Chapter five hundred and eighty third Jiangbei four towns
The news that King Wu Lie Ding Yunyi was coming to Nanjing immediately shocked people like Ma Shiying.
Is Ding Yunyi really that brave? How dare he come to Nanjing? Or does he have other purposes and wants to capture Nanjing by force?
The strength of Huben Guards is known to the world.
Can the rogue bandits be considered rampant? They were destroyed by the Tiger Guards! Can the Jinlu be considered arrogant? They were also destroyed by the Tiger Guards! One after another, the enemies fell at the feet of the Tiger Guards!
If Ding Yunyi was really determined to attack Nanjing, could he resist it with Nanjing's military strength alone? No one can answer this question.
Ma Shiying was worried, but Shi Kefa and the Donglin Party members were happy.
In the minds of Shi Kefa and these Donglin Party members, they had a high opinion of Ding Yunyi. It was simple and easy because the scholar class headed by Zhang Pu had a very high opinion of Ding Yunyi.
On the issue of establishing an emperor, Shi Kefa and the Donglin Party members were completely plotted by Ma Shiying and others, and were defeated miserably in their hands. But at this time, Ding Yunyi's appearance suddenly gave them hope.
It would not be a bad thing if they could use Ding Yunyi's help to find a new king that satisfies them.
The atmosphere in Nanjing suddenly became extremely strange...
But what was supposed to come would still come. As the days passed, news finally came:
Ding Yunyi, King Wu Lie of the Ming Dynasty and the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, will arrive in Nanjing soon!
Ma Shiying and others suddenly raised their voices and kept delivering news to the city of Nanjing. What was surprising was that Ding Yunyi only brought more than a hundred followers, which immediately made Ma Shiying and others feel relieved.
No matter how strong Ding Yunyi is, can a hundred people conquer the city of Nanjing?
"Ding Yunyi seems to agree with us to support His Majesty." Ma Shiying breathed a relieved sigh of relief: "One hundred people are his guards along the way. I don't have to worry anymore."
Jingnan Marquis and Commander-in-Chief Huang Degong said: "I have long said that King Wu Lie is unparalleled in his loyalty and righteousness. He will never do anything that will cause pain to his relatives and pleasure to his enemies."
Before he could finish his words, someone already said coldly: "Jingnanhou is too optimistic. It's a pity that Hu Benwei didn't recruit talents like Jingnanhou."
Looking back, the person speaking was Xingpingbo Gaojie. Hearing his sarcasm, Huang Degong could not help but glare at each other in anger.
The relationship between Huang Degong and Gao Jie was originally full of irreconcilable conflicts.
When Zhu Yousong established himself in the south of the Yangtze River, Huang Degong was granted the title of Marquis. He, Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, and Gao Jie formed four towns. At first, Shi Kefa thought Gao Jie was domineering, so he ordered Huang Degong to station in Yizhen and secretly contain him. Huang Fei and Huang Degong had the same surname.
, as brothers. He was about to go to Denglai as the commander-in-chief, and Huang Degong led 300 cavalry from Yangzhou to Gaoyou to greet him. Gao Jie had always been afraid of Huang Degong, and suspected that he wanted to plot to attack him, so he ambush elite soldiers on the road. Huang Degong walked up to
Tuqiao, while cooking, ambushes appeared everywhere, he mounted his horse and raised his iron whip to fight. Arrows rained down from all around, and his horse fell, so he jumped on another horse and continued fighting. An enemy warrior, a brave horseman, rushed over, and Huang Degong
He shouted and turned around, grabbed Li and dragged him off his horse. All the enemy's cavalry and horses were killed. He also killed dozens of people and jumped into the collapsed house, roaring like thunder. The pursuers did not dare to approach, so he galloped back to his own
Where Huang Degong was fighting. When Huang Degong was fighting, Gao Jie took the opportunity to sneak attack Yizhen. Huang Degong's troops suffered heavy losses, and all 300 cavalry accompanying him were killed in the battle. He then appealed to the court and expressed that he would fight to the death with Gao Jie. Shi Kefa persuaded him many times before he had to reconcile with him.
.
Although they were reconciled for the time being, this grudge cannot be forgotten. At this time, Gao Jie made sarcasm again, how could Huang Degong not be angry?
"Okay. Okay, when did this happen?" Ma Shiying advised: "Anyway, Ding Yunyi will be arriving in Nanjing soon. Everyone should be more careful and don't make a fuss for the time being. Although he has more than 100 people,
It’s not scary, but his tiger guards are still deeply fearful to us.”
