Qian Qianyi looked at Chongzhen and seemed to be in good spirits, and couldn't help but compliment the emperor a few words, and then shifted the topic to the incident of Zuo Shunmen's book this morning.

Zhu Youzhen looked at Shoufu quite playfully and said: "Mr. seems to be very interested in their book, is it possible that the cabinet also thinks that now the disasters in various parts of the Ming Dynasty are also celestial phenomena to warn me, and I want to apologize to the subjects of the world and repent?" ”

Qian Qianyi hurriedly got up to avoid the table, bowed to Chongzhen and said, "The minister doesn't dare, and the minister has no intention of doing so." The minister thought that these calamities were nothing but astronomical phenomena, and that it was entirely the self-righteousness of some philistines to link them with the warnings of the heavens, and asked Your Majesty not to have the same knowledge as these foolish people, so as not to disturb the world. ”

Zhu Youzhen took a sip of hot tea with a teacup, and said in a flat tone: "Jin Shengxian has insight into people's hearts, Wu Weiye's articles are majestic, can these two people be regarded as mediocre and stupid?" ”

Qian Qianyi's forehead suddenly began to sweat, he had been the first assistant by the emperor's side for so long, and he was relatively familiar with His Majesty's temperament. If the other person is still willing to get angry, it means that the worst step has not yet been reached.

If it is such a calm and rational state now, then it means that the emperor has made up his mind to deal with the case by exhaustion.

Although Qian Qianyi seems to be a little weak on weekdays, he is still commendable in terms of protecting his friends and disciples. Therefore, even though he saw that the emperor had made up his mind, he still pleaded for Jin Shengsian and Wu Weiye.

"Jin and Wu are just literati and gentlemen, and some cleverness may be visible in small things, but what is the difference between their views and that of fools and fools in such national affairs?

Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has been strategizing in the midst of everything, rejecting strong enemies externally, and managing people's livelihood internally, which can be said to turn the tide and fall immediately, which is the real great wisdom. If it weren't for Your Majesty, I really don't know where today's Ming will be.

Jin Shengsi, Wu Weiye, these people, in front of His Majesty is the difference between candlelight and moonlight. Their wisdom is at most to illuminate the surroundings, and the wisdom of His Majesty can be born.

His Majesty pursued Jin Shengsian and Wu Weiye's nonsense, but the minister did not dare to stop it. But the minister feared that this would only make the reputation of these two fools and spread their nonsense. Your Majesty, please think twice. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at Qian Qianyi opposite in surprise, and said with a slight smile: "Today's gentleman really has a bit of the appearance of the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Mr. and I are the two sides of the same body of power in this country, whether there is more power on your side or more on my side, these are all internal contradictions of the ruling class, and we can still sit down and negotiate after all.

However, Jin Shengsian and Wu Weiye's book today is questioning my power base. If everyone can use astronomical phenomena to question the policies of the imperial court, will the imperial court still do things in the future?

If I can eat fasting and recite the Buddha to smooth the wind and rain and the peace of the country and the people, then what does this country need the Son of Heaven to do, wouldn't it be better to invite a great monk to be the emperor?

The Master and the Son have all said: The Son is silent and the power is confused. Today's literati and doctors are good, and while reading the books of the sages, they have become the gods of the people. Did this book of sages go into the dog's belly?

I don't mind sharing power, but I don't tolerate anyone questioning my power. Especially in the current Ming Dynasty, in the face of a once-in-a-century drought, without a united and convincing central power, how can the imperial court lead the local government out of this drought? ”

Hearing the emperor's answer, Qian Qianyi's heart suddenly cooled by half. However, he thought about it for a long time, and finally made an effort: "The minister does not dare to question His Majesty's decision, but His Majesty also said that now is an extraordinary period for the Ming Dynasty, and everyone from the capital to the local government should work together to fight the disaster."

If a major case is set off because of this incident, it will eventually distract some people and divert the energy of countless people from disaster relief affairs. Judging from the results, it will certainly have a negative impact on disaster relief services.

Therefore, the minister hopes that His Majesty will hand over this matter to the minister, so that the minister can persuade them well, and it will not be too late to deal with those stubborn people who do not repent of death. ”

Zhu Youzhen leaned on the chair and pondered for a long time before he said to Qian Qianyi: "I remember."

There is such a story in the book "Zuo Biography", Zichan said: Only the virtuous can subdue the people with leniency, and the second is as fierce as fierce. The husband is fierce, and the people are afraid of it, so he rarely dies. The water is cowardly, and the people play with it, and they are more dead.

I don't think I'm a virtuous person, so I don't take indulgence for tolerance. But since Mr. wants to take this matter over, I can't help but give him a chance. However, I want him to remember one thing, and it is not that this matter is left to him to deal with, so I will not pay attention to this matter. If things are not handled properly, I will still interfere myself..."

"It's over, it's all over..."Abu Aggis said to himself in despair as he fled from the battlefield outside Andijan again.

When the news that his Balkh army had been defeated at the city of Andijan last year and had to retreat to Kokand reached Tashkent, Bukhara, and Nader Muhammad, the first reaction was disbelief, then panic, and then debate over who was to blame for the defeat.

