Chapter 758 The court wants to throw the bag to the Hu Ben Army

(0756)

【Today's second update is delivered!】

Because of Zhang Zhun's sudden arrival, Emperor Chongzhen was upset for a day and was in a state of silence. Originally, the Tartars were about to retreat, and everything in the court was slowly getting better. They were just waiting for the Tartars to withdraw from the border and everyone regained the mountains and rivers. Because they were happy, Chongzhen had been intimate with Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan several times in the past few days. Without the big rocks in his heart, he was in a happy mood. When he favored the harem, his mighty wind was greatly boosted and he felt very enjoyable.

But the damn Zhang Zhun suddenly interrupted his excitement. He wanted to say something, but it was hard to say. The desire to favor the harem was gone. Until late at night, he was still very irritable. He reluctantly read the document for a while, and felt that his thoughts were not on the document at all. There was no way, so he had to let out a long breath, walked out of the Ganqing Palace, and wandered around the Danbao.

In the late summer night, there was a hint of chill. Chongzhen's body was not very good. He felt the chill invade his skin, making his swollen temple feel a little refreshed. Then he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled the stuffy air in his chest. He secretly counted the sound of cloud boards uploaded from Xuanwu Gate, and heard the sound of thrusting from the East Yichang Street. He felt even more anxious and asked in his heart: "Have Chen Xinjia entered the palace yet? It's already the second update!"

He summoned Chen Xinjia late at night, and there was something important to discuss. Chen Xinjia didn't know what to do, but he hadn't arrived yet, which made Chongzhen feel a little impatient. Really, does he not want to be the Minister of War? He still appreciated him so much. Just then, an eunuch walked up to him gently and bowed and said, "Qi Zuo, Chen Xinjia is waiting for the summons in Wenhua Palace."

Chongzhen hurriedly said, "I understand... I'm here!"

In the morning, before Zhang Zhun came to harass the capital, Chen Xinjia had been summoned by Emperor Chongzhen in the Ganqing Palace and asked him about his combat strategies to deal with the Central Plains and outside the pass. Chongzhen's meaning was to take advantage of the opportunity of the Tartars retreating to reorganize the army and fight a major victory, so that outsiders could see that the imperial army could still fight. It would be even better if he could recover some areas outside the pass, such as Dalinghe City or Ningyuan City.

However, Chen Xinjia did not give Chongzhen a positive response. Thoughtful, Chen Xinjia's attitude was very conservative. He suggested that he should wait until all the Tartars retreat before making plans. Chongzhen couldn't help but feel that Chen Xinjia was more cautious and inadvantageous. In fact, Chen Xinjia was also a clever wife who was not good at cooking without rice! Although he was smart and capable, he wanted to make achievements after taking charge of the Ministry of War. However, the Ming Dynasty had been in a dilemma of fighting both internally and externally for more than ten years. He had insufficient troops, exhausted food and wages, and was not destined to live, the soldiers had no fighting spirit, and their discipline was corrupt. There was no good plan to save this crisis, so he had a secret discussion for a long time when he summoned him in the morning, but there was no result.

Chongzhen was originally impatient. The more he was helpless, the more anxious he was, the more he was, and he was prone to breaking out of temper in the palace. Chen Xinjia did not give him a satisfactory answer, so of course he was in a bad mood. As a result, the eunuchs and the palace maids in the Ganqing palace were all frightened and didn't even dare to show off their anger.

A moment later, Chongzhen took a chariot to the Wenhua Hall courtyard. Chen Xinjia knelt beside the corridor and lowered the closing and receiving the chariot. Chongzhen got off the chariot, walked into the East Warehouse, and sat down dejectedly on the imperial seat, as if he felt his mood and body were very heavy and had no energy to support him. Chen Xinjia followed in, knelt down in front of him, gave regular salutes, and waited for a question. Chongzhen winked, and the eunuchs immediately avoided it. After a moment of silence, Chongzhen whispered in a low voice: "Zhang Zhun... is outside the city?"

Chen Xinjia is the Minister of War. Of course, he knew that Zhang Zhun had come, and even more that Chongzhen's mood became very bad because of Zhang Zhun's arrival. He summoned him late at night, and must have come for Zhang Zhun. If this response angered Chongzhen, he might be another Yang Tinglin. He said carefully: "I guess Zhang Zhun was just passing by, not to attack the capital, or to pay homage to the emperor's heavenly face..."

