Chapter 4 3.Royal Conquest

There was no result in the ministerial meeting, but there are many people who are willing to give advice in the Jiuqing Branch.Just when Emperor Chongzhen was hesitating around the room for western affairs and had nothing to do, Li Banghua, the censor of Zuodu, went to a meeting at this time and put forward a proposal that seemed unimaginable at first glance: the emperor's personal conquest. The intention of the imperial conquest was that the soldiers in front refused to use their lives, so the emperor had no choice but to come to the battle in person.This was a common occurrence in the past. Emperor Cheng Zuwen died in Yumuchuan during the last imperial conquest.His great-grandson, Emperor Yingzongrui, took this grandfather as an example, and also came to the imperial conquest once, but it ended badly—he was captured by the Wara people after the Tumubao incident. They brought it up.In the hands of Wu Zong, who was known in history as "indulging in pleasure and being close to the group", Chen Hao turned against Nanchang. Although Wang Yangming immediately caught him, Wu Zong used this as an excuse to conduct a so-called "personal conquest of the royal family" , but it was just a farce. At that time, the officials argued admonishingly, and everyone believed that the emperor was the king of ten thousand chariots and should not be taken lightly. Therefore, almost all those who proposed the imperial conquest were regarded as sycophants and were isolated.However, how dare this Li Banghua take such a big disgrace?

Emperor Chongzhen had a tacit understanding—isn't the so-called imperial conquest a more dignified way for the emperor to leave the capital?The world's powerful troops will all return to the rogues. Li Zicheng is not going to the Northern Expedition. As long as the water transportation is cut off, the capital will not defend itself. Seeing that the court is short of generals and soldiers, why not move the capital to Jinling and use the wealth of Jiangnan as a support to regroup. , Recruit another recruit, and then try to recover? But after thinking about it, he felt that this move was not trivial: not to mention that before the bandits crossed the Yellow River, the emperor would be laughed at if he ran south. Toxicism is also a big crime, and it can't be cleared away. Besides, the majestic Forbidden City in front of you, jade railings, dragon towers and phoenix pavilions can't just be handed over to the rogues!

It was difficult to be cautious, so Emperor Chongzhen decided to submit a proposal to the ministry, thinking, this proposal was originally proposed by the ministers, why not let everyone express their opinions?Just as he dipped his pen into the vermilion ink and was about to reply to Li Banghua's memorial, he hesitated before writing—he remembered the previous peace talks with Hou Jin, and the death of Chen Xinjia, the former minister of the Ministry of War. The Manchurian soldiers invaded the bandits several times, and the frontier generals were invincible. By last year, Chongzhen had decided to negotiate peace with the Manchurians. The person who presided over the matter was Chen Xinjia, who was then Minister of the Ministry of War. He was ordered by the emperor under extremely secret circumstances. He sent someone to negotiate terms with Huang Taiji.Chen Xinjia was recommended by Yang Changsi, a former academician, and his personality is quite similar to Yang Changsi's, frivolous and active, but he doesn't know how powerful he is.He didn't know that from ancient times to the present, peace negotiations have attracted the most criticism, not to mention that the soldiers of the three armies are fighting hard in the front, but the emperor is negotiating peace behind his back.Chen Xinjia didn't know that he was responsible for such a big relationship, so he revealed the matter to the scholar Xie Sheng, so he spread it to ten, ten to a hundred, and the court was in an uproar. They impeached Chen Xinjia one after another, and even questioned the emperor.

Chongzhen had no words, but sent Chen Xinjia to prison for questioning. Chen Xinjia in prison didn't know that he had made thousands of mistakes. The emperor had a good reason, so he wrote a letter repeatedly to complain for himself, and revealed the matter of the peace negotiation and the emperor's secret edict. In this way, the more he argues, the closer he is to the time of death, and the final result is to hang his head in the West Market. The so-called "the sky is high, the earth is thick, and the king's heart can't be guessed." If you don't know what to do and discuss things hastily, what will happen?

Thinking of this, I put down the pen I had already raised, and looked at the golden pillars of the coiled dragon on the temple, feeling joyful for a while, in the clouds and mist, and for a while, my heart was like a lump of lead, and my heart was broken... After several hesitations, he finally figured it out: Since it was said that the royal conquest was a personal conquest, and the capital was not moved, why didn't I also pretend to be confused and throw this riddle out for the ministers to guess? Yes, it's better to discuss it with the ministers, after all, the circle is smaller, and there won't be a lot of trouble all at once.Thinking of this, he once again delivered an edict to gather the ministers for a meeting, and the place was still in the Wenhua Hall.

