Chapter 99, Time Travel Version of Emperor Chongzhen’s Decision (Part 2)
PS: Fixed a bug in the above article. The plot ends here at the end of October. The previous chapter was mistakenly written as November. It has been corrected now. Please forgive me.
I was a little dizzy from catching up on the manuscript earlier.
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In the early morning of October 22, the fifth year of Chongzhen, the Forbidden City, Jinluan Hall
This was the first court meeting after Emperor Chongzhen "recovered from a serious illness", and it was also the first court meeting after Guan Ning's army defected to the pass. Although the ministers in the palace, led by Chief Minister Wen Tiren, presented congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor for his health, there was still no trace of joy in the entire court meeting.
——As soon as the congratulatory table was finished, a minister, three ministers, and two censors knelt down and collectively made a speech, requesting to "resign and return to their hometown."
"...Unfortunately, my skills are so poor that my praise for the painting is ineffective. I deserve death."
After saying a humble farewell as usual, they lay down on the ground, facing the throne on Danqi without moving, waiting for the emperor's answer.
——Sin worthy of death? You should have died long ago! ! !
Looking at these seemingly respectful old foxes, big foxes and little foxes, the time-travel version of Emperor Chongzhen really wanted to roar like this.
Last night, he secretly summoned Wen Tiren, the first assistant, and Lu Xiang, the last general of King Qin's army, to enter the palace to inquire about the current war situation. Combined with the reports from the eunuchs and eunuchs of the Inner Court, His Majesty finally understood the two generals. In the past month, these idiots have done something else.
——Ever since Emperor Chongzhen in the original version became furious and unconscious due to the bad news that Guan Ning’s army surrendered Shanhaiguan and the Liaodong Tartars took the opportunity to invade the invaders in large numbers, the new chief minister Wen Tiren was appointed to preside over the "war cabinet" and lead the capital. the overall situation of the war of resistance.
However, even at such a critical moment, the Donglin Party in the DPRK was still bent on destroying Wen Tiren, and without the emperor to suppress the battle, it even became more unscrupulous - in the past two months, most of the orders issued by the cabinet, All were passively delayed by the six ministries controlled by the Donglin Party. It was rarely implemented, and the entire Beijing court was almost in a state of paralysis. Wen Tiren, the chief minister, was basically ignored, and some even issued orders randomly without going through the cabinet... and the Inner Court's Chief of Ceremonies also stepped in, sending supervisors everywhere. The army went to seize military power, making the situation even more chaotic.
After the entire Yongping Prefecture and most of Shuntian Prefecture, as well as part of the counties of Hejian Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture, fell one after another, and Lu Xiangsheng's 30,000 Tianxiong Army and Hong Chengchou's 50,000 Qin Army collapsed one after another, the Donglin Party in the imperial court Only then did we realize that this time the party struggle seemed to have gone too far, and it was completely out of control. It was no longer "driving the temperature to overthrow the cabinet" or "resisting the eunuch party", but directly The capital of the Ming Empire was brought to ruin one after another... But their first reaction was still not to unite sincerely, turn the tide, and tide over the difficulties together, let alone self-examination and guilt, but to break away from the Beijing court as soon as possible. Jump out of the boat to save your own property and life - like these guys who are begging to retire and return home...
Hey hey! What about the promise of "repaying the king with death in danger"? (The Donglin Party said: Your Majesty, you are so naive!)
Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen also knew that these guys who were kneeling in front of him and handing in their resignations were already quite moral. There are many officials in various ministries and yamen who just hang up their official seals and leave. In addition, there is something even more unscrupulous - not only did the person leave, but he also took his official seal with him!
Although these people sneaked away with official seals, it was probably not to show off, but just to leave a souvenir, or to pass it on to their descendants as antiques. But the official seal is not something that can be carved with a piece of carrot. All official documents from the yamen need to be stamped. After the original official seal is lost, if the court wants to change the official seal, it needs to go through a whole set of very complicated procedures - otherwise The whole system is in chaos.
Fortunately, the imperial court itself in Beijing is almost finished now, so if the official seal is lost, just lose it! Anyway, there is no chance to use it again.
In short, looking at the raised buttocks below, the face of Emperor Chongzhen, the time traveler, changed several times. He finally suppressed the urge to yell "You should have died a long time ago" and pressed the button as calmly as possible. The custom says, "... Dear friends, you have worked hard and made great achievements. Please cherish it now."
Hearing that the emperor was relieved, the relieved officials immediately kowtowed three more times and loudly replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live my emperor." Then they all stood up with a slight bow, took a few steps back, and knelt again. He kowtowed three times, then stood up and retreated to the threshold of the hall, facing the emperor. He knelt down and kowtowed for the last three times, then turned around and walked out of the hall. Originally, according to the old rules, when walking out of the hall, there would be officials from the Ministry of Personnel waiting outside the hall, and a few pieces of red silk would be given to the resigned officials as retirement gifts. Gold, but now when the war is in chaos, no one cares about such small details.
