Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 568 Wu Xiang
"Your Majesty..."

"What's the matter?" Emperor Chongzhen looked a little unhappy. Today, he had a rare opportunity to come to Concubine Tian's palace to enjoy the happiness of father and son with his young son. At this time, Wang Chengen ran out, which was really a bit disappointing.

However, Emperor Chongzhen was a man of great willpower. He never dared to neglect his duties since he ascended the throne. He also knew that if Wang Chengen had nothing important to do, he would not come to disturb him at this time.

Wang Chengen raised his eyes and cast a glance towards Concubine Tian, ​​then said, "An urgent report has just arrived from Liaodong. The emperor has ordered that any incident in Liaodong must be reported to the emperor immediately. This servant is..."

Wang Chengen said this as both a report and an explanation to Concubine Tian. After all, Concubine Tian was the most honorable person in the harem besides the Queen, and the Fifth Prince was also the most beloved by Emperor Chongzhen, and maybe he could inherit the throne in the future.

Although Wang Chengen was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, he was just a eunuch after all, and Emperor Chongzhen was very wary of eunuchs. Therefore, it was better for him to avoid offending people, especially nobles like Concubine Tian. But he could not disobey the emperor's instructions, so he could only use this method to express his attitude.

"What happened in Liaodong?" asked Emperor Chongzhen with a frown.

"This... I don't know, but I guess since Liaodong has sent urgent news, it must not be a trivial matter." Wang Chengen said this with bitterness in his heart. As the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, it stands to reason that things like government affairs and military reports should be sent to the Imperial Household Department first, and then submitted to the emperor after the Imperial Household Department has reviewed them and discussed with the cabinet.

But after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, this rule was changed. The current Silijian has long been unworthy of its name and has become a rubber stamp in the hands of the emperor. Not to mention the Silijian, even the cabinet is not much better. The prime ministers and cabinet elders are replaced like lanterns. It is really not easy to work under this master.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded. Wang Chengen's words were exactly what he was thinking. Looking at the fifth prince still in his arms, Emperor Chongzhen sighed. He had originally planned to stay in Concubine Tian's palace today, but after all, state affairs were important, so he had to give up.

Although Concubine Tian was reluctant, she pretended to be very reasonable and told Emperor Chongzhen that since there were state affairs, the emperor should go and handle them. However, the emperor worked day and night and had to take care of his health. She would go to the small kitchen to make a bowl of ginseng soup for the emperor to refresh him.

Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied after hearing this. He handed the fifth prince to Concubine Tian, ​​then stood up and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my beloved concubine. I will go to take care of state affairs now. I will come to see you and Huan'er when I am free."

"Your Majesty, I respectfully bid you farewell..." Concubine Tian held the fifth prince and escorted Emperor Chongzhen out of the harem, then turned back.

After returning to the palace, Concubine Tian handed the fifth prince to the wet nurse and asked her to take him to rest first, while she was in a daze, as if she was thinking about something. After a long time, she came to her senses, changed into light clothes, and went to the small kitchen to work.

Returning to the side hall of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen saw the urgent report that had just been sent from Liaodong. After reading the report, Emperor Chongzhen frowned and looked very ugly.

"This damn Jian slave! Can't you just leave me alone?" Unable to help but curse inwardly, Emperor Chongzhen was furious. He hated Huang Taiji in Liaodong to the core. Compared with the old slave Nurhaci before, Emperor Chongzhen wanted to skin this guy alive to relieve his hatred.

After Huang Taiji took control of Liaodong and ascended the throne of the Later Jin, the Ming Dynasty was increasingly at a disadvantage in its military confrontation with Liaodong. Of course, this was due to Yuan Chonghuan, but it was also true that Huang Taiji was more difficult to deal with than Nurhaci. Not only did this guy secure the position of Khan in a very short time, he also brought unprecedented damage to the Ming Dynasty.

All along, the war took place in Liaodong and never crossed Shanhaiguan. But Huang Taiji broke into the Great Wall and led his troops directly to the capital. This was a huge change that had not happened in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.

The Ji Si Rebellion brought enormous losses to the Ming Dynasty and was the first time that Emperor Chongzhen felt a great crisis. Although Huang Taiji eventually led his troops to retreat, this incident left an indelible impression on Emperor Chongzhen, and he became more wary of the Jiannu in Liaodong.

According to the urgent report just sent from Liaodong, the Jiannu in Liaodong are beginning to stir again and seem to be showing signs of sending troops.

At present, the military strength of Liaodong is insufficient. On the one hand, in the Battle of Dalinghhe, the Ming army suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Jiannu, and even Zu Dashou almost didn't escape back.

On the other hand, due to the rebellion of Kong Youde in Leiden and the successive rebellions in Guanglu Island, the Liao army also suffered losses in the process of suppressing the rebellions. Some troops were transferred to the interior by Emperor Chongzhen to suppress the rebellion and encircle and suppress bandits, including Cao Wenzhao's uncle and nephew, which also weakened the military strength in Liaodong.

Now Liaodong speculates that Huang Taiji will make a major military move next, but it is not possible to determine where he will attack. However, judging from the previous situation, there are only two goals: one is to attack the Guanning Army directly at Shanhaiguan, and the other is to bypass Mongolia and directly cross Shanhaiguan to attack Zhili as in the Jisi Incident.

