Chapter 636: The Imperial Court Is Moving South?

It is said that Gentle Township is a hero's mound, Zhang Zhun is busy irrigating the fields every day, sowing seeds hard, and on the eighth day of the new year, Yunyi gave birth to a male baby smoothly. After the Zhang family finally had it, it was natural for the whole family to celebrate. Relatives and friends who learned the news, and even the tiger army, all congratulated one after another.

In addition, I don't know where the news came from, saying that Zhang Zhun and Yang Yinghan's wedding date is approaching, and Empress Yi'an will come to officiate the marriage in person, Yang Yinghan will also be crowned as the county lord, Ziyuan has become more lively, and even Xue Zhidie is happy to come back from Partridge Bay to congratulate.

On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, the three dynasties of the child, Zhang Zhun invited dozens of relatives and friends to a small-scale banquet, as well as representatives of the Tiger Benjun and the Dadu Governor's Mansion, which was regarded as an official announcement of the matter. When other families give birth to children, they are generally made public when the moon is full. However, Zhang Zhun has a special status and must be announced as soon as possible. Sure enough, when everyone heard the news, they were a lot more relieved and congratulated one after another.

It's a pity that the time is tight and the military situation is urgent, so after the child's three dynasties, Zhang Zhun hurriedly embarked on the journey. The child's full moon wine had to be handed over to Yang Yinghan to handle. On the eleventh day of the first month, Zhang Zhun rode a horse to Pingdu Prefecture.

Since he was enshrined as Pingdubo, he always came to see his territory. Of course, looking at your own territory is incidental, and more importantly, it is to come and see the newly established Tiger Ben Army Lion Riding Camp and Bear Riding Camp. With money, weapons, personnel, and war horses, Zhang Zhun's first thought was naturally to immediately expand the cavalry force.

The establishment of the Lion Cavalry Battalion and the Bear Cavalry Battalion is two associations, ten squads, and if you don't count the officers, there are a total of 500 soldiers. If you add the officers, the strength will be more than 600 people. The strength of the two battalions is about 1,300 people in total. Most of the soldiers are elites drawn from various units of the army, and they have a certain foundation in horsemanship.

According to Zhang Zhun's order, the commander of the lion riding battalion was Li Zhaohui, the deputy commander was Feng Wei, and the team included Sun Jiming, Meng Xia, Shi Liwei and others. The commander of the bear cavalry battalion is Xie Zhiyou, the deputy commander is Yu Yingyou, and the team includes Yuwen Hantao, He Jianing, Wingfeng, Chen Yuanzhi, Jin Zhenyue and others. They are all old men of the Tiger Army. A considerable part of it was a sniper and officer training course from Zhang Zhun's side.

So far, the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army has a total of five battalions, with a total strength of more than 3,000 people. The number of war horses also exceeded 5,000. Although it is not enough to have two horses per person, it is already possible to have three horses for every two people. Of course, such a number is not enough, and it will continue to increase.

Whether it is the Mongolian Eight Banners or the Manchurian Eight Banners, the number of cavalry is very large, Zhang Zhun does not dare to expect that the number of cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army is more than them, but at least there should not be too much difference. Without more than 10,000 cavalry, it may be a bit difficult to fight the Tartars in the field. In a real large-scale battle, the Tiger cavalry had not really fought face to face with the Tartar cavalry.

The training of cavalry takes much more time than the training of infantry. It takes at least two years to train a recruit into a qualified cavalryman. It would be better if there were three years. The current cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army, to a large extent, is still an infantry on horseback. Of course, a small number of elites are not, and some people are born with a talent for riding.

After spending two days in Pingdu Prefecture, Zhang Zhun was quite satisfied with the training results of the two cavalry battalions. After encouraging everyone, Zhang Zhun left Pingdu Prefecture and came to Qingzhou City. According to intelligence, after the Tartar cavalry went south, they should be the first to "greet" Qingzhou City, and then Jinan City. Therefore, the current Qingzhou City has completely entered a state of alert, and all the troops of the Tiger Ben Army are on standby at all times.

There are more and more immigrants from Beizhili and western Shandong, and they are all moving to Laizhou with their families. The victory of Dongjiabao greatly stimulated the hearts of the local people. In their opinion, if there is one place in this world that is safe, it is the area controlled by the Tiger Army. The immigrants who come and go make Qingzhou City very lively.

As soon as he entered the city, Zhang Zhun received a report from Lu Yidian before he had time to inspect the troops: "My lord, that Zhu Dadian is here again." ”

Zhang Zhun asked suspiciously: "Zhu Dadian?" ”

How did this guy know that he was coming to Qingzhou City? It's really a bit of an unpredictable prophet! He refused the proposal of the imperial court and refused to take charge of Shandong's military affairs, didn't Zhu Dadian know? He also came to himself, did he want to hand over Shandong's military affairs to himself in private? This guy, is he ready to be a hands-off shopkeeper?

