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After arriving in Beijing, he went straight to the official residence of the chief assistant.

Since no money was given to bribe the concierge, the concierge did not even accept invitations.

"Chong!"

Wang Diaoding pulled out his scribe sword, pointed the sword at Menzi's throat and said, "I am under the command of Zhao Tianwang, a giant bandit in Jiangxi. If the first assistant is missing, I will spread the words that the first assistant is colluding with the rebels. Zhang Shoufu will surely have his family ransacked and his family destroyed. You Don’t even think about running away from the gatekeeper!”

Rebels?

Menzi was so frightened that his head went blank. He wanted to kneel down, but he was afraid that his throat would be hurt by the sword, so he trembled all over and said, "Okay... good man, spare your life!"

"Quickly report!" Wang Diaoding put his sword back into its sheath.

Menzi fell limp to the ground in an instant, struggled twice, but couldn't stand up.

"Go!" Wang Diaoding scolded.

The doorman took the greeting card and crawled in panic, while the other gatekeepers had already hid far away.

After entering the door, the door was closed immediately, and then the door stood up with difficulty, and staggered to report.One by one, the greeting card was finally handed over to Chief Assistant Zhang Zhifa.

Hearing that the Jiangxi giant bandits who had been recruited for security had sent someone, Zhang Zhifa didn't dare to see him, and he didn't dare to see him again.He came to the gate in a panic, and asked through the door: "What is your honor coming to Beijing for?"

Wang Diaoding replied: "Tongzhi, the former commander of the Ming Dynasty, General Zhaoyong, and Zhao Yan, the commander-in-chief of Ji'an, wrote a handwritten letter and sent me to hand it to His Majesty in person. You should go to the palace to report, and go now to delay the matter." , your head is not safe!"

Zhang Zhifa thought something big had happened, and with Chongzhen's character, if he was delayed because of him, there was a very high possibility that his head would be lost.

"Prepare the sedan!"

The Chief Assistant was so frightened that he immediately went out and ran to the Forbidden City while it was dark.

When he came to Dong'an Gate, Zhang Zhifa said to the gate guard: "Please inform Your Majesty that there is an urgent matter in the cabinet, it is urgent!"

Seeing that Shoufu was in such a hurry, the guards thought that the Tartars were calling again, and were so frightened that they immediately ran to report, without bothering to collect the money.

It was passed on layer by layer, and Chongzhen summoned him immediately. When Zhang Zhifa saw the emperor, it was already completely dark.

"What happened again?" Chongzhen asked hastily.

Zhang Zhifa said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Yan, the General Soldier of Ji'an in Jiangxi Province, sent a messenger to the residence of the minister. He said that the letter was written by General Zhao himself and asked him to present it to His Majesty in person. I dare not let him in. This person is still in the residence of the minister. Wait at the door."

Chongzhen frowned, but at the same time he was curious, and immediately sent an order: "Bring this person into the palace!"

Wang Diaoding was searched for weapons and went straight to Qianqing Palace.

Seeing the emperor, Wang Tiaoding immediately knelt down and said, "King Tiaoding, magistrate of Luling County, kowtow to Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen asked suspiciously: "Are you the county magistrate of Daming, or Zhao Yan's magistrate?"

Wang Tiaoding replied: "I am the county magistrate of Daming. Not long after I took office, the rebels came to attack the city, and there were no soldiers under my command. I owed the king's kindness, which caused Daming to lose the city and land. In recent years, I have not really followed A thief, has been lecturing at Bailuzhou Academy."

Chongzhen didn't feel angry, or he was already numb.At least this county magistrate did not choose to be a bandit official, but only taught under the anti-bandit rule.

Moreover, the city attached to Guofu in Luling County should be the prefect of Ji'an who should be really held accountable.

If Chongzhen knew that two of the articles in "Datong Collection" were written by Wang Tiaoding, he would have dragged them to Lingchi on the spot.

The eunuch handed over a letter, which was found from Wang Diaoding.

"Is this Zhao Han's handwriting?" Chongzhen asked.

Wang Diaoding said, "Exactly."

Chongzhen opened the letter curiously, and his first reaction was that the writing was not bad, and it seemed that he was indeed a cultured traitor.

