The Minister of War in Nanjing was arrested, and the entire city of Nanjing immediately fell into chaos.
Due to lack of preparation, Datonghui's internal response was caught off guard.
Their original plan was to wait for Fei Ruhe to lead his troops. After seizing the city, it would be a seamless process and the Datong Army could immediately take over the city.
But who would have thought that Fei Ruhe was still on the way, and only six naval warships came, and Nanjing City was taken over in a daze?
"What? Let me take over Nanjing!"
Fan Chao's mind was completely confused. Wan Bangyan went to Guangdong to train in the navy, and he was automatically promoted to the third-ranking figure in the Jiangxi Navy.
The navy commander and deputy commander were still fighting in Dongting Lake, so he was sent to lead six ships to block the river.
I came here to block the river. First, the Nanjing navy surrendered collectively, and now the entire city of Nanjing surrendered together.
How many fucking sailors do I have in total?
The number of surrendered officers and soldiers inside and outside the city is dozens or hundreds of times our military strength. How can I control the situation?
Fan Chao did not dare to neglect, he found Liu Kongzhao, comforted him, and then selected 150 sailors, carrying muskets and waist knives, to take over the city of Nanjing.
At the city gate, there were two rows of officials, including six ministers.
The Minister of War in Nanjing was arrested, and Zhen Shu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, had the greatest power. His foreman stood at the front. Fortunately, he said that he did not need to kneel, otherwise Zhen Shu would really not want to surrender.
Anyway, he is already seventy-one years old, and the worst he can do is die for his country!
The reason why Zhen Shu was willing to surrender was because her hometown was in Huangzhou and she might be captured by Zhao Han one day.
Fan Chao, with 150 sailors, watched a group of high-ranking officials greet him. He did not feel complacent, but felt guilty from head to toe.
His soldiers are too few!
The surrendering officials looked at Fan Chao and the hundreds of soldiers behind him, and they all felt an extremely absurd feeling.
"Stop him!"
There was a sudden noise in the tower, followed by exclamations.
An official jumped from the city wall and died for his country to repay the king's kindness.
A muffled sound of "bang" startled Fan Chao, and he subconsciously pulled out his sword.
After glancing at the corpse, Fan Chao became more vigilant and led his soldiers into the city cautiously.
"Qiang!"
A military attache suddenly drew his sword and rushed towards Fan Chao.
Fan Chao also drew his sword, blocked the opponent's moves, and then easily kicked the person down.
The soldiers behind him immediately subdued the military attache.
Fan Chao said angrily: "Who the hell is this? Fight if you want, surrender if you want, and a sneak attack is considered a hero!"
"Pooh!"
The military attache spat at Fan Chao: "Everyone can find and punish the rebellious ministers and traitors!"
Zhen Shu, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, came forward to plead for mercy: "General Haojiao knows that this person's name is Lin Yuwu, and his official position is the commander of the Nanjing capital. His brother was originally the Minister of the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty. He was a good official who petitioned for orders for the people and was dismissed.
.His third brother is now the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, and is also a good official. This man is confused, and the general should not be familiar with him."
Lin Yuwu was still struggling and swearing, and even his official hat came off, revealing his gray hair.
Fan Chao sighed and said, "Forget it. Since you are old, I won't argue with you. I will arrest you and lock you up."
…
It must be explained again that the nobles and generals in Jiangnan have no servants for fighting.
The peace has lasted for a long time, just bullying the common people, do you need to be fully armed?
If the military generals in Jiangnan really had servants who could fight, they would not have been killed by dozens of Japanese pirates who traveled thousands of miles across three provinces and fled!
When the Qing army went south, it also swept across the south of the Yangtze River.
There were indeed many martyrs who resisted the Qing Dynasty. They dispersed wealth and recruited soldiers to defend the city, and the entire city was massacred.
But it must be noted that in the vast rural areas, farmers had nothing to lose. Not only did they not resist the Qing, some even served as leading parties for the Qing soldiers, and such leading parties were everywhere.
On the same day that Yan Yingyuan raised troops to resist the Qing Dynasty in Jiangyin, a large number of domestic slaves and tenants in the countryside of Jiangyin rushed into Xu Xiake's home, killed more than 20 of Xu Xiake's tribesmen, and set fire to Xu Xiake's house.
Isn’t it weird?
