It took some time for the news of the fall of Luoyang and the murder of King Fu to reach Beijing. The reason why the news was late was because there were no local officials in Luoyang to report to the court. Instead, the feudal officials living in Kaifeng received the confirmed news and then reported it to Beijing. Send out urgent reports and memorials.

There have been some rumors about Luoyang in the government and the public in Beijing for several days, but no one wants to believe it and thinks it is impossible.

It was not until the news of breaking Luoyang and killing King Fu was officially reported to Beijing that it was like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone. From then on, in the next ten days, no matter in the big or small yamen, the mansions of kings, marquises, nobles, teahouses, restaurants, streets The people in the alleys and Luoyang became the central topic.

Chongzhen got the Feixue just before lunch. His face suddenly changed, his mind was blurred, he could hardly hold on, he stamped his feet repeatedly, and only said: "Hi! Hi! Hi!" and then burst into tears.

He had never cried like this in the Qianqing Palace, which made all the eunuchs and maids in the Qianqing Palace panic. The prominent ones knelt on the ground to persuade him, while the shameless ones stood outside the curtains and under the eaves holding their breath.

An old eunuch standing under the eaves had served Wanli and Tianqi. He had never cared much about matters outside the palace. He always believed that despite wars and natural disasters, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty was as solid as iron and bronze.

He longed day and night to see the resurgence of the country's fortunes. At this moment, he suddenly heard the news about Luoyang and saw the emperor crying so bitterly. He couldn't help but choke and shed tears. He couldn't bear to hear any more. He staggered to a secluded place, sighed softly, and said unconsciously : "Oh, the sky is about to collapse!"

Chongzhen cried for a while. On the one hand, Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, also came to him after hearing the news and knelt in front of him to persuade him. On the other hand, he thought that he must report the Luoyang incident to the ancestral gods and deal with the aftermath of Luoyang, so he stopped. After crying, he dismissed everyone and sat alone on the imperial couch in Xinuang Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, meditating.

At lunch time, the usual music was removed, and the dozens of dishes were reduced to a dozen. It was called "removing music and reducing meals" to express the misfortune of the country and the emperor's sorrow and guilt.

Chongzhen was having a meal when he suddenly thought of what happened in Luoyang. He felt sad and burst into tears.

He originally wanted to rest for a while after lunch before going to report to the ancestral gods, but now it was too difficult to wait, so he did not take the chariot and walked to the Fengxian Hall, where he knelt in front of the Wanli God and cried loudly.

"In the three hundred years of our ancestors' reign, there has never been such a tragic change. Since I came to the throne, I have respected heaven and our ancestors, worked diligently and loved the people, and have never lost my virtue. I didn't expect that the bandits would be so rampant and difficult to control, and the chaos would become more and more serious. Luoyang was lost and King Fu was executed. This is the first time in three hundred years that the prince died of a bandit. How can I be worthy of Emperor Shenzong!"

In order to "escape sins" from God, he not only "eliminates pleasures and eats less", but also does not eat meat. Although he usually eats only meat and is not used to a completely vegetarian diet, he made up his mind and preached In the imperial kitchen, please do not prepare any more meat dishes for him within a hundred days.

The queen, concubines, concubines and Queen Yi'an of Emperor Tianqi all persuaded the emperor to stop eating vegetarian food.

But Chongzhen shook his head and refused to persuade. He sighed with tears and said: "I suppress bandits every year and every day, but I got this result! I am not a weak king. I am always working hard for the country and trying my best to govern. It is a pity that God has not blessed me. I bow as a punishment. I don’t eat meat or drink alcohol. I just want to thank God and redeem Tianxiner. You are ignorant and don’t understand my difficulties!”

Because Prince Fu's eldest son Zhu Yousong and Princess Fu fled to northern Henan, there were other escaped clans in urgent need of relief, and the national treasury was very empty. Even the military expenses for the suppression of bandits in Henan had not been raised, so Chongzhen had to raise funds in the palace. funds, and use internal funds.

He managed to collect more than 30,000 taels of silver, and ordered Wang Yumin, the eunuch in charge of rituals, to go to northern Henan to express condolences to the princess and the prince, and to provide relief to the fleeing clan members. He also ordered the old consort Ran Xingrang to go to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to the gods of his two ancestors on his behalf.

Soon, the news of Li Zicheng's attack on Ruzhou also reached Yanjing. Chongzhen cursed Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, who deserved to be killed. He issued an order to severely punish the intruders and ordered him to quickly exterminate the intruders and make atonement. He also ordered Wang Shaoyu, the commander-in-chief of the Luoyang Guard, to be arrested in Beijing and beheaded. .

Chongzhen was worried that the rise of bandits in the hinterland of Henan, where the army was depleted, would make the overall situation in the Central Plains uncontrollable. He cried at the table in the Qianqing Palace. He could not help but beat his chest and feet, and looked up to the sky and cried out sadly: "Heaven! Heaven! You should not have given birth to a sacrificer at the same time." Thief, another intruder is born!"

The next day, just after midnight in the morning, several cabinet ministers, the Minister of Rites and the left and right ministers, the Minister of the Ministry of War, several ministers from the Rites and Military Departments, the Censor of Henan Province and the Censor of Huguang Province were summoned. Enter the palace.

They first met outside the Jinshui Bridge inside the Huangji Gate, passed through the Hongzheng Gate, the middle left gate, and arrived at the right back gate. Inside the gate was the place where the emperor often summoned ministers, commonly known as the platform. Last night, it was announced that the summons would be held here today. Yes, but it's deserted here, with only one eunuch waiting here.

