Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 43 Just Tonight
Chongzhen was stunned in the Qianqing Palace for a long time. When he came to his senses, the ox horn lamps in the palace had already lit up.

The reason why they are called ox horn lamps is that they appeared in pairs next to the seats of high-ranking nobles such as the emperor and princes in the palace.

The lampshade is made from buffalo horn by cutting off the horn and boiling it with radish. Radish contains some ingredients that can soften keratin, which can be used for flotation, purification, and also for treating fur.

After being boiled in water with radish, the ox horn becomes very soft. The craftsman inserts a date-pit-shaped wooden last into the middle hole of the horn to gradually expand the horn.

After repeating this process many times, the horn is slowly expanded into a very thin and transparent lampshade, on which landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects are painted...

In the Ming Dynasty, nobles used ox horns, while officials and wealthy families used sheep horns. To do otherwise would be considered an act of usurpation.

"Wang Chengen, bring me a pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Wang Chengen brought over the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, only to find that the emperor actually wanted to study the Four Books and Five Classics.

"Go down, I will read the way of the saints."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen walked out of the Qianqing Palace with a puzzled look on his face, slowly closed the door, and shook his head repeatedly, "Your Majesty is really ill again. Instead of handling state affairs, he studies the Five Books and Five Classics. Can he still take the imperial examination?"

Little did people know that Chongzhen was actually preparing for the imperial examination.

The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were divided into three levels: provincial examination, metropolitan examination, and palace examination.

Those who pass the provincial examination are called Juren, commonly known as Juxiaolian. The provincial examination is held on the ninth day of the eighth month.

But I want to take part in the provincial examination.

Chongzhen needed to pass the examination to become a student first, which required three stages: county examination, prefectural examination and academy examination. Only those who passed the examination could obtain the qualification of a student.

As long as one passed the examination to become a scholar, according to the Ming Dynasty law, one could be exempted from the labor service for two male members of the household.

In "Wulin Wai Zhuan", once the government wants to levy corvée or go to war, Lao Bai, who is good at fighting, and Li Dazui, who is good at cooking, will definitely take over, but Lu Xiucai can continue to be his accountant, reading books and drinking tea at home in peace and contentment.

“When a person is calm, he can be at peace; when he is at peace, he can be determined; when he is determined, he can be wise; when he is wise, he can be enlightened; when he is enlightened, he can gain…”

Chongzhen sometimes read and wrote, and sometimes made annotations. Prince Xiang valued him so much, it couldn't be that he couldn't even rely on a scholar, right?

"Swish, swish, swish~" He tried a few more times, changing his calligraphy.

In fact, Chongzhen's calligraphy attainments were very outstanding. The peak of calligraphy among Ming Dynasty monarchs was Ming Xuanzong and Ming Xianzong, but Emperor Chongzhen's calligraphy also had a certain level.

The brush strokes are vigorous, and the method of retracting the tip of the brush is often used, making it implicit and full without showing any sharpness.

A night of silence,
The next morning, Chongzhen, again served by Wang Chengen, put on a robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves and a golden dragon pattern.

Suddenly Chongzhen froze, twisted his body, and looked left and right at the dragon robe on his body. "The front of this dragon robe is torn. Let the queen mend it for me."

Chongzhen was frugal and the dragon robe he wore was almost always patched. In front of ministers, he did not dare to walk fast for fear that the patches would be exposed and seen by the ministers.

There are already three patches on this dragon robe, but the patches are not on the front, so I have been wearing it all the time.

"Your Majesty, please change into a new one. Even if this dragon robe is repaired, you can no longer wear it to court." Wang Chengen replied cautiously.

"I thought I could hold out until the middle of the year." Chongzhen said with a dejected look on his face, "Then let the Imperial Clothing Bureau make another set for me."

"Don't throw this away. Keep it in the Qianqing Palace. I will wear it when I am not attending court."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Chengen's eyes were a little red. He felt uncomfortable seeing the emperor being so frugal.

……

At this time, in Prince Xiang's mansion, Zhu Changgan and Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming paid their respects and then had dinner together.

Prince Xiang smiled and said, "My son has been studying very hard these days. Father has found two wet nurses for you to take care of him."

"..." Zhu Changgan's body suddenly froze.

Milk...wet nurse?
Were the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty so extravagant? Chicken, duck, fish and meat were no longer enough to meet their normal needs, so they just looked for a wet nurse?

"Father, my child has grown up, so let's not use it anymore!"

"My son is going to take the imperial examination. Besides, it's not just our family that needs to find a wet nurse. All the vassal families are like this?" Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming advised again.

"Father, it is precisely because you want to pass the exam that you cannot be distracted. When I think of you..." Zhu Changgan said solemnly, "I should correct my original intention and study hard."

"Hiss~" Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming suddenly blushed, "It's my father's fault. From today on, all those who have anything to do with women will be kicked out."