In the same area, or even on the same day, rich people and scholars raised troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty, while domestic slaves and tenants took the Qing soldiers as their backers and took the opportunity to kill their masters.
Zhao Han was able to sweep across the south of the Yangtze River, and an order to free slaves and an order to divide land was enough.
No matter how many thugs the landlord has at home, he will only have to run for his life when faced with domestic slaves and peasants who pick up sticks!
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, in the four provinces of Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Huguang, and Jiangxi, whenever they heard that rogue bandits or Qing troops were coming, slaves or tenants would rebel. They naively believed that rogue bandits and Qing troops were on their side.
side.
Later, the whole people resisted the Qing Dynasty because the Manchu Qing Dynasty killed too harshly.
Even the remnants of the White-headed Army in Xudu were originally forced to rebel by the imperial court. After being recruited, dozens of their leaders were killed. They had a deep hatred with the Ming Dynasty government, and finally became an anti-Qing force. This was really full of people.
The Qing were killed until they had no choice but to fight against the Qing.
A scholar from Xudu was able to capture more than a dozen cities in central Zhejiang. What resistance could Zhao Han encounter with his strong troops?
If there is a fierce battle, it will be a reverse golden finger!
(Readers, please stop complaining, this kind of plot must be written. Should we just write one sentence: Zhao Han sent troops to occupy Jiangnan?)
…
Beijing.
The Forbidden City and Qianqing Palace were in dead silence.
News of the fall of Nanjing spread quickly, and it only took ten days for the Clippers to arrive in Beijing.
This is thanks to the northern officers and soldiers who suppressed the Shandong Cao people's uprising, otherwise the Grand Canal would still be blocked.
With trembling hands, Chongzhen put down the newspaper from Yangzhou and said with a parched throat: "Do you have anything else to say?"
Yang Sichang was not in Beijing at this time. He went to Henan and was trying his best to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng.
Xue Guoguan was frightened and said bravely: "We can only destroy the bandits first."
"Rogue bandits, rogue bandits, how many years have passed and the rogue bandits have not been wiped out," Chongzhen became angry without warning. "The rogue bandits cannot be wiped out, and the Tatar slaves cannot be wiped out. Zhao thieves have already invaded several southern provinces!"
All the ministers were speechless and did not dare to speak.
A civil servant stood up suddenly, but it was Zhao Han's old acquaintance, Wei Zhaocheng, Jiangxi's school inspector in the early years of Chongzhen. This man knelt on the ground and shouted sternly: "Your Majesty, Yang Sichang must be beheaded!"
Fan Fucui, the second assistant to the cabinet, also came out, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, please kill Yang Sichang!"
Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, quickly came out and said: "Your Majesty, Yang Dongge is having a hard time suppressing the bandits. Changing commanders before the battle is a taboo for military strategists."
The cabinet minister Cheng Guoxiang said: "Your Majesty, please kill Yang Sichang!"
Nanjing has fallen, and Beijing is still engaging in party disputes.
Since the drastic changes last winter, Yang Sichang has lost control of the court. It's not that he is no longer trusted by the emperor, but that Emperor Chongzhen can act as he pleases.
Chongzhen believed that the reason for the successive military defeats was that the cabinet ministers were not familiar with ministry affairs and could not integrate the functions of the six ministries well.
So Chongzhen ordered that for the current cabinet, one person should be promoted from each of the six ministries.
This resulted in half of the cabinet ministers becoming Donglin Party members, or leaning towards the Donglin Party. However, Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, and Yang Sichang, the most powerful, were both mortal enemies of the Donglin Party.
The cabinet has thus become the main battlefield for party struggle!
Several cabinet ministers are on the same side. They are already quarreling in the cabinet. They are from the Sixth Ministry and have influence from the Sixth Ministry. Therefore, the Sixth Ministry also holds each other back.
No matter good or bad, don't even think about doing anything. The government has become unprecedentedly chaotic.
Chongzhen looked at these cabinet ministers and was trembling with anger.
I asked you to discuss matters, but you come to quarrel and engage in political strife. Nanjing has already been lost! If I kill Yang Sichang, the overall situation can be saved. I can kill ten Yang Sichang!
Chongzhen sneered and said: "You want to kill Yang Sichang. Well, just treat Yang Sichang as dead and start talking about business. Who can regain Jiangnan?"
Everyone was silent, not daring to speak.
