Chapter 1052: Chongzhen's Final Choice (1)

（1052）

When Zhang Zhun set foot on Taiwan Island and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the treasure island, Xi'an Mansion, Shaanxi Province, thousands of miles away, was the temporary residence of the imperial court.

In Xi'an Mansion in the depths of winter, the north wind is constantly howling, rolling up bursts of wind and sand, enveloping the entire Xi'an City. If you look at it from the sky, there is only a yellow patch. The north wind also makes a chilling howl that stimulates everyone's nerves.

If you stand on the wall and look down, you can't see anyone at all. All the people have taken refuge in their own homes, sheltered from the wind and sand. In fact, even if there is no wind and sand, there are not many people in Xi'an. Since the imperial court moved here, prices in Xi'an have skyrocketed, and the supply of materials has been difficult.

The soldiers standing guard on the city wall were also listless. They held their weapons in their arms weakly and curled up behind the battlements, so that the wind and sand would not hit them directly. Gusts of wind and sand blew, as if covering them all. Only when they took advantage of the wind and sand to calm down a little, and tried to shake their bodies, could they see that they were still alive. However, when the wind and sand came again, they immediately retracted and became dead again.

The military flags above the city tower have been crumbling by the strong wind, as if they will fall at any time. The flag was pulled by the wind, straight and straight, and it felt as if it would be torn at any moment. In fact, not long after, there was indeed a flag, which was torn apart by the strong wind. Some of the broken flags were blown away by the north wind and rolled into the gray sky, and they didn't know where they went. Of course, no one cares about this.

For the future, many people seem to be numb. Even if there were no violent sandstorms, they wouldn't have reacted. Standing guard every day, just like a wooden man. In fact, for the vast majority of imperial court troops, they are now in a state of walking dead. Where exactly the way out is, what exactly should be done in the future, no one knows.

Some sentries, when on the sentry, always pay special attention to the surrounding terrain. Their eyes are squinting, and they always seem to be particularly focused. This is especially evident when there is no wind or sand. But if you think they're on a mission in good spirits, you're wrong. They weren't looking for the arrival of the Tiger Army at all, but looking for a secret way to escape quietly.

For the vast majority of people in Xi'an, the only way to survive is to find a way to escape from Xi'an Mansion and escape from this damn place. There is no food, no clothing, if this continues, even if the Tiger Ben army does not come, they will be frozen to death by the cold winter. With the little money and food that comes down every day, it's not enough for a three-year-old child!

Walking on the streets of Xi'an, you will find that everything around you has completely changed. All the timber, and everything that could be used to make a fire, was taken away. Including dried cow dung. All the houses are dilapidated, with no roofs, no doors or windows. All the trees were also cut down.

In fact, since Emperor Chongzhen fled to Xi'an Mansion, the atmosphere in Xi'an Mansion has never been good. Even when the Shaanxi rebel army was at its most raging, Xi'an Mansion had never been so decadent. It is a decadence of wordless despair with no possibility of improvement. From Emperor Chongzhen to the husband who beat the guard, I don't know what will become of Xi'an Mansion in the future.

The difficulty of material supply is the biggest problem in Xi'an at present, and it is also the most fundamental problem. Under the pressure of the Tiger Ben Army, the area controlled by the imperial court is constantly changing hands, and there are fewer and fewer places that can provide financial resources and food sources. Naturally, the materials that can be obtained are getting less and less. In Xi'an and surrounding areas, there are still hundreds of thousands of people. How can such a large group of people be satisfied by relying on external supplies?

In the east, the Xuanwu Legion of the Tiger Ben Army had pressed to the front line of Tongguan. The army of the imperial court can only rely on the natural danger of Tongguan to confront the Tiger Ben army. Fighting, that's absolutely impossible. In other words, if you want to send supplies from the east of Tongguan, don't even think about it.

