The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 374 Southern Country
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, it was September 17th.

Capital, Forbidden City, Dongnuan Pavilion.

The first assistant of the cabinet, Fan Fucui, stood on the left, the second assistant, Zhang Sizhi, stood on the right, and the cabinet ministers Yao Minggong and Wei Zhaocheng stood behind them respectively.

Then standing one after another are six ministers: Li Rixuan, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Li Daiwen, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, Chen Xinjia, the minister of the Ministry of war, Li Juesi, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Liu Zunxian, the minister of the Ministry of industry, and Yang Xiesheng, the minister of the Ministry of rites.

All the important central ministers in the Ming Empire were in Nuan Pavilion.

Although it is only September, the weather in the capital has gradually begun to turn colder.

In Dongnuan Pavilion, everyone stood quietly with their heads lowered.

Chongzhen was sitting on the chair. His face was pale, and the red robe embroidered with dragon patterns seemed to fit poorly. It was obviously much too big.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Chongzhen's face became paler and paler. He felt like his heart was being twisted and he couldn't breathe.

Suzhou was defeated, and nearly 30,000 troops in the northern part of Nanzhili were almost completely lost.

Yang Wenyue was captured and killed by the Ten Thousand People's Army. Commander-in-Chief Yang Dezheng died in battle. Commander-in-Chief Hu Dawei and Fang Guoan's whereabouts were unknown. All the towns that were aided and suppressed were scattered.

The Ten Thousand People's Army captured Suzhou with great momentum, and all the way north, Xuzhou, an important town in the north of South Zhili, fell into the hands of the Wan'an People's Army.

Then the Wanmin Army united with the Gezuo Fifth Battalion to send troops and gathered a large army to prepare for the siege of Fengyang.

The situation in the southeast has deteriorated terribly.

The situation that was difficult to stabilize in the first half of the year collapsed again.

Not only is the hope that the rebellion will be put down this year completely shattered, the Southern Kingdom is even threatened with overthrow.

Chongzhen slowly put down the letter in his hand, even though he had heard some news in advance.

But when he actually saw the defeat report written in white and black characters, Chongzhen still felt uncontrollable chest tightness and shortness of breath, and felt waves of dizziness.

Starting from the second half of this year, there seems to be no good news.

First, there were changes in Shaanxi, and Li Zicheng actually had something to do with Qinghai Mongolia.

Then Zhang Xianzhong defeated the pursuing troops and made a surprise attack on Xiangyang.

Whether King Xiang was killed or not, what was more important was that Zhang Xianzhong was given an advantage by hoarding military pay and ordnance stored in Xiangyang City.

The missing military pay must be reissued from various places.

The country was already in financial difficulties, and the deficit caused by the fall of Xiangyang made it even worse.

Henan is currently experiencing civil unrest caused by famine. In fact, the ultimate source is the lack of money and food for disaster relief.

Chongzhen knew all these things.

But the country's finances are like this, and they have already been unable to make ends meet.

Now, due to the continuous deterioration of the current situation, the continuous destruction of rogue bandits, and the continuous expansion of troops in various places, the deficit is getting worse, and it has almost reached the point where it cannot sustain it.

The rate increases one after another were just to quench thirst, and Chongzhen naturally knew that.

But he had to do it.

Because only in this way can we barely support the current state of the country.

The situation in Shaanxi is also gradually deteriorating, and the deadlock can only be maintained.

Zheng Chongjian has so many soldiers and horses, and the daily food and salary required is not a small amount.

The war in Liaodong was raging, and tens of thousands of slaves and soldiers were besieging Jinzhou. A war was imminent, and a large amount of money and food were needed.

Before Zu Dashou asked for help, he had already spent a large sum of money in food and salary.

Hou Xun went south to supervise the army and took away another 400,000 taels of silver.

Thinking of these problems, Chongzhen couldn't help but feel an increasingly headache. His expression changed, and a sickly color appeared on his pale face.

A violent coughing sound resounded in Dongnuan Pavilion, naturally alarming all the ministers standing below.

Everyone looked towards Chongzhen, with different eyes, different expressions, and different emotions.

It's just that I don't know how much of their emotions and expressions are true and how much of them are false.

In the officialdom, the true and false, the false and the true, the open sword and the secret weapon, and the power struggle have already made everyone wear a mask on their faces.

After a long time, Chongzhen got better under Wang Dehua's care.

Chongzhen stopped coughing and raised his head to look at the ministers standing below, his eyes full of exhaustion.

"Suzhou was defeated, Fengyang was besieged, and the 10,000-strong rebel army merged with the fifth battalion of Gezuo. The two combined totaled more than 500,000 soldiers. The situation in the southeast has reached this point. How should it be resolved?"

After Chongzhen finished speaking, all the ministers in Nuan Pavilion looked at each other, and the atmosphere became calm again.

After a while, Fan Fucui, the chief assistant of the cabinet, took a step forward.