Nadir Muhammad also had to abandon the encirclement of the rebel hill people in the north of Bahr and return to Bukhara in person to argue with his political opponents and enlist the support of Bukhara Khan.

Although the imam Kuri of Bukhara Khan wanted to suppress the power of his brother Nadir Muhammad, he did not intend to exchange a piece of land for it. Moreover, the participation of the Mongols in the war also made him feel a great threat.

So he put down the calls of the princes and nobles of Bukhara to take responsibility for the defeat, and decided to mobilize men and horses to recover the Ferghana Basin. But with the defeat of the Balkh army and the rebellion of the hill people in the north of Balkh, it is clear that Nadir Mohammed is unable to deal with this war alone at this moment.

The forces that the Bukhara Khanate was able to call upon at this time were either near the capital, in the southern territories of the Khiva Khanate, and in Tashkent.

Naturally, the troops near the capital could not be easily mobilized, and the garrison of Tashkent could not be moved lightly to prevent the Kazakhs from moving south to raid and loot, so in the end they could only draw troops stationed in the southern territories of the Khiva Khanate. Together with some of the private troops recruited from the lords from various places, Imam Kuri cobbled together an army of 30,000 for Nadir Muhammad.

While seeing off Nadir Muhammad, Imam Kuri solemnly admonished the royal brother: "... The purpose of this war has changed, and the intervention of the Mongols has made it impossible for us to continue the confrontation with the Yarkand Khanate, otherwise the Bukhara Khanate will face unprecedented difficulties.

I want you to remember that the longer you are entangled with the Mongols in the East, the more the Persians in the south and the Kazakhs in the north will be ready to move. And the Khanate, deprived of the shock of its army, will soon turn its back on us and become a puppet of the Turkmens.

In order not to expose Bukhara to enemies on all sides, I ask you to reconcile with the Yarkand in a timely manner after you have recovered your territory, so that the Mongols will have no excuse to intervene in this war..."

Although Imam Kuri bitterly admonished his brother, Nadir Muhammad did not listen. He saw the invasion of the Yarkand Khanate as a personal challenge to himself.

The defeat of his son Abu Ajis made him feel that his reputation had been greatly damaged. As for the appearance of the Mongols on the battlefield, Nadir Muhammad's political sense was not as sensitive as that of his brother, who believed that these Mongols were merely mercenaries invited by the Yarkand Khanate, just like the Kyrgyz, and he was even less convinced that the Ming were rumored to be the supporters behind the Yarkand Khanate.

Nadir Muhammad had an army of 30,000 men handed over to him by his brother, and when he crossed the mountains and entered outside Kokand in the spring of 1639, he had 35,000 men.

At this time, the combined forces of the Ming, Yarkand Khanate, and the Kyrgyz people, plus the servants of Andijan and other surrendered cities, were only more than 32,000 people. If you add the garrisons in various places, the number of coalition troops besieging Andijan is less than 20,000.

Therefore, Arslan, the commander who presided over the siege of Kokand, followed the advice of his subordinates, sent men and horses to engage in several skirmishes with the reinforcements led by Nadir Muhammad, and after understanding the opponent's combat strength, he withdrew and retreated towards Andijan City.

Although the coalition forces retreated towards Andijan, they implemented a scorched earth strategy against the villages they passed through. The coalition forces removed all the supplies from these villages, relocated all the population, and burned the materials that could not be moved.

Such a strategy provoked the anger of the inhabitants of the Ferghana Basin and brought them to Nadir Mohammed's side, but it also succeeded in halting Nadir Mohammed's actions.

It was not easy for Nader Muhammad to lead such a large army into the Ferghana Basin. But the logistics of maintaining such a large army across the mountains were clearly not something that the Bukhara Khanate could support.

And in the rich Ferghana Basin, after another winter of raiding by coalition forces, the local population has little savings. As for the savings of the city of Kokand, after such a winter siege, there was not much left.

Seeing this, the officials of Abu Ajis and Kokand advised Nadir Muhammad that it would be better to halt the offensive for the time being, resume local agricultural production, and wait until autumn to march on Andijan.

Nadir Muhammad was not very fond of Abu Ajis's son, but after his defeat at the city of Andijan, he looked at him even more unpleasantly, so he not only severely reprimanded Jinyan's son and officials, but also whipped them.

Since then, there has been no suggestion to Nadir Muhammad to stop the march. However, it was suggested to him that although the coalition forces had implemented a scorched earth strategy, the coalition forces still relied mainly on the avenues located near the Narin River, and that villages far from the Narin River should still have surplus food.

Nadir Muhammad quickly accepted the suggestion and ordered the local chieftains to lead the way and levy rations in areas where the coalition had not yet arrived. Most of Nadir Muhammad's men came from outside the basin, and they did not show mercy to the inhabitants of the basin.

Moreover, the soldiers of the Bukhara Army saw themselves as having come to save the inhabitants of the basin, and they took it for granted that they would take advantage of them. As a result, they carried out more raids and all kinds of evil against the inhabitants of the basin than the coalition forces.

When Nadir Muhammad's army succeeded in gathering grain and forage, the coalition generals stationed in Andijan were shocked to find that many villages regarded them as kings, hoping that the coalition would drive the tyrannical Bukharans out of the basin.