Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 408 Generous statement
This place is really similar to Yuan Chonghuan. The imperial study for office is located at Yuntai Gate, which is the traffic place separating the inner court from the outer court. Yuan Chonghuan was summoned by Emperor Chongzhen here at the beginning, and he was blown down for five years. It's a pity that in just over a year, he was imprisoned because his trust was shattered, and finally he was hacked into pieces.

Now Lu Xiangsheng is also being interviewed here, and the emperor is also full of enthusiasm. Sitting on the throne of the dragon and looking down, he sees Lu Xiangsheng's towering sword eyebrows and cheekbones, and his broad forehead revealing a calm and resolute breath. After nodding his head, Emperor Chongzhen opened his mouth to speak.

"The country's affairs are so difficult. The soldiers from the East are coming to the capital. You have worked tirelessly. Before the funeral period is over, you have worked thousands of miles to support the king. To help the governor of the world and resist the soldiers from the East. Your loyalty is commendable. I am very comforted!"

This remark is quite high evaluation. Lu Xiangsheng, who was already loyal and loyal, was also very excited. He kowtowed to the ground again, and said humbly: "I am a scholar. I can only be careful, I didn't make a big mistake just now, and now I have lost my father and have not returned, and my mind is confused. I am an unfilial person, commanding the whole army, I am afraid that I will not be able to convince the people, and I will live up to your majesty's grace. I am ashamed what!"

"Great loyalty is great filial piety. Ministers have won love for the country. It has happened in all dynasties. You don't have to be too sad. Come, pass on gold, flowers, silver, and reckless satin. Give Lord Lu a strong momentum!"

Jinhuayin is a kind of silver ingot with exquisite patterns cast by the inner court, but the python robe is a python dragon robe missing a finger, second only to the emperor's dragon robe, and it is an extremely high courtesy. Lu Xiangsheng trembled even more excitedly.

The benefits are over, and it's time to talk about business. After Lu Xiangsheng kowtowed to thank him, Emperor Chongzhen asked carefully: "Now that the Liao invaders are coming, Changping, Tongzhou Baoding and other cities have fallen, and the army is at a disadvantage. In your opinion, what should I do?" decision making?"

Raising his head suddenly, Lu Xiangsheng said excitedly: "Your Majesty regards me as the supervisor, and supervises the soldiers and horses of the world. I will lead the soldiers to fight the Tartars to the death. Even if I am heartbroken, I will beat the Eastern captives out of my Ming Dynasty for Your Majesty!"

These words were absolutely impassioned, but Emperor Chongzhen's face turned pale when he heard it, and he subconsciously glanced at Yang Sichang.

It has to be said that the policies of the two fathers and sons of the Yang family are in the same line. Yang He once put forward the theory of self-cultivation when he was young. When the vitality is seriously injured, it is not advisable to go to war. We should lighten the tax, raise the vitality of the small people, organize and train the army, raise the vitality of the frontier, rectify the administration of officials, and raise the vitality of the scholars and bureaucrats. Yang Sichang put forward further strategies for this, Internally, it is planning to spread the net in four or six corners, to wipe out the peasant army on the one hand, and to appease it on the other. Externally, it is also very important to negotiate peace with Hou Jin!
It sounds aggrieved, but it is actually a good strategy. The Ming Dynasty was a big country with a population of nearly [-] million. Even if the Houjin occupied the grasslands, the population would only be a few million. The root cause of all the chaos in the Ming Dynasty today is the corruption of the court itself. With the unreasonable distribution, in this case, the war with Houjin in Liaodong will only intensify the festering, and arouse more peasants who cannot survive to stand up and resist, fighting on two fronts, fighting internally and externally, no matter how big the country is Got to be dragged down.

This is different from the old coins of the Song Dynasty against Liao and Jin. According to the character of the Ming people, after more than ten years of cultivation, it is estimated that there will be another war. At that time, there will be a newly reorganized army that will survive the famine and have sufficient military pay. With such a large population in the Ming Dynasty, even if ten of them were exchanged for one, the Houjin would be destroyed.