"Hong Tao should stay. Father should at least keep a servant who understands your feelings, right?"

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming nodded, "My son is really thoughtful."

When Zhu Changgan returned to his room, he couldn't help but sigh. Let alone other things, just looking at their Prince Xiang's Mansion, one could see how extravagant and licentious the life of the royal nobles was.

They wear gold and jade and enjoy all the wealth and splendor during their lifetime. After their death, they take a lot of treasures into the grave, bury them with great ceremony, and hope to continue enjoying them.

A few days ago, a grandmother in my family passed away. The gold she was buried with was over a thousand taels, and she couldn't even count all the various gems and jades. If a vassal king died, it would be even more incredible.

Zhu Changgan sighed, "They are all problems and need to be dealt with."

Not only did the affairs of the royal family and the vassal states need to be dealt with, but also the corruption of civil officials, military generals, and nobles had to be dealt with, but these interest groups were huge and deeply entrenched.

They were like leeches, greedily sucking away every aspect of the Ming Dynasty. If the emperor made any unusual moves towards them, they would violently rebound and destabilize the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

"So, it still has to be the army. Whoever holds the military power is the boss."

Zhu Changgan looked towards the east, where the red lotus was covered with morning dew and her jade-like face was reflected in the morning glow.

“It’s time!”

……

Zhu Changgan suddenly woke up and found himself at the morning court.

Fuck, I even left a note yesterday asking Chongzhen not to attend the morning court.

Because attending the morning court session would not solve many problems, but would instead be a waste of time and might even cause trouble for yourself.

really,

A short man with a narrow face and head stood up. It was Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen.

"Your Majesty, I think we should discuss the issue of paying food and wages to the Beijing Army. Since last year, the food and wages of 150,000 soldiers in the Beijing Army have not been resolved."

"If this continues, I am afraid there will be a mutiny."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court fell silent.

Mutiny!

This word, no matter when, will make people's faces change.

Especially during the Chongzhen period, several mutinies occurred, the most famous of which was the Ji Si Rebellion in the second year of Chongzhen.

It was also a case of owed food and wages, but that time the amount owed amounted to a huge amount of one million. However, Chongzhen did not take it seriously, but instead aggravated the conflict, cut military pay, increased land taxes, and passed on the financial crisis.

The most influential of these was the Liaodong battle.

The fixed salary for Dongjiang was reduced from 100 million taels to 24 taels, which led to Mao Wenlong committing two crimes in Denglai.

The three alliances of Ji, Mi, and Yong disbanded the new army, which triggered a mutiny in the Ji army. 10 Ji and Mi defenders laid down their arms and surrendered, rebelling against the Ming and joining the enemy.

This was the most important factor in the Later Jin's invasion of the interior of China during the Jisi Rebellion, which had a very negative impact on the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, even more than the Dongjiang pay cut. It worsened the entire Ming war situation and laid the groundwork for Yuan Chonghuan's death. If Yuan Chonghuan still had a chance to pacify Liaodong in the previous five years, the Jisi Rebellion completely made him lose confidence.

The mutiny of the Jisi Incident continued.

Zhang Honggong, the general of Shanxi, brought his soldiers to the capital to defend the king, but because they did not bring enough rations, the soldiers turned into a group of bandits and robbed the people.

Five thousand elite troops fled in panic, and the main generals Geng Ruqi and Zhang Honggong were executed.

In addition, the three border troops in Shaanxi also mutinied repeatedly on their way to support the king, which played a role in promoting the Shaanxi peasant uprising, because those who were ordered to support the king were the elite of the local garrison, and they were killed and dispersed.

After that, every mutiny in the Ming army not only disrupted the military deployment of the Ming court, but also consumed a lot of energy of the court and local officials. Those soldiers who participated in the mutiny often did not dare to return to the team, but joined the peasant uprising in groups.

These mutinous soldiers had received military training and had rich combat experience. Their joining greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the peasant army.

In recent years, the peasant uprising soldiers have fought more and more bravely, which is closely related to several mutinies in the Ming Dynasty army.

"You are exaggerating!" Zhu Changgan stood up suddenly and angrily scolded, "Zhu Chunchen, who are you trying to scare?"

"I let you take charge of the Beijing Camp, and you answer me like this? I'm making this clear today. If the Beijing Camp mutinis, you will be the first one to be punished."

Seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, Wen Tiren stood up and said, "Duke Chengguo, please do not exaggerate."

"Duke Cheng is wrong." Fan Fucui, the Minister of Rites, also stood up and said, "The Beijing Army is a natural and personal army. How can they mutiny?"

Although the civil officials seemed to be reprimanding Duke Cheng, their tone and wording were not harsh at all. Instead, they kept glancing at the emperor.

Zhu Chunchen also stiffened his neck and looked at the emperor, hoping that the emperor would give him an answer.

Why did the Yongwei Camp have 50 taels of silver, while the Beijing Camp, with more than soldiers, did not get a penny?

