The salt system reform has come to an end, and he is not ready to clean up the officialdom and set up towns and villages in Yangzhou Prefecture, so Zhu Youzhen's affairs in Yangzhou have actually come to an end. It stands to reason that he should continue to go south to Nanjing to worship his ancestors, but he stayed in Yangzhou City for many days.

The reason why I stayed in Yangzhou was naturally not to indulge in the prosperity of Yangzhou, nor because of the beauty of Yangzhou's thin horses, but to worry about the situation in various places.

Zhu Youzhen didn't care about what happened in the court hall of Beijing, with tens of thousands of Praetorian Guards guarding Beijing, the civil officials in the court would not be able to turn the sky upside down. The peasant rebellion in Henan intensified, and Zhu Youzhen was not very worried, because the 30,000 Praetorian Guards were about to reach the Yellow River in the south. How could 30,000 battle-hardened Janissaries be able to compete with a rabble like the peasant army? As long as the 30,000 Praetorian Guards arrived in Henan, it would not take long to quell the civil unrest.

What really worries Zhu Youzhen is the situation in Jiangxi.

According to intelligence, the rebel army in Jiangxi has reached as many as 200,000 and is besieging Nanchang City. Not long ago, the imperial court had ordered the dispatch of troops from Huguang, Zhejiang, and Nanzhi provinces to reinforce Jiangxi to encircle and suppress the thief army. However, considering the situation of the rebel army in Jiangxi for several years, Zhu Youzhen was very skeptical that the provincial armies could defeat the thief army.

Four years ago, there were many rebellions among the people in the mountainous areas of southern Gansu, and Zhu Youzhen issued an order to reinstate Yuan Chonghuan as the governor of Jiangxi, responsible for the anti-thieves in the west. At that time, many courtiers recommended Yuan Chonghuan to succeed him as the governor of Jiliao, but Zhu Youzhen was not interested in Yuan Chonghuan. But thinking that Yuan Chonghuan's ability was not bad after all, he sent him to Jiangxi.

In the past few years, Yuan Chonghuan has been conscientious in suppressing thieves in Jiangxi, successively exterminating several anti-thieves, and blocking the last few bandits in the deep mountains of southern Jiangxi. According to the situation at that time, the Jiangxi rebels could soon be completely pacified.

However, who knew that in the autumn of last year, the thief army that was driven into the mountains suddenly came out and strangely defeated the army led by Yuan Chonghuan. It is said that these thieves were equipped with a large number of well-made firearms, and in terms of equipment, they actually crushed the officers and soldiers in Yuan Chonghuan's hands.

Yuan Chonghuan was defeated in Ganzhou and retreated all the way to Ji'an Mansion, where the anti-thieves followed and pursued and entered Ji'an Mansion. Yuan Chonghuan originally wanted to defend the city of Luling in Ji'an Mansion and wait for reinforcements. Who knew that there was a thief army in Luling City, and he helped the thief army open the city gate, Yuan Chonghuan had no choice but to retreat all the way to Nanchang City through Linjiang Mansion. The official army was defeated and retreated, and the thief army followed all the way to attack the city, and soon occupied the southern provinces of Jiangxi. Ganzhou, Nan'an, Ji'an, Fuzhou, Linjiang, and several prefectures in southern Jiangxi were all occupied by thieves.

Moreover, according to the report of the secret agent, the Jiangxi thief army was strictly disciplined and did not plunder the gentry and the people, and was deeply loved by the gentry and the people. Hundreds of people joined the army one after another, and in more than half a year, the number grew to hundreds of thousands.

When the news of the defeat of Yuan Chonghuan by Jiangxi rebels reached Beijing, Zhu Youzhen did not care. Because he knew that although there were repeated rebellions among the people in Jiangxi, they had not formed a scale in the previous life, and they had always been easily suppressed by the official army. Moreover, it is also a good thing that there are people who rebel, and it is better to kill some local gentry by the hands of the rebels, so as to remove resistance to future reforms.

Therefore, at that time, Zhu Youzhen just issued an order at will, allowing the local government to encircle and suppress the thieves on its own, and did not intend to use the Praetorian Guard to suppress it, and even Zhu Youzhen did not punish Yuan Chonghuan, but let him make meritorious contributions.

