mesbooks Chapter 646 Congratulations to our emperor, congratulations to the Ming Dynasty!
Chapter 646 Congratulations to our emperor, congratulations to the Ming Dynasty!
Morning the next day.
Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be in a very good mood, so much so that there was a hint of joy in his eyes when he looked at the Minister of Revenue Hai Zhongzhong, which made Hai Zhongzhong a little confused for a moment.
Because we are in a period of war, Haizhong has been very busy recently.
The Yongning Army, which is being formed at a rapid pace, needs a large amount of military uniforms and equipment. The Huben Army needs food, fodder and ammunition, and the Guards Army also needs food, fodder and ammunition.
The Yongning Army is not so difficult to deal with. After all, the people inside the pass are not in a hurry, and if they are pressed too hard, Hai Zhongqi can just confront the Minister of War Li Banghua passionately.
But he couldn't be careless about the supply of the Huben Army. In addition, there was the Duke of Zhenguo who was leading troops in battle outside. Under normal circumstances, he didn't dare to confront the current emperor passionately.
What's more, this battle of the Duke of Zhenguo is a great event to enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor once said that this battle of the Duke of Zhenguo will help the Ming Dynasty regain lost territory.
The Ming Dynasty had suffered repeated defeats over the past few decades. Let alone recovering lost territory, it was already a rare achievement to avoid further land loss.
However, Hai Zhongqi had high expectations for the Duke of Zhenguo. After all, although that kid was arrogant and domineering with a lot of shortcomings, he never acted recklessly when it came to big things.
However, the Ministry of Revenue was really stretched to the limit in terms of handling such a huge amount of supplies at once.
Every time they went to court, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue felt like sitting on pins and needles. People from all over the country came to them to ask for food and supplies, and the key point was that they had so many reasons that they didn't even know how to refute them.
Although the Ming Dynasty is not short of money now, the problem lies here: there is silver but it cannot be exchanged for food.
To the extent that Hai Zhongchu was a little afraid to go to court at one point.
The emperor has changed his previous worries. Maybe something good has happened. I just hope he won’t ask me for supplies today, Hai Zhongqi thought secretly.
Taicang is really almost empty.
With more than 100,000 soldiers and horses to feed, Taicang only stored a little grain last year, which is almost gone in a month, and it will take at least another half a month for the summer grain to be harvested.
Even so, it still depends on whether the people are willing to sell it.
After the tax and land reforms, in order to minimize losses and the so-called fire consumption of the government, the people can now deduct land taxes in the form of silver.
Theoretically, the people can freely dispose of the grain they grow. Fortunately, the Dongjishi Factory has done a good job in publicity, and the government's price is also appropriate. Hai Zhongqi is confident about collecting the grain.
Hai Zhongqi was thinking about all sorts of things when Wang Chengen sang loudly to start the court meeting. Before the ministers began to report on their affairs, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand to indicate that he had something to say.
"Today, we will not discuss local political affairs. Let me first tell you some good news."
After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, and Wang Chengen took out a letter from his sleeve and unfolded it.
Emperor Chongzhen calmly sat back on the dragon throne, looking like he had everything under control.
There were two teams for information transmission in the Ming Dynasty. The official one was through the Ministry of Public Security, and even for important military intelligence, the formal etiquette was the same.
In addition, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are the emperor's personal intelligence organizations. Generally speaking, they are much more efficient than the Ministry of Public Security.
So the ministers looked around, not knowing what the good news was that would be announced at the beginning of the court meeting.
Wang Chengen unfolded the letter, cleared his throat and said:
"Your Majesty, your servant Zhang Shikang pays homage.
I know that although our great Ming Dynasty is beginning to show signs of vitality, its food and fodder supplies are still insufficient, so I am only leading half of the Guards into this battle.
I know that we cannot fight for long, so I set up a tight net to lure the Jianlu into a decisive battle.
The false emperor Taiji was forced to kill his ministers and fell into a trap at Guanshan.
I used the Imperial Guards and the Tiger Guards to jointly suppress them. Three hundred heavy artillery pieces fired at the same time, and the Jian army was completely defeated.
In the Battle of Guanshan, no less than 100,000 enemies were killed, all of whom were the elite troops of the Jianlu.
Several royal members of the pseudo-Qing dynasty, including Ajige, Duoduo, and Jirgalang, died in the battle, and Huang Taiji was seriously injured and fell into a coma.