Chongzhen would not believe that Zhang Zhun had any kindness and said angrily: "You fart!"

Chen Xinjia hurriedly shut up and said in a change of tone: "Don't worry, Master, I have just checked the combat preparations. We can hold on for three months. We have sufficient weapons of all kinds. The soldiers use their lives. It is impossible for Zhang Zhun, a traitor. Eunuch Cao has already been on duty day and night on the city."

Chongzhen hesitated and said, "If...if the Tartars retreat and the Hu Ben Army took the opportunity to besiege the capital, so what?"

Chen Xinjia was actually very embarrassed and did not answer immediately. It was a great thing for the Tartars to retreat, which meant that the court could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, because of Zhang Zhun's arrival, the situation immediately became complicated. The Hu Ben Army came to besiege the capital, and the situation was indeed serious, even more serious than the Tartars' arrival.

Most of the Tatars were cavalry, with strong mobility and strong combat in the field, but their ability to attack was seriously insufficient. It was very difficult for the Tatars to conquer a strong city like the capital. On the contrary, the Hu Ben Army was completely different. The Hu Ben Army had strong attack capabilities, and Dengzhou City and Qingzhou City were all conquered by the Hu Ben Army. Therefore, once the Hu Ben Army attacked, the defense of the capital might not be foolproof.

However, what Chen Xinjia was more worried about was not the war, but the influence of Zhang Zhun's various policies, especially the "Jotian Ling". Chen Xinjia was the Minister of War, and his vision was not limited to the Ministry of War. He knew very well that war was a holistic fight, including people, money, things, etc. It is definitely wrong to look at the problem from a military perspective. At least, it is also incomplete. Why can't Shaanxi bandits clean up all the time? Isn't it because the court paid too much attention to military means?

If Zhang Zhun promulgated and implemented the "Junior Field Order" around the capital, the people at the bottom of the capital would inevitably go around and tell and support them. The Tartars could only gain a foothold outside the capital by relying on killing, but the Hu Ben Army did not need it at all. Just a few notices were needed, and the Hu Ben Army could gain a foothold outside the capital. Zhang Zhun's Junior Field Order was indeed very suitable for the needs of these poor people. Chen Xinjia actually knew very well that more than 90% of the ordinary people in Northern Zhili now had no land. The appearance of the military field order was equivalent to pulling more than 90% of the people to the Hu Ben Army.

On the contrary, the losses were the upper class of the court, especially those who had fields around the capital. Speaking of which, all the fields in the counties around the capital were divided by the powerful and powerful people. The people in the northern Zhili were actually just tenants. When the Hu Ben Army arrived, they were the ones who suffered the most. Therefore, today, after learning about the news outside the capital that Zhang Zhun appeared, the powerful and powerful people in the capital were all listless and frightened, not knowing what was going on outside the city.

Most of the powerful people in the capital rely on land rent to live. Without these land rents, it is absolutely impossible for them to continue their wealthy days. Therefore, they have to work hard to make the news that the people in the city will not allow Zhang Zhun to come. Otherwise, no one will know what the poor people will cause. It is even impossible to open the gate of the capital and welcome the Hu Ben Army into it.

When Chongzhen saw Chen Xinjia not answering, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. He had high hopes for Yang Sichang and Chen Xinjia, and repeatedly promoted the two of them over and over, but when they faced the current difficulties, they had no useful suggestions. If they had known this, why would they use you two more? He frowned and said, "You are my soldier..."

Chen Xinjia suddenly knelt down and said solemnly: "I would like to forgive my fault and dare to speak out."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Tell me, I won't blame you!"

Chen Xinjia said word by word: "I beg the emperor to retreat to the troops of Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou."

Emperor Chongzhen was immediately furious and subconsciously shouted: "You! You're messing around!"

Isn’t it like to withdraw from the troops from Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan to give up Liaodong?

For decades, the imperial court has repeatedly deployed troops in Liaodong and spent countless money and food. What is it for? Not to protect Liaodong? This is basically a basic national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Now, you have rejected this national policy with a light sentence? If I give up Liaodong, wouldn’t I become a sinner of the Ming Dynasty?

Chen Xinjia crawled on the ground, not daring to move, for fear that Chongzhen would be even more angry. It was not until Chongzhen's anger gradually calmed down that he slowly said: "Zhang Zhun and Huang Taiji are irreconcilable. If we withdraw the troops from Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou, the Hu Ben Army will definitely send people to station. Once the Hu Ben Army and the Tatars continue to fight, there will be no strength to attack the capital. In the past, we had to face the three enemies including the Tartars, the Shaanxi bandits, and the Shandong Zhang Zhun. If we have the will but lack the strength, we will repeatedly lead to failure."

