Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

Zhang Xianzhong finally entered Shu, but Zuo Liangyu kept claiming that he was suffering from a serious illness and was unable to march, so he stood still at Zhushan.Yang Sichang was so anxious that he sent the letter to Zhushan camp sealed. He said all kinds of good words, but he was still indifferent.Except for Zuo Liangyu, the other generals didn't know whether they had a long-standing quarrel with Yang Sichang, or the gap between the new students, whether they had selfish concerns, or imitated others, they all passively evaded the commander-in-chief from Xiangyang and refused to recruit.Sichuan and Shu have always been peaceful and peaceful, and the defenders in central Sichuan have no intention of suppressing them, they only want to find an opportunity to drive Zhang Xianzhong out of Sichuan, but Zhang Xianzhong didn't take the initiative to attack, and the defenders let him go, making Zhang Xianzhong rest peacefully for a while , and swaggered to meet Luo Rucai, and finally broke the defense line of the officers and soldiers in one fell swoop at Tutuling near Dachang County, Sichuan.When Yang Sichang heard the news, he immediately led his troops into Shu, but it was already difficult for him to resist the bandits.Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai swept from the east of Sichuan to the west of Sichuan. They were invincible and invincible. The originally peaceful central Sichuan was in chaos in an instant.

Chongqing, Governor's Mansion.Yang Sichang sat in the hall, rubbing his temples with his hands, with a tired face.A local official was chatting on the sidelines, but he remained calm and turned a deaf ear, pretending that the person did not exist.The officials didn't care whether Yang Sichang answered or not, with a smile on his face, he just rubbed his hands flatteringly and said, "Your Excellency, this is a very clever plan to divorce. Luo Rucai and all the leaders can pardon the official, but Zhang Xianzhong is not pardoned. Another ten thousand taels of silver will be rewarded, so it will be hard for Zhang Xianzhong to trust the left and right, and the dissension and division from the inside will definitely be just around the corner! This plan is very clever, very clever!"

"Hmm..." Yang Sichang responded indiscriminately, and his response to the officials' flattery was very cold.Since the great victory at Manao Mountain, the officers and soldiers had never fought a single victory against the rogues. The successive defeats tortured Yang Sichang to the point of physical and mental exhaustion, and he no longer had the vigor he had when he first arrived in Xiangyang.Chen Xinjia once said that going to the frontline to supervise the division was just a change of place for strategizing, but who would have thought that this change of place would seem to change the direction of the wind, and things that should be going smoothly are as difficult as going against the current.I thought hard and came up with a strategy to suppress the bandits, but no one responded. Although the generals and generals were superficially respectful, none of them really obeyed.Since I took office, I have never dared to slack off in the position of supervisor. Now, what is wrong with this up and down?

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" The officials on the side continued to speak, but saw a small official rushing into the lobby.

"You yelling, why are you arguing! There are no rules at all!" The official's face darkened, and he yelled at the little official.

"Yes..." The little official shrank his head and swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Yang Sichang raised his eyes wearily, then closed his eyelids again. "The notice offering a reward to Zhang Xianzhong, has it been posted?"

"The post...it was posted...According to my lord's order, not only Chongqing posted all over the city, but also all the nearby prefectures and government offices also issued notices." The little official lowered his head to report, but his eyes looked at Yang Sichang from time to time, as if there was something wrong. something to say.

"Hmm..." Yang Sichang paused, opened his eyes, and sat up slightly, "Did you just report something?"

"Yes..." The little official took another peek at the officials next to him, and hesitantly took out a piece of paper from his pocket, "No...don't dare to hide it from your lord, the servant who was sweeping the yard just now found this in the mansion... ..."

The official stood up, took the paper from the clerk's hand, and handed it to Yang Sichang graciously. Yang Sichang took a closer look, stood up abruptly, a rush of blood rushed from his dantian to the top of his head, and he lost his fatigue for a while. It's hard to suppress the anger, it's hard to be ashamed and angry.Seeing this, the officials got up in panic, not knowing what was written on the paper, so they could only look at Yang Sichang anxiously.Yang Sichang's face was green for a while, then pale for a while, and was like a dark cloud before a rainstorm in July, dark and full of hatred. "My lord..." the official said in a low voice, but Yang Sichang clasped his hands together, clenched the paper into a ball, and threw it on the ground.The official bent over to pick it up, opened it carefully, and saw that there was also a list written crookedly in black and white on it:

All the officials of the Chongqing government can be pardoned, but Yang Sichang cannot be pardoned. Those who capture and kill Yang Sichang will be rewarded with three coins.

