Yang Cao asked: "Is it necessary to close the net in the city?"
Wu Mu said: "Not moving for the time being, the bandits are very mobile. After the failure to chase Xu Tong, Tieliang Temple has long been deserted. The city is now a dead move, and there is no interaction with the outside of the city. Now the enemy is hiding us." Ming, the source of information is relatively single. We need to expand the sources of intelligence as much as possible. If we keep this bait, we may catch fish. Sooner or later, they will contact Liang Cunhou. Not to mention attacking the Liang family, do we want to attack other families? Kill the minions outside the city. , the city is just fish and meat on a plate, if the dishes can be more sumptuous, I don’t mind if dinner is served a little later.”
Capital City, Forbidden City
Qianqing Palace, the largest palace in the inner court, is nine rooms wide and five rooms deep. Gray light and shadow are reflected from the window panes behind the throne, mottled and scattered in the palace. The copper incense burner on the steps of the throne exudes faint smoke and fog. The mist shrouded everything in a layer of twilight.
Chongzhen hesitated for a moment and picked up a memorial from the imperial case in front of him. Xiong Wencan's memorial had been transferred from the library for some time. The fall of Guangdong made Chongzhen a little stunned. The Kun thief, or the Australian, was still there yesterday. The fine wine in the glass bottle on the desk has now become a problem that needs to be faced on the desk of the empire.
The fragrant tea on the imperial desk had long since gone cold, and the tip of the ink pen had dried up. Chongzhen suddenly stood up from the throne, stood silently for a long time with his back to the golden lacquer screen, and suddenly threw the memorial in his hand to the bottom of the stairs with a snap, and began to chant. Ben stretched out in the air, like a graceful butterfly, fluttered suddenly, and fell weakly on the gold bricks in front of the temple.
Chongzhen paced quickly in front of the Imperial Case in annoyance, and suddenly said loudly: "Xiong Wencan has harmed the country! He is powerless to fight against the Eastern captives! He has no way to level up against the pirates! Now he can't even defend against the sea pirates! I have been determined to cheer up since the beginning of my imperial career. , approaching the gentleman and retreating from the villain, abolishing the garrison and middle-ranking officials, appointing Donglin, trusting his confidants, and entrusting him with the city. Everyone enters the court, but they only know the similarities and differences of opinions, fight for power, and form parties for personal gain. What will be gained by this? Defeat. Due to the lack of pay, the enemy from the East captured the capital of Bao and faced me across the wall! Who is responsible for the loss of Guangdong now? I have not failed to give credit to all the civil and military ministers, but who can really cheer up and be honest? Doing things? Xiong Wencan spoke arrogantly beforehand and tried to hide his faults afterwards. He could not be appeased and could not win the battle. I repeatedly tolerated him and only hoped that he would be punished and rehabilitated. However, he only doubled his corruption, failed again and again, neglected his kindness and derelict in his duties. Now You have the nerve to ask for troops, but Xiong Wencan is incompetent! Everyone in Guangdong will punish you!" After saying this, Chongzhen's pale face became abnormally flushed, and his heavy breathing echoed in the hall, but there was no one in the empty hall. respond to his question.
Wang Cheng'en silently walked down the steps, knelt down, and whispered: "Your Majesty is bound to the country, please take care of your holy body." Chongzhen sat back on the throne with some dejection, his breathing gradually subsided, and he waved his hands gently. , said: "The affairs of the country are complicated. In the first year of the year, we sacrificed thieves and invaded Xingyang, and fell into the central capital. I have sinned against the spirits of the ancestors of heaven and earth. Now I have lost Guangdong, with water flowing from all directions, and wind leaking from all directions. I have seen enough. The sky-high level of frustration has been accumulating for a long time. If I make some complaints, I can only treat these words as nagging for those of you who are close to me. If there is nothing else to do, I will pass it on to the cabinet, right?" He murmured. As he spoke, he seemed to be speaking to Wang Chengen, but he kept staring out the window, his eyes tired and blurred.
Silence, it was unusually quiet in the main hall of Qianqing Palace. Several cabinet ministers lowered their eyes to their chests. They had already read Xiong Wencan's memorial, but everyone seemed to be ignoring it intentionally or unintentionally. There were enough troubles, but no matter No matter how reluctant you are, reality has to be faced.