At this time, if he, the chief assistant, does not stand up, he will really be derelict in his duties.

Moreover, some time ago, he was accused of being incompetent and unworthy of being the chief minister.

Therefore, at this critical moment, Fan Fucui had to step forward as soon as possible no matter what.

"Fengyang has been fortified several times. It is heavily defended and has a favorable geographical location. Now there are still more than 50,000 soldiers and generals. Although the 10,000 thieves and the fifth battalion of Gezuo are connected, it is not easy to break them."

When he heard the summons, Fan Fucui knew that Chongzhen would definitely ask relevant questions, so he had already discussed the strategy with the scribes under the curtain, and he was not too at a loss now.

"There are no more soldiers and horses in Southern Zhili that can be mobilized. To lift the siege of Fengyang and Lift the siege of Southern Zhili, the only way now is to mobilize foreign troops for reinforcements."

"Huguang, Henan, Shandong, Jiangxi and other places are in war at this time. Moreover, they are far apart and it is difficult to send reinforcements."

"Your Majesty can issue an edict to send combat troops from Zhejiang and Fujian provinces to assist southern Zhili."

Chongzhen's eyes moved slightly and he pressed the letter placed on the desk.

Fan Fucui's proposal is indeed a solution to the problem of Southern Zhili.

But Chongzhen still hesitated.

The total number of soldiers in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces is not large, and the two places are camps and towns within the pass. He is not sure about their combat capabilities. Whether letting them come in to help can really relieve the problem of Southern Zhili is a question.

Fan Fucui is such a good person. When he saw Chongzhen's eyebrows furrowed, he guessed what Chongzhen was thinking and said immediately.

"Previously, the Southeast Coast pirates had caused chaos, and many attacks on coastal towns occurred. Therefore, the troops in Zhejiang and Fujian were not soldiers who had been out of battle for a long time, but were already considered elite in the southern provinces."

"But for the sake of safety, some troops and horses can be dispatched from Jiangxi to help."

"A total of 50,000 troops and horses from the three provinces will be mobilized to assist southern Zhili. Once they arrive in Fengyang, the siege of Fengyang can be lifted."

Chongzhen's frown relaxed a little.

Chongzhen was aware of the situation around Fengyang, and the cabinet had already sent someone to report the detailed situation.

After two months of delay, Hou Xun's side shouldn't be a problem.

But soon, Chongzhen's brows wrinkled again.

"The problem of South Zhili has been solved for the time being. Although the army of thousands of thieves is now surrounding Fengyang, there is still a risk of going north."

"Yang..."

Chongzhen paused, hesitated, and said.

"Suzhou was defeated, all the towns were defeated, and someone needs to take over the post of Governor of Baoding. Who do you think is suitable to take over this post?" Fan Fucui bowed his head slightly and said nothing.

Although Chongzhen only talked about the position of Governor of Baoding, in fact whoever takes over as Governor of Baoding will be responsible for the important task of suppressing the Wan Min Army.

Baoding is a mess right now.

Most of the elite soldiers Sun Chuanting trained in Baoding were thrown away by Yang Wenyue in Suzhou.

Of the nearly 30,000 troops, only three or four thousand returned to the north of the Yellow River, and the rest of the troops were temporarily out of contact.

Needless to say, if the Wan Min Army turns northward, it will be difficult to organize an effective defense.

The current position of Governor of Baoding is not easy to sit in.

There are not many benefits, but a lot of responsibilities.

If the recommended person does not act or does not do a good job, then the recommender will inevitably be implicated.

It is not a good thing to serve as the first assistant in the government nowadays.

The former chief minister Xue Guoguan was dismissed from his post just because of some trivial matters.

Fan Fucui is now old and has many lessons learned from his mistakes.

He doesn't want to seize power, he just wants to retire from the position of chief assistant safely and preserve his reputation.

Fan Fucui had two candidates in mind. If these two people were to take over the position of governor of Baoding, they could at least stabilize the current situation and prevent it from deteriorating further.

But neither of them can say it now, because once they say it, Chongzhen will be furious.

Of these two people, one is naturally Sun Chuanting, who is now in prison, and the other is Lu Xiangsheng, who is serving filial piety in his hometown.

In the warm room, everyone kept silent.

Chongzhen's face also darkened.

Subconsciously, Chongzhen couldn't help but think of Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng.

If only the two of them were here, the situation in the southeast would not be so corrupt.

It's just that Sun Chuanting's previous behaviors made Chongzhen angry.

Although Lu Xiangsheng did not understand his hint, he ruined the chance of peace talks.

But Lu Xiangsheng's loyalty is still guaranteed. Lu Xiangsheng will listen carefully to his words, but his personality is too upright, so this is not a problem.

However, Lu Xiangsheng was serving his filial piety and had already stolen love once before. How could he steal love again?

Neither Lu Xiangsheng nor Sun Chuanting can be used now...

