Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 220 Xianzhong enters Nanjing (please subscribe for monthly tickets)

As the ancient capital of six dynasties, Nanjing has always been the core city in Jiangnan.

From the perspective of Feng Shui, the city of Nanjing can be said to be like a tiger sitting on a dragon's plate.

There is a dragon on Zhongshan Mountain and a tiger on Shimen. There is Qinhuai River in the south and Xuanwu Lake in the north.

Occupying all four images, it is an excellent Feng Shui treasure land, a place where wind and energy are stored.

It's a pity that the rolling Yangtze River passed away to the east, which caused most of the royal energy in Nanjing to be drained. All the dynasties that had their capital in Nanjing were mostly short-lived dynasties in a corner of the country.

After Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty made Nanjing his capital, he began to build Nanjing's city defenses and built it into one of the tallest and tallest cities in the world.

The city wall of Nanjing has a circumference of 35.267 kilometers (13616 crenels and 200 nests), an enclosed area of ​​43 square kilometers, a city height of 14-26 meters, a city width of 7-30 meters, a total of 13 city gates, and 2 water gates. .

The city gates of Nanjing were also precisely sited. These 13 gates correspond to the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper respectively.

The outer city of Nanjing is more than 60 kilometers long and has a total of 18 gates, but its height is far lower than that of the inner city, only 8-10 meters.

Considering the strength of the city of Nanjing, as long as there are sufficient troops and sufficient food and grass, it will not be easy to conquer Nanjing.

It's a pity that virtue is the key to strengthening the country, not danger.

In history, whether it was Zhu Di Jingnan or Duduo who went south, Nanjing's city wall almost never played any role.

Although there were still 5 Ming troops in Nanjing at this time, they did not have the courage to fight to the death in the face of the Liaodong Army's powerful ships and artillery.

Cui Wensheng, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, was demoted to Nanjing after he prescribed laxatives to Emperor Taichang in the capital in the 48th year of Wanli.

However, he is at home here. With Cui Wensheng's help, "Heaven and Earth" has become the most popular leisure place on the Qinhuai River.

Even though the "heaven on earth" in the capital was affected by the tense relationship between Liaodong and the imperial court, the "heaven on earth" in Nanjing was still bustling with traffic.

They are also accustomed to eating delicious food in heaven and earth, enjoying various services and discussing national affairs.

At this time, Cui Wensheng said: "The warships of the Liaodong Navy have arrived outside Nanjing, and the order from the Liaodong County King asking us to ban the restoration of society has been sent. Where should we go? Everyone please tell us your thoughts."

At this time, everyone was watching others, but no one said anything!

Seeing such a cold scene, Cui Wensheng lost his temper. He raised his voice and said, "Why do you have to wait until the bombardment of Nanjing before speaking out?"

At this time, Feng Quan said: "We have reduced all surrounding troops to Nanjing City. Now Nanjing has 5 soldiers, hundreds of artillery pieces of various types, and food should be enough to last for half a year."

Then he added: "Fifty thousand troops sounds like a lot. It is more than enough to defend other cities. But if we put our own troops in Nanjing City, we can only abandon the outer city and retreat to the inner city of Nanjing!"

"However, I don't know much about the combat capabilities of the Liaodong Army. I would like to ask Shi Lang to introduce it to you!"

Then everyone's eyes turned to Shi Kefa, who had just returned from Yangzhou.

Shi Kefa was also in quite a dilemma at this time.

The position of the Donglin Party is definitely to defend the interests of the Jiangnan gentry and fight to the death with the Liaodong Army.

But he had just returned from a major defeat, and the 30,000-strong army heading north was almost completely wiped out. Instead of rescuing Emperor Chongzhen, Yangzhou was lost.

If he said that the Liaodong Army was not powerful, how could he be in such a mess?

But if we tell the truth, who would have the courage to resist the Northern Army?

In the end, Shi Kefa still used the blame-shifting method that the Donglin Party was good at.

