His sudden interest in Zheng Sen was not just a whim. In fact, the imperial court had taken a breather recently and could free up its hands to deal with the Kun thieves.
The year before last, when the bandits captured Guangzhou and swept across Guangdong and Guangxi, the imperial court discussed the matter of marching to the south. However, the imperial court was defeated in Guangdong and Guangxi. Almost all the troops originally deployed in Guangxi and Guangxi were destroyed. Even Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, only led a few remaining soldiers.
The defeated general fled into Hunan and has survived to this day.
He lost his army, lost his territory, and abandoned two provinces. If Xiong Wencan had been punished and sent to prison before, his head would probably be dead at this moment. The reason why Chongzhen kept him until now was because the border issue was very important and he was not willing to change people easily.
What's more important is that the imperial court has no troops to support Guangdong and Guangxi, and no one who can control the situation.
He thought many times about taking Xiong Wencan to the capital and interrogating him in Tianjian Prison. However, Wen Tiren advised him that there are currently no less than a dozen civil and military ministers who can deal with rogue bandits, and there are only a few who can compete with Donglu, but only
There were very few officials who knew the situation of the Kun thieves and had fought against the Kun thieves. Wang Zunde had been dead for several years, and Xiong Wencan was the only one left. Therefore, he could only hold his nose and ask him to "do meritorious service".
Chongzhen did not know anything about the Kun thieves. Over the years, the sporadic memorials, secret memorials in Tang newspapers and factory guards have somewhat glimpsed the face of this difficult enemy. Especially the "Notes of Ping Kun" that was presented to Yulan.
, he had read it many times. He knew that he was facing a brand-new opponent, which was different from Donglu and rogue bandits, as well as from Japanese bandits and Hongmao. All the knowledge about the bandits in the government and the public came from this booklet.
This is also the reason why he has to tolerate Xiong Wencan until now.
Last year, he revealed his intention to seek Kun to his cabinet ministers. Except for Wen Tiren, the cabinet ministers were vague and disapproving of this. It is said that the imperial court was worried about internal and external troubles at the time, and it could not care about the far south.
fighting.
No matter how troublesome the Kun thieves are, "challenging Kun" must be done. Otherwise, he will not be able to face the fierce debate between the government and the public. How will future generations view him as an emperor? Although Emperor Xuanzong abandoned Annan at the beginning, Annan was just a transformation.
The outer territory is not lost territory. However, Guangdong and Guangxi are among the thirteen envoys in the two capitals. The country came from Emperor Taizu. How can it be abandoned in his hands?! The imperial court lost two chief envoys. If it did not raise troops
In the crusade, wouldn’t it become a joke that “the whole world is not the kingdom’s land”? Will the increasingly domineering warriors still take the imperial court into their eyes?
As an emperor, he could not discuss some difficulties with his ministers, so he could only sigh secretly.
These days, in addition to the fact that the cabinet has agreed to send more "Cantonese pay" starting from the ninth year of Chongzhen, there is no final decision yet on who will be the superintendent and which troops will be mobilized. The attitude of Wen Tiren, whom he has always relied on, is also quite ambiguous. In words.
In it, it conveys the meaning of hoping to "caress".
With the current situation of the imperial court, "fu" may not be an option. But his intuition told him that Kun Thief's appetite may be very big, and they would not agree to the simple terms. Even if, as the cabinet ministers said, they were promised a Qiongzhou Prefecture
They may not be satisfied either. What's more, the matter of ceding territory was fiercely discussed among the people. Such a thing that risked the disdain of the world made the emperor shudder just thinking about it.
Only by letting the thieves know the power of the imperial court can they possibly appease him.
It is ridiculous to say that the Donglu occupied a bitter cold land in the Northeast. The old slave was just a small personal guard under Li Chengliang's tent, with hundreds of followers and only a few dozen armored men. It was only twenty or thirty years since my grandfather started the army in his later years.
, the imperial court was defeated and retreated, and all Liaodong was lost; and this bandit, I heard that when he first came, he only had a few large ships and a few hundred people, drifted to Qiongzhou, a remote place in the south, and barely survived by doing business, but now he has become an elite soldier
Strong generals swept across Guangdong and Guangxi in one fell swoop. My Ming Dynasty has thousands of miles of land, billions of people, and thousands of civil and military officials, but it has no choice but to deal with the two barbarians in the north and the south, so it has to think of "pacifying"...
Thinking of this, the emperor felt miserable in his heart. He still didn't understand that the country was obviously very powerful, but it ended up in this situation!
Concubine Tian saw that he didn't speak after dinner, with a dazed look on her face. She knew that he was worried about state affairs again, and was afraid that he would be filled with worry and anger after dinner, so she hurriedly used words to divert his attention, and talked about the recent news in the capital.
There is a lot of talk about "miraculous doctors" and "miracle medicines".
Although the capital is magnificent in size, due to its large population and its location in the north, which is plagued by wind and sand all year round, the urban environment cannot be flattered. In the early years, the country was strong, with competent officials and good management of environmental sanitation. In the last years of the dynasty, people were unsettled.
The social order is disordered, and the original management system is in vain. In recent years, due to the entry and plunder of Donglu, a large number of people have entered the city, and infectious diseases are prevalent everywhere, such as diarrhea, cough, fever... Although infectious diseases are mainly in the lack of
It is popular among the lower class people with clean drinking water and poor environment, but the dignitaries are not immune. Many people are sick, and many officials have taken leave for this. But according to the standards of the 17th century, this is not enough.
plague".