Chongzhen said: "The thieves are knocking on the sea, and Guangdong has been occupied for a long time. The previous Xiong Wencan's memorial has been submitted to the cabinet for approval and submitted to the Ministry for review. Now Xiong has written again asking for help. Can you come up with a countermeasure? Wen Qing, you have already As the first assistant, you can tell me."
Wen Tiren walked forward calmly and saluted. For him, everything was already familiar. Reality hit the fragile self-esteem of this strong-minded young monarch one after another. The experience of being close to the feudal lord did not accumulate the foundation of an emperor for him. Facing him, He seemed impatient and confused about the complex political situation. Not many people really supported the thatched hut in Ming Dynasty. Most of them would just take advantage of the chaos to dig out a piece of mud or pull away a handful of thatch, leaving it to sway even more in the wind and rain.
The young emperor no longer trusts the opposition gentlemen, nor the ministers in office. No one can give him a sense of security. Re-trusting the officials and ministers is an unfriendly indicator for the courtiers, but for Wen Tiren, it is not a bad sign. This is not good news. A lonely king and a lonely minister must rely on each other's trust and trust. Is he a lonely minister or a single husband? It doesn't matter. Power is the pinnacle of reality.
Wen Tiren said loudly: "Your Majesty, there have been many meetings between the Cabinet and the Ministry of War regarding the Kun thieves. However, the Kun thieves are overseas visitors and they are located in a remote area of Qiongzhou. Little is known about their affairs. Guan Xiong Wencan submitted the document. Although the Kun thieves falsely claimed The survivors of the former Song Dynasty, but they all have short brown hair. Judging from their clothes, rituals, calendars, utensils, and cannons, they are mostly similar to those of the overseas Red Barbarians. Most of their people are from the north, so they should be living in a foreign land and living next to the Red Barbarians. These pirates are by no means our descendants from China. They occupied Lingao and had private trade with Guangfu for several years. They have only begun to plunder today. Although they are ferocious, ugly and rebellious, it can be seen that the Kun thieves have no ambition, otherwise Why bother to imprison yourself in Lingao when you already have elite soldiers? Xiong Wencan said that the fall of Guangfu was actually due to the thieves who took advantage of the convenience, incited evil spirits, led the unruly people, and laid ambush in the dark for several years before they were able to deceive the city. Look at his previous actions. This method of warfare is obviously superior to that of naval warfare. The defeat of Qiongzhou was due to an attack halfway across the river. We lost all our boats and tens of thousands of troops were trapped in Qiongya without any help or food. This time we attacked Guangdong. First, we were defeated. After defeating our navy, we relied on ship artillery to attack the shore and then captured Humen. The same was true when we arrived at Antelope Gorge and Zhaoqing. With the navy as the vanguard and the infantry submissive, there was an infantry battle. However, once the navy was defeated, The infantry was unable to support itself, so it retreated to Wuzhou. The Wuzhou Kun thieves resorted to their old tricks, using ships to bombard the city with generals, forcing the people to fill trenches and invade. The traitors responded, causing the military city to fall. After the city was broken, the Kun thieves set fire to it. They burned the city and did not seal the sword for three days. They took pleasure in killing and plundered as their heart. Corpses lay in the wilderness, with heads as high as mountains. It was so cruel that it was indescribable. Xiong Wencan led his troops to fight against the Kun thieves on Bangshan outside the city, with enemies on all sides. They resisted Kun Feng for nine times, but the situation was unstoppable, so they led their troops to retreat into Guangxi. From this we can see that when the Kun thieves marched, their soldiers never left the boat or the land, and they only marched along the river. The Kun people have always been famous for their sharp guns and artillery. Their artillery and firearms are no less than those of the Franji people, and I heard that the Kun people are not only strong in water warfare, but also brave in land warfare. I imagine that all the soldiers are proficient in fighting skills. This can be compared to the Japanese pirates in the past. Wang Zhi and his like occupied a corner of the Japanese country in the past, and they repeatedly attacked. On the seaside, the disaster was also severe. When Qi Shaobao came out, he created the Yuanyang Formation and the Sancai Formation. Although the Japanese pirates were sharp with their swordsmanship, Qi Shaobao used military formations to defeat the conflict. , then the Japanese invasion will be at an end. Therefore, when we think about it, the Kun thief never fights with me in formation. It is obvious that he is better at fighting alone on the water than in an array, so he always uses his own strengths to avoid his own shortcomings. Although the Kun thief Kou Yan is rampant, but after all they are just a gang of bandits, and they have never heard of the Kun people being good at bow and horse. Now that they can hardly advance into Wuzhou, they can only confront Xiong from a distance, which shows that they are already tired of the veterans of the division. Without an enterprising spirit, it is nothing more than a scabies disease in the end. All it takes is a strong army to serve as the backbone, and the disciplined divisions to invite battle into the wilderness, forcing them to fight decisively, erecting upright flags, forming a majestic formation, and using infantry as the backbone. Right, if the cavalry army is a strange thing, the clouds gather and the wind disperses, and the clutches and couplings change, and if the main culprits are defeated, then the civilians they hold hostage will inevitably disperse, and it should not be difficult to defeat them. If the troops from Zhejiang can be mobilized to help suppress it, then Kun's troubles will be solved."
