I have a cornucopia

Chapter 298 Your Majesty, This Is Politics
Nanjing.

Wuying Palace.

"That won't work. Even if you say it wasn't you, they have to believe it."

King Yang sat on a stool, shouting like a landlord's wife, looking at Yang Tingshu in front of him, holding a teacup in his hand...

Special treatment granted by Her Majesty the Queen.

He was allowed to enter the palace with a sword and shoes, and he did not need to bow or call out his name when he was praised. Of course, he was also given a seat in front of the emperor, and he did not need to report to the Wuying Palace. After all, he was also a vassal king. In fact, Her Majesty wanted to say that he did not need to report to the harem. But it was almost the same, because this palace had not been renovated. The actual palace was the Wuying Palace plus the residence of the empress and her sisters at the back, and there was no plan to renovate it in the short term.

King Yang did not need to report to the Wuying Palace before entering it, and it did not matter if he went to the back yard.

As for Yang Tingshu, of course he came to ask for help.

Now the generals under Li Zicheng are determined that the elders will do it.

They can submit to the Queen.

But Her Majesty could not stop them from avenging their former master.

Everything else is negotiable except this one. Even if Her Majesty the Queen punishes them afterwards, they will first carry out a bloodbath in Jiangnan to avenge their old master, and will not stop until all the people in the Elders' Council are tortured to death.

Now they have surrounded Changzhou. Although the defenders in Changzhou are still defending tenaciously, Changzhou has only blocked the canal. Li Zicheng's tens of thousands of cavalry can completely bypass Changzhou. In fact, their vanguard has reached the Xicheng Canal. The militia has built a defense line in Xishan and Huishan, and not only in this direction. After the fall of Jintan, Wang Yuncheng's troops have advanced along the Danjinli Canal by land and water. At the same time, tens of thousands of troops led by Yuan Zongdi have already moved south from the Wuyi Canal. If they cannot be stopped, they will directly enter Taihu Lake by water.

In other words, Suzhou and Huzhou in the rear are no longer safe.

Jiangnan does have a complex network of waterways, which limits the large-scale impact of cavalry, but it also allows water transportation to reach any city. If Yuan Zongde could not be stopped, he could really have used water transportation all the way to Suzhou.

Even reaching the city.

This made the Senate really anxious.

You have to know that they are still paying homage to Her Majesty the Queen, so they have to ask Her Majesty the Queen for help.

"Prince Qi, although we are sworn enemies of the rebels, how can we do this without the decree of Her Majesty the Queen?"

Xu Fuyuan, who was with Yang Tingshu, said.

"Does your killing of Li Zicheng have anything to do with the decree of Her Majesty the Queen?"

Yang Feng said.

"Uh?"

Xu Fuyuan was speechless.

"Before Li Zicheng surrounded Nanjing, you were loyal to Her Majesty the Queen, and it was your duty as a subject to fight him. Since you were fighting him, of course you could kill him. Whether there was an imperial decree or not, you should have killed him. Then you said you would not kill him without an imperial decree. Isn't this a bit weird?

Or are you afraid to kill him just because it's in your own interests?"

Yang Feng said.

"Your Majesty, the rebels have more than 200,000 followers. If you kill them, there will be no one to control them, and Jiangnan will inevitably face a catastrophe."

Yang Tingshu said.

"That's for your benefit, so if you don't dare to kill him, then don't act like you are so loyal and really only obey the Queen's orders. Her Majesty is not taking the blame for you. Since you asked the Queen to make the decision, then the Queen can make the decision for you. If you are really loyal, then Her Majesty will now order you to lay down your weapons, and then conduct a thorough investigation of the previous cases of regicide and killing Li Zicheng. All those involved will be dealt with according to the crime of high treason. I will be responsible for the trial of this case and will not favor any party. Do you dare? Her Majesty has already acknowledged that Li Zicheng was the previous emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he is also the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Killing him is also regicide. The two cases of regicide will be thoroughly investigated together, and all those involved will be punished according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Not a single one of the three tribes should be left out, and all those whose property should be confiscated should have their property confiscated. Are you willing to accept my order?

If you are willing to accept the order, then I will go and stop Li Laiheng and others.

They should give me some face.

They won't continue to fight, or I will stop them.

it's OK? "

Yang Feng said.

Yang Tingshu looked at him deeply.

It is hard to say what will happen if the Li Zicheng case is thoroughly investigated. In fact, the Elders Council is not sure whether it was done by their own people. They just cannot admit it. But to say that they are really confident...

This really doesn't exist.

There are young people everywhere who are impulsive, lose their minds and do not consider the consequences.

