Everyone present was shocked when they heard Ma Shiying's words.
Because everyone present, including you, Ma Shiying, came from the north, didn't you?
Although it was disguised as escorting the crown prince, it was actually a southward escape.
But their shock came from his statement that Yang Zhiyong would be punished.
All they know right now is that Yang Zhiyong fled Shanxi, but they have no idea where he is now.
How can Yang Zhiyong be punished if we don't even know where he is?
In response to Ma Shiying's words, Shi Kefa, who was standing at the head of the group, sighed and stepped forward, saying:
"Your Majesty, Yang Zhiyong's withdrawal from Shanxi was out of necessity."
Hong Chengchou of Shaanxi massacred the Yang family and defected to the traitor Li. Shanxi was now surrounded and isolated.
The morale of the army and the people has collapsed.
Continuing to hold on only resulted in a crushing defeat.
Moreover, in such a desperate situation, many officials in Shanxi were thinking about how to surrender to the traitor Li.
He preferred to break out southwards rather than surrender to the traitor Li like so many other Shanxi officials.
His loyalty is evident.
If he really leads tens of thousands of elite troops from Taiyuan south to join our dynasty.
It can also greatly enhance our strength, so that we can have a powerful army for the future northern expedition against Li Zicheng.
Therefore, Your Majesty should not only refrain from punishing this loyal minister, but should also reward him handsomely.
"Grand Secretary Shi, if we were to deal with this deserter who abandoned the city, we should not only not punish him, but also reward him."
If Li Zicheng were to march south in the future, how would the generals of the armies in Jiangnan defend against him?
Wouldn't everyone follow his example, abandoning the city and fleeing whenever the situation turns unfavorable?
Ma Shiying spread his hands and spoke to Emperor Zhu Jianshen and Grand Secretary Shi Kefa.
Just as the two were having a heated discussion, a eunuch came over and handed Zhu Jianshen a memorial, saying:
"Your Majesty, Lord Zhongliang, Grand Secretary Hu Zongxian urgently reports."
While the discussion was in full swing below, they heard an urgent report from Hu Zongxian in Lianghuai.
Everyone present fell silent.
It should be noted that Hu Zongxian was on the front lines in Lianghuai and Jiangnan.
His urgent report immediately put everyone present on edge.
What happened in Lianghuai?
Could it be that Li Qin has gone south?
Have they reached the Huai River region?
Zhu Jianshen also brought over the urgent report with a serious expression.
After reviewing the report, he took a deep breath and said:
"Lord Zhongliang reported that he had made contact with Yang Zhiyong, who came down from Shanxi."
According to his report, Yang Zhiyong is leading tens of thousands of troops toward Runing Prefecture in Henan.
They prepared to enter Runing Prefecture and join forces with Hu Zongxian of Lianghuai to defend Jiangnan against the traitor Li.
Therefore, he petitioned the emperor to bestow the title of Yang Zhiyong, appointing him to guard Runing Prefecture and protect Jiangnan.
Upon hearing Hu Zongxian's report that Yang Zhiyong had arrived, he was astonished.
Just now down there, two people were arguing heatedly about Yang Zhiyong.
They immediately bowed and tried to step forward to continue speaking.
Zhu Jianshen, sitting on the throne, simply waved his hand to stop the argument.
Speaking directly in his capacity as emperor:
"Yang Zhiyong, the governor of Taiyuan, broke through the encirclement and saved the army. He was awarded the title of Earl of Ruyang and was stationed in Runing Prefecture to guard against the bandit Li."
After hearing Zhu Jianshen's order, everyone knew that Zhu Jianshen had completely set the tone for this debate.
Yang Zhiyong was rewarded and ordered to stay in Runing Prefecture to guard against the northern enemy.
Right after this matter was over, another minister stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou of Shaanxi slaughtered the Yang family and then defected to the traitor Li."
It has now been definitively confirmed that his ancestral home is in Fujian. I request that the court order the confiscation of his property and the exhumation of his graves.
Faced with the minister's words, Zhu Jianshen took a deep breath and did not agree.
Instead, they continued to postpone the matter.
He knew people like Hong Chengchou from Shaanxi and Jiang Xiangyang from Datong.
They were actually semi-independent warlords with their own armies, and Li Qin did not have much control over them.
My strategy towards them has always been to try my best to win them over.
Since he declared himself emperor, he had been summoning his ministers to discuss how to deal with Li Qin.
Finally, they basically settled on a strategy to deal with Li Qin.
According to their research, Li Qin had hundreds of thousands of troops and controlled the entire north.
However, the areas he truly controlled were only Zhili and most of Shanxi, which he had just conquered.
As for Shandong, Datong, and Shaanxi, which had just submitted to Li Qin, Li Qin's control over them was not absolute.
In Shandong, there was Qin Chenyao. This was the place where Li Qin had the strongest control among the three regions. He not only relied on his military might to send troops to Shandong, but also took away Shandong's taxes from Qin Chenyao.
However, Qin Chenyao still maintained some control over Shandong.
As for Datong, although they behaved obediently under Li Qin's coercion, they were definitely harboring their own ulterior motives.
As for Shaanxi, which had just submitted a memorial to Li Qin, its submission was merely nominal.
While Li Qinna appears to have an army of hundreds of thousands, the composition of his army is extremely complex.
The true core force consisted of only about 100,000 men in the Liaodong Army.
The remaining forces included enemy soldiers, Xuanfu troops, Tianjin garrison troops, scattered surrendered soldiers from various places, and garrison troops.
Not to mention the Datong army, which was nominally under his control but was difficult for him to mobilize, and the Shaanxi army.
Therefore, they devised different strategies to address Li Qin's current situation.
As for the armies in Shaanxi, Datong, and Shandong, we should try our best to win them over, making them part of Li Qin's command, but keeping them as neutral as possible.
When Li Qin launched his campaign, he kept his troops at bay and did not engage in battle.
At the same time, the strategy was to continuously divide and win over troops like those from Xuanfu and surrendered soldiers from various places, while also using attacks as a secondary measure.
He told him that even if Li Qin ordered them to fight, he should tell them not to exert themselves too much on the battlefield.
As for Li Qin's 100,000 elite troops in Liaodong, they are the focus of the attack.
The reason Li Qin has such great power is entirely due to his 100,000 elite troops in Liaodong.
They used their 100,000 elite troops from Liaodong, which they controlled most effectively, to intimidate and control Xuanfu, as well as the surrendered soldiers from various other places.
He made them obey his orders, forming a first-tier coalition that he had slightly less control over.
This group includes people like Cui Yuanbin who hold military power.
At the same time, through them, he bolstered his power with hundreds of thousands of followers.
He forced Jiang Xiangyang of Datong, Qin Chenyao of Shandong, and others to obey him.
They formed a second-tier coalition with slightly weaker control.
It's like Li Qin seemingly had hundreds of thousands of troops, but he only relied on his 100,000-strong Liaodong headquarters.
His control over the army decreased layer by layer from his headquarters in Liaodong outwards.
Therefore, their targeted objective was to focus their attack on Li Qin's 100,000 elite troops in Liaodong.
It's not necessary to wipe them all out; just win one or two major battles and eliminate tens of thousands.
This prevented his elite troops from continuing to control and deter the outer forces.
His power naturally crumbled.
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