Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

The twelfth year of Chongzhen should be considered the most turbulent and chaotic year since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne.

Even when the bandits were at their most rampant, there had never been such chaos.

From south to north, from east to west, the bandits, the Jianlu, the gentry of Jiangnan, and the Donglin Party almost seemed to have made an appointment and started attacking the turbulent court at the same time.

Emperor Chongzhen sat alone in the Qianqing Palace, dealing with memorials that seemed to never end.

It has been half a year since Zhang Shikang left the capital. This is the first time that Emperor Chongzhen has not seen that guy for such a long time since Zhang Shikang came to the court.

In the past, no matter how empty his hall was, as long as this kid was there, the atmosphere would instantly become lively.

That kid can say anything and dares to say anything. Sometimes he gets so angry that he wants to hit someone.

But after not seeing each other for such a long time, Emperor Chongzhen didn't know what was going on.

Instead, I miss you a little.

In other words, whenever Emperor Chongzhen encountered a very difficult situation, he would immediately think of that guy.

For example, now, the court officials believe that the Ming Dynasty is already in danger. Once the northern barbarians break into the Great Wall again, the consequences will be disastrous.

Although the treasury was now full of silver, it did not seem to help the situation much.

The court officials unanimously agreed that the best strategy now was to negotiate peace with the Southern Army as soon as possible in the name of the court.

Both sides took a step back, and the court could temporarily not pursue the faults of Xu Hongji, Zhang Shenyan and others, as long as they were willing to pay the taxes required by the new tax system and promised not to cause trouble again.

The court officials believed that Xu Hongji had no reason to disagree. As long as the situation in Jiangnan could be stabilized, the court could order Zhang Shikang to return quickly to deal with the invading enemy from the north.

In addition, Cao Bianjiao can also enter Sichuan as soon as possible to support Qin Liangyu's troops.

Only by doing this can the current turbulent situation be eliminated as soon as possible.

The officials in the court have been completely replaced, but these officials are more tough than the original Donglin Party members.

Most of them were honest and upright officials, and even now, they are still resentful of the court for handing over military power to Zhang Shikang.

Emperor Chongzhen got angry several times because of this, but Zhang Shikang advised him to be more tolerant, saying that if all the civil and military officials in the court became submissive, the country would be destroyed.

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen knew in his heart that the boy was most annoyed by these people and did not really like so many tasks, which were all forced on him by him.

The special examination originally scheduled for March was held as scheduled. Unfortunately, Zhang Shikang was unable to serve as the chief examiner because he was away on a military campaign.

However, Emperor Chongzhen rejected all objections and changed the topic of this special examination to how to view the court's new national policy and how to view the Donglin Party.

This topic is not unsensitive, but Emperor Chongzhen still selected some talents who he thought met Zhang Shikang's requirements based on his own thinking.

Except for a small number of selected Jinshi who stayed in the capital, most of the others were sent to serve as county magistrates in four northern provinces, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan.

Of course, the court also supplemented some of the funds, but it was still not enough.

This is mainly because almost all the students participating in this special examination came from the above four provinces, while in Jiangnan, which has the largest number of students, almost no one came to this special examination.

Emperor Chongzhen understood that this was of course due to the war, and he fully trusted Zhang Shikang's judgment in this regard.

However, Emperor Chongzhen was actually quite conflicted about the proposals of his court officials.

A while ago, he wrote a letter to Zhang Shikang, encouraging him not to worry about the affairs of the court and just to deal with the war well.

But even so, Emperor Chongzhen was still unsure because he hadn't received a reply for such a long time.

I heard that Zhang Xianzhong has led an army of 120,000 to attack Shiqu. If we let this guy leave Sichuan, the consequences will be disastrous.

Fortunately, the north was still safe, with the presence of Sun Chuanting, the governor of the three borders of Shaanxi, and 50,000 Qin soldiers defending the area. Li Zicheng's troops were not enough to capture Hanzhong.

However, there were not many troops stationed in Chongqing Prefecture, and part of them had been transferred away by Cao Bianjiao, so Emperor Chongzhen was still very worried.

But what he was most worried about was still the Jianlu. Since he had defeated them last year, Huang Taiji had spent a winter recuperating and he certainly didn't want to miss this great opportunity.

But without Zhang Shikang by his side, Emperor Chongzhen always felt insecure.

Even though he knew that Zhang Shikang must have made some arrangements and would not let the Jianlu easily break through the border wall, he still couldn't stop thinking about it.

Just when he was feeling depressed, Minister of War Li Banghua and other cabinet ministers came to attend the court meeting, and Emperor Chongzhen called them in.

After some greetings, Li Banghua took the lead and said:

"Your Majesty, I still believe that the current situation in the Ming Dynasty is extremely critical. I do not deny that Zhang Shikang's strategy is a good thing for the country and the people.

However, we are now facing internal and external troubles. If the chaos of reform cannot be resolved as soon as possible, once bandits or northern barbarians gain power, the consequences will be disastrous!

Therefore, we still advise Your Majesty that you should first make peace with Xu Hongji. I hope Your Majesty will think twice. "

After Li Banghua stood up, Hai Zhongqi, Cai Guoyong and others stood up to second the motion.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and looked at everyone. Li Banghua and Hai Zhongqi were both recommended by Zhang Shikang, while Cai Guoyong and Fan Fucui were promoted by him personally.

Now they all stood up and urged him to end the war with the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River as soon as possible.

Regardless, their concerns are justified.

This made Emperor Chongzhen feel troubled again. Has it really come to this?

Shikang, do you know what the situation is in the north?

Why hasn't your letter arrived yet?

What's going on over there?

What should I do?

He sat on the dragon throne in silence, and the ministers below did not dare to disturb him.

Emperor Chongzhen thought of last year's crisis and how hard Zhang Shikang had worked to train the Beijing camp.

I remember fighting against Dorgon in Gyeonggi Province with Zhang Shikang last year.

Thinking of Zhang Shikang and the future of the Ming Dynasty he planned.

He recalled the last time he had an argument with Zhang Shikang and almost lost his trust...

Emperor Chongzhen's body suddenly shook.

It was like someone suddenly hit me on the head, and I suddenly became clear-headed.

"Before Shi Kang set out, he told me that the gamble had already begun since the Donglin Rebellion was purged.

Now the gambling game is not over yet, how dare you let me retreat?"

Emperor Chongzhen's eyes became fierce again, and he looked around at the cabinet ministers as he spoke.

Li Banghua and Hai Zhongqi were about to speak, but were silenced by Emperor Chongzhen's next words.

"I know you are doing this for the sake of state affairs, so I am not angry with you.

But... this is a bet between me and Marquis Guanjun. Marquis Guanjun won't back down, and I am not afraid of death.

If you dare to talk about peace again, you will be dismissed from office. You can give it a try!"

Even if they really lost, he and Zhang Shikang were willing to admit defeat.

He must not let Zhang Shikang down again, never!

Li Banghua and others knew that they were still unable to give advice, so they had to leave the court in silence.

That evening, Fang Zhenghua ran into the Qianqing Palace excitedly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! The Marquis has sent a letter!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen stood up and went to greet him.

I took the letter and opened it. At first glance, a long-lost smile appeared on my face.

But there were only five words written on the letter, and it looked quite ugly.

"Brother, you trust me."

……