In the north, the Wang Dou Legion of the Tiger Ben Army has also entered the position of Yan'an Mansion. Yan'an Mansion is really too close to Xi'an Mansion. It is like a sharp sword hanging above the head of Xi'an Mansion, which may be chopped down at any time. In other words, Xi'an Mansion will be attacked by the Tiger Ben Army at any time.

With the capture of Yunnan by the Tiger Ben Army, the days of Xi'an Mansion were even more sad. The last reliance of the imperial court is Sichuan. Now, Sichuan has been tightly surrounded. This is the only source of wealth and food for the imperial court at present, once occupied by the Tiger Ben army, all the court personnel in Xi'an Mansion will be starved to death.

Even the most optimistic court officials were already depressed by this time. There is no hope, there is no hope at all. As long as the Tiger Ben army fights, Xi'an Mansion will fall into the hands of the enemy. There is no money, no food, and the weapons are not as good as the Tiger Army, and the morale is even worse than the Tiger Army. As long as the Tiger Ben Army charges, the imperial court will completely collapse.

Even if the imperial court wanted to continue to retreat, there was no way to retreat. Sichuan, definitely can't go. The Tiger Ben Army is about to conquer Sichuan, what are they going to do in Sichuan? The only possibility is to turn around and run as far as you want.

However, to the west, it is the area of Liangzhou, Ganzhou and Suzhou. This generation is a more and more desolate place. Here, apart from the remnants of the Mongols, there are hardly many Han Chinese. The vast majority of the land is arid and barren. Whether the imperial court retreats here or not, whether it can get adequate supplies, idiots know.

What's more, the Tiger Ben Army will definitely chase after them from behind. There is enough intelligence to show that the main cavalry force of the Tiger Ben Army has retreated from Japan. Most of the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army was moving south from Taiyuan, preparing to cross the Yellow River in Puzhou and other places, and together with Wang Dou's army, they launched an attack on Xi'an from north to south.

Thinking of the madness of the cavalry of the Tiger Army, the whole court couldn't help but tighten the chrysanthemum. Even the ferocious Tartar cavalry is not the opponent of the cavalry of the Tiger Army, where is the opponent of the cavalry of the Tiger Army at the current level of the imperial court? Once the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army entered Shaanxi, it basically meant that Xi'an Mansion could not continue to stay.

If the imperial court retreated to the west, it would inevitably be surrounded and intercepted by the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army. How could the infantry outrun the cavalry? Instead of falling into the vast wind and sand, starving to death or dying of thirst, it is better to think about how to solve the problem peacefully with the Tiger Ben Army.

Yes, the war cannot go on. Idiots know that if they continue to use force, the imperial court will not be the opponent of the Tiger Ben Army at all. I believe that no one still has any illusions about the imperial army. The key now is how Emperor Chongzhen accepts Zhang Zhunkai's conditions. The island of Madagascar, as far away as it is, is much better than a desert.

"It's a difficult time, what do you think?"

Yang Sichang said bitterly.

It is estimated that today is the last meeting of the Cabinet. Chen Xinjia, Fu Zonglong, Wang Qiaonian and others are all there. Since Emperor Chongzhen came to Xi'an Mansion, there were only four of them in the cabinet. They all drooped their heads, listless. Fu Zonglong's body also has a lot of wind and sand. Outside, the wind and sand are still raging.

"What else can you think?"

"Anyway, you can't continue to fight."

Wang Qiaonian patted the wind and sand on his body and said dejectedly.

Of the four scholars, he was the least confident and the most active advocate of a peaceful settlement. At the beginning, he was still secretive and didn't dare to say it outright. Now, he has no scruples. In fact, he almost didn't say the words unconditional surrender.

Wang Qiaonian's words made everyone present feel bad immediately. The court has fallen to such a point, they all feel very aggrieved and a little unconvinced, and they always feel that God does not favor them. Yang Sichang wanted to say something about the scene, but it was hard to say. If he said that there was still hope for the imperial court, he would be deceiving himself.