In the Ming Dynasty, since the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang killed the prime minister Hu Weiyong for treason, abolished the prime minister system and promoted the cabinet system. At this moment, the life of the cabinet ministers is very difficult, and it has become empty talk that the doctor cannot be punished. It is an indisputable fact that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Furious, I will call you bloody West Market immediately.The current Chongzhen has turned the bad habits of his ancestors into a big one. He has been in power for 16 years. It is not uncommon to see that those who are dismissed are like crucian carp crossing the river. Not long ago, Zhou Yanru, the chief assistant of the last term, was given to death because he lied about the military situation and pretended to be defeated. Wu Zhen of the Shangshu was sent to the army because of delay when he was ordered to supervise the division.

At present, there are five assistant ministers, Chen Yan is the first assistant, followed by Jiang Dejing, Wei Zaode, Li Jiantai, and Fang Yuegong.In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Chen Yan served as a minister of the Ministry of Rites as a scholar of the Dongge University, and Xie Sheng joined the cabinet with him.Last year, Xie Sheng was dismissed because of Chen Xinjia's affairs, until he was relegated. This year, the first assistant Zhou Yanru was killed, and Wu Zhen was exiled to the army. Three of them fell in front of him at once, and Chen Yan was pushed to the seat of the first assistant.He is from Jingyan, Sichuan. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. He has mediocre talents, but he is very greedy. With the thought of withdrawing, I don't want to stand out in everything, and I will be a monk for a day to beat the clock.

Right now, after he led all his ministers into the Wenhua Palace, after the shouting, they separated on both sides, with their heads lowered, their eyes fixed on the tip of their noses, and no one opened their mouths.Seeing this, the emperor had no choice but to say: "The rogues have swept through the Three Qin Dynasty, and they are about to commit crimes. We discussed it for a long time yesterday, but no conclusion has been reached. Now, some of the Nine Ministers advocate the conquest by the emperor. What do you all think? Let's continue the discussion." When all the ministers heard this, they couldn't help being startled, they glanced at each other, and then turned their eyes to Shoufu.

After Chen Yan retired from the court yesterday, he listened to the civil and military officials talking about it in the court room.He thought that even though Sun Chuanting was defeated, there are still more than a million officers and troops in Shanxi and Xuanda, and they are under the control of his successor supervisor Yu Yinggui.If Yu Yinggui can collect the embers and stick to the natural danger of the Yellow River, he can still fight the rogues, and at the worst, he can resist for a while. Why did he think of Yujia's personal conquest? A heinous crime.But looking back, if Yu Yinggui could close the embers and stick to the Yellow River?You must know that the so-called over one million officers and troops he controls are only seen in the roster of the Ministry of War. What's more, the soldiers are centrifugal, and the soldiers are unwilling to use their lives.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan gradually understood that Li Banghua's so-called "Private Conquest" was actually another way of saying to move the capital.Comparing the advantages and disadvantages, thinking over and over again, I feel that in this situation, moving the capital might be the solution, but I don't know what the emperor thinks?Back then when Oirat invaded, Yingzong was captured in Tumu Fortress, and all the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were panicked. Xu Youzhen, a university scholar, proposed to move the capital. , Resisting the enemy at the Nine Gates, and finally stabilized the situation.Later generations commented on this matter, saying that Xu Youzhen's idea of ​​relocation was a move that was harmful to the country.Now that the rogues are committing crimes, if I agree to move the capital, how will future generations comment on it?

