Lu Xiangsheng fled back to Yanghe, climbed the city tower to count the number of people, the whole army of the Biao cavalry was wiped out, and the 5,000 new army only came back 2,000, he had never been so cowardly, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and he was angry when he saw the naturalized governor Liu Zhilun coming in a hurry.

"Liu Yuancheng, this governor wants to join you, you are not strict in governing the army, indulge your disciples in rebellion, just wait for the court to punish the crime, what are you still doing in Yanghe, do you want to sacrifice Yanghe City?"

"Ben Fu's impeachment of you has been sent to Jingshi, and you have to speed it up." Liu Zhilun sneered, held the battlements and looked down, he had been in Yanghe for several days, and patiently persuaded Lu Xiangsheng not to act rashly, but they quarreled with each other, both of them threatened to impeach each other, Lu Xiangsheng's defeat was expected, Liu Zhilun did not gloat, and after looking at the chasing soldiers outside the city for a while, he shook his head and said, "If it weren't for the worry that the situation in Xuanda would be out of control, Ben Fu would have left a long time ago, Lu Jiandou, the naturalized army did not rebel, and it was the people who defeated you." ”

"Nonsense, how can the new army personally trained by this governor be defeated by the common people, and you still dare to shield your disciples, it is clear that he led the elite into the customs to rebel." Lu Xiangsheng said angrily.

"If Li Hanmin is here, none of you will be able to come back, the naturalized people are all soldiers, and the people will never leave their swords all the year round, and you will not be wronged at all if you defeat them," Liu Zhilun ignored Lu Xiangsheng, stood up straight and shouted to the city, "Fang Zhikun, Buck, and the two of you, Wang Fang and Zhang Guoji, don't hide, you are so bold, you dare to confront the officials and soldiers of the imperial court, with this official here, don't want to set foot in Yanghe City." ”

The four people who were named had no choice but to stand up, the four of them ran fast, but they didn't expect to bump into Liu Zhilun, and several other people definitely didn't dare to show up - Liu Zhilun was in the Fengzhou Department to investigate illegality, this person is more old-fashioned, and the big mistake must be handed over to the law department for severe punishment, and if he catches a small mistake, he will force people to study with him for a few days, who can stand it, everyone's fear of him is second only to Liu Tianren.

"Lord Governor, it turns out that you are also here, well, for your sake, we will not fight Yanghe City," Wang Fangpi replied with a smile, in fact, there was no order from the Grand Commander's Palace, and he did not dare to attack the city, glancing at the tall man beside Liu Zhilun, he was very suspicious that this person was the Governor of Xuanda, and deliberately raised his voice and shouted, "But we are not to blame for this matter, it is the Governor of the Ming Kingdom who made the first move, it is natural to kill people to pay for their lives and repay debts, and the people of Bai Mountaineering cannot die in vain, we have reported the case to the Dafa Division, The governor of the Ming Kingdom must be sent to naturalization for trial. ”

"Nonsense, how can the governor of the Ming Dynasty be at the mercy of you, this official has already explained this matter to the imperial court, you go back, the imperial court will judge." Liu Zhilun stopped Lu Xiangsheng, who was a little excited, and shouted loudly to the city.

"No, the court will only protect each other, Lu Xiangsheng is nicknamed 'King Lu Yan', and he has killed countless displaced people, this time he must not be let go, he must be arrested." Zhang Guoji shouted.

"Yes, if we don't catch Lu Xiangsheng, we will never leave Yanghe." The common people of the city also raised their sticks and shouted.

Lu Xiang was trembling with anger, and ordered the officers and soldiers defending the city to open fire, Liu Zhilun hurriedly waved his hand, dragged him away, Lu Xiang was still shouting in his mouth: "The chaotic people are lawless, this governor has ordered the general army of Datong to lead the troops to suppress them, and they must not be spared." ”

"Lord Governor, you better go back to the Governor's Palace, I will guard the city and the city for you, forgive them and don't dare to enter the city for half a step," Liu Zhilun dragged Lu Xiangsheng down the city wall, shook his head and whispered, "The water in the fourth town of Xuanda is too deep, no one will come to help you, it is easy for them to enter the city, didn't you notice that the officers and soldiers guarding the city were secretly making glances and gesturing to the city?" ”

Lu Xiangsheng returned to the governor's palace in a daze, and the court officials who came back from naturalization were waiting for him - these people were cheeky to naturalize and take office, and people always wanted to be officials in a word, and no one paid attention to them when they went to the council, and they went to the naturalization square and were driven away by the people, and they couldn't stand it after a few days of naturalization, and after three days, they had to pay for the food and the post house out of their own pockets, and they all came back in a gloomy way, and vented to Lu Xiangsheng with a belly of fire - all blamed him for hurting everyone, and the governor of Xuanda had to rearrange errands for them, In addition, he had to pay them money, Lu Xiangsheng couldn't bear it anymore and drove these guys out.

