Chapter 19 The Emperor Plotted to Break the King and Send Troops

The people in Yaogang are scrambling to watch movies, and Emperor Chongzhen in the Forbidden City in Beijing does not have this kind of leisure, he is studying Yaogang people with several close ministers.

Emperor Chongzhen had just received a message from Gonggong Li from Yaogang, and sure enough, as Emperor Chongzhen expected, Zhang Zhimu almost rejected all the proposals. Emperor Chongzhen was concerned about Zhang Zhimu's refusal to collect fees for suppressing bandits in Shanxi.

The ministers all knew that the relationship between Emperor Chongzhen and the people of Yaogang was not ordinary, so Emperor Chongzhen told them that Zhang Zhimu had rejected all the suggestions, and no one wanted to talk more before they made Emperor Chongzhen mean anything.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen knew their thoughts, "You don't have to worry, boldly say, does Zhang Zhimu have the heart of rebellion?" ”

An old minister said: "Your Majesty, until now, if there is a stable period, what will happen to people like Yaogang?" ”

"Humph! The Nine Clans have been wiped out a long time ago. Emperor Chongzhen said hatefully.

Zhang Zhimu must also know what will happen to him once the world is peaceful. Your Majesty, what do you say, what will Zhang Zhimu do? The old minister asked again.

"You mean, he had to do the opposite?" Emperor Chongzhen asked rhetorically, "Then why doesn't he rebel now, with military strength, no one can stop him?" ”

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the ministers, Zhang Zhimu of this kiln is still a businessman after all, he has no courage to dominate the world, nor does he have the means to be supreme, let alone the ability to govern the world." Lao Chen said.

Emperor Chongzhen was willing to listen to this, "You tell me carefully!" ”

"This Zhang Zhimu earns silver that no one can compare, so I won't talk about it. He doesn't have the courage to dominate the world and the means to be supreme, presumably the emperor has seen it. He has unparalleled military strength in his hands, but he didn't dare to offend Long Yan, which shows that he is very weak and has no courage in his heart; He dotes on the people too much, which shows that this person is too soft-hearted and not material for doing great things; And so far, I can see what kind of strategy they have, but who affects them to earn money, who they fight, at most they are forced by the emperor to not work, send troops to fight, but that is also good to accept without courage. Besides, in the few places they governed, they did not dare to collect taxes, and they relied entirely on benevolent government to please the people, which was not possible, and the people had to rule by strict means; There are also Yaogang people who now occupy Shaanxi and Shanxi, but they don't have a governance institution, even the thieves have a pseudo-court, they don't, they don't know how to govern the world. That's why they don't dare to fight out. Therefore, the emperor, we must make good use of them and try to encourage them to fight Li Zicheng. We also have to slowly regain the management of the two places in Shanxi, they just let our officials be there, our officials can't wait, they have to act. Finally, it is necessary to take back the right to collect taxes, and it is also necessary to build a yamen. The old minister talked too much and coughed.

Emperor Chongzhen said to him, some believed, some didn't believe, but he didn't say whether he believed it or not.

Another minister said, "Your Majesty! I really didn't expect that the people of Yaogang would collect half of the tax in Shanxi to be much more than the full tax we collected that year. They really have a way, too. If we take it all back, and receive it in full, it will be more than the silver we borrowed from the kiln. It's time for us to figure it out. ”

"In the past, the princes of our family had a lot of land, and they were not taxed. The emperors of all dynasties had to reduce or exempt the land tax of some meritorious literati. They tried to reduce the tax on acres of land by other means, and in the end, most of the good land could not be taxed. The kiln gang people didn't care about this, they all took it up. Besides, their officials are not greedy for ink, so there are more. Emperor Chongzhen said.

The old minister who came out of breath said: "Your Majesty, we must also be prepared militarily, and we can't guard against the Yaogang people." Although they have strong military strength, if he dares to rebel, we can fight with them as one. ”

Emperor Chongzhen understands that this is a sign of loyalty, but he still understands military preparations.

Another minister said: "Your Majesty, we have no way to deal with this Zhang Zhimu militarily. But he still listens to the emperor now. Can we ask Zhang Zhimu to come to Beijing again to see the driver? ”

Emperor Chongzhen understood what this minister meant, "He is a bird out of the cage and will not come again!" ”

Others understood, Emperor Chongzhen moved to get rid of Zhang Zhimu, and a minister said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Zhimu is not coming, the people we sent can contact Zhang Zhimu, can they .....?" ”

This person didn't finish his words, but Emperor Chongzhen and the people in the house understood what he meant. Emperor Chongzhen said: "No, Zhang Zhimu is still a hero who shelters us from the wind and rain." Do I want to give him the opportunity to contribute to the court? ”

The ministers in the house all knew that even if the emperor wanted to take measures against Zhang Zhimu, they would not let them know. So no one said it anymore.