He told the officials that because the emperor felt unwell, he summoned him in the Qianqing Palace instead. So the group of courtiers continued to walk forward, bypassing the back of Jianji Palace and entering the Qianqing Gate. Outside the door were two tall gilded figures. Lions, one on each side, shining golden light in the sun.

On weekdays, if the courtiers have the opportunity to be summoned to Qianqing Palace and are not too nervous, they can't help but steal a few glances at these two lions to admire their graceful expressions.

But today they did not have time to admire the lions, and continued to move forward under the leadership of the eunuch. Because the country suffered a tragic incident, the emperor was in a very bad mood, so the ministers were very uneasy, fearing severe punishment and being irresponsible. In this department, the Taoist officials also showed half-serious and half-false expressions of sadness, and at the same time, they were mentally prepared to attack Yang Sichang, whom they disliked, at any opportunity to gain a good reputation for "daring to speak out."

The eunuch opened two brocade curtains, and everyone bowed and entered the inner hall of the palace.

Chongzhen looked haggard, sitting on an imperial couch covered with yellow satin mattress. There was a small rosewood table on the couch, with a few documents placed on it, and a covered tea bowl placed on a lotus leaf-shaped silver tea tray. On the left was a small rosewood table. There is a small plaque with the four characters "Conquer oneself and restore rituals" written by Chongzhen's imperial pen.

After all the ministers kowtowed, Chongzhen called them up, then sighed and said with a sad expression: "I have been in the imperial office for fourteen years. The country has been troubled, and we have suffered from years of famine. Everyone eats each other. I feel very sorry for it. Recently, Alas, the chaos intensified, and the bandit Li Zicheng captured Luoyang, and King Fu was killed."

"Mencius said: 'Be kind to relatives and benevolent to the people, benevolent to the people and love things.' Even my uncle cannot be saved. It is all due to my bad ethics. I really deserve to die!"

The emperor's tone contained reproach, and the ministers quickly knelt down and fell on the ground, not daring to say a word. During the incident, Li Li of the Military Department took the opportunity to kneel down and transfer the firepower to Yang Sichang, saying: "Superintendent Yang Sichang has been sending troops so far. , for more than a year, but at first it reported a small victory in Agate Mountain, but recently it has become unknown and its power has gradually declined. This has led to rampant bandits and dared to march straight into Luoyang. "

Chongzhen heard that there was a real intention to blame Yang Sichang in these words. Although Yang Sichang had been defeated in Yiling since he became the governor, and more than 10,000 officers and soldiers were reimbursed, and now there was the tragedy of the fall of Luoyang and the murder of Prince Fu.

But Chongzhen still had a holy love for him.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not follow the officer's words, but objected: "How can we take care of the governor when he travels thousands of miles to Henan? Even though the whip is long, it is not as strong as a horse's belly. When you speak, you must also put yourself in their shoes. If you only rely on love and hate,

Once you see it, it’s no longer the case.”

Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, was a die-hard loyalist of Yang Sichang, and naturally he would not let the officials and ministers attack him. He turned the topic to the specific situation in Henan, saying: "The bandits have been driving into Henan for a long time, and the burning and plundering have been terrible, and the living have nothing to support.

There is no burial for the dead. The most important thing now is to send money to help the famine in Henan, so that thieves will not drive the hungry people to war."

Chongzhen had just raised 30,000 taels of silver from all over the place to help the fugitive prince and other members of the clan. Now he was short of money and could not come up with the money, so he had to say: "There is famine everywhere in Henan, and it is also urgent elsewhere. I will take the first step."

If you are given ten thousand taels, I will send an official to take it with you."

Everyone knows that ten thousand taels of silver is more than just a drop in the bucket for Henan's situation. It is simply sending a beggar away. But Chongzhen's stinginess is well known to everyone. No one dares to pay the same price at this point when King Fu was killed and Chongzhen was furious.

The emperor talked back and dropped the subject.

Chen Xinjia then defended Yang Sichang a few more words and shifted the responsibility to Henan Governor Li Xianfeng and others. But just as they were mid-sentence, a eunuch brought a new yellow paper memorial to Chongzhen's desk.

Chongzhen gently opened the memorial and took a quick glance, and his whole body began to tremble. Suddenly, as if a thunder exploded above his head, he was shocked, his face turned pale, and he shouted loudly: "This is happening! It's happening!"

There is such a thing!"

Then he burst into tears and the sound reached outside the palace.

All the ministers and eunuchs didn't know why, so they knelt in front of him.

The emperor cried bitterly and said: "I never thought of it in my dreams! I never thought of it!"

Then he asked repeatedly: "Yang Sichang, Yang Sichang, where are you?"

The emperor threw the memorial to the ground. Chen Xinjia took a careful look at the memorial and saw what was written on it. It turned out that Xiangyang was captured by Zhang Xianzhong in a surprise attack, and Yang Sichang was so worried that he became ill and had no cure!

"Xiang and Luo dominate the most beautiful place in the world, while Xiangyang is located in the upper reaches and has a commanding position towards the southeast. King Xian is the beloved son of Renzong, and he moved to Xiang and became a screen vassal in the upper reaches of the country, which is quite meaningful. When Xiangyang fell, he must accompany the capital.

For shock!”
Chapter completed!