In May of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Li Zicheng and other thirteen rogues, a total of more than 100,000 people and horses of the 72nd battalion were trapped at the junction of Shanxi, Henan, and Beizhilu provinces......

In December of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang and others bribed the eunuch Yang Jinchao and others to deceive and surrender again. Emperor Chongzhen often felt guilty about Liukou, and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were even more willing to appease, not that the civil and military officials at the end of the Ming Dynasty were particularly kind-hearted. Take out a part of it to bribe these eunuchs and generals, and the giant god Yikui can even send the bribe to the hands of the first assistant Zhou Yanru, these civil and military officials naturally turn a blind eye and try their best to cater to Emperor Chongzhen's desire to appease, and in the end they are all happy, the soldiers and bandits are a family, and only those who are honest and responsible.

The court was full of celebrations, thinking that they had a plan, but they didn't expect the thunderbolt in the sky, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others took advantage of the Yellow River to freeze, flew across from Maojiazhai, and even broke through Michi, Yiyang, Lushi and other counties, turned to the inner countryside, and entered Huguang through Zaoyang and Dangyang.

A Tang newspaper in early February of the seventh year of Chongzhen shocked the court, and Deng Zuyu, the general soldier of Chenyuan, was defeated in Yingcheng, and was disemboweled by Gao Yingxiang and other thieves. The rest of the general Rong Zhang Quanchang, the deputy general Yang Shien, the pioneer Deng Tianhe, the staff general Li Wenyun, the guerrilla Zhu Shisheng, the camp Wang Kezhen, the general Zheng Xinshen, the thousand households Jin Degong, and the hundred households Feng Yingsheng died together. Most of the Ming army led by him was killed, and the rest were surrendered to the Liukou, and the general soldier Wang Jianguo. Yingcheng County, De'an Prefecture, ordered Zhang Shaodeng and others to be captured......

Emperor Chongzhen heard the bad news, and did not come back to his senses for a long time, this Deng Zuyu is a man from Guangqi Shui, Wanli has not been born as a martial artist, so that Emperor Chongzhen remembers that this person is brave and good at fighting, and after 46 years of Wanli, Deng Zuyu entered the battle to kill. Dozens of arrows in his body fainted to the ground, but he didn't expect Deng Zuyu, who was dead for most of the time, to wake up in the middle of the night and walk nearly ten miles back to the city alone. The hedgehog-like appearance shocked the soldiers of the city, and it is said that three barrels of blood were shed when the arrow was drawn, and he was known as the "Iron and Stone General".

After Deng Zuyu recovered from his injury, he was promoted to the garrison of Xuanfu, and when he changed his life, he met Houjin at Lugou Bridge. Adjutant General Shen Fu was wiped out. He took hundreds of people to fight to the death and did not retreat, because of the merit promoted to the deputy general of Zhuozhou, because the Liukou entered Hubei, the military department ordered him to move to Huangde, stationed in the Xiaogan area, heard that the city was besieged, Deng Zuyu was ordered by the governor to go to the rescue, was surrounded by the Liukou on all sides. Gao Yingxiang and others persuaded him to surrender, but Deng Zuyu swore to die. Annoyed and angry, the rogue ordered the corpse to be divided, and General Tieshi couldn't survive it now, and he really died.

Emperor Chongzhen was sad in his heart, and sent Yang Jinchao as a scapegoat to prison, and ordered the place to find Deng Zuyu's body and bury it, posthumously presented to the governor, Deng Zuyu's wife died early, his son died together, and there was only a seventy-year-old mother left in the family.

After the things on the scene were done, Emperor Chongzhen convened everyone to discuss, and now the rogue has become a confidant, the five thousand soldiers and horses of the general soldier Deng Zuyu were all wiped out, and the rogue was full of smoke, ravaging Huguang, Sichuan and other places, and everyone couldn't help but be imprudent.

Emperor Chongzhen was stimulated, never mentioned the matter of appeasement, in order to change the passive situation of "different powers, mutual wait-and-see", Emperor Chongzhen and everyone discussed and set up a strategy of "concentrating troops, comprehensive encirclement and suppression", and ordered a governor to be set up to deal with the matter of suppressing bandits, but I did not expect that there were differences in the selection of personnel, and the court recommended Hong Chengchou, Emperor Chongzhen was worried that Hong Chengchou's authority was too heavy, and he dismissed the recommendation on the grounds that Hong Chengchou was in the north of the town, and could not be moved lightly, and Chen Qiyu was promoted to the right squire of the military department and the right to the imperial history, and the governor of Shaanxi, Shanxi, The military affairs of Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan attacked from all sides, in an attempt to calm the troubles of their henchmen in one fell swoop.

