Chongzhen: Why is the emperor's head square?

Chapter 19 Encirclement and Suppression

The group exchanged glances.

Li Zicheng stepped forward first and took the envelope.

Zhang Xianzhong and the others also stepped forward, ready to read it together.

Open the envelope.

The contents inside made everyone gasp in shock.

"Increase the army by 120,000, and lay an ambush on all sides."

"This Yang Sichang has good judgment."

"But... an additional 120,000 troops? Where will the imperial court get so much money?"

It should be noted that the imperial court had always been in a state of food and military shortage.

This is why, even though the imperial court was able to win battles.

But the reason why they have not been eradicated for so long is...

With insufficient troops, they had to defend against the Jin army and also suppress bandits, so they couldn't form a complete encirclement.

Naturally, it was impossible to completely eradicate them.

Now, suddenly, an additional 120,000 troops have been added.

With the existing army, they were fully capable of completing Yang Sichang's plan to encircle them from all sides.

"Has the imperial court increased taxes again?"

"If collecting taxes takes time, why the rapid troop buildup?"

Gao Yingxiang then explained, "I have heard that the emperor himself paid for the 120,000 troops this time."

One person took it out.

Was the emperor that rich?

"The most urgent matter is not to discuss where the court will get the money to send more troops."

"Instead, we discussed how to deal with the imperial court's next offensive."

"Regarding the Fengyang incident, I heard that the emperor was so angry that he fainted for several days. This is probably why the court suddenly sent an additional 120,000 troops."

These words were spoken.

The others all turned their gazes toward Zhang Xianzhong.

"I told you long ago, don't dig up people's ancestral graves. Things have gotten better, and the emperor has gone completely mad."

Zhang Xianzhong, however, was not afraid.

"What's the point of talking about this now that it's already done?"

"Even if the imperial court sends an additional 120,000 troops, so what? These 120,000 men will need at least six months of training before they can go to the battlefield."

"We have plenty of time to break the deadlock."

"Before that, let's fucking pull off one more heist and attack Xi'an!"

"Let's wipe them out one more time before the imperial court sends reinforcements!"

Upon hearing Zhang Xianzhong's suggestion, Gao Yingxiang glanced at the others.

Seeing that no one had any objections,

Gao Yingxiang nodded in agreement: "Alright, then let's do as Zhang Xianzhong said. Order all the rebel armies to join forces and converge at the gates of Xi'an!"

……

The capital of the Later Jin dynasty.

Shengjing City.

Huang Taiji, dressed in yellow, walked in the backyard, accompanied by a group of ministers.

Unlike Nurhaci, who disliked scholars.

Huang Taiji attached great importance to culture and education.

"Your Majesty, this is news from the front lines. It is said that Zhang Xianzhong and others burned down the ancestral tombs of Emperor Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and not only sent people to dig up Zhang Xianzhong's ancestral graves, but also ordered an additional 120,000 troops."

"Adopting the strategy of Minister of War Yang Sichang, we intend to ambush them from all sides and annihilate Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others in one fell swoop."

A slight smile appeared on Huang Taiji's lips.

"The fiercer the internal strife within the Ming Dynasty, the more advantageous it will be for us."

"Your Majesty, shall we simply stand by and do nothing?"

Huang Taiji's gaze fell on Fan Wencheng beside him.

"Fan Zhangjing, what do you mean?"

Although Fan Wencheng was a Han Chinese.

But Huang Taiji didn't care; as long as they could be used for his own purposes, it didn't matter whether they were Han Chinese or not.

At the very least, the wisdom of the Han people is indeed greater than that of the Manchus.

After pondering for a while, Fan Wencheng...

He bowed and said, "Reporting to the Great Khan, the Ming Dynasty is much weaker than it was a hundred years ago. But as the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even though the Ming Dynasty is in decline..."

"They should not be underestimated. The best situation for us is for the Ming Dynasty to remain in internal strife."

"Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others cannot die, at least not in the current situation."

