After the important minister retreated, Chongzhen still didn't have an idea and hesitated.

He never expected that when Songjin was defeated, Liaodong would achieve an unexpected victory. Huang Taiji was beheaded, Liaoyang was recovered, and the Liaodong army had even approached the city of Shenyang. This series of victories is even unprecedented since the apocalypse.

However, due to the defeat of Songjin, Chongzhen suffered from gains and losses, on the one hand, he was happy with the victory of the Liaohe, but on the other hand, he was worried that after the arrival of winter, the Liaodong Army, which had become a lone army, would have a mistake in going deep into the city of Shenyang.

He was very worried that Zhu Ciye's lone army in Shenyang would go deep and there would be bad changes, that Zhu Ciye's Liaodong Army would not be able to survive this cold winter, and that the bandits that had re-emerged in the northwest would become chaotic and become more and more troublesome, and might run to the Central Plains and the southeast. It was also worried that the tax resistance in the southeast was becoming more and more serious, which would exacerbate the financial crisis of the imperial court.

And he was also very worried about Ning Yuan's Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou, he didn't know if they could stabilize their position in Ning Yuan, and he was also worried that they would surrender to the enemy. Several of Zu Dashou's brothers and even several sons have already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and still hold important positions in the Qing army. No one can say when Zu Dashou will suddenly surrender the city to the Qing Dynasty like Xia Chengde in Jinzhou City.

These days, Chongzhen has to go to the Qianqing Palace to burn incense and worship the heavens on the five watches every day, and always pray to the heavens for these worries.

He never dreamed that under the bad situation of Songjin's defeat, such good news could come from Liaodong. He felt that God had not abandoned him, and God still favored Daming.

After the important minister retreated, Chongzhen began to burn incense and pray on the dan mound, and he secretly prayed, hoping that Zhu Ciye could pass on the good news again. He expected that in a few days, he would suddenly receive good news from Liaodong, saying that he had already broken through Shenyang.

At noon, Chongzhen wore a regular court dress, drank a bowl of rock sugar bird's nest soup in the hall, and ate a piece of pastry. Even if it's lunch. According to the usual practice, the eunuchs placed a Pepsi box on his imperial case, which contained persimmons, millet seeds, winter dates, etc., but he just glanced at it, and he didn't eat anything at all.

"Has Assistant Wu arrived?" Chongzhen asked.

"Back to Your Majesty, Assistant Wu has already seen you outside the palace."

"Xuan."

Not long after, Wu Xiang, assistant director of the Beijing Garrison Battalion, entered the hall and bowed.

Emperor Chongzhen raised his arm and let him be exempted. This garrison assistant Wu Xiang is the father of Wu Sangui, the governor of Liaoxi, and was the chief military officer of Liaodong. He was removed from his post because of the defeat and escape of aiding the Great Ling River, but because of the important influence of the Wu family in the Liao army, Chongzhen removed Wu Xiang from the post of chief soldier at the same time, and had to add Wu Sangui as a guerrilla general, and only a year later, Wu Xiang was restored to the post of chief soldier.

When Wu Sangui was promoted to the governor of Liaoxi, Chongzhen also added Wu Xiangdu to the governor's office. Now that Wu Sangui has defeated Liaoxi, he has not been demoted and demoted, after the establishment of the five military regions. Wu Sangui, the former governor of Liaoxi, became the commander-in-chief of the Liaoxi and Ningjin Military Regions, and concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan.

However, Wu Sangui's father was promoted from the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, who had no real power, to the assistant civil minister of the Beijing Garrison Battalion, and jointly commanded the garrison battalion with another noble and noble Admiral and a Cabinet Admiral. The three towns of Changping, Tongzhou, and Miyun, which are guarding the battalion, are controlled.

Chongzhen knew very well that after the defeat of Liaoxi, the imperial court lost more than 100,000 soldiers, and only Ningyuan was left outside the pass. Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou should have been punished for their crimes. But only Ning Yuan is left in Liaoxi, and Ning Yuan is slightly better preserved with the strength of the soldiers and horses of Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou's Ningjin two towns, no matter what. At this time, the imperial court could not punish them.

