Chapter 1 The turbulent Ming Dynasty
"Kill!"
The shouts of killing shook the heavens and the earth, and a fierce melee broke out on the land of Huguang.
Countless "soldiers" armed with inferior weapons, even farm tools and wooden sticks, and dressed in tatters, are constantly launching this attack on the city in front of them.
The Ming army at the head of the city kept pouring the golden soup and throwing the rolling wood and boulders downward, but from their hurried movements and panicked expressions, it could be seen that they were not soldiers of a hundred battles.
You must know that Huguang is the heartland of the Ming Dynasty, and they have not experienced war for a long time, except that the equipment on their bodies is better than that of the rebels, they are almost no different from the rebels under the city.
"Boom!" There was a sound of explosions out of nowhere, a cannon exploded, and in an instant, the gunner and the nearby soldiers had all fallen in a pool of blood.
There is a shortage of artillery, and there are almost no gunners who have actually operated, let alone whether they can hit people, and it is already a great luck to blow up the bore after firing so many cannons.
But for the guards who were already under great pressure, this was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
All they saw was a hole in the city, and the artillery, which they almost regarded as depending, had fallen into its nest, and many soldiers had died.
"There is also artillery on the other side! Run for your life! ”
I don't know who was the first to shout this sentence, and suddenly, the defenders completely lost their fighting spirit and began to run towards the city.
No one thought about where the rebels in the city, who were worse equipped than them, could get their artillery, perhaps they were just looking for a reason for their escape.
The garrison of the hundred household officials could not stop their rout, and even he himself turned around.
The escape of the generals seems to confirm the reality that the army has been defeated.
"The city is broken, the city is broken!"
In an instant, the shouts of panic resounded throughout the city, and the soldiers, who had no idea of continuing to resist, threw down their weapons and fled frantically to the rear.
The banner of the word "Ming" slowly fell to the ground, accompanied by countless figures jumping onto the city wall......
……
"Pingjiang fell, the county was martyred, thieves plundered the four fields, and countless wealthy businessmen died. There are also people who do not know loyalty and righteousness, do not know good and evil, and betray the court and defect to the thieves, so that their army reaches 60,000, and the defenders cannot be the defenders. ”
Wuxing Emperor Zhu Changxun slowly finished reading the music in his hand, and his eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly.
His father, the Emperor, really left him with a mess! Today's Ming Dynasty, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Huguang have broken out of the rebellion, other provinces, although there is no sign of uprising, but there are also large-scale gathering of the homeless, if not dealt with in time, the outbreak of rebellion is only a matter of time.
In the north, Warat and Tatar repeatedly violated the border, and the fetters had begun to gradually lose control over the long years, except for a few states close to the Great Wall, the rest of the fetters and prefectures, although nominally still subordinate to the Ming Dynasty, had long been autonomous, not to mention that taxes and household registration had long ceased to be handed over to the central government, and it had not been a long time since they sent brave Mongol warriors to the imperial court.
The elite 3,000 battalions have shrunk from tens of thousands at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to only about 2,000 now.
What an eventful time! I didn't expect that I had just ascended the throne and would have to face such a dilemma. Zhu Changxun thought so in his heart.
But his expression did not show the slightest fear or trouble, and there was even a little ...... Excited?
Rebels, be punished! As the king of the four seas, how can I be troubled by a little rebellion? They are not just enemies for me to look at, but only the lowest page in my book!
Father, let me solve the thief who worries you to death!
Zhu Changxun's mind crossed such thoughts, and he slowly spoke:
"There are rebellions in the four provinces, in the opinion of your Aiqing, who is the general who is more appropriate?"
The question was not what to do, but who should be the general, and he did not seem to have considered the option of "appeasement", nor did he think of anything to calm the common people so that they would collapse without a fight, but from the very beginning, he intended to conquer these rebellions with iron and blood.
In front of him, there were several ministers led by Fang Congzhe, and after listening to the words on the letter, they were all solemn.
Now the situation is at stake, no less than when the millions of displaced people in Xunyang were in turmoil, and even more so.
Hearing the emperor's question, they looked at each other, and in a hurry, they already had an idea. Fang Congzhe, as the first assistant of the cabinet, stood up first and said:
"If it is to quell the rebellion, the minister will recommend Liu Wei, the chief military officer of Sichuan, who has participated in the battle of aiding Korea and the battle of Banzhou, and is a great general."
With Fang Congzhe taking the lead, the other ministers also gossiped and put forward their respective candidates.
"The minister elected Li Rubai, the chief military officer of Liaodong."
"The minister elected Yang Hao, the governor of Datong."
"I think that Juniper, the chief officer of Shanhaiguan, is a good choice......
All of a sudden, there were different opinions.
There is still no shortage of generals in the Ming Dynasty, as for the ability...... Maybe they will be able to fight against the Varat Tatars, but against the rebellious outcasts? Isn't that hand-to-hand?
This is simply a meritorious feat from heaven! Several ministers couldn't help but promote generals who were good friends with them.
Zhu Changxun listened to the words of several people, nodded slightly, he was about to speak, but his eyes crossed the crowd and saw Yan Chenhao who was thinking.
Although he has not yet entered the cabinet, as a secretary of the ministry, he was once an emperor, and he was also called to participate in the meeting this time.
Yan Chenhao frowned and said:
"Your Majesty...... In the opinion of Wei Chen, the top priority is not to arrange a large army to quell the rebellion, but to implement the last words of the first emperor. ”
"Only the exemption from mining taxes, the recall of mine supervisors and tax envoys, the reduction of taxes, and the exemption of tribute for spices and jewels can have the effect of cutting the roots of the rebellion. As far as the ministers know, the rebellion of Jiangsu and Zhejiang originated from the tribute of spices, mining taxes and mine supervisors; Henan's rebellion also originated from the collection of mining taxes and the oppression of taxes; Huguang's rebellion originated from the weight of taxation and the recklessness of taxation. Although some of the displaced people in various provinces came due to natural disasters, a considerable number of them were born because of them. ”
"If you don't get rid of it at all, the rebellion will never end...... And these are also good for His Majesty's reputation, which can avoid a little civil restlessness. ”
"Dare to do it, please Your Majesty according to what the first emperor said, exempt from mining taxes, call tax supervisors, exempt from taxes, and exempt from tribute, first remove these four, and then force them with large soldiers, then the rebellion will be quelled!"
After Yan Chenhao finished speaking, he raised his head and looked at Zhu Changxun with burning eyes.
However, Zhu Changxun avoided his gaze.
The rest of the cabinet ministers looked at Yan Chenhao with strange eyes.
This emperor has been in the court for so many years, and he hasn't even learned to figure out people's hearts?
What Your Majesty said just now clearly means that you don't want to do these things!
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(End of chapter)