"If we take the initiative to give up Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan, the Tatars and Zhang Zhun are fighting each other and are unable to take care of each other, we can just concentrate our troops and eliminate Gao, Li and Zhang. As long as the Shaanxi bandits are eliminated, we can turn around and concentrate on dealing with Zhang Zhun. As long as the Shaanxi bandits and Zhang Zhun are both annihilated, we will concentrate our troops and go to Liaodong to achieve great achievements. The emperor will also become the veritable leader of the revival. What the ministers say is heartfelt, so please think twice."

When Chongzhen thought of giving up Liaodong, he subconsciously refused. If he took the initiative to give up Liaodong, why would he have to spend so much money and food to fight the Tartars to death? Therefore, he heard Chen Xinjia's words, but subconsciously expressed disgust and said angrily: "You are making a fool! Such suggestions are simply absurd! Are you asking me to cut your head?"

Chen Xinjia crawled on the ground, sorted out his thoughts, and said bitterly: "Prince, please calm down. I am just speaking out. The emperor also knows that Liaodong is spending more and more money, which has led to the court's income being insufficient. The court is in Liaodong, and there is no interest in the slightest. Instead, it requires more than 50% of the national treasury income every year, and it is lost in Liaodong. Liaodong is purely a huge burden, which makes us breathless. If we can throw this burden away, the emperor can concentrate money and food, first eliminate Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, pacify the country, and then take other plans."

Emperor Chongzhen patiently listened and suddenly felt enlightened.

That's right, Liaodong is indeed a huge burden for the court. The court did not make any profit in Liaodong, but instead invested a lot of money and food into Liaodong every year. Liaodong is like a huge bottomless pit, greedily swallowing the Ming Dynasty's treasury income. Chen Xinjia was right, it would be the best if he could throw this burden to Zhang Zhun.

After the Liaodong army retreated, it could establish defense lines on the front lines of Wei, Yutian, Fengrun and Jizhen in Tianjin to guard the capital. It was predicted that the Hu Ben Army would fight continuously with the Tatars and did not have enough troops to look west. Therefore, the main force of the Liaodong army could quickly move south and join the battle of the Shaanxi bandits. With such a new force joining, I believe that the Shaanxi bandits will be wiped out soon.

Once the Hu Ben Army enters Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou front, it will directly face the Tartars, and the battle between the two sides will be endless in the future. As long as the two sides continue to fight, the court can just take a breath. In a short period of time, the Hu Ben Army will never be able to free up his hands to attack the capital. Without the threat of the Tartars, the court can just concentrate and suppress Gao, Li and Zhang. As long as the Shaanxi bandits were eliminated and the domestic situation was pacified, the court's initiative would be much stronger than before.

This strategy is not difficult to implement, just a handwriting. Well, it is wrong, two handwritings. One is to order Gao Qiqian to retreat from Shanhaiguan and other places, and the other is to order Zhang Zhun to enter Shanhaiguan and other places. As long as both of them execute the handwriting, the court can breathe a sigh of relief.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen was a little worried. Gao Qi retreated and returned, there was no problem. But would Zhang Zhun really enter Shanhaiguan? What if Zhang Zhun was unwilling to enter Shanhaiguan and continued to besiege the capital, not only would he lose Shanhaiguan in vain, but he would still be in a huge infamous reputation. After thinking for a long time, Chongzhen hesitated and said, "Zhang Zhun, will he enter Shanhaiguan?"

Chen Xinjia said affirmatively: "I will definitely do it! I can guarantee it!"

Chen Xinjia did not know Zhang Zhun very well, and the two had never had contact with each other. However, Chen Xinjia could feel that Zhang Zhun's hatred for the Tartars should be above the court. Once the court gave up Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan, Zhang Zhun would definitely send troops to station. He would never give this place to the Tartars easily. The burden thrown away by the court would be immediately taken back.

Chongzhen was actually already moved and wanted to implement Chen Xinjia's suggestion immediately. However, he also knew that appointing Zhang Zhun to guard Shanhaiguan would definitely attract criticism from some ministers. He needed to think carefully about how to pass such an edict smoothly. He nodded and said casually: "You go down first! I must think carefully and think about it."

Chen Xinjia immediately left.
Chapter completed!