When Mr. Mian opened the discussion, he saw that the emperor was pretending to be confused and refused to say something clearly. He thought to himself, the emperor doesn't want to bear the burden of fame. As the chief assistant, he is not afraid of taking responsibility?After hesitating over and over again, he finally came up with a way to fight stupidity with stupidity, so he prostrated himself and said: "As far as I know, Sun Tzu's Art of War says: The Lord should not be angry to activate the army, and the general should not be angry to fight. Although there are many thieves at the moment, they are just mobs. The emperor has the honor of ten thousand, how should he go lightly? The so-called Sui Dynasty The pearl sparrow must be underestimated by the world. If there is a mistake, will it not shake the foundation of the country? Those who are overly concerned about the gills and gills are based on this, and I really dare not agree with the proposal of personal conquest." Although Chen Yan quoted scriptures and classics, it was not in line with the emperor's intentions - he hoped that the word "moving the capital" would come out of the mouths of his courtiers. If everyone agrees, the emperor will have the reputation of being kind; Responsibility can be solved by questioning one or two courtiers.Over the years, he has done this for every major event, and this is where he thinks he is wise.I don't want the emperor to play tricks, and the courtiers will also play tricks. If you say that the moon is a copper basin hanging on a tree, he will say that the copper basin is really round and cute.It seemed that all the thoughts were in vain, so before Chen Yan finished speaking, he immediately sighed and said: "Hey——if Qing and others can understand my intentions deeply, and come up with extraordinary schemes on the temple grounds, if the soldiers can serve their orders on the battlefield and take the lead bravely, why would I be willing to conquer myself?" The two premises of these words are aimed at the courtiers, the hatred of iron is beyond words, all the courtiers couldn't help being terrified, the second assistant Jiang Dejing was still hesitating, Wei Zaode immediately took up the words. Wei Zaode was born in Tongzhou, a suburb of Beijing, and was the number one scholar of the Gengchen Division in the 13th year of Chongzhen.Speaking of him being the No. 1 scholar, he was very lucky——During the imperial examination in the Wenhua Palace, Chongzhen summoned the top forty Jinshi and asked: Why do you want to avenge and avenge the internal and external conflicts nowadays?Others were still thinking about it, but he immediately responded with the word "shame".Unexpectedly, these two words fit Chongzhen's meaning, so he was immediately promoted to the first place. After only three years of hard work, he was promoted to Zhan Shifu, the young master of Zhan Shifu.Among the five assistant ministers, although he is the youngest, he relies on his eloquence and convenience, and often thinks what others dare not think, and says what others dare not say.Hearing the emperor's tone right now, it seemed that he was dissatisfied with the first minister - after all, he was young, and he couldn't tell that the emperor was playing word games from the beginning, and the first minister was pretending to be confused, so he immediately went out to play and said: "The rogue bandits are rampant, and they are almost spreading. In order to suppress the thieves, my emperor has been worrying about the night and day all these years. He has made overall plans and can often gain insight into the treacherous plots of the rogue bandits, and predict the enemy thousands of miles away. Unexpected generals will procrastinate and play bandits repeatedly. ;The officials in Jiangxi wanted to take chances and pretended to be defeated, which led to the situation being out of hand. At present, in addition to Yu Yinggui, the governor on the front line, there are governor Cai Maode and patrol censor Wang Zongyou who are ordered to defend the river. As for the general and deputy general, There are so many, if you collect the embers and fight to the death, the situation will not be difficult to deal with. Therefore, the minister thought that if the imperial chariot came in person, the power of heaven would be intimidating, and the rewards and punishments would be seen immediately, all the generals would dare not use their lives? Push things around, so the monarch and his ministers are united, and the army is invigorated, so why worry about the giant bandits not being wiped out?" Although Wei Zaode's discussion still failed to "deeply understand my meaning", and it was obviously just talking on paper. This assistant minister had three families in the south, and moved the capital just to follow him. He was from Quwo, Shanxi, and Quwo was in southern Shanxi, only a day away from Tongguan.He has been an official for many years, and his family has a huge fortune. If the Dashun army crosses the river, Quwo will bear the brunt of it. Therefore, others can leave, but he must "defend his family and the country".So he immediately argued: "I believe that the theory of the royal conquest is absolutely unfeasible." Chongzhen was startled, and couldn't help but cast a blank look at Li Jiantai, and said, "Why did you prevent me from marching?" Li Jiantai said eloquently: "The safety of the emperor is related to the country, and it must not be taken lightly. This is the first; the capital is the foundation of the country. If the capital is lost, the whole country will be shaken. The second is; If you don't keep it, you will humiliate your ancestral mausoleum. This is the third. The proverb says: "The dragon does not leave the deep, and