Please call me the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

night.

The Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian's eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep.

He hadn't slept for three days and three nights.

He had already received a report that Dorgon was leading 50,000 cavalrymen to attack.

This was the first time since he ascended the throne that he had faced a major attack from the Later Jin army.

The matter was of great importance, and he had to treat it with caution.

At this time, he felt that the court lacked wise strategists and capable generals.

Prior to this, Wei Zhongxian took advantage of the opportunity to suppress the Six Gentlemen...

Sixty or seventy officials from the imperial court were imprisoned, beheaded, or exiled.

There are very few capable people left in the court.

Zhu Youjian had also heard that Dorgon was about the same age as him and was a young hero.

Some say that Dorgon was like Huo Qubing back in the day, invincible in bravery.

This made Zhu Youjian think that the rise of a country or a nation is often the result of the joint efforts of several generations.

then,

Qin Shi Huang was able to unify the six kingdoms by building upon the achievements of six generations of his ancestors.

If we compare the Qin and Zhao states...

The rulers of Qin were stronger with each successive generation.

The rulers of Zhao were progressively worse than the previous ones.

Since Duke Xiao of Qin implemented Shang Yang's reforms,

The Qin state gradually grew from poverty and weakness to strength.

Moreover, the rulers of Qin were more diligent with each generation.

Duke Xiao of Qin, King Huiwen of Qin, King Wu of Qin, King Xiaowen of Qin, King Zhuangxiang of Qin, and finally King Ying Zheng of Qin.

These seven rulers were all remarkable.

Since King Wuling of Zhao implemented the adoption of nomadic dress and cavalry archery, the State of Zhao gradually grew stronger and showed a strong tendency to annex all the other states in the world. It even considered annexing the State of Qin.

During the reign of King Huiwen of Zhao, the story of returning the jade intact to Zhao took place.

basically,

It could be said that they were on par with the Qin state.

However, this didn't work out under King Xiaocheng of Zhao, King Daoxiang of Zhao, King Youmiao of Zhao, and King Dai of Zhao.

They tend to associate with sycophants and distance themselves from loyal ministers.

For example, the heavy reliance on the treacherous Guo Kai led to the defection of the renowned general Lian Po to another country and the execution of Li Mu.

In the Battle of Changping, the Zhao state lost 45 soldiers, and from then on, it lost the strength to contend for the world.

Finally, the State of Zhao was destroyed by the State of Qin.

Speaking of which, Nurhaci was quite remarkable.

At that time, the Jurchens faced a very harsh living environment, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

However, Nurhaci led the Jurchens to gradually grow stronger.

and,

Most of Nurhaci's sons were also quite capable, especially Huang Taiji and Dorgon, who were outstanding.

Daishan, Amin, and Mangultai were also very brave in battle.

The so-called knowing oneself and the enemy will never end in a hundred battles.

Zhu Youjian realized that dealing with Dorgon would not be so easy.

at this time,

A man walked in from outside, knelt on the ground, and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"

The visitor was none other than Wang Zaijin.

Zhu Youjian quickly stepped forward and helped him up with both hands: "My dear Wang, there's no need for such formalities, please rise!"

"Your Majesty summoned me here; what instructions do you have for me?"

"I summoned you here to discuss the invasion of the Later Jin army."

You may have already heard that Dorgon has led 50,000 cavalry to invade our Ming Dynasty, claiming to avenge his father Nurhaci. He is quite aggressive.

Wang Zaijin also heard the news that the Later Jin army was going to attack the Ming Dynasty.

"Back then, when the late emperor was alive, he appointed me to guard Shanhaiguan."

At that time, I proposed the plan of building a second outer city, which roughly means building an outer city eight miles outside Shanhaiguan to strengthen the defense of Shanhaiguan.

but,

The downside of doing this was that it handed over vast territories outside Shanhaiguan to the Later Jin dynasty.

Yuan Chonghuan strongly opposed this matter.

The two of us couldn't reach an agreement.

later,

The imperial court plans to send Ye Xianggao to inspect the area outside the Great Wall.

