There was silence in the study room.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the chair and recalled what Li Shanchang had just said. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was too tolerant of Li Jin.
You Li Jin, you have challenged our bottom line several times. This time we will never let you go!
Queen Ma on the side was frowning and thinking about how to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to give up his treatment of Li Jin. However, before she could speak, she heard Mao Xiang's request for permission outside the door.
Mao Xiang is the commander of the Jinyi Guards. Every time he takes the initiative to ask for an audience, it is usually a big deal, otherwise he would never appear at this time.
Mao Xiang's sudden appearance also interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts.
Hearing the shouts outside the door, Zhu Yuanzhang did not delay and immediately summoned Mao Xiang.
At the same time that Mao Xiang came in, there was also a Jin Yiwei with messy hair and ragged clothes following behind him. With his miserable appearance, one could tell that he had suffered a lot.
"Meet the Emperor!"
"Get up!"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hands towards the two of them, glanced at the Jinyi guard inadvertently, and then asked Mao Xiang:
"What's so urgent?"
Mao Xiang bowed his hands respectfully and said:
"Your Majesty, the Jinyi guards who went to investigate Annan are back."
After Mao Xiang finished speaking, he turned sideways to let the Jin Yiwei behind him out.
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but look surprised, looked at the Jin Yiwei, and said in a deep voice:
"What happened to Annan? Tell us everything!"
Jin Yiwei replied respectfully:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"The king of Annan is weak, and the imperial power has been eclipsed by the prime minister Hu Jiyou. Corrupt officials are rampant in Annan, causing the people of Annan to live in dire straits and misery."
"The monarch has no choice but to watch as Annan Kingdom is about to change its fate and become irreversible."
Queen Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang's expressions changed greatly after hearing this. Zhu Yuanzhang was still stunned, but Queen Ma spoke anxiously and pleaded for Li Jin again:
"Chongba, the reason why Li sent out troops must be because Annan has reached a moment of life and death, so he had to send troops south to save Annan."
"Li Jin is doing this to protect the interests of the Ming Dynasty. You must not deal with such a minister who cares about the country at will!"
"That imperial edict should be taken back immediately!"
But Zhu Yuanzhang looked dubious, waved his hand towards Queen Ma and said:
"Sister, don't worry yet."
Empress Ma wanted to say something else, but Zhu Yuanzhang continued to ask the Jin Yiwei:
"When you came back, did you see Li Jin, the prefect of Qinzhou?"
Jin Yiwei shook his head and said:
"Back to the emperor, my subordinates did not see Li Jin, but they did see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression froze and he asked in a deep voice:
"Prince? What did he tell you?"
"The situation was urgent at that time, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only ordered the Duke to send troops to quell the civil strife in Annan and support the vassal state."
Jin Yiwei answered truthfully.
"Then why is Li Jin also in the army?"
Jin Yiwei responded without any pause:
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requested it. Mr. Li didn't intend to go at first."
Did Biaoer ask for it?
Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded, but after hearing this, Empress Ma breathed a sigh of relief and begged again:
"This is all our Biao'er's idea. It has nothing to do with Li Jin. Why do you have to arrest Li Jin?"
"Chongba, please withdraw the imperial edict quickly. Li Jin acted this way for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. He was not at fault."
"If you really deal with it casually, wouldn't it chill the hearts of loyal ministers?"
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while, and finally could only sigh softly, and then said to Mao Xiang:
"Go and ask Li Shanchang to withdraw the imperial edict."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Mao Xiang left, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to ask about the war in Annan.
When asked about this, Jin Yiwei looked a little sad and told all his personal experiences in Annan:
"There is a lot of miasma in Annan, and our people were even more acclimatized after arriving there. There were seven brothers who went with my subordinates, but only one of my subordinates was left alive."
“After my subordinates leave, it’s unknown what will happen next.”
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed drastically. Doesn't that mean that Annan and his party had a narrow escape from death by the Ming army?
Then how many of our 100,000-strong army will eventually come back alive?
What about Li Jin's thin body?
