Zhu Cixiang glanced at Jiang Dejing guiltily, and then shouted sharply: "Jiang Dejing, do you know what you are talking about?"
When Jiang Dejing heard this, although his body kept trembling, his tone was much calmer than before, and he said respectfully: "I know, I suggest you give money to destroy the bandits!"
Zhu Cixiang stood up angrily and scolded: "Jiang Dejing, my father treats you very well, how dare you say such outrageous words?"
"Do you know that the power of our dynasty is beyond the ancient times? Not only does it control the Northern and Western Tibet, but it does not have the peace and fraternity of the Han, the alliance of the Tang, the act of accepting the annual coins of the Song, and the courtesy of brothers and enemies... ."
As Zhu Cixiang's voice sounded, a chilling air suddenly surged through the hall. Dai Ming, who had been eager to try, immediately became quiet and looked at Zhu Cixiang in horror.
Zhang Xin, Liu Chang and others looked happy and were ready to add insult to injury at any time.
Fan Jingwen and Wang Jiayan shook their heads slightly, their eyes full of confusion.
Only Zuo Maodi showed admiration. He tried to move forward several times, but stopped again.
"Where are the left and right? Why don't I drag this man who has no king or father, who is greedy for life and afraid of death, out of here!"
After Zhu Cihong reprimanded him, he seemed still upset and shouted loudly outside the hall.
Zuo Maodi, who was hesitating at first, heard the words and hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, please temporarily suspend your thunderous anger. After Master Jiang tells the reason, if there is anything wrong, it will not be too late to punish him!"
When Fan Jingwen saw Zuo Maodi interceding, he also stepped forward to persuade him.
Seeing this, Zhu Cixiang pretended to be dissatisfied and said: "Okay, for the sake of your honor, I will give you a chance to argue."
"If you can't tell me why, I will punish you...you...will never be lenient!"
Seeing that Zhu Cihong hesitated for a long time and could not tell the extent of the punishment, Liu Chang despised him even more and looked at Zhang Xin.
Zhang Xin shook his head slightly, indicating that he should wait and see what happens and not act too hastily.
Liu Chang nodded and winked at Zhang Canran and Dai Ming.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Canran nodded hurriedly to express his understanding.
But Dai Ming said that he had been staring at Jiang Dejing and did not see Liu Chang's eyes.
Just when Liu Chang was thinking about whether to go over and remind De Ming, he heard Jiang Dejing's voice: "Your Highness, I know that this move is harmful to the state."
"But now that the Jurchens and rebels are here, we are completely unable to defeat them. If they join forces to attack the city again, the capital will be in danger of falling."
"You must know that the generals are now separatist and have always acted against the imperial court. Fortunately, your majesty's sage has frightened them. However, if the capital is damaged, I am afraid that they will have different intentions, so I propose to use money to destroy the bandits."
"Because although the Jurchens are strong, they are not of my race and are not popular among the people. Even if they can occupy a large place, they cannot hold it for a long time..."
As Jiang Dejing narrated, Zhu Cixiang's expression gradually softened, and he was no longer as resistant as before.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xin and Liu Chang were about to step forward to impeach. Unexpectedly, Jiang Dejing had just finished speaking, and Zuo Maodi knelt down to request an order and expressed his willingness to go to Hauge Military Camp to announce the order.
The two of them knew that Zuo Maodi had a high prestige in the Donglin Party, and were afraid that the impeachment would provoke criticism from the Donglin Party. When they were hesitating, they saw Dai Ming kneel down to petition for the order, and his attitude was extremely flattering.
Zhang Xin glared at Liu Chang with dissatisfaction. The latter trembled slightly and was about to speak when he heard Zhu Cixi's voice: "Dai Qing, do you think you should be punished?"
Dai Ming said that after hearing this, he responded repeatedly: "Your Highness, at this time, joining forces to defeat the invaders is actually the best strategy. Please don't doubt it!"
Zhu Cihong nodded subconsciously, but suddenly stopped, looked at Liu Chang and said, "Liu Qing, what do you think of this proposal?"
Although Liu Chang looked down on Zhu Cihong, he was quite happy when he saw that Zhu Cihong was already moved and thought of Niu Jinxing's promise.
