Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 340 What are you doing?

Time flies, and more than half a month has passed since the army returned triumphantly.

However, the impact of this victory in Guangzhou only lasted for three or two days. After that, most people's attention was focused on the company that was about to be established.

This situation was within Zhu Cilang's expectations, but there were still many things that required him to worry about, and he couldn't devote much energy to this already destined thing.

Although he was also an emperor, he had to work much harder than his predecessors.

This was of course related to the fact that his kingdom was almost overthrown, but it was undeniable that running around like a firefighter did take up a lot of his time.

Some people may think that since he has already ascended the throne, why not just sit back and let the ministers handle all matters.

But if you can see the root of it clearly, you won't have such thoughts.

Take the rise and fall of dynasties as an example.

Dynasties like the Han and Tang dynasties that perished due to internal strife were dominated by warlords at the end of their dynasties. The status of military men was superior to that of others, but at the same time they were able to maintain absolute suppression of external enemies.
Dynasties like the Song and Ming, which were built to defeat foreign enemies, had extremely strict control over military power throughout their dynasties. Even when the country was destroyed, the military generals were still under the control of civil officials.

It is obvious that delegating power to military generals can help defeat foreign enemies, but at the same time it will lead to warlord separatism, which will in turn cause the country to fall into division.

On the surface, this matter seems extremely contradictory, and it is impossible to find a balance between the two.

But if we step out of the framework of whether to delegate power to generals, we can see another option.

Let the emperor become the biggest warlord and the commander with the most outstanding achievements.

This is the path Zhu Cilang took.

There is no such thing as a general being more powerful than his lord, nor is there any such thing as an army suffering repeated defeats.

All he had to do was to mobilize all the forces he could without hesitation, and then strike the enemy head-on at its weaknesses.

After the imperial power and military power were completely concentrated in one person, he became the true emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Fortunately, after the birth of the Mongol Empire, a unified nation was formed on the grassland, and the Qing Dynasty could not classify the scattered small tribes as its own ethnic group like its predecessors had done.

As a result, the sparse native population became the fatal weakness of the Qing Dynasty. Coupled with its almost non-existent naval warfare capabilities, Zhu Cilang won victory after victory against the weakest northern enemy in history, and finally reached the current point without any danger.

Zhu Cilang naturally had a deep understanding of these things, and even though he was just a firefighter, he was willing and happy to do it.

If there are any flaws.
"Your Majesty, the cabinet forwarded a petition from Li Butang of the Ministry of Works."

"Oh?"

In the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Cilang looked helplessly at the guards who placed several petition books in front of him. After he was told to do so, he took the top one out of curiosity.

In order to wait for the Dutch's reaction, Zhu Cilang stayed in Guangzhou during this period. However, his authority was now far greater than that of his predecessors, so some difficult political affairs in the court would be sent to Guangzhou.

Some of these petitions suggested that he should hold the imperial examinations earlier, some suggested that he should get married earlier, and some even believed that the Tartars' peace talks were fake and their evil intentions were real.

He knew very well that although the matters involved in these petitions covered all aspects of the government, their real purpose was to persuade him to return to Yingtian as soon as possible.

Zhu Cilang was naturally speechless about this.

After all, he didn't think that he was a person who didn't allow people to speak. As long as the ministers acted impartially, there was really no need to be so secretive.

After complaining in his heart, Zhu Cilang opened Li Yongmao's question book.

After reading it carefully, although he felt a little happy, he still felt helpless.

In this question book, Li Yongmao first went through the various developments in detail, but in the end he emphasized one thing.

This thing is none other than the "steam-driven verification machine".

It is a shame to say that although Zhu Cilang knew the principle of the steam engine, he knew little about its detailed structure.

So after gathering the craftsmen scattered around, he directly passed this principle to them, and left the specific structure to the craftsmen to come up with their own ideas.

However, the original steam engine was not that complicated. After a period of research and experimentation, the Ministry of Industry finally produced several verification versions that could realize basic functions.

The reason why Li Yongmao submitted this question book was, on the one hand, to invite Your Majesty to take a look at it when you are free, and on the other hand, to ask Your Majesty on what structure to base it on to improve it.

Obviously, this was another roundabout way of asking him to return to Yingtian.

