I

The Zhao thieves in Luling defeated the official army in Nanchang and Ganzhou respectively, and took advantage of the situation to seize the capital of Ganzhou.

When the news reached Beijing, the officials, people, gentry and officials were already numb.

As the saying goes, there are too many lice but it doesn't itch. The Tatars treat Gyeonggi as a public toilet, where they can come and leave whenever they want. Is there anything worse than this?

The northwest thieves dug up all the Zhu family's ancestral graves, so what do the Zhao thieves in Luling mean?

For the people in the capital, when they hear the news about Jiangxi, their reaction is nothing more than this: What? The Luling Zhao thieves have occupied several mansions in Jiangxi and have killed several governors. Oh, that's pretty cool.

Only the ministers of the DPRK knew that Thief Zhao was a serious problem!

The taxes Jiangxi contributed to the Ming Dynasty were neither too much nor too little. They were always ranked above the middle level.

But Jiangxi is the thoroughfare of eight provinces. Once the Zhao thieves are too strong, they can attack Nanzhili to the north, Huguang to the west, Zhejiang to the east, and Fujian and Guangdong to the south!

Qianqing Palace.

This time Chongzhen did not discuss matters in Wenhua Hall, but summoned Yang Sichang alone.

Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War, committed suicide out of fear of being punished because of the Tatars' rampage in the capital. Yang Sichang was the candidate for the new Minister of War.

Chongzhen asked: "Northwestern bandits, Liaodong Tartar thieves, Jiangxi Zhao thieves. If you become Minister of War, how should you destroy them?"

Yang Sichang immediately replied: "It's nothing more than three."

"Tell me in detail." Chongzhen said hurriedly.

Yang Sichang spoke eloquently: "First, to fight against the outside world, you must first secure the inside; secondly, you must have enough food and then enough soldiers; thirdly, you must protect the people before you can defeat the invaders. The general trend of the world is like a human body. The capital is like the head, and Xuanji The towns are the arms, the south of the Yellow River and the north of the Yangtze River are the heart, and the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang are the legs. Now, the Tatar thieves appear outside the arms and are taking advantage of them; the rogue bandits are causing trouble within the heart, and they are deeply involved. "Where Zhao thieves wreak havoc on the humerus and buttocks, the disease is still superficial. Of course, external aggression cannot be alleviated, but internal worries cannot be ignored. The heart and belly are poisonous, and the essence and blood are drying up day by day. What is the use of the arms? What is the use of the humerus and thighs?"

Chongzhen asked: "According to your wishes, do you want to get rid of the rogue bandits first?"

Yang Sichang said: "Now that the national treasury is empty, we must not use troops in three places at the same time. We can first make peace with the Tatar thieves to stabilize the situation in the capital and calm the minds of the courtiers. Then we try to recruit the Zhao thieves in Jiangxi and give high officials and generous salaries, which may weaken their will. .”

Chongzhen frowned and said: "Tatar thieves are barbarians who are afraid of power but have no morals. I'm afraid it will be difficult to have true peace talks. Zhao thieves are heroes. I think they have great ambitions and cannot be tempted by high-ranking officials and generous salaries."

"It's all in vain to delay the annihilation of the bandits," Yang Sichang explained. "You can make the Tatar chief the king of Liao, or you can make the Zhao thief the king of Gan. After the bandits are wiped out, you can pacify the Zhao thief in Jiangxi, and finally destroy the Zhao thief." Liaodong Tatars!"

Chongzhen stood up and walked around the room. He really didn't want to make the bandit king.

Moreover, he felt that the courtiers would not agree. This method would not only fail, but would also cause him to lose face.

However, Chongzhen was very fond of Yang Sichang and felt that this man was a great talent. If it were other ministers who asked me about anything, they would just stand there as stupid as a piece of wood. They were submissive and seemed to be mentally retarded. They didn't know how they got into the imperial examination.

This Yang Sichang is very smart, quick in thinking, eloquent, and capable of taking on big responsibilities at a glance.

The most important thing is that Yang Sichang is a lone minister who does not form a party!

Chongzhen did not talk about conferring kingships on the bandits, but changed the topic and asked: "How can we have sufficient food and troops, and how can we protect the people and fend off the bandits?"

