Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 77 The emperor guards the country, and the king dies in the country

"Eight hundred miles urgent..."

The so-called "eight hundred miles express" only appears when the army is on the march and the commander-in-chief is killed in battle.

But all that can really be done is expedited speed of 600 miles.

But during the Chongzhen period, even express delivery of 600 miles could not be guaranteed.

On the official road, the army horses were galloping. The horse under the crotch of Ye Bu Shou's soldier was already foaming at the mouth. He patted the horse's neck with red eyes and said, "Hold on a little longer, we will reach the post station soon."

The Yebushou soldiers had been running for a whole day and night without daring to stop for even a moment. Their expressions were tense and their bodies and minds were almost pushed to their limits.

During the day he ran seven hundred miles,

He ran five hundred miles that night, and still had a hundred more miles to go before he could reach the capital.

"Eight hundred miles in a hurry!" But when he finally arrived at the next post station, he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water and ran in like a madman.

He was shocked to discover that all the rooms in the post station were locked, and there was no one inside, let alone any military horses.

"Where are the people? Where the hell are they?" The Yebushou soldier kicked the door hard, his eyes red, crying and cursing: "Eight hundred miles of urgent military information, urgent military information...you bunch of heartless people."

A seven-foot-tall man cried loudly, sat down on the ground, and kicked the ground, "Eight hundred miles in a hurry..."

There was no other reason. The post station was closed down.

His pants were wet because he was reluctant to pee along the way, and when he really couldn't hold it anymore, he immediately relieved himself.

But now he is blocked here because of this reason?
……

The post station system of the Ming Dynasty was inherited from the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that "post stations should not be established in non-military towns" and formulated a series of laws to restrict the development of the post station system.

However, the reality went against one's will. As time went by, many of the original laws and regulations began to deteriorate and loosen.

By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the post stations of the Ming Dynasty were spread all over major transportation routes. Various officials broke out of the post stations under various pretexts, so the post stations became privileged units serving officials at all levels. Not only officials, but even their relatives and friends received kickbacks from the post stations.

From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the abolition of the post stations by Chongzhen, the food intake of horses increased fivefold, which means that the appetite of officials increased fivefold.

But this does not mean that the post station system has no meaning. At least it still retains its original functions in the transportation of materials and the delivery of information.

Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister during the Wanli Dynasty, once reformed the post station system. He did not cut the funding for the post stations, but instead solved the post station problem from the perspective of restricting the privileges of officials.

The management of the post stations was also included in the management and inspection of provincial-level units, making the administrative methods of the post stations more standardized.

This reduced the number of officials who spent public money on food and drink, and local people no longer had to bear high taxes. However, with the death of Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Wanli's attitude towards Zhang Juzheng changed, and everything returned to its old ways.

Chongzhen was eager for quick success and implemented drastic reforms. In just a few months, he closed down 60% of the post stations. More than 20,000 postmen lost their means of livelihood and became refugees. Among them was a man named Li Zicheng.

Chongzhen's reform did not fundamentally solve the post station system. The officials continued to eat and drink as much as they pleased, but the most important function of the post station, which was to transmit messages, had ceased.

In the Ming Dynasty, the lack of information would make the army deaf and blind. For example, the urgent news that the Japanese pirates attacked Xinghua City in Fujian took a month to reach the capital.

Originally, there was a post station every 20 miles in the Ming Dynasty, but as Chongzhen abolished the post stations, Li Zicheng was one of them.

……

"No, I can't stop here!" Ye Bushou's soldier got up from the ground, fetched a bucket of water for the horse to drink, and then took out some hay from the back of the post station for the horse to eat.

Then he jumped on his horse again and whipped the horse like a madman. He seemed to be in a state of excitement and roared, "Eight hundred miles in a hurry..."

The horse also exerted all his strength and continued to gallop forward.

But as it ran, the horse began to twitch all over and suddenly fell to the ground.

Ye Bushou's soldier was also thrown out, his whole body covered in dust, and his forehead and face were covered in blood, but he didn't care at all, and continued to run forward on foot relying purely on his perseverance.

"One hundred and eighty miles in an emergency..."

He kept running forward like this for two hours. The sky was getting brighter, but his vision was getting more and more blurred.

I vaguely saw a group of people coming towards me.

Ye Bu Shou, a soldier, took a deep breath, raised the military newspaper in his hand, and shouted to the front: "Eight hundred miles, urgent..."

Finally, those people were attracted by him, "Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei, who is ahead?"

Ye Bu Shou's eyes lit up with an unprecedented light, and he roared again: "Eight hundred miles of urgent news, urgent news from Liaodong..."

After saying this, he spat out a mouthful of dirty blood, and fell straight down, with his head hitting the ground, raising a large cloud of dust.