Because Ye Xianggao was old and not in good health, his student Sun Chengzong was sent to inspect the area outside the Great Wall in his place.

Sun Chengzong inspected the area outside the Great Wall twice. After returning, he agreed with Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion and rejected my plan to re-enter the Great Wall.

Therefore, the imperial court spent a huge sum of money to build the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line.

Last year, Nurhaci personally led the Later Jin army to attack us.

We achieved a great victory at Ningyuan, shattering the myth of the invincibility of the Later Jin army.

On that occasion, our cannons also injured Nurhaci. He died shortly after retreating.

Huang Taiji, seeking revenge for his father, once again mobilized his troops to attack the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line.

As a result, he repeated his father's mistake.

They were defeated by us again, and we won the Battle of Ningjin.

Now it seems that I was short-sighted, or that Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong had foresight.

I beg Your Majesty to punish me for my oversight.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself that it was rare for Wang Zaijin to be able to frankly admit his mistakes and acknowledge that he was inferior to others.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand: "My dear minister, I invited you here today not to punish you, but because Sun Chengzong recommended you to me."

"I intend to appoint you as Minister of War. Are you willing?"

"Ah? Sun Chengzong recommended me to Your Majesty?"

Wang Zaijin was also taken aback when he heard this.

He thought Sun Chengzong was his mortal enemy, but he never expected that Sun Chengzong would recommend him to the Emperor.

This was beyond his expectations.

"Isn't Choi Seong-soo currently serving as the Minister of War?"

"You're right, Cui Chengxiu is indeed currently serving as the Minister of War."

However, he had too many problems.

At this point, Zhu Youjian opened the drawer of the document and took out the agreement signed by Cui Chengxiu and Dai Shan, which stipulated that Shanhaiguan would be handed over to the Later Jin, and handed it to Wang Zaijin.

Wang Zaijin opened the document and was shocked: "How dare Cui Chengxiu do this?"

"Yes, things were peaceful recently, but Cui Chengxiu and Wei Guangwei went to the Later Jin and brought their fierce army back."

"Your Majesty, Cui Chengxiu must have reached some kind of agreement with the Later Jin."

Therefore, the Later Jin dared to launch another attack on us after suffering three defeats at Ningyuan, Ningjin, and Shanhaiguan; there must be a hidden reason behind it.

"Your analysis makes sense."

"The imperial court has treated Cui Chengxiu quite well. He was a member of the Donglin Party, but he was dismissed from his post because of corruption."

Later, the imperial court disregarded past grievances and still appointed him to a high-ranking position. How dare he do such a thing! It is truly hateful.

Your Majesty may send men to arrest him immediately and bring him to justice, and exterminate his entire family, including nine generations of his relatives.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "The crimes Cui Chengxiu has committed are far more than these."

He also insulted Consort Zhang, imprisoned her, and tortured her to death.

He nearly tortured Consort Zhang to death, and he also embezzled a huge amount of money.

"The Later Jin army is about to attack. In your opinion, how should we respond?"

Wang Zaijin stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that:"

First, troops should be drawn from all over the country to strengthen the defense of the Guan-Ning-Jin line and Shanhaiguan.

Secondly, capable officers were selected to garrison the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line.

Zhu Youjian also felt that Wang Zaijin's suggestion made some sense.

"However, the problem now is that last time, I had to transfer 3000 troops to strengthen the defenses of Shanhaiguan."

Choi Seong-soo refused for various reasons.

"What?! He actually dared to defy the imperial decree?" Wang Zaijin exclaimed indignantly. "Cui Chengxiu has gone too far! He doesn't know his place!"

He felt that with Wei Zhongxian as his backer, he could do whatever he wanted, and even dared to disobey the emperor's decree.

This problem is not difficult to solve. Your Majesty can dispatch 10,000 troops from Guangdong and 5,000 troops from Guangxi. The werewolf soldiers from Guangxi are fierce warriors.