However, because the scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty were too strong, this matter has just become a little rumored, and countless ministers have already written to oppose it. Emperor Chongzhen recruited Lu Xiang to come over. Well, if this matter is supported by Lu Xiangsheng, an extremely important governor, then there is still hope.

But when Lu Xiangsheng came up, he patted his chest and wanted to fight the Tartars. Not only Emperor Chongzhen, but even Yang Sichang changed his face.

After pondering for a long time, Yang Sichang said gloomyly: "Master Lu, now the internal and external difficulties, Tongzhou, Jizhen soldiers and horses have been defeated one after another, the [-] soldiers of the Eastern Captives are aggressive, and the imperial court is everywhere passive. Why do you speak war so easily?"

"Gebu, this time the three towns of Xuanda Shanxi came to reinforce 30 soldiers, and the three major battalions of the Beijing Normal University even had 15 soldiers. The central plains governor Hong Chengchou, Shaanxi governor Zheng Chongjian and other ministries have even more elite soldiers No less than [-], and the mobilized part, in cooperation with the Guanning Iron Army, may not have the strength to fight a war, not to mention that the eastern captives came from afar, penetrated into our Daming border, and all the food and salaries were plundered by our court!"

The blue veins on his forehead were bulging, and Lu Xiangsheng said excitedly: "As long as your majesty makes up his mind, he will strictly order the prefectures and counties in Jifu to fortify the walls and clear the wilderness, so that the enemy has no way to eat. Officials are responsible for guarding the soil. Those who dare to retreat half an inch will be beheaded! The squire ordered him to link up with the township party and harass the bandit army, so that the bandit would not be able to live in peace, and the imperial court would supplement it with regular soldiers, and give it a thunderous blow, and the captive army would surely be defeated!"

"Your Majesty, I have come all the way here, and the north of the capital is under the ravages of Donglu's iron hooves. The scholars and common people have already hated Donglu to the bone, and I just wait for Your Majesty to raise his arms and shout!"

The strategy Lu Xiangsheng said is actually quite useful. In the tactical language of later generations, it is called strategic depth. In the next 100 years, the invincible French emperor Napoleon led an army of 60 in one fell swoop into Tsarist Russia. At that time, the Russian army was only more than 20. It is this kind of warfare that avoids reality and withdraws troops from a series of areas such as Mir, Salta, Smolensk, and Borodino. After the Battle of Borodino, these polar bears even gave way to Moscow. come out.

But Napoleon didn’t have a good time. The too long front shared his superior force. The Russians’ policy of fortifying the walls and clearing the fields prevented the French army from getting a piece of bread. They had to suffer hunger and withdraw their troops in the harsh winter on the vast territory, and were finally defeated by the Russian army, which assembled some superior forces.

This battle ruined 60 French troops and ruined the Napoleonic Empire.

Even if Czarist Russia can't be as desperate, according to Ming's national strength, it is really possible to fight with the main force after fortifying the walls and clearing the country.

It's a pity that Lu Xiangsheng somewhat overestimated the consciousness of those tall gentlemen.

And it doesn't matter if Lu Xiangsheng overestimated it, the important thing is that Emperor Chongzhen listened to it!Listening to Lu Xiangsheng's description of the battle method and battle situation, he obviously showed a moved expression. Zhu Youjian was already very happy. If he didn't think there was really no way, he would not be willing to bow his head to Donglu in such a humiliating way.

He was already good at trying to figure out the emperor's mind, seeing Emperor Chongzhen's expression, Yang Sichang hurriedly spoke again.

"The food and wages are difficult, and Master Lu is not aware of it. The canal has been in chaos recently. The beggars have incited the water workers to strike. The food and wages that have arrived in the capital are less than [-]%. It is difficult to support such a large-scale war as Master Lu!"

This was the first time Lu Xiangsheng had heard of this, and he was stunned for a moment. However, when Emperor Chongzhen secretly shook his head and Yang Sichang felt a little complacent, Lu Xiangsheng kowtowed impassionedly.