He said: "The Liaodong Army is powerful on the one hand, but they are good at using tricks and buying spies, so we have to be on guard!"

"Zuo Liangyu's false surrender and the betrayal of Hui merchants in Yangzhou are the main reasons for this defeat in Jiangbei."

"Although the enemy's navy is powerful, warships cannot land after all. As long as we share the same hatred of the enemy, we can still hold on with the strength of Nanjing City!"

Feng Quan said: "It seems that Shi Lang is not very confident when facing the Liaodong Army!"

"The Lion Rock is less than 2 miles away from the Yangtze River. The Liaodong Army's naval guns can cover the entire Lion Rock. I'm afraid even the nearby Fengyi Gate will be difficult to protect."

"Everyone must already know about the Zhenjiang Jingkou Fort. Even the inner city of Nanjing cannot withstand the artillery of the Liaodong Army."

"Please don't ignore this reality. If you want to stop the enemy, I'm afraid you can only rely on street fighting!"

"street fighting?"

Feng Quan's words can be said to have stirred up a thousand waves with one stone. The city wall can't stop the enemy, so how can we just hold on to it?

At this time, the nobles and nobles in Nanjing all looked at Wei Guogong Xu Hongji.

The original "troika" of power in Nanjing were: the garrison eunuch Cui Wensheng, the garrison in Nanjing was Wei Guogong Xu Hongji, and the Minister of War Feng Quan.

The Donglin Party now represents the interests of the local gentry in Jiangnan, and is allied with Fushe.

Therefore, Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, still has considerable say.

Feng Quan and Cui Wensheng were both from the Intelligence Department, so they naturally advocated surrender.

The attitude of Wei Guogong Xu Hongji is more critical.

Xu Hongji himself is quite resistant to the "Hongguang New Deal".

These nobles control a large amount of land in southern Zhili, and they will have to pay for it in the future.

Moreover, the iron ore and coal mines they opened privately will have to pay taxes in accordance with the law in the future. The most important thing is that they can no longer take free money, which is a huge loss.

But he also knew very well that the current situation in Nanjing City could not be defended.

Because the 5 people Feng Quan mentioned includes the 2 garrison troops under his command. Among these people, 3% are empty-paid and 3% are old and weak. There are only a few thousand people who can really fight.

Expecting these people to stop the Liaodong Army is tantamount to wishful thinking!

The nobles in Beijing are actually their role models. If they want to keep their titles, they may have to give up some economic benefits.

Wei Guogong Xu Hongji said: "What Feng Benbing said is true. It is unlikely that Nanjing City can resist the Liaodong Army."

Seeing that Xu Hongji finally expressed his stance, Cui Wensheng and Feng Quan looked at each other and smiled.

Feng Quan continued: "The so-called acquisition of civil and military skills belongs to the emperor's family!"

"Now that His Majesty Chongzhen has passed away, all the gentry and vassal kings from all over the Yangtze River have joined His Majesty Hongguang. Have you ever thought about our name in resisting the southward army of the Liaodong County Prince?"

Feng Quan's words pointed out their biggest weakness at this time, Chu Shi Wuming!

In the final analysis, this is just an internal struggle within the old Zhu family.

If Emperor Chongzhen were around, they would still have a reputation for resistance.

Now that Chongzhen is gone, it is not that simple for them to continue to resist.

After breaking the city, neither Li Xianzhong nor Zhu Yousong would let them go easily.

Maybe it was a serious crime of treason and the family was exterminated. They couldn't afford the consequences!

In the end, Qian Qianyi had no choice but to express his position and said: "It seems that we have no choice but to follow the order of the Liaodong County King, ban Fushe, and arrest Zhang Pu and others!"

After Qian Qianyi's statement, everyone finally reached a consensus.

It was obvious that Li Xianzhong wanted to divide them, but at this moment they had no choice but to sacrifice and return to society.

After all, "a dead Taoist friend will never die a poor Taoist."