And now it seems that from the time the thief army rushed out of the mountains to defeat Yuan Chonghuan, and now occupies half of the territory of Jiangxi, the thief army has developed a little rapidly, as if there is a big hand behind it, which makes Zhu Youzhen have to be suspicious.

Once the Jiangxi thief army captured Nanchang City, it was likely to go east along the Yangtze River and launch an attack on Nanjing.

Can the Jiangxi thief army capture Nanchang City? I really can't tell.

I only have five or six thousand troops around me now, is it really good to continue to go to Nanjing at this time? Zhu Youzhen was a little hesitant.

"Your Majesty, in the opinion of the minister, it should be more stable, and it is best to stay in Yangzhou first. After the Praetorian Guards went south to pacify the Henan anti-thieves, it was better to be escorted to Nanjing by tens of thousands of troops. Hong Chengchou naturally understood Zhu Youzhen's thoughts and persuaded him.

From Hong Chengchou's point of view, he naturally didn't want the emperor to be in any danger. No matter how strong the anti-thieves in Jiangxi are, what can they do, the big deal is to send the Praetorian Guards to the south on a large scale, and the 100,000 Praetorian Guards to cross the river, and they are afraid that they will not be able to deal with any anti-thieves? Therefore, at this time, everything should be based on stability, first pacifying the civil unrest in Henan, stabilizing the rear, and then talking about the south.

"There are hundreds of thousands of anti-thieves in Henan, where is it so easy to pacify. Do I want to stay in this Yangzhou city for a year or two? Wouldn't it be a joke to worship the ancestors in the south? Zhu Youzhen shook his head and said. He went south in the name of worshipping his ancestors, and saw that more than half a year had passed, but he had not yet reached Nanjing. If you wait in Yangzhou for another year and a half, it will really become a joke.

"Then in the name of the royal drive to pacify the civil unrest, His Majesty simply led the troops to Henan. First, the civil unrest in Henan was completely quelled, and then a thorough reform was carried out in Henan. Suppressed the squires and landlords, divided the land to the people, cleaned up the government and county officials, and set up towns and villages. Then the figure goes south. Hong Chengchou suggested.

"But what if Jiangxi rebels capture Nanchang City and go downstream? With the laxity of Nanjing's city defense, I am afraid that it will not be able to stop the thief army. Once the thief army breaks through Nanjing, there will inevitably be a great earthquake in the world, and the gentry from all over the country will take advantage of the situation again, I am afraid that the imperial court will lose control of Jiangnan. Zhu Youzhen said with a solemn expression.

Although the Praetorian Guard is very strong, even if there is a major rebellion, it can be quelled. But after all, the number of Praetorian Guards is only about 100,000, and they still have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding the border. Although Jiannu went to Mobei, who can guarantee that he will not take the opportunity to go south? Once too many Janissaries are transferred, it is likely to give Jiannu an opportunity. And who knows if the Mongols in Mo Nan will take the opportunity to make trouble in an attempt to break away from the control of the Ming Dynasty?

I am afraid that the situation will really get out of control. If the Jiangxi thief army captures Nanjing, Jiangnan will inevitably be in chaos, and the transportation will be cut off, which will deeply affect the northern provinces. Because the imperial court relied heavily on the grain and tax silver in the south of the Yangtze River!

"Otherwise, Pingliao Bo Zhao will lead the troops south to worship your ancestors, and Your Majesty can go to Kaifeng to preside over the rebellion." Hong Chengchou thought about it and suggested again.

Zhao Shujiao was in Huai'an, so he could lead thousands of Praetorian Guards south to Nanjing, responsible for leading the defense of Nanjing, with Zhao Shujiao's ability, it was enough to hold Nanjing City and resist any thief army. Besides, the emperor does not need to be present to worship the ancestors in Nanjing, and it has always been the honorable to worship the ancestors instead of the emperor, and Zhao led the sect to the south, which can be regarded as a justification and not losing face.

"No, I'm going south myself!" Zhu Youzhen's expression froze and he no longer hesitated.

"I went all the way south from Beijing to Yangzhou, only a river away from Nanjing, if I retreated at this time, I would look down on myself!"

"I am the Son of Heaven, the Lord of the Ming Dynasty! is just a thief, but there is a black hand behind it, so why should I be afraid? ”