The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 349 Chaos
The turbulent current situation in the Southern Kingdom not only affects the Southern Kingdom, but also affects the capital thousands of miles away.

April is the time when spring flowers bloom and everything revives.

But at this time in the capital, whether it was pedestrians on the road or officials in the mansion, everyone's faces seemed to be covered with a layer of gloom.

Forbidden City.

Inside the Xinuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

Chongzhen sat behind the desk, reading the memorial that had been submitted from the cabinet not long ago.

Chongzhen's face was pale, almost bloodless, and his eyes were bloodshot. From a distance, it looked like his eyes were red.

Under the Yishan crown, Chongzhen's temples were slightly messy, and his robes were also uneven, with wrinkles in many places, as if they had not been changed for a long time.

This was obviously an extremely unusual thing for the emperor.

In the Nuan Pavilion, it was quiet, except for Chongzhen, there was no one else.

Chongzhen was sitting alone in the Nuan Pavilion, and the empty space made him feel more and more lonely.

Chongzhen looked tired and his eyes were empty.

Too many things were piled on his shoulders.

Since he came to the throne, there has never been a day when he failed to do his best and no one failed to do his job diligently.

But why, why did he try his best, but the situation not only did not improve at all, but instead became more intense and more difficult.

Obviously at the beginning of the new year, everything is developing for the better.

Although rogue bandits are on the rise, officers and soldiers from various places are still able to suppress local areas and control the situation.

Favorable information is constantly coming from various places. Either they have obtained good news somewhere, they have captured another bandit leader somewhere, or they have defeated more or less rogue bandits.

The border situation in the North has calmed down, Jiannu and Mongolia have temporarily ceased their activities, and everything is calm along the Great Wall.

But who could have imagined that everything would take a turn for the worse soon.

The soldiers and horses of Southern Zhili spent countless money and food, but they still failed to annihilate the fifth battalion of Gezuo who was trapped in the Yinghuo Mountain area.

Then Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai escaped from the encirclement and entered Sichuan.

Then Li Zicheng made a comeback and stirred up troubles in all directions in Shaanxi.

Although Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, later defeated him, he was not able to eliminate Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng has now fled into Lintao Prefecture in western Shaanxi, and his influence has penetrated deep into the Hexi Corridor.

Not only did they collude with the local Qiang people, but they also seemed to be related to the Mongolian tribes in Qinghai.

Chongzhen put down the memorial in his hand, and his frown could not help but tighten again.

This memorial was delivered by Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides.

Zheng Chongjian reported back that many cavalrymen who seemed to be Mongolian and Qiang people were found among Li Zicheng's troops, which greatly increased their power. It would probably take a lot of time to wipe out Li Zicheng.

"Your Majesty... take a rest..."

A coat was wrapped around Chongzhen's body.

Chongzhen raised his head and happened to see Wang Dehua standing next to him.

After Cao Huachun retired and returned to his hometown, the eunuch who took over as the Superintendent of Ceremonies was Wang Dehua.

Chongzhen was not much surprised. Just now, his mind was on the memorial. Wang Dehua should have entered Nuan Pavilion at this time.

Wang Dehua had been waiting by his side before, but he mentioned that he was a little sleepy and asked Wang Dehua to order someone to get tea, so Wang Dehua left Nuange.

"Now that the current situation is so rotten, with internal worries and external dangers, how can I sit back and rest?"

Chongzhen shook his head slowly, his voice was low and hoarse, and he looked extremely weak.

"emperor……"

Wang Dehua looked concerned, his eyes were red, tears were shed, and his voice was choked.

"I know my body well."

Chongzhen picked up the strong tea that Wang Dehua had just placed on the table and took a gentle sip.

The smell of tea made Chongzhen's originally chaotic mind a little clearer.

Chongzhen leaned back, supported one side of his head with his right hand, slowly closed his eyes, and leaned forward to ask Wang Dehua.

"Henan...what's the situation now..."

Chongzhen's eyes dimmed and he took another sip of strong tea to keep himself up.

In March, when he heard that King Fu was killed and Luoyang fell, his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

To be honest, Chongzhen didn't have much affection for his uncle Fu Wang.

When King Fu died, most of the courtiers criticized Yang Sichang for losing his vassal status, but all criticisms were suppressed by Chongzhen.

The reason why Chongzhen could not accept it was because the fall of the important town of Luoyang, the growing strength of the Ten Thousand People's Army, and the rapid erosion of the situation in Henan made the already difficult situation even worse.

Chongzhen knew very well that Yang Sichang should not be too harshly criticized for this matter.

