Chapter 198: Forcing the Capital Three Times!
On the 19th day of the first lunar month, when Ou Zanghua was still instructing Xiang Danian and Liu Qing in practicing the "Yuan Tian Zhen Yue Shengong" at home, he was suddenly summoned by Emperor Zhengde.

While helping Ou Zanghua change her clothes, Liu Qing asked in confusion, "Doesn't the registration start tomorrow? Why are you asking your husband to enter the palace today?"

Ou Zanghua opened his arms to make it easier for Liu Qing to button his shirt, and guessed, "The one who came to summon me is the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department. He must be here for some important business. If I'm not back in the evening, Qingqing doesn't have to wait for me and can eat first."

"it is good."

Liu Qing nodded, and when she was about to leave, Ou Zanghua hugged her in his arms, kissed his wife on the face before letting her go.

Then she walked out. Liu Qing's pretty face was blushing. She looked at her husband walking away in the corridor with swaying tree shadows. She was a little dazed for a moment.

Qu Feiyan came over, nudged Liu Qing, and said with a smile: "Sister Qingqing, you are back to life!"

"You little girl!"

Not to mention the laughter at home, Ou Zanghua followed the eunuch of the Imperial Household Department and rushed all the way. After passing through the Meridian Gate and entering the palace, they crossed the Jinshui Bridge and arrived outside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhang Yong was waiting at the door. When he saw Ou Zanghua coming, he immediately came forward and greeted him: "Guest Ou!"

"Prime Minister Zhang!" Ou Zanghua bowed and greeted him.

"Mr. Ou, there is no need to be so polite. His Majesty said that when Mr. Ou arrives, there is no need to announce your arrival. You can go directly into the palace." Zhang Yong continued to walk forward with Ou Zanghua and spoke.

"Minister Zhang, what happened?" Ou Zanghua followed Zhang Yong and asked with some confusion.

"What a troubled time!"

Zhang Yong sighed and then said, "The traitor Liu Liu fooled everyone! The officials all thought that Liu Liu and Liu Qi went south together, but in fact, they moved around and returned to the north."

As they were talking, the two walked into the Qianqing Palace. "I am Ou Zanghua, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"Mr. Ou, please don't be polite. Please take a seat!" Emperor Zhengde stood in front of a huge map, his tone somewhat hurried.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Ou Zanghua stood up and found that Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu, Fei Hong, Duke of Yingguo Zhang Mao, and Duke of Dingguo Xu Guangzuo were all there.

Of the five ministers in the cabinet, only Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary Liu Zhong was absent. The 60-year-old minister was frightened by Emperor Zhengde last time, which directly triggered his blood pressure. He was dizzy at home all day long. He had not even started work yet, but he had already submitted three letters to resign.

Ou Zanghua bowed to the six big guys as a greeting.

Yang Tinghe turned his head and continued, "In the autumn of the sixth year of Zhengde, within a few months, the bandit army first went south to Huguang, then turned east to Jiangxi, then went north to Shandong, and then to Bazhou in Hebei, then went south to Shandong, and then entered Nanzhili, and plundered the Nanzhili prefecture for the first time."

"Last autumn, Lord Ou suppressed the rebellion in Jiangxi. Did you fight with them?" Emperor Zhengde suddenly looked at Ou Zanghua and asked.

"Your Majesty, I have not met Liu Liu and Liu Qi." Ou Zanghua quickly responded with a bow.

Judging from Liu Liu and Liu Qi's moving speed, they were probably just passing by.

Sure enough, Yang Tinghe continued, "Your Majesty, Liu Liu and Liu Qi were originally bandits who moved as fast as the wind and lightning, causing trouble everywhere. The government troops who were encircling and suppressing them were exhausted and unable to respond. They repeatedly let them escape and were helpless."

"Whenever they arrived at a place, the first thing they did was to rob, not only the rich but also the poor. All the food of the people was taken away, and the people had no means of survival. They had no choice but to follow Liu Liu's uprising, otherwise they would starve to death on the road."

"During the long march, the old, weak, sick and disabled were eliminated, leaving only the elite soldiers, whose number once increased to 100,000."

"In November, the transport ships were burned and looted by bandits, causing the state to suffer losses in taxes and the price of goods to soar."

Having said that, several big guys looked at Ou Zanghua.

Ou Zanghua was completely confused. Why are you looking at me? It wasn't me who burned it!
Fortunately, Li Dongyang explained in time: "Fortunately, at the end of December, Jingyu brought a batch of southern goods to Tianjin Port, which solved the urgent need of the capital."

