The so-called misfortune and good fortune depend on each other is true.

During these days, Emperor Chongzhen encountered good things and was in a good mood, so he was promptly reported to the bad mood.

He urgently summoned all the ministers to discuss matters. Among them, including Duke Xingguo Zhang Mingwei.

In Wenhua Hall, Emperor Chongzhen pointed to the memorial on the imperial case and said to the ministers below with a serious expression; "Today, three consecutive urgent reports were reported from Kaifeng, one from Kaifeng, saying that Li Zhe's troops had been besieging Kaifeng for more than half a month, and the attack was very urgent. This is the third time I have asked the court for help."

Speaking of this, he paused and said, "The second letter was reported by Wu Sangui, Bai Guangen and other five guerrillas, saying that they were rescued Kaifeng, but they were reprimanded by the Governor Hou Xun, who wanted to transfer them to his command. If you dare not listen, you would use the theory of rebellion and even threaten them."

After saying that, he picked up a memorial from the imperial case and said with a serious expression: "Hou Xun led Zuo Liangyu's tribe not only to threaten the court, but even when the bandits went north, he was about to collapse and made way out. Now, the bandits have arrived near Baoding. The situation is obvious at present, and the bandits are really coming to the capital."

This is a military matter, and Min Hongxue, the Minister of War, was the first to be hit. Therefore, he spoke first: "Your Majesty, there are very few soldiers in the capital now, only the Yongwei Battalion and the newly formed Beijing camp. There are only about 25,000, and they are all newly formed. The bandits on this road are said to be 200,000, although there are fakes, but there are 80,000. Moreover, if the imperial army goes to war, it is necessary to guard against Zuo Liangyu's troops. The ministers think it is better to defend than attack!"

When the others heard him speak, they didn't say anything, just looked at him.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he frowned and said, "If you just guard the city, the bandits will go north. Although I am not worried about the safety of the capital, if the capital is ravaged by the bandits, what will happen if it does?"

When the cabinet assistant Du Yinxi heard this, he also interrupted and reminded: "If the thieves ravage the capital, they will inevitably have an impact on the defense line of Jizhen Great Wall. If it is serious, it will affect the Yu Jianlu outside the pass, which will make it worse!"

His vision was obviously high, and he took into account the situation inside and outside the pass.

After hearing this, Min Hongxue was also worried: "The current plan is that there are too few soldiers available to the court. What if it does? Unless an edict is issued to help the king, the world is in chaos, so where can the soldiers respond to the king's affairs?"

If Zuo Liangyu and his men listened to the imperial court's order, they would actually have military strength to use. Unfortunately, Zuo Liangyu had been arrogant and unscrupulous, and he ignored the local governor and governor's order. Now he even openly shouted that he would not say anything about the emperor, and even threatened Bai Guangen and other five other guerrillas, which also involved the imperial court's originally not much force.

Emperor Chongzhen thought about these things, and his head felt that there were two big things. In the end, he had no choice but to turn his head to look at Zhang Mingwei and asked tentatively: "Sir, why don't you transfer Qin troops into the pass?"

This pass refers to Tongguan, not Shanhai Pass. It means that Sun Chuanting's troops enter the Central Plains to participate in the war.

After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei frowned and replied, "Your Majesty, Sun Chuanting, calculate the time. He entered Shaanxi alone and wanted to rectify the army and prepare money and food. It was only about two months. I am afraid that the troops were not good enough, and if he was in a hurry to mobilize his troops, the effect would be limited. If he was not prepared enough and he was defeated, the previous efforts would be wasted. The lessons of the Battle of Songjin are still in front of him! Moreover, Shaanxi is not peaceful, and Sun Chuanting must also settle in Shaanxi."

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was helpless and asked again: "What should we do now?"

After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei looked at Min Hongxue, then looked at the others, and then turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen and replied: "I think it is better to let Sun Chuanting have more time to consolidate the army unless it is absolutely necessary. Let us discuss the current difficulties and try our best to solve them. Moreover, if Sun Chuanting's troops come out of seclusion, it is actually difficult to quench the near thirst!"

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen knew that the gentleman was right, so he had to turn his head and look at the other ministers and ask, "You guys think it's better to deal with it now?"

By June of the 15th year of Chongzhen, the world was in chaos. Most of the officials who were loyal to the court had disappeared, and the generals who were originally loyal to the court gradually changed their minds when they saw this chaotic world.

The one who was still obedient at this time was actually the Yongwei Battalion. However, the Yongwei Battalion had limited troops and was split into three parts. Among them, Sun Yingyuan led the troops to protect the prince, on the south side of Jiangnan; Huang Degong led the troops to protect the imperial tomb, and is now in a stalemate with Liu Liangzuo and local generals.

After all this, I really can't figure out what is available for soldiers.

