readx; Thanks to the carrier pigeon system, Zhu Youzhen learned of a rebellion in Xiangyang, nearly 2,000 miles away, just one day later. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Zhu Youzhen immediately returned to the palace and summoned officials from the cabinet, the Sixth Ministry, the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, Dali Temple and other departments late at night, and military generals such as Xie Sheng, Hao Yongzhong, Li Dingguo, and Li Laiheng also attended.

Zhu Youzhen first introduced the basic situation of the rebellion. According to Chengji's report, the leader of the rebellion was Zhu Yousong, the king of Dechang, supplemented by Hong Chengchou's Hong soldiers, and colluded with hundreds of thousands of thieves such as Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong, and the momentum was huge. Their plan was to wait for news of Zhu Youzhen's assassination, and then install Zhu Changxun, the Fu King of Luoyang, as emperor to replace the imperial court of Jingshi. As for the military deployment of the rebels, Cheng Jiming and Dou Fame certainly have no way to know.

Zhu Youzhen also told the ministers that he was almost stabbed in Tanzhe Temple, and it had been determined that it was the White Lotus Sect. In other words, this rebellion is likely to be threaded by the White Lotus Sect, otherwise it will be difficult for the three forces of King Fu, Hong Chengchou, and the thief to knead together. Now that the matter has come to this, how to deal with it, please let the ministers speak freely.

This time, the ministers of the Donglin Department rarely satisfied Zhu Youzhen, they were extremely shocked at first, and then immediately blew up the pot, and resolutely advocated that the imperial court immediately raise troops to quell the rebellion. In fact, this is not difficult to understand, originally in the Wanli Dynasty's "fight for the country" incident, the Donglin Party resolutely advocated the establishment of the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo as the crown prince, and offended Zhu Changxun long ago.

Later, there was another "attack case", that is, a madman suddenly broke into the East Palace where Zhu Changluo lived, beat everyone he met, and was quickly arrested. Originally, this was an inexplicable case, but the Donglin Party at that time skillfully induced a confession, so that the crazy murderer recognized the eunuchs under Zheng Guifei, who supported Zhu Changxun's biological mother, as the instigator behind the scenes, and finally made Emperor Wanli make up his mind to send Zhu Changxun to Luoyang to take up the domain. If Zhu Changxun can turn over now, then can they, the Donglin Party, still have a good one?

However, on the question of how to counter the rebellion, ministers are usually disagreeable. Some people advocate that "if you want to fight outside, you must first secure the inside", and it is necessary to mobilize the Shanhaiguan and Xuanda border armies to enter the Central Plains to fight; Some people feel that the Hong soldiers and the thieves have hundreds of thousands of troops, and the number of officers and troops in various places is at an absolute disadvantage, so it is better to temporarily abandon Henan and Hubei, and ensure the safety of Beijing and Nanjing first; There are also people who think that King Fu may be confused for a while, and may not really dare to confront the imperial court, so it is better to send an envoy to reprimand him and make him take the initiative to ask for guilt.

Zhu Youzhen did not say a word, and listened carefully to the discussion of the ministers. It wasn't until the five drums of the day that many people couldn't stand it anymore, so he announced that the meeting would be temporarily adjourned, and the discussion would continue at the court meeting two hours later. The ministers dispersed one after another, but Zhu Youzhen secretly ordered the secretariat to keep Sun Chengzong, Wang Zaijin, and Yuan Keli, three old ministers who knew military affairs, and several confidant generals, to continue the small meeting.

He said straight to the point: "Although the ministers are loyal to the king, they don't understand the strategy, and what they say is not feasible. The current situation is indeed very difficult, first of all, there is a strong enemy outside the gate eyeing us, 'the emperor is not in a hurry, the eunuch is in a hurry' has just returned, and he must be willing to retaliate. If the border army is withdrawn and the Manchu iron cavalry suddenly arrives, how to deal with it?

