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Chapter 106: The End of the Fifth Year of Chong (I)

ps: Fixed, the chapters are in the wrong order, the previous chapter should be the one hundred and fifth chapter.

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In December of the fifth year of Chongzhen, in a courtyard in Taiyuan City, Shanxi, the former Shunxiang Fort Tun Chief, who had just been exceptionally promoted, and now Wang Dou, the commander of the Yulin Left Guard, was lazily leaning on the soft collapse, basking in the sun boredly.

(Yulin Zuowei, one of the twelve guards of the Ming Dynasty's Son of Heaven's army, among the twelve guards, the Jinyi Wei is the leader, and the other eleven guards are not as large as the Jinyi Guard.) By the end of the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the redundant personnel of the Jinyi Guard, as high as 70,000 or 80,000, the remaining 11 guards had already eaten empty salaries and only had a total of 4,000 or 5,000 soldiers, and these soldiers only existed theoretically, and many people were actually slaves in large households. ）

Today is a rare sunny day, the winter sun shines on the body, warm, people can't help but be drowsy.

One maid was pinching Wang Dou's shoulders, another maid was peeling oranges for him, and his child daughter-in-law Xie Xiuniang was sitting on the side playing the flute, and the melodious music reached Wang Dou's ears, making him sigh.

It seems like it's been a long time since I've enjoyed such a leisurely life!

However, as soon as he remembered the Shunxiang Fort that had been reduced to ruins in the war, and the familiar faces who had died in the war, his mood could not help but be lowered--after all these days, he had really regarded the barren land located in the border as his home.

And now, that home has been destroyed......

However, this is also a helpless thing, in the tide of the chaotic times at the end of the Ming Dynasty, everything that wants to be protected is so fragile.

-- At present, the entire town of Xuanfu has been captured by the Eight Banners, and the border armies of all parts of the town have also surrendered and surrendered. Only Wang Dou led more than 1,000 Shunxiang troops, not only escaped from the desperate situation, but also took advantage of the favorable wind of the Son of Heaven's royal drive "Xixing", and climbed to the high position of the commander of the Yulin Left Guard like an upstart -- along the way, the exiled court tried almost every means to collect soldiers and horses, and it was not too generous to seal up officials.

As one of the most combat-effective troops around the Son of Heaven, the Shunxiang Army trained by Wang Dou also won the favor of Emperor Chongzhen, and was naturally incorporated into the Son of Heaven's pro-army, and became the descendant of the imperial court.

(At the moment, Wang Dou hadn't noticed that Emperor Chongzhen had changed his soul, and he only thought it was the butterfly effect caused by other traversers.) And Emperor Chongzhen didn't realize Wang Dou's identity as a traverser - Shunxiang Fort was too poor, so Wang Dou's troops were not beyond the times except that they were more capable of fighting. ）

Therefore, Wang Dou, who had been in Shunxiang Fort all day long, also became pampered after following the royal car into Taiyuan City - not only lived in the deep mansion compound of the eunuch's house, but also took the initiative to send gold and silver goods and maids and servants, just to have a friendship with him, the celebrity around the Son of Heaven. However, although such a situation sounds very good, the problem is that the current emperor of heaven itself is in turmoil...... The Ming court has never attached importance to secrecy, so the matter of supporting the puppet emperor in Nanjing has already spread all over Taiyuan City.

It is also difficult to say what the reaction of the other provinces will be after this incident - although there is no doubt about the position of Emperor Chongzhen's Son of Heaven, the city of Nanjing itself is also a symbol of orthodoxy...... It is really difficult to predict which side the local real power will fall.

But the matter has come to this point, and Wang Dou has no choice, so he can only follow the Chongzhen Emperor who seems to have messed up to the dark.

Just as Wang Dou was lying on the soft couch basking in the sun, his thoughts were chaotic, but the call of his mother Zhong sounded in his ears

“…… Son, come and have lunch! Cooked your favorite soybean stew today! ”

Hearing his mother's call, the sleepiness in Wang Dou's mind suddenly disappeared, and when he opened his eyes and looked back, he found that his mother Zhong was standing under the eaves with a loving face. His wife, Xie Xiuniang, also put away the flute and stood beside her mother-in-law in a proper manner.

Different from the rough dress of a working woman in the past, today Zhong is wearing a dark red embroidered gold chrysanthemum pattern stand-up collar jacket, a black flowing cloud bat skirt underneath, a dark yellow brocade cloak embroidered with pine crane pattern and black edges, and a Magu bun on his head. Two pairs of red gold hanging pearl phoenix hairpins, plus a head flower made of pearls, holding a palm-sized hand stove in both hands, vaguely showing a string of Buddhist beads on the left wrist, and a pair of jade jade bracelets on the right wrist, plus the string of tourmaline beads hanging on the chest, it is the rich and noble appearance of an official wife.

