Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan quickly entered the Dongnuan Pavilion and kowtowed to Emperor Chongzhen.
Chongzhen asked: "Wang Jiayan, how is the defense on the city? What's going on with the bandits?"
Wang Jiayan is in his fifties and is from Putian, Fujian Province. He has a Fujian face with raised cheekbones and three strands of gray beard. Among today's courtiers, he can be regarded as a man of integrity, a breeze on his sleeves, and extremely loyal in his work.
Hearing Chongzhen's question, he told the truth: "Your Majesty, after the Fuchengmen battle, people's hearts have been united. Your Highness has offered a high price of one tael of silver a day to recruit troops. There are many brave men who have applied. It is estimated that there are many brave men who can go to the city today." There will be more than 20,000 people. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince issued an order yesterday evening to remove most of the defenders from the seven gates of the outer city and concentrate them on the nine gates of the inner city. Now the defenses of the seven gates of the outer city are as if they are in vain, with only one guard at each gate. Guarded by a hundred people.”
"What? Why did the prince give up the seven foreign ministers? You are co-managing the military affairs, why didn't you stop him?"
Wang Jiayan said: "Your Majesty! His Royal Highness has made up his mind to abandon the city and move south. The purpose of gathering troops in the outer city is to attract the main force of the rebels into the outer city to facilitate a breakout."
Wang Jiayan couldn't say any more and lay on the ground crying secretly. Li Banghua, who was over seventy years old and had white hair and beard, looked pleased. In February, he proposed that the prince go to Nandu to supervise the country. Chongzhen rejected his suggestion on the grounds that the prince was young and ignorant. But now it seems that the prince is indeed the master of ZTE!
"Your Majesty," Li Banghua said, "the prince gathered the nobles of the capital at Chengguo Mansion last night and raised money and soldiers from them. He also got a lot of money, it is said that there are millions, and he also received more than a thousand soldiers from various nobles. Strong servants. These servants are now incorporated into the Kenan Camp. Together with the elites selected from the capital's heroes and the Beijing camp, the number of men in the Kenan Camp will soon exceed 10,000. With so many strong men escorting you, Your Majesty I will definitely be safe and happy..."
"Get millions more?" Chongzhen was a little annoyed, "I asked them to pay, and they all got nothing. The prince asked them to pay, and in the blink of an eye, it was several million. Why is this?"
Why?
Because corrupt officials' money is for spending, not for donating. And the prince issued a decree yesterday morning to let go more than 200 corrupt officials who had spent money! This shows that corrupt officials have not spent their money in vain!
And yesterday afternoon, the prince shot Li Zicheng at Fucheng Gate again, and personally killed Du Xun, who surrendered to Li Zicheng... This was a man who could both get things done and kill people! Of course, such a prince of Fujun can raise money and strong men!
Of course, this cannot be said explicitly to Emperor Chongzhen.
Wei Zaode, the chief assistant, could only say vaguely: "Your Majesty, the prince is quite capable. In the current situation, it is also a blessing to the country!"
Chongzhen nodded, "It's just that the prince is young after all, and it is always inappropriate to act too radically. Moreover...now that the capital has soldiers and pay, the matter of Nan Xing should be discussed slowly to avoid panic."
Li Banghua was stunned when he heard this, and quickly shook his head and said: "No! Your Majesty, although the capital has soldiers and pay, Tongzhou, Tianjin, and Dagu are quite empty. Once the rebels divide their troops and occupy the cities east of Jingdong and cut off Tianjin's way of life, the capital will It will become an isolated city, and you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
"Aren't there still tens of thousands of Guan Ning's soldiers?" Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "Now that there are millions of military pay, are you still afraid that you can't motivate Guan Ning's army to fight to the death? As long as the rebels are defeated, Beijing will be safe and sound."
"Your Majesty is wise, and I do not advocate giving up the capital." Wei Zaode, the first assistant, had no opinion and immediately expressed his support for Emperor Chongzhen.
Wang Jiayan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, did not advocate abandoning Beijing, and immediately said: "Now is indeed not the time to abandon the capital. As far as I know, the bandits have tens of thousands of cavalry, coming and going like the wind, and attacking like thunder. If we camp in Beijing, we can overcome the difficulties." The soldiers of the battalion worked hard to defend the city, and they might be able to hold on until Guan Ning's soldiers came to rescue them. If they abandoned the city and left, they would be chased by rogue cavalry halfway. At that time, they would be afraid that the escorting soldiers would disperse in a hurry, and His Majesty and all the officials would be trapped. A prisoner of the bandits!"
Li Banghua just shook his head: "If two or three important ministers lead their troops to hold on, contain the bandits, break out in several directions to confuse the bandits, and escort them to Tianjin with elite soldiers, the palace driver will be fine."
