Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"What do you say in the city?" Wu Shigong asked the general manager without hope.

As expected, the general replied: "General Wu in the city is unwilling to let us enter the city."

On August 14, 27th year of Chongzhen, the Runing Army finally arrived at Ningyuan City.The soldiers who had just escaped danger were all ecstatic, but then a basin of ice water poured over their hearts, and Wu Sangui, who presided over Ningyuan City, refused to let the Runing army enter the city.

Wu Shigong stroked his beard, and felt itchy all over his body after not taking a shower for nearly a month, so he half-jokingly said: "Since they won't let us enter the city, let's beat them down!"

After hearing Wu Shigong's words, Yu Ji, Chi Ming and other officers of the Runing Army laughed and disapproved.However, even if Wu Shigong really ordered the attack on Ningyuan City, they would carry out the order to the letter, and they would not think it was a big deal to attack the imperial city in Liaodong.

But other people's petite hearts can't bear it.Zhou Junwu, Yan Sanling, Wang Sheng and others all exclaimed in unison: "This can't be the case! That's rebellion!"

Wu Shigong didn't expect these people to take his words seriously. In order to add some fun to the boring fleeing moment, he continued to tease these people jokingly, saying: "Whoever doesn't give me a bath, I will take revenge on anyone! Don't let anyone stop me!"

Yu Ji and Chi Ming couldn't help laughing out loud.Only then did Zhou Junwu and Wang Sheng realize that it was Wu Shigong who was playing tricks on them.

After traveling to the Ming Dynasty, Wu Shigong has always maintained good hygiene habits from modern times.So he kept taking a bath every day, and shaved his face and shaved his beard. If he didn't want to shock the world too much, Wu Shigong would even have thought about not having long hair and shaving it short.

So people who are close to Wu Shigong know his extravagant living habits.Why is it a luxury?That's because at that time, taking a hot bath required four or five servant girls.It's not like it's modern and just needs a water heater.Therefore, if those children of the Runing army who were compiled by Fu Wenzhai to promote how thrifty Wu Shigong is, they would be shocked when they learned that the contemporary "sage" in their minds is such an image.

However, the upper echelons of the Runing Army did not take it seriously for Wu Shigong's style of life.They all thought that this was the noble behavior of Wu Shigong from a wealthy family, and many people even came to imitate Wu Shigong's behavior.Therefore, in the Runing Army, there are very few people with long beards, and they all take baths frequently.Even the barracks of the Runing Army built a large bathhouse for soldiers to use.It can be said that the Runing Army is the most hygienic army in this era.

Seeing Zhou Junwu and Wang Sheng smiling wryly, Wu Shigong stopped joking.He told the chief general who called out: "Go again and let the city send out the grain and grass. We must make it to Shanhaiguan! Otherwise, really don't blame me for turning your face."

Although the current Runing Army is not short of food and grass from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan.But Wu Shigong still wants to blackmail a fortune if he has the opportunity.After all, Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, was trapped in Songshan again after suffering such a big defeat.I don't know how to solve the future food and salary of the Runing Army.

When Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu, representatives of the Ministry of War, fled to the mouth of Xiaoling River and returned to Ningyuan by sea boat.Undecided, they immediately reported to the imperial court that Hong Chengchou had lost command, leading to a big defeat, in order to escape their own guilt.

After the Emperor Chongzhen and the Ming court heard the bad news, they didn't care about the small thoughts of these two little people, and they were immediately shocked by the huge bad news.

then.The left-behind governor Fang Yizao and the military supervisor Gao Qiqian also rushed to the court: The 15 troops of the Ming army have only fled back more than 3 people so far. (At this time, they still don't know that the Runing Army will return after January)

In this battle, the Qing army wiped out more than 3000 people (all with heads) from the Ming army, and seized nearly [-] mules and horses and a huge amount of armor and other military supplies.If it weren't for the fact that the Runing Army had suffered several times when they returned.The casualties of the Qing army were simply negligible.

It can also be seen from this that, excluding those who fled back (including the Runing Army) and those who were besieged in Songshan City, the number of Ming soldiers who drowned in the sea and threw their bodies into the wilderness was huge.

And when Emperor Chongzhen and the court received the battle report of Songshan's disastrous defeat, they didn't know how to react other than being shocked.After such a long period of deliberation, the mobilization of so many troops and rations, and such a decisive battle with such a great hope of victory, it turned into a total defeat inexplicably.

At this time, apart from being shocked, Emperor Chongzhen also doubted whether the Mandate of Heaven had really been transferred.The extreme discouragement made him almost unable to raise his energy to deal with the difficult military issues of Liaodong.Therefore, when it was most necessary to take urgent measures to adjust the situation in Liaodong after the disastrous defeat, Chongzhen's monarchs and ministers showed puzzling slowness and insensitivity.

