Chapter 157: Luring the wolf into the house (Part 2)
When the news of the defeat on the Wuhu front came, the city of Nanjing suddenly fell into a state of turmoil.
Although the Nanjing cabinet headed by Zhou Yanru was still trying to make a fool of themselves, they sent people to announce the "Great Victory in Wuhu", claiming that "countless enemies were killed" and "victory turned into a great victory." However, it was customary for the Ming Dynasty to hide any discussion of government affairs from that day. By that night at the latest, "well-informed people" all over Nanjing would already know the true situation, and then there would be an uproar throughout the city.
Although the city of Nanjing was still under martial law in theory at this time, neither the government officials nor the soldiers guarding the city were interested in maintaining public order. There were even watchmen colluding with the gangsters, secretly spreading rumors that "Emperor Chongzhen had come in" in an attempt to cause chaos, and then taking advantage of the situation to rob them - before the Western Army could attack, the city of Nanjing itself was rapidly collapsing. It's bad.
In various villages and towns outside Nanjing, endless riots over rice grabbing broke out. From Zhenjiang to Liyang, wars broke out everywhere.
There is already such an undercurrent among the people, and the situation in the court is even more unbearable. In the past, there was always a louder noise than the market every day when going to court, but after receiving the news of Wuhu's defeat, for three consecutive days, there was dead silence when going to court. Even the eunuch's shouts of "if there is something to report, but nothing to do, leave the court" became weak. What's even more frightening is that fewer and fewer ministers come to court, and even those who come to court generally have strange eyes.
As for the local officials of Taiping Prefecture, Chizhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture and even Ningguo Prefecture, they changed their banners and surrendered to the enemy one after another, no one cared about it.
In desperation, Zhou Yanru, the chief minister, could only continue to brag without drafting, and encouraged the ministers in the court hall, shouting loudly, "...the imperial court has only suffered a slight setback in Wuhu, and Lu Shangshu still has strong soldiers." Ten thousand, relying on a great victory Guan Tianxian will definitely be able to keep the enemy away from the capital! When the deposed emperor's troops are exhausted, our army will be able to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop! By then, we will not only regain the lost territory in southern Zhili, but also attack Huguang in one go! br>
While saying this, Zhou Yanru also praised himself as his ancestor Zhou Yu and Zhou Gongjin who did not know how many generations ago. He clapped his hands and recited loudly: "...the great river goes eastward, and the waves are washed away. The romantic figures of the ages. To the west of the fortress, the way of humanity Yes, Chibi, Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms..." It's a pity that this encouragement has no effect at all. Everyone did not think that Zhou's first assistant was so "majestic and heroic, wearing a feather fan and turban, chatting and laughing, and the oars and oars disappeared into ashes", but they all thought of another famous poem: "Wang Jun's boat sailed down to Yizhou, and the king of Jinling was full of energy." Saddened. Qianxun's iron chain sank to the bottom of the river, and a flag fell out of the stone..."
Of course, Zhou Yanru's next action to persuade him to donate food and salary did not receive any positive response. The civil and military ministers who had expected this had all changed into rags in advance and all cried out for poverty. Some said they were pawning clothes to make ends meet, some said their families had been without food for several days, and some said they were selling their mansion in Beijing to raise money... In the end, Zhou Yanru only raised three hundred taels of silver, rice and grain. Not even a single stone.
On the other side, outside the gate of the Wuhu camp of the Western Army, there was an endless stream of secret envoys from all walks of life in Nanjing. Some wanted to turn over the dark side to negotiate the price, some made an agreement to open the gate of Nanjing in cooperation with others, and some offered their property to pray for pardon. Yes, there are relatives and friends with Lu Xiangsheng, the coach of the Western Army. As a result, before the Western Army arrived at Dasheng Pass, Lu Xiangsheng counted and found that a total of sixty-three groups of envoys came, and the amount of gold and silver they sent reached as much as ten thousand taels!
Although the situation was already so desperate, Zhou Yanru still wanted to struggle a little longer, so he went into the palace to discuss countermeasures with the emperor. Unexpectedly, another bolt from the blue came to him - the "Emperor Yonghe" Zhu Yihai, who was leaving on this day. After the court, he sneaked out of the palace and disappeared!
——The emperor doesn't want the country and runs away on his own. Why is he, the chief minister, messing around?
Although the Yonghe Emperor was forced to take over by the Donglin Party, with the current situation, is it still possible for someone to be replaced and proclaimed emperor?
So, when Zhang Pu found him, Zhou Yanru was wearing a red official robe full of stains, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the cabinet room, using a half-old tin kettle to warm up on the small red clay stove. Drinking wine, his expression was full of indescribable despair and decadence, as well as resentment and confusion.
"...Yo! It's you! Let's have a drink with my master!" Zhou Yanru raised his cloudy eyes, glanced at the dusty Zhang Pu, then took out a small wine cup and poured it for Zhang Pu too. A glass of wine, "...I want to drink it now No one can be found to accompany him! Our emperor is as missing as Emperor Jianwen. Qian Muzhai (Qian Qianyi) also fled to his hometown in Suzhou. Could it be that he thought he could escape pursuit in the future? ?”