No matter which direction, it is not a good thing. Moreover, after the loss of strength, the Guanning Army can only barely protect itself, and there is no spare energy to withdraw more troops to garrison Jizhou. The situation is urgent, and Liaodong can only pass the situation to Emperor Chongzhen, and let Emperor Chongzhen make a holy judgment. After seeing the content of the urgent report, Emperor Chongzhen was angry and annoyed, but at the same time felt powerless.

After thinking for a while, Emperor Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen who was waiting beside him: "Draft an order to let General Hei Yunlong lead the Xuanfu Border Army to enter Zhili to protect the capital to prevent any accidents. Also order the Guanning Army still in Shandong to quickly return to Shanhaiguan to prevent the Jiannu from moving south..."

"By the way, pass on the order to Cao Wenzhao, Hong Chengchou and others, and ask them to wipe out the Shaanxi bandits as soon as possible. There must be no mistakes!"

"I obey your order." Wang Chengen responded quickly and went downstairs to draft the order. After he finished writing it, he showed it to Emperor Chongzhen. After Emperor Chongzhen said there was no problem, he printed it out and issued it.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought of something and called out to Wang Chengen.

"By the way, is Wu Xiang still in Shandong?"

"Your Majesty, General Wu is in Shandong."

"When you send someone to deliver my decree, please also tell Wu Xiang that I have given him a message. Ask him to come to the capital before returning to Liaodong. I want to see Wu Xiang."

"I understand. I'll arrange it right away." Wang Chengen responded, and then when she saw that Emperor Chongzhen had no other instructions, she withdrew.

After Wang Chengen left, Emperor Chongzhen sat in a side hall, not knowing what he was thinking.

He has ascended the throne since he was seventeen years old, and now he is almost twenty-four years old. Twenty-four should be the best age in life, but this emperor of the Ming Empire, who rules the world, is like an old man, with even white hair on his temples.

After serving as emperor for so many years, Emperor Chongzhen went from being high-spirited and energetic at the beginning to being numb and powerless now, and he felt extremely tired. For state affairs, he had to work for nearly seven or eight hours a day, and apart from eating and sleeping, he had no entertainment at all.

Even when eating and sleeping, Emperor Chongzhen often could not rest. He woke up from his dreams countless times. After opening his eyes, he was tired but could not fall asleep again. He waited with his eyes open until the sky in the east gradually brightened, and then continued to work hard.

Emperor Chongzhen was so diligent in his work, but he did not see any improvement. He was very anxious. He even asked himself many times, is he really not suitable to be an emperor? Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, except for Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, which emperor was as diligent as himself? But the situation did not improve at all under his rule, but got worse and worse. This was something Emperor Chongzhen could not understand. And he was a very strong-willed person. The more he was like this, the more unwilling he was. In his opinion, he must be able to turn the tide and restore the glory of the Ming Dynasty. As long as he solved the Liaodong issue and quelled the rebellion internally, and there were no external and internal troubles, he could recuperate and the Ming Dynasty would surely become strong again.

Taking a deep breath, Emperor Chongzhen tried to cheer himself up and continued to devote himself to his busy work. He hardly slept that night, and only took a short nap in the early morning. After daybreak, he washed his face and had breakfast, and then Emperor Chongzhen began a new day of meeting with ministers and discussing government affairs and military affairs. Just like in the past, he had no time to rest.

A few days later, Wu Xiang, who received the imperial edict, handed over the troops to his son Wu Sangui and returned to Shanhaiguan first, while he arrived in the capital in a dusty state.

On the second day after arriving in the capital, the emperor Chongzhen sent an order to meet Wu Xiang. Wu Xiang accepted the order and entered the palace, but this time the emperor did not summon him to the platform, but changed the venue directly to the side hall of the Qianqing Palace. This was Wu Xiang's first visit to this place.

When Wu Xiang was led into the side hall by Wang Chengen, he saw Emperor Chongzhen looking at him. When he saw the emperor, Wu Xiang hurriedly called out his name and bowed to the emperor. Emperor Chongzhen was still very polite to Wu Xiang, smiled and asked him to stand up and gave him a seat.

Wu Xiang sat down nervously. He didn't know why Emperor Chongzhen summoned him, and he didn't understand why he was called from Shandong. But seeing Emperor Chongzhen's gentle attitude, he felt relieved and waited quietly for the emperor's questions.

Emperor Chongzhen chatted with Wu Xiang in a friendly manner and asked about his family situation. Wu Xiang naturally answered all the questions asked by the emperor. Then Emperor Chongzhen slowly shifted the topic to the situation in Liaodong, sighing that since Nurhaci started the rebellion during the Wanli period, the Jiannu problem has not been solved after four dynasties, but has become more and more serious, which is really a headache.

Wu Xiang was originally a general of Liaodong Army and was stationed in Liaodong. He had fought against Jiannu since the Battle of Sarhu. Now he was the general commander of Guanning Iron Cavalry and had rich experience in fighting against Jiannu. Emperor Chongzhen wanted to ask Wu Xiang, from his perspective, what was the problem that made Jiannu so difficult to deal with? Why did Jiannu become stronger and stronger over the years, but the Ming army could never destroy Jiannu?

(End of this chapter)