When the first batch of 100,000 stone grains began to be transported, the emperor and the cabinet had already received the news.

Wang Chengen's proposal played a role, the grain is a life-saving grain for Beizhili, after the plundering of the Houjin Tartars, Beizhili has become a wilderness, at this time, if there is no food support, the army has no morale, I am afraid that the Liukou led by Li Zicheng can go all the way directly to the Beijing Division.

The emperor is not a fool, Qian Shisheng and Yang Sichang and others in the cabinet are not stupid, the reason why Zheng Xunrui is willing to transport grain to Beizhili is sinister, that is, he expects the imperial army to resist Li Zicheng's attack, to put it bluntly, it is to hope that the imperial court and Li Zicheng will fight each other, and when the time comes, both will be defeated, and Zheng Xunrui will be able to get ready-made benefits.

But at this time, the emperor and the cabinet seem to have no other choice, Huang Taiji and Li Zicheng are fierce rivals, and both of them wrote letters to the emperor, Huang Taiji means that Liaodong is completely stabilized, the Qing Dynasty and the Ming court are safe, Li Zicheng wrote a document, saying that as long as he is crowned as the king of Dashun, he is willing to return to the court, if the emperor and the court agree to the request of Huang Taiji and Li Zicheng, I am afraid that he will die faster.

Li Zicheng occupies most of the places in Henan and Shanxi, and the territory controlled by him even exceeds that of Beizhili, not to mention the places controlled by Huang Taiji, but the biggest threat is Zheng Xunrui, whose controlled places occupy most of the land of the Ming Dynasty, they are all the henchmen of the imperial court, but from the actual situation, Li Zicheng's combat effectiveness is still the weakest, even if the imperial court wants to do it, it must first deal with Li Zicheng, defeat and exterminate Li Zicheng, recover Henan and Shanxi and other places, and the imperial court can be regarded as having the capital to gradually rise. Otherwise, guarding the dilapidated North Zhili, there is only one way to die.

It has reached such a critical juncture, taking advantage of the opportunity of the grain to be delivered, mobilizing a large army to defeat Li Zicheng is the only feasible way, and it is also the only way for the Ming court to continue to maintain.

I know that there is a big pit ahead. Don't hesitate to jump in.

The emperor and the imperial court faced such a situation.

At the end of April, the first batch of grain arrived in Beijing.

The 50,000 stone grain was transported to Shanhaiguan, and the remaining 50,000 stone of grain was left in the capital to supply the imperial army.

The silver must also be paid, this is Zheng Xunrui's request, and the imperial court is now stuck by Zheng Xunrui's neck, and there is no way to resist. In Yang Sichang's words, now is the time for Taoguang to recuperate.

Yang Sichang, who controlled the military power, met with the emperor many times and put forward arrangements and suggestions for attacking Li Zicheng.

Yang Sichang's reason is also very clear, the Ming court has reached the moment of life and death, and it must send troops to encircle and suppress the Liukou, even if it is in great danger, and the Houjin Tartars in Liaodong are strong. It is by no means something that the imperial army can provoke, and Zheng Xunrui in Nanjing is too far away. At present, it is not taken care of, only Li Zicheng, who is stationed in Shanxi and Henan, is the target of the imperial army's complete encirclement and suppression.

In the face of Yang Sichang's constant requests, Zhu Youzhen did not make up his mind.

Zhu Youzhen's inner misery has nowhere to tell, he is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but now he is in such a bleak situation. Shandong, Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Huguang, Sichuan, Jiangxi and other places have been controlled by Zheng Xunrui, and Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian in the south are too far away. Most of Henan and Shanxi were occupied by Li Zicheng, while Liaodong was occupied by Huang Taiji except for the Shanhaiguan.

Zhu Youzhen didn't feel that he was the emperor, at most he was the governor of Beizhili.

In less than two years, the imperial army experienced the defeat of Songshan, the vitality was greatly injured, and there was no recovery at all, at this time to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng, the situation was not optimistic at all, but if you continue to garrison in Beizhili, the next danger is even greater, the army stationed in Beizhili and Shanhaiguan and other places, the total number of people exceeds 300,000, and food is needed to feed, although the taxes in the south are still being paid, but the few are pitiful, and they cannot be maintained at all.

There is only one way in front of us, and that is to send troops to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng.

After defeating Li Zicheng, the predicament of the imperial court could be completely alleviated.

But if it fails, what will happen next?

Zhu Youzhen didn't dare to think that the moment of the defeat of the imperial army was the moment when he, the emperor, died.

Under such circumstances, how could Zhu Youzhen make up his mind.

Yang Sichang is also anxious, it is not possible to always maintain the status quo, if it drags on like this, the imperial court will soon be completely dragged down.

The emperor did not show his attitude, and Yang Sichang found Wang Chengen, the chief eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch.

Yang Sichang understands very well that the only person who can persuade the emperor now is Wang Chengen.

When Yang Sichang came to the celebrant supervisor, Wang Chengen was still in the Qianqing Palace.