However, he was cunning by nature and would never tell the truth, so he said vaguely: "Your Highness is a saint, and his vision and knowledge are beyond the reach of this minister. As long as His Highness's decision is made, there is no one who is not wise!"
Zhu Cixiang was silent for a while, then looked at Fan Jingwen and said, "Fan Qing, what do you think of this matter?"
When Fan Jingwen asked, he hesitated and said: "Your Highness, although paying prisoners can temporarily alleviate the crisis, it will harm the country. Please think again!"
Zhu Cixiang valued Fan Jingwen very much because of the Chengtianmen incident. Seeing that he still couldn't let go of his name even in this critical moment, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He frowned and said loudly: "I know that this matter is harmful to the national system, so I just asked Is it possible for you?”
Seeing Zhu Cixiang's change of expression, Fan Jingwen hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty, but still refused to express his position.
Dai Ming said that when Zhu Cixiang showed dissatisfaction, he tried his best to explain the benefits of Kuanlu. He kept talking until Zhu Cixiang smiled, and then he closed his mouth proudly.
Zhang Canran on the side saw this and stepped forward to persuade him, lest Dai Ming claim to have taken the lead.
After Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, he glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Since everyone thinks this matter is feasible, I will decide to pay for it."
"However, I feel that money alone is not enough. We should send people to persuade Liu Fangliang. If we can persuade him to defect, I will be able to turn around and defeat the Li thief in one fell swoop!"
Wang Jiayan heard this and hurriedly knelt down and said: "Your Highness, Liu Fangliang is Li Thief's confidant. It is beyond words that can be said. Please think twice!"
Zhu Cixiang frowned and said: "I know that Liu Fangliang is difficult to persuade, but I also know that since Li Mou and others surrendered, Li Thief has many doubts about the generals."
"As long as we have the right strategy, we will be able to drive a wedge between them. When Liu Fangliang is desperate, how can he not turn to us?"
When Fan Jingwen saw that Zhu Cixiang not only wanted money as a prisoner, but also wanted to conquer Liu Fangliang, he immediately kowtowed to dissuade him.
When Zhu Cixiang saw this, he slightly changed his view, but still pretended to be dissatisfied and reprimanded him, and made wild assumptions.
Liu Chang saw that Zhu Cixiang was talking with high spirits, so he tried his best to encourage him, but he completely shied away the responsibility.
Zhu Cixiang sneered in his heart and said loudly: "Who among you is willing to send an envoy?"
De Ming said that although the others had been very generous before, when asked now, they all bowed their heads and remained silent.
Jiang Dejing and Zuo Maodi looked at each other, then kowtowed in order.
Zhu Cixiang glanced at the two of them, shook his head and said: "Although you are loyal and brave, it is a pity that you are old and undermine the majesty of our Ming Dynasty!"
As he spoke, he looked at Dai Ming and said, "Dai Qing, I intend to make you the Minister of Rites and ask you to go to Kuanlu. Are you willing?"
Dai Ming said that he knew that Kui Lu's incident would easily arouse public anger, and he had secretly made up his mind not to leave even if he was beaten to death.
At this moment, when I heard that he had been granted the title of Minister of Rites of the Third Rank, I also thought that Liu Chang had an appointment with Niu Jinxing. In addition, Jiang Dejing initiated this matter. Even if something happened, the responsibility could be passed on to Jiang Dejing.
So he hesitated for a moment and then hurriedly agreed.
Zhang Canran felt regretful when he saw that Dai Ming was the official. He knelt down to ask for the order regardless of Liu Chang's dissuading eyes.
Zhu Cihong was immediately overjoyed and made him a minister of Honglu Temple and asked him to lobby Liu Fangliang.
After Zhang Canran thanked them loudly, he remembered that lobbying Liu Fangliang was not easy, and looked at Zhang Xin and Liu Chang with pleading eyes.
When he saw that the two of them were ignoring them, he couldn't help but groan secretly in his heart.
Fortunately, Zhu Cihong arranged two more deputy envoys for him. He thought that he could let the deputy envoys lobby first, and then he would come forward after success, so he let go of his worries.
After Zhu Cihong dealt with the matter, he left Hongde Hall with great satisfaction.
But he had just arrived at Duan Bengong, and his expression immediately darkened.
Zhu Cixiang was silent for a while, and then carefully studied the densely marked march map.
Some people died, but not completely...