"Bang!"
Chongzhen waved his arms and swept away the things on the table, and the inkstone fell to the ground with a sound. He pointed at the ministers and angrily shouted: "A bunch of wine bags and rice bags, what use do you have! Talk!"
Wei Zhaocheng bit the bullet and said: "Zhou Yanru is good at managing state affairs and will definitely be able to turn things around. Please call your Majesty to recall Zhou Yanru as your first assistant."
"Your Majesty, please resurrect Zhou Yanru." Fan Fucui and Cheng Guoxiang shouted after him.
Xue Guoguan shouted at the top of his lungs: "Are you trying to form a party? Are you trying to force His Majesty?"
Still engaging in partisanship!
Chongzhen was so angry that he lost his voice and his chest was heaving.
These cabinet ministers were all personally selected by him. What kind of people did they choose?
"Get out! Get out of here!"
After calming down for a long time, Chongzhen was finally able to speak again. He almost couldn't breathe.
The ministers immediately resigned, not daring to face the emperor's wrath again.
After sitting there for a long time, Chongzhen actually said to the eunuch: "Call Wang Diaoding."
Chongzhen didn't know who to talk to. After much deliberation, he only had the Wang Diaoding sent by Zhao Thief.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, adjusts the tripod and bows to your Majesty!" Wang transferred the tripod and lay prone on the ground.
Chongzhen sneered and said: "Your lord has already occupied Jiangnan, have you ever thought about going back to assist?"
Wang Tiaoding said quickly: "I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and your Majesty is my lord."
Chongzhen looked up at the top of the palace and asked leisurely: "Then how does Zhao Han employ people? Why doesn't he have a group of wine bags and rice bags under him? He forcibly divided the fields in the south and killed so many gentry. Why didn't anyone raise an army to rebel against him?"
Wang Tiaoding replied: "It's just the people's will."
"Can dividing fields and killing people win the hearts of the people?" Chongzhen asked.
Wang Tiaoding replied: "If you only lose the heart of one family in dividing the land, you can win the hearts of thousands of families. The gentry is the people, and the head of Guizhou is also the people. The gentry exploits the people and relies on two things. One is the support of the government; the other is the government's support.
Raise evil slaves. As long as the land is allocated to the common people, the common people will naturally join the army enthusiastically, kill the evil slaves first, and then take over the government."
Chongzhen shook his head and said: "I am the emperor. I cannot kill people indiscriminately, nor can I divide the land indiscriminately."
Wang Tiaoding was silent.
Chongzhen lost his mind and said: "I am not the king of a subjugated country, but my subordinates are all ministers of a subjugated country."
Wang Tiaoding continued to remain silent.
Chongzhen sighed: "This spring, I asked all the governments in the south of the Yangtze River to recruit troops. What kind of soldiers did they recruit? How long has it been, and Nanjing is gone? Didn't you say that the Zhao thieves will not take Jiangnan?"
Wang Tiaoding replied: "Your Majesty, the Zhao thieves did not want to take Jiangnan, but the Zhejiang scholars were forced to rebel. They organized a series of rebellions to capture the prefectures and counties. They took the initiative to dedicate the city to the Zhao thieves."
"The scholars rebelled, seized the city and dedicated it to the Zhao thieves?" Chongzhen asked in surprise.
"Yes," Wang Tiaoding replied, "Zhejiang suffered from successive years of disasters, the imperial taxation became heavier and heavier, and the poor scholars had no means of livelihood, so they rebelled."
"Hahahahaha," Chongzhen laughed sadly, "The scholars of the Ming Dynasty actually rebelled and joined the bandits. I am really good at being an emperor."
Wang Diaoding hesitated for a moment and suddenly said: "Zhao Thief sent someone to send a message."
"Say!" Chongzhen shouted.
Wang Diaoding knelt on the ground and said: "Zhao thief has sent word that if he is a bandit or a Tatar slave, and one day the army comes to Beijing, he can send troops to escort the royal family south. He...he will definitely not treat him badly. He said that he respects Taizu extremely.
, willing to protect and take in Taizu’s descendants.”
Chongzhen sneered: "He wants to establish a new emperor and then abdicate."
Wang Tiaoding shook his head and said: "He said he would not establish a new emperor. He does not believe in abdication. Your Majesty can decide for himself whether he is willing to let the royal family go south."