But even after he fell, he was still holding the urgent report high in his hand, lying on the ground and muttering: "Eight hundred miles of urgent news, urgent news from Liaodong..."

A captain of the Jinyiwei jumped down from his horse and said, "Comrade, wake up."

As he spoke, he pushed his back hard, "Quick, water!"

His men quickly brought a water bag over, and Qian Hu poured the water into his mouth with trembling hands, then helped him onto his horse and shouted again: "Comrades, the capital is ahead, hold on!"

"Your Majesty is waiting for you, the Ming Dynasty is waiting for you..."

When Ye Bu Shou heard this word, he opened his tightly closed eyes again, took out an urgent report from his arms, and stuffed it into the hands of Jin Yiwei Qian Hu, "I can't do it anymore. Quickly, send this urgent report to the Ministry of War."

After saying that, his head drooped heavily.

The captain of the Jinyiwei looked at the fallen soldier, his eyes red, and with tears in his eyes he handed the soldier who was not in charge of the night to his subordinates. He then jumped on his horse, took the soldier and tied him to himself, and then shouted loudly: "Eight hundred miles of urgent news, Liaodong!"

The war horses neighed and rushed towards the capital.

At this time, the curfew in the capital had not yet ended and the city gates were closed, but the Jinyiwei Qianhu had no scruples and roared towards the tower, "Eight hundred miles of urgent news, Liaodong!"

"Kakaka~"

As the city gate opened wide, the Jinyiwei Qianhu rode his horse and galloped away again.

There was a night soldier tied up behind him, and the soldiers guarding the city gate could see it clearly.

The man was already dead, he was tied to the captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Everyone saluted at the same time, and the long street was silent.

……

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, when Zhu Changgan opened his eyes again, he found that Chongzhen was still attending the morning court.

The so-called absence from the morning court only happened this time.

Is he taking revenge on himself for killing the father-in-law yesterday?

The entire morning court was filled with a strange atmosphere, and many ministers raised their heads from time to time to observe the emperor out of the corner of their eyes.

Zhu Changgan looked at the dignitaries in the hall with a cold gaze. It was obvious that the death of Earl Jiading yesterday had affected everyone's mind.

The morning court has now entered the stage of receiving urgent reports from the border.

Minister of War Yang Sichang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the funds needed to suppress the bandits have not yet arrived..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard the sound of horse hooves outside and an eunuch shouted, "Who dares to ride a horse into the palace?!"

A thunderous roar resounded throughout the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony, "Eight hundred miles of rush, urgent news from Liaodong!"

……

Just as Wang Chengen was about to go out, he saw the emperor had already stood up and ran outside.

Then he walked out of the palace quickly, walked all the way to the front of the "Nightless" soldier, listened to what the Jinyiwei Qianhu said, and closed the other's eyes with red eyes.

Zhu Changgan looked at the already cold soldiers of Yebushou, his eyes reddened, "Wang Chengen, in my name, give him a grand funeral, a hundred taels of gold as a consolation, and let his son join the Jinyiwei, and reward him with the rank of deputy thousand households."

He murmured, "The Ming Dynasty is ashamed of people like you.

But it is precisely because of you that Ming Dynasty can still be saved!"

Zhu Changgan had always wanted to recruit the Yebushou troops under his command, but the emperor's hand could not reach Liaodong at the moment, so it was not included in the agenda. Unexpectedly, such a thing happened.

There is also the transmission of military intelligence.

If the Jinyiwei had not spread out their intelligence network this time, it is likely that this urgent military information would not have been passed on to them until some time later.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Gao Yushun, "Investigate for me. No matter who is involved, they will be severely punished!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang Chengen took the urgent report from the captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Zhu Changgan looked at the contents with anger in his eyes. He threw the urgent report in his hand like a nail in front of several people from the Ministry of War who had already come out with the emperor.

"Is this the Great Wall that you and I promised to destroy? The border wall has been rebuilt and the Qing army can no longer enter the pass?"

Several people quickly unfolded the urgent report, and suddenly their heads buzzed.

The Ministry of War had previously conducted many studies and assessments on the Qing Dynasty's entry into the country. The generals of the border towns reported that the border towns that had destroyed the Great Wall had been rebuilt, but now...

"I'll settle accounts with you later." Zhu Changgan returned to the Hall of Supreme Harmony with his fingers clenched. "Let's talk about what we should do now."

All the civil and military officials in the court turned pale and were extremely shocked.

The civil servants who had been calm and composed just now all started to move, kneeling down and begging.

"Your Majesty, the capital is the foundation of the Ming Empire. How can we allow it to fall into war?"

"Yes, the capital is the symbol of the Ming Dynasty. How can we start a war again?"

"Your Majesty, I think that we should let the Governor of Xuanda, Lu Xiangsheng, go to the capital to support the king."

