Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

"Your Majesty, it's time to rest!" Wang Chengen raised his eyes slightly and looked at Chongzhen who was still concentrating on reviewing memorials under the flickering candlelight, and said softly.

"Oh, what time is it?" Chongzhen slowly raised his head, rubbed his neck which was a little sore from sitting for a long time, and asked softly with a trace of fatigue that was hard to conceal. Because he had briefly withdrawn from the busy government affairs, there was still a hint of confusion and trance in his eyes.

"It's already midnight." Wang Chengen sighed helplessly and advised earnestly, "Your Majesty, please take good care of your health. Don't overwork yourself, or you'll damage your sacred body."

"Staying up late is nothing." Chongzhen waved his hand nonchalantly, thinking to himself, it's only two o'clock in the morning. Back then, in order to update the book, he often stayed up all night without sleep.

Moreover, in recent days, Shi Kefa, who went north to Shandong, had received good news frequently, like snowflakes falling in number. The good news one after another made him excited.

Shi Kefa and Yan Yingyuan advanced with astonishing speed, like the swiftness of a gust of wind and thunder. They had now successfully entered Jining, where they were confronted by Yang Wancheng, a Qing-dispatched army. In the areas they passed through, both local officials and civilian rebels were awed by their prestige and flocked to join their forces, like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea, their momentum unstoppable. It could be said that Shi Kefa's prestige alone made it easy to recapture vast swathes of territory wherever his army passed. Wherever they went, the people lined the streets to welcome them, and local forces flocked to their cause.

Such rapid expansion resulted in a severe shortage of competent officials in these newly recovered areas. Therefore, the memorial Shi Kefa submitted to Chongzhen this time was a request for the court to quickly select capable officials to take up their posts in order to consolidate local rule and ensure long-term peace and stability.

Yan Yingyuan also seized this opportunity to vigorously recruit and expand his army. He treated all those who came to join him equally, whether they were former members of the Ming army, remnants of the Dashun army, or civilian volunteers. Adhering to the principle of recruiting talented people, he recruited as many as possible into his army, fully demonstrating his broad-mindedness and thirst for talent.

Yan Yingyuan carefully selected elite soldiers from the cavalry of his Loyal Guard Battalion to expand the Restoration Battalion. Today, the Restoration Battalion has grown to nearly 30,000 men, a formidable force. He reorganized the remaining soldiers into a local garrison, responsible for maintaining defense and security in the occupied areas. These soldiers patrolled day and night, diligently guarding their posts to ensure stability and peace, allowing the people to live and work in peace.

Although the memorial Yan Yingyuan presented to Chongzhen also requested additional manpower, what he requested was qualified grassroots military officers to strengthen the army's grassroots command force, make the army's command system more complete, and make combat more efficient.

These developments were largely within Chongzhen's expectations. After all, Shandong was currently in a state of profound weakness, and most officials and gentry still deeply favored the Ming. Leveraging the Ming's legitimate banner and the high prestige of General Shi Kefa, retaking Shandong would naturally be a piece of cake, a piece of cake. However, successfully resisting the Qing army's fierce attacks in the days ahead was the true priority, a matter of life and death for the Ming, a constant, agonizing weight hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles.

What really made Chongzhen happy was the outstanding performance of the People's Army on the battlefield.

In Yishui, the People's Army was caught off guard by 5,000 cavalry led by Ke Yongsheng, the General of Jiaozhou. In this unexpected encounter, the People's Army demonstrated remarkable resilience and fighting prowess. With only 1,000 infantrymen, they withstood the fierce charge of 5,000 cavalry and successfully defeated Ke Yongsheng's cavalry, forcing them to flee in disarray, their weapons and armor abandoned.

Yao Er and Jiang Xuefeng took advantage of this great victory and captured Yishui City in one go. The army headed straight for Jiaozhou, with an unstoppable momentum, which frightened the enemy.

This encounter not only comprehensively tested the effectiveness of the People's Army's training methods, but also provided a rigorous test of the effectiveness of the new firearms in actual combat. The victory in this battle finally relieved Chongzhen, who had been worried about the performance of the new army, and he breathed a sigh of relief, his worries finally dispelled.