And Xie Xiuniang is not like when she was in Shunxiang Fort, she always wears a coarse cloth long skirt that has faded from the pulp, but dresses up carefully, wearing a rouge pink embroidered moire jacket on the upper body, and a light red pleated skirt is tied below, with a large white plum embroidered in the lower right corner of the skirt, which extends to the waist, covered with a morning glow red white fox fur cape, combed the hair in a double bun, inserted a butterfly golden hairpin, and a few royal blue silk flowers are embellished in the hair.

Looking at his wife and mother's rich dress, Wang Dou was a little sad while admiring: Was he too harsh to his family in the past?

-- In the past, when he was in Shunxiang Fort, although Wang Dou was good at management and had some surplus money in his hands, he knew very well that the troubled times had come, and he could only survive by relying on force, so he devoted himself to the whole army and trained troops to prepare for war, and he was eager to invest every copper coin in military affairs. Even if a silver mine was developed, it was not used to improve one's own life...... I didn't feel much at the time, but now that I think about it, I really feel a little wronged by my family!

It seems that many military attachés whose status is not as good as their own, relying on corrupt military salaries, live a luxurious life of deep mansions and groups of maids and servants.

But this is also a helpless thing, in the troubled times, if you don't pay close attention to the gun, isn't it tantamount to being slaughtered by others?

Now it is not that the troubled times are coming, the building is about to fall, but the troubled times are coming, the building has fallen, and the world has fallen apart!

There is money and no soldiers, and no amount of money is only earned for other strongmen; If you have a soldier and no money, you can use a knife to rob someone else.

Even if it is the current rich days, it is not earned by this elite army under his own hands? If he is like other military attaches in the Xuanfu, turning soldiers into serfs and beggars, and can only farm the land and not fight, why would the Son of Heaven and the imperial court think so highly of themselves?

Fortunately, both her mother and Xiuniang can understand their hardships...... However, just as Wang Dou happily got up from the soft couch and was about to enjoy the loving lunch cooked by his mother, he suddenly heard a rapid drum sound outside, and he couldn't help but stop with a solemn expression. Although Zhong was a little stunned for a while, as a family member of a soldier who had been in the border area for a long time, he quickly understood what this drum meant, and his expression immediately froze:

“…… This is...... Drumming together? Son, isn't this going to war?! ”

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At the same time, in a small flower hall in the Jin Palace, several important ministers of the exiled court, such as Lu Xiangsheng and Wen Tiren, were stunned and confused for the latest decision announced by Emperor Chongzhen. Kill the Fu King?!!

“…… Your Majesty! Think again! Although King Fu seems to have bad intentions, the Luoyang government did not collude with him, but only noticed it a little, and sent someone to report, so the court only needs to punish a small punishment and a big commandment, and there is no need to deal with it so fiercely! ”

“…… Moreover, no matter what King Fu says, he is also His Majesty's own uncle, so he is not taught and punished, I am afraid that the people of the world will criticize him......"

“…… Your Majesty, now that the Beijing division has fallen into the hands of the enemy, and the ministers of Nanjing have supported the establishment of the puppet emperor, the imperial court is already in an embarrassing situation, and it is the time to show grace and calm down. If you are so ruthless and have a reputation for killing relatives, how should people in the world view Your Majesty? ”

……

Under the gossip, basically no one agreed with Emperor Chongzhen's decisiveness in killing Uncle Fuwang, but His Majesty the Emperor was still stubborn.

“…… Alas, ladies and gentlemen, I also know that this strategy will cause great trouble, but what else can I do? ”

Emperor Chongzhen paced around the house like a trapped beast in a cage, his tone full of anxiety and impatience, "...... The imperial court is now trapped in Taiyuan, and the whole province of Shanxi is in tatters, and there is little income. The same is true for the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan. The ministers of Nanjing have rebelled again, and Jiangnan's donations and wealth can no longer be counted on. Moreover, as soon as the Nanjing puppet emperor came out, the world's relatives were bound to move. Today's plan, only a quick knife to cut the mess, kill the chicken and set an example of the monkey, can deter the small crumbs! And King Fu had a history of competing with the imperial father for the throne in the past, and now there are traces revealed, isn't it a good target from God? Besides, although the current Henan government has not yet rebelled, if it sits idly by, what will happen to Henan after the situation changes again in a few months?

In addition, Nanjing is now impossible to go. Taiyuan is lonely in the north, and is in the situation of being outflanked by the rogues and Tartars, and it is really not a place to stay for a long time.

Shaanxi and Gansu have always been barren, and it is the place where the rogue originated, and the imperial court could not stand firm when it went there. And Luoyang is the hub of the Central Plains, the capital of emperors since ancient times, the mountains and rivers are dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, in addition to the only way to drive south, how can you sit back and watch it fall into the hands of ill-intentioned people? ”

――More importantly, there are so many gold and silver mountains in King Fu's mansion, instead of cheapening Li Zicheng's Shaanxi Liukou, it is better to hand them over to me to revive the Ming Dynasty! It's good that the meat is rotten in my own pot...... Emperor Chongzhen, who had crossed the time, rolled his eyes and thought so, and at the same time simply made his words clear: "...... Besides, now that the imperial court is lacking in financial resources, it costs money to recruit troops to rebel, and it costs money to settle hundreds of officials, and its expenses are so huge that I really don't know any other way to fill the hole except for copying King Fu's house...... It's better to kill a fat pig for the New Year! ”

(King Fu is the favored young son of Emperor Wanli, and in the last years of Wanli, he relied on the favor of Emperor Wanli to compete for the throne with Chongzhen's father, Emperor Taichang, and moved to Luoyang after defeat.) At that time, Emperor Wanli rewarded King Fu with many treasures, and it is said that he emptied a small half of the Forbidden City's treasury. ）

“…… Pig...... Your Majesty, how can you look at your relatives like this? Wen Tiren was stunned for a long time before he muttered in such a low voice.