After thinking about it, Zhang Zhun waved his hand casually and said indifferently: "Let him in." ”

Lu Yidian went out, and after a while, he brought Zhu Dadian in.

Zhu Dadian's face was obviously not very good, and it was so dark that it seemed that he was about to face a catastrophe. After seeing Zhang Zhun, he was overjoyed, and then he was a little gloomy and returned to his original gloomy appearance. He straightened his clothes, saluted respectfully, and then said in a difficult tone: "Xiaguan Zhu Dadian has seen Lord Dudu. ”

Zhang Zhun nodded, made a gesture to sit down, sat down first, and then said quietly: "Lord Governor, please." ”

Zhu Dadian sat down a little nervously.

Zhang Zhun said indifferently: "I don't know what is the important matter for the governor to come this time?" ”

Zhu Dadian's eyes wandered, his expression was obviously a little tired, and he said in a difficult tone: "Lord Governor, the lower officials are here to ask for help, and I also ask Lord Governor to lend a hand and help the soldiers and civilians of Shandong to tide over the difficulties." ”

rushed to find Zhang Zhun, and Zhu Dadian was also forced to do so. He originally got the news from the upper echelons, saying that he could escape the catastrophe and throw the military affairs of Shandong to Zhang Zhun, and then pat himself on the ass and take refuge in the Daimyo's Mansion. As a result, he didn't expect that Zhang Zhun actually resigned the matter lightly, and his wish came to an end.

Zhang Zhun excused himself from the matter, which was equivalent to roasting Zhu Dadian on the fire. Shandong's military affairs are ultimately to be presided over by him. What is Shandong's military strength, Zhu Dadian himself knows very well. It's okay to scare and scare the common people, but to fight with the Tartars......

Zhu Dadian said helplessly: "Lord Dudu, you must save the official ......"

Zhang Zhun snorted slightly coldly and did not speak.

To be honest, Zhang Zhun had some contempt for Zhu Dadian in his heart. To be precise, it is not that there is an opinion on Zhu Dadian personally, but on the vast majority of Ming Dynasty officials. For the faces of this group of people, Zhang Zhun is really disgusted.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty have a great characteristic, that is, when they are high, they are proud to death, and they don't even look at you. In layman's terms, it is like two hundred and five. However, once you fall, you have to be faster than anyone else. Greed, short-sightedness, ignorance, hubris...... All the words that Zhang Zhun can think of are derogatory.

If you want to say that the most backbone officials, which dynasty is from, it must be the Ming Dynasty, and there are a lot of officials who will never give in when they are killed by the emperor. If you want to say that the most spineless official, which dynasty is from, it is also the Ming Dynasty. The Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs and took the initiative to take refuge in the Ming State officials, and there were countless them. The Manchus seized the world so quickly that even they themselves were surprised.

The end of the Ming Dynasty was one of the most morally corrupt periods in the history of our country, and loyalty, benevolence, courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame, and the three outlines and five constants were all left behind. A large number of officials are keen to raise singers, beautiful wives and concubines, and even disgusting prostitutes. The end of the Ming Dynasty was the peak of the male style, and in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the style of prostitution was at its peak, which was disgusting.

Of course, Zhu Dadian understood that Zhang Zhun didn't like his arrival, but he couldn't help it. If he didn't want to be captured by the Tartars, or if he was held accountable by the imperial court after losing the battle, only Zhang Zhun could save him. He said pitifully, "Lord Governor......"

Zhang Zhun held the teacup, opened the teacup, gently blew the tea inside, and then put the teacup back, acting methodically and slowly, and then said slowly: "How can I help you?" ”

Zhu Dadian was suddenly overjoyed and felt a glimmer of hope.

Zhang Zhun's mood is actually very good. Officially, he took Dengzhou City, captured Dolgon and others, and freed up two battalions of troops. The Navy and Marine Corps can also maneuver smoothly. Now, in the face of Huang Taiji's attack, he has the determination to win. Defeating Huang Taiji is only a matter of time and cost.

Personally, the harvest is not bad. Yun Yi has already given birth to a male baby for herself, and there is a successor to the incense. Shen Lingfei's rendering is already the seventh plum blossom. There are still people in the back waiting in line, waiting for the blossom to bear fruit. As long as he works hard and sows widely and reaps a small harvest, there will always be a harvest.

