On the 19th day of the first lunar month, Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the cabinet, asked the governor to go south. He led about 50,000 troops. Although the three major battalions of the capital have an estimated troop strength of 100,000, and there are 160,000 officers and soldiers of the Spring and Autumn Second Squadron, it is difficult to say how many troops and horses there are now due to various shortcomings. Fifty thousand horse infantry was also the maximum number of soldiers that Emperor Chongzhen could allocate to him. In fact, neither Emperor Chongzhen nor Zhou Yanru could figure out whether there were 50,000 troops going south. The number of soldiers in the Beijing camp had always been a confusing account. But after Zhou Yanru went south, he marched slowly, only covering thirty miles a day. When the army arrived at Zhuozhou, there were 3,000 soldiers in the camp who couldn't bear the cold and fatigue. They abandoned their commander and fled back to the capital. When the army arrived at the new city, another three thousand people fled. When we arrived at Xiong County, we ran away with another five thousand. At this time, Zhou Yanru nominally still had 40,000 people. However, when the army arrived at Hejian Mansion, they unfortunately encountered a small group of bandits and cavalry sentries, numbering more than 300 people. The 40,000-strong army collapsed, and the only ones left with Zhou Yanru were Commander-in-Chief Ma Min, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Guo Zhongtun and others, with a total of less than 10,000 troops. ¡ On the first day of the second lunar month, Li Zicheng established his country in Jinan, with the reign name Yongchang. When Tangma arrived, Jifu was shocked. On the 10th day of the lunar month, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly received a false title from the imperial court, and his words were so contradictory that the emperor and his ministers couldn't help but look at each other. On the 11th, 12th, and 13th, it was reported that Daming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture and other places had fallen, and the officials of Hejian Prefecture fled. On the 14th, the bandits came to Da'an Station in the capital and said: "Dashun sent officials to various prefectures and counties in Shandong and Henan. Each official sent a sign to the prefectures and counties in advance. The soldiers and the people were suffering from the hardships of defeat and hated the old officials. , everyone took advantage of the situation to chase them, holding incense to welcome them, and the news spread wildly. "On that day, Emperor Chongzhen told all the departments: "The enemy's anger is rising, and Ji will implement martial law." On February 15th, the Forbidden City, Huangji Hall. Today, the palace is full of beasts in costumes again. After the establishment of the Puppet Submissive Kingdom, Emperor Chongzhen has been holding court meetings for many days. However, when he summoned the right officials, the courtiers were all training soldiers and paying their dues. Seeing that there was no one in the court, the emperor gave up. I might as well go back to the palace crying. Today is the same. When Emperor Chongzhen looked at the throne, all the ministers and ministers, big and small, were all standing silently in the darkness. He felt a sense of sadness and helplessness in his heart. "Do you have any strategies to protect against the invaders?" Emperor Chongzhen asked expectantly. There was an awkward silence, and finally Zeng Yinglin from the Engineering Department came out and said: "Your Majesty, today's gentry and rich are all taxed on clothing, rent, food and drink. Those who sit back and absorb the marrow of the people usually do tricks to fool the people, and then they are alone." It is beneficial. It is unreasonable to expect poor people to use their strength to protect each other. Each vassal is rich and rich, and every time a thief breaks it, the treasury will not be worth a million. Giving more rewards to the soldiers may not lead to this. Today's wealthy gentry should also donate a little to help the poor and save the people from chaos. " Emperor Chongzhen nodded. This is a right thing to say, but it is a pity that it is useless. At this time, the officials all dressed Wu Linzheng, who was in charge of the matter. He came out solemnly and said: "Your Majesty, the invaders are getting more and more fierce. The three assistants are frightened. I ask you to abandon the cities of Yizhou, Jinzhou, Ningyuan and Qiantun outside Shanhaiguan. The disciples Wang Tingchen, Cao Bianjiao, and Wu Sangui entered the pass and camped in the suburbs to defend the capital! " His words were not loud, but they were like thunder and thunder, echoing throughout the Huangji Palace. The ministers were stunned for a moment, and then all of them. Keep your eyes open. Especially those Yanguan Yushi who were standing around bored and feeling a little weak, all had burning rays of light in their eyes. Then, like a hornet's nest, murderous words echoed in the Huangji Palace. "Unbridled!" "Traitor!" "How brave" "Abandoning the border without any reason and losing the natural protection of the land is the proposal of abandoning Liangzhou for the Han Dynasty. Wu Linzheng is a traitor, I ask you to kill him!" "Wu Linzheng is a traitor and traitor, "Everyone can kill him!" "Your Majesty, Wu Linzheng's death has chilled the hearts of the frontier soldiers!" "Wu Linzheng, in the battle of Songjin, our Ming Dynasty generals Dashou, Ma Ke, Bai Guangen, Zuo Guangxian, and Li Fuming were killed. We have suffered over 10,000 casualties, and now we have the land of western Liaoning! Wu Linzheng, you asked to abandon the border for no reason. What are your intentions? You are a bandit from the East?" "Wu Linzheng" The sound of the attack and killing was drowned out in an instant. All the officials who requested to give up the land outside Shanhaiguan agreed to this proposal. Although some courtiers feel that today is different from the past, the thieves are fierce and defeated, and the priorities of things are different from those in the past. Those who attacked Wu Linzheng were just mediocre ministers and Jiao Zhu, and they still did not know how to relieve the worries of the frontier and the urgent need to save the country. However, there is a lot of public sentiment at the moment, and no one dares to stand up and advocate for it. "Then summon