The late Ming Dynasty in the living room

Chapter 171 Fang Shenzi has Empress Zhang in his heart

Because of the extreme importance of Kaifeng City, the Ming Dynasty court and the emperor had to start a war that they could not afford.

According to Yang Wenyue's strategy of delaying the war, 375 million shi of grain would be needed in five months. However, the Grand Canal only transported 400 million shi of grain a year. This grain was the cornerstone of stability in the north and could not be diverted in any way.

If the money was to be requisitioned in Hejian, Dongchang, Weihui and other places along the way, it would cost at least 1000 million taels of silver (more than 5000 million taels at market price), and the expenses for civilian labor, military pay, military equipment, rewards, etc. would have to be prepared separately... In short, Emperor Chongzhen could not raise this amount of money even if he sold himself and the Forbidden City together. After reading Yang Wenyue's memorial, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue Huang Jingfang almost vomited blood in the Golden Palace and shouted three times, "Appalling! Appalling..."

So after Yang Wenyue had calculated the detailed accounts, he revealed his true intentions: "The imperial court cannot afford to fight this war, not even one-tenth of it! We can only ask for help from Fang Shenzi, and Fang Shenzi is the only one in the world who can afford such a huge expenditure."

Empress Zhang said coldly: "If the emperor can't do it, I can't do it either."

This, this means you are unwilling to help?

The generals and lieutenant generals in the room were anxious and gave varying encouragements.

"You are wrong, madam. That is not necessarily true."

"You have to give it a try to know for sure. Maybe you have more face than the Emperor."

His Majesty the Emperor is the supreme ruler in the world, but in Fang Shenzi's eyes, he is no different from a peasant in the countryside, they are all mortals! On the contrary, if those rumors are true, even if only part of them are true, then Empress Zhang will definitely have a higher reputation than the Emperor.

A group of generals were thinking so in their hearts, and many of them dared to secretly look up at Empress Zhang. They saw that although Empress Zhang's pretty face was filled with anger, this anger did not diminish her beauty at all. According to the lyrics in the opera: Her eyebrows are like the crescent moon, her eyes are brighter than the stars, her hair is black, and her skin is whiter than frost and snow.

She is so beautiful that all flowers are ashamed of her beauty.

Although she didn't have a phoenix crown and a bridal robe, in fact, her ordinary clothes could show her true colors. Just now, they were all lucky enough to see Empress Zhang walking over from the corridor with a book in her arms. Her swaying figure was full of charm, and her chest and waist... Tsk tsk! No wonder Fang Shenzi said that he liked the widow. Anyone who had seen Empress Zhang in person would like the widow!
Just when they were feeling excited looking at the beauty, Yang Wenyue turned around and glanced at them.

Yang Dezheng immediately shouted, "The Emperor can't do it, but the Empress can definitely do it! Because Fang Shenzi has never met the Emperor, but he lives with the Empress day and night."

Liu Chao knelt down a few steps, bowed, and then shouted: "My Lady, Fang Shenzi has feelings for you, he has you in his heart!"

Empress Zhang's cheeks flushed.

Of course this is not shame, but anger!
Empress Zhang's eyes were filled with tears, and she gritted her teeth: "Master Yang brought them here today just to humiliate me?"

Hearing the name "Master Yang", Yang Wenyue's old face blushed for a rare moment.

During the Tianqi period, he served as the Imperial Censor of the Military Affairs Department and the Imperial Censor of the Rites Department for ten years, and was very familiar with both Emperor Tianqi and Empress Zhang.

He also gave lectures on imperial court and was the common teacher of Emperor Tianqi and Empress Zhang. Now he does not reject this scandal but is secretly happy about it, which is unfair to Emperor Tianqi who died young. He also used this scandal to "threaten" Empress Zhang, which is a loss of teacher ethics and disrespect for the elderly.

So he immediately got furious: "How dare you! Did you drink the wrong medicine and go crazy? How dare you talk nonsense in front of the Empress!"

Yang Dezheng and Liu Chao also immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowed profusely. Yang Wenyue pointed his finger again and said angrily: "Yang Dezheng! Liu Chao! You two don't need to act so pretentiously here. Since you have displeased the Empress, you should quickly leave the door and wait. I will punish you for your rebellious and unjustified crimes after I have taken care of the matter!"

Empress Zhang looked away and made no expression.

So Yang Dezheng, Liu Chao and a group of lieutenant generals who had completed the mission all pretended to be sweaty and terrified, and slipped out as quickly as possible... Well, they were not just pretending, they were actually quite scared in their hearts.

It’s not that they were afraid that Empress Zhang would report them to the Emperor. In those days, people with soldiers in their hands were not afraid of the Emperor. Instead, they were afraid of Fang Shen Zi. They were afraid that after Fang Shen Zi knew what happened today, he would stand up for Empress Zhang and bring misfortune upon them.

To be honest, if the matter of seeking help was not a matter of life and death, they would never dare to cooperate with Yang Wenyue to take this risk.

Yang Wenyue himself was aware of the risk, but as the commander-in-chief of the army, he had no choice from the beginning.

"This old minister...is ashamed of His Majesty (referring to Tianqi) and His Highness (Empress Zhang)."

At this moment, Yang Wenyue was facing Empress Zhang alone. He felt so guilty that he couldn't express it in words. As soon as he said a word, he burst into tears.

"If it weren't for the matter of the sky falling and the earth collapsing, this old minister would never dare to force His Highness."

"With the resources of the court now, this war can only be won quickly, but the generals in the army are all afraid of death, and the soldiers are resentful of the court because of the arrears of food and wages. I can force them to go to Henan, but once the war starts, they will surely end in a crushing defeat.

The emperor was anxious and ignored the advice, and just kept urging the war. The officials in the court knew that the matter could not be violated, but they turned a blind eye and did not seek credit, but only wanted to avoid mistakes (it was their fault if they failed to rescue in time, and it was Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue's fault if they lost the battle).

If the army is defeated in the end, I, as an old minister, will not regret dying, but I have three fears that will haunt my soul. First, I am afraid that the bandits will occupy the vast land of the Central Plains and become too powerful to be dealt with. Second, I am afraid that Li Zicheng will come out of the Central Plains and attack Tongguan. Tongguan is weak and cannot be defended, and the capital will never have peace in the future. Third, I am afraid that Kaifeng..."

Yang Wenyue paused with sobs in his voice, as he remembered that Empress Zhang was from Kaifeng and many of her relatives were still trapped in Kaifeng City.

However, there is no need to avoid this matter. It may be an advantage. Yang Wenyue sighed and continued, "The third fear is that more than 400,000 people in Kaifeng will be massacred. Li Zicheng lost an eye under the city of Kaifeng. Hundreds of thousands of troops have besieged Kaifeng three times, but have not yet achieved complete success. Instead, they have lost soldiers and generals under the city. Li Zicheng is very angry about this and has vowed to retaliate against the people in Kaifeng. After the city is captured, the massacre may be inevitable."

Empress Zhang lowered her brows silently.

The office was quiet. The windows here were installed with PVC transparent plastic sheets, just like the windows in the small white building. The light transmission effect was very ideal. Even though it was five o'clock in the afternoon, the room did not seem dim.

At this time, bursts of loud noise came from outside. It was the students who were finishing school. They were happily venting their energy. However, Empress Zhang sat beside her desk, feeling extremely confused.

"Is it possible that the Emperor and the Cabinet cannot entrust such a serious military and national matter to me? Do they want to put the hope of solving it on the shoulders of a woman like me?"

After a long while, Empress Zhang finally spoke softly.

(End of this chapter)