After a fierce battle, the pseudo Qing Dynasty was defeated.
I will use my remaining courage to pursue the enemy, and the Ming Dynasty will recover the lost territory in the near future.
Your Majesty can look forward to it.
Grand Marshal Zhang Shikang bows a hundred times."
The content of the letter was written quite carefully, even explaining the course of the Battle of Guanshan. The key point was that the handwriting was elegant and neat, completely different from the cicada crawling written by Zhang Shikang.
This is certainly not Zhang Shikang's original words, but was revised by the Imperial Household Department. Emperor Chongzhen later summoned the messenger and asked him in detail about the entire process of the Battle of Guanshan.
Emperor Chongzhen had already prepared himself mentally, and after Wang Chengen finished reading, his face was filled with great satisfaction.
He was very grateful that his ancestors had bestowed great talents upon the Ming Dynasty, and he even enjoyed the idiotic expressions of the current officials.
It was no wonder that all the officials were stunned. Since the rise of the Jianlu, there had been thousands of large and small battles over the decades, but no battle had ever resulted in the killing of 100,000 enemies in a single battle, and the letter said that they were all elite troops.
How many elite troops did the entire Jianlu tribe have? If only the Jurchens were counted, after the previous two setbacks, there would be no more than 60,000 at most.
Even if we include the Mongols who defected to the pseudo Qing Dynasty, although there are 100,000 elite troops, it is a dream to kill them, let alone to fight against them.
If the Eight Banners have less than 10,000 troops, they will be invincible. This saying was not only spread among the Jianlu, but also among the officials of the Ming Dynasty who were used to losing battles.
Now tell them that our Ming Dynasty killed almost all of their elite troops in one battle. If this is not done in the court, the emperor himself will tell them.
Who can believe it?
"This battle report was delivered from the front line last night by the Jinyiwei.
As for credibility, ever since the Duke of Zhenguo took office as the Grand Marshal, all previous battle reports have been detailed, valid, and well-documented. I think you all understand this."
As if to increase credibility, Wang Chengen reminded those present after he finished reading.
In fact, although the civil officials had been replaced, they still held the old mentality towards the military generals, so they were always skeptical about the battle reports submitted by the military generals.
However, it is indeed as Wang Chengen said. Since Zhang Shikang took control of the world's military, all the battle reports have been repeatedly verified by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and officials from the Dali Temple, and they are all true reports.
On this point, although many officials kept their distance from Zhang Shikang, no one dared to say anything.
He really won the battle and was so favored by the emperor. Who would want to cause trouble for himself?
But... that was an army of 100,000, almost all of the elite troops of the Jianlu. On the prairie, even if they wanted to kill 100,000 pigs, it would take a lot of effort.
Incredible, incredible!
Hai Zhongqi was also surprised. There was no doubt that Zhang Shikang was a man of great talent. At least from the current point of view, Zhang Shikang had never lost a war he had participated in.
But the results in the battle report still shocked him.
"Whether it's true or not, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will soon receive a more detailed battle report.
What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true.
However, I trust the Duke of Zhenguo. If he says he can kill 100,000 enemies, I will believe him.
Did you hear that?
He told me that recovering the lost territory is just around the corner.
Once upon a time, the military generals of our Ming Dynasty only expected to hold their existing positions, let alone recover lost territory.
My dear ministers, my great Ming Dynasty is truly going to recover the lost territory. Do you believe it?"
As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, he could no longer remain calm. His face turned red and his tone became heavier.
For an emperor who has been losing land since he ascended the throne, nothing can make him more proud than regaining the lost land at such a close distance.
He may not believe what others say, but this is a handwritten letter written to him by Zhang Shikang.
The more ridiculous Zhang Shikang's letter was, the more he believed it.
Emperor Chongzhen's words were powerful.
There was a rare silence in the hall.
The chief minister of the cabinet, Li Banghua, was also a little excited, but he still glanced at Hai Zhongzhong first, as if asking for his opinion. After Hai Zhongzhong was silent for a moment, he nodded heavily.
Li Banghua immediately stopped hesitating and bowed to the ground, saying with a trembling voice:
"Congratulations to our Emperor! Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty! Your Majesty should offer sacrifices to our ancestors to comfort our Ming ancestors!
Our Great Ming...revival is in sight!"