The news of the old slave's death passed through Liaodong and soon reached the capital.
Qianqing Palace.
Tianqi sat on the dragon couch, and Wei Zhongxian stood aside with his hands down.
At this time, Huang Liji, the chief minister of the cabinet, walked in from outside under the guidance of a young eunuch.
"I bow to the Holy One."
In the Ming Dynasty, unlike the later Manchu Qing Dynasty, they would not kowtow no matter what happened. Usually, the chief minister and ministers of the cabinet would pray in private and salute instead of kneeling down and kowtow.
"Huang Aiqing came just in time. Wei Daban also brought me good news just now." Tianqi was in a good mood with a smile on his face.
Huang Liji hurriedly said: "I also brought good news to the Holy One."
"Oh? Huang Aiqing also brought good news, so tell me about it and make me happy again." Tianqi picked up the tureen with a dragon pattern on the table, put it to his mouth and took a sip of the tea inside.
Huang Liji bowed and said, "I just received a piece of news about the old slave. The news said that the old slave died of illness in Shenyang Zhongwei."
"Haha, it turns out that this is what Wei Daban was talking about to me just now. It seems that Huang Aiqing is one step slower than Wei Daban." Tianqi laughed.
Huang Liji pretended to be frustrated and said: "I thought I could be the first to tell the news to the Holy One, but I didn't expect that I was a step too slow after all. The Holy One already knew about this in advance."
"Okay, okay, it doesn't matter whoever tells me first. This matter really makes me happy. I also hope that the more good news like this, the better." Tianqi said with a smile.
After taking a sip of tea, Tianqi put down the tureen in his hand. When he saw Huang Liji standing in front of him, he ordered the little eunuch beside him: "Give Huang Aiqing a seat."
"I thank you, Your Majesty." Huang Liji bowed respectfully to Tianqi.
A young eunuch brought Xiudun from the side and placed it next to Huang Liji.
Tianqi said: "Although I am happy that the old slave is dead, the slave thieves in Liaodong are still there. The death of one old slave is not enough. Moreover, Liu thieves in Shanxi don't even look down on the title I bestowed. This shows that this person is an iron man." I am determined to be the enemy of Ming Dynasty."
The smile on Tian Qi's face disappeared when he mentioned Shanxi Liu Thief.
Huang Liji was also a mature man. When he noticed the changes in Tianqi's face, he knew that Liu Thief had become Tianqi's confidant.
However, Liu thief defeated Ningyuan's 50,000-strong army in Yanqing Prefecture, and later defeated another imperial army in Bao'an Prefecture. In a short period of time, the imperial court was unable to send more troops to deal with this thief. Counting the previous chief auxiliary, there were already three chief auxiliaries. Because Liu Thief resigned.
Therefore, he was not willing to get involved with Liu Thief's affairs at all. He usually pretended to be deaf and dumb as long as he could. Before the imperial court had the strength to deal with Liu Thief, the things Liu Thief caused in Shanxi and Shaanxi had always been unknown. Pretending not to know.
"Huang Aiqing, do you think the court should deal with the slave thieves in Liaodong or the Liu thieves in Shanxi?" Tianqi suddenly asked Huang Liji.
Huang Liji originally deliberately didn't answer, but he didn't expect that he was still asked. Knowing that he couldn't hide, he had to bite the bullet and said: "I thought that the old slave had just died, and the upper class of slave thieves were in chaos, which was also a big problem for the Ming Dynasty. Chance."
"Is this appropriate?" Tianqi asked, but his expression changed.
Huang Liji noticed this and said quickly: "It's appropriate. This time couldn't be more appropriate. Once the newly elected puppet king of the slave thieves is firmly seated, it will become more difficult to deal with the slave thieves."
"The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette after all. I always feel that it is not good to attack slave thieves when the old slave has just died." Tianqi said hesitantly.
Huang Liji said: "Slave thieves fear power rather than virtue. No matter how much kindness is left to them, it will be of no use. Instead, they will think that Ming Dynasty is weak and can be bullied. Only by beating them thoroughly can they truly fear Ming Dynasty's power."
"Well, what Huang Aiqing said makes sense." Tianqi nodded in agreement, and immediately said, "Since Aiqing said so, let's deal with the slave thief first, but we can't forget about Liu thief."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Once the slave thief is dealt with, it will be easy to take Liu's life." Huang Liji said with assurance.
Tianqi nodded with satisfaction.
Huang Liji didn't stay in Qianqing Palace for long before he returned to Wenyuan Pavilion.
Soon there were only a few eunuchs and maids left in the Qianqing Palace.
"I'm in a good mood today. I hope you can accompany me to do some activities." Tianqi stood up from the dragon couch.
Wei Zhongxian stepped forward and supported the other party.
A group of young eunuchs and maids followed behind, and followed Tianqi to the place where Tianqi usually did carpentry work.
Huang Liji, who returned to the island cabinet, raised his hand to wipe the sweat on his forehead.
The scholar in the room made a cup of hot tea for him and brought it to him.
"Go and invite the elders here, and tell them that I have important matters to discuss with them." Huang Liji sent the people from Zhongshushe out.
Both slave thief and Liu thief were difficult to deal with, but if he wanted to secure his position as chief auxiliary, he could only follow Tianqi's wishes and choose one of the two to deal with.
Several cabinet ministers quickly came to the room where Huang Liji was.
"Have you all heard the news that the old slave is dead?" After everyone took their seats, Huang Liji said straight to the point as soon as he came up.
Shi Minlai, who was sitting on the seat, held a bowl in his hand and said: "The death of the old slave is good news for the Ming Dynasty. I also heard that several Baylors of the slave thieves are vying for the pseudo-khan position left after the death of the old slave. .”
"What do a group of barbarians know? If in the Ming Dynasty, there would be no suitable person to form the throne. Even if one day the small sect replaces the big sect, there will still be suitable people to choose from." Zhang Ruitu curled his lips disdainfully.
Huang Liji said: "If the old slave understands the principle of orderly heirs, there will be no chance for the Ming Dynasty. You must understand that only when the upper class of slave thieves are in chaos, the Ming Dynasty can better get back their things."
"What the chief minister means is that the imperial court is preparing to take action against the slave thieves?" Shi Minlai put down the tureen in his hand.
Huang Li said: "It's not my intention, it's the Holy One's."
"No matter who wants it, no one can take action at this time. Even if the old slave is dead, as soon as Ming takes action, they will immediately stop fighting among themselves and turn around to deal with Ming." Shi Minlai said with a frown.
Huang Liji said: "The Holy One has decided to regain the lost land in Liaodong."
"Why didn't the chief minister persuade the Holy One? This is by no means the best time to regain lost territory. Instead, Ming Dynasty should sit back and watch the tigers fight. After the slave thieves fight among themselves and both sides are injured, Ming Dynasty will come out to clean up the mess, and then eradicate the slave thieves in one fell swoop. It's a disaster." Shi Minlai looked at Huang Liji and said.
Huang Liji hesitated for a moment and said: "I have thought about what you said, but the Holy Emperor can't wait any longer. If we don't deal with the slave thieves, we will have to deal with the Liu thieves in Shanxi. If it were you, who would you choose to deal with? "
As he spoke, he looked at Shi Minlai and Zhang Ruitu in front of him.
