Chapter 168 Emperor

People said that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious, impatient, mean and ungrateful, but this was not considered a slander.

During the Chongzhen dynasty, in just one or two decades, the cabinet ministers and ministers changed one after another very frequently. Many ministers had a miserable life in his hands.

To say that he was impatient, for example, Yuan Chonghuan shouted a slogan, and after five years of Ping Liao, he was entrusted with important tasks. I have never carefully examined this person's abilities, nor have I thought carefully about whether his strategy is feasible.

I just want to settle things right away, and nothing else seems to matter.

As for being suspicious, there is no need to say more. The fact that Zaifu was replaced so diligently shows that these people did not gain Chongzhen's trust.

But looking at its essence, it is probably forced by the situation.

Emperor Tianqi's death was unclear, and the forces inside and outside the palace were entangled. Even the emperor was trembling with fear. How could Emperor Chongzhen not be suspicious?

When he first came to the throne, he punished Wei Zhongxian. With the help of the civil servant group, he killed Dongchang and Jinyiwei, cut off his own hands and feet, and gouged out his own eyes. You may have felt happy at the time - Wei Zhongxian was a treacherous minister who brought disaster to the country and the people, and it was not a pity to die. Dongchang Jinyiwei was his lackey, killing loyal people and oppressing the people, so it was just right to kill him with one stroke.

But he is not stupid after all. When he sits in that seat and gradually realizes that civil servants are actually his enemies, who will compete for his power and blind him, he will surely come to his senses.

In this case, how can he trust these civil servants who have deceived him?

Coupled with internal and external troubles, the country's turmoil, and countless internal and external worries weighing on his heart, he was already great even if he was not crazy.

To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen should be considered an extremely strong person.

Often in the past dynasties, the last kings who lost their country were often the characters who broke the pot and broke the pot. Why? Because it cannot bear the pressure of a country overturning, it can only act like a turtle.

He wants to turn the tide. He is thirty years old and has white temples. You can imagine how much pressure he is under.

Wang Chengen was a personal follower who watched Emperor Chongzhen grow up and understood Chongzhen's temperament very well. Stubborn, once you make up your mind, even nine cows can't pull it back.

Although Wang Chengen felt that Sun Chuanting was already 'dead', giving him a posthumous title would not be a big deal in terms of face, and it could also reflect the emperor's broadmindedness, but the emperor was determined to do so, and he did not dare to say more.

Then the emperor continued: "Sun Chuanting has been defeated and Kaifeng is in danger. What is Hou Xun doing now?"

Wang Cheng'en said: "To tell you the truth, Hou Xun is still training troops in Hebei."

"Training troops?!" The emperor showed anger again: "I taught him to supervise the seven towns of Baoding to suppress bandits, and he is training troops in Hebei?!"

Wang Chengen lowered his head and said nothing.

Emperor Chongzhen raised his hand, but finally did not slap it down. He took a deep breath: "I urge Hou Xun to send troops quickly."

Said: "The intruders have been defeated in the imperial court, and Kaifeng no longer has a barrier. No matter what, you must protect Uncle Zhou Wang for me! Then draw up a decree and order Huguang Commander Ying Yi to prepare troops and horses, and send his troops to Kaifeng to wipe out the intruders!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

The thieves were ferocious and had no bottom line, which made Emperor Chongzhen very angry. Whether it was the death of King Fu, the death of King Tang, or the excavation of Fengyang's ancestral mausoleum, each one of them rubbed the dignity of the Ming Dynasty against the ground.

As an emperor, this is intolerable.

Therefore, he wanted to keep the King of Zhou for the last bit of emperor's dignity.

If an emperor has no dignity, he cannot serve others. If he cannot serve others, how can he govern the country? This is not a trivial matter, but a major matter concerning the importance of the artifact.

I am the country. If I lose my face, what qualifications do I have to be the leader of the Xia people? What qualifications do you have to be called emperor?

The emperor's ancestral graves were dug up, and the emperor's uncles and relatives were cooked. Is this still the emperor? Isn't it a joke? !

The war in Kaifeng is serious. The emperor was so angry that he almost vomited blood, but the civil and military officials in the court seemed to be in a dream. It seems that we have become accustomed to too much bad news over the years.

Except for those scholars and literati who criticize the emperor in brothels and teahouses, asking the emperor to implement benevolent government, and asking the emperor to do so, it seems that everything will be fine. Other than that, nothing happened.

Kaifeng.

Li Chuang rested his troops for a night, buried pots and cooked rice early the next morning, and squeezed out some of the tight grain. After the 40,000 soldiers and horses were full and full of food, he sent his troops to Kaifeng City.

The rain has stopped for a day, and it is still muddy outside Kaifeng. Li Chuang set up his formation and aimed more than twenty cannons of various colors at the top of Kaifeng City while waving his hand.

Then a man rode out on his horse and came to a stone's throw away from Kaifeng City. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Listen to the thieves at the top of the city: King Chuang has said that he will open the city and surrender within a moment. If not, After the city is broken, no chickens or dogs will be left behind!"

On the top of the city, Gao Mingheng's face was as steely as he waved his hand, and with a thunderbolt, a cannon as big as a bowl flew out in the light of the fire, giving a resolute response.

Li Chuang immediately raised his sword and was surrounded by a group of thieves under the banner of the Chinese army. Seeing Chengtou's response, he didn't feel angry. He fought three times in Kaifeng and was shot blind under this city. He did not have high expectations whether Kaifeng would surrender.

It's just a routine thing to intimidate and take away people's morale.

"Since last year, we, the old bosses, have besieged Kaifeng several times, but we can't get it. We, the old bosses, are having a hard time now, and Kaifeng is even worse. This time, we are going to go all out to destroy the city of special brews and kill the people who make special brews. Bring the wife and daughter of the special brew, so that we, the old boss, can enjoy it."

Li Chuang raised his whip and pointed it at the city head: "Come on, let us attack the city!"

Siege warfare is the least fancy battle. The only way to break the city is to risk human lives. Following Li Chuang's order, five thousand thieves pushed the shield cart to cover the artillery formation and slowly approached the city wall.

The battle began at the top of the city, and with the roar of artillery, the battle began.

At this time, Li Chuang said to Song Xiance: "Ying Yi's intrusive troops and horses are fifty miles away. If they can't break the city within two hours, things will be difficult. You go down and be prepared..."

Song Xiance understood this and turned around to join the Chinese army.

By now, Li Chuang already knew who the enemy behind him was. This is the new Huguang Commander-in-Chief Ying Yi!

Don't blame him for realizing it later, it was too short and the news hadn't spread yet.

Now that I know, the hatred in my heart naturally needs no elaboration. However, hatred turns to hatred, but even more fear appears. Li Chuang was not idle these days, doing nothing. He also secretly sent people to sneak into Nanyang to inquire about the news. The story of Ying Yi's breaking of thieves was widely spread in Nanyang, and everyone would know it once he inquired about it.

Just last night.

The courage of an overlord, the invincibility of ten thousand enemies, the ability to defeat many with less, and the ability to kill thieves like chickens. All these things made Li Chuang know that the ten thousand enemies he feared was Ying Yi!

The unknown is scary, but what you know may not make you even scarier. After the intruder learned the news, he became even more afraid of Ying Yi.

As for the troops of Zheng Wu and Zheng Jiu who were attached to his buttocks, after all, they had five thousand people, and they were not invisible. No matter how latent they were, they would still be noticed by him.