Chapter 651 The Depressed Third Party

Northern Zhili, capital, and Forbidden City.

When the Jin army rushed towards Dongjiabao frantically, when the Hu Ben army fought back to death, when Huang Taiji and Zhang Zhun were in extreme excitement, there were people in the Forbidden City, who were listless and weak, and they didn't know what to do. This person was Chongzhen, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. When Dongjiabao was bleeding, he was sitting in the Forbidden City in a daze, his mind was empty, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Since the Tartars' third invasion, Chongzhen's mood has always been gloomy. When the Tartars' first time, Chongzhen felt very angry, and felt that his dignity was greatly challenged. He rolled up his sleeves on the spot and wanted to have a big fight with the Tartars. When the Tartars' second invasion, Chongzhen felt angry and uneasy, and the bloodiness of rolling up his sleeves was completely gone. Because, he sadly discovered that even if he rolled up his sleeves, he was no match for the Tartars at all.

When the Tartars invaded for the third time, his mood had changed from anger and uneasiness to helplessness and depression. It didn't matter whether they could roll up their sleeves. The Tartars invaded three times in a row, peeling off all the bright outer robes of the Ming Dynasty, leaving only the skinny and broken limbs inside. Chongzhen had to admit in pain that his army and his army were too bad. Even if he had great skills, he would not expect them to expel the Tartars.

But when he was most desperate, the Hu Ben Army emerged and suddenly beat the Tartars to the point of being dazed, attracting everyone's attention. But the Hu Ben Army and the court were not the same as the court. The glorious record of the Hu Ben Army had nothing to do with him. Even if he tried his best to put gold on his face, he could not find a chance.

Chongzhen began to pay attention to the battle in Dongjiabao early in the morning. The Tartars and the Hu Ben Army fought desperately, so he certainly had to care. He ordered the Jinyiwei to report the battle at all times and pay attention to the situation of the battle at any time. From Dongjiabao to the capital, it only took two hours to quickly horses. Therefore, the battle situation he got was basically fresh and hot.

However, when Chongzhen looked at these war reports, he was not only depressed, but also depressed. The Hu Ben Army and the Da Jin Army fought each other, but he became a bystander, which was simply out of the blue. No matter what, he was the owner of this family. Now, two robbers broke into their homes, fought in their houses, and beat pots, pans, and so on. But he, as the owner, could not do anything except watch on the wall, with his eyes closed and pretending to be confused. There is probably no emperor in the world who is more depressed than him.

These two robbers were the ones that Chongzhen hated the most. Needless to say, the Tartars were. Every time the Tartars entered the border, the urban and rural areas were destroyed, the population was sharply reduced, and production was not easy to recover. The Tartars' invasion this time was even more powerful, and their targets were heading towards Shandong and other places. Chongzhen understood very well that the Jifu and Shandong areas were fundamental important places for the country. After this war, there was no more than ten years of peace, so he could not recover his vitality.

In fact, Chongzhen had no hope for Northern Zhili to restore vitality. The recent two invasions of the Tatars were less than two years apart. In other words, in the days to come, the Tatars may come frequently. Maybe they will come every year. The Tatars repeatedly invaded, but the court did not have the ability to resist. How could Northern Zhili recover their vitality? Now Northern Zhili is about to become the back garden of the Tatars.

Could it be that he hoped that the Hu Ben Army would win? Of course not. Chongzhen shook his head helplessly. Chongzhen was also very jealous of this Zhang Zhun. In the past, in Chongzhen's subconscious, his most worried were Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others, and then the Tartars in Liaodong. The most basic truth is that he must first settle the country against foreign aggression. Now, Zhang Zhun was out of thin air, and Chongzhen immediately ranked him before the three of them. Zhang Zhun is better than Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others!

Zhang Zhun controlled Shandong, only a little distance from the capital. He could harass the capital at any time as long as he wanted. If he was not careful, even the capital would fall into his hands. He would not allow others to snore on the side of the bed. If Chongzhen did not hold a grudge against Zhang Zhun, it would be strange. He wanted to tear Zhang Zhun apart piece by piece and press it deeply under the walls of Beijing.

However, the imperial army fought against Zhang Zhun in succession, but they were defeated and returned with heavy losses. Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others were defeated several times by the government army, and they were almost wiped out in the charcoal gorge. However, Zhang Zhun had no choice but to go from beginning to end. So, Zhang Zhun's territory expanded to Northern Zhili.

