Chapter 6 Chapter 6 internal exercises
"Is there any way to get the Mongolian tribes to send troops to help me destroy Houjin?"
The newly appointed Liaodong Jinglue King was in Jin Dynasty, and when he saw the Governor Wang Xiangqian, he humbly asked for advice.
Wang Xiangqian has been in Jimen for a long time, and has been with various tribes of Mongolia for a long time, so he can be regarded as a "Mongol hand". After going around in circles, everything in my heart can be said openly and honestly.
"Nowadays, Liaodong is dilapidated. It is estimated that the current Liaodong army in our dynasty is no more than 50,000 at most, and half of them are capable of fighting. How can this stop Houjin's iron cavalry? What's more, the people's livelihood in the interior is also dying, and thieves are on the rise. How can we help Liaodong? After all, we can only rely on the power of Mongolia!"
Wang Zaijin eloquently analyzed the situation and the key points of the problem. Wang Xiangqian listened carefully, agreeing with him very much, and nodding frequently. Angrily, he lowered his voice and said, "The Mongolian army is strong and strong, how can we get them to help fight the war? We should be thankful for keeping them from making trouble these years!"
As he said that, he revealed quietly: "This tranquility is bought with money! Now, the yearly silver for the Chahar Department has risen to 40,000 taels of silver per year, and the other ministries have to be given All the old coins and silver were handed over to Lin Danhan, and he was asked to coordinate the distribution, so he would not send troops to fight inside the Great Wall!"
Wang Zaijin let out a "huh" when he heard it: "There is such a thing? Lin Danhan, how arrogant is this?"
These are "secrets" that he doesn't know, because the Ministry of War has not disclosed the conditions that were negotiated with Lin Danhan in private; and after he was surprised, he immediately thought of another level: "Lin Danhan controls the other ministries. Sui Yin, didn’t he hold all the ministries firmly under his control? All the ministries obeyed him, and his power became stronger and stronger—”
Wang Xianggan shook his head sadly and said: "So, if you invite wolves to chase tigers, both ends will be a disaster! Wang Huazhen made a foolish idea at the time and asked Lin Dan Khan to send 400,000 troops to Liaodong to help in the war; Lin Dan Khan missed the appointment, and Guangning fell to Nurhachi hands; if Lin Danhan comes, Guangning will fall into Lin Danhan's hands!"
Wang Zaijin stammered and asked: "Wang Huazhen's intention is to reap the benefits of the fisherman—to defend the land of Liaodong while the two sides are fighting and there are many casualties!"
Wang Xiangqian gave an embarrassed wry smile: "You have to have considerable strength to be qualified to be a fisherman. The current strength of my court is not enough to be a fisherman. To use a specific analogy, if two tigers fight, one will die. After being wounded, the wounded tiger still has the strength left, and as soon as it lowered its head, it ate the sick rabbit in front of it!"
Wang Zaijin was stunned for a long time, and after a while he said: "So, Lin Danhan is also a disaster?"
Wang Xiangqian explained to him carefully: "In the hearts of the Mongols, they always want to have another Genghis Khan to dominate the world—you can look back and figure it out. Since the founding of the country, the Mongols withdrew from the Great Wall. It has been more than two hundred years since Mongolia has emerged. How many ambitious Khans have tried to become the overlord again? In the past, the Battle of Tumubao, Yingmiao Beihun, was due to Yexian’s desire to dominate; and then Dayan Khan, Alda, Tuman, which one? Don’t want to dominate the desert and take control of the Central Plains? Although the matter failed, how many wars will it bring to our court? Now Lin Dan Khan is much stronger than the natives, with thousands of tents and an army of 400,000—ah! Don’t provoke him Bar!"
He is indeed a "Mongol master" and has a much deeper understanding of the situation in Mongolia than ordinary people; however, the conclusion is that "do nothing" at all, "one thing more is worse than one thing less".
After all, Wang Zaijin has been in the officialdom for decades, and of course he has a lot of experience in the principle of "do less and make less mistakes" and the philosophy of "maintaining the status quo until he resigns safely", so he dismissed the idea-he said to Wang Xiangqian : "I originally planned to use the power of Mongolia to regain Guangning, but it was not feasible, so I had to make another plan!"