If you want to say that Emperor Chongzhen really can't get rid of Zhang Zhimu now, he knows that without Zhang Zhimu, it will be difficult to keep his country. But after the world stabilized, Zhang Zhimu was really a threat. Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about when to get rid of Zhang Zhimu. If he really reverses, there will be no chance to get close to him, and it will be impossible to get rid of him.

Regarding this matter, Chongzhen asked the prince to call over.

The prince didn't know what was going on with the emperor, so he came over and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the slave is here!" ”

"You say, our Gonggong Li is very good at martial arts, if he finds a chance to be alone with Zhang Zhimu, how sure will he be to get rid of him?" Chongzhen leaned back on the recliner and asked, his eyes open.

"Your Majesty! This is unacceptable! The prince hurriedly said.

"I know that you have a good relationship with the Zhang Dong family, and I also have a good relationship with the Zhang Dong family." Emperor Chongzhen said.

"No, no! Can't! I mean, Zhang Dongjia can't be killed. Wang Gonggong said.

"Why? You can't do it? ”

"No, it's not, Your Majesty." Wang Gonggong said, "With Gonggong Li's skills, he will be able to kill him if he is alone with Zhang Dongjia." Even if you don't have the opportunity to do it, it's safe. But what I'm saying is, you can't kill. ”

"Why?"

"Your Majesty, what should I do after killing Zhang Zhimu?" The prince asked rhetorically.

"Recruit their army and confiscate their property." Emperor Chongzhen said.

"We can't take their army, and we can't confiscate their property. If Zhang Zhimu died, their army would give up all the places and come to Beijing to avenge Zhang Zhimu, and their employees and workers in those industries would also put down their work and follow them to Beijing to take revenge. At that time, there will not be hundreds of thousands of troops, but millions of vengeful people. Wang Gonggong said, "If we can't kill Zhang Zhimu, that's just an excuse for Yaogang." If we don't get it, we'll die without a place to bury. ”

"Bold, you dare to grow others' ambitions." Emperor Chongzhen roared angrily.

"Your Majesty, the slave is telling the truth!" Wang Gonggong said.

"Tell me, if the Yaogang people attack Beijing, can we hold it?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"The emperor forgives the sin! I can't hold it. Wang Gonggong said.

"Oh! How long can you keep it? Emperor Chongzhen asked again.

"If they are afraid of the destruction of the city of Beijing, they can hold it for a few days. If you ignore it, you won't be able to keep it for a day. I've heard that their cannons can blow a big hole in the city wall with a single shot. A volley of cannons came, and the walls fell. What do we have to defend the city? The prince said boldly.

"Huh! Get up! There are not many people who dare to tell the truth. Go down! Emperor Chongzhen listened to the words of the prince and felt a little chill in his heart. But he knew that the prince was telling the truth. On buying people's hearts, Zhang Zhimu is a master. Zhang Zhimu is definitely not as bad as the ministers say today. It's just that there are many things that the kiln gang may do more intelligently, and he can't see through it.

Anyway, Emperor Chongzhen thought that the affairs of Shanxi still had to be worked hard, and he couldn't let the kiln people take care of it in vain. He forgot that Shanxi was taken back from Li Zicheng by the Yaogang people.

But what did they do without waiting for them to come up with it? Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about this.

From the middle of June, the Dashun army began to attack the central capital Fengyang again.

Moreover, this time the Dashun army attacked more resolutely and sharply. It turned out that after the Dashun army retreated, the defense line re-established by the officers and soldiers was like paper paste, and it collapsed at the first touch. And the intelligence shows that it was General Quan Liu Zongmin who organized the attack this time. This is a person who makes officers and soldiers shudder when they mention it.

The news of the distress kept sending to Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen was anxious again. He wanted to ask the kiln people for help immediately, but last time he ordered the kiln people to retire, and now he really can't speak. He hated those people in Yingtianfu to death, they just saw that the Yaogang people were not pleasing to their eyes, and they had just finished helping them fight, so they had to squeeze the Yaogang people away, and now it's okay, the Dashun army is coming, and they are in a hurry.

