Zhou Zheng looked at the changes in the situation and the erosion of the war in the northwest, and concentrated on doing his thing.

Sun Chuanting came to Beijing many times and asked him some questions.

Zhou Zheng talked with him for a few days, and then personally went to Tianjin Wei, gathered everyone, introduced Sun Chuanting to them, and then determined the reform and promotion arrangements of Yongping Mansion, Hejian, Laizhou, Dengzhou and other prefectures.

By the time Zhou Zheng came back from Tianjin Wei, it was already October.

The imperial court was worried about the war in the northwest, Hong Chengchou mobilized a lot of soldiers and horses, and surrounded and intercepted the bandits from all walks of life, with little effect, the bandits were too chaotic, and there were too many places affected.

The bandits, who were originally scattered, gradually showed signs of contacting each other and coordinating to deal with the officers and soldiers.

Hong Chengchou gradually felt overwhelmed, and began to purge the officers and troops from all walks of life, preparing to deal with the largest of them and eliminate the 'first evil'.

However, there are as many as dozens of officers and troops in the five provinces, and there are more governors, governors, and commanders and soldiers from all walks of life, and there are also some local prefects and military commanders, which are not subordinate to each other.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, at the end of October, King Gao Yingxiang issued a heroic post, calling on all the 'righteous troops' to hold a meeting in Xingyang to discuss how to deal with the official army together.

The officers and troops of all walks of life are waiting for the enemy. The court was even more panicked and desperately tried to think of countermeasures.

Emperor Chongzhen worshiped the temple in plain clothes, cried and sacrificed to heaven and earth, and it was the first time that he issued an edict of sin!

It can be seen that Daming has reached a very dangerous juncture!

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, the bandits of the 72nd battalion of the 13 families gathered in Xingyang and adopted Li Zicheng's strategy of 'dividing the troops and determining the direction', no longer fighting in a melee and cooperating in a more targeted manner to deal with the officers and troops.

Once the chaotic bandits in the mixed wheel had order and goals, they no longer fought alone, divided their troops into directions, and dealt with the officers and troops in a targeted manner, Hong Chengchou immediately encountered great difficulties.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, on the sixteenth day of the first month, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others broke through Fengyang, destroyed the emperor's mausoleum, burned Longxing Temple, killed more than 60 eunuchs, and beheaded Zhu Guoxiang and thousands of officers and soldiers left behind in the Ming Dynasty.

Fengyang, alias 'Zhongdu', is the hometown of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the so-called land of Longxing, the dragon vein was destroyed, and the government and the opposition were in great pain.

Chongzhen cried again to sue the ancestral temple, and issued an edict for his own crimes twice.

The entire imperial court was suddenly panicked and violently uneasy.

This time is different from the past, Fengyang was attacked, as if it portended something, not to mention other places, the capital was the most frightened, everywhere was talking about Fengyang, and the topic of 'dead country' was no longer hidden, and it was spreading.

This year's Lantern Festival is probably the most embarrassing in recent decades.

Zhou Zheng didn't have the heart to go out to play, so he walked the children at home.

On this day, Zhou Qingli came back from outside, did not go back to his study, and came directly to Zhou Zheng's courtyard.

This situation is extremely rare, Zhou Zheng hugged Xiao Deshen and hurriedly stood up, and said, "Dad, what's wrong?" ”

Zhou Qingli didn't usually have the joy of seeing her grandson, sat down on the side, and said, "I have something to tell you." ”

Shangguan Qing listened inside, came out and called 'Dad', and took the little guy away, leaving Zhou Zheng and his son.

Zhou Qingli's expression was calm, his brows were furrowed, and he said after a while: "Hong Chengchou can't support it in the northwest, and the imperial court has discussed adding a prime minister of the five provinces, Hong Chengchou will run the northwest, and the other will run the southeast." At present, there is some controversy, many people are inclined to Lu Xiangsheng, and Zhang Tangbu is strongly advocating you. ”

Zhou Zheng listened with a slightly different expression, he didn't know this yet, obviously it was only in the brewing stage of a few people.

Zhou Zheng picked up the teacup and poured tea for Zhou Qingli, looking thoughtful.