Because he was a good friend for many years, Wang Xiangqian abandoned the "Xiangyuan" coping habits and sincerely gave him advice: "Don't think about taking back Guangning—you didn't lose it anyway, so you don't need to be responsible; what's more, if you lose it after you take it back." , the crime is even greater! What's more, after the golden army is strong and the horse is strong, we don't have to dream of "recovering the lost land" at all; now, as long as we can guard the Shanhai Pass and protect the capital, we will be the number one hero at present!"
Wang suddenly realized in Jinmao, and after thanking him again and again, he gave up the original plan and discussed with him about sticking to Shanhaiguan.
In the end, the two decided: "garrison Shanhaiguan with heavy troops, pave a heavy pass eight miles outside Shanhaiguan, and use 40,000 horses to defend and protect it layer by layer; in this way, the Jinnan invasion can be prevented!"
Both of them believed that this was the best strategy—since they could protect the capital, they could also protect their own future!
Unexpectedly, the queen Wang Zaijin was preparing to report this plan to the court, and several of his subordinates had already raised strong objections.
Yuan Chonghuan, who served in the Ministry of War, promoted Yuan Chonghuan, who was in charge of military preparations in Ningqian, and Sun Yuanhua, who was in charge of Ren Zanhua's management and strategy, were very courageous and insightful people. A few young and energetic people who wanted to make a difference focused their thinking on national defense and strategy instead of "doing official studies" just to keep their official positions, and they couldn't understand Wang Zaijin's mood and intentions, so , disagreement, conflict occurs.
However, Yuan Chonghuan is a person with a unique personality. After he could not compete with Wang Zaijin, he simply leapfrogged his superiors and wrote a letter to Ye Xianggao, the chief assistant of the cabinet.
The content of the letter not only analyzed in detail the mistakes of guarding Balipu, but also put forward the opinion of building a city in Ningyuan and sticking to Ningyuan, and very sincerely requested that he would like to go to Ningyuan to serve as the front-line defense work and stop Nurhachi's southward invasion ...
After Ye Xianggao received the letter, he held a meeting to discuss the matter; the letter immediately set off a whirlwind in the court.
When he just took office as the head of the Ministry of War, he rode out of the customs alone to understand the situation. When he came back, he said: "Give me the soldiers, horses, money and food, and I will be enough to guard Liaodong alone!" After taking office in Liaodong, he was ordered to resettle the displaced Yuan Chonghuan, who walked among the thorns, tigers and leopards at night and entered the city at four drums, attracted everyone's surprise and admiration. Once again, Yuan Chonghuan's reputation shocked the officials, and this "leapfrog appeal" also worked.
During the meeting, although Ye Xianggao had never been to Liaodong in person and was not familiar with the situation in Liaodong, he could not make a choice between the two different strategies; , and then decide on the strategy.
A few days later, Sun Chengzong, who was awarded the title of "Prince Taibao" and given python jade and silver coins, arrived in Liaodong quickly; the situation in Liaodong began to change.
Sun Chengzong's character, morality, knowledge, and intentions are not at the level of Wang Zaijin and Wang Xianggan. Of course, his thoughts and decisions are quite different. It was decided to adopt Yuan Chonghuan's opinion.
After returning to Beijing, he directly advised Emperor Tianqi to redeploy the war preparations in Liaodong. Of course, Emperor Tianqi followed his advice.
The order was quickly issued: Wang Zaijin was re-elected as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing because he was not enough to take on the important task. The plan to build the city of Balipu did not need to be discussed again, and Yuan Chonghuan was reused to actively carry out the plan to guard Ningyuan.
Soon, because there was no suitable person in the court who could take up the position of Liaodong economic strategy, Sun Chengzong invited him to be the governor of Liaodong, and appointed Yan Mingtai as the governor of Liaodong.
In August, when Sun Chengzong took office, he immediately adjusted the personnel in Liaodong, reviewed the troops and horses, eliminated the weak and retained the strong, then reorganized the team, trained them strictly, and built camps and forts, and sent Yuan Chonghuan to comfort the refugees and settle the people...