Who told Chen Zilong of Fushe to assassinate Li Xianzhong?

If the assassination fails, Li Xianzhong will definitely take revenge.

At this moment, Chen Zilong had been directly captured by the Liaodong Army in Songjiang. Fushe was banned in southern Zhili, Zhejiang and other places, and its main leaders Zhang Pu, Zhang Cai, Wu Weiye and others were also arrested in Nanjing.

Of course, Nanjing officials could not sit back and relax at this time. Their implementation of Li Xianzhong's order was only the first step.

Next, they still have to see what Li Xianzhong means.

So crossing the river to Yangzhou to negotiate with Li Xianzhong became a top priority.

In the end, they decided that Feng Quan and Qian Qianyi would go to Yangzhou to ask Li Xianzhong to cross the river and find out his bottom line.

Yangzhou is only separated from Nanjing by a river. After accepting the interrogation of the Liaodong Navy, they quickly arrived in Yangzhou City.

Li Xianzhong met with the two of them in the courtyard beside Slender West Lake.

Feng Quan was the pawn he had placed in Jiangnan, and his main target this time was Qian Qianyi.

Qian Qianyi's reputation is not small, he is the leader of the Donglin Party and a leader in the literary world.

Together with Wu Weiye and Gong Dingzi, they are collectively known as the "Three Great Masters of Jiangzuo", and they are especially good at poetry.

However, he was a complete unlucky guy in his official career.

He was one of the top three Jinshi in the thirty-eighth year of Wanli, also known as Tanhua.

At the age of only 28, he was able to take the top prize in high school, and his success in the imperial examination was considered very smooth.

Why do you say he is unlucky?

Because his top pick was replaced.

And the person who made the switch was none other than Emperor Wanli himself.

Han Jing, the number one scholar in Wanli's 38th year, should have failed in the examination, but he bribed the examiner Tang Binyin and turned his test paper into the first place in the examination.

Then in the palace examination, Han Jing ranked third.

However, Tang Binyin pulled the strings and asked Han Jing to donate 4 taels of silver to Wanli's internal funds for his expenses.

In the end, Emperor Wanli actually exchanged the rankings of Han Jing and Qian Qianyi for 4 taels of silver.

This matter was reported three years later and was finally verified, but Qian Qianyi's No. 1 pick would never come back.

In the first year of Tianqi, Qian Qianyi served as the examiner in Zhejiang and was implicated because of examination fraud.

Tianqi finally came out again after four years, but because of his identity as the leader of the Donglin Party, he was attacked by Wei Zhongxian and Cui Chengxiu and was dismissed!

In the first year of Chongzhen's reign, he came back as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. He originally had the highest demand for joining the cabinet, but due to the joint efforts of Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren to suppress him, and Emperor Chongzhen's suspicious character, he ultimately did not join the cabinet.

After Wen Tiren became the first assistant, he instigated others to falsely accuse Qian Qianyi of corruption and illegal acts. Although Governor Zhang Guowei and Inspector Lu Zhenfei wrote letters to express his grievances, he was still dismissed and returned to his hometown.

It can be said that this appointment as the Minister of Rites in Nanjing is the highest official position Qian Qianyi has ever held.

Qian Qianyi was much more famous than Feng Quan in terms of talent and learning, but Feng Quan, who was a Jinshi six years later than him, had already entered the cabinet twice. Qian Qianyi's official career was full of difficulties, and most of them had nothing to do with his ability or ethics. They were just bad luck, or being implicated or framed.

It is too easy to handle such a person, because Li Xianzhong knows what he desires most.

Qian Qianyi said quickly: "Prince Qi, we have banned Fushe according to your instructions and arrested its main members!"

"This is a joint petition from the six ministries in Nanjing and the officials left behind. We are willing to serve His Majesty Hongguang as Zhengshuo!"

Li Xianzhong said: "It seems that Nanjing officials are very efficient in their work, and I am very satisfied!"