Chongzhen lowered his head and listened carefully. After waiting for what he said, he said: "In a war, we fight nothing more than soldiers and horses, money, food, and materials. As Wen Qing said, where do the wages come from?"
Wen Tiren thought for a while and said: "The ministers and others have agreed that there is no way to pay for it now. The only way is to increase the payment again and collect Guangdong rates. The Cantonese rates are divided into two items. One is to lose all, that is, to send grains per mu of land.
An additional levy of grain and rice from Guangdong Province, calculated at eight taels of silver per rice, can raise about 1.8 million taels. The second is overflow land. Since the Wanli Dynasty, the records of land and land have been unclear, resulting in many acres of land.
It has not been included in the tax collection. Now that the country is in dire straits, the land will be levied together after verification. In this way, there will be hundreds of thousands more taels. The total of the two items will be at least about 2.1 million taels more. The tax period is
For one year, if Kun suffers from illness, then Guangdong will stop paying. Salt will be added to silver, and if the students are exempted, silver can be added a little, so that it can be used for their needs."
Chongzhen sighed softly and said: "In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, new pay was allocated. If we continue to increase the payment year after year, the people will not be able to take a breather. This is a strategy to drain the river and fish."
Wen Tiren was silent for a moment and said: "Your Majesty is considerate of the public opinion, but the army's response is as urgent as the wind and fire. There is no time to delay. Supervisors such as Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou have moved thousands of miles to fight. Food and pay are urgently needed. Now we have to overthrow the front and raise the flag. It is urgent and the soldiers still need to advance.
You must never fail in your efforts. Only when the world is at peace can you take another turn to exempt yourself from food and taxes and rest with the people."
Having said this, Wen Tiren paused for a moment and then continued: "The trouble is only a trivial matter. Nowadays, thieves are wreaking havoc and bringing disaster to many provinces. It is a problem that affects the elbows and armpits. Your Majesty should take this as the main priority."
Chongzhen said: "How should Xiong Wencan be dealt with?"
Wen Tiren said: "He can be allowed to be demoted and temporarily assigned to his post if he is guilty. Although Xiong Wencan has lost his army and lost territory, there is currently no one who knows the affairs of the army and knows the love of the army. He changes his commander before the battle. He is afraid that the morale of the army will be shaken and he does not know the details, so he loses his job.
In the current situation that has finally been formed, Xiong has repeatedly defeated the enemy, but he has been defeated and fought repeatedly. He is willing to take the target and take the lead. Now he is trying to cheer up and contact the loyal and brave people of Guangdong, and he will start an uprising in the near future.
, he wrote this memorial to request that he be given the right to act expediently as a reward for his loyalty. After deliberation, I felt that I could grant his request."
When Chongzhen heard this, he nodded slightly and breathed out softly: "Yun, who can be the superintendent of Zheng Kun?"
Wen Tiren said: "Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng and others are all commander-in-chief. However, Xumi cannot be separated from the army to suppress the bandits. We also ask the Holy Heart to rule."
Chongzhen said: "You and I, the monarch and my ministers, will discuss this later."