After the content is translated into the vernacular, it is roughly as follows: "My minister Zhao Yan, a poor scholar in Jishui. Corrupt officials exploited, gentry oppressed and oppressed, and they followed the example of the mantis in order to survive. Now the whole country is in a catastrophe. The officials and people in Jiangxi are united. The disaster is not very serious Serious. However, Nanzhili and Zhejiang have experienced severe drought for many years. Fathers and sons, brothers, and husbands and wives ate each other, and a large number of hungry people came to Jiangxi to beg. Jiangxi, Nanzhi, and Zhejiang grain merchants colluded and hoarded strange things. Ministers in Jiangxi were powerless to restrain them. Only by working together with Zhejiang officials can the price of rice in the south of the Yangtze River be stabilized. Your Majesty, please send a special inspector of grain to order the officials in Nanzhi and Zhejiang to supervise the collection of grain and disaster relief."

"Bastard!"

Chongzhen was furious, and scolded: "He is a general of Ji'an, and he wants to get involved in disaster relief in Zhizhi and Zhejiang. Do you want to replace him as emperor!"

Wang Tiaoding cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Yanzhi's original intention is really just to provide disaster relief."

Chongzhen sneered: "Say it!"

Wang Tiaoding said: "Zhao Zongbing wants to occupy Zhejiang, it is like searching for something. You can send troops from Guangxin Mansion, how can there be officers and soldiers in Zhejiang that can resist? Take Zhejiang, and then use the navy to attack Nanzhi. , the south of the Yangtze River is in his hands. Why would he bother to ask His Majesty to send the governor to Jiangnan for disaster relief?"

Although these words are ugly, they are true, and they are also the most worrying thing for the court.

Chongzhen asked: "What exactly does Zhao Yan intend to do?"

"Disaster relief, saving the people." Wang Diaoding replied.

The more Chongzhen listened, the more confused he became, and he didn't even hide his address: "He is a Jiangxi rebel, what does the disaster in Nanzhi and Zhejiang have to do with him?"

Wang Tiaoding's forehead touched the ground, and he prostrated himself and said, "I don't dare to say it."

"Say!" Chongzhen scolded.

"Zhao Yan is a great man. He has the heart to annex the universe and the ambition to help the world," Wang Diaoding said. "This year Jiangxi also had a catastrophe. Under Zhao Han's rule, the officers and soldiers were united. In the next year, floods and droughts raged, and the people suffered unspeakably. There were starvation riots in Raozhou and Duchang. Zhao Yan not only reduced taxes under his own rule, but also went to the government to help the people, and even ran out of money and food."

Chongzhen sneered: "This invitation buys people's hearts!"

Wang Tiaoding continued: "Your Majesty, several ministers have spoken bluntly, and Zhao Yan regards himself as an official. Although the hungry people in Nanzhi and Zhejiang are not under Zhao Yan's rule, they are also regarded by Zhao Yan as his own people. He is very kind to the people. OK……"

Chongzhen was not angry this time, but felt absurd and at the same time endlessly sad.

What kind of emperor is he doing?

Under the rule, the starving people could not be relieved, and they had to urge taxes crazily, and a rebel was allowed to worry about the people's livelihood.

Chongzhen said with a blank expression: "I have heard many people talk about Zhao Yan, and they all insist on their own words. It is difficult to distinguish the truth from the false. You should also evaluate this person."

Chapter 230 [Emperor and Empress]

Wang Diaoding is young, he must not have lived enough, how dare he speak the truth?

Immediately clasped his fists and said: "This Zhao Yan is an outstanding man, rare in this world. However, there are two disadvantages of his nature, one is circuitous, and the other is benevolence."

Chongzhen asked strangely: "Is benevolence also harmful?"

Wang Diaoding explained: "This benevolence is the benevolence of a woman. Your Majesty, do you know that Zhao Yan's army is flourishing, but he is still confined to half of Jiangxi?"

Chongzhen was a little sullen, what does it mean to be confined to half of Jiangxi?Is it too small to occupy half of Jiangxi?

Chongzhen did not answer, Wang Tiaoding could only continue to say: "The officials and soldiers under his command are all eager to fight, and they want to expand their private land and get promoted. However, Zhao Yan's wife's benevolence, every time a large-scale army is sent out, it must be in the summer harvest and autumn harvest. After that, the army will be stopped for at most two months. As he said, too many troops will make life difficult for the people. Is this not the benevolence of a woman? With his prestige and military strength, he could have swept Jiangxi two years ago."

"The bastard's words, the imperial court has many generals, how can he take Jiangxi as soon as he says it!" Chongzhen was furious.

Wang Diaoding quickly bowed his head, not daring to say any more.

In fact, Chongzhen already believed this, and combined with the evaluations of Chen Yuding, Liu Tongsheng and others, he outlined a vivid image of Zhao thief in his heart.