These senior Ming officials in Wenhua Hall naturally knew about this situation. Therefore, after thinking about it carefully, they felt a little bit like a clever woman was unable to cook without rice.

Zhang Mingwei had been rushing to withdraw the Liaodong military and civilians before, and was not particularly concerned about the matters of the Central Plains when dealing with Shanxi merchants. At this time, he saw that they were all frowning, as if there was no way out, so he was also anxious.

However, Zhang Mingwei knew that he was the backbone of the court and could control Emperor Chongzhen. It was very important to see how he performed.

Therefore, although he was anxious, he was calm on the surface.

Seeing that no one had spoken, Zhang Mingwei asked, "Then let's analyze it one by one!"

Hearing him speak, Emperor Chongzhen and the others turned to look at him, pricking their ears to hear what he said.

Zhang Mingwei said to Emperor Chongzhen: "The city in Kaifeng is strong, and the order given to the King of Zhou has also been passed down. I believe that with the material reserves and military force of Kaifeng Prefecture, it should be fine to resist Li Zhe's troops for a while."

Everyone present knew about this, so after hearing this, they nodded and agreed.

"Hou Xun and Zuo Liangyu have rebelled against their military power. If they continue like this, they will strengthen their strength in the name of the court. Just like Hou Xun, who is now threatening Bai Guangen, Wu Sangui and other five guerrillas as the governor. Instead of doing this, it is better to make the matter clear and sue Hou Xun and Zuo Liangyu."

Hearing this, Liu Zongzhou said, "I have asked Liang County Magistrate Liang for the case of the fall of Guide, and the two assassins have also interrogated it. It can be said that the matter is very clear. Not only did Hou Xun plead guilty, he protected his son, and sent assassins to assassinate the court's official, and for guilty of accomplice."

After a pause, he said again: "As for Zuo Liangyu, he had escaped more than once before. Even if the troops plundered the people, the local government also reported from time to time. It is even more common that he did not listen to the orders of Zhang Guowei, the governor of Yingtian Prefecture. Now he dares to threaten to clear the emperor. Even if such thieves are killed, it is not an exaggeration to kill the nine clans!"

After saying this, he also looked helpless on his face: "But he has military power, claiming to be 200,000 troops. Before he broke up, he could still fight with the bandits. If he broke up, it was on the surface, not only would he not be able to fight with the bandits again, but he might join forces with the bandits to attack the court. After a few moments, the bandits are even more powerful, how can they deal with it?"

When the others heard this, they nodded, and the situation was really not optimistic. If possible, how could Zuo Liangyu be so arrogant?

But then again, if Zuo Liangyu hadn't seen that the court did not have this strength, he might not have been so arrogant.

After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei shook his head and said, "Actually, it is like tearing apart now. If you hide it, it will help Zuo Liangyu's troops continue to grow!"

This is reasonable, but the difficulties are also very difficult. Therefore, everyone turned their attention to Emperor Chongzhen. In the end, Emperor Chongzhen decided to make a decision.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen's forehead hurt. After thinking about it, he still couldn't make up his mind, so he turned his eyes to Zhang Mingwei with a hint of asking for help.

Seeing this, Zhang Mingwei frowned and thought for a while, and then asked, "There is another thing, that is, what is the situation of the thief going north? Who can tell me?"

This is a military matter, so it is naturally the Minister of War.

Therefore, Min Hongxue immediately replied: "This bandits to the north called themselves Xiao Yuanying, and the leader of the bandit Yuan Shizhong. At the end of the 13th year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places, and locusts covered the sun. Yuan Shizhong gathered people to rebel, attack Kaizhou, and killed Xi Zhi, the governor of the state. The following year, he and Liu Yuchi, Zhu Chengju and other thieves entered Kaifeng and Shangqiu areas, active in southeastern Henan, northern Anhui and other places, with great momentum, and was later defeated by Yongweiying, Liu Liangzuo and other troops."

"The remnants of Yuan Shizhong entered the Central Plains and joined forces with the Li Zhemen's troops, and the momentum became huge again." After saying this, Min Hongxue paused and said with a little doubt, "Later, for some reason, Yuan Shizhong suddenly led his troops south, as if he was going south to join the Zhang Zhemen, the fifth camp of Zuo Zuo. But for some reason, the small Yuan camp suddenly turned north and forced him to retreat to Zuo Liangyu's troops, and now he has even advanced to the vicinity of Baoding!"

He is worthy of being the Minister of War, and his description of this bandit is quite comprehensive. Emperor Chongzhen thought so in his mind, so he turned to look at Zhang Mingwei, wanting to see what his sir said.

However, when he saw it, he couldn't help but feel happy. Because Emperor Chongzhen saw that Zhang Mingwei's face was obviously a hint of surprise, but his face was heavy. Wouldn't that mean, did the gentleman think of something and what good idea was there?

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't wait to ask: "Sir, can there be a good solution to deal with this thief?"
Chapter completed!