Chapter 181 Zhou Kui's Prince Consort Movement (Part 1)
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When Emperor Chongzhen saw the letter demanding compensation sent by Tang Tong, he was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that his generals would be so bold to use troops privately at this time. Emperor Chongzhen did not care whether they would launch a surprise attack on Tang Tong or not. But the fact that his generals dared to mobilize 10,000 cavalry to leave their garrison without his order was a bit unacceptable to Emperor Chongzhen. He thought that if his generals rebelled, it would be a disaster.
"Damn it, these bastards, where do they want to put me? Does Hong Chengchou want to rebel? Their private actions will leave me with no way out..." Emperor Chongzhen roared loudly, his face a little ferocious and terrifying. He had suffered a lot this time because he had to compromise for the sake of the great cause. When he encountered this kind of thing, his reaction was naturally very intense. Wang Chengen, who was standing aside, looked at the angry face of Emperor Chongzhen and sighed slightly in his heart. He understood the pain in Emperor Chongzhen's heart very well, but he was just a eunuch and had no ability to help Emperor Chongzhen solve the pain in his heart. At the same time, he also secretly blamed Hong Chengchou and others for their reckless behavior.
You guys who lead the troops, if you really have the ability, you can just kill that guy surnamed Tang. But now, not only have you failed to kill that guy surnamed Tang, but you have caused huge trouble for the emperor. You guys who lead the troops are really not good at doing anything, but only at making trouble. Wang Chengen secretly criticized Hong Chengchou and others in his heart, while picking up the things that Emperor Chongzhen dropped on the ground. At this time, the only thing he could do was to clean up the garbage on the ground for Emperor Chongzhen.
Although Tang Tong demanded compensation from Emperor Chongzhen, he did not want to push him too far. Tang Tong knew Emperor Chongzhen a little bit. He was a stubborn person. It was rare for him to be able to compromise like this. Once he was pushed to the limit, what he did would be of no benefit to anyone. Only a fool would do something that has no benefit. Many things in the world are for the benefit of the country, the collective interest, and the individual interest. Human behavior can be summarized in two words: interest. However, it is obvious that Tang Tong put the interests of the Han people first. It was precisely because of this that Tang Tong could not force Emperor Chongzhen too far, as that would not be in the interests of the entire Han people.
No matter how you look at it, this incident put Emperor Chongzhen in a dilemma. If he asked Tang Tong to surrender, it would be against his temperament. If he was determined to fight Tang Tong to the end, he knew very well that the soldiers of Dali were no match for Tang Tong. When they fought against the Jiannu cavalry, they still had some city walls for defense. But when fighting against Tang Tong and his men, even the city walls were useless. Under the bombardment of hundreds of artillery pieces, let alone the city walls, it would be almost the same whether they had them or not.
Although the compensation Tang Tong asked for was not much, Emperor Chongzhen had nothing to use for compensation. The angry Emperor Chongzhen was in a dilemma and issued an imperial decree to arrest Zhou Fenglin. Poor Zhou Fenglin thought he had escaped with his life this time after coming out of Tang Tong's camp, but Emperor Chongzhen was furious and threw him into jail. It was not easy for a military general to be punished after he reached the position of general in the late Ming Dynasty, but there was a prerequisite, that is, he had enough troops in his hands. If the soldiers in his hands were killed, Emperor Chongzhen would not be polite to him. He would kill those who should be killed and lock up those who should be locked up. Whoever was left without soldiers was like a toothless tiger.
This time, the 10,000 Guanning cavalry led by Zhou Fenglin were completely wiped out. Although he, as a general of Shanhaiguan, had more than these few people under his command, he was not in the army in Shanhaiguan at that time. He was also a toothless tiger. Emperor Chongzhen would naturally not show mercy to catch him. Emperor Chongzhen himself was confused about the matter and was afraid that Tang Tong would take this opportunity to attack him, so he quietly slipped away from the capital and left a few ministers in Cangzhou to negotiate.
Earlier than Emperor Chongzhen, Zhou Kui in the capital was busy jumping up and down in the capital at this time. Especially after hearing that the Shanhaiguan army had failed in its sneak attack on Tang Tong, Zhou Kui beat his chest and stamped his feet, cursing Hong Chengchou and others for not doing anything good but causing more trouble than good. Zhou Kui was certainly not the kind of person who beat his chest and stamped his feet for a big thing. He did not have such a good state of mind. He just felt sorry that the negotiations between Emperor Chongzhen and Tang Tong were disrupted. It was not a good thing for him, Zhou Kui.
The word "benefit" is more important in the eyes of people like Zhou Kui, but this benefit is his personal benefit. If the talks between Emperor Chongzhen and Tang Tong fail, his status as a royal relative will be over. He is determined to give the Princess of Changping to Tang Tong. Although it is to please Tang Tong, another reason is to delay the destruction of the country to a greater extent. After learning that the Guanning Iron Cavalry's sneak attack on Tang Tong was defeated, Zhou Kui felt that the matter of marrying the Princess of Changping to Tang Tong must not be delayed any longer.
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