Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 503: We Can't Let Junggar Be Uncontrolled
What could a little girl who was almost ten years old ask?
Mostly they are just doubts about whether it is beautiful or not, or whether it looks good or not.

As for those gossipy questions, Forcado just tried his best to be perfunctory throughout the whole process, and his real attention was all on Philip IV's whispers.

It's quite a coincidence.

In 1618, the old overlords Spain and the Ming Dynasty, located at the two ends of Europe and Asia, simultaneously entered into a long war.

Later, the kings of the challengers France and the Later Jin died, and the successors Louis XIV and Shunzhi were not only born in 1638, but also had an empress dowager and powerful ministers in the court to control the government.

In the original history, things would have gone in a completely different direction at this point.

Since Philip IV, who succeeded to the throne in the same year as Tianqi, did not die unexpectedly, the old hegemony on the European continent did not collapse like the Ming Dynasty. Even though its internal contradictions and financial difficulties were no less severe than those of the Ming Dynasty, the old hegemony on the European continent finally held out until the challenger created internal strife.

Philip IV's whisper to Forcador was about the internal contradictions in France.

It has to be said that this is another coincidence. The Qing Dynasty had a Prince Su Haoge who held a large number of troops, and France also had a Prince Condé who was good at fighting.

Of course, the Prince of Condé is only a branch of the royal family and does not have the status of the eldest son of the previous emperor. However, the contemporary Prince of Condé is not only an excellent general, but also an extremely outstanding politician. The pressure he brings to the powerful officials of the dynasty is even stronger than that of Hauge, the eldest son of the previous emperor.

Philip IV saw clearly that French Prime Minister Mazarin had been taking advantage of the war with Spain to continuously weaken the power of the nobles since the beginning of his administration. By this time, not only were the French nobles complaining, but even the common people's patience with the royal power had reached its limit.

Under such circumstances, as long as a suitable opportunity arises, the internal contradictions in France will inevitably be unable to be suppressed.

At that time, a fierce struggle will inevitably break out between the royal power, the nobility and the common people, and Spain will have the opportunity to turn the situation around.

Forcado seemed to have some doubts about this speculation, but Zhu Cilang, who was thousands of miles away, agreed with it very much.

In the final analysis, facing a powerful enemy that could be defeated, the French people were able to put aside their hatred and unite as one, and the Qing court was able to control the fighting to a certain extent. But when the balance between external pressure and internal contradictions was broken, a change in the situation became a foregone conclusion.

It was for this reason that Zhu Cilang temporarily kept the envoys of the Three Kingdoms in Yingtian, so that they would not be at a loss when the war situation in Europe changed.
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Qianqing Palace. Warm Pavilion
Nothing major happened in these few months.

The left and right armies of the Imperial Guards took control of Xiangyang and Hefei without any trouble; the Advisory Council's infiltration of the local areas was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

There is no need to say more about things like factories and maritime trade. After all, these institutions have formed a not-so-perfect system, and all things can be pushed forward by inertia. The questions received by the Qianqing Palace are mostly of a report nature.

Of course, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang would not have nothing to do.

"Now that Xiangyang has been taken, Sun Shoufa and He Zhen should go to Gansu."

Zhu Cilang put the battle reports about Nanyang and Huainan aside and began to give instructions to several ministers in the cabinet.

Due to the previous wars, the Qing government was no longer able to hold these two areas, and most of the troops left there were old, weak and disabled.

There is no need to say much about Hefei, which was under the charge of Hou Chengzu and the troops in southern Jiangxi. Basically, the cities had surrendered before the army arrived; but Xiangyang, which was under the charge of Fang Guoan and the troops in Hunan, had a slight disturbance.

The commander of Xiangyang was named Wang Guangtai. Ever since his brother Wang Guangen was captured in a battle in Ganzhou, he and his brothers had been trying to contact the Ming army in order to redeem him.

Zhu Cilang remained noncommittal about this, and the generals at the front did not dare to make a decision on their own, so the matter was delayed.

There was nothing special about the situation up to this point. After all, the Qing army no longer had any bargaining power, and everything had to be decided by the Ming Dynasty.

But who would have thought that when the troops approached, the brothers once again expressed their willingness to surrender to the Ming army, but He Tengjiao and Fang Guoan had differences on how to respond.

According to He Tengjiao's idea, Xiangyang is a strategic point and should be cleaned up in the name of war; but Fang Guoan believes that the Qing court is doomed and there is no need to commit more murders. Even if the place needs to be cleaned up, they should wait until the city is taken over before taking the opportunity to attack. There is no need to attack the city by force and increase casualties.

Perhaps because both sides were taken into consideration, this disagreement did not become too serious.

After several discussions, the two decided on the strategy of He Tengjiao attacking Xiangyang and Fang Guoan taking over the remaining prefectures and counties, and the war was divided into two ends.

When Zhu Cilang first learned the news, he thought that the matter was over. However, to his surprise, when it came time to reward people for their merits, rumors spread among the Hunan Army that "the Hunan Army gnawed on the bones while the guards ate the fat meat."

At this point, the nature of the situation changed completely.

After all, what happened before was at most a disagreement among the military commanders at the front, and its essence was just official business. But when the rumor appeared, this ordinary matter became a provocation to the imperial power.

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Cilang just pretended not to know and waited for further actions from certain people, but He Tengjiao reacted quickly. Before the news reached the ears of the cabinet ministers, he launched a thunder-like approach in the army.

In this incident, four thousand households and two guerrillas were detained, and the number of soldiers involved reached more than 300.

In the end, although the Huguang Governor's Office severely punished these people for spreading rumors, it did not think that there was any mastermind behind this incident.

After reaching this conclusion, the cabinet was relentless. Not only did they feel that the convictions against these people were too light, they also strictly ordered He Tengjiao to find out who was behind the scenes.