Is he already dead?
...
Annan domestic.
Since Hu Ji Yao escaped from the defeat, he has been hiding on the south bank of the river, daring not to send troops to provoke again. After the last battle, Hu Ji Yao was already very clear about the strength of the Ming army.
You can't beat him, and if you don't want to die, you can only swallow your grievances in your stomach.
Therefore, Hu Jiyou continued to send people to the Ming army, hoping to have peace talks with Li Jin.
When the Annan envoy came to the Ming camp again, unlike the last time he was arrogant, this time the envoy lowered his head and looked down all the way, walking cautiously.
After entering the camp.
The envoy kept his attitude very humble. When he saw Li Jin, he frowned and saluted respectfully, and then said:
"Sir, the young envoy is here on behalf of Annan Kingdom and wants to have peace talks with you. I wonder what you think?"
"I don't think so!"
There was a hint of chill in the corner of Li Jin's mouth, and he said coldly:
"Has your country forgotten the way you acted before?"
"At the beginning, I explained in advance that I gave your country a chance, but how you did it, I don't need to explain it to you one by one, right?"
"You still want peace talks now, no way!"
Faced with Li Jin's cynicism, the envoy had no choice but to break his teeth and swallow it, forcing a smile and saying:
"My lord, at the beginning...it was because the previous envoy made his own decisions and did not fully express the meaning of what you said that day to my king."
"That's how the subsequent misunderstandings came about. This... this misunderstanding is now known to the king."
"That's why we sent an envoy to communicate with you again."
"Misunderstand?"
Li Jin said disdainfully:
"Is your little misunderstanding a war between two countries?"
"Go back quickly, the peace talks are pure wishful thinking!"
"When I cross the river, I must go to Pingannan to let you know the power of the Ming Dynasty!"
When the messenger heard this, he looked anxious and said:
"Sir, this...this...our king said, as long as..."
"As long as we can negotiate peace, we in Annan Kingdom will try our best to meet the conditions you proposed, sir. Please give us Annan Kingdom another chance."
"As long as you give us a chance, we can do whatever we want."
The envoy didn't care what Li Jin thought, he just wanted to negotiate peace with a shameless face.
According to Hu Jishen's idea, no matter what method is used, the peace talks must succeed, otherwise, his life will be lost.
Thinking of Hu Ji Ya's cruel methods, the envoy felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet, making him shiver.
Li Jin couldn't help but roll his eyes at the shameless messenger, and then said with a smile:
"You can have peace talks if you want. I have said before that the Ming army has gone through a lot of hardships during this trip to Annan."
"This journey has been full of twists and turns, and I even experienced the pain of malaria in the middle. Well, I won't embarrass you, so I will take out 15 million taels of silver to express condolences to those suffering Ming troops!"
Fifteen million! !
The envoy was immediately frightened by the huge amount of money, and said with a pale face:
"This... so much... Sir... Annan, Annan doesn't have so much money."
"snort!"
Li Jin immediately snorted and sneered:
"No? I gave Annan a chance before, but you didn't take it."
"This time, due to your country's fault, the Ming army suffered so many casualties. The dead people cannot be resurrected. They are all old and young. If your country wants to negotiate peace, it won't be possible without a tael of silver."
So many people died in the Ming army, and Annan died in more than thousands and hundreds of thousands of people!
The envoy did not dare to tell these facts. He only thought about the success of the peace talks, so he could only continue to argue with Li Jin without tears:
"Sir, this amount of money is really too huge. Annan Elementary School really can't afford so much money at once. Please show mercy."
Showing mercy to you?
Beautiful thought!
"Without fifteen million taels, forget about peace talks!"
Li Jin was determined not to let go. Seeing that the envoy wanted to say more, Li Jin shouted outside the tent:
"If you dare to talk nonsense again, there will be no chance for peace talks!!"
The envoy was helpless when he saw this and wanted to argue, but Li Jin directly called someone to fight him out.
Two Ming soldiers came in and said arrogantly to the envoy:
"please!"
The envoy could only choose to leave and go back to report.
