Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wang Shoulin and said, "Wang Qing, is there anything unexpected that happened?"
When Wang Shoulin heard this, he nodded and said: "The secret agent just sent news from Wu Tongzhi, saying that Jurchen cavalry appeared near Datong and Xuanfu."
"Jurchen Cavalry?"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Are there a large number of Jurchen cavalry or some stragglers? What is the situation at Shanhaiguan?"
Wang Shoulin said with some embarrassment: "Jinyiwei has closed down many overseas agencies due to funding problems. The agencies in Datong and Xuanfu were also reluctantly preserved because of the Jurchen infestation. However, the manpower is also seriously insufficient, so the specific situation has not been found out. .”
"As for Shanhaiguan, there has been no major war, so the institutions there have been dismantled. Now I don't know much about the situation there."
Hearing this, Shen Zhanran said: "If the Jurchens send troops to attack Datong and Xuanfu, even if Jiang Yu and Wang Chengyin surrender, we will no longer be able to mobilize the troops from these two places."
"In this way, even if we persuade Tang Tong, Bai Guangen and others to surrender, we may not be able to repel the rebels. I'm afraid we have to rush for reinforcements."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked: "How is the situation of the rebels outside the city?"
Wang Shoulin said: "According to the news from the spies, after the golden dragon appeared in the capital, the morale of the rebel army was in chaos. Originally, Li Thief was going to summon the generals to discuss countermeasures, but because the generals were dissatisfied with Song Xiance, there was a dispute, and in the end it was not possible. Of."
"Wu Tongzhi took the opportunity to lobby Tang Tong and Bai Guang'en. They were willing to surrender. They were only willing to surrender to His Majesty... if His Majesty... issued an amnesty order and sent important ministers to the court."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he knew that the other party's request was due to Chongzhen's poor integrity.
So he nodded and said: "Okay, you go and tell them that someone will negotiate with them tonight, and at the same time, thirty capable guards will be selected to leave the city tonight, but this matter must be done secretly."
Wang Shoulin said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. We always operate at night. This time we only opened the special channel because we were anxious to send out King Qin's edict."
"Wu Tongzhi also took the risk to send the letter in because the Jurchen cavalry incident was too sudden. He was worried about the delay. This will never happen again."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Okay, then you can do it quickly!"
Wang Shoulin saluted respectfully and hurried out.
"Your Majesty, should we leave the matter of persuading surrender to the ministers?"
At this time, Liu Wenbing took the initiative to ask Ying.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally preferred Liu Wenbing, but considering the danger of this trip, if something went wrong, it would be very detrimental to his subsequent plans.
So he shook his head and said: "Although you have a noble status, you are not familiar with people in the army, and we have other plans for you."
After saying that, he shouted outside: "Here comes someone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young eunuch came in to report that Li Jing and Li Ruolian were outside seeking an audience.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Let them come in, and go to Jinyiwei to inform Uncle Xiangcheng to come to Dongnuan Pavilion to meet us!"
The little eunuch bowed in agreement and then hurriedly retreated.
After a while, Li Ruolian and Li Jing walked in.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Ruolian and said, "Li Qing, what happened to the matter we asked you to investigate?"
Hearing this, Li Ruolian bowed and said: "The general has found out about Duke Cheng Guo's arrest of the girl. It turns out that although it was Duke Cheng who arrested the girl, the news was told to him by Master Zhang, the Minister of War."
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised and said: "It's Zhang Jinyan. How did he know about this?"
Li Ruolian said: "Master Zhang's information was obtained from one of Wu Renyi's adopted sons, but when I went to arrest that person at the end, he had already disappeared."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but press the jade belt and said, "Have you ever arrested Wu Renyi for torture?"
Li Ruolian shook his head and said: "When I rushed to the East Palace, the prince had already killed Wu Renyi with a stick!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with light and he said, "Did the prince say anything?"