Emperor Chongzhen gave Zuo Liangyu several orders to let him send troops, but Zuo Liangyu did not send troops because of insufficient military salaries and many soldiers to flee. Emperor Chongzhen promised to give them additional military salaries, and they reluctantly agreed, but they just didn't move.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen remembered that the good people of Yaogang had come. When there is an emergency, the kiln gang will not look at it. But now I really can't talk to the kiln people.

As a last resort, Emperor Chongzhen transferred all the troops trained in Zhongshu Province to the south.

Li Zicheng acted, and the Yaogang command center also became nervous. There were constantly military intelligence reports coming from the front, because Li Zhi had set up a large number of intelligence points there. I am afraid that Yaogang's grasp of the battlefield situation is clearer than that of Li Zicheng and Emperor Chongzhen. The flags of the Dashun Army and the official army are planted on the sand table, showing the battlefield situation at a glance.

Several giants of Yaogang are drinking tea and appreciating the gains and losses of both sides here as if they were appreciating a game of chess. With this, everyone has no mind to be busy with anything else.

Yan Boju held the purple sand pot, smiled, squeezed his little eyes and said, "Hehe! Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's much more enjoyable to watch this than to watch a play. ”

Lu Chengxiang also came over today to join in the fun, saying: "No, this is thrilling!" Then every time you move a small flag, you don't know how many people will die in that place?"

By the end of June, the Dashun army once again surrounded Fengyang, the central capital. At this time, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stand it.

He immediately flew a pigeon and sent a message to Gonggong Li, asking him to come and ask the Yaogang people to send troops. The emperor said in the letter that if the people of Yaogang did not make a move, Fengyang, the central capital, would not be able to keep it. Please send troops to help no matter what.

Zhang Zhimu received this letter from Emperor Chongzhen and said to Gonggong Li: "Okay! I received the letter, you can reply first, I will look for you if there is something. ”

"Don't mind! Zhang Dongjia, this military situation is urgent, we can't wait any longer! Gonggong Li stomped his feet in a hurry.

Zhang Zhimu was very moved by the emperor's good servant in his heart, but he still didn't want to tell him more. Ignored him.

Gonggong Li had no choice but to leave.

Zhang Zhimu came to the command center and told everyone that the emperor finally sent a letter requesting troops.

Chen Yufeng said: "From the flag of the Dashun Army to Fengyang, I feel that the emperor should not be able to hold back. ”

Ouyang He took out a written letter and handed it to Zhang Zhimu.

Zhang Zhimu saw that the letter was a reply letter written by Ouyang He to the emperor on behalf of Zhang Zhimu. The letter said that there is no army that can send troops now, because the brigade is at the border pass. Haven't gathered yet. Last time, I finally pulled out a part of the army and sent it to Zhenjiang. After the withdrawal, the border pass army was not enough, and it was already sent to the border pass. It's too late to bring back troops. Our warships took longer to reach the Yangtze River. Please ask the emperor to choose other soldiers and horses.

"Okay, I'll copy it and send it back to the emperor." Zhang Zhimu said.

After inviting Gonggong Li, Gonggong Li immediately asked: "Dongjia Zhang, when will you send troops, I'll go with you!" ”

"That's not what you should ask." Zhang Zhimu handed Gonggong Li a sealed letter and said, "You quickly send someone to send it back to the emperor." ”

Gonggong Li didn't dare to delay, so he sent it back to the emperor.

When the emperor received Zhang Zhimu's letter, he was stunned. What happened to the kiln gang people who had always responded to their needs before? Now it's 100,000 urgent, how can they not send troops? Emperor Chongzhen forgot how he calculated the kiln gang people, and also forgot how he drove the kiln gang people away from Zhenjiang, he only remembered that the kiln gang people used to be the most obedient, and now they are a little uncomfortable.

There was no way, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to issue an order to order the garrisons of Nanzhili and all the prefectures and counties of Zhejiang, Henan, and Shandong to support the front line. But how can those soldiers fight, they can drag on one by one, and they will not leave the garrison and go to the battlefield.

However, the officers and soldiers guarding the central capital Fengyang are also really desperate. Those officials of the imperial court knew that if Li Zicheng did not kill them if the city was broken, the emperor would also kill them, and if they desperately defended the city, they might still have a chance to live.

For a time, the cannon inside and outside the capital Fengyang City rumbled, and the blood flowed like a river. In the end, Liu Zongmin personally went to the city to supervise the battle, and finally in early July, the Dashun army entered Fengyang City.