Chongzhen coughed and said: "I have made up my mind and will never give up the inheritance of our ancestors! In addition, Wu Xiang wants to offer his daughter and the prince as talents. What do you think?"
What? Wu Xiang wants to be the head of the country?
Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan were all stunned.
This matter is not in line with the ancestral system, but now that the Ming Dynasty is in turmoil, Wu Sangui’s few soldiers and horses are the only way to save his life! If your father wants to be the father-in-law, then he should be...
"Li Banghua!" Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "You are the censor of Zuodu, please tell me."
Li Banghua shook his head: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed against the ancestral rules..."
"Shouldn't Wu Xiang be impeached for offering his daughter to favor?" Chongzhen asked.
"This..." Li Banghua was stunned again and again, not knowing how to be a censor.
Emperor Chongzhen said: "You are the censor of Zuodu, and you have the responsibility of guarding all officials! Now that the enemy is approaching, it is even more important to clean up the rules and regulations. Only by upholding the rules and disciplines can we inspire people's hearts. Only by inspiring people's hearts can we defeat powerful enemies.
Wu Sangui sent a large number of troops to help, so he should be rewarded for his merits. It is possible to be granted the title of Marquis or Duke. You can also pay millions! However, the marriage of the crown prince involves the foundation of the country and must not violate the ancestral system! "
When Li Banghua heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, he had no choice but to obey the decree.
Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction, "It's getting late, and I should prepare to go to court. You guys should go to Meridian Gate and wait... During the morning court today, I hope to see some ministers who can come forward, Su Gang Ji, Inspiring!"
After the three ministers left the Qianqing Gate together, Li Banghua, the oldest minister from the Four Dynasties, asked Wei Zaode, the 39-year-old chief minister of the cabinet: "Master, you know the emperor's thoughts best. Tell me, what is he?" mean?"
Wei Zaode looked around and saw that there was no one else around, then he smiled bitterly: "Isn't it obvious? This is posing a problem for the East Palace!"
Wang Jiayan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, asked: "Does the Holy One want to destroy the country?"
"No," Wei Zaode shook his head, "Not at the moment...but the East Palace has taken too much power, so it should be restrained."
"It's indeed a bit much!" Wang Jiayan nodded, "But is Dong Palace willing to restrain himself?"
Wei Zaode sighed and said: "Whether you are willing to stay with the East Palace...but whether you are willing to accept Nan Xing and allow the East Palace to accept talented people depends on the Holy One! Now the Holy One will use these two things to beat the East Palace. If the East Palace gives in, , then everything will be easy to say.”
Li Banghua asked: "Why don't the East Palace retreat?"
Wei Zaode shook his head and said: "It's not like... Donggong is a filial son. If he admits his mistake and hands over the millions he has, won't everyone be happy?"
…
"What? The emperor's decree hasn't come down yet?"
"Yes, I just went home and asked, and it's true that I didn't come down."
"No, my father has already agreed."
"Perhaps the court officials objected?"
"Impose an edict, even if the court officials object, I can issue it!"
"Perhaps the Holy Spirit feels that the decree is inappropriate?"
"this……"
In the early morning of the 18th, Zhu Cixiang had returned to Jiale Hall next to the inner school field.
Although he hadn't slept a wink for another day and night, his spirit was still in a state of excitement, and for some reason he thought of Wu Xiang's daughter... so he asked Wu Xiang. After asking, I found out that Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have let go of his dove and actually did not issue the imperial edict to take the concubine.
Without an edict, of course Wu Xiang could not send his daughter to Jiale Hall to accompany the king.
"Master Qiansui, why don't you call Concubine Ning?" Zhu Cihong's eunuch Huang Dabao suggested with a smile on his face.
"No need." Zhu Cixiang shook his head, "Huang Banban, are all the people you asked to find here?"
"Reporting to Master Qiantui, I have fetched them according to your instructions," Huang Dabao said, "Soy Sauce Huang and Su Laomi are also willing to work for Master Qiansui."
Zhu Cixiang has received more than five million taels of silver and hundreds of thousands taels of gold in the past two days. The guards and eunuchs of the East Palace were responsible for these money, and they were escorted to Zhengyin Temple near Chaoyang Gate for storage. Zhu Cihong's teacher Chen Rui and the foreman guard Zhu Chunjie are responsible for the supervision.
However, it is not enough for someone to keep such a large sum of money, there must be a special accounting room responsible for accounting and cashiering.
However, when it came to managing money, Zhu Cihong did not trust the servants in the palace, nor did he trust the officials in the Ministry of Revenue. With millions in their hands, God knows how much they will lose!
So Zhu Cixiang simply went against the rules and asked Huang Dabao to find Soy Sauce Huang, who ran a restaurant and soy sauce garden, and Su Laomi, who ran a grain store, to take charge of Zhu Cixiang's big accounting room.
