Chongzhen Sunset Song
Chapter 103
?one
In March, another season of spring blossoms.But one piece of ominous news came one after another. It was as if dark clouds gathered over the palace all day long, making the whole Forbidden City cold, quiet and quiet.Jiang Guan, the general of Datong, surrendered to Li Zicheng's offensive without a fight, and gave up the city. Eight days later, Xuanfu was easily captured because of the defection of the soldiers.The Xuanda line of defense that Lu Xiangsheng held on in the past has completely disintegrated, and the rebel army is only one step away from Gyeonggi.
Above the court, the monarch and his subjects were relatively silent.King Qin's army was blocked on the way, and it took a long time to come to rescue. After years of fighting, the Gyeonggi defenders only had some old and weak soldiers left. Compared with the menacing peasant army, they were weak.If you don't increase your troops to defend against the enemy, I'm afraid you will have to sit and wait for death.But the national treasury has long been stretched, not to mention the increase in troops, even the existing soldiers will not be able to pay their salaries.All the ministers in the hall were expecting the worst, and they kept silent; Chongzhen didn't see any useful countermeasures, so he simply kept silent, facing the layers of battle reports, only a heavy sigh remained.
"Greetings to the emperor."
After the next dynasty, the Wuying Hall warmed up.Chongzhen heard the voice, raised his head slightly, and saw Wang Chengen standing respectfully at the door.
"Come in." Chongzhen responded casually, and continued to browse the memorial.Wang Chengen bowed into the room, bowed to Chongzhen, thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, the situation in the capital is quite critical now, and the defenders are weak, and they cannot compete with the ferocious bandits. If there is no more troops, I am afraid that the capital will fall into chaos." Desperate..."
"It's not like you don't know about the financial difficulties, so why are you raising troops?" Chongzhen turned his eyes to Wang Chengen, and frowned slightly.
Wang Chengen smiled modestly, and did not answer right away, but just reached out and took out a stack of tissue paper from his pocket and presented it to him.Chongzhen took a closer look, and what Wang Chengen was holding was actually a stack of bank notes.Chongzhen was startled, then raised his head suddenly, only to see that the corners of Wang Chengen's eyes were wrinkled, and he smiled calmly. "The servant girl knows that it is difficult to raise the army's salary, but the number of soldiers has to be increased, so after much deliberation, the only way to gather money quickly is to call on the officials to collect donations. The servant girl is willing to donate 5 taels of silver first, for the sake of peace Do your best." As he spoke, he lowered his body and placed the bank note safely on the dragon case in front of Chongzhen.
5 taels is really not a small amount. Chongzhen looked at the stack of banknotes and was amazed that Wang Chengen was able to give away so much silver taels, and even more surprised that he, an eunuch, was willing to give away so much personal wealth for Daming.Chongzhen pursed his lips and was about to answer, but before Chongzhen could say anything, Wang Chengen cut off the conversation without any trace: "Slaves are no more than mere ministers. Where did the money come from? The emperor must have a clear mind. These I have received the emperor's generosity and love over the years, and it is time for the servants to repay the emperor. I hope that the 5 taels will be used to encourage all the officials in the court to contribute their money, raise money, and guard the capital, so as to overcome the current difficulties and resolve the emperor's urgent needs."
Facing Wang Chengen's face that was so familiar, and facing this stack of money that is not fair but will eventually be used to save the Daming Shrine, Chongzhen was silent, but he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.I think that in normal times, the officials talk about the spring and autumn righteousness, loyalty to the country and the emperor, which would almost overflow the court, but now they have all become low-key submissives, prudence and self-defense.As a courtier and high-ranking official, is he not as good as this self-proclaimed slave Wang Chengen... Chongzhen's eyes darkened, and he forced a smile and said: "I am very moved by your sincerity, but I don't know how many people in the court can be as good as you?" For my sake..."