After the Dashun army entered the city, they slaughtered the city for three days. The rebuilt ancestral tomb of the Zhu family was dug again.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard the news that Zhongdu had been attacked again, he roared and fainted.

The imperial doctor came over and worked hard for a long time before he woke up Emperor Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen lay quietly for a while, and then asked people to help him up. Dictated a letter, and asked people to send it to the kiln people. He knew that the only one who could save the crisis was the Yaogang people. This time, the emperor's letter was written with sincerity, and he hoped to impress the people of Yaogang.

But when Gonggong Li rushed to the kiln this time, he couldn't find Zhang Zhimu.

Gonggong Li came to the front of the Yaogang office building and said that he wanted to see Zhang Zhimu. But the guards let him in and told him that Mr. Zhang was not in the kiln. Gonggong Li asked where he went, and the doorman said he didn't know.

There was no way, Gonggong Li had to say that he wanted to see Yang Yulin. The doorman made a phone call to Yang Yulin and said that Gonggong Li downstairs asked to see him.

Gonggong Li listened to the doorman's words beside him, and the tendons in his neck rose up. He looked at the doorman's neck and gritted his teeth and thought to himself, I can break his neck with just one move. The heart said that I saw a Yang Yulin and asked to see him, which is like a dog looking down on people. However, Gonggong Li swallowed his saliva and still endured it. People have to bow their heads under the eaves, and if they can't do the emperor's business, someone will break their necks.

Yang Yulin didn't mean to let Father-in-law Li go upstairs, let him take the phone, and said to him: "Mr. Zhang is not here, what are you looking for me?" ”

"Oops! There's something big I want to tell you face to face. You let me go upstairs! I can't say much more. "Grandpa Li thought to himself that he couldn't let her use the phone here to send me away.

There was no way, Yang Yulin had no choice but to let Gonggong Li come upstairs.

went upstairs and sat down, Yang Yulin didn't mean to serve tea, and Gonggong Li didn't dare to ask for tea this time.

Gonggong Li smiled flatteringly and said, "Hehe! Miss Yang, you can help me meet Zhang Dongjia, I have a big business to see him. ”

"You're not used to telling lies. I think that others are also telling lies. I told you, Mr. Zhang is not here, why don't you believe it? Yang Yulin was a little angry.

"Hey, hey! Miss Yang, if Mr. Zhang is out of the kiln, can I not know? "Gonggong Li wants to remind Yang Yulin that their information in the west field is accurate.

"Come on! Don't get scared! Yang Yulin said contemptuously, "Your intelligence officers are deaf ears in Yaogang. Tell me, you don't have anything else to do, I still have something to do. ”

"Don't! Miss Yang, I am doing things for the emperor. Zhang Dongjia is not here, how can I go back and talk to the emperor? "Grandpa Li can't just leave.

"You're tough!" Yang Yulin said, "Mr. Zhang went to the Hetao. The Mongols over there went out again and robbed us of a wasteland. Mr. Zhang didn't worry about going to see it for himself. ”

"Such a little thing, do you want Mr. Zhang to see it for himself?" Gonggong Li stared at Yang Yulin with small eyes.

"You guys are really, you want us to send troops in a while, and we can't help but send out some troops, and you have to withdraw again. We withdrew and moved our troops to the border. The pass is so big, how many soldiers are enough? They kept shouting that there were not enough soldiers, and they were afraid that the Mongols would come over. The soldiers who have been transferred over want to be called back again, have they been transferred? Mr. Zhang didn't go to talk about it personally, who could mobilize troops. Yang Yulin said as she counted.

All of a sudden, Father-in-law Li couldn't figure out the truth or falsehood. It is said that what Yang Yulin said is reasonable, and Yang Yulin's expression when she speaks is not like a lie. However, looking at Yang Yulin, Father-in-law Li's heart was also moved, Yang Yulin, a woman, raised a child, and she was even more charming. His mind just moved, and Gonggong Li hurriedly collected his thoughts, because he saw Yang Yulin's eyes emitting a fierce light.

Yang Yulin really hated Gonggong Li's small eyes and kept them on his face.

There was no way, Gonggong Li had to leave. But out of the Yaogang office building, Gonggong Li wanted to sit down and cry. If you can't see Zhang Zhimu, you can't do it! That's a matter of life and death, the emperor explained such a big thing, if he went back and said that he couldn't even see Zhang Zhimumian, he would really move if his head was not good.

Father-in-law Li sat on the steps of the office building for a while, and suddenly slapped his head and said, "There is!" ”

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".