Thinking of the Tiger Guards, everyone was silent...
...
"Your Majesty, you can arrive in Nanjing tomorrow." Duan San'er said at the side.
Ding Yunyi nodded. The last time he came to Nanjing, he brought back a large number of beauties. This time he came to Nanjing, but there may be a bloody storm. Thinking about it, it is quite sad.
"Your Majesty, what kind of people are those in the Four Towns of Jiangbei?" Duan Saner was a little confused. After thinking about it for a while, he asked: "It seems that Zhu Yousong was able to get to that position all because of the Four Towns of Jiangbei.
The power of the town?”
"These four towns in Jiangbei still have some background." Ding Yunyi was silent for a moment and said: "Let's talk about Gao Jie first. He was the most powerful among the four towns. Gao Jie was originally a subordinate of Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng once robbed a good woman.
Ms.
Astonished, Xing also had a good impression of Gao Jie at first sight. After a long period of contact, the two hooked up. When Li Zicheng was in Qinzhong, he was defeated several times by Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi in the Ming Dynasty. Sun Chuanting had many generals under his command.
His name was He Renlong, and he was also from Mizhi, Shaanxi Province. He was from the same hometown as Li Zicheng and Gao Jie. When Sun Chuanting was at the peak of his persecution of Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng instigated Gao Jie to have a secret business with He Renlong, hoping that for the sake of his fellow villagers, he would be able to open up a wide margin.
Don't push too hard. In troubled times, heroes are everywhere, and those who have soldiers are the grass-head kings. In order to preserve his own strength and not want to use his own soldiers to fight to the death with Li Zicheng, He Renlong secretly agreed, which reduced Li Zicheng's threat.
At this point, it was originally a happy situation. Unexpectedly, Li Zicheng became suspicious when he saw Gao Jie's close relationship with He Renlong. He concluded that Gao Jie was going to betray him and surrender to the army, so he wanted to get rid of him.
Unfortunately, the news leaked out. After hearing this, Gao Jie was shocked and angry, so he went to Xing to discuss it.
Only in this way, he led ten thousand of his men and led the Xing family to surrender to He Renlong. This is a popular saying in historical records, but I don’t think it is necessarily the case. Li Zicheng was a hero of his generation, and he was not a dim-witted person. He would not be unable to distinguish the fake show between Gao Jie and the Ming army.
There is a difference between doing something and acting on occasion. He wanted to kill Gao Jie. I think he must have noticed the adultery between Gao Jie and the Xing family. It would really harm his reputation to kill Gao Jie. After all, he was cuckolded by his subordinates. If it spreads, it is hard to say.
It sounded good. So I fabricated the idea of demoting the army."
"It turns out he's just a bandit." Duan San'er said contemptuously.
"Yes, he was a bandit, but he still had some abilities. After Gao Jie surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, he really struggled for a while. He made many military exploits in the battle with the peasant army. The Ming Dynasty treated him well and promoted him within a few years.
To the Chief Military Officer." Ding Yunyi nodded and said slowly:
"Later Sun Chuanting died in the battle, how could the others still have fighting spirit? All the generals in Qin surrendered to the peasant army. But Gao Jie did not dare. The hatred of killing his father and the hatred of taking his wife were irreconcilable. He was worried that Li Zicheng would not let him go.
Looking at the world, where can we find shelter? Only in the Jiangnan area. So Gao Jie led the remaining troops to flee eastward to Shandong, and sent someone to contact Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, to request for surrender. Ma Shiying heard that Gao Jie still had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses,
I was overjoyed. The troops in my hands were my capital at this time, so I gave up Xuzhou and allowed Gao Jie to garrison and follow my command."
Speaking of this, he paused briefly: "As for the other four people, Liu Zeqing was born in the army and was the commander-in-chief of Shandong. When Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict requiring generals from all regions to lead troops to serve the king, so Liu Zeqing was naturally recruited.
But Liu Zeqing was really frightened by Li Zicheng's name. He didn't want to be known as disloyal, so he came up with a plan. When the whole team was dispatching troops, he deliberately fell off his horse in the name of being injured. He stayed still!
When the Shun army attacked Shandong, Liu Zeqing did not dare to fight. He led his troops to flee south and stationed in Huai'an. Liu Liangzuo was nicknamed "Flower Horse Liu" because he often rode a flower horse. When the capital fell, he was stationed in Henan.