On 26 February, Chen Qiyu sent his troops to Shaanzhou......

On the 27th, Emperor Chongzhen sat alone in the palace to review the folds, and a small eunuch came to report in a hurry, saying that Zhang Fengyi asked to see him, and there was a Phi Island urgent report.

Emperor Chongzhen rubbed his eyes, and said with a faint uneasiness in his heart: "Xuan him come in." ”

Daming has been in Chongzhen for seven years, and has fully fallen into a situation of internal and external troubles, and there is no good news about the piles of notes on the desk.

Waiting for Zhang Fengyi's kung fu to go to the palace, Emperor Chongzhen put down the pen and fell into contemplation, the offensive of the Tatar slaves in southern Liaoning continued, the Lushun guerrilla battalion fought very hard during this time, Jinzhou had just lifted the siege and rescued Phi Dao, which could be regarded as a high level of hard work, but thinking of the Lushun guerrilla Yang Bo becoming more and more domineering, Emperor Chongzhen sank his face again......

Zhang Fengyi panted and ran in, kowtowed, and gasped for a while before saying, "Your Majesty, the urgent report of Yan Kun, the squire of the military department and the governor of Denglai."

Emperor Chongzhen stared at Zhang Fengyi's face, knowing that it might be a great victory for the guerrilla battalion, and said slightly in his heart: "Oh, what is the report?" ”

"Great victory, Your Majesty, great victory!"

Zhang Fengyi couldn't help but get excited, and kowtowed again and again: "I, the Ming Dynasty, are blessed with all the heavens, relying on the authority of Your Majesty, the guerrilla battalion and Guanglu, Shuangdao and the coastal ice of Phi Island set up an ambush, and in one fell swoop surrounded and annihilated the soldiers and horses of the left wing of the slave chief Haoge, beheading more than 1,800 levels, including Jia Lazhangjing, Niu Lu and a few. ”

Emperor Chongzhen opened his mouth and said in disbelief: "What about Songshu? Grab it."

A eunuch hurriedly snatched the note from Zhang Fengyi's hand and presented it respectfully.

Emperor Chongzhen even forgot about giving the old and frail Zhang Fengyi a seat, and he couldn't wait to open the music and take a closer look.

"Denglai Governor Yan Kunzhi urgently reported to His Majesty the Imperial Front, on January 15, Lushun guerrilla Yang Bo led the headquarters of the troops and horses and Guanglu Tan Yinghua and others to rescue Phi Island, sailed to Shicheng Island when suddenly encountered the people fleeing on the island, Juyun deputy general Shen Zhixiang was defeated, sent people to contact the Dongjiang rebel general Kong Youde, etc., there seemed to be signs of tartar, Yang Bo and Tan Yinghua did not dare to deal with it, and feared that the opportunity could not be missed, so they landed on the island to check, during the banquet Shen Zhixiang's language was flustered, his expression was suspicious, Yang Bo was suspicious in his heart, and wanted to detain Shen Zhixiang to confront the court, but unexpectedly ......"

Emperor Chongzhen saw this. glanced up at Zhang Fengyi, suppressed the strangeness in his heart and continued to look

“…… Unexpectedly, Shen Zhixiang thought that the matter was defeated, and summoned his henchmen to struggle and resist. Yang Bo Tan Yinghua saw that Shen Zhixiang's betrayal had been revealed, and was worried about the situation of the Phi Island, so he killed Shen Zhixiang and dozens of henchmen, and afterwards found dozens of letters with the Tartar slaves from Shen Zhixiang's bedroom. However, he was in a hurry to follow the power, and was forced to rectify the law due to the cheapness of the situation, and attached some evidence such as Shen Zhixiang's correspondence to listen to the holy ruling. ”

Emperor Chongzhen raised his head again. Breathing a little fast, Zhang Fengyi seemed to have noticed that something was wrong, and began to drum in his heart, and after he received the victory, he hurriedly ran to ask for credit. Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be very dissatisfied with the pacification of Shicheng Island?