He worked tirelessly day and night, and at the same time, he deeply implanted a belief in the hearts of every subordinate, general, and soldier: "We will swear to the death to prevent Nurhachi from invading the south—"
However, Nurhachi suffered a new blow after the autumn - An Fei Yanggu, who was the same age as him, died of illness.
He was so sad that he refused to speak for several days; however, on the tenth day, he took the initiative to send someone to find Huang Taiji to speak; as soon as he opened his mouth, he said to Huang Taiji: "I am already very old. Helpers are gradually decreasing, and many things must be completed as soon as possible!"
However, the young Huang Taiji couldn't comprehend his feelings, thinking that he was dissatisfied with the progress of many things in progress, and immediately bowed his head to admit his mistake: "Father Khan blames it, and my child is ineffective in supervising everything. I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Nurhachi sighed and said, "You are not to blame for this!"
However, the vigilance in Huang Taiji's heart did not disappear, he accompanied him respectfully, and waited for his next instructions with all his attention.
Although Nurhachi was full of emotion in his heart, he didn't have too many specific things for him to do-Nurhachi just said casually: "In the past, I never thought of 'age', and I ignored my old age; When I published the "Khan's Edict" of "Eight Great Baylor Republic Governance", although I was thinking about "the future", I didn't care about how long it would be; but now, it's different, I think "age" I'm pressing people—look, Fei Yingdong, E Yidu, An Feiyanggu have left me one by one—they can no longer help me complete the great cause of Ming Dynasty!"
It was difficult for Huang Taiji to respond to these words, so he simply lowered his head and listened respectfully; while Nurhachi was always immersed in emotion, and then he murmured: "Old people , One day should be used for two or three days, so that you can finish what you want to do in your lifetime!"
After finishing speaking, he patted Huang Taiji on the back: "You must remember this firmly, lest you grow old and have many unfulfilled wishes!"
Huang Taiji immediately responded: "Yes, the lesson of Father Khan, the child will never forget!"
In contrast, the Daming Palace after autumn is another scene: Emperor Tianqi completely cut off meetings and conversations with his ministers.
The situation in the Wanli period repeated itself, the palaces and dynasties were separated by a Milky Way, and there was no magpie bridge to cross them!
The difference is that Emperor Wanli spent his time hiding in the harem indulging in the illusion of counting silver coins and enjoying the hallucinations brought about by drug use, while Emperor Tianqi focused on intoxicating the fun of carpentry; The noble concubine, the Emperor Tianqi, besides guest Qingfeng, also indulges Wei Zhongxian!
And this difference is actually only a difference in form - the characteristics of the grandparents and grandsons being idle in court are the same.
From the smell of drug balm to the sound of planing saws and hammers, and the wood and paint all over the floor, for decades, the Qianqing Palace has become an absurd and weird place, not like the palace of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
On this day, Emperor Apocalypse completed a new work—the autumn festival is approaching. He made a complete set of wooden utensils for the occasion. There are three themes: Wu Gang cutting laurel, Jade Rabbit pounding medicine, and Chang'e flying to the moon. Together, it is a complete set. Kyrgyzstan.
He is indeed an incomparable woodworking genius. Not only has his craft been well established, but he has also created new techniques and designs from time to time.
In the newly completed "Wu Gang Cutting Osmanthus", the trunk surrounded by dense laurel leaves can be opened to put spices, and the scent is released from the dense holes in the branches and leaves of the treetops; "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine" is a double happiness lamp, The wick is hidden in the wooden pestle and leads to the bottom of the mortar where the oil is stored; "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" is even more ingenious, carved into a beautiful and beautiful Chang'e, from hair bun, temples to sleeves, ribbons, waist scarves, Holes for hairpin flowers are secretly cut on the skirt, which is not only an exquisite flower vessel, but also makes Chang'e's face unparalleled in the sky with flowers; the three auspicious vessels, used in the mid-autumn night under the bright moon, are naturally the most ingenious ...
Emperor Tianqi was also very satisfied with his craftsmanship. When he was happy, he simply ordered a large number of imitations to be used as rewards for meritorious ministers.