“…… Wen Tiren! When is it time for you to pay attention to such trivial matters? Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand violently, "...... Since the founding of this dynasty more than 200 years ago, there have been so many vassal princes and nobles in the world. Relying on being my relative, below is misbehaving and wanton exploitation. But my ancestors, because of their bloodline, can only accommodate them, even if the relatives are not motivated, as clan relatives, the royal family still has to take care of them. For the sake of these unmotivated relatives, the royal family does not know how much food it has spent and how much infamy it has beared! However, among these relatives, who has thought of the royal difficulties? On the contrary, he knows how to ask for money and food all day long, like a group of debt collectors! Now that the royal family is in trouble, which of them has ever thought of repaying my kindness for so many years and coming to Taiyuan to donate grain, rice, and silver money to fund the military? Not a single one!

Hmph, it's either pretending to be deaf and dumb, or it's growing ambitions and wanting to seek a dynasty and usurp the throne! I am better at raising a dog than raising them!

For example, if it falls apart today, the imperial court is on the verge of despair, there is no money and food to recruit soldiers and horses, there is no money to support hundreds of officials, and the Tartars are still eyeing the thistle, and the rebels from all directions are sharpening their knives. At this time, if you don't take a few rebel vassal kings to save the emergency, what else can you do? Do you want me to watch King Fu take out the treasury of gold and silver to recruit troops and buy people's hearts in Henan, and then pull the flag to make a mess to ask for my life? ”

As soon as these words came out, the ministers in the hall suddenly didn't dare to say more, and after the crossing version of Emperor Chongzhen vented his words, he slowly calmed down, turned around and sat back on a carved chair, picked up a pot of tea that had been cooled and poured it into his mouth.

Hey, it seems that I am still too naïve. originally thought that as long as he escaped from Beijing, he would still have most of the world, and he could calmly spread his hands and deal with the Tartars and traitors. I didn't expect the situation to take such a turn for the worse - the Donglin Party in the south wanted to imitate Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo of the Song Dynasty and let the emperor depose the emperor and put it in the hands of civil officials. The ambition in the brains of the local feudal kings also flourished, and they wanted to imitate the precedent of the Yongle Emperor and kill themselves, the "unvirtuous king", to become the emperor...... Said that the good traverser is angry and doesn't explain? Why is I, the time-traveling version of the emperor, so miserable?

In fact, when he learned that Nanjing actually supported the new emperor, because the original wishful thinking was completely shattered, he was already in chaos. At present, the plan to conquer Luoyang in the south and attack King Fu is just an idea that he has forced out randomly with a slap of his head - no matter how bad a plan is, it is better than no plan! But after getting the money and food from the Fu Wangfu, he was completely out of ideas...... You can only take one step at a time!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, then got up and untied the sword at his waist, and solemnly handed it over to Lu Xiangsheng, the number one fighter under his command, "...... Lu Aiqing, my life and death, as well as the Ming Dynasty's Jiangshan Sheji, are all entrusted to you! ”

Lou? Sheng raised his head and looked at him deeply with complicated eyes, but finally lowered his head obediently: "...... Obey the order! ”

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In December of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the Son of Heaven heard that the Fu Wangfu Mansion had bad intentions, so he worshiped Lu Xiang as the main commander, led the Taiyuan Palace to have 5,000 elite soldiers, drove south in the starry night and snow, and broke into Luoyang on Chinese New Year's Eve, took over the Luoyang official office with the edict of the Son of Heaven, and stormed the Fu Wangfu, seizing the treasures of the royal palace for national use. In February of the following year, the emperor drove south to Luoyang, Lu Xiangsheng held the Fu King and his family to offer prisoners, the emperor was very happy, and asked for instructions on how to deal with the Fu King against the party, and the emperor said: The troubled times must be re-enacted. So with the crime of rebellion, the Fu King was beheaded and abandoned the city, only the Fu Wang Shizi took advantage of the chaos to escape from the tunnel, and fled in exile between the Jianghuai River.

As soon as this incident came out, the world was in an uproar, and the local officials and vassal kings and nobles were all shocked, but there were also scholars who denounced the Son of Heaven for slaughtering his relatives, being mean and unkind, being immoral and incompetent, and not looking like a human king. The Nanjing Imperial Court even invited the sages to write "Seeking to Abolish the Emperor", calling on the righteous people of the world to crusade against tyrants......

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