This... this!Such arrogant and disrespectful words must have come from the hands of bandits, but the governor's mansion is heavily guarded, how did this get into the mansion? !The official was horrified and looked at Yang Sichang tremblingly, only to find that Yang Sichang was staring at him coldly with a dark face.The official threw the ball of paper away, knelt down on his knees, and kowtowed like a chicken pecking at rice while calling for forgiveness.But Yang Sichang didn't say anything more, flicked his sleeves, turned and entered the inner hall.

two

Although no one would exchange Yang Sichang's head for three qian qian, Yang Sichang's reward of ten thousand taels of silver was not effective at all.The rogue bandits were still attacking the city unscrupulously in the Sichuan and Shu areas, which not only made Yang Sichang helpless and miserable, but also made Chongzhen restless.However, the days passed day by day, but there was no good news from Chuanzhong.The anticipation that seemed to be born from the short-lived victory gradually faded away with the passage of time. Occasionally, when I think about it, it even makes people feel in a trance, thinking that the victory never really happened.

Time flies, the fragrance of lotus in the late summer seems to be faintly lingering on the tip of the nose, and an inadvertent, heavy snow like goose feathers has drifted past a few times.In the Nuan Pavilion of the Wuying Hall, there was occasional crackling sound from the brazier, and the sunset saw a few more pieces of charcoal in the basin, and raised her eyes to signal the maid Hongxing to add more.Hong Xing nodded, her steps were light and delicate, for fear that her steps would be too heavy and disturb the emperor who dealt with government affairs after the dragon case.The room was very quiet, even the light coughing of the guards in the hall outside the door who tried their best to conceal it seemed a little harsh.

Chongzhen was wearing a half-worn ochre-colored cotton robe, leaning on the dragon chair, ignoring the trifles that happened around him, only silently watching the battle report sent by Yang Sichang from Sichuan:

"The brittleness of the soldiers of Shu and the stupidity of the generals of Shu are unheard of. The bandits have survived from desperate times many times, and they have long been trained to be the most elite and fierce thieves, who would rather die than surrender. I hate that I have no power to fight the enemy, so I can't beat the bandits with my own hands. The sharpness is really ashamed of the emperor's grace."

Seeing this, Chongzhen's eyebrows twitched invisibly for a moment, but soon his face was as still as water, with no trace of emotion visible.

"Nowadays the thieves and bandits have entered Sichuan, and their momentum is fierce and difficult to control. It is not because of the minister's lack of planning. Although it is easy to set the outline of the world's affairs, it is difficult to be alone. Thousands of miles of battle, all the schemes come from the minister alone, no matter how hard the minister worries. However, it took dozens of days for the document to go back and forth, and when the war strategy was decided, the opportunity to fight had already been lost, so I dare not rashly order to go to war..."

Before Chongzhen finished reading it, he closed the battle report, threw it aside, and sighed faintly. "There is no power to kill the enemy in battle, only the ability to drink wine as a gift, the thief is fierce and unstoppable, but still has the leisure to travel around... Could it be that I really misjudged him?"

"Traveling in the mountains and rivers?" Xi Zhao folded the battle report that Chongzhen had randomly thrown on the table and put it away, "Your Majesty is talking about Lord Yang?"

"That's right." Chongzhen nodded, and casually pointed to the memorial on the other side of the dragon case, "The documents submitted by the officials of Shu are piled up, I'm afraid he doesn't know it yet. All the tricks come from him alone... Ha, Not to mention other things, where are the many officials that I promised him to take away before he left?"

"If he really can't do it, the emperor might as well call him back and give him another appointment." Xi Zhao thought for a while and said.

"Currently Sichuan and Sichuan are in a mess, I don't know who else is willing to take over the mess..." Chongzhen murmured, before Xizhao could reply, he took another deep breath and raised his voice: "Well, I will consider suitable candidates, After thinking about it, I will find an opportunity to exchange him."

But neither Chongzhen nor Xizhao expected that before a candidate to replace Yang Sichang could be found, there would be a fire in Luoyang's backyard, causing such a big change.

three

The 14th year of Chongzhen, the first month.

