Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 169 The forces in Beijing
Zhu Tianqi pondered for a moment and said: "If that's the case, the 'Huang Taiji' who escaped from the customs must be Dorgon in disguise!"

Zhao Lijiao clasped his fists and said: "Back to the emperor, I also think so. The one who escorted the fake Huang Taiji to escape at that time was the Zhengbai Banner in Jiannuzhong. The owner of the Zhengbai Banner was Duduo, who was the same as Naduo. Ergun is the brother of the same mother, if not, why would Duduo risk his life to save him?"

Zhu Tianqi nodded slowly, and then asked: "What about this Duduo? Did he also escape with Dorgon?"

Zhao Lijiao replied: "Back to the emperor, this Duduo has been killed by our army at Da'ankou. The Zhengbai Banner of Jiannu has also been almost completely annihilated by our army. What Dorgon took away was only one or two thousand defeated soldiers." !”

Zhu Tianqi was obviously very satisfied with the result, but he just fled back to Dorgon, who was much easier to deal with than Huang Taiji. The current Dorgon was just a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, although he was very capable in fighting. Brave, but still a little immature when it comes to strategy.

After Dorgon led a thousand defeated soldiers back to Liaodong, it was still unclear whether he could stabilize the situation and support Hou Jin's success, let alone lead his troops to seek revenge!
Now that Huang Taiji is dead, Daishan, Amin and Mang Gurtai have been captured, and several of the main leaders of Jiannu cannot go back. Apart from Dorgon, there is no one who can speak and make decisions in Jiannu. , their "big golden" country is equivalent to existing in name only.

Zhu Tianqi then asked: "Have you found the other leaders and flag owners of the slave establishment?"

Zhao led the teacher to salute and replied: "Back to the emperor, the general has sent troops to search and suppress them, and has also deployed additional manpower throughout the Great Wall. I believe it won't take long to annihilate all the fleeing slave-building troops!"

Zhu Tianqi nodded slightly and said: "Be sure to find all the banner owners and Baylor who established slaves. If you want to see them alive, you want to see their bodies if they die!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shujiao hurriedly clasped his fists: "I will obey your orders!"

What happened next was very simple. All armies of the Ming Army gathered south of Santun Camp.

The deputy commander-in-chief of Datong, Ma Dengyun, led his troops and the commander-in-chief Mangui of Datong merged together. The original [-] soldiers and horses now only have less than [-] left, with nearly [-] casualties;
The 1 troops led by Changping Commander You Shiwei now only have [-] left, with nearly half of them dead or injured;

The [-] troops led by Hou Shilu, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, now have only [-] left, with more than [-] dead and wounded;
The Ping-Liao Commander-in-Chief Zhao led the [-] Guanning iron cavalry with almost no casualties, only losing more than a thousand people;
The 2000 Guanning cavalry led by Zu Dashou, the commander-in-chief of the vanguard of the Liao expedition, only lost 8000, leaving [-];

Sun Yuanhua led [-] new troops, but the total loss was less than [-], and there were still more than [-] left!
The various ministries still have more than 16 soldiers and horses in total, and they can carry out blanket searches and suppressions in the surrounding areas. The fleeing slaves are small groups, no different from bandits, and they are easy to deal with.

Moreover, all the generals of the Ming army had the mentality of "making up for the past mistakes", fearing that they would make another mistake in this operation and delay them, so they all put in their best effort and within ten days , they wiped out all the remnants of the slaves who were wandering around, and all the banner owners and Baylor were killed or captured.

After confirming that no slave-building troops except Dorgon had escaped, Zhu Tianqi felt relieved and immediately ordered the troops to return to the court!

……

Capital.

After Zhu Tianqi's imperial conquest, the masters of the Ming capital were replaced by the cabinet.

However, in the cabinet, except for the chief assistant Xu Guangqi, Zhu Tianqi distrusted everyone, so he gave Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji great military power before leaving. In addition to ensuring the safety of Queen Zhang Yan and Prince Zhu Ciyi In addition to security, it is also to restrict the cabinet.

Although the power and influence of the cabinet are great, most of the time, whoever has the knife in his hand has the final say!

Therefore, with Zhang Guoji and Zhu Youjian here, Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi did not dare to make any mistakes, and stayed step by step every day.

But in the capital, things seemed calm on the surface, but in fact there were undercurrents surging. Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi had already had other ideas and plans.