Listening to Zhou Yanru's bleak chatter, Zhang Pu held a wine glass in his hand, his eyes were sour and weeping, his face was sad, and his heart was filled with infinite anger, "...Teacher! We are dedicated to promoting righteousness and serving the people of the world. ! Why did we end up like this? What an injustice! ”
——In fact, even at this time, Zhang Pu and the vast majority of Donglin Party members still do not think that they made any mistake in supporting the new emperor in Nanjing. Ever since Emperor Chongzhen appointed the treacherous minister Wen Tiren and deposed the gentlemen of Donglin, so that the Beijing court no longer had the atmosphere of "all the people are upright and prosperous", Emperor Chongzhen was no longer a "born holy king" in Zhang Pu's eyes, but a "worldly king". "The culprit"!
After that, as all the gentlemen of Donglin sadly left the court, the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty turned from declining to falling apart. Beijing, the majestic imperial capital, was actually occupied by rogue bandits and Tatars in turns. Several of the most elite imperial officers and soldiers in the world either rebelled, surrendered to the enemy, or were completely wiped out. The Central Plains, Henan and Shaanxi are all overrun by countless rogue bandits, demons and thieves. Huang Shi, the best general in the world who guarded Fujian in the south, also colluded with the bandits to rebel and swept through several southern provinces in one go. In Shandong, there are also Dengzhou rebels and Wenxiang sect who have risen up one after another. It can be said that there is a fire in all directions. No matter how you look at it, it looks like the end of the country!
In Zhang Pu's view, all this is obviously Emperor Chongzhen's fault. He did not listen to the honest teachings of our Donglin Party gentlemen, which made the world like this! He is no longer worthy of being the master of this world! That’s why we, the people, have to bring order to the chaos, establish a new and capable king, and protect the Ming Dynasty!
Unexpectedly, not only the Zhu Ming clan in the world could not understand the painstaking efforts of the Donglin gentleman, but even the heinous deposed emperor Chongzhen refused to die obediently. Instead, he wanted to jump out and destroy the Donglin Party's hard work! This is really unreasonable! God cannot tolerate it!
However, compared to the resentful Zhang Pu, his teacher, Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the cabinet, has a relatively peaceful attitude, "...Oh, we have already reached this point, why bother to blame others? Anyway, as a teacher, I have already seen it. Come on, what glorious things have you not experienced in your life as a teacher? He was ranked first in the list, he was the chief at the Qionglin banquet, and he rode in front of the streets wearing flowers. He was successful as a young man, and his official career was prosperous. He entered the cabinet at the age of thirty-six, became the first assistant at the age of thirty-seven, and ruled the world twice, even though he was ruined in the end. I have lived a vigorous and vigorous life, and my life is not in vain..."
"...Honored Master! I don't accept it!" Zhang Pu waved his hand and smashed the wine glass on the ground, "...Why did things end up like this?"
"...Don't accept it? Haha? How can I be willing to admit defeat as a teacher? But what if I don't accept it? We are at the end of the road now!"
Zhou Yanru drank the warm rice wine in the cup, wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and said with a bitter smile, "...Wuhu was defeated miserably and the three armies were disintegrated. After Lu Shangshu retreated to Dasheng Pass, there were only a few thousand soldiers left under his command. On the run every day Death, even a lot of money rewards can't stabilize the morale of the army! Now even the commander-in-chief Lu Shangshu has become discouraged and sent his family away early, just waiting for the enemy to die at the gate!
As for the city of Nanjing, even our emperor ran away. Gentleman Donglin also escaped, leaving only the master and a few people who could not escape to keep the top tank. Moreover, those nobles with military power in Nanjing, such as Wei Guogong, Anyuan Marquis, and Longping Marquis, are all secretly working together. They are just waiting for Emperor Chongzhen's troops to reach the city, and they will fight back! Faced with such a desperate situation, what else can be done? ”
Speaking of this, recalling the frustrations and difficulties he had faced in the government affairs, Zhou Yanru couldn't help but feel a burst of sadness in his heart, "... Even if the teacher wants to hold on to the capital and carry it to the end, this soldier will Where does it come from? Where does the food and salary come from? As the saying goes, the situation is over and there is nothing we can do! ”
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However, in the face of the desperate cry of Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the cabinet, his student Zhang Pu's eyes were still shining, "... As for food and salary, the students have nothing to do, but there are still some soldiers, just Let’s see if our respected master is willing to show off his dignity and ask for his help to suppress the enemy!”
"... Borrowing teachers to help with the suppression?" Zhou Yanru blinked in confusion, and then suddenly realized, "... Could it be that he wants to recruit the Australian thieves? Let them send large iron ships deep into the Yangtze River to intercept the enemy navy? Although this strategy is It’s feasible, but I’m afraid it might not be able to convince them!”
"...No! No! What the student is talking about is not the Australian thief with a thick hair!" Zhang Pu shook his head repeatedly after hearing this, "...not to mention that the Australian thief with a thick hair was short-sighted, despised the scribes, and wanted to kill the Jin gentry in Zhejiang. His methods were outrageous. , and our generation Gentlemen and gentlemen cannot live together. Even if we are willing to endure the humiliation and beg them for help, the thieves are far away in Hangzhou, far away from the capital, and the time it takes for the envoys to come and go is already too late!"
