown amount of time. They were hungry and tired before they fainted.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen looked at the other people and asked softly: "You all come to work hungry?"

These people did not expect that the emperor would talk to them, and he was not aggressive at all. They were a little overwhelmed for a moment and didn't know how to answer?
When Fang Zheng saw them, he also said to them softly: "Long live the Lord's questions and answer them truthfully!"

When the man closest to the emperor saw it, he knelt down and hurriedly replied: "I have something to eat. I ate before I came here, but I have been hungry since morning!"

After hearing this, the others knelt down and echoed the words one after another. They were all probably the same, they had eaten before going out, but because they went out early in the morning, it was already afternoon, and they were already hungry after staying in the field for most of the day. arrive.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly and asked again: "What are you eating?"

After hearing this, the person who spoke first replied: "Porridge with some wild vegetables. If there were more wild vegetables a few days ago, it would be able to last longer, but it's snowing all the time and I can't find any wild vegetables." .”

Seeing the emperor turning his head to look over, other people followed suit, probably similar to this man.

After Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he asked again: "What is the price of food in Nanjing now?"

"Barley costs more than 6000 wen per stone, and rice costs about [-] wen."

Upon hearing this answer, Emperor Chongzhen was immediately surprised.This price is more expensive than that in Yangzhou Prefecture!
With such high food prices, where can ordinary people survive?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen has decided to kill a pig to celebrate the New Year.

So, he turned around and told Fang Zhenghua: "Take the food from the army and give a bushel of food to each citizen who goes to work."

They were given military rations. After being overjoyed, these people were shocked and a little scared.

On Fang Zhenghua's side, there was no hesitation and he immediately reached out to call over the Jin Yiwei to convey the order.

Afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen did not stop, but directly conveyed the order and went to the palace to discuss matters.

It was already afternoon, and it would probably be late when the palace settled down before holding court meetings.

However, no one dared to speak to the emperor at this time, especially to persuade him. They could only silently follow the emperor back to the city.

One thing, they all know, this court meeting is not going to be easy!

Soon, the Beijing camp took over the entire defense of the Forbidden City in Nanjing.

The Forbidden City is managed by the royal family and nobles. In the original history, Prince Fu would have moved in this year.But history has changed, and the orthodox emperor of the Ming Dynasty moved in.This is the first Ming emperor to come back and live here since Zhu Di moved the capital to the capital.

But what is a bit sad is that at this time, the Forbidden City in Nanjing had been severely damaged.

According to records, in the summer and June of the 14th year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty, fires broke out in the three palaces of Jinshen, Fengtian and Huagai in Nanjing due to wind, rain, thunder and lightning; during the Yingzong period of the Ming Dynasty, a fire broke out in the Xi'anmen Wood Factory in Nanjing, which burned down to the imperial wall. In the following time, either fires or floods occurred. Under such conditions of wind, sun and fire, the palace of the Ming Dynasty became more and more dilapidated.

Originally, when King Fu ascended the throne in the 17th year of Chongzhen, he ascended the throne in Wuying Hall, not Fengtian Hall, which is commonly known as Jinluan Hall.

The reason is very simple. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not have the money to repair it and did not pay attention to it. After all, he would not come to live there.It is said that when Zhu Di wanted to move the capital and build the Forbidden City in the capital, he hauled huge trees from the Forbidden City in Nanjing and transported them to the capital.

Here in Nanjing, when Zhu Di first moved the capital, there were maids and chamberlains guarding the palace.But after these palace maids and chamberlains disappeared, it was almost like an empty city.

However, after Emperor Chongzhen came, Nanjing had already sent people to clean it, but it was impossible to repair the damaged hall.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about these.After the Beijing camp took over the Forbidden City, there were naturally people to clean up the snow, and the entire Forbidden City regained its popularity.

In the Wuying Hall, Emperor Chongzhen was sitting on the throne, looking at Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou who were kneeling on the ground, knocking their heads on the cold floor, and said coldly: "I asked you to guard Nanjing, but you have disappointed me!"

"This slave deserves to die!" After hearing this, Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou quickly apologized, not daring to refute the slightest, and said at the same time, "This slave deserves to die, please punish me!"