Emperor Chongzhen sneered. Read on: "...... Tartar slaves and Phi Dao Shen Shikui and other fierce battles on the 20th, each has a victory or defeat, as the ice freezes tightly, Phi Dao began to become less and less supportive, Yang Bo and others did not go to the island after arriving, but lurked with Phi Dao 30 miles away Xiaohe Island standby, the next day Tatar slaves really began to land and besiege Phi Dao, Yang Bo Tan Yinghua saw that the time had come. He led his troops and horses out from behind the Tars, cutting off their retreat. After several hard battles, thanks to the grace of His Majesty, he won a great victory! In this battle, more than 3,000 people from the Nag Division on the left wing of the Tarnu were defeated, 1,200 Zhenyi were beheaded, 600 auxiliary soldiers were coated, and countless Taruns were scattered in the sea, and ...... were captured"

Emperor Chongzhen didn't look any further, and asked, "What about Yang Bo and Tan Yinghua's self-defense, why didn't I see it?" ”

Zhang Fengyi opened his mouth and was stunned for a moment.

"I ask you!! Where is Yang Bo and Tan Yinghua's self-defense, huh? Emperor Chongzhen slapped the table fiercely, shaking down a pen holder on the imperial case, and the surrounding eunuchs and palace maids were so frightened that they all knelt down, Zhang Fengyi lowered his head, not understanding why Emperor Chongzhen was suddenly angry.

Seeing Emperor Chongzhen panting like a trapped beast, Zhang Fengyi was stunned, and he stammered: "The military situation is urgent, I'm afraid, I'm afraid that I won't have time to defend myself for a while, and also, please Your Majesty, Your Majesty will be aware of it......"

Emperor Chongzhen walked a few steps, and his heart slowly regained his calm, and the eunuch Wang Chengen, who was waiting beside him, waved his hand, and the eunuchs and palace maids all retreated.

"Killed the deputy general of Shicheng Island, and he didn't even have a self-defense, forced by the situation? Cheap Fa-rectification? Who gave them this guts? Well? Emperor Chongzhen scolded sharply.

Zhang Fengyi kowtowed again and again, not daring to answer.

"You step back first...... Emperor Chongzhen sat back on the dragon chair weakly and waved his hand at Zhang Fengyi.

Zhang Fengyi was so frightened that he retreated, he still carried Yang Bo's invitation to increase grain and grass, equipment, artillery, saltpeter and other materials in his arms and did not dare to take it out, but his heart was extremely hesitant, he didn't know where to go, Yang Bo continued to win, and his position as the secretary of the military department became more and more stable, but now the problem is that His Majesty's attitude is so obvious, how should he choose?

Zhang Fengyi stumbled all the way, and he didn't even hear Wen Tiren calling him on the road......

The next day, the atmosphere of the court meeting was strange, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were all excited after hearing the annihilation of more than 1,000 Tartar slaves, but the attentive officials found that Emperor Chongzhen's face was pale, and Wen Tiren's eyes were slightly open, as if he was old and hateful, he was silent, and on weekdays, he would be the first to congratulate His Majesty, and the strangest thing was that Zhang Fengyi of the Ministry of War was also crying with a sad face, and there was no ugliness of boasting for himself and his headquarters after the previous victory, and today's atmosphere really made them unable to see through.

So several imperial histories came out of the ranks, and they had the audacity to impeach Yang Bo and Tan Yinghua for having no royal law and killing the guards of Shicheng Island, but Emperor Chongzhen was silent. The clever point is becoming more and more bright, I am afraid that Emperor Chongzhen is already extremely dissatisfied with Yang Bo's actions......

For several days in a row, the snowflakes of impeachment continued, and even the victory on Phi Island was deliberately forgotten by everyone, and the focus of everyone's attention shifted to Shicheng Island, and many things were neglected, asking the imperial court to send Jinyi Guards to thoroughly investigate the matter of Shen Zhixiang, the deputy general of Dongjiang, and everyone was shocked, and they all had some bad premonitions in their hearts, Yang Bo killed Shen Zhixiang, wasn't he afraid of the anger of Shen Shikui, the general of Dongjiang? Can the two of them still defend themselves against foreign enemies in this situation?

It is not surprising that Chongzhen left all the impeachments in the middle, and the proposal to send Jinyiwei was also in vain, as if the imperial court was silent, but many people knew in their hearts that Emperor Chongzhen was waiting to see the subsequent development of the situation, and many people who had a grudge against Yang Bo began to collect evidence of his crimes, and were ready to give him a hard slap at the right time.

