"Don't talk nonsense in front of me. I'm telling you, it's useless. If your prime minister has nothing wrong with him, why doesn't he dare to fart even now?"
Li Mou was forced to lose his patience by the civil servants under Niu Jinxing. While shouting loudly, he looked provocatively at the silent Niu Jinxing.
Niu Jinxing didn't know if he felt guilty towards Li Yan because he led his troops to besiege Li Yan's mansion last time.
He was still worried that Li Yan had real evidence of his affair with a Jurchen, and was afraid of irritating the other party and causing trouble.
So even though Li Mou's words were very unpleasant, he didn't speak, and just asked the people below him to fight back.
At this moment, seeing Li Mou provoking him by name again, a look of anger flashed across his face. Just as he was about to stand up to retort, his body suddenly trembled, and then he took a peek at Li Zicheng, who was sitting upright.
Because he saw that although Li Zicheng was silent, there was murderous intent in his eyes, he suppressed the anger in his heart.
Unexpectedly, Li Mou shouted loudly again at this time: "Niu, don't think that you can just keep silent!"
"I might as well tell you that I have sent people to Taiyuan to capture Niu Quan. As long as that bastard..."
"Li Mou, my son has not violated the national law, why do you take him?"
When Niu Jinxing heard that Li Mou actually sent people to capture Niu Quan, he was shocked and angry. He immediately stood up and shouted angrily.
"His Majesty once explicitly ordered not to associate with the Jurchens, but he has an affair with the Jurchens. Shouldn't I take advantage of him?"
Li Mou shouted excitedly when he saw Niu Jinxing answering.
"Li Mou, you are also the commander-in-chief of an army. You must rely on evidence in everything. Since you said that my son colluded with the Jurchens, do you have any evidence?"
Niu Jinxing glanced at Li Zicheng again, and when he saw that his expression did not change, he shouted loudly.
Li Mou glanced at him contemptuously and said coldly: "Evidence, evidence has been all over the streets in the past few days, haven't you seen it?"
"If you didn't see it, why would you lead your troops to my cousin's mansion? Could it be that you, who can't even hold a sword, went to ask for advice on how to fight?"
After hearing this, Niu Jinxing glanced at Li Yan again. Seeing that the other party had no intention of stopping him, he guessed that Li Mou should have been instructed by Li Yan.
But he was a little confused about this, because Li Yan had always compromised and put the overall situation first. How could he go out of his way and insist on being his enemy today?
Then he thought about the secret report he had received not long ago that Li Yan and Ren Zhihua left Yu County together and seemed to be very close to each other. He couldn't help but suspect that Li Yan saw that the situation was over and imagined that he was looking for another supporter.
So he turned his attention to Li Yan and said, "Commander Li, I heard that your sister has a deep relationship with a general under Liu Wenbing. I wonder if this is true or not?"
Li Yan glanced at him sideways and sneered: "It's true!"
Niu Jinxing was originally prepared for Li Yan to deny it, so that he could take the opportunity to muddy the waters. Unexpectedly, Li Yan admitted the matter frankly, and was stunned for a moment.
Because if he continues to accuse Li Yan of collaborating with the enemy, he will have no evidence in his hand.
Secondly, he was worried that Li Yan would have evidence that he had an affair with a Jurchen. He was worried that he would anger Li Yan and shoot himself in the foot.
But if he stops here, talks about something else, and loses his momentum, Li Mou will definitely take advantage of the situation and attack.
"Prime Minister Niu, you may have misunderstood Military Advisor Li. I have heard about this matter. It is said that Li Yan originally went to assassinate Chongzhen, but was captured accidentally because of an accident."
"After Chongzhen learned of Li Yan's identity, he wanted to take the opportunity to drive a wedge between Commander Li and His Majesty, so he asked Ren Zhihua to send Li Yan out, so this cannot be taken seriously."
Just when Niu Jinxing was in a dilemma, Song Xiance calmly shook his goose feather fan and spoke slowly.
Niu Jinxing was shocked again when she saw Song Xiance suddenly speaking to help Li Yan.
Because they had always helped each other and dealt with Li Yan together, they didn't expect Song Xiance to stab him in the back at this moment.
He looked at Song Xiance with some surprise, and frowned when he saw that the other party showed no guilt at all, but a look of complacency on his face.