Zhu Dadian said bitterly: "Lord Dudu, can you send part of the Tiger Ben Army to Jinan City?" The military and civilians of Jinan are warmly looking forward to the arrival of the Tiger Ben Army. ”

opened his mouth and said disdainfully: "What am I going to do in Jinan City?" ”

Zhu Dadian said bitterly: "Jinan City is seriously understaffed, with only more than 13,000 people. If the Governor does not support a little force, I am afraid that after the Tartars break the city, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Jinan City will be taken away by the Tartars. ”

Zhang Zhun didn't continue to hide it, and said coldly: "Lord Governor, I am a thief, you are an official soldier, we don't have a different way." You invited me to Jinan City, I don't have any benefits, how can I explain to the people below? ”

Zhu Dadian gritted his teeth and said, "I can tell you a big secret. ”

Zhang Zhun said disappreciably: "Cut! What's the big secret? ”

Zhu Dadian looked around, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously: "Some people advocate moving south. ”

Zhang Zhun didn't react for a while, pouted lightly, and said casually: "What is the south...... of the south?"

He suddenly came to his senses, his brows furrowed tightly, he stared at Zhu Dadian deeply, and said slowly: "You mean, Chongzhen is going to move to Nanjing?" ”

Zhu Dadian shook his head and said euphemistically: "The emperor is unwilling to leave the capital division...... However, the six departments will gradually move south. Liu Zongzhou, the squire of the Ministry of Works, has been appointed as the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department to oversee the affairs of the southward migration. Only a handful of people know about it. ”

Zhang Zhun subconsciously touched his nose.

It seems that his appearance has indeed made some changes in the trajectory of history, and the imperial court has actually begun to consider moving south. This is a full eight years ahead of the real history! In real history, it was only after Chongzhen hanged himself in the coal mountain that Nanjing became the capital. Now it seems that in the next year or two, Nanjing may re-emerge as the political center of the Ming Kingdom.

In fact, all along, within the top level of the Ming Kingdom, there were always people who did not particularly like Beijing. The wind and sand here are too big and dry, and it is uncomfortable to live in. Dangerous again, there are too many enemies, often on the front line. The Tumubao Rebellion, as well as the siege of the Tatar Altan Khan during the Jiajing period, put the Jingshi in an atmosphere of war. Although in the end, there was no danger and passed smoothly, but it still made many people have palpitations. Especially in recent years, the Tatars have entered the Kou three times in a row, which has made Beijing the cusp.

Right now, the situation around Beijing is actually very bad. To the north were the Tatars and the Mongols, and here in Shandong was Zhang Zhun, who almost surrounded Beijing. One day, Beijing will be breached. If Beijing wants to be safe, it must take the initiative to destroy all these enemies. However, it is a pity that no matter what kind of enemy it is, with the current strength of the imperial court, it is very difficult to solve it. Even if you can solve one of them, you will end up exhausted and eaten by others.

For example, this time in the southern strategy of the Tartars, no one in Beijing dared to pat their chests to guarantee that Beijing would be safe and sound, and would never be attacked by the Tartars. The army of 100,000 Tartars is outside the city, and it is said that they also carry Hongyi cannons, so it is strange that the people in the capital are not worried. Instead of being scared like this every day, it is better to move south as soon as possible and go back to Nanjing to live a stable life. On Beijing's side, it is only necessary to send troops to station.

At the beginning, Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, a big reason was to avoid everything left by Zhu Yuanzhang, and as for the statement that the Son of Heaven guarded the country, it was said by later people. Even if Zhu Di really had the idea of the Son of Heaven guarding the country at that time, it is no longer realistic. Because the current Beijing simply cannot take on such a heavy responsibility. The Tartar cavalry could completely bypass the Beijing Division, go deep into the core hinterland of the Ming Kingdom, and continue to plunder.

On the contrary, due to the encirclement of the Beijing Division, there were great problems in the transportation of money and grain, information communication, etc., resulting in a passive situation in the whole country. If we abandon Beijing, we will abandon these passiveness. If the nerve center of the Ming Kingdom is in Nanjing, it can be transferred in an orderly and step-by-step manner, and there is no need to panic, but to make mistakes in a hurry and all kinds of problems occur.

In addition to the reasons for the war, there are also economic reasons. The supply of materials around Beijing is seriously insufficient, and it must rely on the transportation of water from the south of the Yangtze River. The cost of transportation is high. Jiangnan buys grain, a stone of grain only costs about one tael and five yuan of silver, and when Cao Yun comes to Beijing, it costs at least two taels of silver, and there are five more yuan out of thin air.