After five days, reports from all walks of life on Phi Island came one after another, including Zong Yuanfang, Lushun guerrilla Yang Bo, Guanglu general Tan Yinghua, and Dengzhou deputy general Shang Kexi. Wang Yanrui, the deputy general of Zhangzidao, the commander of Phi Dao, and the capital division. All the music is the same meaning, Shen Shikui, the chief soldier of Phi Island, imprisoned the prison army Zong Yuanfang, and secretly communicated with the Tatar slaves to discuss the sacrifice of the island in exchange for wealth and other illegal things, Yang Bo, Shang Kexi, Tan Yinghua and others shot together after hearing the news, rescued the prison army, and captured Shen Shikui. Unexpectedly, Shen Shikui was ashamed and killed himself in the end......

This incident caused an uproar in the imperial court, and these concerts were no less than hearing the shock of the Tatar slave soldiers in Beijing, and another Dongjiang general soldier was killed! Do you want the dignity of the imperial court? How dare they act so recklessly?

After the shock. Everyone began to consider the hidden meaning behind this matter, although the evidence is very sufficient, but who is qualified to stand in the court and participate in politics, who is not used to seeing storms? Who would believe the evidence of the smugglers on the surface?

Soon, Wen Tiren was found out by everyone as the mastermind behind the scenes. Who else but him? Divide Lushun from the Dongjiang River. Offering tripartite checks and balances, plotting against Phi Island, all these are things that Wen Tiren has come up with, who has such courage besides Wen Tiren?

Everyone began to fold their spirits and prepare to impeach Wen Tiren, but now the biggest question is, what is the attitude of Emperor Chongzhen?

"I'm going to kill Yang Bo! I killed Tan Yinghua! ”

After retiring from the dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen went crazy and smashed all the decorations on the imperial case. smashed it and didn't get rid of the hatred, and even the royal case was kicked over. His face turned blood-red, and his mouth was madly scolding.

Wang Chengen knelt down, crying and kowtowing: "Grandpa Huang is angry, don't be in a hurry to break your bones, Grandpa Huang is angry......"

Emperor Chongzhen turned around violently and looked at Wang Chengen: "The erector is unscrupulous, and he is so unscrupulous that he treats me like a three-year-old child?" ”

Wang Chengen said while crying: "Grandpa Huang, maybe, maybe Shen Shikui ......"

"Enough!" Emperor Chongzhen scolded loudly, Wang Chengen didn't dare to talk much, and he didn't dare to breathe when he lay on the ground

Emperor Chongzhen walked around the empty hall several times, and only after venting was he finished pointing to Wang Chengen, who was full of pale faces; "Go and invite Zhang Fengyi, Bi Ziyan, Wen Tiren, Zhou Shipu (Ministry of Industry), Zhang Yandeng (Zuodu Yushi) Wenhua Hall to discuss the matter, clean up here, if there is anyone who can't control his mouth, I will let him move his head!"

Waiting for Emperor Chongzhen to clean up his mood and set up the Wenhua Palace, Wen Tiren and others have been waiting for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen and others finished saluting, and then said coldly: "The current situation on Phi Island is unstable, and the Tatar slave army is eyeing each other, can the secretaries have a good plan?" ”

Everyone was silent, their eyes focused on Wen Tiren, Wen Tiren knew that it was time to make a statement, so he stepped forward and said: "Regarding the matter of Shen Shikui on Phi Dao, the old minister has something to say!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen glanced at him, nodded and said, "Sir, it's okay to talk about it." ”

Wen Tiren said softly: "Your Majesty, since the crime governor killed Mao Shuai, Phi Island has almost fallen into a situation of falling apart, and there are many ministers who are sparse, please abandon the islands in southern Liaoning and dismiss the islands, the old ministers think it is absolutely impossible!" ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard the word "unauthorized killing", he couldn't suppress his anger and was about to attack, but when he heard Wen Tiren bite the word "unauthorized killing" very hard, he knew that Wen Tiren was excusing himself, so he waved his hand casually and said, "Oh? I don't understand what Mr. is referring to, so please make it clear. ”

Wen Tiren's so-called abandonment of the island is just a talk, he didn't want to really abandon the island, and then said: "Shen Shikui of Phi Island is mediocre and incompetent, so that there is a great defeat of Tieshan in front of him, and he still does not want to forge ahead after retreating to the isolated island, but he brazenly arson and imprisons the prison army, which is the reason for the chaos, if you ignore it, Phi Island is connected to Denglai in the south, and reaches Jinmen in the west, if the Tatar slaves have the help of the sailors, they will gallop vertically and horizontally, and they cannot ......be controlled."

