In the imperial study, Emperor Chongzhen sat behind the desk with a pale face. Wang Chengen stood beside him vigilantly, looking at Liu Yan intently, for fear that Liu Yan would suddenly burst out and hurt Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, Liu Yan arranged for Miao Shao and the soldiers to stay outside, and entered the imperial study alone. Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's face, he sighed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Emperor Chongzhen understood that there were new troops outside the imperial study room, and even the entire palace was under Liu Yan's control, so although he was furious, he still endured it and said coldly: "The Duke of Lu still needs to report to me. What are you reporting? I am afraid that even my life is in the hands of Duke Lu!"
"Your Majesty is serious. I never wanted to harm Your Majesty. I just wanted to save the world."
boom!
Emperor Chongzhen suddenly slammed the table, unable to control the anger in his heart any longer, and then swept away all the pens, inks, paper and inkstones on the desk, as well as a large pile of memorials, and said angrily: "You led the army into the palace and imprisoned me in the imperial palace. In the study, don’t you want to carry out Dong Zhuo’s story and bring trouble to the world! Save the world? What are you going to do to save it!”
Liu Yan looked at the somewhat crazy Emperor Chongzhen and was not angry. After all, no one would be able to accept such a thing today.
"Strong Army, New Deal."
Liu Yan said sincerely: "I am going to use these two things to save the world. I hope your majesty can help me!"
Emperor Chongzhen glared at Liu Yan and wanted to continue to vent his anger, but was stopped by Wang Chengen.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw Wang Chengen shaking his head at him, he sat down, and Wang Chengen stepped forward and said: "Duke Lu, you have promised His Majesty to send troops to quell Li Zicheng.
Why go into the city to cause trouble? As long as Li Zicheng is put down, with the merits of Duke Lu, it is certain that he will enter the government and implement the so-called New Deal. Isn't it also possible? Why do you have to alienate the emperor and his ministers and lead the army into the city? "
Liu Yan looked at Wang Chengen. Although he didn't have a good impression of the eunuch, Liu Yan still had some respect for Wang Chengen. After all, he could accompany the king to death when the country was destroyed. This courage alone The friendship is admirable.
"I would like to ask, Mr. Wang, how do I think of my meritorious service when I severely wounded Li Zicheng in Kaifeng, then in the great victory of Jinzhou, and then in one fell swoop to defeat the main Qing army of more than 300,000 people in Yanqing Prefecture? Has this governor entered the government to govern? Not only that, but not , the Donglin Party in the DPRK has repeatedly obstructed it, causing His Majesty and this Governor to almost turn against each other. How can I implement the New Deal using ordinary methods!"
Wang Chengen was speechless and had no choice but to sigh and step aside.
Emperor Chongzhen was also thinking about a question at this time: If Liu Yan really wanted to seek power and usurp the throne, why not kill him directly? Anyway, now that Hong Chengchou has been defeated and surrendered, no one in the Ming Dynasty can stop Liu Yan anymore. Shandong and Beizhi Li was also under Liu Yan's control. It was easy for Liu Yan to capture the city of Beijing and kill himself as the emperor. Why didn't he do it instead of chattering here?
At this time, Liu Yan looked at the thoughtful Emperor Chongzhen and continued to say patiently: "In extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done. Your Majesty should have heard about it. Since I implemented the New Deal in Shandong, not only has the income been abundant, but the people have also been deeply affected. The benefit is, I dare not say it is abundant.
We have enough food and clothing. At least in the year of the disaster, there were no refugees in the prefectures and states of Shandong, and no people starved to death on a large scale! "
"The more than 100,000 new troops and garrison troops under my command require more than hundreds of thousands of money and food every month. The imperial court has never provided such a large amount of money and food, but only provided a small part of the food and grass. The military pay has been in arrears for a long time. However, I relied on the New Deal to forcefully recruit an elite force that has fought for hundreds of years, but the people of Shandong have not been burdened by more than 100,000 new troops and garrison troops, and their lives are still sufficient!"
Emperor Chongzhen also became calm at this time, and fell into deep thought after listening to Liu Yan's words.
"Your Majesty, you can imagine what the Ming Dynasty will look like after I annihilate Li Zicheng and promote the Shandong New Deal throughout the country. By then, the imperial court will no longer worry about money and food, and the soldiers and horses everywhere will increase their combat effectiveness, and the people of the world will There will be plenty of food and clothing, and Liaodong, which was occupied by the Manchus outside the Pass, will return to the Ming Dynasty!"
Liu Yan raised his voice at this time and said loudly: "I can guarantee that as long as your Majesty supports me to temporarily hold power and implement the New Deal in the two capitals and thirteen provinces across the country, within ten years, the Ming Dynasty will be able to return to its prosperous age. And Your Majesty, as the King of ZTE, you can be worthy of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty!"
Emperor Chongzhen was also a little moved at this moment. It had been sixteen years since he ascended the throne. How he had spent these sixteen years, only Emperor Chongzhen himself knew the pain and sadness in it.
It can be said that during these sixteen years as emperor, Emperor Chongzhen never had a good night's sleep. When he opened his eyes every day, the memorials he received almost always described where disasters had occurred, where rebellions had occurred, and where people had been exiled. The thieves captured, where did the Qing army come from?
Bandit.