Not only could he not punish Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou, but he even had to increase their official positions and offer good words of condolences.

Today, Chongzhen summoned Wu Xiang to see him, just to discuss with him about Liaoxi.

Chongzhen asked Wu Xiang about his views on the situation in western Liaoning.

"Your Majesty, the land of your ancestors must not be abandoned." This merchant was born, and later was admitted to the Wujin Shi, was recruited by Li Chengliang, the king of Liaodong, and finally married the security assistant of the Liaoxi Jiangmenzu clan.

Hearing this answer, Chongzhen was noncommittal.

"Aiqing thinks Ling Lang can fight again?"

Wu Xiang suddenly understood that the emperor wanted to take advantage of the victory in Liaodong and let Ning Yuan's troops and horses counterattack Liaoxi. He was very aware of Ning Yuan's current situation, and his son Wu Sangui had already told him the true situation of Ning Yuan through letters. The two towns of Ningjin suffered heavy losses, and the imperial court set up five new military regions, and separated Shanhaiguan from the governor of western Liaoxi and included it in the Beijing garrison battalion.

Although Wu Sangui is still holding the post of governor of Liaoxi, in fact, in the entire Liaoxi and Ningjin three towns, only Ningyuan is left, and Wu Sangui, the chief military officer of Liaoxi, is stationed in Guangning, which is still occupied by the Qing army.

Wu Sangui collected the defeated troops in Ningyuan, and integrated the defeated soldiers of these other towns into his own army, and now the three towns of Ningjin in Liaoxi are barely filled with 90,000 soldiers, but in fact there are only 80,000, and there are 10,000 vacancies. Most of these 80,000 are defeated soldiers, lacking armor and weapons, and the morale of the army is sluggish.

It's okay for these people to barely defend Ningyuan, but if they counterattack Liaoxi, they will definitely not work.

Wu Xiang fell to the ground and said cautiously, "Liaoxi is newly defeated, the governor has been captured, and now the army is weak and morale is low. Moreover, the original grain and grass equipment of the army were all stationed in Beacon Hill and Tower Mountain, and now they are all lost. Although Ning Yuan is famous for having a full number of soldiers and horses in the three towns, there are only 80,000 of them, among which there is still a lack of generals and weapons, and less than one-third of them can really fight. ”

"Besides, the soldiers and horses in each town have not been paid for a long time, and there is no food and grass, and if you want to send troops, you must raise food and grass, supply equipment, and then you can fight."

At the end of the day, it's still about money.

Chongzhen frowned.

"I received a report that the main force of the Tartars has returned to Shenyang, and now Songjin in western Liaoning is led by Prince Zheng of the Qing Dynasty and the Blue Banner of the Qing Dynasty, with 30,000 Manchurian soldiers and horses. If the equipment and food are sufficient, Ning Yuan's soldiers and horses may go to battle? ”

Chongzhen discussed with the ministers today, and after thinking about it, he felt that he could not let the Qing army return to fight the Liaodong Army. He thought that if Ning Yuan's army could launch a counterattack at this time, it would be best if he could take the opportunity to recover Songjin, and if it didn't work, he also hoped to be able to contain Songjin's Qing army, so as to relieve some pressure on Liaodong.

"As long as the food and equipment are sufficient, the soldiers and horses of Liaoxi can launch a counteroffensive."

"Then if you want Liaoxi to send troops, how much food and salary do you need?" Chongzhen asked.

Wu Xiang knelt on the ground and reported a number, "At least three million silver dollars are needed, and after the silver money arrives, the equipment will be replenished." Troops can be dispatched in a month. ”

Chongzhen inhaled when he heard this number, "Three million silver dollars? ”

Wu Xiang replied slowly, "Liaoxi is newly defeated, and most of the equipment has been lost, so the equipment and horses must be replenished." In addition, the newly reorganized soldiers and horses also need to be paid food and wages, and if they want to send troops, they must also be paid silver and rations, because they have just experienced a new defeat. Therefore, this money has to be increased so that the soldiers and horses can fight. In addition, it is necessary to recruit the people to transport grain and grass equipment to the front line, and the people also need to be recruited to carry horses and horses, all of which need silver. ”

In short, Wu Xiang gave Chongzhen a detailed list of expenses, and if Ning Yuan wanted to fight, the expenditure of three million silver dollars was only a lot more.