He is very similar to Lu Xiangsheng, Lu Xiangsheng rectified the armaments such as the Daimyo Mansion back then, and Zhou Zheng simultaneously rectified the Yongping Mansion, and the development trajectories of the latter two were completely different, Zhou Zheng mainly faced Jianyu, and Lu Xiangsheng focused on suppressing bandits.

From the second year of Chongzhen to the present, six years have passed, Lu Xiangsheng has made great achievements in the war, and he has been in the fourth grade, and the army led by him is called the 'Tianxiong Army', which is quite prestigious.

This time, no matter who is the prime minister of the military affairs of the five provinces, at least he must hang the rank of squire of the Ministry of War, that is, from the third grade, he officially entered the 'management' of the Ming Dynasty and became a formal senior official.

Zhou Zheng pondered for a long time, looked up at Zhou Qingli, and said, "Dad, what do you think?" ”

Zhou Qingli's expression was solemn, her brows were tightly wrinkled, and she seemed to be in a very tangled mood.

Da Ming is in such a crisis, he naturally hopes that he or his son can come forward and turn the tide, but he is worried that his son will not only not help the situation, but will affect himself.

Zhou Zheng looked at Zhou Qingli's expression and guessed his thoughts, and said, "Dad, do you want me to go?" ”

Zhou Qingli sighed lightly and said: "The chaos in the northwest has been in the past three years since the Apocalypse, how many governors and governors, none of them have died well, I want you to go, but I am afraid that you will not return." ”

Zhou Qingli understands that this second son, in the face of the bandits in the northwest, is really going to go, I am afraid that it will not be long before he will be arrested by the imperial court, and he will be imprisoned lightly, and he will be in darkness for a lifetime, and he will be directly executed.

Zhou Zheng thought of Lu Xiangsheng's ending in his mind, like Cao Wenzhao in history, besieged by bandits, and other officials and soldiers sat idly by, ran out of ammunition and food, and died on the battlefield.

Zhou Zheng couldn't make a decision for a while, thought about it carefully, and said, "Dad, let me think about it." ”

Zhou Zheng now has no official position and no handy troops. If he goes to the northwest, he may not be able to mobilize people from all walks of life, and this is not in his plan, Zhou Zheng needs to think carefully.

Zhou Qingli nodded lightly and said, "Dad knows that this matter is difficult for you, you think about it, no matter how you decide, Dad will support you." ”

Zhou Zheng pondered and responded, and suddenly reacted, looked at Zhou Qingli and said, "Dad, you don't, are you planning to be a leader?" ”

Zhou Qingli didn't hide what she was thinking, but she shook her head and said, "The current court situation is no longer the early years of Chongzhen, and I can't go back." Emperor...... You don't necessarily want me to go back. ”

Zhou Qingli sighed, and said lonely: "The Bi family has a letter, and Bi Jinghui is afraid that it won't last long." ”

Bi Jinghui, that is, Bi Ziyan.

Zhou Zheng nodded silently, there is actually a certain fault in the Ming Dynasty, and this fault is constantly emerging.

In addition to the continuous death of military generals, there are also various deaths of civil officials and capable ministers.

In the last years of Chongzhen, the sentence 'the court died, and the Ming Dynasty died', which also shows that the talents of the Ming Dynasty have withered and are irretrievable.

"Dad, want to go and see it?" Zhou Zheng asked.

Zhou Qingli was silent for a long time, and sighed: "How can I not send it off, I plan to leave Beijing in a few days." ”

Zhou Zheng thought for a while and said, "I'll send someone to escort my father." ”

Although the civil unrest in the five northwestern provinces is the most intense, there is actually no stability in the Ming Dynasty, even in the prosperous Nanzhili, there are all kinds of banditry and mutiny, which is extremely unsafe.

Zhou Qingli did not object, stood up and said, "Think about it." ”

Zhou Zheng sent him out and stood under the eaves with a calm expression.

The current Ming Dynasty has reached the crossroads of the country, and many signs have been very significant, and the government and the opposition are pessimistic.

Even though it had long been determined and affirmed that the current imperial court was irreredeemable, Zhou Zheng still had a strange depression, a sense of emptiness, and uncomfortable breathlessness in his heart.