A night of silence.
…
Zhu Qiyu finally let go of the four cute little beauties and came to the West Flower Hall happily.
The important ministers had been waiting for a long time. Zhu Qiyu called everyone in and first announced something unexpected:
"Tomorrow morning, a small court meeting will be held in the West Flower Hall. It will be attended by cabinet ministers, six ministers, governors of the five armies, some dignitaries in Beijing, military generals, and eunuchs. I have a list of people to attend the court meeting. The Ministry of Rites will inform you accordingly. .
At the court meeting tomorrow, I will assign specific defense tasks to the nine gates of the capital. This was the last adjustment before the war. From then on, all civil and military officials performed their duties, receiving rewards for meritorious service and punishment for delinquency. "
This is the first time the new king has held a court meeting since he ascended the throne. Although the scale is still a bit small, only thirty or forty people are eligible to participate, but at least there is a court meeting. Therefore, several important ministers shouted loudly for the emperor's sage.
Zhu Qiyu continued: "I would like to inform you in advance that I will add another battalion to the Beijing camp, called the Xiaoqi camp, based on the five thousand border troops brought by Xing'an Marquis.
From then on, the Beijing Camp was composed of the Fifth Army Camp, the Shenji Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, and the Xiaoqi Camp, with the four battalions standing side by side. "
When the minister heard this, he was even more surprised: Change the three camps into four camps? What is the emperor's intention? Is the emperor so confident that he can control Xing'an Hou? If you can't get the loyalty of the Marquis of Xing'an, what's the use of having a heroic cavalry battalion? Even if you add a hundred new battalions, without the loyalty of the generals, it's purely self-defeating.
Seeing that none of the ministers came forward to object, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "I've finished saying it, you go ahead and do it."
Hu Xi first reported: "Your Majesty, I also sent an envoy Naha out of the capital in advance to blame me for the poor rewards of the Ming Dynasty. He threatened that if he did not give a generous reward, the Grand Master would personally lead an army of 100,000 to seize his great yuan in the near future. Old capital."
Zhu Qiyu replied nonchalantly: "Let Naha come out. I will personally entertain him at noon."
The ministers discussed some more trivial matters, then retired together and went back to prepare for the court meeting.
Immediately afterwards, Zhu Qiyu ordered Liu Yongcheng, the chief seal of the Xuan Royal Horse Supervisor, and Liu Ju, his nephew's nephew, the governor of Qianshi, to appear in court.
Liu Yongcheng has experienced five dynasties and has been in charge of the imperial eunuch for many years. He was the only eunuch in the early Ming Dynasty who could be as famous as Zheng He.
Moreover, Liu Yongcheng was a loyal man and good at riding and shooting. He led troops on many expeditions and made many military exploits. If he were a military general, these military exploits would have been enough to make him a marquis, but it was a pity that Liu Yongcheng was an eunuch.
Zhu Qiyu showed enough respect to Liu Yongcheng: "Liu Gong, I want to divide the capital into four sides: east, south, west and north, and assign important officials to be responsible for each side.
Liu Gong has made many military exploits and is famous far and wide. I will send you to take charge of the west side of the capital, to take charge of the war at Xizhimen and Fuchengmen. Will Liu Gong be willing? "
How could he say he was unwilling? Liu Yongcheng immediately expressed his intention to defend the capital to the death.
Zhu Qiyu continued: "Liu Gong, with your talent, it's a shame that you always stay in the imperial eunuch. After this battle, I will make you an earl and send you to guard the border. After a few years when the border becomes stable, I will give you the title of earl." What do you think of Mr. Liu's wishes for your hereditary marquisship to be inherited by your own designated nephew?"
Liu Yongcheng joined the inner court as a eunuch at the age of twelve, and has been for more than forty years now. In a place like the palace, where people cannibalize, Liu Yongcheng not only did not get eaten, but also achieved the high position of the Royal Horse Supervisor. He can be said to be an old fox among old foxes.
Liu Yongcheng naturally understood the meaning of the emperor's words: he handed over the imperial eunuch with dignity and dignity, and cooperated with the emperor's cronies to take over. The emperor gave the hereditary and irreplaceable marquis in return, and both parties were peaceful and decent, getting the best of both worlds and everyone was happy.
Liu Yongcheng thought for a moment, then asked with a troubled face: "Your Majesty, I am a eunuch, how can I obtain a hereditary and irreplaceable marquis? There is no precedent for this in the court. Even the three-guarantor eunuch has never received a title."
Zhu Qiyu waved his hand: "It is enough for Mr. Liu to agree or disagree. As for how I will do it, it is not something you need to worry about. As long as you are willing to go out and lead the army, I promise to make Mr. Liu a marquis within five years."
When the emperor said this, Liu Yongcheng was speechless. After all, the emperor even gave a specific deadline, so there was no room for ambiguity. Jun Wuxi said that he must be granted the title of Marquis by then, otherwise he would be publicly playing tricks on his ministers.
Liu Yongcheng agreed immediately without any hesitation. After all, he was a hereditary and irreplaceable marquis. In comparison, the palm of the Royal Horse Supervisor was nothing. Besides, even if he didn't agree, the only consequence would be that the emperor seizes the imperial eunuch by force. Let alone the Marquis, whether he can save his life is a big question.