In the next few days, Lu Xiangsheng was never clean again, the homeless people outside the city were clamoring to arrest him, the unemployed officials outside the governor's mansion were clamoring for money and officials, Jiang Xuan, the general soldier of Yanghe Division, was nowhere to be found, and the general soldier of Datong also wrote that he could not send troops to help, because his soldiers had not been paid for half a year, and they might mutini if they left the camp. Lu Xiangsheng was a little at a loss, there was nothing wrong with suppressing the separatist forces to maintain the unity of the imperial court, there was nothing wrong with enforcing the law to crack down on profiteers, there was nothing wrong with corrupt officials, and there was nothing wrong with recovering the fields of the guards to resettle the displaced people, but no one understood him, and he deliberately did the opposite, and now he can only ask the court for help.

Jingshi, the courtiers still can't take care of the governor of Xuanda, and their eyes are fixed on two people - Wen Tiren, who has served as the first assistant for eight years, and Yang Sichang, the new secretary of the military department, one may come to the end, and the other is like a new star rising, how the court situation will change as a result, this is what the courtiers are most concerned about.

Wen Tiren wears the hat of the eunuch and wears his tail between his tail, he has been mixed up for so many years, after all, he still doesn't have enough Taoism, and he planted a big heel fight - his rival Qian Qianyi returned to his hometown Changshu and was unwilling to be lonely, relying on the identity of the former Donglin boss, for many years he fanned the flames behind the scenes, instigating Qingliu to constantly pour dirty water on Wen Shoufu, which is unbearable, Wen Tiren retaliated with a tooth for a tooth, and secretly made Zhang Hanru, a student from Changshu, file a complaint, accusing Qian Qianyi of making friends, slandering the court, and even if the domestic slaves were harmful to the township, the magistrate immediately arrested Qian Qianyi and sent him to prison. Qian Qianyi was scared, the charges against him could be big or small, it all depends on the above meaning, if Wen Tiren interferes, there will be absolutely no way for him to live, so he wrote to Cao Huachun, the eunuch of ceremonies, for help. Cao Huachun is the apprentice of the old eunuch Wang An, an ally of the Donglin Party, and the Qingliu Party has always been close, so he naturally wants to help speak, Wen Tiren was dizzy, forgetting that the eunuch Cao was getting the holy favor, and even told the emperor the case secretly, and asked to deal with Cao Huachun together, which completely offended Cao Huachun, and recommended himself to the emperor to try the case in person, the result of the Cao eunuch trial was of course Zhang Hanru's false accusation, and the mastermind behind the scenes Wen Tiren, the emperor was furious and ordered Zhang Hanru to be shackled, so frightened that Wen Tiren was panicked all day long, and asked to avoid hiding at home.

Wen Tiren does not form a party and is not greedy for money, but he is power-hungry, and whoever hinders him from being an official will be rectified, such as Wen Zhenmeng, Zheng Zheng and others, the latter has been in prison for two years, these talented people with high eyes and low hands are very annoying, and it is not bad to suppress them, but this case is unusual, Qian Qianyi is definitely not as innocent as Cao Huachun said, and Wen Tiren's behavior is enough to do it, this person is getting bolder and bolder, and he can't continue to stay in the cabinet - the emperor feels uncomfortable when he thinks of the courtiers, this group of useless guys will only fight in the nest, and Wen Tiren is the same, It's just that he is more obedient, and he still has to use people he promoted to handle government affairs, such as Yang Sichang, who is talented and proficient in practice, which is very different from the previous military department scholars.

Yang Sichang resigned for his father's funeral, and when his stepmother died of illness, he was worried in his hometown Wuling Ding for a long time, but the emperor did not forget him, and issued an edict to reinstate the dead Zhang Fengyi as the secretary of the military department. Favored by the Holy Grace, Yang Sichang was grateful, and put forward three major strategies for the imperial court to get rid of internal and external troubles - "first settle the inside and then the outside, first eat enough and then the soldiers, first protect the people and then swing the army", a year ago, the military department also put forward a similar view to Yan Jizu in the matter, but it was too empty and unboundary, and Yang Sichang came up with a specific implementation plan.

Regarding the outside must first be inside, Yang Sichang believes that the general trend of the world is like a human body, the Beijing master is the head, Xuanda Jiliao is the shoulder arm, the Central Plains south of the Yellow River and the north of the Yangtze River is the heart, the border beacon fire appears outside the shoulder arm, take it very urgently, the troubles of the flow of the Kou in the heart, the middle is very deep, the urgent can not be delayed, and the deep can not be ignored, it is precisely because of the urgency of the outside that we have to settle the inside, and the peace with the East is humiliating, but it is imperative to suppress the Kou.