the tiger does not leave the mountain. If the emperor is deceived by lies, ten thousand rides will come out lightly, just like a dragon losing water and a tiger leaving the mountain. It can be careless again." Shen?" Of Li Jiantai's three musts, what Chongzhen was most afraid of was the third, because it would be unfilial to abandon the ancestral mausoleum, but Li Jiantai chose to bring up this big topic.But although he was annoyed, it was inconvenient for him to attack. Wei Zaode, who was in a daze and didn't want to stand aside, couldn't bear it anymore, because Li Jiantai said that the personal conquest was "covered by false rumors". Isn't this pointing at the monk and scolding the bald donkey?So he immediately retorted: "What the emperor said about the personal conquest by the imperial chariot was originally to come to the front line in person, to supervise the teachers and destroy the thieves, why did he not guard the capital?" Of course, Li Jiantai couldn't let Wei Zaode say that about him, and immediately fought tit for tat.The two talked about their own reasons, and they were on par with each other. Another assistant minister, Fang Yuegong, also joined in. He advocated the personal conquest, but he also said some reasons to echo Wei Zaode. Chongzhen saw that they were arguing fiercely, but he didn't When I got in touch with the essence, I couldn't help becoming anxious, but I slapped the case and said fiercely: "The rogues are about to drink the Yellow River. You talk about it, but it's still endless and meaningless. I ask you, when can you reach a consensus? Are you going to wait for the rogues to go north and directly attack the capital?" Seeing this, Chen Yan had no choice but to go out to play again and said: "I think that although the bandits are rampant right now, they will go north immediately, but there is no way." Chongzhen sneered and said, "What is the basis for this statement?" Chen Yan said: "Although the rogues have concealed the relationship, they have not yet gained a firm foothold. In addition, the counties in Hexi are still owned by the imperial court, so the rogues are not without worries. Besides, Guanzhong is rich and prosperous, and the palace of the Qin Dynasty is magnificent. The rogues are rats with no ambitions. Obsessed with children's treasures, lingering in the embroidered bushes? Therefore, the minister thought that the loss of Guanzhong was like setting a trap for the rogues, who would be unable to extricate themselves after entering this gentle village, and the emperor's calm arrangement would surely catch the tiger in the trap." When Chongzhen heard it, he felt that it made sense. At this time, Jiang Dejing, who wanted to speak at the beginning but was preempted by Wei Zaode, also got excited, and went out to play: "I think the chief minister is right in his words. I think my emperor has been established for nearly three hundred years. His benevolence is deep but his heart is solid, his vitality is strong and his country is safe. Li Zicheng is just a clown, how can he touch the foundation of our country? If my monarch and minister Unite as one, work diligently and vigilantly, sincerity is not difficult to defeat the enemy and win, and quickly perform skin skills." Although this statement is more "boundless and meaningless", it is more pleasant than Chen Yan's words, so Chongzhen nodded. Although the situation eased, he still couldn't come up with a good idea that everyone recognized.After going around for a long time in this way, I returned to the original place, seeing that the sun was westward, and there was still no result. I couldn't even decide on how to instruct the front-line commanders to make strategies, give secret instructions, and increase food and salaries to relieve the urgent needs of the front. Chongzhen didn't feel tired, so he waved his hand and told them to kneel down and leave. As if they had received an amnesty, under the leadership of Chen Yan, the ministers immediately withdrew one by one.Chongzhen stared blankly at their backs disappearing from his eyes, suddenly felt that there was more to say, and thought, why let them go, if they fail to move, they have to stick to it, didn't they discuss the specific strategy just now?This group of people is the same, I forgot, and they are happy not to mention it, what kind of ministers of the prime minister are they like, but more like just dawdling. I wanted to send an order to call them back immediately, but then I thought about it, what's the use of calling them back, the ministers in front of me are like a group of stupid moths, bookworms and lubeths, they can only eat but can't crawl, There is no blood after being killed, no skin after being cut, holding hands and not walking, dragging them backwards, discussing battles with them, is tantamount to asking blindness. However, there is no one to assist the prime minister, and the thighs and arms are weak. Who can the Holy Son of Heaven rely on? When I was physically and mentally exhausted, I felt that all thoughts were lost, and I didn't want to go to the harem, so I sat silently. Seeing that the emperor had no intention of driving back to the palace, Wang Chengen on the side knew that the emperor was in a bad mood and did not dare to provoke him, so he just stayed by the side blankly.Although there was a stack of memorials waiting for approval on the imperial case, the emperor didn't intend to flip it over. He just looked straight at the gate of the palace, as if a withered monk was in meditation, forgetting everything. However, Wang Chengen didn't know that the emperor, whose heart was as dry as wood and gray ashes, was too fuzzy at this time—he seemed to be wrong, and in the trance, he sat on the shoulder