noveltune Chapter 13 Yang Sichang: Dig up the grave! We must dig up the grave! Dig up Zhang Xianzhong's a
Chapter 13 Yang Sichang: Dig up the grave! We must dig up the grave! Dig up Zhang Xianzhong's a
Li Kangxian was speechless.
Everyone knows that the emperor has the final say.
Moreover, Yang Sichang wearing plain clothes to court was illegal, but reasonable.
The Ming Dynasty was not without such cases, for example, Zhang Juzheng.
In the end, Li Kangxian had no choice but to admit his mistake: "Your Majesty, I was foolish and beg you to punish me."
Zhu Youjian waved his hand: "Get up, but don't let this happen again."
Yang Sichang was deeply moved by the emperor's protection of him.
He could sense that Zhu Youjian valued him.
Not only did he personally greet him at the palace gate, but he was also granted special permission to attend court in plain clothes.
After arriving at the Wuying Hall.
Zhu Youjian then dismissed the cabinet and the six ministries.
Leaving only Yang Sichang behind, Zhu Youjian immediately spoke, "Minister Yang, you must be aware of what has happened in the court, right?"
Yang Sichang nodded.
"On my way back to the capital, I learned that Zhang Xianzhong burned down the ancestral tombs of the Ming Dynasty, which is a heinous crime."
Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.
"The reason I summoned you back to the capital this time is to discuss how to eliminate Zhang Xianzhong and his men to avenge the loss of our ancestral tombs."
"The former Minister of War, Zhang Fengyi, has been slow to provide me with a solution, which is a serious dereliction of duty. I hope you will not disappoint me."
Yang Sichang was already aware of these matters.
When questioned by Zhu Youjian, Yang Sichang immediately took out a memorial from his bosom.
"On my way back to the capital, I had a preliminary plan, which I would like to present to Your Majesty."
After receiving it, Wang Chengen presented it to Zhu Youjian with both hands.
"A ten-sided encirclement and suppression network—what does this mean?"
Yang Sichang explained: "The four regions are the areas where the rebels were most active, namely: Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Fengyang."
"The primary strategy for dealing with peasant armies within the Sizheng area is suppression, with defense as a secondary measure."
"The six corners refer to Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Yingtian, Jiangxi, and Sichuan."
"The governors of these six regions should prioritize defense and take suppression as a secondary measure."
"When the two are combined, they form a ten-sided net."
Zhu Youjian raised his hand in a gesture.
Wang Chengen immediately brought over the map.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Sichang drew out his plan on the map.
"Your Majesty, if the peasant army is in Shaanxi, then the governors of Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huguang, Henan, Yansui, and Shanxi will form a six-sided encirclement."
"In this way, if the peasant army appears in any of the four regions, six governors will set up a net to surround and besiege it."
"Moreover, peasant armies are mostly active in the summer and autumn seasons. In the spring and winter, when it is cold and the ground is frozen, it is inconvenient for them to move around."
"If His Majesty urges us, then the bandit suppression campaign can be scheduled to begin in December of this year."
"Your Majesty, I can assure you that if we follow my plan, we will be able to quell the internal strife within three months."
"We will surely be able to quell the internal strife!"
Zhu Youjian gazed at Yang Sichang, his mind filled with thoughts.
Yang Sichang is indeed a talented individual, capable of accurately identifying the weaknesses of the peasant army and then defeating them one by one.
No wonder Li Zicheng was reduced to only eighteen men, and Zhang Xianzhong was forced to accept surrender.
The peasant army also surrendered completely.
Unfortunately, plans often go awry.
According to historical records, Yang Sichang's plan was proposed two years later.
At that time, Huang Taiji had already declared himself emperor and was eyeing the Ming Dynasty covetously.
Yang Sichang advocated quelling the internal strife first.
Therefore, they advocated negotiating with the Qing army.
However, Huang Taiji had no intention of making peace and saw an opportunity when the Ming Dynasty was quelling internal strife.
The Qing army invaded.
Ultimately, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to urgently summon Hong Chengchou and others back to the capital to provide assistance.