Yongning Hou Wang to fight!" Wu Linzheng was very embarrassed after being attacked. He suddenly thought of something and shouted loudly.Tao. The entire Huangji Hall fell silent instantly, and countless people peeked at the expression of Emperor Chongzhen on the throne. Wu Linzheng secretly glanced at Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, and involuntarily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. In the silence, Emperor Chongzhen's face was gloomy. Suddenly a sharp voice sounded: "Calling the king to fight? Didn't you hear about Cao Mengde and Dong Zhuo?" Everyone's heart trembled, but it was the military department who came out leisurely when the incident happened. He was of medium stature and his face was a little pale, but what he said was heart-breaking: "I'm afraid that tigers will be driven out by the front door and wolves will come in by the back door, and we will repeat the disaster of the Emperor Xian in the late Han Dynasty!" Emperor Chongzhen's hands trembled. His face turned pale instantly. Guang Shiheng's leisurely voice continued: "Kill the gentry, kill the officials, kill the merchants, kill the eunuchs. How is this person different from a bandit? If he enters the capital, will there be a way for Your Majesty and the ministers to survive?" Chongzhen The emperor's fists clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched, especially when he heard "Kill the eunuch", veins popped out in his hands. All the ministers were silent, only Chen Xinjia let out a long sigh. " Wolf ambitions, manipulating soldiers and horses secretly, Wang Dou, this thief, will not suffer from the thief Donglu!" "Enough!" Seeing the light, Shi Heng continued to talk, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't bear it anymore, he suddenly Shout loudly. Guang Shiheng returned to the court class proudly, and secretly exchanged glances with Wei Zaode and Chen Yan, the great scholars of Dongge University. Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said: "Zuo Zhongyun Li Mingrui once wrote to persuade me to move south. Li Jiantai, a great scholar, also advised me to move south. He also advised me to teach the prince to go to Nanjing first. What do you think?" "Your Majesty, Absolutely not!" Immediately, a large group of ministers jumped out, especially led by Guang Shiheng from the military department. He said even louder: "This is a heresy, and I want to trap your father in injustice! Your Majesty, please kill me! Li Mingrui, if you don't kill this person, it won't be enough to calm the people. If you don't kill this thief, how can you rule the world?" Emperor Chongzhen looked at him coldly, Guang Shiheng was not afraid, and he said loudly: "At the time of Jingtai, he was also the first to invade. , Xu Youzhen also advocated the idea of ??moving south. The time has not followed, and soldiers can stand firm and defeat the enemy. Therefore, the monarch should stick to the country, which is the righteous way of the king in ancient and modern times. " He said: "Ming Rui goes south. It is said that there are also unforeseen consequences. If your majesty moves south and suddenly arrives before the thieves arrive, people will be frightened. If the power of the capital collapses, future generations will say that your majesty has abandoned his country lightly. At that time, the long distance was thorny, and it was easy for thieves to wait for it. Can you hear the humiliation of Huiqin in the Song Dynasty? "The courtiers expressed their opinions one after another, and they all opposed the move to the south, especially the great scholar Chen Yan and Wei Zaode. At this time, Yuan Jingwen, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Li Jiantai, a bachelor, Shao Zhan Xiangyu and others came out and said that it would be better for the prince to help the army south of the Yangtze River. They were willing to let the prince go first. Guang Shiheng said sternly: "What do you want to do with the prince going south? Do you want to tell the story of Tang Suzong's spiritual martial arts?" Yuan Jingwen, Xiang Yu and others were shocked and did not dare to speak. Emperor Chongzhen felt exhausted mentally and physically. He asked again about the strategy of war and defense, but all the officials were silent. Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "I am not the king who will destroy the country, but all my ministers will be the ministers of the country." He stood up with a puff of sleeves. ¡ After Nan¡¯an Bohong Chengchou became the governor of the capital camp, he used sophisticated methods and worked step by step, and the affairs of the capital camp improved greatly. Unfortunately, he was seriously ill and could not serve for a long time. After he went to court, Emperor Chongzhen was distraught and felt sad and bitter. He heard that Hong Chengchou was seriously ill and feared that he would die soon, so he came to visit him. When he saw Hong Chengchou, he was lying on the bed and could not move. However, when he saw the emperor coming in person, he still struggled to get up and salute. Emperor Chongzhen stopped him and sighed: "My dear, you don't need to be polite. You can rest in peace and recover." He sat down. After a while, he finally couldn't help but talk about the affairs of the court. Hong Chengchou said: "I have also heard about today's events." Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "Do you have any strategy for war and defense?" Hong Chengchou said: "The best strategy is the best. Urgently summon King Yongning Hou Qin to join the guard." Emperor Chongzhen was silent. Hong Chengchou said: "Moreover, move south quickly." Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "But there is also an example of Jingtai." Hong Chengchou said: "The situation is very different." He said: "The bandits have been defeated, but they can only move southward." The strategy may be to delay the time. The theory of protecting the country in Guangshi is just to attract fame, not to be loyal to the emperor. If you have power in the world, your Majesty must defend the Northern Capital. The prince left quickly and ordered his ministers to silently assist him in traveling southward. If he was in a hurry, he could also call on the southeast. It was not only the prince's move to Yinan, but also the two kings in Yong. It was also suitable to divide Zhejiang and Guangdong. Unexpected plot" Emperor Chongzhen wanted to hear more, but Hong Chengchou had passed away. (To be continued.)