In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 256 The ruthless Lu Xiangsheng

Lu Xiangsheng arrived in the capital in May, and it has only been half a month. In addition to the [-] Tianxiong troops he brought with him, he also came with Shandong General Liu Zeqing, Chief Military Officer Gao Jie, Deputy General Zhou Yuji, etc., with a combined strength of about Around fifty thousand.

After Zhou Yuji received the edict from King Qin, he almost immediately gave up pursuing the Zuozuo Fifth Battalion and other rebels, and directly led his troops northward. However, Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie were coerced by Lu Xiangsheng and had to go northward.

Although he knew that after he led his troops northward, the entire Central Plains would probably be corrupted and the situation would get out of hand, and rebels from all walks of life might take advantage of the opportunity to grow bigger, but the Ming Dynasty was in danger, Lu Xiangsheng still chose to go northward to King Qin without hesitation.

Because although the rebels will become bigger, they will not be able to shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty for the time being, but Lin Rui is about to lock the life of the Ming Dynasty, and Lu Xiangsheng can naturally tell the difference.

However, at this moment, facing Emperor Chongzhen's inquiry, Lu Xiangsheng was extremely conflicted. From the bottom of his heart, he was very resistant to surrendering as a slave.

Because over the years, millions of people and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty died tragically at the hands of the slave slaves. The harm and humiliation caused to the Ming Dynasty by the slave slaves could not be redeemed even if they died, but he also knew that with the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, Given the situation, I am afraid that only by joining forces with Jiannu can we resist the Chinese army and protect the capital and the north.

So in the end, he sighed and said: "Your Majesty, I have no objections. Everything is decided by Your Majesty!"

"Okay, I am very pleased that Lu Aiqing is loyal to the country. I hope Aiqing can reorganize the Beijing camp and regain morale as soon as possible."

Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng had no objection, Chongzhen also breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, Emperor Chongzhen finally realized that if he wanted to keep the Ming Dynasty, he probably had to rely on Lu Xiangsheng. After all, after the edict of King Qin was issued, he rushed to the capital with his troops and horses as soon as possible. Not only did he not ask for military pay, He also sold all his family property to use as military expenses.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was in despair at that time, was really moved, and finally realized that Lu Xiangsheng was a loyal minister who truly devoted himself to the country and did not care about gains or losses.

Therefore, after Lu Xiangsheng arrived in the capital, Chongzhen did not hesitate to hand over all the defense of the capital to Lu Shengxiang and set about asking him to rectify the capital camp, hoping that he could turn the tide like Yu Shaobao did.

And Lu Xiangsheng did not disappoint Chongzhen. Compared with previous ministers of the Ministry of War, who turned a blind eye to the corruption in the Beijing camp for fear of offending others, Lu Xiangsheng could not get rid of the sand in his eyes. After half a month, We have basically figured out the situation in Beijing Camp.

At this moment, he started without hesitation: "Your Majesty, there are more than [-] soldiers in the Beijing Camp, but in fact, they are only half. And most of these half of the soldiers are the old, weak, sick, and disabled, and just servants. They cannot be called at all. We can't reorganize our troops, so I think we have to recruit new ones, otherwise once the traitor army comes to the city, I will be in danger!"

After Lu Xiangsheng finished speaking calmly, the entire hall became silent. All the civil servants were shocked, especially the officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. The nobles on the other side were sweating profusely. Especially the three princes.

As expected, Emperor Chongzhen also opened his eyes wide and his body was trembling slightly. He looked at Lu Xiangsheng in disbelief and said, "Lu Aiqing, is what you said true?"

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true and I dare not lie half of it!"

Lu Xiangsheng replied sonorously, and then knelt down. In fact, the situation in Jingying was worse than what he said, but he still saved some face.

Although he also knew that after telling the matter, His Majesty would definitely be furious, and the entire government and the public would probably be in turmoil.

But now that Ming Dynasty is on the verge of life and death, he must inform His Majesty of the current situation of the Beijing Camp in order for His Majesty to make up his mind to reorganize the Beijing Camp.

"Dong Guo, Duke Ying, Duke Cheng, what else do you have to say?"

"Ah! It's no use that I trust you so much, you fooled me like this..."

Emperor Chongzhen stood up suddenly, pointed at the nobles and roared, his face was slightly distorted, which showed how angry he was at this moment.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be angry. In recent years, nearly half of the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue had been spent on revitalizing the capital.

In fact, he knew more or less that the funds would definitely be used by others, enriching his own pockets, but as long as he could revitalize the capital camp and protect the safety of the capital, he would tolerate it.

Who would have thought that these nobles would be so bold and reckless, completely disregarding the life and death of the Ming Dynasty. When they think about it, two months ago, they had placed all their hopes on the Beijing camp, hoping that after the Chinese army came, they could hold on to the city of Beijing. , Emperor Chongzhen felt a chill running down his spine, and his eyes turned red for a moment.

"Your servant deserves death!"

The three princes and some nobles who held positions in the Beijing camp all prostrated on the ground and trembled to apologize.

Everyone wanted to cut Lu Xiangsheng into pieces.

They have used all their methods at this time. Who would have thought that Lu Xiangsheng could not get in the oil and salt, just like the smelly and hard stones in a latrine. If it weren't for his superior martial arts and the extraordinary combat power of the Tianxiong Army under his command, everyone would even want to secretly Send someone to kill him.

Originally, everyone thought that even if Lu Xiangsheng wanted to report truthfully, he would be cautious and leave room for leeway, but they never expected that he would be so crazy and reckless.

At this moment, not to mention the nobles, even other civil servants had a strong sense of crisis, and they made up their minds that a mad dog like Lu Xiangsheng must not be allowed to stay in the court, otherwise everyone would be finished sooner or later.