Before he knew it, Chongzhen remembered the proposal to move the capital again. In fact, moving the capital has never been a secret. Since the beginning of moving the capital to Beijing, the suggestion of moving the capital back to Nanjing has never stopped. Especially after the Tumu Fort Incident, many people felt that Beijing, as the capital, was too close to the front line, there was not enough natural danger nearby, and there was no strategic depth, which was too dangerous. During Jiajing, Altan Khan of the Tatar tribe besieged the capital again, making everyone feel that Beijing was even more dangerous, and the suggestions for moving the capital were even more intense.

However, at that time, Beijing had been through the crisis safely and safely, and the interval between the two crises was hundreds of years, but it was not really enough to move the capital. But now it is different. Now, many ministers think that it is impossible not to move the capital. Not moving the capital is too dangerous. Their reasons are very simple and powerful. With the repeated invasions of the Tartars and the rise of Zhang Zhun, Beijing may fall at any time.

Less than ten years after Chongzhen ascended the throne, the Tartars had already arrived three times in a row, and were more dangerous. The defense system in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty had completely become a sieve under the attack of the Tartars and had no effect at all. The Tartars came whenever they wanted and left when they wanted. The Ming army could not threaten them at all. If this situation continues, the Tartars would attack the capital sooner or later.

In the past, all proposals for moving the capital were suppressed by Wen Tiren and not exposed. However, this time, the pressure of moving the capital was very high, and Wen Tiren could no longer suppress it, so he had to submit a memorial truth. Chongzhen was unwilling to move the capital, so he suppressed all the memorials for moving the capital.

For Chongzhen, moving the capital under such circumstances seemed to be afraid of the Tartars. This was absolutely impossible. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, how could he show that he was afraid of the barbaric Tartars? However, the ministers were under great pressure, and Chongzhen had to make some concessions, such as asking Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of Works, to return to Nanjing and make some necessary preparations.

In fact, these are all actions that are concealing, but just delaying time. Nanjing has a complete administrative structure that can be moved without any preparation. In fact, all structures between Nanjing and Beijing are the same, and the only difference is that this structure of Nanjing has no power. As long as Chongzhen grants Nanjing power, they can immediately take over Beijing and become the new capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Many civil and military officials were familiar with Chongzhen's personality, such as stubbornness, suspicion, meanness, credibility, impatience, etc. No matter what the court officials had objections to his personality, they even became an important factor in his destruction after his death, but one thing they all affirmed was that he was strong in nature, so the Southern Ming court once gave him a posthumous title called Yizong.

The so-called fortitude in the eyes of feudal literati means that he always struggled tenaciously under the impact of the peasant revolutionary war, never retreating until the country was destroyed and his family was destroyed, and he committed suicide. At that time, the court officials rarely knew how pessimistic and weak he was spiritually under the blow of the peasant revolutionary war. Of course, this pessimistic and weak side was only secretly revealed in the deep palace. When he went to court, he became a very arbitrary, majestic, and unoffensive monarch, which made many court officials fight with their legs when they went to court.

Today is destined to be another sleepless night.

In Chongzhen's view, the confrontation between the Hu Ben Army and the Tartars was seriously related to the future national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen had no reason to care about it at all times. Therefore, he appointed Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyiwei, to send as many people as possible to closely monitor the battlefield in Dongjiabao. Any abnormal movements must be reported to him quickly.

At the same time, Chongzhen also issued a secret decree to Gao Qiqian, Wang Kun, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng and others, all sent people to pay close attention to the battle situation in Dongjiabao and keep up with the latest developments. If they have any suggestions, they can also report to themselves at any time.

Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyiwei, came to power after defeating his former Wu Mengming. Of course, he wanted to please Chongzhen. He knew what his master was concerned about, so he also took the initiative in the past two days. All the Jinyiwei who could be dispatched were dispatched, monitoring the battlefield in Dongjiabao all the time, and reporting any changes to him immediately.

"Have you decided the winner?"

Chongzhen said calmly.

"not yet."

Luo Yangxing answered hurriedly.

The spies of the Jinyiwei were cruising near the Dongjiabao battlefield and doing everything possible to spy on valuable information. The cavalry scouts of the Taurus seemed to have been focusing on the Dongjiabao battlefield and did not care much about these spies of the Jinyiwei. This allowed Luo Yangxing to basically grasp the real situation of the battlefield. However, because the information received was very messy, Luo Yangxing himself was also very troublesome and had to be analyzed and sorted before he could report to Chongzhen.

"Since I've actually fought in the morning to now?"