For this reason, Yang Sichang's "Four Directions, Six Intermediates, and Ten-Sided Network" plan was declared bankrupt.
The Ming Dynasty also missed the opportunity to quell the internal strife.
After that, Li Zicheng made a comeback, and his call to arms was met with overwhelming support, leading to another rebellion by Zhang Xianzhong and others.
The Ming Dynasty was once again caught in a predicament of internal and external troubles.
Ultimately, Beijing was captured by Li Zicheng, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill.
Yang Sichang's strategy of "pacifying the country before resisting foreign aggression" was opposed by many people.
After all, the Jin and Ming dynasties were already sworn enemies, and negotiating peace with the Jin army was indeed difficult for people to accept.
The "Four Directions, Six Corners, Ten Sides" plan, although it failed to quell the internal strife in March as Yang Sichang had predicted.
But it did inflict heavy losses on the peasant army.
"Minister Yang, this should only be your initial plan, right?"
Yang Sichang nodded: "Your Majesty, the journey has been arduous, and I currently only have a basic plan."
"I simply don't have the energy to perfect it, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Zhu Youjian smiled calmly.
"You are overthinking it, my dear minister. It is possible to come up with a plan to suppress bandits while traveling on a long journey."
"This proves that I did not misjudge him."
"Compared to Zhang Fengyi, who couldn't utter a single word in more than ten days, Yang Aiqing managed to come up with a framework for a bandit suppression plan in just three days, which is truly remarkable."
"Minister Yang, you must be exhausted after traveling for several days. Let's stop here for today and go back to get some rest."
"I am not in a hurry for the bandit suppression plan."
"However, I have only one request: if possible, Zhang Xianzhong must die."
Yang Sichang sensed the anger in Zhu Youjian's words.
Yang Sichang immediately turned around and said, "Zhang Xianzhong's destruction of the ancestral tombs is a heinous crime, and it is only natural that His Majesty is furious."
"Your Majesty, I have a way to alleviate your anger."
Seeing Yang Sichang return, Zhu Youjian coughed lightly twice.
This efficiency is a bit too high.
Tell me about it.
Yang Sichang immediately said, "Treat them as they treat you!"
"Since Zhang Xianzhong dared to desecrate his ancestral tombs, then we can also desecrate his ancestral graves!"
"Moreover, the reason why Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others could not be eliminated despite repeated suppressions was that their ancestral tombs were enough to protect them."
Yang Sichang's words gave Zhu Youjian a jolt.
Yang Sichang, despite being a scholar, lacked the integrity of a true scholar and didn't care about his reputation at all. Instead, he resorted to underhanded tactics like digging up ancestral graves.
That's really rare.
Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng, and others were all peasant armies, or even, to put it more bluntly, bandits.
They don't care about their reputation, so they dare to excavate the ancestral tombs in Fengyang.
But which official in the imperial court doesn't care about their reputation?
This act may be detrimental to one's moral character.
But I found it to my liking.
Zhu Youjian smiled calmly: "Minister Yang, this is a brilliant move, but I'm afraid many court officials will oppose it."
"Digging up ancestral graves does indeed damage the reputation of the imperial court."
"Bandits like Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng don't care about their reputation, but the imperial court does."
Upon hearing this, Yang Sichang bluntly stated, "The reputation of the imperial court lies in whether it benefits the people, but we are currently at war."
"Your Majesty, if we lose, and our country is destroyed, can honor save our nation?"
"All I know is that in matters of the battlefield, no means are too ruthless."
Zhu Youjian hesitated slightly.
Yang Sichang knew very well that Zhu Youjian was probably worried about being captured and infamous.
It's not a pleasant thing to talk about digging up someone's ancestral grave.
As an emperor, he still had to maintain some dignity.
But he can do without it.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to bear the infamy."
Zhu Youjian listened to Yang Sichang's words and felt a deep sense of emotion.
No wonder Emperor Jiajing liked Yan Song so much.
Who wouldn't like someone who takes the blame and avenges themselves?