For example, the composition of the official army is seven steps and three horses, and the Liukou is actually seven horses and three horses, and the back and forth is like the wind chasing them, and the homeless people are very large, and it is difficult to have a chance of winning if the officers and soldiers are insufficient, so it is necessary to raise 2.8 million taels of "salary" every year to increase the army by 120,000, and there are four sources of "salary": one is to lose, and each mu of land is sent six rice he, and one stone per meter is converted into eight dollars of silver, and 1.9 million taels of silver can be levied every year; A overflow of land, Wanli Dynasty Zhang Juzheng Qingzhang out of the new land did not increase the salary, this time together with the distribution, it is estimated that 400,000 taels of silver can be obtained; For example, it is said that the number of students in the school superintendent was sold, that is, the number of students in the national prison was sold, and the money was difficult to estimate; One is called post delivery, that is, 200,000 taels are allocated every year from the expenses saved by cutting down the post station, so that there will be enough food and soldiers.

With Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Fengyang as the four squares, the governors of these four places were mainly to prevent and wait to be exterminated in one fell swoop. Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five northwestern provinces, knows how to fight well, and has the help of Sun Chuanting, who exterminated the giant Kou Gao Yingxiang, so he is naturally competent, but Wang Jiazhen, who took over the military affairs of the five southeastern provinces as Premier Lu Xiangsheng, is too weak and difficult to cooperate with Hong Chengchou. Yang Sichang also suggested that a comprehensive crackdown should be carried out in the winter when the thieves are inaccessible, and strive to achieve great success this winter and next spring, so that the "expulsion of wages" will only be levied for one year, which can reduce the burden on the people.

In April this year, Phi Dao, which had been in operation for nearly 20 years since Mao Wenlong, fell, Shen Shikui, the chief soldier of Dongjiang Town, was defeated and took Shicheng Island, and Jin Riguan, the deputy chief soldier, was killed, and the situation in Liaodong could not be reversed, and at the same time, the thieves became more and more rampant. The emperor agreed with Yang Sichang's proposition in his heart, but the two things of peace with the East and the levy of "salary" were too sensitive, without the support of the cabinet, he did not dare to decide, and when he was hesitating, Lu Xiangsheng and Liu Zhilun attacked each other one after another, and the emperor couldn't help but shake his head, Lu Xiangsheng was too arrogant, and the naturalized general soldier was full of thorns, and even Qingliu was afraid of three points, and he was afraid that the world would not create trouble, Yang Sichang was also extremely dissatisfied with Lu Xiangsheng, and suggested that the emperor should make a showdown with the cabinet, and the decision must be made as soon as possible. So the emperor moved to the left middle door to summon the cabinet ministers to play right, except for the first assistant Wen Tiren to avoid staying at home, the other four cabinet ministers Zhang Zhifa, Kong Zhenyun, He Fengsheng, Huang Shijun arrived together, of course, there is also the ability minister Yang Sichang, the emperor has already included him in the cabinet in his heart.

The cabinet meeting was very dull, Yang Sichang looked excited, his mouth was like a river, and he hyped up his "three major strategies" to the cabinet ministers, but the cabinet ministers are all old fritters in the officialdom, and they will not follow him through the troubled waters, and they will never express their position. The emperor was impatient, his eyes were fixed on Zhang Zhifa, this person entered the cabinet at the same time as Wen Zhenmeng, and he was older than several other cabinet ministers, Wen Tiren was not there, he was the foreman cabinet minister.

Zhang Zhifa has no ambition, he can be satisfied with entering the cabinet and mixing around, he is sandwiched between the emperor and the ministers, he has always been cautious in his words and deeds, and he must not offend anyone, Wen Zhen Meng was only proud of being in the cabinet for a month and was driven away, but he did it for three years, it is very difficult for this kind of person to open his mouth, and he held it for a long time before he said cautiously: "The old minister thinks that what Lord Yang said is to increase the army and suppress the thieves, but it is not appropriate to levy the 'salary', Chongzhen levied 6.8 million taels of Liao in three years, and the people's grievances boiled and the thieves arose, so that the world was in chaos, and then levy' I am afraid that the people will not be able to bear the risk and take such a catastrophe! ”

"Boss, the students think that one of the thirty of my Daming Tian is not high, and the levy of one or two cents per mu of Liao Tian, and the salary is only six percent of the mu of land, although the people are bitter, they should be able to bear it, if according to the student's plan, the thief can be a great success in three months, and then the salary can be deposed." Yang Sichang hurriedly argued.