Of course, this is not important. Yang Feng was not really for Li Zicheng. The real target of this bastard was Chongzhen's regicide case, and there was solid evidence for this, so there was no need to investigate. It was Du Yinxi who fired at the late emperor in Jiujiang. The Jiangxi militia could testify to this. Du Yinxi was under the order of the Elders Council. He must have a full set of correspondence. A smart person like him would not leave no evidence. Not to mention the second time, it was all public, including the previous siege and bloodbath in the palace in order to force the empress to succeed to the throne. These were all public, but they were tacitly not mentioned.

But all of these require the extermination of the three tribes.

Either one of them is enough to be considered a Hongwu-style case.

And it was also obvious what Yang Feng wanted to do...

His minions are still in Zhejiang!
Therefore, as long as they lay down their weapons and agree to let him investigate, they would be asking for death.

No one can escape!
At that time, whoever Yang Feng wanted to be guilty would be guilty.

He can raid anyone's house he wants.

He could exterminate any three tribes he wanted.

He used this as an excuse to confiscate all the land of the landlords in Jiangnan. However, in fact, most of the land in Suzhou Prefecture was originally government land, which was confiscated by Zhu Yuanzhang after he used various means to purge the aristocratic families and powerful people. It only took the latter nearly three hundred years to actually take it back.

Now Yang Feng is here.

"King Qi, the one who rebels is the sinner."

Yang Tingshu said.

"He was a criminal in the past, but he has been pardoned by the late emperor. Even though it was wrong for him to lead troops here, he has also been pardoned by Her Majesty the Empress. So, both the late emperor and Her Majesty the Empress have pardoned him, so he is no longer a criminal."

Yang Feng said.

"How can such a traitor be pardoned so easily?"

Xu Fuyuan said angrily.

"Yes, but he was pardoned by the late Emperor and Empress. Are you loyal subjects? A loyal subject must accept the Holy Judgment. Whether you like it or not, you can only obey the decision made by the late Emperor and Empress. This is a loyal subject. Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from heaven. If you can even disobey the Emperor's decree, then are you still a loyal subject? However, Her Majesty the Empress is kind and knows how to respect you, so she gives you a choice. If you are willing to accept what I propose, Her Majesty the Empress will send me to stop Li Laiheng and others. If you don't want to accept it, Her Majesty the Empress will not force you, but as the Son of Heaven, she has to be fair. You are her subjects, and Li Laiheng and others are also her subjects. She can't be partial.

So she will no longer interfere in your affairs.

She has issued an order that revenge is fine, but innocent people must not be harmed, after all, every wrong has its perpetrator. "

Yang Feng said with a smile, "Her Majesty is fair and cannot favor any party."

and so……

You guys better go back and continue fighting!

Every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. As long as you don’t harm innocent people, you can continue to fight!
"You won't cry until you see the coffin!"

After Yang Tingshu and others left, King Yang said with emotion.

"They should be able to continue fighting, right? After all, they have been preparing for many years. Moreover, there are actually many people helping them secretly. After the Huizhou militia withdrew from Nanjing, many of them went to Suzhou. They just withdrew from the Huizhou militia first and were recruited by the Suzhou militia."

Her Majesty the Queen said.

She now has her own intelligence network.

After all, she was an empress and it was impossible for her to rely entirely on Yang Feng. Besides, Yang Feng was not based in Nanjing permanently.

Thanks to her support among the people, she was able to use Han Zanzhou's eunuch system to get to know the outside world. In fact, she has been working hard to make herself look like a real emperor, and her image is also easy to hide. For example, she did a good job in secretly recruiting Zheng Chenggong to save the emperor. Although she relied on the help of Huang Daozhou and others, she still performed very well throughout the process.

Of course, it's of no use.

After all, when the militia attacked the palace and blood flowed like a river around the Wuying Palace, she could only admit defeat honestly.

As for the secret reinforcement of the Huizhou militia to Suzhou...

What reinforcements?
The Huizhou militia carried out large-scale demobilization because Nanjing was now safe, but those laid-off soldiers were recruited by the Suzhou militia. What does this have to do with the Huizhou militia?
In fact, this is inevitable.

After all, the Jiangnan gentry were in different situations, so they adopted different methods. However, their feelings towards the rebels were the same. It was just that it was not okay to openly reinforce them, as that would bring disaster upon themselves. However, at that time, the militias were all mercenaries. Since they were hired, the dismissal here and the hiring there had nothing to do with the original employers. They were all private actions of the soldiers. Therefore, it was normal that those in Jiangnan who had recently announced their support for the empress and recognized Li Zicheng as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and then massively reduced their troops.