Chongzhen shook his head secretly, let alone three million silver dollars. Now let him take a million silver dollars, and he can't even take it out.

At this time, Chongzhen stood up and sighed, "The imperial court can't take out three million silver dollars. He repeated. Then he said helplessly, "Wu Qing retreat." ”

Later, Chongzhen summoned Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, and Ni Yuanlu, the waiter, to meet him.

"The tenth town in Hubei is also a new army trained by the Duke of Chu, can they be transferred to fight in western Liaoning?"

"Your Majesty. The minister thought that at this time, he could not transfer the tenth town to Liao. Ni Yuanlu said, "Recently, Shaanxi and Sichuan have been playing frequently, and Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai have made a comeback. Now that the Qin army and the Sichuan army have entered Liao, they are getting more and more troublesome, and the local government has become difficult to contain. If the 10th town is transferred out of Hubei, I am afraid that the bandits will go out of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and they will cause trouble to the Central Plains and the southeast, repeating the previous rebellion. ”

"Then transfer the water divisions of the four towns to help Liao." Chongzhen picked up a cup of tea and drank it dry in a few sips.

Ni Yuanlu is still opposed.

"Your Majesty, the sailor is not accustomed to land warfare, and is even more uncomfortable with the cold of the north, and he is good at fighting on water ships. If they were transferred to Liao and fought against the Qing cavalry, it would be extremely undesirable to attack the enemy with a short period of time. Moreover, now the Beiyang Naval Division is already in Liaodong, and there are only three town naval divisions left, the Yangtze River Naval Division to assist in the defense of the Yangtze River coast, and the Dongyang and Nanyang to assist in the defense of the southeast coast. ”

Chongzhen really didn't know how to speak now, he could only drink tea silently.

After a long time, Chongzhen sat on the throne and sighed, "Regarding the battle situation outside the Guanwai, you are right. If there is no defeat of Yizhou and Songjin, if Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting are still there, and the imperial court has them to command the soldiers and horses of Liaoxi, they can still take the opportunity to launch an attack now. But at present, the elite of Liaoxi is lost, the morale of the army is weak, and Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou have no intention of fighting again. Speaking of this, Chongzhen clenched his hands into fists, "It's a pity that when they are needed the most, they can't be counted on at all." ”

"Fortunately, we still have the Duke of Chu and the Liaodong Army." Chen Xinjia said.

Chongzhen glanced at him and said, "But the Duke of Chu is now alone in Liaodong, deep behind enemy lines, if the soldiers and horses of Liaoxi can cooperate to launch a wave of counteroffensive, at least they can contain the Qing army, but the soldiers and horses of Liaoxi can't be counted on at all, and the Liaodong army can only fight alone." I only have the Liaodong Army left. ”

"I have thought about it again and again, and I can't risk the Liaodong Army again."

"It's always safe at this point." Chen Xinjia said.

"All the scholars in the cabinet believe that the Liaodong Army should be transferred back immediately, and Lushun and Zhenjiang in Liaodong should be abandoned." Chongzhen gritted his teeth and helped, "If Guan Ning is lost, it is useless for Liaodong to defend it." But I don't want to give up Liaodong like this, Chen Qing, I hope you can immediately send someone to meet with the Qing people and negotiate peace with them. The Ming Dynasty was willing to use the land of Jin, Fu, Gai, Hai, and Liao Prefectures in Liaodong in exchange for the Song, Jin, Yi, Guangning and other lands seized by the Qing people, and the two families were bounded by the Liao River, with Liaoxi returning to Daming and Liaodong returning to Houjin, and the two sides ceased to fight. ”

"What about Zhenjiang and Lushun?" Chen Xinjia asked.

Chongzhen frowned and said, "There is always a fight, if possible, the imperial court still hopes to keep Zhenjiang and Lushun, with these two places in hand, it can greatly contain Houjin and protect the safety of Liaoxi on the side." Zhenjiang, in particular, if Zhenjiang is controlled, it will be able to prevent the Houjin from invading Korea again. (To be continued.) )

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