Lord Yang Sichang is marching into Sichuan with his troops, and in Henan, Yang Sichang originally sent Shaanxi troops to stabilize the situation in Henan and wipe out most of the rebels in Henan.

It was the mediocre and incompetent Li Xianfeng who caused the civil unrest in Henan to get out of hand.

He actually sat back and watched as a small bandit who originally only had a few thousand soldiers and horses, fought and won continuously, and developed into a behemoth with hundreds of thousands of people today.

And the banner of the little thieves touched Chongzhen's back scale.

The army is called the Ten Thousand People's Army and claims to represent all the people.

That damn Li Yan actually calls himself King Xin.

You know, Chongzhen's previous title was King Xin.

Everything Li Yan did was undoubtedly a slap in Chongzhen's face.

"The situation in Henan is improving now. Thousands of thieves surrendered under the city of Kaifeng and were defeated by General Chen Wang. They suffered heavy losses and fled towards Qixian County. They seemed to be preparing to flee into Guide Mansion."

Wang Dehua raised his hand and wiped the tears on his face with his sleeve. When he heard Chongzhen's question, he naturally did not dare to neglect it.

Talking about the situation in Henan, Wang Dehua looked a little more relaxed. Most of the news about Henan is good news.

"Soldiers from Shandong and South Zhili have already assembled at the border in advance and set up defense lines. It will not be easy for tens of thousands of thieves to break out of Henan."

"Chen Wang..."

Hearing Wang Dehua mention Chen Wang, the look on Chongzhen's face also relaxed a lot.

Chongzhen couldn't help but think of the heroic young man on the platform, with his back straight and full of vigor.

Every time I hear Chen Wang's name, there is almost always good news, and this time is no exception.

When he received the news of the defeat of Zhengzhou, Chongzhen wanted to cut Li Xianfeng, the governor, into pieces with a thousand knives.

At that time, Chongzhen had almost determined that Kaifeng might fall like Luoyang, and he had already prepared for the worst.

But who would have thought that Chen Wang was like a divine soldier descending from heaven, galloping thousands of miles, entering Kaifeng City first and stabilizing the situation.

Not only did they defend Kaifeng from behind, they also severely damaged the main force of the Ten Thousand Thieves Army, forcing the Ten Thousand Thieves Army to retreat from Kaifeng and flee elsewhere.

Luoyang, which had fallen, was also recaptured by Chen Wang's troops.

When the world is in chaos, we miss our loyal ministers; when the country is in danger, we miss our good generals.

Fortunately, with Chen Wang around, the situation in Henan did not continue to deteriorate. With the arrogant and capable generals from various towns as comparisons, Chen Wang naturally seemed very pleasing to Chongzhen.

Chen Wang has served under Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, and Yang Sichang for many years. He has never disobeyed orders once. He often served as a firefighter and has always been loyal.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen's frowned brows relaxed, and his spirit also felt much better.

"What's the current situation in Liaodong? Is there any news?"

Chongzhen calmed down. The situation in Henan is currently relatively stable, but in comparison, Liaodong is very uncertain.

Wang Dehua looked a little embarrassed, but still answered.

"Reporting to your Majesty, the Jiannu have not made any big moves these days and have not launched any attacks. They are still entrenched in the Yizhou area and moving around as before."

"The news came from the ancestral commander, Jian Nu..."

Wang Dehua paused for a moment, first glanced at Chongzhen who was closing his eyes, and then continued with a somewhat uncertain tone.

"Jiannu seems to be preparing to build a city in the Yiju area."

"fortification?"

Chongzhen's eyes slowly opened and he looked at Wang Dehua.

"Yes, the military report from General Zu did indeed mention the construction of a city."

Wang Dehua nodded. When he learned the news, he had the same reaction as Chongzhen.

Chongzhen frowned, he didn't know much about military affairs.

When he heard that Jiannu did not launch an attack, but instead built a city in Yizhou, he felt puzzled.

"What's the use of building a city in Yiju?"

After Wang Dehua pondered for a moment, he answered cautiously.

"I don't know much about soldiers, and I don't know the details. According to the letter from General Zu, the slave built the city in Yizhou because he wanted to build a supply place first to facilitate the hoarding of soldiers, horses, food and grass."

"When Jiannu builds Yizhou City, I'm afraid he will have a large army to attack Jinzhou. Please ask the emperor to allocate military supplies and equipment to the north for support."

Chongzhen frowned again, a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

"Money, food, money and food, money and food again, how could I get them so much money and food?"

Chongzhen's voice was low, with a little anger in his tone.

"Tens of millions of Liao wages are spent every year, but the slaves in the north are getting stronger and stronger, while the land in Liaodong is getting less and less."

