Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 66: Women and children manicure their nails, and Grandpa sharpens his knife
After not seeing each other for half a day, His Majesty sitting on the dragon throne seemed like a different person.

Just by sitting there motionless, he exuded the majesty of an emperor, making him dare not look directly at him.

"What do you mean?" Zhu Youjian asked back.

This finally brought Ni Yuanlu back to his senses, and the words of dissuasion he had just spoken softened a little, "Your Majesty, I do not think it is time for a decisive battle yet."

"The rebels have set up camps for dozens of miles. Even if Duke Ji leads 30,000 cavalry, they still don't stand much chance of winning. But the high walls and strong city walls are enough to hold out the enemy. The food and grass inside the city are enough to last for several months. Once the reinforcements arrive, the rebels will retreat without a fight!"

Zhu Youjian remained silent. Cheng De, the head of the Ministry of War, stepped forward at the right moment and said, "I think the Prime Minister is mistaken. The rebels have occupied the imperial mausoleum in Changping and cut off our grain transport for three months. It's also the time for spring plowing. If we can't repel the rebels, there will be no harvest in the north in the autumn!"

"Does the Prime Minister want to see the plight of the people of the north eating their own children?"

"How dare you! The Prime Minister is devoted to the country, how can I allow you to slander me like this!" Fan Jingwen roared.

"The new soldiers of the Fifth Army Battalion can't hold their guns, the Shenji Battalion is low on gunpowder, and the 30,000 cavalrymen of Guanning have just arrived, and now they are going out of the city to fight."

"Will we wait until the Eastern Tartars break through the pass and enter, and then we won't have to fight in vain?"

Jin Xuan suddenly interrupted, "Jizhentang reports that the Jiannu are gathering a large army! The Guanning Army has already marched south, and there are no troops left to defend Shanhaiguan. The Jiannu will arrive within ten days!"

"Even if we repel the rebels, we will still have to face the Jiannu army. Without a break, our army will surely be crushed!"

"Absurd!" Wang Jiayan snorted coldly. "The Jiannu will surely face the enemy before they enter the pass. If we wait for a few months, all the armies will gather in the capital. We can then march out of the city just in time to drive out the enemy and counterattack the Jiannu. When the two dogs are both badly wounded, our royal army can crush them in one fell swoop. This is truly a winning strategy!"

Song Ye looked down at the floor and spoke weakly, "That's easy for Minister Wang to say. If it were a coalition of rebels and the Jiannu, how would Minister Wang deal with it?"

"He deserves to be beaten!" Zhang Shize, who had just been able to walk, shouted at the top of his lungs.

Zhang Huangyan looked at the fight among the people thoughtfully.

Zhu Youjian sighed and asked calmly, "Are you finished?"

In an instant, the hall was filled with deathly silence.

None of the ministers dared to raise their heads.

Zhu Youjian felt a little regretful. Why didn't he leave two million taels to upgrade some negative terms of the Ming Dynasty?

The negative buff effects of [Sunset in the West] and [Good Will in the Morning] are too scary.

Even though these officials in the palace were loyal royalists specially promoted by him, their abilities were not that strong, but at least they were sufficient.

But no matter what he did, his efficiency was alarmingly low. Unless he personally made a decision and asked his ministers to follow it, it would take three days for him to rebuild the Ministry of War and even the basic framework could not be completed.

Even these people are vaguely divided into the conservative faction and the young and vigorous faction.

He has to make the final decision himself.

"Wang Banban." Zhu Youjian raised his hand and said, "Read."

Wang Chengen immediately walked to Zhu Youjian's side and shook out the yellow silk in his hand.

"Imperial decree: The 30,000 Guanning Cavalry will be incorporated into the 3,000-man Battalion, under the command of Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Shize, as commander-in-chief, assisted by Minister of War Cheng De. The former imperial infantry units will be incorporated into the Five Army Battalion, under the command of Minister of War Wang Jiayan as commander-in-chief, assisted by Minister of War Jin Xuan. The former Shenji Battalion will remain unchanged, but all units will be reorganized into the Zhenglu Army, with former Luzhou General Huang Degong as commander. All males over the age of 15 in the city will be incorporated into the combat troops, and all government officials will be assigned to the logistics of the army."

Ni Yuanlu wanted to persuade him again, but he knelt forward and said, "Your Majesty! The Wu family father and son have been managing the Guanning Army for several years, so they cannot be reused for the time being. The new army has only fought a few battles and has no combat power. Huang Degong of Luzhou is even less well-known, and he is suddenly appointed to lead..."

"My mind is made up!" Zhu Youjian waved his hand. "Back in the bloody battle of Hunhe, the Loyal Marquis's 3,000 Sichuan soldiers were able to break through the Eight Banners' formation. Now I have an army of 100,000, and the sun, moon, mountains and rivers are still there! Why should I avoid the enemy's front?!"

Fan Jingwen was about to say something when he suddenly saw Zhu Youjian raise his hand and press on the hilt of the sword.