"How's the money and food going?"

After a while, Yang Sichang asked in a stiff tone.

"Ten days ago, Shuzhong sent a batch of money and grain, a total of 43,000 taels of silver, 150,000 stones of old rice, and 60,000 stones of flour. The person who delivered the grain said that this was the last batch of old grain. If you want to have new food, you have to get the summer harvest in June. ”

Fu Zonglong frowned and said in a dry tone.

He is no longer the secretary of the Ministry of Works, but the secretary of the Ministry of Households.

If it was in the past, the household department was still a book, it would be a fat difference. The money and food in the world are in their own hands, and it can be said that they want the wind to win the wind and the rain to get the rain. Except for the official book, no one can be more beautiful than him. I don't know how many people asked grandpa to beg him to pay money and food. But now, this errand was roasted on a fire.

Fu Zonglong didn't even have a single extra grain of money and grain in his hands now. On the contrary, there is a deficit of tens of millions of taels of silver and hundreds of millions of stone of grain. With such a little money and grain sent by Shuzhong, he really wanted to break every grain of rice into a hundred copies and send it down, otherwise, it would not be enough to see at all. Now, even the money and grain in Shu have dried up, and he really doesn't have any source of money and food. What does it mean to have no money and no food? Idiots know.

Although the imperial court tried its best to cover up the news about the depletion of money and grain in Shuzhong, so as not to trigger the *** of Xi'an Mansion, there is no impermeable wall in the world. Soon, the relevant characters still knew the truth. Moreover, the truth about it, and the rumors born from the truth, seem to have wings, and are spreading wildly in Xi'an. I believe that it will not be long before all people will know.

"King of Shu...... Is there really no food? ”

Yang Sichang sighed slightly, frowned and said.

When he said this, his eyes were obviously a little angry and a little helpless.

The people present are helpless, you look at me, I look at you, I want to say something, but it's hard to say. Actually, the truth is clear to everyone. Only, even if the truth is known, so what? In the hands of the King of Shu, there must be money and food. However, the king of Shu was unwilling to take out all the grain, and they didn't seem to have a better way.

Shuzhong is known as the land of abundance, with a large number of fertile fields and a large number of grain harvests every year. Among them, under the name of the Shu Wangfu, there are at least 500,000 hectares (about 7.5 million mu) of fields, with an annual output of at least 500 stones. Over the years, the King of Shu has at least tens of millions of stones of grain in his hands. However, at the urging of Chongzhen, more than 3 million stones were only transferred, and it was deduced that there was no money and food.

"Shall we talk to the emperor?"

Chen Xinjia frowned and said a little unwillingly.

"I've said it twice, does it work?"

Wang Qiaonian said coldly.

In the hands of the King of Shu, there is obviously a large amount of grain, but he refuses to transfer it to Xi'an Mansion, such an act, in his opinion, is simply to be beheaded by the whole family. Even if it is the prince, the whole family will be beheaded. However, when this matter arrived at Chongzhen, it turned sour. At this time, Chongzhen was still unwilling to be charged with coercing relatives.

Without Emperor Chongzhen's edict, how could these people have the ability to ask the King of Shu to contribute all the grain? The king of Shu probably saw this one, so he had the courage to tell them that the grain in Shu had been exhausted.

"What is he doing with so much food? Is it to be dedicated to the Tiger Army? Didn't he know that after the Tiger Ben Army came, it was impossible for him to take anything with him? ”

After being silent for a moment, Chen Xinjia said a little stupidly.

The vision of the King of Shu is really worthy of sympathy!

"Rat-eyed."

Wang Qiaonian said coldly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't say more."

Yang Sichang said helplessly.

Chen Xinjia was very indignant, and naturally he would not close his mouth because of Yang Sichang's words. For the King of Shu, his opinion is indeed too big. If Emperor Chongzhen had permission, he would definitely not hesitate to copy the Shu Wangfu and take out all the wealth of the Shu Wangfu. It's a pity that he didn't have such an opportunity.