Yang Sichang didn't know what to say. His three suggestions were closely linked. If the first one was erased, there would be no second and third suggestions.

After carefully sorting out his words, Yang Sichang replied: "Your Majesty, if we don't entrust the king to negotiate peace, then the war will start in three places at the same time. The military expenses will increase day by day and we will not be able to have enough food, let alone rest with the people."

Chongzhen seemed not to understand and asked again: "How to exterminate the bandits?"

Yang Sichang gritted his teeth and said: "There are four positives and six corners, and a net is spread on ten sides. Rogue bandits are a disaster, and they should be locked in a box and not allowed to move. With Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei as the four positives, the governors of the four provinces will suppress them. . Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan are the six corners, and the six governors divide their defenses and coordinate the suppression. This is called spreading a net on ten sides. The governor and the prime minister follow the thieves' direction and focus on the conquest. "

"There are Zhao thieves in Jiangxi who have too much time to take care of themselves. How can they help to suppress the rogue bandits?" Chongzhen shook his head and said.

Yang Sichang said: "I think the Zhao thief in Luling is indeed a serious problem. However, all the soldiers from Jiangxi and Fujian have been wiped out. The soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi are also suppressing the thief in Guangdong and Guangxi. The troops from southern Hunan have not been trained yet. This Zhao thief has not yet been trained." , there is no army to exterminate, so we can only temporarily recruit him. He revoked the appointment of the governors of the five southern provinces to show his sincerity in recruiting the Zhao thief. The Zhao thief claims to be the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi. Since your majesty does not want to make him the king, then simply appoint him as the general of Ji'an. Commander-in-Chief, order him to quickly go north to encircle and suppress the bandits!"

"What if he doesn't obey the emperor's orders?" Chongzhen asked.

Yang Sichang said: "The Zhao thief will definitely not send troops to the north. After the rogue bandits are destroyed, they will use this as an excuse to conquer them. After the Zhao thief's victory, they did not attack the city and captured the territory, but only occupied Ganzhou. It can be seen that this bandit is different from the rogue bandits. He We regard ourselves as a small imperial court and will not leave Jiangxi within a few years. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the imperial court can mobilize its troops to wipe out the bandits with all its strength!"

Although "Datong Collection" made Chongzhen feel very unhappy, he had to admit that Yang Sichang's statement was correct.

In fact, let alone Zhao Han, the situation was so corrupted that the next year in history, the court even tried to recruit Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

Because you can’t win!

Since you can't win, let's try to recruit him, just in case he succeeds.

Chongzhen said: "Surrounding us from ten sides is indeed a good strategy to wipe out the bandits. It's a pity that we don't have enough soldiers."

"Train new troops." Yang Sichang said.

Chongzhen sighed: "There is not enough money and food."

Yang Sichang said: "We can only send more."

"Additional troops will disturb the people." Chongzhen expressed his concern for all people.

Yang Sichang helped the emperor get rid of his troubles: "If you send more people, you will lose all the land, and all the land in the world is in the hands of the gentry and wealthy families. If you add a little more, it will not harm the people."

"Yes." Chongzhen nodded.

This is going to raise taxes!

Increasing the payment based on the number of acres of land will indeed target the landlords, but the landlords will pass it on to the tenants.

As for those small landowners and farmers, it will be more difficult for them, and they will support Zhao Han's rule even more.

Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Yang Sichang was the only minister left who was not party-minded and dared to take responsibility. Chongzhen could only trust him sincerely.

In fact, Yang Sichang is still in Dingyou, and his parents died within two years of each other. This time he returned to Beijing because the Minister of War committed suicide out of fear of crime, and Chongzhen personally ordered him to be recalled to the court.

After a good chat, the emperor was very happy.

I feel more and more that Yang Sichang is a talented person. Other ministers either dare not offer advice or only know nonsense. How can anyone like Yang Sichang be so eloquent?

In fact, it was very easy to be a high official in the Chongzhen Dynasty. As long as you dare to express your opinions, and your opinions are reasonable, and you dare to take responsibility, then the emperor will immediately promote you and choose to trust you unconditionally!

As for after messing up the matter, a minister of the Ministry of War committed suicide just out of fear of crime.