The emperor has always been indifferent and not good at feasting, Xizhao has served Chongzhen for many years, so he naturally knows it in his heart.In addition to these years of wars and turmoil, Ming's national strength has been deteriorating, and the emperor has no intention of having fun when he is worried, so this year's New Year's Eve is more sloppy and simple than previous years.In the palace, only the Kunning Palace was surrounded by red silk and palace lanterns, and roughly made some old-fashioned arrangements.That night Chongzhen also came late and left early, leaving only a group of empresses and concubines looking at each other at the reunion banquet, knowing it in their hearts, but helpless.

But just after New Year's Eve, before the red silk palace lanterns of Kunning Palace could be removed, a battle report was urgently sent to Chongzhen within [-] miles.

"What!" Chongzhen stared blankly at the compromised words, suddenly lost his words.Wang Chengen bowed his body and stood in front of the dragon case, also lowered his head and waited cautiously, not daring to speak too much.The maids and eunuchs kept silent as usual, and there was only the thin paper with shocking news in the room, and as Chongzhen's hands trembled, there was an almost inaudible rustling sound——

Fu Wang, who was enshrined in Luoyang, was killed by Li Zicheng.Luoyang fell.

"My majesty... my condolences." From the corner of his eyes, Wang Chengen saw Chongzhen slowly put down the battle report, and only then carefully broke the unbearable silence in the room.There was a slight sound of cloth rubbing against the dragon chair, Wang Chengen raised his head slightly, and saw Chongzhen leaning back slowly on the chair, turning his head to look out the window, the expression in his eyes was extremely calm.This peace came too quickly and too unnaturally, like a moment of quiet respite between lightning and thunder, savoring it carefully, it can't help but make people feel fearful and uneasy.

"The imperial uncle's affairs must be handled in a thorough and proper manner, so let you take full responsibility for it. Everything should be done according to the routine, and there should be no carelessness."

"Obey." Wang Chengen suppressed his thoughts, swallowed his saliva, and bowed his body to obey the order.

And that anxiety didn't last long, and it really came true.After being depressed all day, Chongzhen coughed profusely that night and fell ill in bed, which seemed very urgent and dangerous.After a few waves of imperial doctors from the imperial hospital came to see her, they all said that it was due to mental depression, and even the wind and cold hit her body, but it was not a serious problem, and she could recover after a few days of rest.But probably it was a heart disease that was difficult to cure, even though it was just a cold, Chongzhen had recuperated for a long time, and the color of blood appeared on his face just now.

"Your Majesty, Minister of the Ministry of War, Chen Xinjia, Lord Chen and several other adults are waiting outside the hall, do you want to see him?"

On this day, just as the news spread that the emperor was in good health, some officials came to the Hall of Martial Arts to ask for an audience.In the Warm Pavilion, Chongzhen was dressed in plain clothes, with a white linen belt around his waist, and was lying on the Arhat bed.The sickness on his face has faded by eight points, but his mind is full of unresolved problems, and his spirit has not been good.Hearing Xizhao's question, Chongzhen straightened his clothes, got up, and nodded.

"Send them in."

"Yes."

After a while, four or five officials entered the Nuan Pavilion hunched over, kneeling down with their lapels raised.

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

"Well, let's get back down." Chongzhen raised his spirits, glanced at the faces of the visitors, and raised his hands slightly.These people thanked En for getting up one after another, but after getting up, they secretly exchanged eye contact, and no one spoke first.Chongzhen didn't wait too long, sighed lightly, and said to himself first:

"I have been on the throne for four years, but firstly, I can't put down the war and chaos, and secondly, I can't stabilize the people's livelihood. I really feel ashamed of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Before the disaster of Fengyang's ancestral mausoleum, and now that the emperor's uncle is in such trouble, I am even more It is shameless to face the royal family, the ancestors and the ancestors. Hey...the shame is hard to express."

The ministers didn't expect that the emperor would blame himself undisguisedly when he opened his mouth, so they could only swallow the words that were already on their lips, causing crimes one after another.Here it is said that the ministers are negligent in their duties, and the other side is asking the emperor to punish them. When it comes to the clichés in the court, everyone is good at it and fluent.But seeing Chongzhen frowned and waved his hands feebly, several people immediately fell silent again, as if they had been rehearsed in a neat and tacit understanding.

"Qing and others don't need to say any more. I am the one who decides everything. If I make a mistake, I should be the first." Chongzhen's voice was as calm as usual, but his half-drooped eyelids could not hide those dark eyes. full of sorrow.