"But His Majesty Hongguang was originally Zhengshuo, and I was just following the edict of Lord Wanli to bring order to chaos!"

To be honest, Qian Qianyi was somewhat jealous because Wanli took away the top prize.

Moreover, the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo's succession to the throne was made by the Ming Dynasty. Even if Wanli's edict was true, the civil servants in the world would not recognize it.

Li Xianzhong just used force to force them to admit it!

Seeing that Qian Qianyi did not answer, Li Xianzhong continued: "I have always felt that mistakes should be investigated, just like the examination fraud case in the 38th year of Wanli. Now that it has been found out, the chaos should be set right!"

Bring order to chaos?

Qian Qianyi could hardly believe his ears. Did Li Xianzhong mean to change the ranking of that subject?

Li Xianzhong said: "Han Jing, the original number one scholar, used bribery and other means to deceive Shengting. Naturally, he should be removed from his title."

"His Majesty Hongguang is wise and said that Qian Shangshu has been treated unfairly and his reputation should be restored. Therefore, His Majesty will issue an order to expose the fraud case of that year to the world and restore Qian Shangshu to the top Jinshi position in the thirty-eighth year of Wanli. That is the title of 'No. 1 Scholar'."

After hearing Li Xianzhong's words, Qian Qianyi's eyes filled with tears.

Although he felt very unfair, he never thought that one day he would be able to overturn the verdict.

He knelt on the ground and said, "I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty and Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

"The humble minister is designated as the Hongguang Imperial Court, and he will devote himself to death!"

Li Xianzhong quickly helped Qian Qianyi, who was kneeling on the ground, and said: "With Qian Shangshu's talent and learning, he should have entered the cabinet long ago. I can promise Qian Shangshu that as long as the Jiangnan issue is resolved, Qian Shangshu will be allowed to enter the cabinet." "

Li Xianzhong knew that Qian Qianyi was not short of money. Historically, after Qian Qianyi was imprisoned for being suspected of rebelling against the Qing Dynasty, Liu Rushi spent 300,000 taels of silver to get through.

What he has been struggling with all his life is the "lost" number one scholar and the "unavailable" opportunity to enter the cabinet.

So as long as he fulfills his two major wishes in life, he will definitely be loyal to him.

Sure enough, Qian Qianyi said that he would definitely do his best to implement the "Hongguang New Deal"!

With Qian Qianyi's defection, the Donglin Party in Jiangnan will no longer be against him.

On December 20, the first year of Hongguang's reign, Li Xianzhong, the prince of Liaodong County, crossed the Yangtze River from Yanziji and entered Nanjing.

Noble officials in Nanjing and gentry in Jiangnan donated 500 million taels of silver to support the Hongguang court, and announced that Southern Zhili would surrender to the Hongguang court and begin to implement the "Hongguang New Deal"!

After Li Xianzhong entered Nanjing, he immediately announced that Chen Zilong, the mastermind of his assassination, would be executed in Lingchi, his three tribes were annihilated, Fushe was banned, and Zhang Pu and other key members of the Fushe were exiled to Liaodong.

Fushe had a great influence in Jiangnan, which made the gentry in Jiangnan exclaim.

However, Liu Rushi personally came forward to testify, and the gentry who spoke for Chen Zilong and others were helpless.

But the strange thing is that the mastermind of this assassination case has no results!

Li Xianzhong did not pursue Liu Rushi, but secretly released her.

Zhang Zhiji was ordered to send Liu Rushi to the riverside and said, "Miss Liu, this is a letter from the prince!"

Liu Rushi opened the envelope and saw that there was only one poem in the letter:

I have a good dream about Yangzhou,

The expedition to the south was also accidental.

But the color is there,

Parting only tonight!

After seeing this poem, Liu Rushi immediately understood what Li Xianzhong was thinking.

She said to Zhang Zhiji: "Young Master, I won't leave!"

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(End of this chapter)