"Propagate my decree: At this decisive moment, regardless of north or south, regardless of age, all citizens must defend their land and resist the enemy! In this battle, I stand with all the people. We will die together, and we will live together!"

"This edict will be clearly announced to the capital so that all people will know it!"

"The Nine Gates Commander, the Five Cities Military Commander, and the Left Integrity Bureau will begin recruiting militiamen tonight."

"All women, children, and eunuchs in the city will be assigned to the Ministry of Works." At this point, Zhu Youjian pointed at the most cunning Zhang Fengxiang and said, "Before dawn tomorrow, I want to see that all the militiamen are available!"

"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Zhang Fengxiang kowtowed in fear, not daring to express any opinion at all.

"Right Honourable Administration, the Imperial Guards will patrol the nine gates of the capital day and night. We must not let yesterday's incident happen again. We will investigate the enemy situation at all hours and report at all times."

"Fan Jingwen and Wang Jiayan, you two must organize the troops and horses, and provide meat for each of our three meals a day." "All the nobles, join forces and help me defeat the bandits!"

Whether it was due to the emperor's deterrent power or Zhu Youjian's personal charm.

All the ministers were united anyway.

"I will obey your orders!"

……

When the night watch drum sounded at noon, a queue of people three miles long had already formed in front of the Chongwenmen Armory.

The old firewood seller clutched the bamboo stick with the number "丁字九百２一" on it and watched the storekeeper slam his rusty sword on the table. "Press your fingerprints!"

"Sir, this knife..." Sun Shitou pointed at the rag wrapped around the handle.

"The inventory from the second year of Chongzhen's reign." The storekeeper dipped his hand in red clay and pulled the old man's finger. "A good knife that killed three Tartars!"

"Go get the whetstone yourself later, so you can follow the emperor and kill the bandits tomorrow!"

After saying that, he pushed the old man aside and let the next one take the knife.

As soon as he left the Arsenal, he heard children's laughter from afar. The old man stood on tiptoe and saw his little grandson running towards him holding an oil-paper bag.
"Grandpa!" The little grandson ran to the old man breathlessly and held up the oil-paper bag to show him, "The Queen Mother gave it to me! There's so much meat!"

The aroma of the mutton-stuffed sesame cakes filled his mouth and nose, and the old man smiled particularly happily.

Even he had only tasted such delicious meat forty years ago, when he had just returned victorious from the three major expeditions and the palace had rewarded every citizen in the city with three coins of pork meat.

The old man pushed the oil-paper bag to his grandson and said, "Eat more. It's delicious. When you and the emperor drive away the thieves, there will be meat to eat."

Then he stuffed the four mu of land deed he had just issued into his grandson's arms and said, "Hide this well. With this, you can marry a wife. If Grandpa doesn't come back, you can take this to find Grandpa Huang. Do you understand?"

The little grandson nodded as if he understood, but the old man was very happy and led his grandson to an open space on the corner of the street.

Hundreds of palace maids were leading thousands of children in the open space to pick out broken iron pieces.

After handing his grandson to the palace maid, the old man took a lingering look at him, then walked away without looking back, carrying the rusty iron knife on his back.

The old man saw a lot along the way.

He saw several scholars tying red tassels to the ends of their iron spears, their rice paper folding fans tucked behind their waists, letting the fan surfaces be covered with rust.

He saw hundreds of old women in the city repairing their nails in the sunlight.

I heard that the person in charge was the wife of Minister Li.

Further away, the new troops of the Fifth Army Camp were singing military songs under the leadership of those Wenquxing.

"Holding ninety-nine steel knives, I will not stop until all the barbarians have been killed."

The old man couldn't help but hum along.

Life was still so hard, but for some reason, he felt that he saw hope?
Maybe the noble who usually doesn't take them seriously can't see it, or maybe the emperor said he still remembers them and wants to make a decision for them...

The warm sun shines on the beams of the house, and the sound of sharpening knives in the capital is as steady as thunder.

Led by the palace maids, the children sang nursery rhymes.

The anvils and drums clatter, Grandpa forges arrows in the fiery clouds. The broken sword melts into a new sickle, and the spring wheat is harvested to fill the quiver.

The blood-red tassel, the frosty blade heavy, my brother sharpens the frost in the Lugou ditch at night. The ice cracks the armor like a chime, and the broken jade tinkles all over the bow.

Smoke over Jimen, buried bone urns, the setting sun over Jintai buries the green horse. A boy picks up the rust of a lost arrowhead, and plants a cold glow that illuminates the sky.

The Jade River is full of blood, the Silver Ingot is beaconing, and new moss is growing on the new tomb of Juyong. The Emperor has given me seeds of peace, and the wheat waves on the grave are rolling up to the sky.

It's going to be on the shelves so fast, it will be on the shelves tomorrow at noon, and there will be more updates every day! Thank you for reading until now, the dog author loves you.

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(End of this chapter)