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Text Chapter 585: Please Zhang Ke

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    Since Zhang Ke wrote a letter recommending Cui Chengxiu, the situation in Beijing has changed three times a day, and there are more and more memorials to impeach Cui Chengxiu.  And Chongzhen's suspicious temper was also exposed.  He tried several times to mobilize Yizhou soldiers to exterminate the bandits, but Zhang Ke was blocked every time, and there was a knot between the two.  This time, Chongzhen even issued an impeachment memorial, and the purpose of this move was obvious.  All of a sudden, the impeachment memorial came like snow flakes. Not only Cui Chengxiu, but even Zhang Ke did not run away. Chongzhen thought over and over again. After all, Zhang Ke still held power. He personally sent officials to Tianjin to comfort Zhang Ke. Of course, it was just Zhang Ke.  Ke Renren, as for Cui Chengxiu, you can go on your own!  The night was getting thicker and the tea was running low. Cui Chengxiu became more and more anxious and sweat broke out on his forehead.  Two people were impeached at the same time, and they only comforted Zhang Ke. Chongzhen's meaning was very clear, which was to force Zhang Ke to lose his troops to protect his commander.  Although Zhang Ke promised to protect him, who knows if there will be changes?  Once Zhang Ke relents, he, a remnant of the eunuch party, is guaranteed to have his head removed!  After waiting for a long time, Zhang Ke didn't say anything. Instead, he picked up the tea cup and drank tea. The meaning of seeing off the guests was very clear.  Cui Chengxiu blushed, stood up and took two steps, suddenly turned back, hesitated, and bowed deeply to Zhang Ke.  "Brother Yongzhen, I have always had a doubt. I don't know if Brother Yongzhen can explain it to me." "Brother Cui, tell me." Cui Chengxiu took a deep breath, stared at Zhang Ke, and said solemnly  : "Brother Yongzhen, in recent years, the Yizhou army has become more and more powerful, the most powerful force in the world, and the capital is within easy reach. Why did brother Yongzhen abandon the near and seek the far away, first to the southeast, then to the northwest, and even took the initiative overseas, but it was so slow  "Why don't you take it?" His voice was small, but every word was as heavy as a thousand pounds. After Cui Chengxiu's strategy in Liaodong.  As he became more aware of Zhang Ke's strength, his first reaction was that this guy must be disloyal.  But Zhang Ke was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was tossing left and right.  In his opinion, it was all useless work.  Zhang Ke looked at Cui Chengxiu who was confused and smiled calmly.  "Brother Cui, do you want to be a hero of Conglong?" Cui Chengxiu blushed, gritted his teeth, and took a gamble!  I want Zhang Ke to protect himself.  You need to let him see your own value.  "If it weren't for the blessing of Brother Yongzhen, Cui would have died along with Wei Zhongxian, and my life would have been Brother Yongzhen's. Just ask Zhu Youjian, who is sitting on the dragon throne in the capital. In addition to his surname Zhu, he also has  Is there any merit? Brother Yongzhen has great achievements in martial arts and great achievements, so he really shouldn't be subordinated to others." After saying that, Cui Chengxiu knelt on the ground, touched his head to the ground, and swore: "Although I am not talented,  If you are willing to serve as a vanguard for Brother Yongzhen, if you don't accept your loyal advice, you should let a capable person take his place. From ancient times to the present, God will not take it, but he will be blamed!" After Cui Chengxiu finished speaking, he fell on the ground and lay down in front of Zhang Ke.  The sweat kept falling, and after a while, there was a watermark on the ground.  Every minute and every second.  It was an unprecedented torment. When Zhang Ke said the words "get up", Cui Chengxiu fell down and took a long time to get up.  "Brother Cui, please sit down and have a rest first." "I don't dare," Cui Chengxiu said respectfully.  "You are sure that I am going to be the emperor." Zhang Ke chuckled and said, "Brother Cui, I won't hide it from you. Zhang does have this intention." Cui Chengxiu's eyes widened for a moment, but what he said next made him laugh.  He was even more horrified.  "Actually, someone has advised me a long time ago, but the time is not yet ripe." "How could it be?" Cui Chengxiu blurted out, "Is it a shortage of soldiers? Or is it a lack of food? I think Liaodong has accumulated enough, and it will take a long time to capture the capital.  It won¡¯t take much time.¡± Zhang Ke smiled meaningfully, ¡°The capital is no big deal, but what about the refugees?¡± ¡°Just provide food and relief, isn¡¯t Liaodong doing a good job?¡± Zhang Ke shook his head: ¡°Brother Cui, we established the country from the Ming Dynasty.  Since then, the land has only increased by 50%, but the household registration has increased by at least three times! Even without annexation and official exploitation, this land will not be able to support the people of the Ming Dynasty. Another round of chaos is inevitable, if there is no adequate preparation.  , even if he becomes the emperor, he will fall into endless wars until the excess population is exhausted. " Cui Chengxiu had never thought about it like this. When he heard this, he couldn't help but tremble and sweat even more than before.  "My lord, my lord, what are you going to do?" Cui Chengxiu swallowed hard.  "It's very simple. It's what I asked Brother Cui to do." Zhang Ke suddenly laughed and said: "Open up overseas territories, farm in foreign lands, and vigorously immigrate overseas. Only in this way can we solve the problem of too many people and too little land, and avoid the end of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.  