Of course, Zhu Yijun had a reason to be angry. His reason to be angry was even more ample than Jiajing Emperor's.
Ever since Chenghua, the Ming Dynasty Emperor had not been able to intervene in the military affairs of the border army. He was powerless and had no military power. Finally, there was a Zhengde Emperor who was not easy to fool. He had just built up a little prestige after a few expeditions when he strangely fell into the water and died. Now, the Ming Dynasty Emperor could no longer control the military power.
Even the Jiajing Emperor, the most intelligent emperor, who had a certain amount of political power and personnel power, had not been able to obtain the military power. Or it could be said that the military power was tightly held by the civil officials and would not let go.
Even those who were on his side could not let go. Jiajing Emperor tried hard, but found that he was powerless and gave up. Then he was satisfied and began to cultivate. He had no energy.
Not to mention Emperor Longqing, he was willing to be a puppet. After his death, the civil officials' power increased greatly again. Wanli did not even have the power that Jiajing Emperor had. Jiajing could be reprimanded by the later generations because of his improper use of people which led to the Oda Incident. Zhu Yijun was really a fool.
Don't trust official history books too much. They were written by the literati.
He did not have the power to use people, nor did he have the power to control the military. He could not control this or that. The civil officials only knew how to ask him for money. He could not even decide who to appoint as the Crown Prince. He had been in a deadlock for so many years and still could not get it done. It could be imagined the level of "power" in Zhu Yijun's hands.
It was not that he did not want to continue to follow the old path of Emperor Longqing. But no matter how he thought about it, he felt aggrieved. The memory of being oppressed by Zhang Juzheng kept reappearing. He wanted to control the real power that an Emperor should have. He did not want to be oppressed by an official, forced to pay money by a group of officials, and could not even decide on his successor.
It wasn't that he couldn't endure it. He had endured for 25 years, and he didn't mind enduring for a few more years to see how things would turn out. However, there was a limit to his patience, and it wasn't without a bottom line. This group of bastards couldn't even hide it any longer, and that was why they came to tell him about it. One could imagine how angry Zhu Yijun was.
Behind Pingxing Pass was the Zijing Pass, and behind Zijing Pass was the city of Beijing. From the Zijing Pass to the city of Beijing was a flat stretch of land with no danger to defend. If the cavalry was fast enough, they could arrive in two days. As the Emperor, he would really have to fulfill his ancestor's oath that the Son of Heaven would guard the gates of the country!
Emperor Jing had done it once, and so had Emperor Jiajing. Both of them viewed it as a great humiliation. Would it be his turn again this time? But he clearly couldn't do anything. He didn't even have the chance to make a mistake, but he was forced to face such a situation. Why was this? Why is that?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He even had the thought of drawing his sword and chopping the two bastards in front of him.
No, no, personal resentment was a small matter. The matter of the country was more important. He had to immediately take remedial measures. Otherwise, when the city of Beijing was besieged, he would really lose all face.
The imperial court had won so many battles not long ago, and announced to the world the arrival of a golden age. Not long after the announcement, the capital of the country was besieged by the Mongolians. This was a resounding slap to the face. From the Emperor to the officials, everyone was embarrassed. More importantly, the people wouldn't think that this was the officials' fault. They would only blame the Emperor from the bottom of their hearts.
As the saying went, the Emperor had to take the blame for the officials' sins.
Zhu Yijun sat back in his chair and took a few deep breaths. It took him a long time to calm down.
"Tell me, what is going on? Why did the Mongolians invade the border? Why did Datong fall? What is the situation now? Tell me in detail. If you dare to hide anything, you will be punished without mercy! "
Zhao Zhigao and Shen Li heaved a sigh of relief. Then, Zhao Zhigao straightened his upper body and began to explain.
"Your Majesty, this is because the winter has come too early these two years, and the weather is too cold. According to the past, the cold years are usually years of famine. People can still wear cotton clothes to protect themselves from the cold, but the crops can't. As a result, the crops all froze to death, and the northern lands suffered a major crop failure, causing famine and chaos."
"I've heard too many of these clichés!"
Zhu Yijun shouted angrily.
Shen Li quickly said, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please calm down! Before Cabinet Elder Zhao could finish, the weather is cold. The further north it is, the colder it is, and the further south it is, the warmer it is. Our Daming North is already so cold, not to mention the Mongolians who are even further north.
When the weather turns cold, the Mongolians can't survive either. Their cattle and goats freeze to death, and with nothing to eat, they can't survive the winter. They are forced to plunder southwards. This is the reason why the Mongolians plunder southwards most of the time. They also have nothing to eat, so when the weather turns cold, they will come to plunder our food to survive the winter.
This is the reason why the Mongolians invade the border more often in years of famine, but not in years of harvest. We have food to eat, and they also have food to eat, so they don't have to risk their lives to plunder food. But if they run out of food, they will definitely go south to plunder food to survive. It's the same this time. "
After listening to Shen Li's explanation, Zhu Yijun calmed down a little and continued to ask, "Then why didn't the Mongolians succeed in invading the south in the past 40 years, but this time they managed to break through Datong?"
"Before, there was the Longqing Peace Conference. It had just ended and was still in effect. After a few years, Wang Chonggu used the Tumit Tribe as his helper and they became the only ally of the Daming outside the borders. The Tumit Tribe had tens of thousands of cavalrymen, which was enough to defend the borders of the Daming. Therefore, for the next 10 years, the Tumit Tribe kept defending the Daming from disasters, and the Daming also traded with them."
"I also know about this. I know about the Third Lady. I just want to know why King Shunyi betrayed the Daming after more than 10 years! Where is the Third Lady? Why is there no news about her? "
Zhu Yijun asked aggressively.
Zhao Zhigao and Shen Li realized that the Emperor had done his homework and knew a lot about the Daming. It was not easy to fool him, so they didn't dare to lie. Zhao Zhigao told the truth honestly.
"The military report at the border only mentioned the matter of Tulik and did not mention the Third Lady, so we don't know the inside story. But the reason why the Tumit Tribe rebelled was because they had no food to eat."
"How could the Daming and Tumit not have food to eat?"
"During the years of famine, the Daming also had no food to eat. A large area of the land in Guanzhong and Shanxi failed, so there was no food supply. The three towns of Datong, Taiyuan, and Xuanfu were all short of food. They could only rely on the transportation of grain from Jiangnan to support them for a while. Now that the last batch has been used up, the next batch has not been sent to the border!"
"Bastard!"
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