Jiang Xuefeng had also submitted a detailed summary of the battle. These invaluable practical experiences would provide targeted improvements to the many problems existing in the new army's training. Furthermore, based on the issues revealed in actual combat, training methods could be further optimized, allowing the new army's combat effectiveness to be continuously enhanced, making it even more formidable and invincible.

After this battle, some voices in the court that were skeptical about the new army disappeared in an instant, and the voices of opposition from various towns to Chongzhen's vigorous promotion of the use of firearms also disappeared, as if they had never existed.

It can be said that the fruitful results of this northern expedition elevated Chongzhen's prestige within the court to a new level, and everyone admired him even more. Even those courtiers who had previously been skeptical of his leadership changed their minds, gaining a new understanding of Chongzhen's leadership and decision-making wisdom, and secretly admired him.

However, despite Chongzhen's growing prestige and power, the forces opposing him in the court continued to grow quietly, like an undercurrent surging and full of crises.

The root cause lay in Chongzhen's high-profile and radical actions. For example, his earlier confiscation of the Puzhou Wang family's property and the issuance of national bonds sparked widespread back-channel discussion and questioning, expressing dissatisfaction. Furthermore, his ambitious plan to build an imperial university and a military academy met with strong opposition from some ministers, who considered it a waste of resources and inappropriate for the current era. Some censors even dug up past accounts, including his Mid-Autumn Festival visit to Meixianglou and his alleged conflict with Tian Yang over a prostitute, attempting to discredit and vilify Chongzhen in order to oppose him.

In response to this barrage of negative voices, Chongzhen adopted a unique strategy. He neither acknowledged nor refuted them, remaining silent on all relevant memorials, seemingly deaf to them. This left the courtiers who attempted to engage in heated debate with him feeling helpless, their anger futile, like punching cotton. Of course, some censors, unconvinced, sought to gain fame by receiving beatings and punishments for angering the emperor, as they had done in the past. However, the current Chongzhen Emperor seemed completely transformed, remaining unmoved. No matter how fiercely these courtiers lashed out, Chongzhen remained calm, his heart as still as water, unmoved by the situation, as if he were standing by and observing with aloof eyes.

Surprisingly, these reckless officials were quickly exposed for serious corruption, embezzlement, and collusion with the Qing Dynasty and the Pseudo-Shun regime, betraying the country for personal gain. Crucially, all these allegations were substantiated, irrefutable, and irrefutable. Not only did these officials lose their jobs, but they even faced the tragic consequences of having their entire families executed. Most devastatingly, their reputations were shattered, leaving them stigmatized and despised, a legacy of eternal infamy.

As incidents like these occurred repeatedly, officials gradually became aware of the situation and began to wonder if the emperor was behind all of this. This method was incredibly vicious, practically killing people and piercing their hearts! It was terrifying and chilling.

As a result, gradually, the voices opposing Chongzhen in the court became rarer, and no one dared to disobey the edicts issued by the Chongzhen Emperor. After all, no one wanted to become a thorn in the emperor's side, bringing disaster upon themselves and ending up in a tragic end.

But even though the court seemed peaceful, how could the officials be free of resentment? They were simply angry but dared not speak out. Their dissatisfaction simmered like thunder in their hearts, ready to erupt at any moment.

Another crucial factor was the widespread dissemination of Chongzhen's unique definition of the people. While this concept greatly enhanced Chongzhen's prestige among the common people, it undoubtedly posed a significant challenge to the high-ranking bureaucrats and gentry. They saw the world as nominally owned by the Zhu family, but in reality, they, the bureaucrats and gentry, had long held supreme power. How could they willingly accept being on equal footing with the peasants, workers, and merchants? This was a blatant challenge to their status, one they found difficult to accept.

Gradually, this simmering discontent, like trickles of water, converged into a mighty river, ultimately forming a surging ocean. This vast ocean would either completely engulf Chongzhen or drag the entire Ming Dynasty into the abyss of destruction. The severity of the situation was chilling, as if the end of the world was approaching and full of crises.