The end of the war ¡±  "What should the people do if they don't want to move?" "Aren't there rogue bandits? With them making trouble everywhere, even if the people don't want to leave, there is nothing they can do!" I understand, I understand completely!  Cui Chengxiu had difficulty digesting Zhang Ke's plan. It was obvious that this man no longer paid attention to the Ming Dynasty. What he wanted to do was to change the dynasty at the minimum cost.  Thinking of this, he suddenly realized that his position as an overseas governor was not an ordinary arrangement. On the contrary, he was still an extremely important one!  Blood rushed to his head in an instant, Cui Chengxiu's face flushed, and his mouth stammered in excitement.  "Thank you for your respect, Your Majesty. I will live up to your trust, but" His face fell again, and he smiled bitterly: "It's just that Chongzhen's son doesn't agree, do you think?" Zhang Ke smiled slightly: "Brother Cui, just go ahead.  Find out the situation in Nanyang, and as for the court, I have a way to settle it. "" If you don't have to drink wine as a penalty, Zhang Ke originally thought of playing drums and buying sweets with Chongzhen, and they would work together. Who knew that Chongzhen would become disobedient so quickly?  We have to do things according to his rhythm, Zhang Ke thought, and the air was filled with the smell of conspiracy.  Since Zhang Ke patrolled the border, everyone from Jizhen to Xuanda has vigorously laid off soldiers. In addition, He Shixian also laid off men in the Beijing camp.  As a result, a large number of unemployed soldiers either became bandits or joined the refugee army and became the backbone of the army.  This makes the power of refugees countless times stronger than in history.  And from time to time, they can also receive support from weapons merchants, including swords, guns, armor, and even many matchlock guns.  "These weapons are amazing. They are actually better than those used by the Ming Dynasty's army. The bandits became more and more powerful, robbing counties and states, and killing officials to release grain.  The commotion was so great that except for a few places such as Taiyuan that could hold on, most other areas fell.  However, Chongzhen was not completely a loser. He appointed Hong Chengchou as the governor of the five provinces.  Specially responsible for suppressing bandits.  Not to mention, Hong Chengchou was a capable man. After taking office, he immediately organized his troops and purchased weapons and guns.  And send more manpower to find out the movements of rogue bandits.  With a few fierce killing moves, he defeated the bandits one after another and saved the situation.  The bandits could not gain a foothold in Shanxi, so they retreated to Henan. Bandit leaders from all over Xingyang gathered to discuss the next step.  As a rising star among the rebels, Li Zicheng proposed the strategy of "dividing the troops into oriented directions and attacking on four fronts", which was unanimously approved.  After the alliance ends.  Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong immediately led the rogue bandits southward and invaded South Zhili from Henan.  Due to the sudden appearance of the unexpected force, the defenders were unable to cope with the situation. They lost consecutive battles and were completely routed.  When the refugees along the way heard that the rebels were coming, they rebelled one after another, helped the old and the young, and joined the bandits. Li Zicheng's power became more and more powerful.  Near the end of the year, the bandits finally reached Fengyang!  This is neither a strategic location.  It is not a paradise of wealth, but it has become extremely important because of the emergence of a remarkable figure more than two hundred years ago.  That person is Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang!  In the Ming Dynasty, Fengyang also had a name, Zhongdu.  Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng led the army and attacked Fengyang.  Fengyang guard Zhu Guoxiang led his troops to fight.  But he didn¡¯t know that a group of refugees had already sneaked into the city before the bandits arrived.  Just when Zhu Guoxiang, Gao Yingxiang and others were fighting to the death.  The refugees in the city set fires everywhere.  Killings were everywhere, and chaos broke out in the rear. Under two attacks, Prime Minister Zhu could not hold on any longer and died fighting.  Gao Yingxiang's army rushed into Fengyang, dug up the ancestral graves of the Zhu family, burned the Huangjue Temple where Zhu Yuanzhang became a monk, and then killed the eunuchs and looted rare and rare treasures. It was a great time.  Gao Yingxiang, who was ecstatic, had no idea how much trouble they had caused. Just three days after capturing Fengyang, the news reached the capital. When Chongzhen, who was dealing with the memorial, heard it, his ink pen fell to the ground. He didn't notice it for a long time, as if he was stunned.  Suddenly he howled in pain, and his voice was even more pitiful than the cuckoo crying blood. Everyone in the palace was horrified.  The next morning, just after dawn, Chongzhen ran to the Ancestral Temple, faced the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, cried bitterly, and fainted several times.  Fortunately, the bachelors in the cabinet arrived in time, otherwise Chongzhen might have cried to death.  Fengyang is the place where the Ming Dynasty flourished, but it suffered such a misfortune. Could it be that God has abandoned the Ming Dynasty!  ¡°Everything comes to me, and I am responsible for it alone.  Don¡¯t implicate your ancestors!  