On the battlefield, he fought ten against one!

"It's just that time is a bit tight."

"Your Majesty, it's alright, you can leave this matter to me," Wang Zaijin paused here, "Logically speaking, Yuan Chonghuan's military command ability is outstanding."

but,

He has a few questions.

Upon hearing Wang Zaijin mention Yuan Chonghuan, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but ask, "What problem?"

"Firstly, he had close ties with the Jurchens, and he once negotiated peace with Huang Taiji;

Secondly, he had close ties with Wei Zhongxian's people.

So he resigned and stayed home to relax.

Upon hearing that Yuan Chonghuan had close ties with Wei Zhongxian's men, Zhu Youjian's heart skipped a beat: "Who do you think he's been in close contact with?"

"Wei Zhongxian had a capable subordinate named Huo Weihua."

On one occasion, Yuan Chonghuan performed a meritorious service but received no reward.

Therefore, he stood up for Yuan Chonghuan and petitioned the court to reward Yuan Chonghuan.

If Yuan Chonghuan and Wei Zhongxian had no connection, then why would others stand up for him?

Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan admired Wei Zhongxian and often said that the establishment of the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line by the court was largely due to Wei Zhongxian's efforts.

Therefore, many ministers in the court believed that Yuan Chonghuan was suspected of flattering Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Youjian had heard about this before.

However, Zhu Youjian did not take these matters to heart, as he believed in the principle of "if you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them."

After Zhu Youjian and Wang Zaijin had a long talk, Wang Zaijin left the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian felt extremely tired, so after washing up, he went to bed to rest.

He was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Zhu Youjian vaguely felt as if a soft, warm body was pressing down on him.

A faint, pleasant woman's fragrance wafted into his nostrils, refreshing and delightful.

Zhu Youjian was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open. He wondered if this was real or a dream.

He had similar dreams before, as if all men have to go through this age.

With great effort, he finally opened his sleepy eyes, only to find a woman wearing a semi-transparent, gossamer-thin long dress.

She reached out to unbutton Zhu Youjian's clothes.

Zhu Youjian grabbed her wrist immediately: "Don't move anymore, or I'll throw you off."

Zhu Youjian looked closely by the light and discovered that the woman was none other than Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan stared at him blankly.

It turns out that Zhang Yan had been taking care of Zhu Youjian's daily life.

Recently, she noticed that Zhu Youjian had lost a lot of weight, and she felt very sorry for him.

Tonight, she brought over a bowl of bird's nest soup, only to find that Zhu Youjian was already asleep.

She sat on the edge of the couch, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhu Youjian.

She noticed that Zhu Youjian's facial features were more defined, and he seemed to have become much more handsome than before.

She thought to herself that she was a beauty selected through a talent search, so what normal man wouldn't be attracted to her?

Does this mean that Zhu Youjian was not a normal man?

So she closed the doors and windows, lowered the curtains, and took off her outer garment.

She leaned down and couldn't help but kiss Zhu Youjian, and began to make love, but at the crucial moment, Zhu Youjian woke up.

As if by conditioned reflex, Zhu Youjian jumped off the couch.

He quickly dressed himself: "Baozhu, you mustn't do this!"

Zhang Yan's tears fell like pearls from a broken string as she cried incessantly.

Zhu Youjian was most afraid of women crying, so he took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan took the handkerchief and wiped away her tears: "Why are you so conservative in your thinking?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian frowned: "Baozhu, the situation is different."

With tears glistening on her face, Zhang Yan looked even more pitiful and touching.

"The Xiongnu had this tradition from the beginning."

Zhu Youjian had also heard about the marriage customs of the Xiongnu and Turks.

"Baozhu, those are the Xiongnu and Turks. They are nomadic peoples. How can they be the same as us Han people? We Han people don't have such customs."

"Shortly after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident."

Later, Li Shimin married Wu Zetian.

However, Li Shimin did not like Wu Zetian very much, and the two had no children.

Afterwards, Li Shimin banished Wu Zetian to Ganye Temple.