After all, they no longer need militia training. What is the point of militia training when the world is at peace?
It costs money to feed them.

The mission of the militia has come to an end. Now that the official army led by the Prince of Qi has more than 200,000 Western troops that have surrendered to Her Majesty the Empress, there is no need for the Jiangnan militia to protect the Empress.

Dismissal!

All laid off!

Then the militia who lost their jobs would of course have to look for another employer, and the Suzhou militia was recruiting.

"Let's go, and clear out what needs to be cleared out. Otherwise, it will be bad if we raise a Wei Bo soldier."

Yang Feng said.

In fact, the elders had the same idea.

This kind of thing is ultimately voluntary. Those militiamen who don't want to fight will not go at all. They can accept laying down their weapons and going back to farming. Those who are willing to go are those who are used to living on the edge of a knife and don't want to go back to live a peaceful life. If such people are not sent away, they will become a destabilizing factor if they really go back.

It would be better to lure them to the battlefield and turn them into cannon fodder.

“Is this what you call politics?”

Her Majesty the Queen said.

Yang Feng looked at her who was about to lean on him.

then……

In the end, he patted Her Majesty the Queen on the head.

"That's politics, your majesty."

He said.

Her Majesty the Queen looked at him with a somewhat resentful look, then mustered up her courage and leaned on him, looking up with her pretty face flushed in anticipation...

At this time, hundreds of miles away on the shore of Lake Ge, Du Yinxi was looking at the enemy troops lined up in front of him with a complicated expression.

"This battle has reached our doorstep."

He said quietly.

He had not expected to face the enemy at his doorstep. His home was not far behind him. A few dozen miles south along the Wuyi Canal would lead to his home in Qiting. However, his home was not the most dangerous place now. After all, Yuan Zongdi's real target was Wuxi or Suzhou. At this moment, the square formations that were also lined up on his right, looking very spectacular in the spring green, were the Susong militia...

The militia corps has been expanded to 30,000 people.

But even if it expanded to 30,000 people, their equipment was still the best.

The new recruits, wearing half-body armor urgently transported from Foshan and carrying dove guns also transported from Foshan, leaned against the dense forest of spears and looked at the enemy who was about to rush towards them, amid the scolding of veterans and even Portuguese mercenaries.

This is the decisive battle.

“There’s something wrong with this.

It is said that after the death of Chuang Ni, the rebel army was leaderless, and not only would they fight among themselves, but their military discipline would also be ruined, after all, there was no one to control them. However, this time, apart from killing the gentry, the rebel army did not harm the common people at all. It is even said that those who insulted women were beheaded in public. With such strict military discipline, it does not seem like the leader has died. "

Xia Yunyi beside him said.

Chen Zilong is not here. He is leading another part of the militia to build a defense line in Wuxi.

There they were already fighting with Li Laiheng, but the latter was blocked by the Xicheng Canal...

The Xicheng Canal is indeed not a natural barrier, but it is not so easy for Li Laiheng's cavalry to pass through it. Moreover, Wuxi is surrounded by a real water town, and the dense water network makes it difficult for the cavalry to move. Therefore, the key battlefield is here. Once Du Yinxi's army is defeated, Yuan Zongde can take the water route directly to Wuxi.

As for Xia Yunyi's problem...

"Mr. Yuan, do you still think they are your enemies?"

Du Yinxi sighed and said.

Of course, he had no interest in explaining further. After all, Xia Yunyi was a well-known honest man.

Rustic!

It was difficult for him to understand the evil nature of human nature.

It was difficult for him to understand that behind these guys who were slaughtering the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River was actually their empress, or to be more precise, it was the man behind the empress. This was politics, just like after Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty unified the country, he immediately carried out a purge of the aristocratic families and powerful people in the south of the Yangtze River. Now, in a sense, Her Majesty the Empress, who was indeed reviving the Ming Dynasty, also had to carry out a purge of the aristocratic families and powerful people in the south of the Yangtze River.

Slaves only want my money!
nonsense!

You have money, who else should I rob if not you?
After any reshuffle, there will inevitably be a redistribution of wealth.

As he sighed, the militia's cannons had already opened fire. The muzzles of field guns and even heavy guns were spraying flames, and the shells whistled through the air and hit the enemy on the opposite side. The latter's cannons also roared. Yuan Zongdi, who was moving forward by water, also had no shortage of cannons, and even brought heavy cannons. After all, they had arms dealers from Jiangxi and Huguang behind them. The battle between Jiangxi's steel-bore bronze cannons and Guangdong's and Macau's bronze cannons kicked off the prelude to this decisive battle...

(End of this chapter)