On the Danqi in the other side of the palace, the emperor looked at the increasingly sparse court and the remaining officials. He couldn't help but sigh again: Those who escaped may indeed have lacked moral integrity. But those who choose to stay may not necessarily be loyal ministers.
Who knows how many of them have become rebellious and are planning to use the capital and the emperor to curry favor with their new masters?
So, the emperor winked at the chief minister, Wen Tiren, and Wen Tiren made gestures to several of his close confidants, and then several people communicated in sign language, and finally he introduced Zuo Zhongyun, Li Mingrui, to the emperor. said: "...Your Majesty, I would like to say frankly that today's matter has come to this point and the capital cannot be protected. I still hope that the emperor will put the world's ancestral temples first, abandon the capital, and quickly leave the city before the Donglu army has reached the city..." …”
Next, Li Mingrui pointed out a feasible escape route in detail: "...Now the rogue bandits are entrenched in the Western Mountains, and the Jiannu soldiers are approaching Tongzhou and Liangxiang. The capital is already trapped on three sides, but there is still a way to the north. Your Majesty can be virtuous. Shengmen, rush to Changping, and then go to Baoan Prefecture to join the Xuanda border army. At this point, you can sit and watch the battle between Yan and Hebei and wait for an opportunity to return to the capital; when you retreat, you can defend yourself with heavy troops and go to Taiyuan. , Luoyang, traveled south to Jinling, rebuilt the imperial court, and preserved our ancestral temple..." At the end of the sentence, Li Mingrui knelt down and cried: "... I hope that your majesty will follow the example of the former Yue King Gou Jian, and not regard one city or one place as the most important thing. You must take care of it. Dragon body, speed up the loyal ministers and family members to break through! Now that your majesty has the hope of the world, and with the blessings of your ancestors for three hundred years, you will work hard to restore the country!"
These words made the time-travel version of Emperor Chongzhen very pleasant to hear. Who would be willing to die easily when there is still a glimmer of hope? According to his understanding, it turns out that Emperor Chongzhen can be said to be a political figure with political mysophobia. What he cares about and insists on most is that his reputation in history must be innocent. Therefore, in the original history, Emperor Chongzhen had many opportunities to flee to the south, and could at least keep half of the south of the Yangtze River, but he gave up the opportunity many times because he refused to put down his arrogance, fearing being laughed at, and even more afraid of leaving a bad reputation in history. for the sake of.
But this time-travel version of Emperor Chongzhen is not that good at face... Even if he fled south to become Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, it would be much better than hanging himself on Meishan!
Just when he was about to nod in agreement, He Wuzuo, the cabinet scholar, stood up and shouted loudly: "... Your Majesty, you must not listen to the evil words of such thieves to confuse the public! I, the Ming Dynasty, have always used heaven to The emperor guards the gate of the country, sits in the capital, and takes care of all directions! If the emperor does not dare to defend the war and lets the city go, what will the soldiers and officials at the front think? Moreover, since His Majesty ascended the throne, the Liaodong slaves have visited the capital several times. How many times have they not returned in frustration? What if during the Jingtai period, when the Oara people besieged Beijing, Yu Shaobao (Yu Qian) was also Wen Qiang? If the enemy arrives and leaves first, how can there be a great world now? Therefore, I ask Zuozhongyun Li Mingrui to thank the world!"
He Wuzou's words were so impassioned that all the officials in the palace were speechless for a moment. Li Mingrui looked as if he was dead after hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng stamped his feet angrily, Wen Tiren's eyes were dark, and Emperor Chongzhen's eyes were full of ridicule... You, an expert in internal fighting, actually So loyal? What a big joke!
You Donglin Party members! If you don't cause trouble for your own people, will you really die?
Or are you saying that you have already negotiated a price with Huang Taiji and are ready to exchange my head for the Jurchen's official position? So you are afraid that I will run away?
However, no matter how murderous Emperor Chongzhen's eyes were, next, led by the great scholar He Wuzou, the ministers of the Donglin Party in the court, as well as some pedantic people from other factions, all stepped forward to speak to him. Zuo Zhongyun and Li Mingrui, who proposed "Let the city stay", criticized him both verbally and in writing:
"...the Supreme One, the Son of Heaven, the Greatest One, the truth. There is a bloody fight in the front, but the rear is fleeing south. How can there be such a truth?"
"...In view of the current situation, the first thing to do is to cheer up people's hearts. If the emperor abandons the capital and runs away, the people of the world will inevitably become unstoppable. What will happen in the future? How will the people of the world look at my emperor? Regarding today's strategy, I think There is no other solution but to consolidate people’s hearts and wait for help.”
"...If God protects the Ming Dynasty, the country will survive this calamity. If not, the Ming Dynasty will also guard the country with the emperor. In the past, your Majesty once punished many ministers who lost their teachers and lost their land. Could it be that when things come to a close, your Majesty can only Execute the ministers and then run away?"