"Your Majesty is serious." Wang Cheng'en looked up, bowed deeply, and opened his mouth again, as if he had a well-thought-out plan, "I have roughly thought about this matter, and others dare not speak nonsense, but Jiading Bo Zhou Kui's family has a lot of money, which can be called rich." Party A is also the head of the state, and the affairs of the Ming Dynasty are not only state affairs, but also family affairs for him, the emperor sent someone to persuade him, and he will surely be able to raise a large amount of military pay."
"Well... what you said is reasonable, I will send someone to try it." Chongzhen pondered for a while, nodded, and smiled faintly.Although this smile is faint and light, it is a brilliance that is hard to see since Nanqian's premature death.
two
On the second day, Wang Chengen donated another 5 taels of silver, and got more or less money from the seals of the supervisors. When he was looking for Li Quan's money, he found that the room was empty, and he only pressed it with a paperweight on the table. 2 taels of bank notes, but the person has long since disappeared.But in contrast, the silver taels donated by the officials of the outer court were sporadic and pitifully small.The ministers cried poorly with snot and tears, and Wei Zaode, the new chief assistant who succeeded Chen Yan, barely donated 500 taels, while Zhou Kui, the head of the state, barely donated 1 taels after the eunuchs sent by Chongzhen acted hard and softly.Although these silver can also be used to make up for the lack of military pay, how can they support the defenders against the tiger and wolf divisions that are about to swarm.So on March [-]th, Li Zicheng led the peasant army to Juyongguan. The defenders had neither the heart nor the strength to resist. They guarded the last checkpoint in Beijing, and it was easily broken without any accidents.
How to do?How to do!
As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar all over the court.Although this was a foreseeable situation, it finally fell into this precarious situation, and people finally began to panic like ants on a hot pot. From the court officials to the people in the capital, everyone ran their own way to save their lives. In this way, no one cares about the state of the country anymore, and no one has even a glimmer of hope for the future of Daming.
Only Chongzhen didn't seem to panic.Early the next morning, Chongzhen was still dark as before, so he got up, washed and changed his clothes, and prepared to go to court.The court lady Hong Xing held the bright yellow brocade dragon robe, skillfully put it on for Chongzhen, and tied the belt tightly with a double dragon knot.Xizhao carefully put on the crown of black gauze wings embroidered with gold threads for Chongzhen, and followed Chongzhen out of the Hall of Martial Heroes, followed the dragon chariot, and headed for the Hall of Emperor Ji together.But before he left the gate of Wuying Hall, he saw the eunuch on duty at Yihuangji Hall hurried to the side of the dragon chariot, with an embarrassed expression on his face and wanted to report something, but he couldn't tell what he was holding back.Xizhao asked what was the matter, the eunuch swallowed his saliva, and had to lean into Xizhao's ear and whispered a few words.
"What?!" Xizhao was startled when she heard the words, and hurriedly approached Chongzhen, and whispered the news to Chongzhen again. "Your Majesty, look at this morning..." After finishing speaking, Xi Zhao asked cautiously.
The carriages of honor have already stopped.Chongzhen in the dragon chariot did not answer, and there was only a dim silence on the passage.Xi Zhao couldn't help clenching her fists, her chest felt painful, she was worried about the emperor's mood after hearing the news, but it was difficult to distinguish Chong Zhen's face hidden in the dark morning light.After a long time, Chongzhen's plain and emotionless will came out from the dragon's chariot:
"Go to the Emperor Palace."