"Is there any news from Du Chen?"

After understanding the key, Zhu Cilang put the question book aside. Then he put these things behind his mind and asked the guard a question.

"Not yet, do you want to urge them?"

"No need."

After replying softly, Zhu Cilang stretched lazily. Then he glanced at the remaining test papers, stood up from his chair and walked straight out of the room.

It has to be said that these ten days have been the least stressful period for him since he came here.

Although Ji'an had not yet been conquered, Wuchang had already opened the city and surrendered under the fierce attack of the Hunan Ming army.

At this point, the last breach in the natural barrier of the Yangtze River was completely blocked, and the Ming provinces south of the Yangtze River could finally feel a little more stable.

Of course, theoretically speaking, if the Qing army did not take back Xiangyang and Lianghuai, it would still be possible for the Qing army to break through the Yangtze River.

However, the Qing government had to take a break after two major defeats, and it was unlikely to take any action before autumn. So for now, Zhu Cilang was indeed qualified to feel relaxed.

"Guangzhou is a nice place, but it's a bit too trendy."

"Your Majesty, I thought Yingtian was damp enough, but I didn't expect this place to be even damper."

"The tide is nothing. In a month or so, there will be a typhoon, that kind of weather."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but recall the scene he saw that year, but when he was about to describe it in detail to the guards, another person ran in from outside the courtyard.

"Your Majesty, Gu Yuanjing requests to see you."

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang did not find it strange. He just nodded slightly and heard a shout coming from the gate of the courtyard.

"Your Majesty, I, Gu Yuanjing, pay my respects to you."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After standing up, Gu Yuanjing quickly came to Zhu Cilang. Needless to say, he asked about his majesty's well-being. After fully expressing his concern for his own majesty, he spoke hesitantly.

"Your Majesty, someone entered the city this morning, saying that he was sent by Yunnan Governor Wu Zhaoyuan to deliver a memorial to Yingtian," Gu Yuanjing paused here, and then continued: "It was because he heard on the way that Your Majesty was in Guangzhou, so he sent the memorial directly here." On the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with this matter, and there was no need for Gu Yuanjing to act like this.

But after all, he had been a local official for many years, so how could he not know how the court's rules worked?

For example, memorials from local officials must be passed to the cabinet, and then submitted to His Majesty by the cabinet. Except for those who have the power to submit memorials directly, others who break this rule will have to bear quite serious consequences.

Wu Zhaoyuan had entered officialdom during the Wanli period, and had subsequently held various posts, making him a veteran in officialdom. How could he not know this?

Therefore, in Gu Yuanjing's opinion, there must be some emotional abuse involved.

However, such matters were not within his authority and responsibility, and after the person who came asked him about it in detail, he finally had to report the news.

"You think there's something wrong?"

"Yes."

After responding, Gu Yuanjing told Zhu Cilang all the suspicious details, and the more Zhu Cilang listened, the more annoyed he felt.

After opening up the connection between the east and the west, he focused all his attention on the Dutch and completely forgot about the southwest.

Sichuan and Guizhou are not a big deal. The stalemate will not change until Zhang Xianzhong is killed and the remaining troops move south.

But this Yunnan
"Where's the question book?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yuanjing immediately took out the wax box hidden in his sleeve.

After taking it, the guard beside Zhu Cilang first carefully examined the wax seal. After confirming that it was intact, he opened the box and presented the title book inside to Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang would have no objection to this normal process, but he had only read half of the question book when he felt a surge of anger in his heart.

In this question book, Wu Zhaoyuan first talked about the direction of the war in Yunnan, and then changed the topic and began to analyze the causes of the unrest.

In his opinion, although Sha Dingzhou could not be said to be completely innocent, he was forced into a desperate situation by Mu Tianbo and had to resort to this desperate measure.

This situation is very common in Yunnan, and most of the chieftains have become fed up with Mu Tianbo's oppression to the point of no longer being able to tolerate it.

That's why the Ming army suffered defeat after defeat and even nearly lost Dali.

If it were only this way, Zhu Cilang would probably only regret his negligence and failure to pay timely attention to the war in Yunnan.