The civil servants were also waiting to see how the emperor would deal with it.

However, what no one expected was that the emperor actually stood up, turned around and walked back to the palace, "Wang Chengen, I'm tired, help me back to the palace."

Just going back to the palace like this?

All the civil and military officials in the court looked extremely unhappy.

"I said that His Majesty has changed!" Wen Zhenmeng, a core member of the Donglin Party, gritted his teeth and said angrily, "What's the difference between this and not attending court?"

"Your Majesty is stupid!" said Wang Jican, the Imperial Censor, angrily.

Imperial Censor Liu Lingyu looked at Wen Tiren fiercely and asked in a resounding voice, "Lord Wen, do you still think that His Majesty favors you alone and that you can control the court by driving us Donglin people out of the court?"

Wen Tiren was silent for a while, then sighed, "Your Majesty has changed. From today on, I will no longer pursue the Donglin Party, and you guys should stop looking for trouble with me for no reason!"

Duke Chengguo, Duke Yingguo and a few others also came closer. Everyone had a different look on their faces and stopped talking to each other.

The competition for official positions and advancement in the court has never stopped. These scholars and officials will never give up the struggle in order to become officials, to become high-ranking officials, and to fight for power.

They not only fought against the ministers, but also against the emperor. When they found that the imperial power was beginning to rise, they immediately put aside their grudges.

……

Zhu Changgan returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Wang Chengen advised bitterly: "Your Majesty, there are more than 100,000 people in the Beijing camp. If something happens, it will be a big deal!"

"I know it's a big deal, so I have to deal with it quickly."

"..." Wang Chengen was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the emperor say, "Prepare the sedan chair and follow me to the Armory and the Brave Guards."

Right now, all he has to do is firearms, train soldiers, and train soldiers again.

Let the Jinyiwei and Yongweiying form combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

Zhu Changgan learned from Cao Huachun that the Beijing camp basically no longer trained soldiers.

From the history I know, the current European musket era is the era of "line-up shooting".

In other words, both sides fought meticulously in a hail of bullets in a strict formation. If one side's formation was disorganized, that side would basically lose.

The fire musketeers of the Chongzhen dynasty basically received no training, nor did they have any formations to speak of. They also had no experience in weapon maintenance, nor did they do any research on weapon range, effective range, or firepower combinations. They just fired indiscriminately at the enemy.

The reloading time after shooting cannot be guaranteed, and is even worse than that of a bow and arrow.

This is also why the Ming Dynasty was defeated in every battle against the Later Jin Dynasty, with there being an example where tens of thousands of musketeers were defeated by a few hundred archers of the Later Jin Dynasty with zero casualties.

During the Wanli period, there was even a bizarre story that a hundred Japanese pirates fought their way from Zhoushan Road to the outskirts of Nanjing and "defeated" tens of thousands of people.

This shows that the combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty's firearms battalion was low.

"I will bow to your Majesty."

"Long live your Majesty!"

Zhu Changgan came so many times that as soon as he entered the Armory, people recognized him and saluted him.

"Everyone, get up, Lord Song. Have you tried the idea of ​​breech-loading that I told you about?"

"Your Majesty, the breech-loading method is feasible. We have already made several guns. It is much more convenient than before, but the cost is much higher." Song Yingxing took out a breech-loading musket, disassembled it and placed it in front of the emperor.

After reading it, Zhu Changgan shook his head.

To put it simply, this breech-loading rifle is still a Francois cannon. The core feature is that the barrel can be replaced to replace the complete ammunition.

The quality is heavy and the price is not cheap, not to mention the airtightness and lifespan of replacing the chamber.

However, Zhu Changgan still encouraged: "It is still better to improve the overall barrel and make the airtightness better. There is great potential."

"Have you tried the paper shell fixed ammunition I mentioned to you?"

"Your Majesty, we are currently trying it out. We have only produced a few, but it is indeed much more convenient than before. We will make more and improve them before mass production."

"It must be done as soon as possible." Zhu Changgan clenched his hands and said, "It can only be used with a breech-loading rifle to bring out its power."

Afterwards, he asked about the recent supply situation to the Yongwei Battalion.

1500 flintlock rifles, 9000 projectiles, and 6 Francois cannons.

"almost!"

……

Zhu Changgan came out of the Armory and went straight to the Yongwei Camp without doing anything.

Cao Huachun, Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong were secretly called to a barracks, and Wang Chengen and several eunuchs were on guard outside.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Cao Huachun looked at the emperor's solemn expression and the alert outside, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

Zhu Changgan stared at everyone with a sharp gaze, "Zhu Chunchen instigated the Beijing Camp to mutiny. Now it's time to test the combat effectiveness of the Yongwei Camp."

"Zhu Chunchen instigated a mutiny in the Beijing camp? When did it happen?"

"Tonight!"

"Today..." Cao Huachun, Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong's eyes suddenly widened.

(End of this chapter)