Li Ruolian took out a roll of silk from his sleeve, handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang respectfully, and said: "The prince just handed this book to the last general, and said that he was guilty of negligence. He is waiting for His Majesty's fate in the East Palace!"
Zhu Yuanzhang did not expect that Zhu Cixi, who was weak in literature, could be so courageous, and this reminded him of Zhu Yunwen.
If Zhu Yunwen had Zhu Cixiang's courage, he wouldn't have ended up in a state of uncertainty.
He sighed inwardly, slowly unfolded the silk, and took a quick glance.
Then he said angrily: "I didn't expect that the people behind this were actually Zhou Zhong and others. This group of people who claim to be clean and honest actually did such a dirty thing and even tried to frame the prince."
"Go quickly and capture these traitors and interrogate them strictly. We want to see how many shameless people there are."
After Li Ruolian agreed, he reported: "Your Majesty, since the golden dragon appeared, carrier pigeons have often flown out of the city. Do you need to arrange for someone to shoot them to avoid leaking what is going on in the city?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "This is some aristocratic family passing on news. It does more good than harm to us. Don't worry about him. Just pay attention to whether anyone is passing news to the rebels outside the city."
After Li Ruolian respectfully agreed, he turned and left.
Zhu Yuanzhang then looked at Li Jing and said, "Li Qing, how is the situation over there?"
When Li Jing asked, he smiled bitterly and said: "I can't do anything to raise the salary, but today your majesty ordered the inspection of more than a dozen wealthy households. With the money and food donated by Shen Wushuang, the household department has about 7 million taels of silver and 100,000 shi of food. .”
"Now the Ministry of Household Affairs has paid back the salary arrears, so the silver is enough for the time being, but the 100,000 shi of food is slightly insufficient."
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frowned when he heard this.
He knew that the capital city had a population of about 80 to 1 million. Even if the minimum number of 800,000 people were calculated, and the average person ate one kilogram of rice a day, the 100,000 shi of food would only be enough for half a month.
If we add the hundreds of thousands of King Qin's troops who came to help, this food is far from enough.
"What's the opinion of the Ministry of Finance?"
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and then asked Li Jing.
Li Jing said: "Master Ni's intention is to first ensure the army's food and salary, and to use a sales restriction method for the common people. But even so, the existing food reserves cannot last for more than a month."
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Li Jing and said, "What about your opinion?"
Li Jing saw Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze and said solemnly: "I think it is necessary to ensure the army's food and salary, but the method of restricting sales to the people is not appropriate."
"Because we have just regained some of the people's support, and many people are voluntarily defending the city today. If we restrict sales to them now, it will definitely chill the people's hearts and easily arouse public anger. This is extremely detrimental to the defense of the city."
"Furthermore, today everyone in the city is talking about the good omen of the golden dragon's appearance, saying that God has blessed the Ming Dynasty. If we cannot properly solve the food problem and are exploited by the rebels, all our previous efforts may be in vain."
"For the present plan, it is best to have grain transported from Jiangnan. Although the rebels are powerful, they do not have a navy. If arranged properly, the grain should arrive within ten days. As long as we break the rebel siege within ten days , the problem of food shortage will no longer exist.”
"In addition, the capital has a population of nearly one million, and the grain stored in the capital should be more than this. I suggest sending someone to investigate and purchase at a price slightly higher than the market price."
Seeing that Li Jing had considered the issue quite comprehensively, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly approved of it.
After Li Jing finished speaking, he nodded and said: "This is a good idea. Go back and tell Mr. Ni that it is our intention and let the Ministry of Household Affairs handle it. If you have any questions, you can come directly to me." we!"
"In addition, please inform Li Ruolian again and ask him to conduct a thorough search of the wealthy households who were rebellious before. I'm afraid they still have a lot of food hidden."
Li Jing agreed respectfully, but did not leave. Instead, he looked at him hesitantly.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he said with some confusion: "What else do you want?"
When Li Jing saw the question, he suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have an unkind request. I hope your Majesty will grant it!"