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Cilang considered for a long time and finally issued an order to pardon the military officers and soldiers involved.

He understood clearly that after so many wars, both local troops and field troops had the experience of fighting under the emperor, but the Hunan troops had only stayed in Hunan from beginning to end and had never had any intersection with Zhu Cilang.

Under such circumstances, most ordinary soldiers were still confused and didn't know that they had become a ragtag group, but the generals with slightly higher positions could keenly perceive the difference between the Hunan Army and other armies. With this understanding, coupled with the arrangements of He and Fang, it was understandable that they would have some resentment. It seemed that spreading a little rumor was not worth anything. If the matter was really exaggerated, it might have the opposite effect.

But then again, this was just a minor setback and would not affect the overall situation of the Ming army.

However, this incident also served as a wake-up call for Zhu Cilang.

As he spends more and more time in Yingtian, his influence and control over the army will inevitably gradually weaken. If another ten or twenty years pass, I am afraid that he, the emperor on horseback, will be no different from the one who grew up in the deep palace.

"Your Majesty, Shaanxi has not yet been recovered. If we march into Gansu at this time, we will inevitably have difficulties in military supplies."

"That's fine. They should prepare first. When there is a result in the west, we will have the Khoshut troops send out to help."

"This"

After he finished speaking, Qian Qianyi, who always followed Zhu Cilang's orders, hesitated, which was unusual for him.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang was naturally a little confused. When he cast an inquiring look, Mr. Qian actually knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. It is important to have the four seas submit, but the three western countries are all ambitious. If the Khoshut offer to reward their military merits with Hezhou and other lands, how should the court respond?"

Although Qian Qianyi's face did not show much expression, his slightly trembling voice revealed the worry in his heart.

Judging from the current situation, everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty's revival is unstoppable. As long as there are no setbacks, His Majesty's martial arts will even be several times higher than that of Emperor Guangwu.

But then again, great achievements are bound to be accompanied by a flood of praise. Who can guarantee that the young emperor will not be overwhelmed by the praise?
To be honest, Qian Qianyi didn't have such an idea at first, after all, there was still a large area of ​​land in the north that had not been recovered.

But in the past few days, he had carefully pondered the situation in the west during his spare time, and he couldn't help but feel a little worried about the mental state of his Majesty.

He saw clearly that according to the earlier situation, his Majesty should have waited until the Khoshut and Dzungar Khanate were at the critical moment of life and death before sending troops to help.

By then, the three western countries would have been weakened, and the Ming Dynasty would have more room to maneuver.

But now.
Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi plucked up the courage to look at Zhu Cilang's face, but the young face did not show much expression, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"Mr. Qian, don't worry. I know the pros and cons. Gansu prefectures are at the heart of the Mongolian and Tibetan tribes. They cannot be easily given to others. That is why I want to take this place back first, so as to avoid Mongolia and Tibet being connected after defeating the Tartars. As for rewarding them..." Zhu Cilang paused and thought about it before saying with a sneer, "The Khoshut are a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. How can I ask them for some military supplies and still talk about rewarding them?"

Don't understand what I mean?
Zhu Cilang answered Qian Qianyi's obvious questions, but the answers did not go too deep, and his worries were not alleviated at all.

At this point, Mr. Qian's expression became a little unnatural, and then a rather curious question came out.

"Anything else you want to say?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt, but the three western countries are all ambitious people. You must not let them become a threat to you!"

Zhu Cilang was stunned for a moment when he heard the words, but then his mind changed a little and he finally understood the concerns of his Prime Minister.

"But are you worried that I will learn from Emperor Minghuang of Tang?"

"The old minister dare not."

After apology, Qian Qianyi immediately knelt on the ground. After seeing the other party's performance, Zhu Cilang raised his hand helplessly and began to think in his heart.

He knew that although Yarkand was very fierce, Abdullah was only wise for a few years before he became a bloodthirsty and cruel monarch under numerous conflicts. In the end, the conflicts between the Black Mountain and White Mountain factions broke out completely, and this man was forced to go to Mecca by his own son.

The problem of Khoshut was similar to that of Yarkand. A large group of lamas fought each other, and there were also many conflicts between the Mongols and the Tibetans. After more than ten years of turmoil, the national strength of Khoshut became weaker and weaker, and finally it followed in the footsteps of Yarkand and was destroyed by Dzungar.

Knowing this, it was reasonable for him to send troops to stop the war between Yarkand and Khoshut, but it was not explained to his own ministers.
"Although the three western countries are similar in size, there is a vast ocean in Yarkand that cannot support many people. Khoshut is located on a plateau and its national strength is limited. In comparison, the area occupied by Dzungar is rich in water and grass, and its national strength is much stronger. If Khoshut and Yarkand really fight to the death, I'm afraid no one will be able to stop Dzungar."

嗯？是这样吗？

Qian Qianyi was stunned when he heard the words. After secretly recalling the information about the Three Kingdoms, he immediately realized that what his Majesty said was true.

Then Mr. Qian, who was full of worries a moment ago, couldn't help but blush. But when he was about to apologize again for his presumptuous speculation, Zhu Cilang's voice came first.

"Alright, Mr. Qian is not only my Xiao He, but also my Wei Zheng. There's no need to act like this."

Xiao He and Wei Zheng, this is almost the highest evaluation a normal civil official can get. Qian Qianyi immediately felt his vision blurred, but it was not appropriate to act like a little girl in such an occasion. He adjusted his mood in an instant.

At this point, several cabinet ministers who had already made their reports were ready to say goodbye and leave. However, when they were about to speak, their Majesty, with his wild thoughts, changed the subject.

"I think we should make a conclusion about the events of the past few decades."

(End of this chapter)