Chongzhen was secretly surprised in his heart and said to himself.

It seems that the confrontation between the Tartars and the Hu Ben Army was indeed extremely fierce and stalemate. The small Dongjiabao has not yet fallen. The tenacity of the Hu Ben Army is really admirable. Huang Taiji has a strong army this time, claiming to be 200,000, which Chongzhen knew. The 200,000 Tartars must be gone, but it is still possible to be about 100,000. Under the pressure of the 100,000 Tartars, Zhang Zhun was able to withstand it. I have to say that he is really a talent.

Chongzhen felt less and less uncomfortable when he thought about it. In fact, his current army was already quite a lot of troops. Gao Qiqian's Liaodong Legion, Wang Kun's Xuanda Legion, Hong Chengchou's Qin Army, and Lu Xiangsheng's Huguang Army were all concentrated around the capital. The total force was definitely more than 200,000, which was twice the actual force of the Tartars.

However, Chongzhen did not have the courage to let them all pounce on them and bit the Tartars hard. He was a little worried that if he couldn't bite the Tartars and was bitten by the Tartars, it would be bad. The Ming army seemed to have never taken advantage of the Tartars before. If he didn't steal a chicken and lost a lot of rice, his last little fortune would be tossed.

Let’s talk about it before you see it! Chongzhen sighed helplessly in his heart. After the war, both the Tartars and the Tiger Army would probably be greatly weakened. Perhaps, by that time, it will be his turn to show his power. Isn’t his original plan just to watch the wall, watch the tiger fight on the mountain, and let the Tartars and the Tiger Army fight to the death, and both sides will be injured?

However, Chongzhen was always a little worried about such a plan. Yes, the plan was indeed very beautiful. If the Hu Ben Army and the Tartars were weakened, it was indeed the court's turn to speak. But if... if the winning side was not the weaker the more they fought, but the stronger the more they fought, he might really have to accept the proposal to move the capital.

Will the Tartars become stronger and stronger as they fight?

Will the Hu Ben Army become stronger and stronger as it fights?

Chongzhen had no idea what was inside.

"Should you wait!"

"Wait until there are clear results!"

Chongzhen quietly encouraged himself in his heart.

Before we knew it, the second update was over. There was only Emperor Chongzhen and the eunuchs on night shift in the Qianqing Palace courtyard. The palace maids were not sleeping yet. The entire Forbidden City was also quiet. However, every once in a while, the copper ringtones that came from the east and west streets to call the update were even rhythmic and soft. When it arrived near Rijingmen and Yuehuamen, it was particularly light. It was obviously very careful, for fear of being shocked by the "Sage".

Usually, Chongzhen was reading documents in the Xihun Pavilion in the main hall of Qianqing Palace. He often focused on the lights and rarely noticed the intermittent ringtones outside the Qianqing Palace courtyard. But it was a little different tonight. He didn't want to read books tonight. The only thing he had to do was wait for the battle report ahead. In his heart, he was naturally very sensitive to everything outside.

A palace maid walked to his side with a soft foot, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it's late at night, please rest."

Chongzhen seemed to have not heard it, and continued to sit there silently. His thoughts were still on Zhang Zhun and Huang Taiji. After a while, the palace maid kneeling on the ground said it again. He still did not look up, and while holding a red pen to approve an order on a memorial, he whispered: "I understand."

The same three words he said in his memorials were the same. It seemed that he was not answering the palace maids, but was reading out his comments inadvertently. In fact, he had no intention of reading what was written on the memorial. His only thought was still at Dongjiabao. If possible, Chongzhen really wanted to visit the scene and get the first-hand information in person. It was indeed too uncomfortable to wait here.

The palace maid did not dare to disturb Chongzhen anymore, so he stood up from the ground and quietly retreated. After a while, the eunuch in the sweets room brought a bowl of bird's nest soup, which the palace maid brought to him. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, ate the bird's nest soup, and then left the imperial desk and walked out of the Qianqing Palace Hall. But he did not go to bed immediately, and walked on the Danban for a while, then looked up at the celestial phenomena.

The sky was blue, and the crescent moon moved closer to the south, with stars shining brightly and no clouds. In the evening, the snow stopped, the clouds gradually dissipated, and a little sun appeared. He had read the secret manuscripts "Watching Elephant Playing" and "Meteor Summoning" collected by Lingtai, and also read the engraved version of "Tianguan Star Album", so he could recognize many stars. He subconsciously wanted to see what kind of broom star this so-called Zhang Zhun is.