You must know that the civil servant group headed by Qian Qianyi had no expectations from the beginning that Zhu Tianqi could defeat Jiannu, and they did not think that Zhu Tianqi's personal expedition would have any good results.

Therefore, they had to speak in advance and consider the next thing.

First of all, the first possibility is that the emperor was defeated, but came back safely. This situation is actually a good result for them.

Because once the emperor returns from the battle defeated, he will inevitably lose his prestige and face. Moreover, before the emperor went on the expedition, all the officials had tried hard to persuade him, but the emperor still insisted on going his own way. This led to his defeat and return, which can be fully It shows that the emperor should obey the advice of all the officials and not act recklessly. In this way, the emperor will not be able to hold his head up in front of all the officials in the future!
As the imperial power weakens and loses its control over officials, the power of the Ming Dynasty will return to the hands of the civil servant group.

Of course, there is a second possibility, that the emperor is defeated and captured. This outcome is not good for them, but it is still acceptable.

Although the emperor spoke very forcefully before going on the expedition, saying that if he was captured, there would be no need to send troops to rescue him, no need to pay to ransom him, and he would not survive, but if that time came, Qian Qianyi would not believe it. The emperor can be so courageous, but the final result may be the same as the Tumu Fort Incident, where he was severely blackmailed by Jiannu.Moreover, Qian Qianyi believed that the slaves would definitely put forward more excessive conditions and requirements than those of Oala during the Tumu Fortress. At that time, Zhu Youjian and Zhu Youjian would have to decide whether to meet the slaves' requirements and rescue the emperor. Zhang Guoji must have chosen to agree to all the conditions and requirements of Jiannu regardless of the consequences and rescued the emperor.

And no matter how much he and the officials in the court object, it is probably meaningless. After all, no matter how many high-sounding reasons he gives, such as "putting the overall situation first", it will not be enough to protect the emperor's safety. For rescue, There is no way to forcefully oppose the Emperor's affairs.

The most important point is that Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji have heavy troops. Who else dares to oppose what they have decided to do?

However, although the emperor may be temporarily at a disadvantage in the process of rescuing the emperor, once the emperor is welcomed back to the capital, the emperor's situation will probably be worse than if he returned directly defeated. It is only a matter of time before the civilian group takes power!

There is also the last possibility, that is, the emperor did not come back alive. It makes no difference whether the emperor died on the battlefield or committed suicide after being captured. Although such a result may appear to be very beneficial to one's own side, in fact I'm afraid it's the worst possible outcome.

Because on the surface, it seems that the emperor expressed his support to the six ministers in the cabinet before the imperial expedition, and even left an imperial decree, saying that in case of emergency, the six of them would serve as ministers to assist the prince Zhu Ciyi until The prince came of age and took charge.

It would be the best outcome if he could become the Minister of Gu Ming, but Qian Qianyi did not think that Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji could cooperate well by then.

Zhu Youjian is the emperor's younger brother, holding the royal guard in his hand, Zhang Guoji is the emperor's father-in-law, and is now in charge of the capital camp. If the emperor really can't come back, don't they have some other ideas and willingly surrender? Let the six ministers of the cabinet become the Minister of Gu Ming?
Therefore, Qian Qianyi believes that no matter what the final result will be, Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji are a big trouble. If he wants to take power, he must get rid of them first.

But the emperor is not here now. Even if he mobilizes the civil service group to throw dirty water on Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji and impeach them, the cabinet alone will not be able to deal with them. On the contrary, it will provoke a counterattack from the two.

But if it comes hard, it will be for nothing!

So after Qian Qianyi thought hard to no avail, he had no choice but to go to Qian Longxi for advice, but he didn't expect it. Qian Longxi actually objected to him causing trouble during the emperor's personal expedition, and also advised him not to provoke Zhu You. Jian and Zhang Guoji.

Qian Qianyi was not willing to let it go. Instead, he secretly complained that Qian Longxi was short-sighted and didn't know how to prepare for a rainy day.

However, going to Qian Longxi this time reminded Qian Qianyi of one thing. That was what Qian Longxi told him last time. When the emperor was critically ill, he had intended to let Xin Wang Zhu Youjian succeed to the throne. This This incident may serve as a breakthrough.