Chongzhen's eyes slowly swept over the ministers, and his eyes became more and more sinister.

He had already seen through the faces of these ministers.

When he first came to the throne, he was deceived by a group of ministers who were full of benevolence, justice and morality and seemed to be aboveboard. They broke his arms and laid the root of his disaster.

The country has reached such a critical situation, but they still want to protect themselves wisely.

Chongzhen's eyes swept across the ministers in the cabinet, and everyone also saw Chongzhen's eyes. At that moment, everyone's brains began to spin rapidly to think of countermeasures.

At this time, Chen Xinjia walked out first.

"Your Majesty, I have someone to recommend you to the post of Governor of Baoding."

Seeing that it was Chen Xinjia who made the recommendation, Chongzhen's expression softened a little, and his frown relaxed a lot.

Since the crisis in Liaodong and the civil uprising in Guan Nei, almost most people are unwilling to serve as Minister of the Ministry of War and take charge of all affairs of the Ministry of War, thinking that it is a hard job.

But Chen Xinjia did not refuse at all. It can even be said that he took the initiative to take on this responsibility.

In the subsequent Wuyin Incident, Chen Xingjia took charge of the troops and horses around the capital, managed them in an orderly manner, and coordinated the logistics of King Qin's army in various places, so that he did not provoke many mutinies among soldiers like the previous King Qin.

Then Chen Xinjia handed over ten methods to defend the country.

One of them is to establish an important town in Xuzhou to open the throat of the two capitals. To the west, it can prevent rogue bandits from rushing into South Zhili, to the north, it can rush to support Shandong and North Zhili, and to the south, it can protect the imperial tombs.

Chongzhen has already agreed to these suggestions.

It's a pity that the camp and town in Xuzhou have just been established, and the food, grass and military pay have not yet been allocated, and the army of thousands of people suddenly marched eastward.

This also made Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh.

If Chen Xinjia could be used early, a major town would be established in Xuzhou.

The Ten Thousand People's Army is afraid that it will be stopped in Guide Mansion, and will not be able to reach Xuzhou City, nor will it threaten the security of Nanzhili.

Therefore, Chongzhen still had a good impression of Chen Xinjia, so he said warmly.

"Chen Aiqing, please speak."

Chen Xinjia took a step forward and bowed respectfully to Chongzhen.

"Now the situation in the South has become increasingly corrupt and has reached a point where it is difficult to deal with."

"Shaanxi Li Chuang and Qinghai Mongolia colluded with each other. Southern Zhili suffered a defeat in Suzhou, and the three towns of Baoding, Hebei, and Shandong suffered serious military losses."

"The situation in Henan is now stabilizing, but the newly trained soldiers can protect the territory and the people, but it is difficult to carry out an attack."

"After the city of Xiangyang was destroyed, the Xian bandits left many soldiers and horses to defend Xiangyang, which restrained a large number of our army's forces."

"Wan Yuanji and Zuo Liangyu's troops are still pursuing Zhang Xianzhong. Although they defeated Zhang Xianzhong in Wuchang, they allowed Zhang Xianzhong to escape into Jiangxi."

Because of Hou Xun, Zuo Liangyu did not delay doing things this time, and he and Zhang Xianzhong already had a grudge.

This time Zhang Xianzhong attacked Xiangyang and seized not only the money and grain that the imperial court officials had hoarded in Xiangyang, but also some of Zuo Liangyu's property.

With old and new grudges, plus the money and food in place, Zuo Liangyu really put in all his efforts to recover the money this time.

Although most of Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers were newly recruited soldiers, they adopted Xu Yixian's advice and began to make plans to train the soldiers and horses under his command.

After training and experiencing many battles, as well as the large number of soldiers and armor obtained from the previous capture of Xiangyang, the combat effectiveness of Zhang Xianzhong's troops at this time was even far higher than at its peak.

In the southern suburbs of Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong formed a battle array, and Wan Yuanji arrived first with his troops to launch the attack.

But even though Cao Bianjiao and Meng Ruhu tried their best, they still failed to achieve success, and even fell into a bitter battle afterwards.

Later, Zuo Liangyu arrived with his troops and stabilized the situation on the battlefield.

The key to the final victory was that Zuo Liangyu led his bodyguards to defeat Zhang Xianzhong's army several times during the stalemate.

But it is a pity that Zhang Xianzhong was not completely defeated in the end, and Zhang Xianzhong was still allowed to save a lot of troops.

"The Tao Te Ching says that governing a big country is like cooking small dishes, but the current situation is not about governing the country. The civil unrest in the pass has continued to this day, which has already become a serious illness in our country, and serious illness requires the use of strong medicine."

Chen Xinjia raised his head with firm eyes.

"Now that the situation in the South has reached this point, only those with outstanding ability can solve it."

"I thought..."

Chen Xinjia bowed his hands, slowly knelt down on the ground, and said solemnly.

"Only Sun Chuanting can solve the current situation in the Southern Kingdom!"