"Lord Li, where is Wu Sangui?" Chongzhen asked indifferently in the Qianqing Palace.
"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui had already set out from Shanhaiguan before the bandits besieged the city. According to estimates that he travels more than a hundred miles a day, he should have reached Funing by now."
Chongzhen nodded, slowly, as slow as expected!
Why did Wu Sangui walk so slowly?
As a political speculator, it’s better to be slow!
Historically, on March 5, Wu Sangui was given the title of Pingxi Bo and ordered to lead his troops to defend Beijing. On March 16, Wu Sangui led his troops to Shanhaiguan and wrote to the emperor that he needed five days to settle the people before he could lead his troops westward. On the 22nd, the troops arrived at Yutian (Tangshan), and then they received the news that the capital had fallen and Chongzhen had hanged himself.
If Wu Sangui said that he was afraid that the people who accompanied him would be slaughtered by the Eight Banners soldiers before reaching Shanhaiguan, the excuse that he led the elite troops to cover the rear was barely plausible. After all, most of his subordinates were Liao people, and because of the long-term battles with the Eight Banners soldiers, the two sides had deep hatred. If he ignored the lives of the Liao people, his subordinates would most likely mutiny.
but...
After entering the Pass, he could lead his elite troops to Beijing in person.
However, Wu Sangui deliberately delayed time.
He would rather let other troops fight Li Zicheng first, and then sit back and reap the benefits. This not only preserved his own strength from great losses, but also allowed him to share the credit of "serving the king" with the generals of other troops.
Or wait for Li Zicheng to capture Beijing and then change course accordingly!
No matter what he wants to do, there is only one purpose: to preserve his strength!
For him, there are three options: the Ming court, the Shun army, and the Eight Banners Army. He will choose whichever can help him preserve his strength.
Therefore, he was not in a hurry to rescue the king, and even though his father Wu Xiang was trapped in the capital, he did not speed up the march.
What a cruel dog!
There is another reason why Wu Sangui's march was slow...
During the Ji Si Rebellion, Yuan Chonghuan came quickly and died quickly, which disheartened the Guanning Army.
Chongzhen has no brains at all. Yuan Chonghuan deserves to die, but not at that time!
However, Chongzhen was not afraid that Wu Sangui would not come. As long as he could defend the capital and save his own life, Wu Sangui would come to support him sooner or later.
Although he controlled the Guanning Army, the Guanning Army had a feud with the Jiannu, so if they wanted to surrender, they had to find an excuse.
Otherwise, it would be neither just nor legitimate, and would be an unjust teacher.
History has it that the slogan Wu Sangui shouted when he surrendered was: What's the point of living if a man can't protect himself and his wife?
Now his whole family is living well in Beijing, and none of them surrendered.
Excuse.
Chongzhen said calmly, "Wu Sangui can no longer be counted on for the time being. Liu Wenyao only has more than 10,000 men. If we rush into Beijing rashly, our entire army will be wiped out."
"This capital city, we still have to rely on ourselves!"
Li Banghua opened his red eyes and nodded in a depressed mood: "Your Majesty, we are incompetent and have frightened Your Majesty!"
"It's okay. Can Elder Li still bear it?"
After talking about Wu Sangui, Chongzhen began to worry about Li Banghua's health.
Li Banghua is already in his seventies, and was transferred to the Censorate due to health reasons. After all, compared with the six ministries, the work of the Censorate is relatively easier.
Now that Li Banghua serves as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and also handles the Ministry of War, the workload will be enormous.
The Ministry of War, in particular, started by recruiting civilians, registering them, equipping them with weapons, conducting simple drills, and then handing them over to the corresponding generals defending the city.
Every link and every process is very cumbersome.
A word from the emperor's mouth is like a book of Analects to them.
In order to improve efficiency, the Ministry of War has even started working all night.
Li Banghua stretched his hunched back and said seriously, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I can handle it."
"That's good! Let me arrange a sedan chair for you so you can ride in and out of the imperial city."
Li Banghua was stunned and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you must not do this."
"Nothing is impossible, my words are my will!"
"Your Majesty, I kneel to thank you for your grace!" Li Banghua was about to kneel down when Wang Chengen, who had received a signal from Chongzhen, helped him up.
"Don't be polite, Mr. Li. I suddenly remembered something. How much silver do you have now?"
Li Banghua didn't know what the emperor meant, so he answered honestly: "There is not much cash left, but there is still some property."
"Wang Chengen, take 100,000 taels of silver from the inner treasury for Lord Li."
"Your Majesty, what is this...?" Li Banghua was a little confused for a moment.
Judging from the current situation in the capital, there is money but nowhere to spend it.
Although he has no money, he is not short of money.
Because now power is more useful than money!
As long as he wanted, he could make tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in minutes.
"Are there any officials in the Ming Dynasty who are not corrupt? No, it's just a matter of how much they are corrupt!"
“Why are they greedy?”
"Some people can't get enough food, so they have to be greedy!"
"Just because you don't lack money doesn't mean your subordinates don't lack money. If you give them some of the money, you can win their hearts and minds and build cliques. Why not do it?"
When Li Banghua heard the words "forming cliques and factions", the corners of his mouth twitched.
The emperor's words are direct, even directer than his!
"I am terrified. I dare not!"
"Don't shirk your responsibilities. If you have nothing else to do, go back early and count the names of the fallen soldiers. I want to print those names on the front page of the Chongzhen 17th Year."
"I obey the decree!"
Li Banghua knelt on the ground with tears in his eyes to express his gratitude, and his tears could not stop flowing as he left.
The emperor has given him so many honors that he will never be able to repay them in his lifetime!
If there is an afterlife, he will definitely work for Chongzhen again.
"Wait..." Chongzhen suddenly remembered something.
"Your Majesty, I am here!"
"Are there enough wound medicines in the capital?"
"It's enough for now, but as more and more people are injured, it will soon be insufficient."
Hearing this, Chongzhen sighed in his heart.
Ancient medicine was so backward that even colds could kill people, and the mortality rate for soldiers with minor injuries was as high as 80 percent.
This is based on the premise that there is medicine for wounds, otherwise the risk will be higher.
"I have a solution. It's not as effective as the golden wound medicine, but it's better than nothing."
"Your Majesty, please give me some advice!" Li Banghua was very excited. He needed anything that could save his life.
"Use tobacco leaves. The ashes from burning tobacco leaves can stop bleeding and reduce swelling. Arrange people to buy them in the city first, and then spread the news when they have bought most of them."
"I understand. I'll take my leave!" Li Banghua walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity in ecstasy and went to the cabinet to arrange work.
After Li Banghua left, Chongzhen immediately ordered Wang Chengen: "Call Yan Yingyuan to the palace. I want to discuss the strategy of defending the city with him!"
Not long after, Yan Yingyuan walked in wearing dusty armor.
Due to the tense war situation, Chongzhen had already ordered the inner court to abolish all unnecessary etiquette.
"Your Majesty, I, Yan Yingyuan, pay my respects to you!"
"No need to be polite, Mr. Yan. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, I will get straight to the point! There are hundreds of thousands of bandits. You need to help me think of a strategy to defend the city!"
"I obey the order."
"Okay, since we are considering a strategy for defending the city, how about I be the bandit responsible for attacking the city this time and you be responsible for defending the city?"
"No problem, my lord."
Chongzhen paused and said seriously: "I will now tell you all the useful people in the capital."
Yan Yingyuan's expression changed and he knew that Chongzhen was serious.
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