Yang Sichang was always trusted by Chongzhen, because he later died of illness while in office. At the same time, he was attacked by all his ministers during his life and death, and Chongzhen increasingly believed that he was a lonely minister. Therefore, after Yang Sichang's death, Chongzhen rarely shirked his responsibility and took the initiative to put the blame on himself.

At this moment, with internal and external troubles, Chongzhen held Yang Sichang's hand and said: "It's too late to use your Majesty, otherwise the thieves and bandits will be eliminated early!"

The next day, Yang Sichang took office and was attacked by a group of ministers.

Because he really dared to risk serious disbelief and proposed peace with the Manchu Qing Dynasty. He also suggested that the Luling Zhao thieves should be surrendered and appointed as the commander-in-chief.

In fact, there is nothing to argue about. The Ming Dynasty encountered the Little Ice Age, and the bitter cold land of Liaodong was even worse.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty had conquered the Mongolian tribes. If Huang Taiji wanted to divert internal conflicts, he had to continuously send troops to plunder the Ming Dynasty. It was impossible for Huang Taiji to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, even if he was granted the title of king, it was impossible for the Manchu Qing Dynasty to negotiate a peace with the Ming Dynasty. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was like a hungry wolf that had to eat the flesh and blood of the Ming Dynasty to survive.

After a heated exchange of words, the peace negotiations with the Manchus were abandoned.

However, recruiting the Zhao thieves in Luling was approved by the court officials, who all believed that the rebel thieves in Jiangxi could be slowed down for a while.

Therefore, Zhu Xieyuan was dismissed from the post of governor of the five southern provinces, and at the same time, Shen Youlong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was allowed to suppress the bandits without any rush to mobilize troops from Guangdong and Guangxi to go north to Jiangxi.

The imperial court showed such great kindness simply because it sincerely wanted to appease him.

If Zhao Han doesn't give face, then re-appoint the governors of the five provinces to continue the suppression!

Xiong Wencan, who successfully surrendered Zheng Zhilong, was transferred to Jiangxi as governor. If he could recruit the Luling Zhao bandits, he would recruit troops to help annihilate the northwest bandits.

This guy seems to have been identified, and his unique skill is "stroking".

Historically, in October of the next year, Xiong Wencan, Prime Minister of the six provinces, recruited and surrendered all the bandits except Li Zicheng. It's just that, in less than half a year, Zhang Xianzhong and others turned against him one after another, and Chongzhen was so angry that he dismissed Xiong Wencan and retained him.

In the winter of this year, Xiong Wencan hurriedly came to Jiangxi, but Zhu Xieyuan died of illness on the way back to Beijing.

At Nanchang Pier, Xiong Wencan was shocked and angry when he saw the notice that Zhao Thief was recruiting craftsmen. Only then did he realize how powerful Zhao Thief was in Jiangxi.

After taking office, Xiong Wencan did not go to see the officials of the Third Division of Jiangxi Province, but instead visited the Jiangxi garrison eunuch Wang Yongzhong (originally a military supervisor, but after deciding to recruit Zhao Han, he changed his position to garrison eunuch).

When Wang Yongzhong saw Xiong Wencan, he breathed a sigh of relief and lamented: "Xiong Fushuai, you are here, there are too many unruly people here!"

"Does Wang Zhenshou have any concerns?" Xiong Wencan asked.

Wang Yongzhong didn't care about his face and said: "Our family doesn't even dare to leave the city!"

But it was this guy who was showing off his power, and when he went out of the city to enclose his land, he was beaten back by members of the farmers' association.

Xiong Wencan was astonished that the people of Jiangxi were so powerful that they scared the eunuchs who were guarding them and did not dare to leave the city.

Wang Yongzhong said again: "Hurry up and appease the Zhao thief and let him disperse from the farmers' association outside Nanchang City, otherwise this Jiangxi garrison eunuch will no longer be able to serve!"

Xiong Wencan said deliberately disgustedly: "It's approaching the New Year, why not go after the Lantern Festival."

"Don't wait for the Chinese New Year, do it now!" Wang Yongzhong said anxiously.

(Thanks to the leader of book friend BirdZ for tipping, and to all book friends for tipping and subscribing.)