The situation in the Huangji Palace is exactly as the eunuch who reported the letter said.The hour has long passed, but none of the courtiers who were supposed to greet him in the palace came.Chongzhen walked into the hall slowly, sitting on the dragon chair like every morning, calmly facing this embarrassing embarrassment without anger or sadness.In the past, the crowds were nowhere to be found, but now there is only a dark and empty space left in the hall, like an endless ocean in the night, the wind is calm and the waves are calm, but there are wisps of death in the depths of the silence , It was so quiet that it made people despair.Seeing this scene, the eunuchs outside the door whispered anxiously.Xi Zhao frowned, signaling others to keep silent, and sent the little eunuch beside him to wait for the news at the Meridian Gate.Outside the gate and inside the palace, they waited together like this. No one understood the meaning of this waiting, and no one understood why the emperor, who is the son of heaven, condescended to face this predicament and wait for the unfaithful, unrighteous, and disobedient ones. The courtiers who will never appear again.Time passed by minute by minute, quietly, the sunset looked at the direction of the Meridian Gate from time to time, and then looked at Chongzhen in the hall, not daring to think about how cold his heart should be under the normal expression; Not only for those courtiers who have different opinions and are timid and afraid of getting into trouble, but more, probably because of the emptiness in front of them, from the inside to the outside, there is no ray of possible future.About half an hour later, the little eunuch sent to the Meridian Gate finally ran back to report the letter, Xi Zhao let out a soft breath, feeling an uncontrollable exhaustion all over his body in an instant, feeling that the wait was so long, She looks like a lifetime away, like a hundred years ago.
"Your Majesty, forgive me..." "The old minister is quite unwell this morning..." "My minister's home is far away, and he was blocked by the fleeing crowd on the way..."
After a while, a few courtiers were led into the hall by the eunuch. Seeing that the emperor was already waiting in the hall, they hurriedly knelt down and explained why they were late.But Chongzhen still listened quietly, not even twitching his eyebrows.After these people finished their chatter, Chongzhen suddenly let out an inaudible sigh, as if he had finally waited for this explanation, he stood up from the dragon chair, straightened his slightly crooked clothes, and said nothing He walked out of the hall slowly.
From the Huangji Hall to the Wuying Hall, Chongzhen remained silent, and Xizhao didn't dare to talk to him, so he had to pretend that everything was as usual, followed Chongzhen to the Nuan Pavilion, and then took off the clothes that Chongzhen wore when he was in court one by one. gorgeous dress.Just when Xizhao untied the belt of the dragon robe, but seeing Chongzhen's Adam's apple sank, from the upper court to the lower court, he finally spoke the first sentence.
"Dexiu."
"Yes." Xi Zhao responded quickly.
"Follow me out of the palace."
In March, another season of spring blossoms.But one piece of ominous news came one after another. It was as if dark clouds gathered over the palace all day long, making the whole Forbidden City cold, quiet and quiet.Jiang Guan, the general of Datong, surrendered to Li Zicheng's offensive without a fight, and gave up the city. Eight days later, Xuanfu was easily captured because of the defection of the soldiers.The Xuanda line of defense that Lu Xiangsheng held on in the past has completely disintegrated, and the rebel army is only one step away from Gyeonggi.
Above the court, the monarch and his subjects were relatively silent.King Qin's army was blocked on the way, and it took a long time to come to rescue. After years of fighting, the Gyeonggi defenders only had some old and weak soldiers left. Compared with the menacing peasant army, they were weak.If you don't increase your troops to defend against the enemy, I'm afraid you will have to sit and wait for death.But the national treasury has long been stretched, not to mention the increase in troops, even the existing soldiers will not be able to pay their salaries.All the ministers in the hall were expecting the worst, and they kept silent; Chongzhen didn't see any useful countermeasures, so he simply kept silent, facing the layers of battle reports, only a heavy sigh remained.
"Greetings to the emperor."
After the next dynasty, the Wuying Hall warmed up.Chongzhen heard the voice, raised his head slightly, and saw Wang Chengen standing respectfully at the door.
"Come in." Chongzhen responded casually, and continued to browse the memorial.Wang Chengen bowed into the room, bowed to Chongzhen, thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, the situation in the capital is quite critical now, and the defenders are weak, and they cannot compete with the ferocious bandits. If there is no more troops, I am afraid that the capital will fall into chaos." Desperate..."
"It's not like you don't know about the financial difficulties, so why are you raising troops?" Chongzhen turned his eyes to Wang Chengen, and frowned slightly.