In the Zhengyang area, Ma Shiying wrote to him, inviting him to go south. Liu Liangzuo was alone in the north and was worried about attacks by rogue bandits. He was overjoyed to receive the letter and immediately led his army south. On the way south, they burned, killed and raped all the way, causing great resentment among the people. When they arrived in Nanzhili
, Ma Shiying set aside Shouxian County for his residence. As for Liu Liangzuo? He has connections in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. His younger brother Liu Liangchen was a general who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and had already surrendered to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties outside the pass. The last one, Huang Degong, was the cleaner among the four.
one......"
Only then did Duan Saner understand the relationship between the four towns in Jiangbei.
"Don't underestimate the four towns in Jiangbei. They pose a great threat to our Ming Dynasty." Ding Yunyi's eyes were profound: "After the formation of the four feudal towns, it created a situation and a demonstration effect, that is, the generals who command the troops
The government began to influence the government, and the court was in the hands of the generals! What does this mean? It means holding the emperor to order the princes, and it means that the emperor is just a decoration, like a puppet. Dynasties change, and the decrees are inconsistent, but it is important to prevent unification.
In terms of military generals controlling the court, every emperor and every dynasty has the same idea, which is to try their best to avoid this situation. If this situation is allowed to develop, even if it is not destroyed by the enemy, it will eventually be usurped!
The most well-known fear is Cao Cao! Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty made many efforts to prevent this situation, including abolishing the generals and establishing the commander-in-chief of the front, rear, left, right, center and five armies to separate the soldiers and generals and check each other, and finally the power returned to the emperor;
Including emphasizing civility over military affairs; including dispatching supervisory troops, etc. In the Ming Dynasty, military generals did not have exclusive authority. Even before the capital was captured and the world was in chaos, military generals still did not dare to disobey the imperial orders! What a pity, because these four towns saw it
It will be useless soon.”
Ding Yunyi suddenly thought, isn't he the same to some extent?
The general in charge of the army controls the government. Fortunately, he is working hard to change this situation.
"The soldiers are in charge of the government, but what about the civil servants? The party is in harmony with the opposition." Ding Yunyi pointedly said: "The Ming Dynasty did not have to be defeated in the capital and the emperor died for the country. If Emperor Chongzhen managed it properly, the Ming Empire could continue
It’s not that Emperor Chongzhen didn’t work hard to revive the Ming Dynasty, it’s just a pity that his efforts were in the opposite direction from his dream. Why? It’s nothing more than party struggle. The party struggle in the Ming Dynasty became more and more intense after Zhang Juzheng of the Wanli Dynasty, and finally the party and the country were destroyed. Zhang Juzheng
This man is a well-deserved great statesman, outstanding among the thousands of prime ministers in ancient China! When he was entrusted with the task, the Ming Dynasty was already riddled with holes. In order to make the imperial car of the Ming Dynasty go further, Zhang Juzheng
A tax reform with the One Whip Law as the main body was implemented. The reform of the One Whip Law had a profound impact on that time and later generations. It enriched the treasury in the early Wanli period and made the court rich; it also enabled later generations to collect taxes in money instead of in kind...
"
Although Duan San'er didn't understand some parts, he still listened to what King Wu Lie Ding Yunyi said:
"Any reform will inevitably touch the interests of some vested interests and will inevitably encounter resistance. Reforms in ancient China that achieved results and carried them to the end were all backed by power and not supported by power.
Reforms are destined to die prematurely! In the tenth year of Wanli, a generation of famous Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng came to the end of his life. When he was dying, officials from the DPRK and the Central Government jointly donated money to go to the temple to pray for him to ward off disasters. Only one person
He neither signed nor donated money. This person was named Gu Xiancheng. His friends were worried that he would be ostracized in the future, so they signed the name and donated money for him. When Gu Xiancheng heard about it, he rushed to the temple, blackmailed his name, and
The money needs to be returned. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was in power with both the government and the public. No official or people should fawn over him. This action clearly shows that Gu Xiancheng has a strong character!"
"Well, so this person can be considered a figure." Duan San'er said involuntarily.
Ding Yunyi smiled:
"This Gu Xiancheng has a widely circulated couplet, which fully shows his political ambitions. 'The sound of wind and rain, the sound of reading, can be heard; state affairs, family affairs, world affairs, everything is concerned about.' In the 22nd year of Wanli, Gu Xiancheng served as the official Wenxuan
Si Langzhong, the Literary and Selection Department, specializes in managing the promotion and transfer of officials. At this time, Wang Xijue, the first assistant, retired and returned to his hometown. Wanli ordered the Ministry of Personnel to select cabinet ministers. After some discussion, Gu Xiancheng and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel proposed seven candidates. Unexpectedly, the report was submitted.