The two sides reached an agreement and discussed specific strategies for defending the capital, and Liu Yongcheng resigned.
The next step is to summon the Royal Horse Supervisor Hao Yi. This is the current second-in-command of the Royal Horse Supervisor and the person the new king will use to replace Liu Yongcheng. Zhu Qiyu chatted with Hao Yi for a while, then took him to Jiangyunxuan in the backyard for a private chat.
Unlike Liu Yongcheng's seriousness, Zhu Qiyu was very comfortable and casual in front of Hao Yi.
Hao Yi also asked with a smile: "You have everything in mind now. I guess you have arranged all aspects."
"Oh, just have to do it. Marquis Xing'an has agreed to be loyal to me, and Liu Yongcheng is also willing to hand over the Royal Horse Prison. When the time comes, I will ask Mr. Hao to take charge of the Royal Horse Prison for me, and the Imperial City Guards will be stable.
Coupled with my 30,000 personal guards and the righteous status I have as the emperor, I can now manage to control the capital.
The next step is to do it piecemeal. I will go back to hook up with Tiance Guards to see if they are willing to be loyal. Anyway, I just pick up things here and there. I feel like a rag-picker lately. "
Hao Yi smiled and said: "You are so humble. The fifteen beloved concubines you picked up are not rags. You have found a big treasure."
Zhu Qiyu laughed loudly when he heard this: "It's all just luck. Have you met the princess and the others?"
"I bumped into each other in the palace a few days ago. Our three princesses are really beautiful. They are even better than the emperor's concubines. They are also beautiful, gentle and reasonable. It's really exciting for me to take them out. Have a good face."
"Hahahaha, my life is just good."
The two chatted for a while, and Zhu Qiyu took out a secret edict from his pocket and handed it to Hao Yi: "Hao Gong, I want to personally lead the army to perform meritorious service outside Desheng Gate. And Shi Heng led the main force of the 50,000 Beijing camp to My left wing was stationed outside Xizhimen.
Shi Heng is not a close confidant of mine. I am afraid that he will act like a monster when I am facing the enemy. I don't want to be like the Supreme Emperor and be trapped by friendly forces if I'm not careful.
Therefore, Hao Gong was asked to take 500 elite Royal Horse Guards and Four Guards to the Shiheng Camp to supervise the army. This is the secret edict I wrote. If Shi Heng makes any changes, you can directly kill him and then take over his army. "
Hao Yi quickly and solemnly accepted the secret edict.
Zhu Qiyu continued: "My right wing is Tao Jin's 20,000 Shenji Battalion outside Andingmen. I will send Wang Cheng and Zhang Yong with 200 personal guards to supervise the army.
In this way, by keeping a close eye on the left and right wings, I can safely kill the enemy outside Desheng Gate. At that time, I will be supervising the battle on the tower, and the Marquis of Xing'an will be in charge of the army in the north.
Fan Guang led 3,000 Shenji Battalion elites, plus 5,000 border troops from Xing'an Marquis, and 8,000 of my personal guards. A total of more than 10,000 people were responsible for killing the enemy.
Shi Heng's 50,000-strong army is responsible for mobile support. If he is passive and passive and deliberately sees our army in danger, you can directly kill him and take over the army yourself. "
Hao Yi nodded: "Wei Chen understands. This battle must allow me to gain momentum and establish prestige. Only in this way can we firmly control the court in the future."
The two chatted until noon, then came out to the front yard together and hosted a banquet for Naha, the envoy of Wala, in the east side room.
Naha came out to declare a challenge this time, so he was quite arrogant. Of course, Wala's so-called "War Letter" has no written form. Naha Chu just told the Ming Emperor very simply and directly that your reward for us is too little. If you are unwilling to bleed a lot, then our 100,000-strong army from Wala will be approaching the city soon.
Zhu Qiyu looked at Naha coming out, made a very cowardly and guilty expression, and retorted weakly: "What your envoy said is wrong. As soon as the Ming Dynasty Emperor was captured, the Empress Dowager and the Empress raided the harem and took away the royal family. Eight carts full of treasures were packed into the collection, and an envoy was sent directly to Grand Master Yesian.
Those things are all priceless treasures. How come you still think that the treasures given by Ming Dynasty are not valuable enough?
The Ming Dynasty's defenses are now lax and the morale of the army is slack. How can it withstand the ravages of the Grand Master's 100,000 cavalry? Therefore, I would like to ask your envoy to repay the Grand Master. We can discuss what conditions are available. "
Nahachu smiled contemptuously and said, "It's easy to say, just give me money."
Zhu Qiyu asked again: "Then we have to ask the Grand Master to give us a total number. How much money does the Grand Master plan to ask for before he is willing to let the Emperor come back? We have to give an accurate figure."
Naha was stunned when he heard this, because he didn't expect that Daming would actually give money before he came, but just to put it bluntly, if Daming didn't give it, he would have an excuse to attack the capital.
Now the emperor wants to ask for an accurate number. How can Naha tell it? If you really want to ask for a one-time price of 500,000 taels, what if the Ming Emperor agrees? That would be embarrassing.
In the end, Nahachu could only say that he would go back and ask the Grand Master for his opinion before replying to the emperor.