"...Since they are not Australian bandits, then are they...Jurchen Tartars from Jiangbei?" Zhou Yanru frowned deeply at first, and then was horrified, "...How can this be so? This is leading the barbarians to chaos in China. Ah! Have you forgotten the difference between Hua and Yi? ”
"...Your Majesty, you are too worried! It's just a matter of borrowing my help to suppress the enemy." Zhang Pu replied calmly, "...At least compared to the Australian thieves, the Jurchen Tatars are more or less polite to us and other gentry scribes. Moreover, if a thief is brought in, In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a danger that the country will change its color. Although the Tartars were once famous for their ferocity, they have now become a lost dog. They can be slowly disintegrated and used for my own purposes..."
——At this time, although the Nanjing court did not have a very clear grasp of the inside story of the northern rebellion, it at least roughly knew that the Liaodong homeland of Jiannu had changed hands, and that Zu Dashou, Wu Xiang and other Guan Ning rebel generals were once again fighting against each other. The Tatars parted ways, and the Dengzhou Army conquered Jinan, compressing the Qing army to Lunan and the Huaihe River. For a time, the whole tribe was isolated in the Central Plains and became a rootless tree... So Zhang Pu naturally started to lead Thoughts on foreign aid.
"...However, this Jiannu is our old enemy of Huang Ming anyway, and now he has arrogantly proclaimed himself emperor..." Zhou Yanru was still hesitant.
"...Honored Master, as you said before, the imperial court is now at the end of its rope and has nothing to do. Now that we are in such a situation, how can we care too much? We can only choose the lesser of two evils! Honored Master You should also know that the deposed Emperor Chongzhen has always been mean and ungrateful, and he is not a kind and generous master! If he is allowed to enter Nanjing and sit in the Dragon Court, where will there be room for us in the world? "
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Zhang Pu stood up and said to Zhou Yanru very sincerely, "...Although the Jurchen slaves are indeed barbarians outside the Great Wall, the ancients also said: if you enter the barbarians, you will be the barbarians, and if you enter China, you will be the Chinese. Now they have been lost. The hometown of Liaodong is blocked even from the way back north. It can be said that the situation is extremely embarrassing. Even if you don't want to enter China, you have no choice but to enter China. Moreover, I heard that recently. The Tartar Emperor Huang Taiji got married to Duke Yansheng in Qufu, Shandong, and adopted a Miss Kong family as his concubine. This shows that he is really determined to accept the teachings of the saint! If we can use him for our own purposes, we can not only save Nanjing's crisis, but also It can also make the Donglin scholars in the south of the Yangtze River teach them the way of saints, so as to truly conquer this generation and turn them into summer!"
——It turns out that some people’s receptivity and neurological resilience are always stronger than many people imagine.
For example, the Jiangnan literati represented by the Donglin Party, although they talk loudly about being loyal to the emperor and patriotism, are actually just a group of shameless people who have no loyalty, no conscience, and no moral integrity. The more these people care about world affairs, the messier the world will become.
For example, the biggest crisis for the imperial court in the late Ming Dynasty was never rogue bandits and Tartars, but financial bankruptcy, and the only solution was to collect business taxes. Anyone with a discerning eye can see this. But the Donglin Party members strongly opposed this, because it would impose taxes on themselves and the sponsors behind the scenes, harming their short-term profits. Therefore, even though they know that if the financial crisis is not solved, the entire country will soon fall apart, they would still rather destroy the country that has given them countless privileges and honors with their own hands, and they will also try their best to poach the corners of the court and seek their own wealth. Self-interest even actively pushes the country into the abyss of destruction!
Even if it means dying together in the end, these great masters are willing to commit suicide for temporary benefits!
Of course, the capitalists of later generations also had the same virtues. Otherwise, why would they sell the rope that hanged them for profit?
Therefore, after Zhang Pu threw out a sufficiently high-sounding step, Zhou Yanru, who also lacked moral integrity, immediately climbed down the pole and accepted without objection the proposal to "borrow teachers and assist in the suppression" from the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. Slightly burdensome He asked worriedly: "...Since the Tartar emperor was married to a concubine in the Yanshenggong Mansion in Qufu, Shandong not long ago, and seems to be far away from the capital, is it still too late to send an envoy to ask for help from him now?"< br>
Zhang Pu confidently assured: "...the students have already sent people to cross the river and contacted him. The Tartar emperor is now stationed in Yangzhou! As long as the Yangtze River Navy of the imperial court can provide a ferry, the Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty can In just a moment, we can cross the Yangtze River and head south to rescue the capital Jinling from danger..."
——However, while they were carefully planning how to lead the Eight Banners soldiers into the south of the Yangtze River and recruit this generation for their own use, they seemed to have forgotten that as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, also asked a Hu from the Northern Dynasties. A famous general has extended an olive branch of solicitation. And that famous Hu general in the Northern Dynasties was Hou Jing, the "General of the Universe" with a super popular name...