The imperial court was always in a state of having no money, no food, and no means. Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have been sitting on a frying pan for the past sixteen years, suffering, but unable to escape!
Hearing Liu Yan's promise at this time, although he was still very angry with Liu Yan, Emperor Chongzhen already had a glimmer of hope: "Now that the world is so corrupt, almost every day of my life as an emperor is regarded as the day of the country's destruction. Let Liu Yan With the Prime Minister in power for several years, can the situation get worse than it is now?"
Furthermore, Emperor Chongzhen also knew very well that even if he disagreed, it would not help the matter, and would instead put his life in danger. It's better to give this great righteousness to Liu Yan in exchange for his own safety guarantee, and then sit back and see what Liu Yan wants to do and how far he can go!
Emperor Chongzhen stood up slowly. Wang Chengen immediately took two steps forward nervously, but saw Emperor Chongzhen wave his hand, and then said: "Liu Yan, what do you want, and what can you promise me?"
Liu Yan was overjoyed. Emperor Chongzhen's character had always been stubborn and suspicious. Before Liu Yan came, he was very worried that he would not be able to convince Emperor Chongzhen and would even be known as a "regicide".
But looking at the state of Emperor Chongzhen at this time, Liu Yan was really surprised. It seems that extreme pressure from the external environment can indeed make a person break through and grow. At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had already grown up, at least knowing the choices and trade-offs.
"I am reporting to Your Majesty that I boldly ask Your Majesty for the position of Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, and grant me the power to reform the official positions of the Ming Dynasty so that I can fully implement the New Deal after defeating Li Zicheng."
"Then what can I get?"
"I can assure your Majesty that I will absolutely
In order to ensure the safety of the government, at the same time, ministers of the DPRK and China will report to His Majesty, and Your Majesty also has the right to intervene and criticize. Of course, the premise is that it does not affect the implementation of the New Deal. "
Emperor Chongzhen frowned and thought for a long time, and then said: "It is okay to implement the New Deal, but you must promise me that you will not go on a killing spree or follow the stories of Dong Zhuo and Sima!"
Emperor Chongzhen knew in his heart that any promise he asked from Liu Yan would actually have no effect. Now Liu Yan's army controlled the city of Beijing, and even the entire Beizhili Province was controlled by Liu Yan. In addition, the entire province of Shandong was already under the control of Liu Yan. Liu Yan's territory was now the most powerful person in the entire Ming Dynasty. The rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty actually depended on Liu Yan's thoughts.
However, the process still had to go, at least it would make Liu Yan feel a little bit tied up in his heart, and it could be regarded as the last effort that Emperor Chongzhen could make.
Liu Yan had also hesitated in his heart, who wouldn't want to be emperor? But at this time, although the Ming Dynasty was sunset, Liu Yan also understood that the Ming Dynasty was still orthodox in the hearts of the people in the world. The Ming Dynasty had not lost all people's hearts as the so-called "experts" of later generations said, otherwise it would not be in Manchuria. After the Qing Dynasty invaded and stole the world for decades, even one or two hundred years, there are still people who want to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. I am afraid that those are just slogans to attract people's hearts, but it is enough to show the importance of the Ming Dynasty flag among the people. .
Even in the 21st century, the descendants of China still miss the Ming Dynasty, miss the Ming Dynasty's ironclad strength and past glory. The four words "Motherland for the Ming Dynasty" are the best interpretation.
Even Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the country, the first thing he did after winning the victory of 1911 was to pay homage
Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing reported to Ming Taizu the restoration of China. At that time, nearly three hundred years had passed since the Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, Liu Yan understood that his best choice now was not to be the emperor, but to be Huo Guang. Based on the current aspirations of the people, as long as the Ming Dynasty can still be saved, he will use the skin of the Ming Dynasty to save China. Unless Liu Yan can be ruthless and treat the people as "cannon fodder" and "consumables" like Li Zicheng, or like the Manchurian Like the Qing Dynasty, they regarded all people in the world as slaves and turned China into their own slave farm. This is not what Liu Yan wants, and he will never do it.
Of course, if the wheel of history is still unstoppable and the Ming Dynasty will eventually perish, it will never be destroyed in his own hands. Liu Yan understands that he can only take back the Chinese legal system until the Ming Dynasty is destroyed by others.
So when faced with Emperor Chongzhen's question, Liu Yan said seriously: "I promise your Majesty that this will never be the case. At the same time, I can also guarantee that I will do my best to give your Majesty a strong Ming Dynasty!"
When Liu Yan walked out of the imperial study, he already had an edict in his hand. Miao Shao, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time, quickly came up to meet him and said, "Supervisor, how is the matter?"
Liu Yan relaxed and said with a sigh of relief: "The most difficult part has been solved, Your Majesty agreed!"
"Very good!"
Miao Shao said excitedly: "From now on, my subordinates will respect the governor as the elder!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "You don't have to take the title seriously. Now you send someone to inform the officials in the court that a court meeting will be held at Qianqing Palace early tomorrow morning!"
"yes!"
Then Miao Shao said
: "Mr. Ge, I estimate that there will definitely be objections from ministers in the court tomorrow. What will we do then?"
Liu Yan said without hesitation: "Kill the traitorous ministers, demote the loyal ministers, and remove the mediocre ministers!"