Don't look at the cost of each stone of grain just adding five yuan, it adds up! Over time, it's definitely not a small amount. Think about the millions of people in Beijing, as well as the military expenses of Liaodong, Xuanda and other military towns, all of which need to be carried out through Cao Yun. That's a lot of money! Where does the imperial court's annual revenue go? Caoyun accounts for a large part.

Even according to the most conservative estimates, the amount of silver that the imperial court spends on Cao Yun every year will definitely not be less than one million taels. In some years, it even exceeded 1.5 million taels. This is also the basic reason why the Governor of Caoyun is so sought-after, it is a first-class beauty difference! As long as you move your hands and feet from it, fill your pockets, and your personal pockets will swell up like blowing up a balloon.

This cost does not include the cost of dredging the river and opening up a new one. If you count these, the cost of Cao Yun will be even greater. The finances of the Ming court were originally beyond their means, and if they could save this expenditure, the finances would definitely be much more abundant. Therefore, from a financial point of view, it is also more cost-effective to move south.

Moreover, the transportation of the south of the Yangtze River is easy to be cut off. Especially in the future, Zhang Zhun took control of Shandong, and the chances of Caoyun being cut off were greater. Cao Yun is the lifeblood of Beijing's existence, once Cao Yun is cut off, Beijing and even the surrounding areas, will slowly wither, and finally completely extinct. Without Caoyun, there would be no Beijing, but the north, and this is almost a consensus.

In the face of such a predicament, it is not surprising that some people have proposed to move south.

The benefits of moving south are clear.

Since the Song Dynasty, Jiangnan has been the country's main source of food and money. The richness of Jiangnan is known to the world. What Suhu is ripe, the world is full, what Songjiang cloth that can't be sold, and Weitang yarn that can't be harvested, all describe the richness of the south of the Yangtze River. For the Ming Kingdom, the financial resources of the southeast half accounted for more than seventy percent of the country's financial resources.

Nanjing is surrounded by rich land, and materials can be replenished on the spot without the need for transportation. The water system in the south of the Yangtze River is well developed, and the cost of water transportation is also low. Jiangnan was not damaged by the war, and the productive forces could continue to develop. Jiangnan is also the base camp of Donglin Party officials, and the general gentry still have a relatively large support for the imperial court.

Without the heavy burden of Cao Yun, the imperial court can save a lot of silver and manpower. Without the direct threat of the Mongols and Tatars, the military expenditure of the imperial court could also be cut a lot. After moving south, the threat of Shaanxi's rebellious army can even be ignored for the time being. Because so far, the Shaanxi rebel army has not caused substantial damage to Jiangnan.

The so-called endure for a while, calm the waves, take a step back, and open the sky. If the imperial court blatantly made the decision to move south under such a difficult situation, there would still be some hope for saving the crisis. After throwing away the heavy burden on your body, you may be able to travel lightly and survive for a while.

Of course, the disadvantages of moving south are also obvious.

Moving south is tantamount to abandoning the north and the area north of the Yellow River. In the region north of the Yellow River in the Ming Kingdom, Beijing's presence was crucial. Only if Beijing exists, other towns can exist. If Beijing didn't exist, other cities and towns wouldn't exist.

It may be a bit esoteric to say so. To put it simply, if the political center of the Ming Kingdom is not in Beijing, then the entire northern country will be rapidly marginalized and gradually forgotten. Because, both in terms of population and resources, the north is inferior to the south.

This is indeed very uncomfortable for a regime and an emperor. If the emperor is no longer in Beijing, no one knows how long the guards can guard Beijing. Especially for an emperor who made such a decision, being labeled as a cowardly monarch would never be able to escape.

Zhang Zhun is sure that Chongzhen, who loves face, will definitely not agree to such a proposal. Even if he knew intellectually that this retreat was actually a good choice. However, the power of civil officials is very strong, and if most of the civil officials are in favor of moving south, Chongzhen may also have to give in.

From the perspective of the general trend of history, it is actually feasible to move from Beijing back to Nanjing when the situation is critical. If Chongzhen was willing to move south and be willing to go to Nanjing to preside over government affairs, the later Nanming would not be a plate of scattered sand, with all kinds of amazing and strange phenomena.

The reason why Nanming fell so quickly was mainly because of internal disunity, and there were several emperors standing side by side. Everyone snatched the throne from each other, did not fight the Tartars, and specifically beat their own people. And one fights harder than the other. As a result, he made himself lose both, and he ended up together, allowing the Manchus to take advantage of it in vain.

If Chongzhen had gone south, or had appointed the crown prince to supervise the country in Nanjing, such a situation would not have occurred. As long as Nanming himself did not engage in splitting, with the strength of the Manchu Qing Dynasty at that time, it would not be easy to eat Nanming. The cavalry of the Tartars, in the Jiangnan region, could not be used at all. Therefore, there is basically no problem in continuing the history of the Southern Song Dynasty.