They were the emperor's retainers and were sent as principal and deputy garrison eunuchs in Nanjing. They could be said to be the local emperors of Nanjing.But once the emperor arrives, they become slaves again.

Of course, they were sent to Nanjing because they were eunuchs trusted by the emperor.

However, at the beginning of the year, Wang Zhixin, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department, and Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the royal horse eunuch, who were in the capital at the beginning of the year, were more favored by the current emperor than them. As a result, they have already gone to hell.

Now, since they were watching over Nanjing for the emperor, but the Navy made such a big mistake and almost killed the emperor, no matter what, they all have the responsibility of leadership.

When Emperor Chongzhen was about to say something, he saw Fang Zhenghua enter the palace, and immediately asked: "Is there any result?"

As soon as he came back, he asked Fang Zhenghua to see the Jin Yiwei who arrived first to investigate the situation.

At this time, Fang Zhenghua heard the emperor's first question and hurriedly replied: "Long live my lord, sincere uncle Liu Kongzhao did have a cold, and it was verified that he fell into the water. But the craftsman who repaired the No. [-] lucky boat, They all died because their houses were collapsed by the snowstorm.”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately smelled of conspiracy.Could it be that someone really wanted him dead, so he killed someone to cut off the clues?
However, he did not express his thoughts immediately. He just stared at the two slaves kneeling there and shouted coldly: "You two should know more about Nanjing. Tell me, what do you think?"

There is a saying that goes very well: a dead Taoist friend will never die a poor Taoist!
Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou were being punished by the emperor. When they heard the emperor's question, if they said that it was an accident, not to mention whether it was in accordance with the emperor's wishes, let's talk about the emperor's feelings towards them. The anger has not come out either. It's hard to say what will happen to the two of them later.

However, if this matter is expanded, the emperor will change the target and vent his anger on others.

For these two eunuchs, they didn't need to think too much to understand the principle of setting fire to others.

Therefore, Lu Jiude immediately raised his head and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live my Lord, those craftsmen died strangely!"

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he asked calmly: "How can you see it?"

After hearing this, Lu Jiude hurriedly replied: "There are at least thirty or forty craftsmen repairing the ship. How come these people happened to die when their houses were crushed by the snowstorm?"

Han Zanzhou also wanted to express himself. After Lu Jiude said something, he also hurriedly expressed his thoughts: "I thought that maybe we should find the corpses of those people for autopsy. It is freezing today, so the corpses must not be rotten. Maybe we can find some clues!”

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen said expressionlessly: "In this case, I will send people to you to investigate this matter!"

Upon hearing this, the two of them were overjoyed and quickly kowtowed to receive the order.That means, at least they took themselves out first.

As soon as the two of them left, Fang Zhenghua said again: "Now the Jin Yiwei is still interrogating Uncle Chengyi's servants to see what they can find out?"

Emperor Chongzhen listened, nodded and said: "Let them continue to investigate!"

He couldn't really leave the investigation of the shipwreck to Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou. After leaving the capital for a long time, who knew what they would become?

In the original history, the performance of these two people was not very good, far behind Fang Zhenghua and Wang Chengen, but a little better than Wang Dehua and others. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's attitude towards them was also somewhere in between.

At this time, he saw that the sky was already getting dark, and he issued an order: "Pass the order to the civil and military officials to hold a court meeting!"

After this decree was passed down, the civil and military officials who had been waiting at the Meridian Gate lined up according to their official positions to enter.

Along the way, the soldiers of the Beijing camp stood there every three steps to a post and every five steps to a sentry. Although it was windy and snowy, they stood there motionless, like sculptures.The elite spirit naturally intimidated these civilian and military generals hiding in Nanjing.

Wuying Hall is naturally not as big as Fengtian Hall, but there are not as many officials in Nanjing as there are in the capital.

But even so, there were still civil and military officials standing outside the palace gate, blowing the cool breeze with the soldiers from the Beijing camp standing outside.

Of course, the door of the main hall was not closed, and the cold wind also blew into Wuying Hall.However, the emperor did not say cold words, so civil and military officials naturally did not dare to say this.

The atmosphere in the hall seemed to be almost as cold as the temperature.

(End of this chapter)