"My Lord, how does His Majesty plan to deal with those gentry who deliberately default on paying taxes?" Fan Jingwen first helped Li Banghua to a chair, and then handed him a cup of hot tea.
"kill..."
"Ah?" Fan Jingwen was so frightened that he screamed out.
Then he realized that he had lost his composure, coughed lightly and asked, "Although it is true that taxes are in arrears, it shouldn't be...to the point of causing death, right?"
Li Banghua put down the teacup in his hand and gently patted Fan Jingwen on the shoulder: "Meng Zhang (Fan Jingwen Meng Zhang), don't be anxious or panic when encountering things. Wait until others have finished speaking before thinking about how to answer."
"As cabinet ministers, we need to be steady! You are almost sixty years old, you can't be as impetuous as young people."
"I will remember what the elder said in my heart!" Fan Jingwen picked up the teacup again and handed it to Li Banghua.
Li Banghua opened the lid of the teacup and blew gently. After taking a sip of tea, he slowly said, "Kill those who bring trouble to the village, win over those who benefit the people, and suppress those who do not cooperate with the court."
Huh...Fan Jingwen let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, his nephew was saved.
"The gentry are more difficult to deal with than imagined. Your Majesty and I have discussed it and decided to gain the upper hand in public opinion first. Let the people understand that when we kill people, it is for their own good!"
"Public opinion? The official newspaper?" Fan Jingwen asked.
"It's not enough to rely on the court bulletin alone. We also need to find someone with a good reputation and great knowledge to endorse us!"
A person of good reputation and great learning...
Got it!
A light bulb suddenly lit up in Fan Jingwen's mind, and a name popped up: Sun Qifeng.
Sun Qifeng is a person who specializes in academic research.
Later generations referred to him, Li Yong of Shaanxi and Huang Zongxi of Zhejiang as "the three greatest scholars in the country."
Especially in terms of teaching, he is deeply sought after and respected by the world.
Even if a warrior or a tough guy came to learn from him, he would treat him with sincerity and teach him in words that the other person could hear.
In the eyes of later generations, Sun Qifeng's "Northern Learning" can be compared with Huang Zongxi's "Southern Learning".
Fan Jingwen had previously wanted to hire him as an aide, but was rejected.
"Sun Qifeng?" Li Banghua had heard of this man's name and said worriedly, "As far as I know, he is already in his sixties and has no intention of pursuing a career in politics!"
"Scholars think they are noble and look down on us common people. Although we can't invite him, if someone else invites him, he will definitely come."
"who?"
"Your Majesty."
"Then I will go to the palace immediately and ask for an order from His Majesty." Li Banghua stood up and was about to leave.
"It's getting late, Lord Li, why don't you go tomorrow?"
"Today's work must be done today. If the decree is delayed for one day, those evil gentry will live one more day. This old man feels uncomfortable!"
"Master Li, go slowly. I'll support you!"
......
On the sixth day of the third month of the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, in Suzhou, Fengyang Prefecture.
After reading the news from Huguang, Li Zicheng frowned, "The situation in Huguang is beyond my expectation. Is Qin Liangyu so powerful? Not only did Zhang Xianzhong fail to invade Sichuan, but he was also defeated by Yuan Jixian and forced to flee to southern Huguang for refuge."
Song Xiance waved his feather fan and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the report sent by Li Yan also said that Zhang Xianzhong was driven out of Sichuan by Qin Liangyu."
"Qin Liangyu has a total of 120,000 troops! Not only are there 10,000 newly formed white-pole soldiers, but there are also nearly 20,000 Xidong soldiers. The cavalry and navy are well-organized and unstoppable! Is our plan..."
"No!" Li Zicheng shook his head: "The arrow is on the string and must be shot."
"But Your Majesty, I am still a little worried." Song Xiance said worriedly.
Niu Jinxing stood up and said, "Don't worry, Military Advisor Song. This is my idea for the Emperor. If it fails, I will take the responsibility."
"It's not a matter of responsibility!" Song Xiance laughed bitterly: "Our previous plan was to abandon Henan, gather our forces, and then attack Nanjing!"
"The situation has changed now! Yuan Jixian is in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and Qin Liangyu is further upstream. If we fail to capture Nanjing in a short period of time, Qin Liangyu and Yuan Jixian will come down the river to our army."
"Their total military strength adds up to nearly two hundred thousand!"
"And Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo are right behind us. With pursuers behind and blockades in front, our army will not be their match no matter what!"
"I'm afraid... there's a risk of the entire army being wiped out!"
After listening to Song Xiance's analysis, Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing not only did not care, but laughed instead.
Song Xiance suddenly became anxious. He did not dare to disrespect Li Zicheng, so he vented his anger on Niu Jinxing: "What is Niu Zuofu laughing at? Is my analysis wrong?"
"Yes, of course!" Niu Jinxing continued to answer with a smile.
"If you're right, why are you still laughing?" Song Xiance looked annoyed.
Niu Jinxing came to Song Xiance, patted him on the shoulder and said, "The emperor has already made arrangements. If Qin Liangyu's main force moves out, we will take the opportunity to move to Huguang and aim at Sichuan. If Qin Liangyu's main force does not move, we will attack all the way to Nanjing and capture Zhu Cilang alive!"
"There's even less need to worry about Yuan Jixian. His target is Zhang Xianzhong, not us. Of course, if he really goes to Nanjing, the worst that can happen is that we can withdraw our troops."
"As long as we hold the south bank of the Huai River, people like Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo will not be able to do anything to us."
After listening to Niu Jinxing's explanation, Song Xiance stood there in a daze for a long time before he came to his senses: "No wonder you laughed, so this is how you use troops."
"Hahaha, what do you think of this plan, Military Advisor Song?" Li Zicheng asked with a big laugh.
"To reply to the Emperor, this is a brilliant plan!"
"Well, let's have the generals come into the tent to discuss matters."
As Li Zicheng gave the order, drums sounded outside the tent.
Then the door curtain of the military tent was lifted up, and a group of generals walked in first.
The leader was Liu Zongmin.
Liu Xiyao, Yuan Zongde, Gao Yigong, Gu Kecheng, Li Laiheng, He Lan, Hao Yaoqi, Liu Tichun and others were among them.
The senior generals who were not present all had important military duties to attend to.
Tian Jianxiu defended Xi'an.
Dang Shousu stayed in Lanzhou.
Li Guo guarded Tongguan.
As for Liu Fangliang, he was hidden away by Li Zicheng.
......
After everyone arrived, Li Zicheng was full of energy and felt heroic.
When he marched out of Shaanxi to attack Beijing last year, he had 200,000 soldiers under his command!
A year later, when he attacked Nanjing, he had 80,000 soldiers under his command!
Although the number of troops is much smaller than last year, attacking Nanjing is less difficult than attacking Beijing.
Moreover, he did not divide his troops, but gathered all his forces together.
"Everyone!"
"I am here!" the generals responded in unison.
"I was disappointed that I failed to capture Beijing a year ago. I hope that I can succeed in regrouping my forces and attacking Nanjing a year later!"
All the generals shouted in unison: "Capture Nanjing and capture Zhu Cilang alive!"
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