Wang Chengen smiled modestly, and did not answer right away, but just reached out and took out a stack of tissue paper from his pocket and presented it to him.Chongzhen took a closer look, and what Wang Chengen was holding was actually a stack of bank notes.Chongzhen was startled, then raised his head suddenly, only to see that the corners of Wang Chengen's eyes were wrinkled, and he smiled calmly. "The servant girl knows that it is difficult to raise the army's salary, but the number of soldiers has to be increased, so after much deliberation, the only way to gather money quickly is to call on the officials to collect donations. The servant girl is willing to donate 5 taels of silver first, for the sake of peace Do your best." As he spoke, he lowered his body and placed the bank note safely on the dragon case in front of Chongzhen.
5 taels is really not a small amount. Chongzhen looked at the stack of banknotes and was amazed that Wang Chengen was able to give away so much silver taels, and even more surprised that he, an eunuch, was willing to give away so much personal wealth for Daming.Chongzhen pursed his lips and was about to answer, but before Chongzhen could say anything, Wang Chengen cut off the conversation without any trace: "Slaves are no more than mere ministers. Where did the money come from? The emperor must have a clear mind. These I have received the emperor's generosity and love over the years, and it is time for the servants to repay the emperor. I hope that the 5 taels will be used to encourage all the officials in the court to contribute their money, raise money, and guard the capital, so as to overcome the current difficulties and resolve the emperor's urgent needs."
Facing Wang Chengen's face that was so familiar, and facing this stack of money that is not fair but will eventually be used to save the Daming Shrine, Chongzhen was silent, but he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.I think that in normal times, the officials talk about the spring and autumn righteousness, loyalty to the country and the emperor, which would almost overflow the court, but now they have all become low-key submissives, prudence and self-defense.As a courtier and high-ranking official, is he not as good as this self-proclaimed slave Wang Chengen... Chongzhen's eyes darkened, and he forced a smile and said: "I am very moved by your sincerity, but I don't know how many people in the court can be as good as you?" For my sake..."
"Your Majesty is serious." Wang Cheng'en looked up, bowed deeply, and opened his mouth again, as if he had a well-thought-out plan, "I have roughly thought about this matter, and others dare not speak nonsense, but Jiading Bo Zhou Kui's family has a lot of money, which can be called rich." Party A is also the head of the state, and the affairs of the Ming Dynasty are not only state affairs, but also family affairs for him, the emperor sent someone to persuade him, and he will surely be able to raise a large amount of military pay."
"Well... what you said is reasonable, I will send someone to try it." Chongzhen pondered for a while, nodded, and smiled faintly.Although this smile is faint and light, it is a brilliance that is hard to see since Nanqian's premature death.
two
On the second day, Wang Chengen donated another 5 taels of silver, and got more or less money from the seals of the supervisors. When he was looking for Li Quan's money, he found that the room was empty, and he only pressed it with a paperweight on the table. 2 taels of bank notes, but the person has long since disappeared.But in contrast, the silver taels donated by the officials of the outer court were sporadic and pitifully small.The ministers cried poorly with snot and tears, and Wei Zaode, the new chief assistant who succeeded Chen Yan, barely donated 500 taels, while Zhou Kui, the head of the state, barely donated 1 taels after the eunuchs sent by Chongzhen acted hard and softly.Although these silver can also be used to make up for the lack of military pay, how can they support the defenders against the tiger and wolf divisions that are about to swarm.So on March [-]th, Li Zicheng led the peasant army to Juyongguan. The defenders had neither the heart nor the strength to resist. They guarded the last checkpoint in Beijing, and it was easily broken without any accidents.
How to do?How to do!
As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar all over the court.Although this was a foreseeable situation, it finally fell into this precarious situation, and people finally began to panic like ants on a hot pot. From the court officials to the people in the capital, everyone ran their own way to save their lives. In this way, no one cares about the state of the country anymore, and no one has even a glimmer of hope for the future of Daming.
