Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne with a frown on his face.

The news is getting worse and worse.

Especially the war in Daming Prefecture, which gave him a bad feeling.

Li Zicheng was able to become big and powerful because he had his own strength.

Huang Degong had just experienced a great battle and went directly to Daming Prefecture without any rest.

"Your Majesty!" Li Banghua, who was sitting on a stool in the hall, spoke up. "Although the officials responsible for disaster relief have all been finalized, Dorgon's whereabouts are unknown, and these officials are unwilling to leave the capital."

The wrinkles on Chongzhen's forehead became deeper.

This cannot be blamed on the officials’ fear of death.

Although Dorgon was defeated, he still had more than a thousand elite cavalry under his command and his combat effectiveness was not bad.

Once the two sides met, these officials who had few guards were either killed or captured.

It is understandable that you don’t want to leave Beijing.

Although there are many things to do, they need to be dealt with one by one.

"Lord Li, let's talk about the war in Daming Prefecture first. Do you have any good countermeasures?" Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua.

Li Banghua shook his head slowly.

Li Zicheng led tens of thousands of troops to surround Daming Prefecture, still using the tactic of besieging a point and attacking its reinforcements.

It’s exactly the same as the previous Zhuxian Town!

Not to mention one Huang Degong, even two Huang Degongs would find it difficult to break through the numerous traps set by the opponent.

It’s difficult to rescue Li Xingzhong!

Chongzhen picked up the teacup on the dragon desk, took a sip of the strong tea, and said, "What if we send more troops?"

"Reinforce the troops?" Li Banghua became alert. "Does Your Majesty want to send Liu Wenyao and his men out?"

Chongzhen nodded.

"No!" Li Banghua refused directly.

"Your Majesty, please do not forget that there is another person named Duoduo in Xuanfu whose whereabouts are unknown. If he retreats to the grasslands and breaks through the Great Wall from Qiangziling, Xifengkou or Qingshanguan, then the capital will be in danger."

"Even if the capital is not in danger, Wu Sangui is at risk of being attacked from both sides. We must leave a troop of soldiers behind in case of emergency."

Didn’t Chongzhen know?

Of course he knows!

But this is the reality. We cannot sit idly by when there is a shortage of soldiers and generals, so we can only tear down the east wall to repair the west wall.

After listening to Li Banghua's analysis of the pros and cons, Chongzhen shook his head helplessly and gave up the idea of asking Liu Wenyao for support.

Compared with Li Zicheng's expansion and strength, he was more concerned about the Jiannu entering the pass.

If Duoduo came for the capital, he would not be under much pressure. After all, the Jiannu were good at field battles but not at sieges. It would be even more difficult for the Jiannu to capture a city that Li Zicheng had not conquered.

The only thing I’m afraid of is that they will go after Wu Sangui.

Before Wu Sangui there was Jirgalang, and after him there was Duoduo.

Being attacked from both sides is already difficult. If the capital has no reinforcements, surrender is only a matter of time!

If Shanhaiguan was lost, he would be relieved and could hang himself.

"That is to say, the battle in Daming Prefecture still depends on Huang Degong and Li Xingzhong themselves. The imperial court is powerless to help."

"That's right, Your Majesty. Regardless of victory or defeat, no more troops can be sent."

"Okay!" Chongzhen drank the strong tea in the cup. "Next, let's talk about Duoduo. Where does Lord Li think he will go?"

"Your Majesty, it's not important."

"Huh?" Chongzhen was confused. "Why do you say that?"

Li Banghua stroked his beard with his hand, looking relaxed: "If Duoduo continues to besiege Xuanfu, we don't need to worry about that for now. Yan Yingyuan has more food than he can eat. As long as we hold Xuanfu Town, we can contain Duoduo's main force."

"Secondly, if Duoduo retreats back to the grassland and plans to enter the pass from other places, then the first thing to do is to prepare food and grass. Preparing food and grass takes time, and collecting intelligence inside the pass takes even more time."

"So he won't act rashly in the short term."

"However, to be on the safe side, Your Majesty should ask Tang Tong to send out several reconnaissance teams to find out where Duoduo is and make preparations early."

Chongzhen thought about it for a while and realized that it was indeed the case.

Even if Duoduo was anxious to enter the pass, he still had Liu Wenyao, Wang Yongji, and Buck Yong to use. As long as he had soldiers in his hands, he would have confidence in his heart, and Duoduo would not dare to act rashly.

"Send an order, have Tang Tong send someone to the north immediately to find out Duoduo's whereabouts. If possible, send a letter to Yan Yingyuan and ask him to urge the Mongols." Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen.

Before the Jiannu entered the Pass, he asked Yan Yingyuan to contact the Khalkha tribe of Mongolia, and the other party promised to send troops to attack Daning, the Jiannu's food and fodder transit point, in late June.

Now the time is almost up.

certainly.

Chongzhen did not expect the Khalkha tribe to fulfill its promise.

In fact, he was betting on the Khalkha tribe's lack of food and supplies.

Why did the Mongols always go south? Cows and sheep eat grass, so why don't they just eat beef and mutton?

In fact, it is not at all.

Mongolian herders rarely kill sheep for food. They only kill sheep for meat on important festivals or when distinguished guests come. On weekdays, their food is mainly dairy products and grains.

During his study abroad, the Ming Dynasty's God of War Zhu Qizhen would get a sheep every two days, and a cow and a horse as food every seven days.

This treatment is much higher than that of Mongolian princes and ministers.

Therefore, the Mongols' demand for food is no less than that of the people in the Central Plains.

"As you wish." Wang Chengen quickly wrote it down and arranged for someone to go to the back to draft the decree and write a letter.

All these issues have been dealt with, and there are only two things left.

One was Li Xianzhong's pursuit of Dorgon, and the other was disaster relief.

"I have asked the Ministry of War to send official documents to the northern Zhili and Shandong areas, asking them to report immediately to higher authorities if they find any traces of the Jiannu. Even if Dorgon is cautious, he will have to come out to eat. The marching rations he brought with him have already been eaten, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely find a way to rob the food."

"Yeah." Chongzhen felt a little relieved.

He was very eager to capture Dorgon, and capture him alive.

Dorgon is more useful when alive than when dead.

"Then I feel relieved. Let me tell you one last thing." After Chongzhen said this, he picked up a letter from the dragon desk and asked Wang Chengen to pass it to Li Banghua.

Li Banghua took it and read it quickly with a gloomy expression.

It was a letter sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After investigating various prefectures and counties in Northern Zhili, they came to the conclusion that the policy of exempting the whole country from land tax for one year did not benefit the people.

The imperial court stipulated that whoever owned the land was responsible for paying the land tax.

The reality is that many people rented land to farm. Although the court exempted the landlords from land tax, the landlords did not reduce the rent of the tenants.

The policy of exempting the whole country from land tax for one year apparently reduced the burden on the people, but the actual beneficiaries were mostly landlords.

That is, the rich people.

Li Banghua looked at the contents of the letter with dull eyes.

a long time.

Li Banghua smiled bitterly: "Why don't these people want to let the people have a full meal?"

Chongzhen stood up and looked outside the palace: "Lord Li, they are afraid that the people will have money. When the people have money, they will buy land. If more people buy land, no one will rent their land."

"This is the technique of the prison inhabitants!"

"The art of ruling the people?" Li Banghua was puzzled.

"No, it's the prison of prison! It's to put people in cages so that they have no time to care about the things outside the prison."