The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 93 Chongzhen's Dilemma

He pointed at the three people, his fingers trembling.
"More than ten thousand elite imperial troops! They were led out in a grand procession!"

"And what was the result?! They only brought back less than four thousand people!"

"Many of them were defeated soldiers who had fled back on their own!"

Yang He was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

"Could Jiang Han have brought heavenly soldiers and generals with him?"

"A mere three thousand men could rout your army of nearly ten thousand?!"

He Huchen couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to step forward and argue.

Of all the bandits in this campaign, he was the most pathetic. He didn't fight a single battle and just sat in Yan'an watching his teammates all get wiped out.

Finally, without any troops, he was besieged by the rebels in Yan'an Prefecture, who then killed Li Bei.

But Yang He didn't give him a chance to speak, interrupting him sharply.

"Shut up!"

"I can no longer deal with you. I have already reported the details of this matter to the imperial court via urgent dispatch!"

"Just wait! Wait for the Emperor to personally decide your fate!"

As soon as Yang He sent a memorial to the capital, the name Jiang Han was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, quickly causing quite a stir in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"Hey, have you heard? Another formidable bandit has emerged in the Northwest!"

"I heard that the scoundrel is called Jiang Han. He defeated two generals in the Northwest and even killed a lieutenant general in battle!"

"Wow, really? How did Yang He become the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions? How come the bandits seem to multiply and become more ferocious the more they are suppressed?"

Inside the Forbidden City, it was winter again, it was the first month of the lunar calendar, and it was the familiar Wuying Hall.

A year later, Emperor Chongzhen heard Jiang Han's name again.

A year ago, Jiang Han was just a bandit who robbed Liu Family Village.

Emperor Chongzhen was only slightly angry, but he quickly put it out of his mind and focused on dealing with the invading Eastern barbarians.

But now, looking at the memorial in his hand, Chongzhen felt dizzy.

The generals of Ningxia and Lintao were both defeated?
Lieutenant General Li Bei was killed in action?!

The bandit leader Jiang Han has already fled to Shanxi?!

The news kept getting worse, like one heavy hammer blow after another, crashing down on Chongzhen's head.

How could Jiang Han have transformed from a vagrant bandit into a powerful and ruthless bandit in just one year?

Emperor Chongzhen slammed his hand on the armrest and stood up abruptly, but perhaps he stood up too abruptly, or perhaps he was overcome with anger.

He felt a sudden dizziness, his body swayed, and he almost lost his balance.

"Your Majesty!"

The chief eunuch Wang Chengen, who had been standing by, reacted quickly and stepped forward to firmly support Chongzhen's arm.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?!"

Immediately, he turned to the eunuch beside him and shouted sternly:

"What are you all standing there for?! Quick! Go and summon the imperial physician!"

"No need"

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, his voice weak, and sat back down in his chair with Wang Chengen's help.

He closed his eyes, pressed hard on his throbbing temples, and took a few deep breaths before the dizziness subsided slightly.

Upon seeing this, Wang Chengen quickly handed over a cup of warm ginseng tea.

Emperor Chongzhen took it, and without savoring it, he gulped down two large mouthfuls before he could recover slightly.

"No need, I was just in a hurry."

Wang Chengen wanted to persuade him further, but Chongzhen interrupted him by raising his hand: "Go, summon the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary!"

Seeing that Chongzhen had made up his mind, Wang Chengen dared not say anything more. He bowed and quickly walked out of the main hall, sending an eunuch to fetch the two prime ministers.

Before long, Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru and Vice Grand Secretary Wen Tiren arrived at the Wuying Hall in a hurry.

Both men were shrewd and astute. Just by looking at the somber atmosphere in the hall and Chongzhen's terrifyingly gloomy face, their hearts skipped a beat, and they knew that something terrible must have happened.

The two stepped forward and carefully knelt down to pay their respects:
"Your subject Zhou Yanru (Your subject Wen Tiren) pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"I wonder what brings Your Majesty to summon me so urgently?"

Emperor Chongzhen was too lazy to say more, and simply instructed Wang Chengen to pass on Yang He's memorial to Zhou Yanru.

Zhou Yanru took the memorial and read it carefully.

He read very slowly, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

After a while, he handed the memorial to Wen Tiren behind him, who took it and read it carefully as well.

For a moment, the only sounds in the vast Wuying Hall were the rustling of papers turning and the heavy breathing of the three people, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Both Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren chose to remain silent after reading the memorial.

The military affairs in Shaanxi were not handled by either of them.

Both men, one the Grand Secretary and the other the Second Grand Secretary, were outstanding civil officials, skilled in writing excellent articles.

However, when it comes to troop deployment and battlefield combat, he is a complete novice.

Their battlefields were in the capital, in the imperial court, and on the chessboard of suppressing the Donglin Party.

The mess in Shaanxi is a disaster for anyone who gets involved. They are very shrewd and naturally don't want to get involved easily, which is why they all chose to remain silent.

Emperor Chongzhen looked down at his two trusted ministers who were pretending to be deaf and dumb, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, and he became increasingly irritated.

He finally couldn't help but speak first, breaking the silence:
"Have you finished reading it? Tell me, how should this matter be handled?"

After careful consideration, Zhou Yanru slowly began to speak:
"Your Majesty, I believe that the matter in Shaanxi concerns the safety of the nation and should be handled with utmost care."

"Didn't Governor-General Yang He of the Three Border Regions mention before that he wanted to implement a policy of appeasement in Shaanxi?"

"I believe that now that things have come to this, we should give it a try."

Zhou Yanru's words were as good as nothing; he simply brought up Yang He's previous suggestion again and passed it back like a hot potato.

Emperor Chongzhen remained expressionless and did not immediately express his opinion, then turned his gaze to Wen Tiren.

Seeing this, Wen Tiren quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and added:
"Your Majesty, I believe the Grand Secretary's words are reasonable and should be handled with utmost care."

"The bandit leader has fled to Shanxi, and his troops are formidable and should not be underestimated."

"I believe we should follow Governor Yang's opinion and prioritize pacification; after all, Governor Yang is in Shaanxi and knows the local situation better than we do."

These two men, one the chief minister and the other the deputy chief minister, are both shrewd and calculating.

Neither of them wanted to touch the hot potato that was Shaanxi, so they simply dumped everything on Yang He.

As Chongzhen listened to the two cabinet ministers' back-and-forth arguments, each trying to downplay the seriousness of the matter and shift the blame, his anger flared up again.

He stared at the two of them without saying a word, like a volcano about to erupt, brewing his emotions.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Yanru had no choice but to step forward and offer more specific advice:

"Your Majesty, banditry in Shanxi is not limited to Jiang Han's group."

"That notorious bandit Wang Jiayin entrenched himself in the Hequ area, wielding immense power and influence, and even went so far as to establish his own kingdom and declare himself king! This demonstrates the extent of his ambition!"

"With the combined efforts of Shanxi and Shaanxi to contain him, their forces are already stretched thin, and it will be difficult to spare any more troops to deal with Jiang Han."

"Instead of fighting on two fronts, we should concentrate our efforts on eliminating Wang Jiayin, this major threat."

"As for Jiang Han, I heard that his troops are under the command of Wu Zimian, the former general of Yansui Town. We might as well try to win him over and see how it goes."

Emperor Chongzhen flew into a rage upon hearing Wu Zimian's name. This group of soldiers from five provinces had traveled thousands of miles to the capital to defend the emperor, but all they did was mutini and loot, or cower in fear of battle.

How did these good-for-nothings become so capable in Jiang Han's hands?
(End of this chapter)