"Especially after the ice on the canal was blasted, nearly a hundred cargo ships from the south passed through the canal to reach Tianjin." Fei Hong took over the conversation and said, "If it weren't for Jingyu, I'm afraid this first month would not be easy. This is to save the people from danger and help them in distress."

Ou Zanghua forced a smile. He didn't know at that time that Liu Liu had burned the transport ship, causing the canal to be blocked in November.

After the Canal Transport Bureau finally cleared the remaining garbage, the cold weather came again, freezing the river surface. In the early days, we could still rely on manual ice-cutting, but by mid-December, the efficiency of manual ice-cutting gradually slowed down.

At this time, Ou Zanghua arrived with their Poyang Lake navy.

This wave can only be called an accidental success.

"Mr. Ou is indeed a treasure of the court. How does the saying go? In times of crisis, he can always show up at the strategic location." There was a little more comfort in the serious expression of Emperor Zhengde.

At least there are people in the room who are not capable of using their talents!
Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the meaning of what I am saying now is already subtle. I think we should focus on how to resist the rebellious bandits Liu Liu."

"The Eastern Route Army led by Liu Liu first marched from Shandong to Henan, then turned to Huguang, and then headed north to Bazhou."

Xu Guangzuo came to the map, pointed to several key locations on it, and said, "I think we can encircle and suppress this bandit in Bazhou!"

Ou Zanghua looked at the map and began to simulate calculations in his mind. Bazhou is located in Hebei, a very delicate location, very close to Tianjin and the capital.

The closest to Bazhou is Tianjin Wei, followed by Jinan Wei and Taiyuan Wei.

Naturally, Tianjin Wei cannot be moved, otherwise Tianjin will be empty and Liu Liu will have the opportunity to create a robbery.

However, the Jinan Guard had been defeated twice by Liu Liu and Liu Qi and had completely lost its combat effectiveness.

The Taiyuan Guards were at a long distance and had also been defeated once, so one can imagine their combat effectiveness.

Then the only one that still has combat capability and is at a suitable distance is the Beijing Camp.

Although the Beijing camp had suffered defeats, it did not collapse in one blow and still had the strength to fight.

Li Dongyang stepped forward and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the chaos in Jiangxi and Sichuan last year has caused irreparable losses. Now we are about to enter the beginning of spring. As the saying goes, the beginning of spring is the beginning of the year, so we should start planning for planting. If we allow Liu Liu and Liu Qi to flood into the south and disrupt planting, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Therefore, I think we should encircle and suppress the rebels in the north!"

After hearing this, Emperor Zhengde nodded silently. He looked at the map, thought for a while, and said, "Appoint Xianning Earl Qiu Yue as the general to suppress the bandits, command the overall situation, and lead 3,000 troops from the capital to attack Bazhou."

"Order the Minister of the Honglu Temple, Ou Zanghua, as the General of Suppressing Bandits, and lead the Tianjin Right Guard and Jinan Guard to stop the rebels from advancing southwards!"

When everyone present heard Emperor Zhengde's arrangement, no one raised any objection.

In the fifth year of Zhengde, King Anhua Zhu Zongheng rebelled. It was Qiu Yue who designed a plan to capture Zhu Zongheng and put down the Anhua Rebellion. He was a brave and resourceful general.

In such a critical moment, the country needs such talents to turn the tide.

Although Ou Zanghua had a very good relationship with the emperor, he had experience in suppressing bandits and was not on good terms with the eunuchs, so he was considered one of the emperor's own people.

But there is still one route left. If the rebels are allowed to go west into Shanxi and then south into Sichuan, then this encirclement and suppression will inevitably fail again.

Just when everyone was thinking about who should be the roadblock, Li Dongyang stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty, I recommend the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief and Baoding Governor Peng Ze to lead the Taiyuan Guard to stop the rebels from advancing westward."

As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Tinghe's eyes immediately lit up.

Peng Ze was a Jinshi in the third year of Hongzhi, and served as the prefect of Zhending Prefecture.

What made him so awesome was that he once placed his coffin in the meeting room and threatened to die, leaving the extremely arrogant eunuch party helpless.

Later, he served as the deputy envoy of Zhejiang and the censor of Henan, and was known for his might. He was one of the few fierce men who could get things done and get promoted under the shadow of the eunuch party without being corrupted.

"Pengze?"

Emperor Zhengde thought for a while, and as if he had some impression, he nodded and said: "Appoint the Chief Censor Peng Ze as the general to fight against the rebels, and lead the Taiyuan Guard to advance eastward to prevent the rebels from entering Shanxi from the west."

"I will kill Liu Liu and his gang in Hebei!"

(End of this chapter)