"There is still such a way out for the imperial court......"

Zhang Zhun subconsciously touched his chin and slowly considered it.

If Chongzhen moves south, the Tiger Ben Army can get some benefits. After the Ming army moved south, there would be a brief military vacuum in the three provinces of Shandong, Beizhili, and Shanxi, and Zhang Zhun was still confident that he would control these areas. Even if the imperial court stationed troops here, it was not at all an opponent of the Tiger Ben Army. After the Tiger Ben Army took control of these places, both the population and the territory were not small. As long as it develops, it is just around the corner to see the world.

Shandong itself is quite rich in resources, plus the iron ore in Hebei and the coal mine in Shanxi, which can fully meet the needs of modern industrial development. In particular, the coal mines in Shanxi can be dug out with a shovel, and there is no difficulty in mining at all. The imperial court didn't know how to use these natural resources, but Zhang Zhun did.

In addition, if you control the northern country, the problem of war horses will be basically solved. Outside the northern country is the vast Mongolian steppe. As long as it borders the Mongolian steppe, Zhang Zhun can get a large number of war horses. At that time, even the number of cavalry fighting one-on-one with the Tartars will be possible. As long as modern industry appears, not to mention blooming everywhere, as long as the prototype appears, the Tiger Ben Army can easily defeat the Tartars even if they have one hand tied.

If there really is a day, what the Tiger Army needs to think about is no longer how to defeat the Tartars, but how to quickly industrialize, so as to occupy the whole world and build a more powerful empire on which the sun never sets. Once the modernization task is completed, it is not a problem at all to swallow ** and sweep in all directions.

Of course, at the beginning, the Tiger Army faced many dangers. As soon as Chongzhen left, the pressure of the Mongols and Tatars was all exerted on himself. It can be said that as soon as the imperial court retreated, the cusp of the storm fell on the Tiger Ben Army. In the north, the Tiger Army had to face attacks from the Tartars and Mongols. In the south, it is also necessary to prevent Nanming's troublemaking. It is even possible to directly wrestle with Li Zicheng and others.

The land of the four wars, the army of the four wars! If that happens, the Tiger Army will have to face threats from all directions from the west. If you don't have enough troops, you won't have enough combat effectiveness, and you will definitely be overturned by people's wheel warfare. Beijing is such a dazzling place, and there are too many people staring at it. Of course, from the point of view of military geography, once you control the surroundings of Beijing, it is condescending and eyeing the tiger.

Speaking of which, I have to thank Chongzhen. Personally, Chongzhen has a backbone and will not give in easily. Otherwise, once he patted his ass and left, leaving a mess, Zhang Zhun didn't have time to prepare, and Shanxi and Northern Zhili were all preempted by the Mongols and Tatars. Even if the Tiger Army can get it back in the future, it will probably be razed to the ground.

The future is really full of uncertainties. There are countless possibilities for the development of history. The trajectory of history, inadvertent line changes, can produce countless different results. Whether history changes the line or not lies in Chongzhen's thoughts. If he refuses to move south, the trajectory of history will not change much. If he agrees to move south, or acquiesces in moving south, then the trajectory of history will change greatly.

Zhang Zhun's gaze slowly returned to Zhu Dadian's body, and said slowly: "Where did your news come from?" ”

Zhu Dadian hurriedly said: "I heard it from Wen Tiren." Wen Tiren strongly opposed the move south. The emperor also refused to move south. However, the other cabinet ministers, as well as the important ministers of the six ministries, as well as various high-ranking officials in Liaodong and Xuanda military towns, privately agreed to move south. ”

Zhang Zhun nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that Chongzhen is under a lot of pressure!

The cabinet ministers and the six important ministers asked to move south, and the pressure was not very great. The two corps of Liaodong and Xuanda also asked to move south, and the pressure was greater. Gao Qiqian, Wang Kun and others definitely didn't want to continue to fight with the Tartars, so they would put pressure on Chongzhen and want to retreat to Nanjing. These people don't have the guts to kill Tartars, and they don't have the ability, but they are still very experienced in infighting.

Once Chongzhen could not withstand the pressure of his ministers and was forced to "acquiesce" to the south, or sent the prince to Nanjing, it was basically a foregone conclusion. In this case, the Tiger Ben Army also has to prepare in advance. Since the northern kingdom is likely to change hands, the Tartars must not be allowed to be too badly damaged.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhun said in a deep voice: "I'll go to Jinan City with you!" ”