Only Chongzhen didn't seem to panic.Early the next morning, Chongzhen was still dark as before, so he got up, washed and changed his clothes, and prepared to go to court.The court lady Hong Xing held the bright yellow brocade dragon robe, skillfully put it on for Chongzhen, and tied the belt tightly with a double dragon knot.Xizhao carefully put on the crown of black gauze wings embroidered with gold threads for Chongzhen, and followed Chongzhen out of the Hall of Martial Heroes, followed the dragon chariot, and headed for the Hall of Emperor Ji together.But before he left the gate of Wuying Hall, he saw the eunuch on duty at Yihuangji Hall hurried to the side of the dragon chariot, with an embarrassed expression on his face and wanted to report something, but he couldn't tell what he was holding back.Xizhao asked what was the matter, the eunuch swallowed his saliva, and had to lean into Xizhao's ear and whispered a few words.
"What?!" Xizhao was startled when she heard the words, and hurriedly approached Chongzhen, and whispered the news to Chongzhen again. "Your Majesty, look at this morning..." After finishing speaking, Xi Zhao asked cautiously.
The carriages of honor have already stopped.Chongzhen in the dragon chariot did not answer, and there was only a dim silence on the passage.Xi Zhao couldn't help clenching her fists, her chest felt painful, she was worried about the emperor's mood after hearing the news, but it was difficult to distinguish Chong Zhen's face hidden in the dark morning light.After a long time, Chongzhen's plain and emotionless will came out from the dragon's chariot:
"Go to the Emperor Palace."
The situation in the Huangji Palace is exactly as the eunuch who reported the letter said.The hour has long passed, but none of the courtiers who were supposed to greet him in the palace came.Chongzhen walked into the hall slowly, sitting on the dragon chair like every morning, calmly facing this embarrassing embarrassment without anger or sadness.In the past, the crowds were nowhere to be found, but now there is only a dark and empty space left in the hall, like an endless ocean in the night, the wind is calm and the waves are calm, but there are wisps of death in the depths of the silence , It was so quiet that it made people despair.Seeing this scene, the eunuchs outside the door whispered anxiously.Xi Zhao frowned, signaling others to keep silent, and sent the little eunuch beside him to wait for the news at the Meridian Gate.Outside the gate and inside the palace, they waited together like this. No one understood the meaning of this waiting, and no one understood why the emperor, who is the son of heaven, condescended to face this predicament and wait for the unfaithful, unrighteous, and disobedient ones. The courtiers who will never appear again.Time passed by minute by minute, quietly, the sunset looked at the direction of the Meridian Gate from time to time, and then looked at Chongzhen in the hall, not daring to think about how cold his heart should be under the normal expression; Not only for those courtiers who have different opinions and are timid and afraid of getting into trouble, but more, probably because of the emptiness in front of them, from the inside to the outside, there is no ray of possible future.About half an hour later, the little eunuch sent to the Meridian Gate finally ran back to report the letter, Xi Zhao let out a soft breath, feeling an uncontrollable exhaustion all over his body in an instant, feeling that the wait was so long, She looks like a lifetime away, like a hundred years ago.
"Your Majesty, forgive me..." "The old minister is quite unwell this morning..." "My minister's home is far away, and he was blocked by the fleeing crowd on the way..."
After a while, a few courtiers were led into the hall by the eunuch. Seeing that the emperor was already waiting in the hall, they hurriedly knelt down and explained why they were late.But Chongzhen still listened quietly, not even twitching his eyebrows.After these people finished their chatter, Chongzhen suddenly let out an inaudible sigh, as if he had finally waited for this explanation, he stood up from the dragon chair, straightened his slightly crooked clothes, and said nothing He walked out of the hall slowly.
From the Huangji Hall to the Wuying Hall, Chongzhen remained silent, and Xizhao didn't dare to talk to him, so he had to pretend that everything was as usual, followed Chongzhen to the Nuan Pavilion, and then took off the clothes that Chongzhen wore when he was in court one by one. gorgeous dress.Just when Xizhao untied the belt of the dragon robe, but seeing Chongzhen's Adam's apple sank, from the upper court to the lower court, he finally spoke the first sentence.
"Dexiu."
"Yes." Xi Zhao responded quickly.
"Follow me out of the palace."
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