And what is the chief assistant Zhou Yanru doing at this time?He is busy "setting things right".

When Zhou Yanru took office, he appointed some people, no matter some people's official positions, and did some "good things", basically they were biased towards Donglin Party members.This made Zhang Pu, Zhang Cai and others a little proud. They naively thought that Zhou Yanru hated the Donglin Party before, but now that he knew he was wrong, he could be guided on the right path. They really thought that Zhou Yanru became a gentleman overnight.

Zhou Yanru was very trustworthy when he served as chief assistant for the second time. After entering the cabinet, he changed the practice of the previous chief assistants and tried his best to persuade Emperor Chongzhen to appoint Donglin and implement the New Deal.

And Emperor Chongzhen also had a "deep affection" for Zhou Yanru who had not seen him for several years. When he was summoned for the first time, he held his hand and greeted him earnestly, and he personally attended the banquet as the host. (Yang Sichang did not receive such preferential treatment when he was on the expedition.) Back in the palace, Emperor Chongzhen was still very excited, and said to the servants around him, "It's him!" It was like a lost businessman suddenly seeing an old horse , I finally have a basis for how to act next.

However, the prescription given by this old horse to Emperor Chongzhen is not new. It is nothing more than several major policies that the Donglin Party members have been calling for and striving for for many years.

Zhou Yanru first proposed to exempt the money and grain arrears accumulated by the people over the years, and to exempt the current tax for this year and the next two years in the war-torn and catastrophic areas; The autumn grain of the five prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou will be replenished next summer instead.

Emperor Chongzhen approved all these suggestions one by one.Although these measures are unlikely to fundamentally solve the misery of people starving and killing people, they are a kind of "virtuous government" that relieves people's disasters. As for how to fill the further increasing financial deficit, Zhou Yanru and his Donglin backers are temporarily unable to think. What a good way.And the finances of the Ming Dynasty officially collapsed.

Another important measure is to limit the power of factories and guards.Zhou Yanru proposed that the four investigations of the factory and Wei caused panic among the people and created a large number of unjust, false and wrong cases. Please abolish the factory and Wei investigation system. The factory and Wei only accept and handle important cases designated by the emperor.

This approach was warmly supported by all the officials and citizens in the capital, because it removed the shadow of the secret agent rule that always weighed on their hearts.However, the upper and lower members of Dongchang and Jinyiwei lost most of their power and considerable economic income because of this, and hated Zhou Yanru and the political forces behind him.

One of the most critical new policies is personnel.Zhou Yanru was very loyal. After he came to power, according to the list issued by Fushe, he recommended the backbone of Donglin to take up important positions, and at the same time rescued the Donglin party members who were waiting for crimes in prison.

As batches of Donglin party members ascended to important positions one after another, the imperial court's Donglin was full of nine columns, almost becoming their domination of the whole world.The members of the Donglin Party were all gearing up excitedly, wanting to take advantage of this opportunity to make a big difference.

But the so-called good opportunity is actually just an elusive mirage. Things in the world have gone bad, the political situation of the court has gone bad, and it is absolutely impossible to turn the tide.The way Zhou Yanru was elected to power itself marked the betrayal of Donglin Party members' political principles and the corruption of Donglin politics.

The major shareholders of the eunuch party did not get much benefit after Zhou Yanru came to power. Only one of Ruan Dacheng's close friends, Ma Shiying, was appointed as the governor of Fengyang. mind.

The Donglin party members who had become high-ranking officials and the arrogance of the rehabilitated people went down the joint and inside route, and the clean and honest style they always advertised was almost gone.

The weirdest thing is that after eliminating the bad governance of factories and guards, it opened the door for bureaucrats to wantonly seek personal gain.In the last days of the Chongzhen Dynasty, the corruption of the government, the corruption and bribery of officials, the shirking of responsibility, and the suppression of dissidents, all reached an unacceptable level.

And Zhou Yanru, who is the chief assistant, is the representative of this kind of independent politics.He is an extremely smart and smooth person, who has always been known for his lack of principle, and he values ​​affection and seldom argues.For those who ask him to do business and ask him to accommodate, as long as he can help him, he will try his best to help him. He will not refuse any bribe given to him, and he will not dislike it if he is given a small amount. Never ask.

This kind of relaxed attitude led to a situation where officials and gentry all over the world rushed to seek personal gain under the assistant minister's door. His cronies and followers took the opportunity to make a fortune.But because Zhou Yanru was clever and tactful, he was once favored by Emperor Chongzhen.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that when Zhang Pu died at that time, the national Fushe immediately lost its leader.Zhou Yanru was surrounded by Wu Changshi's generation, and this just marked that they started to really do whatever they wanted.

And with such a chief assistant, how could Zhou Yanru endorse the Songjin War that was previously decided by the chief assistant?How could he step into the quagmire of rescuing the Liaodong crisis? (To be continued..)