"Your Majesty, there are many wealthy households in the capital and Jifu, and the Hebei area is even more lush and plain. There are countless families of officials and gentry, and countless rice storages. Know them with affection, move them with reason, and recruit them with the power of your majesty." , Millions of food and salary, nine cows and one hair, besides, Song and his ministers also knew something in Shanxi. When he was still a thief, he helped the officers and soldiers to resist other thieves several times. Yes, the lords of the DPRK have always treated the surrendered ministers with supercilious eyes, and constantly attacked and blackmailed them. If you send envoys, treat each other with courtesy, and understand the righteousness, I believe that Song will also return to the water transport as soon as possible!"

"And Your Majesty!"

Speaking of this, Lu Xiangsheng was still excited, and with his hands stretched out, he said excitedly: "I learned from the merchants in Daixian County that there was a sea boat yard built in Qihuo, Lianghuai and Song Dynasties, which was like the treasure boat of the Sanbao eunuch. On the East China Sea, each boat can catch more than 1000 dan of fish and rice per season. If Song is ordered to donate grain to the capital, and the sea ship consigns it, it only takes two months to gather at least 20 dan. Enough to support the army to fight fiercely for more than a year!"

It is estimated that Song Qingshu will be here, and he is probably crying. What he does not want to expose in the begging army is his big ships. The emperor seemed even more moved.

But Yang Sichang was even more uncomfortable. Unlike Lu Xiangsheng, an idealist, he was in charge of the Ministry of War. He knew how the army below supported the family, how to eat empty wages, and how the armor and equipment were outdated. Yang Sichang was still a conservative. His father Yang He The mistakes he made were vivid, and he didn't dare to take a big gamble with the little troops at hand.

"Your Majesty, Li Chuang's rebels are still stubbornly resisting in the mountains. The Eighth King, Chuang Zhatian and Tianxing wait for the thieves to descend not long ago. They also need heavy guards. The army of governors and assistant ministers cannot be moved! The elite of Liaodong have been transferred into Guantai Too many, Wu Sangui Zu Dashou and other ministries can't draw tens of thousands of soldiers, besides, His Majesty has such a family in the capital, if there is a mistake, the country will be in turmoil!"

"According to my opinion, it's better to keep it safe!"

"Your Majesty!" Lu Xiangsheng was also in a hurry, and shouted eagerly: "Even if we don't need the three major battalions, we can recruit elites from Liaodong, relying on Xuan Da's reinforcements, I can fight!"

"enough!"

With a sudden slap on the table, Emperor Chongzhen actually stood up, cast a gloomy look at the two ministers who were arguing, and finally set the tone himself.

"You have made great achievements in conquering the bandits over the years, but the eastern captives are not comparable to the bandits. Besides, our army is tired from the long journey, and the bandit Mergen Daiqing is aggressive. You should be cautious and not fight!"

Lu Xiangsheng, who can’t listen to the battle, is confused. The two words in the middle can be omitted, and it can be called no war. The previous invasions of the Eastern Captives almost all ended in this way. His blue veins were throbbing, and Lu Xiangsheng was so angry that he wanted to argue. Unfortunately, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand again and said indifferently.

"Inspector Lu's pommel horse is tired, let's go down and rest first! It's very big at this time, so we need to think about it in the long run!"

After dismissing the helpless Lu Xiangsheng, he went down one step at a time, and the Emperor Chongzhen sat down on the Kowloon Chair again, silent. For a while, Yang Sichang was also full of things, he couldn't figure out what the emperor was thinking, and he didn't dare to speak.

The dead silence lasted for almost a few minutes. In the shadows, Zhu Youjian's hand tapped lightly on the table.

"Mr. Weak."

"The minister is here."

"Wang Yao, the deputy censor Wang Yao, the censor of Jin Youdu, who is also the president of Jiangnan, is going south today to deal with the case of Jiangnan imperial examination fraud and preside over the re-examination!"

Yang Sichang's heart skipped a beat, the emperor actually compromised with Song Qingshu!

Although he also meant to persuade the emperor to compromise just now, but according to Lu Xiangsheng, this is not a good sign!

(End of this chapter)