Concubine Tian's father was also sick, and the illness was quite severe at one time, which made Concubine Tian worried. However, the palace rules did not allow concubines to visit relatives, even their biological fathers. They could only have someone prepare some from the imperial pharmacy.
The medicine was delivered to my home. Not long ago, my family finally came to report that my father's illness was cured. It was said that he had taken the miracle doctor's medicine, and the diarrhea that had been unstoppable stopped in just two days.
The medicine prescribed by this miracle doctor had remarkable curative effects, especially on coughs, fevers and diarrhea. It caused an immediate sensation in the capital. Even the emperor in the palace heard about it - after all, Dongchang and Jinyiwei
One of his daily tasks is to report market news.
Chongzhen did not take this matter to heart: there were many dignitaries in the capital. Since humans have seven emotions and six desires, there are also three disasters and six disasters. Therefore, monks, Taoists, fortune tellers, and doctors have always been the most enthusiastic about coming to the "Treasure Land above". Suddenly a man appeared
"Gods" are nothing new. As long as they don't "confuse the public with their evil words," they generally don't bother to ask.
When Concubine Tian talked about this matter, he just treated it as a pastime after dinner, listened casually, and didn't take it seriously. But when Concubine Tian said: "...the medical skills of this miracle doctor Zhou are indeed superb, especially when he prepared the medicine himself."
The medicines are almost always effective in corresponding symptoms, and are no less effective than those used by tyrants..." He suddenly shuddered and said sharply: "What did you say?!"
Concubine Tian originally saw the emperor's gentle face, his eyebrows half-closed, and his face full of relaxation and enjoyment. Unexpectedly, his face suddenly turned ferocious. She couldn't help but feel frightened in her heart, and said in a panic: "I said that the medicine of the miracle doctor is extremely effective..."
"No, it's not inferior to anyone else's medicine?!"
"The thief...the thief..." Tian Guifei secretly complained in her heart. She had no reason to say what she was doing! Although she was in the harem, through the eunuchs around her and her father's family members who sent gifts every month, she was also aware of the current situation in the DPRK. I know a little bit about it. The emperor wrote on the screen of Qianqing Palace that it is one of the four major problems in the world today.
"Thieves with beards, thieves with beards," Chongzhen recited this word repeatedly and asked after a while, "Where did this Zhou miracle doctor come from? Where did your father recruit him?"
"It was recommended by the new Minister of War, Mr. Wang." Concubine Tian did not dare to hide it.
That would be Wang Yehao, Chongzhen thought. After the death of Zhang Fengyi, Minister of the Ministry of War, he had been assigned the title of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War. However, the emperor felt that he was not a suitable candidate for the minister of war, so he hired Yang Sichang, who was at home with Ding You. At the same time, In order to allow Wang Yehao to carry out his errands with peace of mind, he was given the title of Minister of the Ministry of War as a special reward.
However, this person has never been favored by Chongzhen. Although he was quite competent in his duties as governor of Zhejiang and Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, he was a member of the Zhejiang Party. However, the past events of the Zhejiang Party in the Afu Eunuch Party made the emperor feel grudge against these old members of the Zhejiang Party.
Most of the famous monks and Taoist doctors in the capital have the power of the Jin gentry and high-ranking families behind them - otherwise they cannot stand. It is not surprising that Wang Yehao is the backing of Dr. Zhou. Tian Hongyu is the father of Concubine Tian. Wang recommends divine healing. It is common for illness to use this method to please the "father of the country".
However, Chongzhen was very afraid of the harem interfering in politics. Wang Yehao's move made him wonder if this person had something up his sleeve and wanted to use Concubine Tian to give him some advice. His face suddenly became gloomy.
Concubine Tian saw that his expression suddenly darkened, and she became more and more panicked. She was about to say a few words to explain, but suddenly remembered that her father had said that if you encounter a situation that is difficult to deal with, it is better to stay still than to move, and simply stay silent and wait for others to speak first.
Fortunately, the emperor was in a pretty good mood today. Looking back on it, he was the one who started asking the miracle doctor, and it seemed that it had nothing to do with the request. So his expression quickly returned to a relaxed state, but he did not remember the matter of Wang Yehao and the miracle doctor Zhou. Got off. He secretly reminded himself that he would ask Wu Mengming to investigate this matter carefully tomorrow.
"What is the name of this miracle doctor?"
"I don't know about this, I just mentioned it when my family came to the palace to deliver the letter..." Concubine Tian replied cautiously. She had more or less guessed what the emperor had just thought.
"Not to mention this miracle doctor," Chongzhen shook his head, "You are now saying that it is more effective than Kun Thief's medicine - does the capital have Kun Thief's medicine?"
"I only know about seven or eight kinds of Kunthi medicines popular in the capital. Most of them are household safety medicines. The most famous ones are Zhuge Xingjun Powder and Biwen Powder."
Chongzhen remembered that during the Jiaxu Scientific Expedition (1634), Jinyiwei secretly reported that someone had purchased a large amount of pill powder and distributed it free of charge to the scholars who came to Beijing. The main medicine distributed was Biwensan, and it was said that the effect was not bad. As for the medicine distributed
The people were just some big local people who wanted to do good deeds. After hearing this, he gave up.
"Biwensan is not a pharmacy in Guangli..." he said casually, suddenly remembering that Kun Thief started from Guangdong? It turns out that Kun Thief's tentacles had already reached into the capital at this time!