After returning from the stage, Chongzhen sat in the Qianqing Palace for three whole days, motionless. If he hadn't moved his eyes, people would have mistaken him for a sculpture.  After three days of hard thinking, Chongzhen¡¯s first order was to call Yang Sichang.?? ?Yang Sichang is not an ordinary person. He comes from a scholarly family. His father Yang He once served as the governor of the three sides. Both father and son are famous for their military knowledge. They can be regarded as one of the few military talents in the imperial court, at least.  In Chongzhen's mind, this is the case.  After the monarch and his ministers met, Chongzhen bit his lip and asked directly: "Does your beloved have a strategy to eliminate the bandits?" "Yes!" Yang Sichang answered with certainty. Perhaps he had expected this day, so he made a generous speech,  No hesitation at all.  After a long speech, he actually cheered up the demoralized Chongzhen. At the end, his eyes even gleamed and his fists were clenched tightly.  "The minister's strategy can be summed up as four righteousnesses and six corners. Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei are the four righteousnesses, and the four governors are responsible for the suppression. And Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan are the six corners, and the six governors are to attack them.  Separate defenses and coordinated suppression are called ten-faced nets. The governor and the prime minister follow the thieves' direction and attack them exclusively. In this way, even if the rogues have extraordinary abilities, they will not escape death.  In three years, the bandits will surely disappear, and the world will return to peace. "The whole strategy is just nine words, a big deal!  Big Zongheng!  There is also a lot of consumption!  "If Zhang Ke refuses without hesitation, he will even severely punish the person who made the suggestion. Are you kidding me? Ten provinces will be turned into battlefields. Even a million-strong army will not be able to chase and intercept the rogue bandits.  It's just nonsense, nonsense on paper.  Fortunately, Yang Sichang was facing Chongzhen, who had an unusual appreciation for this plan.  "Ai Qing is indeed a great talent. I am very pleased. After listening to the decree, I have appointed you as the Minister of the Ministry of War, in charge of the suppression of bandits. In addition, I have appointed Xiong Wencan as the censor of Youdu, in charge of the military affairs of the provinces, to assist Ai Qing in wiping out the bandits."  Yang Sichang was only a Jinshi in the 38th year of Wanli. In the past 20 years, he had become a high-ranking official in the ministry and was in charge of military and political power in various provinces. He was really proud of himself.  But after taking office, Yang Sichang faced the greatest difficulties.  According to his idea, it would be necessary to increase the number of troops by 140,000 and increase food and wages by 2.8 million taels.  It¡¯s a good idea, but there¡¯s no place to make money.  Chongzhen gritted his teeth and collected 200,000 taels from his own funds and gave it to Yang Sichang. The rest of the money had to be taken from the Ministry of Finance, but the Ministry of Finance had long been empty.  The huge plan was stalled before it even started. Both Chongzhen and Yang Sichang fell into unprecedented embarrassment.  There is no other way but to increase the land tax and make the people suffer. As long as the bandits are wiped out, the world will be peaceful. Chongzhen can only hypnotize himself in this way.  Just when he was preparing to issue the imperial edict, something unexpected happened. At this time, the impact on the Ming Dynasty was even greater than the fall of Zhongdu, and the ancestral graves were dug up!  Southern Zhili, mainly Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, plus Zhejiang and Fujian, were all the wealth centers of the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of gentry jointly submitted a memorial requesting the court to reduce the amount of grain. If they do not rest with the people, the southeast will be in chaos.  .  "Compared to the distant Fengyang, the grain supply is related to the stomachs of the people in the capital. Its importance is self-evident. All the civil and military officials in the capital were suddenly frightened.  "How could it be, how could this happen?" Chongzhen walked back and forth in the imperial study, shaking his head: "The southeast is a land of fish and rice, a land of great wealth, how could there be no food? It's simply a lie. Check, I must send someone to check.  , find the corrupt officials and punish them severely!" Wang Chengen looked miserable and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, I have something to say," "Yes, since the Longqing switch, especially the Songjiang switch.  , Southeast and Western trade have become more and more prosperous. People are rushing to convert rice fields into mulberry fields, instead of growing grain and cotton, the amount of farmland has dropped by more than half. In recent years, the amount of grain has increased day by day, from more than 2 million shi to 8 million shi.  , Even if there are mountains of gold and silver in the southeast, they have all been evacuated. " Chongzhen never expected such a result. He sat slumped on the dragon chair, as if all his energy and energy had been drained.  There is only one southeast left in the world. If everything here is in chaos, the Ming Dynasty will really be hopeless.  Watching Chongzhen sitting there stupidly, saying nothing.  Wang Chengen secretly came closer and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I thought I might be able to issue an order and ask King Anton!" (To be continued.)
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