"Your Majesty, although I am guilty, the corruption of the capital camp is not entirely my fault. I am only responsible for recruiting and training soldiers. But as the saying goes, a good woman cannot make a meal without rice. The money and food of the capital camp are all allocated by the Ministry of Household and Military Affairs. Every day The money and food allocated this time is less than [-]% of the actual amount, so how can I train a strong army?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the appointment and dismissal of generals at all levels in the Beijing camp are all decided by officials dispatched by the Ministry of War. Most of the weapons and armor provided by the Ministry of Industry are defective products. Even if we want to rectify the Beijing camp, You are also powerless!" The nobles saw that Emperor Chongzhen's eyes were bloodshot and he was so angry that he was on the verge of losing his mind. They were really scared, and in desperation they gave up and began to complain tearfully to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Because if the civil officials are not dragged into the water and His Majesty is allowed to vent all his anger on them, then these nobles might really be doomed this time.

In the past, they could still rely on the Beijing Camp to make His Majesty fearful, but now there is not only the Beijing Camp under their control in the city, but also Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army.

Seeing these nobles, the civil servants were forced to lift the lid and cursed Lu Xiangsheng for being such a troublemaker. At the same time, they all panicked and fell to their knees to defend themselves.

As a result, the nobles and civil servants blamed each other, and for a while the hall became a pot of porridge, full of curses.

The nobles who had been suppressed for more than 100 years completely exploded at this moment. They all pointed at the civil servants with red faces and thick necks, and told them like pouring beans from a bamboo tube how they enriched their own pockets and how they used their power for personal gain.

Lu Xiangsheng, however, always watched with cold eyes, the expression on his face did not fluctuate at all, he just waited quietly for Emperor Chongzhen's attitude.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Emperor Chongzhen's anger had turned into fear. His whole body felt cold to the bone, and he finally let the court quiet down after shouting "enough."

Although Chongzhen wanted to confiscate the homes and exterminate all the civil servants and nobles to vent his hatred, he was still worried that the turmoil would be too great and the situation would get out of control, so he took a deep breath and looked at Lu Xiangsheng.

"Lu Aiqing, how long will it take to recruit the Beijing camp again and how much food will it cost?"

Seeing that His Majesty did not intend to clean up all these moths and revive the imperial court, Lu Xiangsheng was extremely disappointed. He sighed helplessly and replied: "Your Majesty, as long as I have 50 taels of silver and 50 shi of food, I will do it." We are sure to recruit [-] young men and women within half a year and train them into an army!"

"Oh? My dear, you only need 50 taels of silver and 50 stones of grain, and you can train an army of [-] in half a year?"

Emperor Chongzhen was also overjoyed, with a hint of excitement in his tone. In order to revive the capital, he had invested tens of millions of taels of money in recent years.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this [-]-strong army may not be able to defeat the traitor army, but it is enough to ensure the safety of the capital!" Lu Xiangsheng replied sonorously.

"Where is the Minister of the Household?"

At this time, Chongzhen couldn't care so much anymore and decided to let Lu Xiangsheng go to recruit and train troops. Now that the inner treasury didn't have a penny of money, he had to look to the Minister of Hubu.

"Your Majesty, most of the summer grain taxes shipped to the capital a while ago have been intercepted and burned by the bandits. The Ministry of Revenue is now unable to make ends meet. It is really difficult to come up with so much money and grain at once." The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue replied carefully.

"Exactly how much more can the Ministry of Husband give out?" Emperor Chongzhen's face suddenly darkened.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue can currently provide up to 10 taels of silver and [-] shi of grain."

The Minister of Hube also broke out in a cold sweat, thought for a while and said.

Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to look at Lu Xiangsheng helplessly: "Lu Aiqing, the household department is empty. Can you use the money and grain to recruit troops first? After the autumn grain and autumn tax are escorted, how about I make up for the follow-up money and grain?"

"Your Majesty, 10 taels of silver and [-] shi of grain can only be used to recruit young people at most. But it is absolutely impossible to have soldiers without weapons and armor. Moreover, this matter cannot be delayed and cannot be delayed for a moment."

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head, waiting for the autumn grain and autumn taxes to arrive, at least until the beginning of next spring, and then there would be no time to build weapons and armor.

"Is it true that none of the weapons in the capital camp and inventory can be used?" Chongzhen said through gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty, all the princes, lords and uncles of the country have retired with the country. In this time of national crisis and critical moment, you should contribute to the Ming Dynasty and the country to repay the emperor's kindness."

There is not enough money and food to recruit and train troops, and to build weapons and armor. If the Chinese army attacks in the spring next year, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed, so Lu Xiangsheng is willing to risk it. Anyway, these nobles have been offended by him to death, and he is not afraid of adding another fire.

When all the nobles saw that Lu Xiangsheng was determined to hold on to them, they all gnashed their teeth in hatred. However, Lu Xiangsheng had already sold off all his property, and now he asked them to donate money and food to pay for the military expenses. No one could refute it at all.

Seeing Emperor Chongzhen looking over, Duke Dingguo had no choice but to bite the bullet and expressed his willingness to donate ten thousand taels of silver to relieve His Majesty's worries.

The other two princes also donated 1 taels each, and other marquises and earls also donated several thousand taels.

Although Lu Xiangsheng did not mention civil servants, the civil servants were not easy to watch, so they had to donate generously, but most of them only donated a few hundred taels.

In the end, officials and nobles of third rank and above donated more than 30 taels, which finally made Emperor Chongzhen look much better.

Everyone had no choice. With Lu Xiangsheng, a ruthless man who sold off his property, they didn't dare to donate tens or even hundreds of taels to fool Chongzhen.

(End of this chapter)