He first found the fifteen stars of Ziweiyuan, and then found the Ziwei star representing the throne. Perhaps because of psychological effects, he felt that the Ziwei star was a little dark, while the vast corners of Tianyi star were very large and shining. According to those books on astrology, this was a sign of chaos in the world. In the southeast direction, there was an unknown star, which was big and bright. Chongzhen thought that this star was most likely Zhang Zhun, but he was unwilling to admit it, so he pretended not to see it.

After seeing the stars, Chongzhen's heart became heavier and sighed deeply. In the past, he had also seen the stars of Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, and felt that their stars were never as bright as their own purple micro-star. However, today is an exception. The star representing Zhang Zhun was too dazzling. This made Chongzhen feel very uneasy. In this way, Chongzhen became even more sleepy.

Several palace maids and eunuchs stood close to each other and exchanged glances, but no one dared to persuade Chongzhen to sleep. They all knew that Chongzhen had a bad temper. Especially after the third invasion of the Tartars, Chongzhen's temper became even worse. A few days ago, he scolded the queen and the two concubines, and the cause was only a small matter. If they touched Chongzhen's bad head at this time, even Queen Yi'an Zhang Yan would not be able to protect them. What's more, Queen Yi'an is not in the palace at all. If they make a mistake, it would be a death.

After a while, Chongzhen slowly walked down Danbi, took a few breaths of fresh air in the courtyard, and walked to Qianqing Gate. At this moment, a eunuch who was in the cart room came in with a Shichen card. Although since the early years of Wanli, the palace has relied on the self-tone bells coming in from the West, the Keluo room behind Wenhua Hall still worked. Every time an hour was handed over, the eunuch on duty was sent to Qianqing Gate with a green-earth golden-shaped hour card of more than one foot long and four inches wide, and replaced the hour card and brought back to Wenhua Hall. Any pedestrians who met on the road had to stand sideways and make way, and those who sat had to stand up.

Chongzhen was about to turn around and walk back when he suddenly saw the eunuch holding Shichen Card coming. He felt that his irritable heart needed to divert his attention, so he stopped and asked, "When is it?"

The eunuch holding the Shichen card bowed and replied: "It's already time for me, the emperor."

Chongzhen couldn't help but frowned and shouted: "Luo Yangxing!"

Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyiwei, hurried over and said respectfully: "Emperor."

Chongzhen said a little nervously: "What's going on over there?"

Luo Yangxing hurriedly said: "According to the latest battle report, the two sides are still fighting fiercely."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Are you sure you are still fighting?"

Luo Yangxing hurriedly said, "Confirm."

Chongzhen wanted to say something, but it was hard to say.

He didn't know whether he should praise the Hu Ben Army or curse them. Under the crazy attack of Huang Taiji with all his might, the Hu Ben Army has supported it to the present, and it is indeed very powerful. The battle has been going on for more than ten hours since the morning. Not to mention the intensity of the battle, just this time is amazing.

After thinking about it, Chongzhen said slowly: "Have you ever had a truce in the middle?"

Luo Yangxing said affirmatively: "No! The battle has been going on fiercely!"

Chongzhen had to nodded gently. The Tartars and the Hu Ben Army were fighting to the death. On the surface, this should be a good thing. The more the two sides fought to the death, the greater the losses they suffered. The greater the losses they suffered, the more the court could take advantage. However, Chongzhen felt very uneasy.

Because he was sad to find that his subordinates did not have such will and perseverance to fight to the death. For an army, these two things are indispensable. From this perspective, whether it is the victory of the Hu Ben Army or the Tartars, the court may not be optimistic!

Huang Taiji is really, it seems that he is really crazy. He ordered the entire army to attack for a small Dongjiabao. According to Luo Yangxing's report, it seems that the Tartars suffered many casualties this time. For a Dongjiabao, there were so many casualties. I wonder what Huang Taiji thought. Does he really need to work so hard?

The more Chongzhen thought about it, the more he felt that he seemed to be on the same level as Huang Taiji and Zhang Zhun. He could not understand some of the two's thoughts at all. This thought made him feel very angry and very sad. Because he is the emperor of this country!

"Forget it, go to bed!"

"When you wake up, you may know the result."

Chongzhen suddenly smiled mockingly and said to himself.

Because he had to go to the morning court for more than two hours, and after the morning court, he had to take the queen and concubines of Yuan to Nangong to burn incense, Chongzhen decided to go to bed quickly. He walked to Yangdezhai, which was covered with eaves behind the Qianqing Palace Hall, took off his clothes under the service of the palace maids, and went to the imperial bed. But after a while, he felt that he was not sleepy at all. The battle between the Hu Ben Army and the Tartars was not decided for a moment, and he couldn't sleep at all.