"If the Great Khan intends to contend for control of the Central Plains..."

Three breaths later, Huang Taiji understood Fan Wencheng's meaning.

"Does Fan Zhangjing mean we should send troops? To put pressure on the Ming Dynasty's borders? To make it unable to defend itself on both fronts?"

Fan Wencheng added, "Emperor Chongzhen is suspicious. As long as we pretend to go south, he will surely recall Hong Chengchou and others to defend the capital. Once Hong Chengchou leaves, Gao Yingxiang and others will be safe."

"If Hong Chengchou and his men do not return to defend the capital, the feigned attack will become a real attack. Even if they cannot break through Beijing, they can still plunder supplies and wealth. In any case, this deal is a sure win," Huang Taiji said, echoing Fan Wencheng's words.

Hearing this, the two exchanged a smile.

"The one who truly understands me is the Khan of the Tiancong."

Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji responded with a smile: "The one who truly understands the Khan is Fan Zhangjing."

……

Wen Mansion.

"His Majesty has left the palace again?"

"Yes, the destination was still Liangxiang, and they recruited eight hundred refugees as well, but those eight hundred refugees also disappeared."

Wen Tiren remained somewhat silent.

When emperors kill people, they're no longer satisfied with killing them one by one.

They've already grown to eight hundred people, and they've killed them all?

"Did the people we sent come back?"

Wen Yangren shook his head: "No news at all, they must be dead."

Wen Tiren was at a loss for words.

In the end, he could only sigh and say, "Fine, Your Majesty, kill me if you wish."

Killing refugees is better than killing officials.

Anyway, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of refugees.

The more of the millions of refugees Zhu Youjian killed, the more likely the internal strife would be quelled.

soon.

Rumors began to circulate in the imperial court.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call an emperor a tyrant if he took pleasure in killing refugees.

……

Outside the capital city.

Inside the granary.

Zhu Youjian was unaware of the rumors circulating outside.

Because the original 800 people needed to maintain daily production work.

The supplies stored in the Minecraft world cannot all be transported to the real world by Zhu Youjian alone; he cannot do it all by himself.

One round trip transports more than a thousand wheat grains.

Even if you worked for several days and nights, you might not be able to dry millions of tons of wheat.

Fortunately, the world has no shortage of labor.

So a few days ago, he went to Beijing again.

We will recruit another 800 people.

As laborers transporting grain.

After a day and a night, the grain reserves for 120,000 people for a month were all transported.

Wheat filled hundreds of grain silos.

After doing all this, Zhu Youjian found Zhu Yong and Zhao Zhu.

Looking at the gold-plated equipment on the two men, Zhu Youjian remained silent for a moment.

"Was this gold mined?"

Zhu Yong nodded: "Your Majesty, didn't you say that the rarer the ore, the better the equipment? Your Majesty, these are two sets of golden armor that we spent more than ten days collecting."

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

"The defense of the gold set is about the same as that of the iron set, and... its durability is very low."

"Didn't Zhou Liang tell you all this?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yong and Zhao Zhu exchanged a glance.

"Zhou Liang was busy with his accounts, so we didn't disturb him. Your Majesty, I know I was wrong."

Zhu Yong immediately knelt down.

Zhu Youjian was already used to it.

He waved his hand: "It's alright, it's not too late to know the current situation."

It seems that Zhou Liang needs to manage accounts and taxes, which means that not only will the number of migrants increase, but also the number of management talents will need to be increased.

Otherwise, if Zhou Liang were to die from exhaustion, it would be a loss for all.

"By the way, I have something I need you to do."

"The number of members in your village's guard team has been increased to 150."

"Full set, fifty sets of diamond armor, the rest must be at least iron armor."

"Each person is provided with a horse, a bow and arrows, a shield, and so on; nothing is to be omitted."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will need you to face the Jin army."

They are not even afraid of monsters.

They are just a bunch of foreign enemies, so naturally we are not afraid.

"I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty!"