Qian Qianyi believed that after this incident, it was impossible for King Xin Zhu Youjian not to have any thoughts about the throne. Although the emperor now has a prince, the prince was still a baby not long after he was born. There are still many variables in things. Now the emperor Having already left Beijing again, isn't this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for King Xin?
But having said that, how easy is it to lobby the letter king Zhu Youjian?Don't forget, Zhu Youjian is now not only the King of Xin of the Ming Dynasty, but also the commander of the Jinyi Guards. He can be understood as the emperor's spy chief!
So, if you want to persuade the spy chief to rebel, does this count as surrendering?

Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and decided to think about it in the long term. Now he should find a way to get close to the King of Letters Zhu Youjian, start by building a relationship with Zhu Youjian, and wait until trust is established. After the relationship is established, mention these things in an insinuating way.

With such thoughts in mind, Qian Qianyi began to communicate frequently with Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian didn't know Qian Qianyi's thoughts, so his attitude towards Qian Qianyi was quite enthusiastic. After all, Qian Qianyi was the second assistant in the cabinet and the leader of the civil service group. Many friends meant many ways!
However, Qian Longxi knew what Qian Qianyi was up to, so when he saw Qian Qianyi approaching Zhu Youjian, he couldn't help but feel very worried, but his refusal to help Qian Qianyi last time had already caused trouble between the two of them. There was some unpleasantness between them, so naturally it was not easy to dissuade Qian Qianyi.

Of course, at least for now, Qian Qianyi's initiative to approach Zhu Youjian is still somewhat beneficial to the stability of the current political situation in the capital. Although there was no positive friction or conflict between the civil servant group and Zhu Youjian and Zhang Guoji before, there was They are against each other, wary of each other, and they regard each other as a thorn in their flesh. If things go on like this, they will probably get into big trouble!

Now, as the leader of the civil service group, Qian Qianyi took the initiative to show his goodwill to Zhu Youjian. The frequent exchanges between the two parties can be regarded as easing the antagonism between the two parties to a large extent and ensuring the stability of the capital.

Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief, an urgent military report came back from the front line. The emperor's camp was attacked by the slaves. The situation was extremely critical!
After receiving this military report, when all the ministers in the cabinet were discussing whether they should summon the soldiers and horses from Beijing to rescue him, Qian Qianyi had other thoughts. He began to ponder whether he should now Go and tell Zhu Youjian about this, and then encourage Zhu Youjian to rebel and stand on his own. At that time, he will naturally become the minister of the new dynasty, with one person under ten thousand!
However, only a few hours later, a second military report was sent back from the front line, and there was even an oral message from the emperor.

The military newspaper said that the enemy troops who came to attack the camp had been defeated under the leadership of the emperor, and the emperor even beheaded the enemy generals!
The emperor sent someone to bring back an oral message, telling them not to panic, let alone act rashly, lest they relax the defense of the capital and be attacked by the enemy!
If the first military report only made them feel frightened and uneasy, a little worried and nervous, then the second military report was like a bolt from the blue, which shocked and scared them all!

Although this second military report is good news, it is not good news for everyone!

For Xu Guangqi, a staunch supporter, this was naturally good news, so he was the first to come to his senses and shouted excitedly: "The emperor is so brave that he defeated the enemy army. It is really our great fortune for the Ming Dynasty!"

But for Qian Qianyi and others, this is not the case, because they know that if the emperor returns victoriously, this battle will help him establish a very high prestige. With the blessing of martial arts, the imperial power will be stronger, and they, as ministers, will I won’t be able to hold my head up anymore!
In the past, they tried every possible means to dissuade and obstruct the emperor's personal expedition, but this turned into an act of ignorance and ignorance of current affairs!
It's not that Qian Qianyi and the others didn't know the emperor's purpose of insisting on a personal expedition. They just wanted to build martial arts and prestige through war to strengthen the imperial power. However, no one before them thought that the emperor had even the slightest chance of winning!
But the current actual situation was far beyond their expectations. Not only could the emperor defeat Jiannu's troops, but he could also personally kill the enemy generals. This situation was beyond their expectation!
You know, winning a battle also depends on the situation.

If the emperor is just a charioteer, but actually does not directly participate in the war, and just sits in the rear as a mascot, then even if he wins the battle, the prestige he ultimately establishes and his influence on the army will be very limited. Yes, it's just that the emperor has regained the place where all the officials discussed his bragging, and his face is bright!

(End of this chapter)