"Your Majesty, I think Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting should also go to Beijing to support the king..."

"I second the proposal!"

"..."

Zhu Changgan looked at all the civil and military officials in the court and sneered in his heart.

In the eyes of these civil servants and nobles, the capital city would naturally not be allowed to be caught up in the flames of war, not only because it was the capital of the Ming Dynasty and a worthy place for the imperial court, but also because it was in the interests of the bureaucratic group in the capital city.

Once the Tatars arrived in the capital, they burned, killed, looted, and destroyed the manors and lands they occupied.

Naturally, they were unwilling to suffer such huge losses. One of the main reasons for Yuan Chonghuan's death was the Ji Si Rebellion. In the eyes of these civil service interest groups, since Yuan Chonghuan could not guarantee the safety of their property, it would be better to replace him.

So when faced with Chongzhen's wrath, they not only did not defend Yuan Chonghuan, but instead submitted memorials to the emperor one after another, adding insult to injury.

"Bang~"

There was a loud bang.

Like a thunderclap, it cut off the chaotic voices in the court.

Zhu Changgan threw the inkstone away. He stood up from the throne and cursed at the officials: "I remember Chengzu once said that the emperor guards the country's gates."

"There is another sentence in the Book of Rites: The king dies for the country."

"Today I will connect these two sentences: The emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country."

"I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"This..." All the civil and military officials in the court looked at the emperor in amazement and watched him leave in disbelief.

Some people's throats were dry and their jaws were about to drop.

Some people's chests heaved and they stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

There are also some people, such as the Minister of Personnel Sun Chengzong, the Governor of the Beijing Camp Li Banghua and others, who have sharp eyes and shining eyes.

……

Coming down from the morning,
Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of Personnel, Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of Personnel, and others stopped Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, and asked, "Minister Yang, what does your majesty mean?"

Yang Sichang was about to speak when someone asked, "Your Majesty, don't you want Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting to come to Beijing to defend the king, and are planning to use the Yongwei Battalion and the Beijing Battalion to fight the Later Jin?"

Ok?
Everyone's eyes flickered suddenly, this person asked exactly what they wanted to ask.

Yang Sichang shook his head and said, "Everyone, I don't know what His Majesty is thinking now. His Majesty just asked Eunuch Wang to come and pass on a message. Now he wants to see His Majesty."

……

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Changgan looked at Sun Chengzong, Li Banghua, Yang Sichang and others with an unpleasant expression.

With so many people at the morning court, it is impossible to come to an conclusion. It would be better if a few people could make a decision.

"Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting..."

"Not appropriate!" Zhu Changgan directly set the tone for them. Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting and others should not be transferred back to Beijing to defend the emperor. "That would be exactly what Huang Taiji wanted. The rebels of the Ming Dynasty would take advantage of this opportunity and spread like wildfire. It would be out of control."

Historically, Huang Taiji should have led his army into the pass again next year, but this time it happened a year earlier?
I thought it was related to my investigation into Fan Yongdou and other Shanxi merchants. I had originally wanted to use peace talks to buy more time, but the other party was not a fool. Faced with the loss of interests, they couldn't help it after all.

"What about Xuanda Governor Lu Xiangsheng?"

"He can't move for now!"

Sun Chengzong, Yang Sichang and others listened to what the emperor said and said that they could not move this or that.

"Your Majesty, do you want to use the Beijing Camp and the Yongwei Camp to fight the Qing Dynasty?" Yang Sichang finally raised the question that had been on his mind.

Zhu Changgan turned his head sharply and looked at him. "Why? In your opinion, this is a fantastic move?"

"I dare not." Yang Sichang's facial muscles twitched and sweat covered his forehead. "Your Majesty, this is too dangerous. The capital is an important place. What if..."

Other places are easier to deal with, such as Datong, Ningyuan, and Jinzhou. They can defend the city to the death. Even if the city is beaten to pieces, as long as they hold on, it will be a great achievement.

But if the capital city is hit by war... can we expect the emperor to take responsibility?
Bullshit!

In the end, it all falls on his head, as the Minister of War. How could he not be afraid?

The old minister Sun Chengzong narrowed his eyes and asked, "What does your majesty think?"

Zhu Changgan looked at them firmly, "I have already asked the Jinyiwei to convey the order to the Miyun Governor Wu Aheng, telling him not to fight to the death and let the Qing army in."

"I'm telling you straight out that we're going to use the Yongwei Battalion and the Jing Battalion to fight them."

At this time, a eunuch ran in from outside, "Your Majesty, General Qin has arrived outside the city with 20,000 white-pole soldiers, and has submitted a petition requesting an audience with the emperor."

"Oh?" Zhu Changgan's eyes suddenly lit up, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early!"

……

(End of this chapter)