"Lord Yang was born in an official eunuch, probably don't know the suffering of the people, as you said, the field endowment and the addition of the faction are not heavy, and the people can live by guarding their own fields, so why should they leave their hometowns to ask for hardships? You have spoken wildly, and you have succeeded in suppressing thieves in three months, if what you say is not true, dare to apologize to the people of the world? He Fengsheng's ears were not good, and after listening to Huang Shijun beside him, he couldn't help but reprimand angrily.

Yang Sichang's face immediately turned red, of course he knew what He Fengsheng was referring to, the Ming Dynasty's officials were corrupt, as long as the imperial court gave a name, officials at all levels dared to increase the code layer by layer, with ten times, a hundred times the increase, the tax and additional distribution of acres of land may be only one or two dollars of silver, but it can not be stopped by three or five taels of silver on the heads of the people, and it is not unreasonable for the courtiers to oppose the Canadian faction, everyone understands the drawbacks, but no one can do anything.

The emperor shook his head slightly and sighed: "The people are all Ming children, how can I be willing to send more 'salary' to suffer the common people in the world, I am not a faint king, since I ascended the throne, I have reduced meals, stopped dancing and music, and boycotted procurement, and I am willing to share weal and woe with the military and the people of the world, but the internal and external troubles are difficult to overcome, the national food and salary are insufficient, I have nothing to do, you Aiqing can have a good plan?" ”

The ministers were silent again, and after a while, Kong Zhenyun was stared at by the emperor and couldn't stand it, and quietly said, "If the money and grain don't come from the people, it should be sent to the treasury, maybe the internal money is ......", the emperor's face changed, and he was so frightened that he immediately shut up.

"The treasure is indeed empty, because the grain is no different from the additional distribution, the number of the previous check is about a few, and the limit is to be taken in February, why don't you see it?" The emperor was a little angry, the courtiers owed gold and silver and did not give, and they reached out to ask for money, and the little money in the house had already been exhausted, he subconsciously touched the corners of his old clothes, and said with some sadness, "I ordered the noble family to donate to the year, and I have resisted so far, and I have no heart for the country, even the provincial squires do not donate, and when the thief comes, it is all for him, why is it so stupid?" I also discussed with the military department Shangshu about local survival, in addition to the expenditure of officials, teachers and students, most of them are used for the clan and the clan, and then the local military salary, although there is a surplus now, but it has no help for major things, I have been raising soldiers for three hundred years, but there is no generosity and concern for the country! ”

The ministers hurriedly knelt down together and wept and shouted guilty, this is the old way, the emperor is not strange, waved his hand and continued: "Zhu Aiqing understands everything, but he doesn't want to do anything, it's just that, I have to act arbitrarily, has the cabinet discussed how to reply to the Governor of Xuanda and the Governor of Naturalization?" ”

This is no risk, although the reputation of the naturalized general soldier is stinky, the popularity is getting better and better, on the other hand, Lu Xiangsheng, this person is from Yixing, and Zhou Yanru is a fellow villager, it must be a party of Qingliu, otherwise how could he be blown into the sky with his record of suppressing thieves, from a small daimyo prefect to a high position in the governor within a few years, the previous practice of the country is, and the current Sun Chuanting's military exploits are by no means weaker than him, why is there no such special encounter? The ministers remembered the old things that were abused by Qingliu, and vigorously criticized Lu Xiangsheng for disturbing the people, causing trouble, and causing chaos, and the emperor also thought that Lu Xiangsheng had a heavy trust, and forgot all the things that agreed to Lu Xiangsheng's suppression and naturalization, and Liu Zhilun and Li Yu, who beat people, became sympathetic victims.

Lu Xiangsheng and Liu Zhilun only said that the merchants and the people were in turmoil, and they didn't dare to mention a vicious fight between the two sides, Yang Sichang was sure that the governor of Xuanda planted a big fight this time, and the water in the four towns of Xuanda was very deep, and the outsider Lu Xiangsheng was lucky not to be drowned, and he said justice after gloating, and the governor of Xuanda did not practice side affairs and was eager to serve the country, but he was in a hurry to make a mistake, just say that it is powerful, and there is no need to delve into it, but it is obviously inappropriate to continue to meddle in naturalization affairs, it is better to deal with the aftermath by Ye Tinggui, the governor of Datong, and Liu Zhilun, the governor of naturalization, and calm down the incident as soon as possible. As for the naturalized general soldier, if he leaves his post without permission and causes trouble, he should be severely punished, and then sent back to his post as soon as possible.

The ministers deliberately avoided the issue of peace with the Dongyu, and blindly opposed the imposition of "expropriation", but said a lot of important things, and the emperor was impatient, leaving only Yang Sichang and signaling the others to retreat.