"Every time there is a war, we report requests for additional military supplies and equipment, as well as additional military pay and money. Where have these tens of millions of military pay gone?!"

Chongzhen's eyes were cold and filled with anger.

"If you don't give it, let him, Zu Dashou, figure it out on his own!"

He is no longer the vassal king who just ascended the throne and had no knowledge of political affairs.

During his thirteen years in power, he had already become aware of many secrets in the imperial court and military towns.

Chongzhen was aware of all these problems, including official corruption and military and town corruption.

But now the long-standing disadvantages have become serious. Many times, even if you want to change, you are powerless.

Just like the problems in the Beijing camp, Chongzhen knew all about it, but there were too many interests involved.

Up to now, the Beijing camp has not been completely reorganized.

Only the newly trained Yongwei Battalion can still be considered an army and has a combat capability.

Thinking of Yongwei Camp, Chongzhen's expression softened slightly.

The Yongwei battalion who went south to put down the rebellion made successive achievements and were effective in suppressing the enemy, which indeed made him feel a little better.

Having a strong army directly under your control really gives people peace of mind.

When Chongzhen scolded him coldly, Wang Dehua stood aside, like a clay sculpture.

In this case, silence is the best way to deal with it.

In fact, most people know very well why tens of millions of taels are spent every year on Liao’s salary...

Chongzhen did not curse for a long time. After scolding for a while, he stopped talking.

After being silent for a long time, Chongzhen's expression looked quite decadent, and his voice was deeper than before.

"I agree to Zu Dashou's request and the cabinet will find a way to solve this problem."

What they just said were just words of anger. Naturally, Liaodong and Chongzhen did not dare to give up.

Regarding Zu Dashou, Chongzhen's mood was actually extremely complicated.

On the one hand, he hated Yu Zu Dashou for disobeying the edicts and turning Liao Town into his own private town many times.

But on the other hand, Zu Dashou has indeed been guarding Liaodong, doing his best to resist Jiannu's attack.

The world is not black and white. Many times, people and things are extremely complex.

During the Battle of Dalinghe, just reading the cold and ruthless words on the pond newspaper was enough to move anyone.

"The matters in Liaodong will be sent to the Nuan Pavilion after there are changes. Normal matters will be handled by the cabinet."

Chongzhen waved his hand. The mess in Liaodong has been going on for decades. The holes are getting bigger and bigger. If you want to solve it, there is no way to start internally.

It’s not that Chongzhen didn’t try, but the price he paid was that border affairs became increasingly corrupt and the Jian Nu army grew increasingly powerful.

The Liao Zhen family has been the dominant family for too long.

It's just that among the towns on the nine sides, few towns can compete with each other. In the battles with Jiannu, they always lost more than they won, and they couldn't even defend the city.

When Lu Xiangsheng first took office, Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi towns were in a state of reform.

But Lu Xiangsheng insisted on confronting him as the emperor at a critical moment and refused to obey his orders.

Chongzhen's face was uncertain. Lu Xiangsheng was a talent, and he knew it very well.

Now that Chen Xinjia is appointed as the Governor of Xuanda, he is indeed not as good as Lu Xiangsheng. He can only be said to be quite satisfactory.

It's just that the edict of reprimand has been issued, and Lu Xiangsheng still has more than two years of mourning period. Even if he wants to use him, it's not easy to use him now.

At this time, Chongzhen couldn't help but think of Sun Chuanting.

I thought of Sun Chuanting's memorial on the platform in the past, of Sun Chuanting's impassioned spirit during the expedition, and of the decisive memorial that Sun Chuanting sent back at Qingshan Pass.

But soon, the anger in his heart overwhelmed the clarity in Chongzhen's mind.

Chongzhen had already concluded that Sun Chuanting's resignation due to illness was a shirk of responsibility and a disregard for his trust. He did not want to use Sun Chuanting anymore, at least for the time being.

Chongzhen put down the tea cup in his hand, his eyes lowered.

The problem in Liaodong must be solved, and Chongzhen has already figured everything out.

If we want to solve the problem in Liaodong, we cannot start from Liaodong, but must find another way from other places.

Relying only on the soldiers and horses of Liao Town, the soldiers and horses of Liao Town will become more and more arrogant, and the wages they demand will become larger and larger.

Therefore, in these years, Chongzhen has been trying to strengthen the combat power of the remaining camps and towns in Jiubian as much as possible.

It was precisely for this reason that Yang Sichang was allowed to collect training wages and train frontier troops from various places.

This time, he defied all opinions and asked Chen Wang to reorganize military affairs in Henan, restore towns, and train new soldiers for the same reason.

(End of this chapter)