"Second, this rebellion is a collusion between the official army and the thieves, which is even more harmful. Although the combat effectiveness of the thieves is average, they have strong mobility ability, and they can grab wherever they go, and they will be coerced wherever they go, just like locusts crossing the border, causing great damage to the place. If they are allowed to wreak havoc in the Central Plains, or even cut off the connection between the Jingshi and the rich areas south of the Yangtze River, after a long time, the grain from the south will not be able to be transported, the officials and troops will have no pay, and the people will have no food, and they will inevitably be in chaos without a war. As for Hong Chengchou, he is a cunning and ruthless opponent.

"Third, this time the rebels are not only a rebellion, they also want to support Zhu Changxun, trying to set up another court to command the world. Jingshi is the northernmost in the country, but Luoyang is located in the Central Plains, so it must have a great advantage in spreading rumors. At that time, rumors will be flying all over the world, and the officials and people everywhere will not know the truth, even if they dare not help the rebels, they may not dare to help the imperial court to quell the rebellion. ”

When Zhu Youzhen said these three difficulties, everyone fell silent, thinking hard about how to break the situation. After a while, Sun Chengzong spoke first: "The minister will talk about this third article first. If Zhu Changxun wants to usurp his position, the prerequisite is that the assassination is successful. But His Majesty is safe and sound now, and it would be a rebellion for him to try to ascend the throne again. His Majesty can immediately use flying pigeons to spread the book throughout the country, saying that the White Lotus Sect failed to assassinate, Zhu Yousong, Hong Chengchou and others rebelled, and the imperial court has known about it, and immediately sent a large army to conquer it. In this way, Zhu Changxun may not dare to ascend the throne, and it will not be so easy to call on other places to respond to the rebellion. ”

"Sun Shangshu is reasonable." Zhu Youzhen groaned, "But it's not enough to rely on flying pigeons to pass on the book, I'm afraid I have to drive the expedition in person!" ”

Everyone was taken aback when they heard this, and just about to dissuade them, Zhu Youzhen said in a deep voice: "This rebellion has been planned for a long time, Zhu Yousong has already raised troops in Xiangyang, and there is no way to retreat, so he will not stop because the assassination failed." Even if I wasn't dead, they would have spread the rumor that I was dead. And the best way to debunk the rumors is for me to show up. When the officials, soldiers, and people saw me, they naturally didn't believe the rumors anymore. ”

"But Jianyu has just retreated, what if His Majesty leaves Beijing and they make a comeback?" Yuan Keli said worriedly.

"So I can't move the Shanhaiguan and Xuanda border troops, at least not in a big way, I have to keep them to deter the Tartars." Zhu Youzhen pondered, "And I won't leave the capital too far, at most in Henan." No matter where the Tartars come from, it will take at least five to seven days to reach the capital division, and I have time to rush back after receiving the urgent report. ”

"But there is no need for the border army, and the Beijing camp is responsible for defending the Beijing division, how can there be enough troops to suppress the thieves?" Wang Zaijin wondered.

Zhu Youzhen was also worried about this matter, and when he saw that several generals had not said a word, he encouraged them: "You also talk about your views!" ”

Xie Sheng, Hao Yongzhong, and Li Laiheng looked at Li Dingguo together, because they all knew that Li Dingguo's strategy was far superior to their own. Li Dingguo also had a clear mind, and said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, my lords, the last general thinks that although the thieves have a wide army, they are mostly rabble, and there is nothing to be afraid of. Only Hong Chengchou's men and horses are brave and good at fighting, plus the guards and soldiers in the Luoyang area, the strength is at least more than 60,000. If these rebels hold us back on the south bank of the Yellow River, the thieves will be able to attack and plunder on all sides. Therefore, Hong Chengchou must be defeated first, and if Hong Chengchou is defeated, the thieves can be eliminated sooner or later. ”

"But as you said, the rebel army has 60,000 troops, how many troops should the imperial court send to suppress it?" Zhu Youzhen asked.

"Soldiers are expensive but not too expensive." Li Dingguo said indifferently, "The last general is foolish, and he should still be responsible for defending the Beijing Division with Xie Sheng, and allocate one to twenty thousand cavalry from the 3,000 battalions of the Beijing Division, and quickly join forces with the vanguard of Governor Lu." Then pretended to confront the rebels, and secretly sent a small force to raid Luoyang to capture the thief and capture the king! ”