Then he thought that Song Xiance felt that the Jurchen affair had been exposed and was worried that he would be implicated, so he hurriedly broke off the relationship with him and showed his kindness to Li Yan, and he was immediately furious.
Niu Jinxing snorted coldly and said sarcastically: "Song's military advisor is indeed an expert. He can know the world's affairs without leaving home. He is indeed worthy of the name of military advisor."
When Song Xiance heard this, he was not angry at all. He still shook his goose feather fan proudly and said calmly: "Prime Minister Niu, although you are a good friend of my military advisor, this matter is of great importance."
"Furthermore, Military Advisor Li now has a heavy responsibility. Once he is wronged, it will definitely affect the morale of the army. I cannot put the country in danger because of personal affairs. I hope Prime Minister Niu can understand!"
Niu Jinxing sneered: "What a fair and selfless military advisor of the Song Dynasty, I, the Prime Minister..."
...
Li Yan was planning to expose Niu Jinxing's affair with the Jurchens when he attacked him. Unexpectedly, Song Xiance actually came forward to help him, and he couldn't help but feel confused.
Later, he saw that Song Xiance seemed to be helping him, but in fact he was flattering and killing him, so he couldn't help but look at Li Zicheng.
He frowned when he saw that Li Zicheng was still looking ahead expressionlessly, completely ignoring everyone's comments.
It turned out that after the defeat in Yu County, Li Yan knew that the situation was over, and if he tried hard to support himself, his troops would be in vain.
It would be better for a strong man to cut off his wrist, abandon Shanxi, and leave this mess to Chongzhen, consuming the other party's strength.
Because the plague is raging in Shanxi now, and mourners are everywhere. After Chongzhen takes Shanxi, not only will he not increase his strength, but he will be in a dilemma of whether to settle the people.
If Chongzhen wants to settle the people, it will consume a lot of money and food.
According to his information, Chongzhen's treasury was already empty and there was no money available for disaster relief.
Therefore, if Chongzhen wanted to provide disaster relief, he could only ask the squires for money.
Once Chongzhen does this, the squires in the north will definitely oppose him. When the squires in the south hear this, even if they will not jump out to oppose, they will definitely not support Chongzhen as they do now.
In this way, Chongzhen would not only lose the support of the armed gentry everywhere, but would also have conflicts of interest with those generals supported by the gentry.
The army under Gong Yonggu's command will definitely have unstable morale. If they take the opportunity to counterattack, they may be able to decide the outcome in one battle.
If Chongzhen did not calm the people and allowed them to fend for themselves, Chongzhen would lose the support of the people.
They only need to wait until conflicts arouse and then lead the army eastward. They will surely gain the support of the people and easily conquer the lost territory before advancing on the capital.
In addition, the reason why Li Yan insisted on returning to Shaanxi was to recuperate, eliminate evil spirits, and revitalize the court.
That's why he signaled Li Mou to attack Niu Jinxing, just to let Li Zicheng see Niu Jinxing's true face and eradicate him.
But he didn't expect that Li Zicheng would turn a blind eye to this, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"enough!"
Just when Li Yan was lost, Li Zicheng suddenly stood up and shouted angrily.
When everyone heard this, they were all shocked and looked at Li Zicheng in surprise.
Li Zicheng glanced at everyone first, and then said coldly: "Li Mou has acted inappropriately before the emperor, deprived of all military positions, and stayed in the army as a soldier!"
"As the prime minister, Niu Jinxing is unable to command hundreds of officials and reconcile yin and yang. With immediate effect, he will be demoted to the right prime minister and still perform the duties of the prime minister!"
"Song Xian's improper planning led to the defeat of Yu County. He did not want to repent, but secretly instigated the courtiers to fine him a year's salary as a warning!"
As he spoke, he looked at Li Yan again. He hesitated for a while, but did not speak. Instead, he looked at everyone.
Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang and others who were still a little angry at first couldn't help but show a hint of joy on their faces when they saw Li Zicheng punishing Niu and Song for the first time. Only Li Yan frowned secretly.
"My lords, I have made up my mind. I have decided to stand firm and wait for reinforcements. I will not return to Chang'an until I am defeated by the Ming soldiers!"
At this time, Li Zicheng's loud voice sounded in the hall.
"Your Majesty, this matter must not be..."
Li Yan was shocked when he heard this and was about to speak to dissuade him, but when he saw Li Zicheng's cold eyes, he couldn't help but tremble in his heart.