After becoming emperor, Emperor Wanli was immediately furious because most of the people here were officials whom Emperor Wanli hated! So Wanli was furious and demoted Gu Xiancheng to a civilian position. Gu Xiancheng returned to his hometown and rebuilt Donglin Academy in Wuxi, where he preached and gave lectures.
After criticizing the current affairs, some figures from the government and the public gathered together to form a group out of common ideas. These people were called Donglin Party members. There is no doubt that the Donglin Party members at this time took the world as their own responsibility. They hoped that the imperial court would be revitalized.
After a hundred years of decadence, political wisdom and a good atmosphere have emerged. It should be said that they are a group of elites with far-sightedness. The Donglin Party members act with integrity and hate evil as much as hatred. They are merciless in criticizing those in the court who are doing nothing, committing crimes, and forming cliques for personal gain.
Since the Donglin Party members care about people's livelihood and are fair and selfless in dealing with things, they are naturally conducive to popular support, especially the support of the middle and lower classes. Therefore, once a Donglin Party member criticizes a certain person or a certain thing, it is often a conclusion...
..”
Duan San'er felt vaguely that there was something wrong with this, but he didn't ask.
Ding Yunyi continued:
"This will inevitably lead to fierce resistance from some people in the court. This group of people is divided into several cliques. Headed by Chief Assistant Shen Yiguan and mainly officials from Zhejiang, they are known as the 'Zhejiang Party'; headed by Wu Siliang,
Those mainly composed of officials from Hubei are known as the "Chu Party"; those mainly composed of officials from Shandong are known as the "Qi Party". These three parties joined forces to deal with the Donglin Party, so they are collectively called the "Qi Chu Zhe Party". This started the party struggle. Party struggle
At the same time, officials in both the government and the opposition no longer have the ability to take matters into their own hands and cannot manage affairs. Because every issue, policy, and political arrangement, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, will immediately be attacked by cronies, and they will find fault with each other.
Let your ideas fail in the court! Therefore, the best way to protect yourself is to do less and do nothing, so as not to give people any excuse. Party officials are like poisonous snakes lurking in the grass, always waiting for opportunities.
He suddenly jumped out and bit his opponent hard. The most terrible thing is that Emperor Wanli hid in the palace for twenty-eight years and did not come to govern the country. The party struggle had no one to mediate, so it naturally intensified."
"No wonder, no wonder." Duan San'er murmured.
If it weren't for King Wulie, he really wouldn't have known that there were so many contradictions in the court.
"The same is true for us now." Ding Yunyi's face gradually darkened: "The current party struggle was provoked by the Donglin Party, and its cause was the succession of the throne! With the whereabouts of the late emperor's three sons unknown, Prince Fu Zhu Yousong was the latest The branch of the imperial line was the most qualified to inherit the Ming Dynasty throne. The Donglin Party members were just worried that his succession would be detrimental to their party, so they stepped in and proposed to support King Lu, provoking disputes. And they even called it a euphemistic name. "Yes," it is tantamount to saying in disguise that King Fu is unworthy and unworthy of inheriting the throne. The birthplace of the Donglin Party is in the south of the Yangtze River, and the relationship between the Donglin Party in Jiangnan is intricate. This argument can have an impact on King Fu's popularity. . Take quotes out of context, distort facts, spread the word, and first ruin your reputation. Donglin Party members often call themselves gentlemen, and often put the names of villains on the heads of their opponents. The Chinese people care very much about the judgments of gentlemen and villains. Yes, even today, if you describe a person as a villain, he will definitely be jealous of you. It also means that this person has no friends and no one wants to associate with a villain."
Speaking of this, he sneered and said: "Zhu Yousong succeeded to the throne amidst the opposition of the Donglin Party. In his heart, it was impossible for him to rely on the Donglin Party members to maintain his rule, or even to the Donglin Party members. It has always been strictly guarded against. Shi Kefa was not a member of the Donglin Party, but Zhu Yousong asked him to supervise Jiangbei and stay away from the center of power of the imperial court. It must be said that he was influenced by the Donglin Party. Ma Shiying said this: "The one who goes above will get the position." , Yuchen and the four towns are strong, and the other ministers are all interested in Lu Fan. Today they will go to Lu Fan, and tomorrow they will support Lu Fan!' This is clearly telling Zhu Yousong who he should rely on."
Ding Yunyi then said loudly: "But as long as I can reach places within my sphere of influence, party strife will never be allowed to occur!"