In Chongzhen's mind, Zhao Han was the kind of Confucian student who believed in "benevolence and righteousness".Because of his own experience, he hates the court and the big clan, but cares and loves the common people very much.Therefore, Zhao Han forcibly distributed the rich family's land to ordinary people.Even in the case of being able to occupy the whole of Jiangxi, because they were afraid of using too many troops and affecting the lives of the people, they only sent troops for one or two months each time, and they closed when they occupied a little territory.Never to force the common people to pay more taxes in order to expand the territory.

This is a traitor with ideals, morality, and responsibility, completely opposite to those like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

Seeing Wang Tiaoding kneeling on the ground, Chongzhen stopped his anger and asked: "This is the benevolence of a woman, so what is being circuitous?"

Wang Tiaoding said: "Zhao Yan is pedantic in doing things. He regards the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" as his standard, but those who break the law must be severely punished. It can be said that they are honest and honest officials. Because they were drunk and insulted a good prostitute, they were sentenced to hang in accordance with the "Law of the Ming Dynasty".

Chongzhen actually began to defend Zhao Han: "How can this be considered pedantic? If you are an official, you should obey the rules!"

Wang Tiaoding said: "Your Majesty, those who do great things don't care about trivial matters. Killing a clean and honest official for a good prostitute, causing many gentry to flee. This is really pedantic."

Chongzhen said angrily: "You scholars just don't obey the rules, and the world is like this! You should be killed, you should be killed!"

Zhao Han's image in Chongzhen's mind has added another "iron face and selflessness".

He is benevolent, righteous and caring for the people, and he is stern and selfless. It would be great if this kind of person came to be an official for me, but it is a pity that he turned out to be a traitor.It's all because the corrupt officials in Jiangxi forced a moral and well-behaved scholar to rebel!

Chongzhen asked again: "Are there many scholars in Jiangxi who follow the thieves?"

Wang Tiaoding replied: "There are also children of rich families who follow the thieves, but most of them are poor scholars. Jiangxi's literary style is at its peak, and poor families study more. Such scholars have no hope of imperial examinations, no way to serve the country, and no livelihood. Give them the land, so they flock to become thieves. Although Zhao Yan is pedantic, his servants are eclectic. Prostitutes, tortoises, and domestic slaves can all be officials. Rumor has it that the person who is in charge of money and food for him is Born as a slave."

"How well does this slave manage money and food?" Chongzhen asked curiously.

Wang Tiaoding replied: "Because of his lowly status, this slave is very grateful to Zhao Yan and works hard for the official. He learns from Zhao Yan in everything he does. They don't keep slaves, they only live on salary, and they pass countless money and food without taking a cent."

"I am also diligent and frugal in government, why are all officials corrupt, and there are so many honest officials under Zhao Yan?" Chongzhen was very interested in this, and asked, "How does Zhao Yan rectify the administration of officials?"

Wang Tiaoding replied: "Zhao Yan employs people regardless of their background. Even if you raise someone to be an official, you must start from a small official. If you have meritorious service, you must be rewarded, and if you have done it, you must be punished. Every year there are corrupt officials. At least he will be assigned as a miner."

Chongzhen frowned, making it even more incomprehensible. He must be rewarded for meritorious deeds and punished for his deeds. How come all the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty are corrupt officials?

Chongzhen really couldn't figure it out, he was diligent and frugal, and never made large-scale construction projects, and the imperial palace was leaking, so he couldn't bear to spend money to repair it.The emperors of the Ming Dynasty all took money from the treasury for private use, but he used money from his own private house to raise soldiers. When it comes to selflessness for the country, he is No. 1 among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

A good emperor like him, why is the country turned into such a situation?

Even God punished him. He was already in financial distress, and this year there was a national catastrophe. Rich people like Nanzhili and Zhejiang cannibalize people.

Suddenly, Chongzhen lost all interest in talking, waved and said, "Let's go."

Wang Diaoding did not dare to say much, and was taken away from the Forbidden City by the eunuch.

When Chongzhen went to Queen Zhou, he just sat there without saying a word.

Empress Zhou sighed secretly, came behind Chongzhen, and silently pressed Chongzhen's shoulders and back.She didn't dare to say more, because it was useless to say it.In history, when Beijing was besieged, Chongzhen ordered his concubine to commit suicide. Empress Zhou finally complained: "I have been married to you for 18 years, and you didn't listen to a word, so you have come to this point."

Empress Zhou hinted that Chongzhen moved south, but Chongzhen just pretended not to understand.

"Am I the king of subjugation?" Chongzhen asked suddenly.

Empress Zhou didn't dare to tell the truth, and she didn't dare to point out Chongzhen's fault. She only comforted: "Your Majesty is diligent in government and loves the people, and he is not a king of subjugation."