Seeing that the emperor was in a depressed mood, Chen Xinjia changed his mind and took the opportunity to comfort him: "Your Majesty will not suffer for himself. God's will is unpredictable. Perhaps all this is caused by the strength of the Ming Dynasty, and it cannot be reversed by manpower."

Chongzhen didn't raise his eyes, just shook his head. "How can everything be blamed on luck. Even if it is caused by luck, we still need to do our best to make up for it in terms of personnel, but how many times have we been able to fix it over the years?"

All the ministers fell silent after hearing the words.The warm pavilion was so quiet that one could hear one's breath, and the atmosphere gradually became a little awkward.After a while, an official finally couldn't hold back, stared hard at Chen Xinjia, took a step forward and spoke loudly, speaking very righteously:

"According to my opinion, there is really no way to say here. The supervisor Yang Sichang has sent troops for more than a year. Only at the beginning of the Manao Mountain was a victory, and the rest were defeated again and again. As a result, the bandits became more and more powerful, even Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai ravaged Sichuan. In Shu, Li Zicheng committed such a heinous crime. Now Mr. Chen is only talking about fate, not about man-made disasters. Could it be that he wants to absolve Master Yang from the crime?"

After finishing speaking, several sharp eyes were cast on Chen Xinjia at the same time, and the faces of several officials all tensed up, and the sad atmosphere that had filled the Nuan Pavilion just now disappeared completely.He just guessed that they were going to impeach Mr. Yang to the emperor, so he came with them just now, it seems that he was right.Chen Xinjia also immediately put on a cold face, his eyes swept away from several officials, and before Chongzhen could speak, he also stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty has learned from you. Governor Yang is in Sichuan, and thousands of people will go to Henan How can you take care of him if you are beyond the reach of the whip? Master Li, don’t forcefully accuse the supervisor of the crime because of your personal holiday."

"You...how could..." Mr. Li stared at him, and he was speechless immediately, but he saw an official from the other side also come forward to help Mr. Li answer the conversation: "Mr. In Luoyang, but recruiting troops in Sichuan, and then all the way to Henan, Yang Dushi failed to prevent the erroneous progress, and also failed to send troops to stop it, how can this crime of dereliction of duty be said to be imposed!"

Chen Xinjia glanced at the official who refuted him, and smiled coldly. "Master Zhang's news is wrong. The thief Li Zicheng obviously entered Henan from Shaanxi. I don't know who reported this false news to Master Zhang?"

"Li Zicheng just passed through Shaanxi, but actually came from Sichuan!" The official surnamed Zhang was not to be outdone, and argued with his neck stuck.

"He has been living in Shaanxi..." "The thieves have always been elusive, and their whereabouts are very difficult to track. What evidence is there for Mr. Chen to say that!" "What evidence is there for Mr. Zhang..."

Xi Zhao looked at these officials who were blushing and thick-necked, and the boredom in their hearts gradually swelled.In the court, they had already used all their tongues to fight, but now that the emperor is in good health, these people ran to the emperor's bedroom to make trouble again.The emperor's uncle had just passed away, and the emperor was already in a low mood, but they were all energetic and high-spirited because of Yang Sichang, but none of them thought about the emperor's mood.Xi Zhao looked sideways, and saw Chongzhen's shoulders slumped, one hand resting on his forehead, his brows were deeply frowned, as if he was thinking about something, he didn't hear the quarrel in front of him, and he seemed powerless to stop it, so he had to endure it.Sure enough, Xizhao hurriedly stepped forward and approached Chongzhen, speaking in a moderate voice, but it was able to penetrate the heated dispute and reach the ears of the officials.

"Your Majesty, it's time for medication."

Chongzhen raised his eyes to see the sunset, his brows relaxed, he nodded knowingly, put down the hand holding his forehead and stood up.When Chen Xinjia and other officials saw the emperor standing up, they also stopped talking and lowered their bodies unwillingly.

"How is Luoyang now?" Chongzhen stood beside the couch, but he didn't immediately get off the couch, he just asked calmly, his eyes no longer showing any emotion.

"Now the thieves have left the city, but the burning and plundering in the city is horrendous, and there are countless casualties. The 5000 Henan relief silver issued by His Majesty has already allocated [-] taels to Luoyang, which should temporarily relieve the urgent need." An official replied respectfully.

"Yeah. Send another 5000 taels to Luoyang, and make sure that the people affected by the disaster are resettled properly. Okay, you all step back." Chongzhen said, not being saluted by the officials, and left the Nuan Pavilion with Xizhao.