"Where is Liaodong?" Tianqi mentioned the imperial troops in Liaodong.
Gu Bingqian had a bitter look on his face when he heard this and said: "For the Datong Liu thief, the imperial court has deployed three general soldiers from Liaodong, nearly 70,000 soldiers and horses. Although Liaodong later added some soldiers and horses, but We can no longer take advantage of the Liaodong soldiers and horses."
Snapped!
"If Liaodong doesn't work, then we can mobilize troops from other places." Tian Qi slammed the table hard in anger.
Huang Liji, who was standing a little behind Gu Bingqian, saw the anger on Tian Qi's face, and the corners of his eyes twitched.
He could feel the anger in Tianqi's heart.
Gu Bingqian, who was closest to the dragon couch, also felt Tianqi's anger.
As the chief minister, others can hide, but he can't. No matter how angry Tianqi is, he has to go against the will of the emperor and say: "The national treasury is empty. Not long ago, there was another thief in Shaanxi, Wang Er, raising his flag to rebel. The court has nothing to offer." Money and food are used to quell rebellion.”
Tianqi stared at Gu Bingqian in front of him with a gloomy expression.
Gu Bingqian, who felt guilty, did not dare to look at him and lowered his head.
"Since Mr. Gu Ge is unwilling to send troops to quell the rebellion, then tell me how to deal with the Liu thief in Datong?" Tianqi asked Gu Bingqian coldly.
He didn't even mention Wang Er's rebellion in Shaanxi.
In his eyes, Datong Liu thieves were the source of all disasters, and they had caused the court to lose face several times. As for grass bandits like Wang Er, the local government could handle them on their own.
Gu Bingqian hesitated for a moment and said cautiously: "As for the Liu thief in Datong, the cabinet means that he can be recruited and used for his own purposes."
As soon as he said these words, Huang Liji's expression suddenly changed.
The other party's words about the cabinet directly included him as the second assistant. In fact, recruiting Liu Thief was just Gu Bingqian's idea.
"Will Thief Liu accept the recruitment?" Tianqi's face turned pale.
After the imperial court failed to suppress the bandits several times, he also had some thoughts of recruiting people, but he was not willing to do so, which made him feel very conflicted.
Gu Bingqian noticed the change in Tianqi's face and knew there was a way out, so he quickly said: "Wei Chen thinks Liu Thief is still very likely to accept the imperial court's recruitment, otherwise he wouldn't have had to ask the imperial court for conditions in the first place."
"You mean, if you want to recruit someone, you need to accept the conditions proposed by Liu Thief?" Tianqi frowned.
If it were just some ordinary official positions and casual officials with military honors, he would not mind giving them to Liu Ze. However, the conditions Liu Ze proposed were very harsh, almost separatizing the local area into a vassal town. This was a treatment that even a vassal and a vassal did not have.
Gu Bingqian said: "I'm afraid the previous conditions are no longer good. Liu Thief has just won a big victory. If you want to recruit him now, I'm afraid you need to give him greater benefits."
"It's not enough for me to let him govern Datong Mansion. Do you also want me to make him a side by side king and give him half of the Ming Dynasty?" Tianqi's face was full of anger again.
"I don't dare."
Gu Bingqian was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt down.
Tianqi stared at him coldly and said: "I don't think you have anything to dare to do. A Liu thief can't be solved by the cabinet after repeated attempts. What use do I need from you?"
"I am aware of my guilt."
Huang Liji bowed in front of Tianqi.
At this time, Gu Bingqian raised his head and said: "Wei Chen does not want the Holy Emperor to really recruit Liu Thief, but he hopes that the imperial court will give him a title, plus the conditions Liu Thief himself put forward in the past, to appease him and fight for the court to regain its strength. time."
"Are you trying to pretend to recruit people?" Tianqi frowned slightly, but his face looked much better.
Gu Bingqian said: "Reporting to your Majesty, Wei Chen means exactly this."
"Wei Chen feels that the method proposed by Mr. Gu Ge is very feasible. It can not only relieve the pressure on the treasury, but also allow Liu Thief to relax his vigilance towards the court. At the same time, the court can also win over Liu Thief's thieves. When the time is right, they can This thief can be destroyed in one fell swoop." Seeing that Gu Bingqian had persuaded Tianqi, Huang Liji hurriedly expressed his willingness to share your worries. valley
Tianqi glanced at Huang Liji who was speaking and nodded slightly.
Being able to say these words shows that Huang Liji has put his heart into the matter of Liu Thief.
After Gu Bingqian, who was kneeling on the ground, noticed it, he became increasingly dissatisfied with Huang Liji.
The method proposed by Huang Liji completely robbed him of what he was going to say later. Even if Huang Liji didn't say it, he would have said that he knew it from Tianqi. But now Huang Liji took advantage of it and kept it for Tianqi. A good impression.
"What kind of title does the cabinet think is appropriate for Liu Thief?" Tianqi asked.
Huang Liji took the lead and said: "Wei Chen thinks that he should not be knighted. For a thief and bandit to be given a false title of military honor by the imperial court, it is already a gift from the imperial court."
Tianqi nodded.
However, Gu Bingqian's face turned bitter when he heard this.
Unexpectedly, Huang Liji not only set the tone over him as the first assistant, but also dug a hole for him.
"What does Mr. Gu Ge mean?" Tianqi asked Gu Bingqian, but he did not order Gu Bingqian to stand up, but left him to continue kneeling on the ground.
"Wei Chen believes that he should be knighted, and simple military honors are not enough to seduce Liu Thief." Gu Bingqian looked bitter after saying these two sentences.
Knowing that Tianqi was already very dissatisfied with him, he had to say that once Huang Liji followed Huang Liji's wishes, the recruitment matter would probably end without any problem.
If the Liu thief from Datong cannot be recruited at that time, his position as chief assistant will definitely not be guaranteed.
Tianqi's face darkened.
The imperial title would not be given randomly, let alone a bandit. Compared with Huang Liji, he felt that Gu Bingqian was even more disappointed.
A young eunuch walked in quickly from outside the inner hall.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wei is here." The young eunuch bowed and said to Tianqi.
Tianqi looked at Gu Bingqian and Huang Liji and said, "You two go back and discuss whether you should be granted a knighthood or just a military honor. The cabinet should quickly come up with an idea and stand down!"
He waved his hand, indicating that the two of them could leave.
"Wei Chen resigns."
Gu Bingqian and Huang Liji bowed and exited the inner hall.
A young eunuch took them away.
"Eunuch Wei."
When the two people passed by the outer palace, they saw Wei Zhongxian walking in, and they all said hello.
"Are you two pavilion elders planning to go back?" Wei Zhongxian stopped and looked at the two people in front of him.
Huang Liji spoke first and said, "Your Majesty ordered us to go back and prepare for the recruitment of Thief Liu."
"Since the Emperor has an errand for you, go back quickly. We won't delay the two pavilion elders' business." After saying that, Wei Zhongxian left these two people behind and walked into the inner hall where Tianqi was.
"Eunuch, go slowly." Huang Liji cupped his hands behind Wei Zhongxian.
When Gu Bingqian saw this, the corners of his mouth twitched unnaturally.
Once upon a time, like Huang Liji, he seemed to have done similar things in front of Wei Zhongxian.