Chongzhen stared blankly at the candlelight, and whispered: "Nanzhi, Zhejiang disaster, people eat each other. Jiangxi rebels want to join hands with me to stabilize food prices, but I have been urging taxes in these two places. I even have one Is it worse than rebels? How to train troops and suppress thieves without taxation?"

Empress Zhou comforted and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, you can send capable ministers..."

"Where is the capable minister?" Chongzhen suddenly interrupted, "The civil and military officials in the whole dynasty are all greedy for the contemptible, even the slaves under the Zhao thief! The slaves are in charge of the money and food for the Zhao thief. What about my ministers? I really don’t know, half of the nine borders have disappeared before leaving Beijing. Civilian officials and military generals are greedy for money, and the eunuchs I sent to supervise the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry are also greedy for money. No one is obedient , should be killed! Let’s say that Wang Yongzhong, I let him guard Jiangxi, but didn’t let him collect taxes, and was beaten to death by merchants for extorting money!”

Empress Zhou didn't know how to persuade her, she just felt sorry for her husband, who had been too tired all these years.

How much she wished her husband would not be the emperor, but still be the trustworthy king before.She was sitting in front of the dressing table, Xinwang secretly pulled her hair, she was startled by the movement and suddenly turned her head, her hair flung Xinwang's face.The eunuch was too frightened to speak, but King Xin laughed.

At that time, King Xin was so cheerful and funny, but now the emperor is irritable and irritable.

"It should be killed, it should be killed!"

In the middle of the night, Empress Zhou was startled awake, and after listening to a few more sounds, it was the emperor who was talking in her sleep.

Empress Zhou burst into tears.She didn't dare to cry, she just shed tears silently, holding her husband's hand to give some comfort.

The next morning.

Chongzhen received an emergency military situation, and Li Zicheng surrounded Chengdu, which made him feel incredible.Because of the military situation a few days ago, it was Li Zicheng who surrounded Hanzhong.

In just [-] days, Li Zicheng's main force quickly crossed the Qinling Mountains and arrived outside Chengdu from Hanzhong!

How does this make the bandit suppressing officers and soldiers chase after them?

Yang Sichang's strategy of spreading the net on all sides leaked like a sieve, and the officers and soldiers could only eat ashes behind the rogue's ass.

However, Xiong Wencan was still very strong. Not long after he ran to become the prime minister of the six provinces, he actually "surrendered" Zhang Xianzhong.

It's just that Zhang Xianzhong's surrender was even more nonsense than Zhao Han's.

This guy is injured in battle, and it is not convenient to run around, and he is also idle when he is idle, so he will act with the court.While accepting the recruitment, while preparing the army for war, there is still time to invite someone to lecture on "The Art of War by Sun Tzu".

Really, Zhang Xianzhong started to read, to be precise, he listened to books.

And don't listen to "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", just listen to scholars' serious military strategies.

Chongzhen ordered the front soldiers to rush into Sichuan to suppress the thieves, and then sent someone to transfer Wang Diaoding's information.

A child prodigy who was a scholar at the age of 11, he was awarded a Jinshi at a young age.When he was the county magistrate in Beizhili, his achievements included suppressing bandits, building cities, calming the people, and persuading farming.

Those bastards in the official department are so capable ministers, why didn't they transfer to the central government as officials?

Wang Tiaoding waited and waited for more than half a month, and finally waited for Emperor Chongzhen's reply.

The Minister of the Nanjing Household Department and Zuo Shilang were imprisoned for questioning.Li Xuan, the right servant of the Nanjing household department, was promoted to the secretary of the Nanjing household department in place, and gave Shang Fang a sword to supervise the disaster relief in Nanzhili and Zhejiang.

As for joining forces with the Jiangxi thief Zhao to stabilize food prices, there was no mention of this matter, and Chongzhen couldn't afford to lose that person.

"Ugh!"

Wang Diaoding sighed, although he had expected it, he still felt sad.

If the imperial court does not cooperate with Jiangxi, the food price will definitely not be suppressed, and Zhao Han has nothing to do about it.Even if the grain merchants in Jiangxi are forced to sell the grain quickly, the grain merchants in the south of the Yangtze River will inevitably not ship.

Moreover, Wang Tiaoding was unable to leave Beijing, and he was appointed by Chongzhen as an official to Shizhong.

Wang Diaoding was very speechless, this official position is useful.

In the late Ming Dynasty, there were no more than two kinds of officials.One is to accumulate reputation by trolling people, and the other is to attack political opponents by trolling people.There are very few people who really offer advice and suggestions, and Chongzhen basically doesn't listen, which leads to fewer serious discussions.