Suddenly, he thought that there were still many important documents that he had not read, so Chongzhen put on his clothes and got out of bed and ordered a palace maid to take all the stacks of documents that he had not read to Yangdezhai. When he started to save documents again, he asked the palace maids and eunuchs who served him to rest. In fact, reading documents was just an excuse, and waiting for the war report from Dongjiabao was true.

The palace maids on duty all retreated to the opposite Sizheng Pavilion to sit and rest, not daring to stay away. The eunuchs left only two people, and the rest returned to the duty room around the Qianqing Gate. The two eunuchs left behind lay two thick mattresses on the ground outside Yangdezhai, put mink bags on them, and slept in them with their clothes. Wang Chengen quietly came to see them, stood silently for a while, and finally left helplessly.

Chongzhen had no intention of reading documents, but he saw a document that he should not read. This document was sent by the governor of Shanxi, mainly to report the disaster in Shanxi and request disaster relief. After years of drought and insect disasters, a great famine occurred in Shanxi at the end of last year. At that time, the hungry people had no food and had to eat bark and grass leaves. The bark and grass leaves were gone, and people ate each other. Famine also occurred near Nanyang, Henan, near Shanxi. The Tang Dynasty Wang Youjian reported to Nanyang, Henan, and even some mothers cooked their daughters to eat, and the situation was terrible.

There were wars everywhere and famines everywhere. Chongzhen felt that he was really exhausted and exhausted. Famines needed money and food relief, wars required military expenses, and Taicang silver and his own treasury were already empty. He could not afford enough money to provide disaster relief at all. However, it would definitely not work without disaster relief. Even if he was just a good example, disaster relief was necessary, otherwise a large number of hungry people would join the traitors.

After a moment of measurement, Chongzhen finally decided to allocate 3,500 taels of silver from Taicang Silver to provide disaster relief. 3,500 taels of silver made Chongzhen blush himself. 3,500 taels of silver was not enough for the two days of the palace to spend. But there was no way, Taicang Silver had been exhausted long ago, and the little silver in the treasury was reserved for life-saving purposes and could not be used easily. He could only take out such a little silver.

Before he knew it, Chongzhen's thoughts were a little dazed. He thought for a while and reviewed the documents for a while, and his eyes gradually became hazy. In his dream, he seemed to see the Hu Ben Army winning, and Zhang Zhun knelt down to him personally and expressed his willingness to be loyal. He was very happy. But after a moment, he suddenly saw Huang Taiji's hideous face waving a bloody waist knife to chase him. Then, Zhang Zhun's smile also became very hideous, holding a bloody sword and killing his whole family, like a demon.

"Come!"

Chongzhen couldn't help but scream.

Then, he woke up from the nightmare.

A faint blue dawn had appeared on the window. A faint intermittent rooster crow came from outside the Forbidden City, and the Xuande small incense burner on the imperial table had been extinguished. An exquisitely crafted Western self-tone bell was placed on the carved snail-in-mouthed mahogany coffee table close to the imperial bed, and was ticking. Suddenly, a gilded little man knocked on a small bell with a small hammer. Almost at the same time as the bell rang, he slowly updated the sound from Xuanwu Gate: the sound of drums was heard everywhere, followed by the copper cloud board that reported the point three times, and the sound was clear and slightly desolate.

An eunuch woke up suddenly when he heard Chongzhen's cry. He quickly crawled out of the squid bag, tiptoed to lift the bead curtain a little, and peeked quietly inside. He saw the emperor leaning down on the imperial desk and snoring gently, and the red pen in his hand fell on a document. He carefully picked up the red pen and placed it on the coral pen holder, and shouted softly: "Your Majesty, please rest on the imperial couch!"

Chongzhen opened his eyes. The sound of the copper cloud board seemed to be shaking slightly on the window screen. He looked at the sound of the bells in the West, and saw that it was almost as if he was about to get up and worship him, he ordered the people of Chuandu to wait for the washing.

The eunuch bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't been asleep all night again, so please ask the priest to lie on the imperial bed for a while! Long live to be so anxious about the state affairs and often forget to eat. How can the holy body support you? Please rest on the imperial bed!"

Chongzhen said impatiently: "Don't talk nonsense, hurry up and send people to the ministry to wait and wash!"
To be continued...