Therefore, Zhao Ming rushed to find some craftsmen with good craftsmanship in Beijing, together with some eunuchs who were handpicked and able to help, to make replicas for Emperor Tianqi; for a while, Qianqing Palace became a veritable In the workshop, as many as a hundred craftsmen work day and night to make woodware.
However, Emperor Tianqi still felt that it was not enough, so he simply ordered Wei Zhongxian: "The place of Qianqing Palace is too small, you can make arrangements for me, and build another big room for making wooden utensils!"
Of course Wei Zhongxian agreed: "Slave and maidservant will do it immediately!"
And he was not just perfunctory - he did what he said, he immediately took people around to check the open spaces in the palace where houses could be built, listed them one by one, and sent them to Emperor Tianqi to choose; He became more and more busy, thinking about the location himself, and at the same time designing the building of the workshop himself.
Of course, the government did not miss one thing, and all of them were handed over to Wei Zhongxian.
The ministers never saw the emperor again, and all the memorials were written by the eunuchs under the command of Wei Zhongxian. No one could figure out whether the imperial decree promulgated was the emperor's intention or the eunuch's intention.
Of course, there are people in the court who are discussing this matter—whether they are listed in the "Donglin" or not, regardless of their attitudes, ideas, or positions, they will gather a group of people who agree with them, and they will talk about it in private. Develop specific actions to respond.
Some sensitive people think: "The opportunity has come - as long as we catch Wei Zhongxian's line, it will not be difficult to make it to the top!"
In the past, when Emperor Wanli was in power, there was no eunuch in the palace who could control the government, so this way was blocked; after Emperor Taichang came to the throne, Wang An gained power, but Wang An obviously preferred Donglin, not Donglin. Lin also had no way to go; now, it's different.
After Wei Zhongxian came to power, although he always showed his favor to Dong Lin intentionally or unconsciously, and wanted to win Dong Lin; Therefore, the two sides may not be able to establish a close relationship—the opportunity for non-Donglin has come.
And the gentlemen who ranked in Donglin had another reaction.
Almost everyone said in unison: "We must jointly sign up to the Shu and advise Long Live. First, we must not abandon the government, and second, we must not authorize the eunuchs. At present, Liaodong is facing foreign enemies. The situation is critical. Chaos happens frequently, and it can be said that internal and external troubles are pressing against each other, but only Long Live God, who is diligent in government, loves the people, and works hard to govern, can create a ZTE situation!"
Then, he vigorously criticized Wei Zhongxian: "This man was originally an unlearned rascal. He entered the palace to serve in the palace by chance, but he refused to abide by his duty and wanted to be favored. He actually introduced craftsmen to confuse the emperor's heart; To seize power is bound to do a lot of evil—"
So, they began to discuss ways to deal with Wei Zhongxian again.
However, Wei Zhongxian has not done any specific evil things, and impeachment and public opinion sanctions are useless; in the end, someone suggested: "It is better to contact Wang An and ask Wang An to collect more evidence of Wei Zhongxian's evil deeds, and then, Let's report it in front of Long Live God!"
This proposal was immediately unanimously approved: "This is a good idea—what's more, the Lord Long Live doesn't go to court at all, and if there is no one in the palace, I won't be able to see Long Yan! We should indeed work together with Wang An!"
Therefore, two things were carried out at the same time: while drafting the memorial, at the same time sending people to find Wang An.
However, these two methods that made the Donglin lords think they had a plan, but they killed Wang An at the very beginning.
This group of honest gentlemen overlooked a basic point: Emperor Tianqi had long stopped reading the memorials, and all the memorials submitted by the ministers were sent directly to Wei Zhongxian; and although Wei Zhongxian was illiterate, it did not affect his understanding of the content of the memorials—— Just send a eunuch to read it to him.
But on this day, after listening to the "Please come to the court in person" spoken by the gentlemen in Donglin, he immediately became so angry that his robes started to move automatically, but on the surface, he tried his best to maintain a calm expression. , as if nothing had happened, ordered the little eunuch to file this memorial, and then continue to read the next memorial for him.
It wasn't until Ke Qingfeng was left alone when he returned to the house after finishing all the political affairs, that he burst into anger, gritted his teeth bitterly and said to Ke Qingfeng: "They advised Long Live Lord not to hand over the government affairs to you. What about "eunuchs of unrighteous birth"—is this a human saying? I am very polite to them, and I only want to make friends with them, and everyone will benefit; who would have thought that they would make such a memorial!"