After waiting for about half an hour, Wang Chengen finally appeared.

"Princess, this official has something to ask for."

Yang Sichang is very direct, and at this time, there is no need for him to beat around the bush.

Wang Chengen knew what Yang Sichang was doing, and he spoke very directly.

"Our family knows Lord Yang's intention, and our family can't do anything about it."

"The prince listened to the official and then made a decision, now there are nearly 200,000 troops stationed in Beizhili, and the Beizhili that was plundered by the Houjin Tartars is completely unable to feed the army, and there are more than 100,000 troops stationed in Shanhaiguan, which also need the support of the imperial court, if these armies are stationed in Beizhili for a long time, not half a year, it will be chaotic, and the situation will be out of control, when Chongzhen was in the first year, a large number of troops mutinied, presumably the prince still remembers the situation of the year."

Wang Chengen nodded and did not speak, of course he knew these situations.

"This official knows what the prince is worried about, Li Zicheng's command is known as a million army, and the imperial army is insufficient, I am afraid that there is no chance of winning this battle, but this official has also analyzed, and Li Zicheng's life is not easy."

"Li Zicheng occupies most of Henan and Shanxi, these places are as barren, he wants to rely on these places to feed a million troops, it is impossible, Datong in the northwest of Shandong, is still under the control of the imperial court, and there is a large army, which is a great constraint on Li Zicheng, Shaanxi in the west is controlled by the Zheng family's army, Li Zicheng does not dare to take a step beyond the Lei Chi, Shandong and Nanzhili in the east, Li Zicheng does not dare to have the slightest action."

"This official thinks that Li Zicheng can invade Shaanxi, Shandong, Nanzhili and other places, so that the pressure on the imperial court will be greatly reduced, but unfortunately such things will not occur for the time being, even if the imperial court wants to have such a situation, it needs to make efforts, at least force Li Zicheng to attack these places."

When Yang Sichang said this, Wang Chengen's eyes lit up slightly.

"Wang Gonggong, Li Zicheng's so-called million-strong army, Henan and Shanxi can not be maintained at all, if the imperial court still has no action, Li Zicheng, who is forced to be urgent, can only attack towards Beizhili, at that time, the situation is not easy to maintain, the imperial army can only take the initiative to kill out, forcing Li Zicheng to move to other places, so that it is possible to alleviate the current predicament."

"There are so many rogues under Li Zicheng's command, the official judges that their combat effectiveness is not very strong, and there may even be a lot of ordinary people who have also become one of the rogues. ……

Yang Sichang spoke bitterly and spoke for half an hour.

Wang Chengen finally spoke.

"Lord Yang is dedicated to the emperor and the court, our family admires it very much, but if the army fails to conquer, what will be the outcome, who will bear the responsibility."

"This official is willing to make a military order in front of the emperor and lead an army of 100,000 to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng."

Wang Chengen stared at Yang Sichang deadly, he couldn't believe that Yang Sichang dared to say such words, with an army of 100,000 to face the million-strong rogues, either with absolute confidence, or looking for death.

Perhaps moved by Yang Sichang's determination, Wang Chengen finally nodded.

"Lord Yang is loyal, which touches our family, and our family is willing to say yes in front of the emperor, but this is a matter decided by the emperor, and our family does not dare to agree to Lord Yang casually."

"This official is waiting for news from the prince."

On the sixth day of the fifth month, the emperor's decree was issued.

Yang Sichang, the second assistant of the cabinet, as the secretary of the military department, concurrently served as the governor of the five armies, led an army of 100,000 to set off immediately, went to Shanxi to exterminate the Liukou, and stationed the border troops in Shanxi, Yansui, Ningxia and other places, under the control of Yang Sichang, and participated in the battle to exterminate the Liukou.

This holy path caused a huge shock in the capital.

Qian Shisheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, couldn't believe his ears, Yang Sichang actually had such courage to lead an army of 100,000 to exterminate the Liukou, isn't this looking for death, but after learning the exact news, Qian Shisheng was still happy, anyway, after Yang Sichang left the capital, the cabinet was completely controlled by him Qian Shisheng.

Many adults in the court and China discussed a lot, thinking that Lord Yang was too risky, although the danger faced by Beizhili was also very great, but forcibly crusading against the Liukou was even more dangerous, and if it was not done well, it would be a loss of life.

More people expressed their admiration for Yang Sichang's courage, as the deputy assistant of the cabinet, Yang Sichang had no need to go to the expedition in person, and it was okay to send others to take command.

For a time, many people made a special trip to visit Yang Sichang and expressed their respect and admiration for Yang Sichang.

Yang Sichang greeted all the people who came to visit with a peaceful attitude, and no one could see anything unusual on his face, and everyone was surprised by Yang Sichang's calmness, and some people didn't even know what to say.

Later, even Qian Shisheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, made a special trip to visit Yang Sichang, this time the two talked alone in the study for a full hour, and when Qian Shisheng left Yang Sichang's mansion, his face was very serious.

No one knows what the two talked about. (To be continued.) )