car for transportation in the palace, but he didn't take the usual road. Usually, it is very convenient to go back to Kunning Palace, where the empress lives, from Qianqing Palace - Kunning Palace is next to Qianqing Palace, but it is only a stone's throw away, but today the shoulders that carried him were stretched out. Kun Palace and Qixiang Palace went directly to Xian'an Palace.Xian'an Palace was the residence of Fengsheng's wife Hakka during the Tianqi Dynasty. Since Emperor Chongzhen eradicated the eunuchs and excreted the harem, Hakka was driven to the clothes bureau by him, and soon after the mother and son were put to death, this Xian'an Palace has been idle.A few days ago, it seemed as if the palace guards were whispering together, saying that Xian'an Palace was haunted by ghosts during the day, and no one dared to pass by at dusk.Today, how did Xiao Shu, who carried the sedan chair, bring him to this haunted place? Just as he was about to ask questions, at this moment, he saw a gust of cold wind blowing in front of him. Suddenly, the air was so gloomy that the chill hit his bone marrow, and the group of palace guards disappeared without a trace, so he had no choice but to get out of the sedan chair and walk , But in front of the cloud and fog, I don't know where the road is. In the haze, there seem to be countless ghosts wandering around, blocking the way of the emperor. Suddenly, from the shadow of the ghost, a man in military uniform walked out, waved the sword in his hand, and all the little ghosts immediately scattered and fled.The emperor was overjoyed, and was about to ask questions, but saw this person bowed down and said: "My minister, Yuan Chonghuan, came too late to rescue me. I hope the emperor will forgive me!" When Chongzhen heard the word "Yuan Chonghuan", cold sweat broke out, and he said in a panic: "Yuan, Yuan, you are not guarding the border in Liaodong, why are you here?" Yuan Chonghuan prostrated himself and said: "The emperor has bound the minister to the West Market and executed him Ling Chi. How can the minister guard the border for the emperor?" Chongzhen settled down, sighed and said: "Yuan, Yuan Aiqing, I know that you have been wronged, but I am also on the verge of attacking, and I have to do so. Don't blame me. If your ghost can guard Liaodong for me, I will surely Rehabilitation for you." Yuan Chonghuan looked up to the sky and sighed: "The general situation is gone, and the emperor's Ming Dynasty is at stake. Even if I can guard Liaodong, what's the use?" Chongzhen said: "That's right, right now things are really urgent, and the north and the south are under attack, but if you can hold Liaodong, can't I spare a hand to deal with the bandits?" I don't want Yuan Chonghuan to kowtow like garlic, and cry and play: "It's too late, the bandits are about to break the barrier, and the golden soldiers are about to invade. Even if the emperor has three heads and six arms, he can't support the sky with one hand." Although Chongzhen lacked confidence, he was still stubborn. He said: "When you were in Ningyuan, didn't you block the attack of the 130,000 horses of the Houjin with a mere 10,000 troops and wounded Nurhachi? Now the Sanjin and Xuan Dashang There are millions of soldiers, why can't they stop the rogues?" Yuan Chonghuan sneered and said: "The emperor also thinks about mere toil, why did he abuse the punishment in the first place, and don't give him poison?" Chongzhen argued strongly: "At the time when Houjin besieged the city, he was in a hurry and was in a hurry. I couldn't investigate carefully. In this so-called extraordinary time, extraordinary means must be used." Yuan Chonghuan sneered again and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, for sixteen years, you have been diligent and discerning, and you think that rewards and punishments are clear. , Isn't the saying of millions of heroes deceiving one's ears and stealing one's bell?" When Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but sit down and help Yuan Chonghuan. He said: "This is the end of the matter. I know too much. I hope that Aiqing will put the country and the community first and help me." Yuan Chonghuan sneered again and again and said, "Your Majesty, it's too late to regret." After speaking, he stood up and drifted away. Seeing this, Chongzhen was about to go forward to pull Yuan Chonghuan, but at this moment, Wei Zhongxian and Ke Shi suddenly turned out from the back of the palace, dragged Chongzhen back, and shouted: "Zhu Youjian, you are the emperor who is supported by us!" Come up, you shouldn't be ruthless and kill us." Chongzhen was taken aback, and while resisting with a dance of hands, he shouted loudly: "Yuan Aiqing, Yuan Aiqing, come and save me!" Wang Chengen, who was standing there dumbfounded, was taken aback when he heard the words. He turned sideways and saw that the emperor had already prostrated himself at the court case, drooling and daydreaming. He couldn't help but gently shook the emperor's shoulders and shouted loudly: "The emperor wakes up, the emperor wakes up!" Chongzhen finally woke up. When he looked up, he was dozing off on the clear throne. The red sun was setting outside the palace, and dusk was approaching. So a decree was sent to set up Kunning Palace. Sitting on the shoulder seat, Chongzhen, who was swaying leisurely, was still thinking about what happened in his dream: Yuan Chonghuan had been executed by Ling Chi for fourteen years for treason and collaborating with the enemy.At the beginning of the trial, many courtiers defended him, thinking that he was innocent. Thinking about it now, if Yuan Chonghuan had really colluded with the enemy, how could he have shot Nurhachi and won two victories in Ningyuan?