Wen Tiren set the tone for this matter first, and when he saw that Emperor Chongzhen was silent, he said: "Your Majesty, no matter what reason Yang Bo and others use, they should not allow Shen Shikui to kill himself, so that there is no proof of death, the court is terrified, if it is not handled properly, the Liao people of Phi Island will take refuge in the Tartar slaves, and it will become a problem for my henchmen."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly, did not speak, Wen Tiren meant very clearly, the Ming Dynasty is now worried about internal and external troubles, here the lake is wide, the Liukou in Sichuan is rising, the Tartar slaves over there are still in Xiuyan, Phi Dao is eyeing the tiger, if you hold Zong Yuanfang and other generals who kill the generals, it is very likely that there will be problems with Phi Dao, and even the Dongjiang islands along the coast will be eroded.

"There are two most urgent things today, one is to appease people's hearts, after the old minister heard the death of Shen Shikui, the military and people of Phi Island were excited, and this was an opportunity for the imperial court to regain the hearts of the people. Second, Yang Bo and others were strictly ordered to make meritorious contributions and relieve the siege of Phi Dao as soon as possible......"

Chongzhen suddenly interrupted Wen Tiren's words with a smile and said, "Mr. is confused, what kind of crime does Yang Bo and others have, and why do they need to wear guilt and make meritorious contributions?" ”

Wen Tiren was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Your Majesty is generous, but Yang Bo and the others are not handled properly, and there are also crimes." ”

Chongzhen stood up, stepped off the dragon chair and talked eloquently: "Since the guerrilla battalion landed in Lushun, it has killed thousands of Tatar slave elites, Niu Lu Zhangjing and above have captured countless people, Yang Bo and others have not fallen behind in every battle, Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Changsheng, Phi Dao, the guerrilla battalion has been powerful in all directions, and its loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled, what is the crime?" Sir, let's talk about the current strategy for breaking the siege of Phi Dao."

Wen Tiren sighed secretly in his heart, and said: "The Tatar slaves are powerful, and the slave chieftain Haoge led troops out of Yizhou, and is currently besieging Tieshan to deter Phi Dao. ”

Chongzhen looked at Zhang Fengyi and said, "Is there any difficulty in Yang Bo's department?" Was there ever a shortage of food and grass equipment? ”

Zhang Fengyi didn't know what Emperor Chongzhen meant when he said this, so he found out Yang Bo's tang report: "According to the report of Yan Kun, the governor of Denglai, the Tatar slaves of Phi Island crossed the ice to besiege Phi Dao continuously, and the Tatar slaves had dozens of Hongyi cannons, and the bombardment was non-stop every day, and the defenders on the island suffered heavy losses, but the soldiers and horses of all departments had high fighting spirits, and set a defensive counterattack strategy, Shang Kexi, Tan Yinghua, Yang Bo, etc., please dial Hongyi cannons, armor sticks, rice grain, ships, etc., and the rest of the gunpowder, saltpeter, iron, bows and crossbows, etc.......

Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said: "Lushun guerrilla Yang Bo with an unpaid army and horses to fight in the east and west, countless meritorious contributions, it is not easy, what is even more difficult is that his people have a fist to serve the country, these things are accurate, please consult with the household department, the Ministry of Industry, the period is replenished, and the rest of the generals will report the merits, be sure to be preferred!" ”

Everyone bowed down and said, "Yes!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen's eyes flashed, and he said: "But after all, we can't let the guerrilla battalion be too difficult, Lushun, Jinzhou, Changsheng Island, Phi Island, and Tatar slaves are everywhere, and I am afraid that the guerrilla battalion will be difficult to support alone. ”

Except for Zhang Fengyi, the rest of the people are bright, what two stools, I'm afraid it's a triple win, right? Emperor Chongzhen finally conveyed his meaning unmistakably, and then Bi Ziyan got up and said: "Your Majesty, Laizhou is ruined, and it is not easy to set up more military horses, according to the opinion of the ministers, it is better to set up in the relatively rich Qingzhou Mansion."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded again and again after hearing it, but he immediately found out that something was wrong, the prefect of Qingzhou is Wen Tiren's person, what is the point of being located in Qingzhou? Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen said again: "There are too many major events involved, and it is not easy to decide in a hurry, so you can discuss it when you go back, and I also need to think about it carefully." ”

Everyone bowed down again and said yes, Emperor Chongzhen was about to invite everyone to take care of himself, but Wen Tiren took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, the guerrilla battalion, Guanglu, Shuangdao and other soldiers are fighting against the Tartar slaves on Phi Island. ”

"Zu Dashou!"

Emperor Chongzhen said a word silently in his heart, and his face twisted unconsciously...... (To be continued......)