However, in the second half of this petition, Wu Zhaoyuan proposed to severely punish Mu Tianbo to quell the resentment of the chieftains of Yunnan, and then find a pair of chieftains who are loyal to the court to replace the Duke of Qian to guard the southwest.

As for which chieftain is loyal, it is not clearly stated in the question.

However, his words implicitly suggested that if Sha Dingzhou was not appeased to a certain extent, the rebellion in Yunnan would be extremely difficult to quell.

"have a look."

Zhu Cilang handed the question book to the side of his body with an expressionless face. Gu Yuanjing quickly stepped forward, bowed and took the question book.

He knew that the Ming army was being defeated in Yunnan, and he also knew that the Sha Dingzhou Rebellion was not put down until the Dashi Army moved south.

But he was not quite sure whether this situation had always existed or had changed because of his arrival.

But no matter what, this behavior is really infuriating and ridiculous.

Considering what Gu Yuanjing said, this question book was most likely not written by Wu Zhaoyuan, at least he did not write it willingly.

Otherwise, how could such an experienced official make such a procedural mistake?

Thinking about it this way, the situation becomes very clear.

This Sha Dingzhou actually wanted to deceive the imperial court with such means. I don't know whether he was ignorant and fearless, or he felt that the imperial court had no way out for him and he could only accept the matter with a pinch of his nose.

"Your Majesty, this is really audacious!"

Seeing Gu Yuanjing so shocked, Zhu Cilang didn't care too much. After thinking it over, he said without thinking: "Ask Qu Shisi whether he has sent reinforcements to Yunnan."

"Your Majesty, this minister knows."

After hearing what Zhu Cilang said, one of the guards turned around and left, but he had only taken three or two steps when he heard Gu Yuanjing's voice coming over.

"Before Guangzhou was lost, I once asked an official from Guangxi who was transporting grain. According to him, Qu Zhongcheng had recruited more than 10,000 reinforcements to Yunnan, but..."

"But what?"

"But just after passing Tianzhou, they received a letter from Yunnan, saying that they should retreat back to Tianzhou first, and then annihilate Sha Dingzhou in one fell swoop after luring him out of his lair."

Seeing Gu Yuanjing's reaction, Zhu Cilang could guess that the reinforcements must not have been sent out, but when he heard this reason, he couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.

To be fair, this reason is plausible, and the responsibility for the failure of reinforcements to arrive cannot be placed on Qu Shisi's shoulders.

After all, the situation in Yunnan is complicated, and it would be safest to lure the local chieftains out of their old nests that have been operating for who knows how many generations.

No matter what you say, the fact is that the reinforcements did not arrive.

Although Zhu Cilang had no idea how the war in Yunnan turned out, judging from Sha Dingzhou's arrogant behavior, the Duke of Qian must not have had an easy life.

Under such circumstances, how could Zhu Cilang not feel some resentment towards Qu Zhongcheng?

As his thoughts turned, his expression had already changed from the smile he had just shown when he walked out of the room to an extremely gloomy one. Seeing the gradual change in his Majesty's expression, Gu Yuanjing could not help but complain inwardly:

This Qu Shisi is too careless. The previous rebellion caused by the Jingjiang rebel king was caused by his inexplicable capture, and this time the rebellion caused by Sha Dingzhou got out of control again because of his carelessness. I really don't know how Lord Qian teaches his students.

"In whose name was the letter written?"

Just as Zhongcheng Gu kept complaining to Zhongcheng Qu, the voice of His Majesty reached his ears again.

But he was just asking casually at the time, and when he heard the answer, he instinctively thought it was Mu Tianbo or someone else who was in charge in Yunnan.

What's more, supporting Yunnan is Guangxi's official business, and it is not easy for him, a governor of Guangdong, to get into the matter further.

Under such circumstances, how could he know in whom the official letter to Guangxi was written?

"This... I just asked casually at the time and did not delve into the matter."

After extricating himself from it with the shortest words possible, Gu Yuanjing waited for His Majesty's reaction with a little trepidation.

But to his surprise, there was no movement from His Majesty after he finished speaking. It was only after nearly half an incense stick of time that he dared to quietly look up.

"Send an order to Jiangxi to transfer Zhang An and Zhao Yinxuan to Yunnan to quell the rebellion."

(End of this chapter)