As he spoke, he spat out a mouthful of saliva forcefully, and spat: "In the past, I put a hot face on a cold ass! From now on—huh! See who is cruel—"
Of course Ke Qingfeng was on his side - she snorted coldly as if to help her: "Not only are these people shameless, but they don't even know who they are! Long Live God will listen to some bad old men If you don’t like it? It’s strange—the memorial is written vigorously, but it will end up in the end of toasting and refusing to eat or drink fine wine!”
The two scolded you and me for most of the night, and fell asleep until they fell asleep. Unexpectedly, two days later, the little eunuch who was in charge of monitoring Wang An came to report: Ministers sent people to discuss matters secretly with Wang An!
Wei Zhongxian was a very smart person. When he heard it, he blurted out without thinking: "What else can we discuss! It's just to ask Wang An to find a way to meet the Lord Long Live, to ask the Lord Long Live to be in charge, and to alienate me, an eunuch from a bad family background." '!"
Ke Qingfeng scolded angrily: "Bastard——"
Then, she gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and said to Wei Zhongxian in a deep voice: "Get rid of Wang An first!"
Wei Zhongxian didn't expect her to say that, he was taken aback immediately, and subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"
Ke Qingfeng replied coldly: "As the saying goes, the first to attack is the strong, and the second to attack will suffer!"
Wei Zhongxian hesitated for a moment, then said in a murmur, "This——wait for me to think about it—"
Unexpectedly, Ke Qingfeng suddenly changed his face, stared at him fiercely, and said in a sharp tone: "Don't be worthless! Show some courage and courage—otherwise, people will strike first, live!" strangle you, and drag you out to feed the wild dogs!"
Wei Zhongxian had already lowered his head to avoid looking at her eagle-like eyes, but he felt that her words made sense, so even though his hands and feet were a little weak, he nodded his head twice and stammered slightly: "Okay." —Okay—I’ll do—”
Ke Qingfeng simply figured out a way for him to proceed: "You find a minister who is not right with the Donglin people, tell him to impeach Wang An, and then you put on a lenient look, and only punish Wang An to surrender to the Nanhai Zijing Army—— When he arrives in Nanhaizi, it will be easy!"
Wei Zhongxian asked her: "Over there in Nanhaizi, do you have people?"
Ke Qingfeng said: "The few people who were popular with Xili before are all in Nanhaizi now-don't worry, they all listen to me!"
Why is Wei Zhongxian worried?
"I'll do it right away!"
Thus, being framed, demoted, and murdered happened to Wang An step by step. In less than a month, all three procedures were completed.But Emperor Tianqi didn't know the news that Wang An's head was gone.
After not seeing him for many days, he had already forgotten the name "Wang An" in his heart—what's more important to him now than "Wang An"?Where would he be distracted?Now, he is fully focused on carpentry. What he wants most is a dedicated large workshop that can allow him to concentrate on his work and is large enough to accommodate his needs. What he thinks most carefully about is the completion of the next work. ——Others, he didn't take anything to heart!
There is nothing more important in the world than finishing a work...
A few days later, Wei Zhongxian came to report to him again, asking him to agree to a new plan: "Slaves plan to select loyal and brave men from the palace guards, and train them in battle, so that they can better protect the holy car!"
He also had the same lack of intention to listen carefully, the same unwillingness to be distracted in thinking, the same unwillingness to put down the work in hand, raised his head to look at Wei Zhongxian—as usual, he just uttered a word in his mouth without raising his head. A muffled voice like a grunt: "Go do it yourself—it's easy to do!"
Therefore, Wei Zhongxian had "internal exercises": he selected 10,000 eunuchs who were brave and strong and loyal to him from among the eunuchs, formed a new team, gave the best treatment, made brand-new uniforms, and matched them with the latest uniforms. Sophisticated weapons, horses, and strict military training began.
"Shortly after the training is complete, 'Nei Cao' will have amazing strength!"
He is full of confidence - the regime is already in his hands, and with a private force, he will be able to control everything even more.
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