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside. A moment later, Shi Kefa, who was the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, hurriedly came in. Obviously, his face was a little flustered, and he tried to control his emotions as much as possible, but he never managed to control them. He looked at Yang Sichang and the others, and said with difficulty: "Ladies and gentlemen...... Something big is wrong......"

Yang Sichang frowned and said, "You say it slowly, don't be in a hurry." ”

Shi Kefa stammered: "Wu, Sangui, Wu, Sangui...... Rebellion! ”

"What?"

"Wu Sangui?"

"He's the other way around?"

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and all the members of the cabinet were stunned.

Even Fu Zonglong, who was relatively calm, couldn't help but stand up. As for the other three, they all stood up a long time ago. Chen Xinjia also subconsciously clenched the fist in his hand. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

If they want to say that Sun Chuanting rebelled, they were not particularly surprised, and if they could bear it, then they really couldn't bear Wu Sangui's rebellion. Because, Wu Sangui was almost the last straw that pressed on them.

Sun Chuanting's subordinates did not have their own officers and soldiers directly under him. Above him, there is also Hong Chengchou. Therefore, when Sun Chuanting defected to the Tiger Ben Army, he did not take away the military horses of the imperial court. However, Wu Sangui's subordinates were Liaodong cavalry with 5,000 men! Wu Sangui rebelled, and he must have pulled the 5,000 Liaodong cavalry into rebellion together.

Wu Sangui's 5,000 Liaodong cavalry is almost the strongest combat force in the imperial army at present. The cabinet has always relied on Wu Sangui quite a lot. The imperial court has always tried every possible way to win over Wu Sangui, to ensure his supply of money and food as much as possible, and to ensure the combat effectiveness of his troops. However, unexpectedly, Wu Sangui finally reversed.

"Calm down!"

Yang Sichang shouted in a deep voice.

Chen Xinjia and the others, you look at me, I look at you, they can't calm down quickly. They were inside the house, walking anxiously around. Chen Xinjia also hit each other with his hands from time to time, looking very frustrated and very excited. Obviously, he simply couldn't calm down. In fact, even if it is Yang Sichang himself, how can he calm down quickly?

The morale of the imperial army around Xi'an Mansion was already extremely low, and many soldiers secretly deserted or fled every day. The number of troops is decreasing by a few hundred every day. No matter how much the officers controlled, they could not be stopped. Later, some officers even ran away with formed troops.

The only people that the imperial court could control were the more senior officers. Especially after Sun Chuanting's defection, both Jinyiwei and Dongchang strengthened the monitoring of high-ranking officers in the army to prevent the emergence of a second Sun Chuanting. However, no one thought that Wu Sangui, whom they valued the most, would defect silently.

It is conceivable what kind of situation will happen once Wu Sangui starts. Now, the army of the imperial court is just a few people. Part of it is in the hands of Hong Chengchou, part of it is in the hands of Wang Kun, and part of it is in the hands of Cao Huachun.

However, no matter whose hands the army is in, it is already a fluctuating of people's hearts. The vast majority of the officers were quite desperate for the imperial court. As long as there is an opportunity, it is estimated that more officers, with their own troops, will join the ranks of defectors.

Money and food are the most basic needs of the army and the foundation of the army's combat effectiveness. Without money and food, even if you make every soldier a prince, it will be impossible. What's worse is that the current imperial court, what is most lacking is money and food.

What's even worse is that with the example of Wu Sangui, it is impossible for the imperial court to trust any officer. Among them, including Hong Chengchou. When Wu Sangui defected, the first thing that everyone thought of was whether Hong Chengchou would also defect? If Hong Chengchou also defects, the court will be directly finished.

[Sorry, there is only 1 more ...... today] (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to ***(***.***) to vote for recommendation, ***, your support is my biggest motivation. )