"...Now the capital is indeed in danger, but as the saying goes, when the country dies, the king dies, the emperor guards the country, and the king dies for the country. This is the right way since ancient times. Today's matter has come to this, and we can only follow the destiny. If your majesty abandons the ancestral mausoleum, If you run away in a hurry and get caught halfway, you will only make people laugh!"
"...The world belongs to the emperor, and your majesty should defend it to the death, so why abandon it! I am willing to lead the army and the people out of the city to resist the war, and I hope your majesty will stick to the capital!"
……
Looking at these civil servants who stand on a high moral level, all of them are proud and full of righteousness. They speak generously and talk eloquently under the Danqi. They look after themselves and look like loyal and righteous people. The time-travel version of Chongzhen on the throne The emperor's eyes were getting colder and colder - admittedly, what these guys said was not completely unreasonable, but for people whose deadline is right in front of them, they still have to consider whether the medicine has side effects. Isn't that a big joke?
Despite the impassioned and loyal speeches made by these scholar-officials in the palace, when the enemy invades, there will definitely not be a single scholar-official who will come to the palace to escort them. On the contrary, there will definitely be many people who will open the city gates and lead the way! And a considerable part of the soldiers and horses guarding the city will inevitably defect!
Therefore, if you hurry up and escape from Beijing, you will at least have a way to survive. If you stay in Beijing and defend the city, you will definitely die!
In short, when these "loyal ministers and righteous men" were speaking out and remonstrating under Danqi, His Majesty the Emperor was looking at them like bugs and fat pigs... I remember that when Li Zicheng came to Beijing in the 17th year of Chongzhen, he came from their home Seventy million taels of silver were obtained through torture; so before I escape from the capital, should I also torture them and squeeze out some gold and silver to use as military pay? This is probably considered waste utilization!
But after thinking about it carefully, he finally gave up this tempting plan - Huang Taiji's sweat tent was already stationed in Wuqing County. Seeing the Eight Banners soldiers approaching, it was too late to recruit, train, build cannons and raise food. Implemented. Even if tens of millions of taels of silver could be grabbed, there would be nowhere to use it, and it would be difficult to even transport so much money away... If it was the trouble on the road, relying on the palace's internal funds would be enough. .
Moreover, torturing the ministers for gold and silver before abandoning the capital would not only bring infamy for oneself, but would also delay time and even induce greater rebellion. In the time and space of the late Ming Dynasty, the Donglin Party was the best at creating civil unrest. And street riots...
So, after patiently listening to the civil officials' outrageous spouting, Emperor Chongzhen did not make any statement, but calmly ordered to withdraw from the court. At the same time, Wen Tiren and Lu Xiangsheng were left behind, and he ordered them to go to Qianqing Palace after the court dismissed. "Call for the right"... This ended the meeting.
——This is the first court meeting held by the time-travel version of Emperor Chongzhen in the Forbidden City, and it is also the last court meeting...
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"...This generation is really deceiving the public with their lies! It is indeed the ancestral system for the emperor to guard the country, but it also depends on the current situation! The current situation has changed, how can we stick to the rules and not change? There is a saying in the art of war, if there are no soldiers who can save the country outside, there will be no soldiers inside. Now all the Guan Ning cavalry have rebelled, and there are no soldiers in Shanxi and Shaanxi. There are no generals, and there are only 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers inside and outside the capital. The internal emptiness has reached the extreme! Although the Xuanfu and Datong border troops have some troops, they are unpopular, lack food and pay, and have failed to control their positions. They can still manage to garrison here. To deal with it, it is absolutely impossible for King Qin to enter the capital! Now there are no more soldiers and horses outside the capital to serve the king, and there are not many soldiers and horses in the capital to defend the city! The imperial court in Taicang does not have much money to reward the army, and there is not much food and grass to support the military needs, both internally and externally. Any countermeasures, a major matter of national survival, take a broad view How can it be just that the emperor is guarding the country with vain and useless words? The ministers in the palace today only care about their reputations and confuse the public with their evil words. It is really abominable. Killing them will not be able to offset their crimes. They should really be peeled off. Think of it as a ring for late comers! ”
After being introduced to the Qianqing Palace by the young eunuch, Lu Xiangsheng immediately cursed angrily - although this famous commander in the late Ming Dynasty was a civil servant, he was tall and powerful. He always took the lead in fighting and had a rough and straightforward personality. , just like Zhang Fei in the drama.
Wen Tiren, who had always been gentle and gentle, obviously couldn't accept such straightforward words. Before he could speak to ease the atmosphere, he was surprised to see Emperor Chongzhen nodding in agreement and at the same time reaching out and handing over a bright yellow scroll, " ... This generation should indeed be stripped of its skin, but it is too late now. Lu Qing, take this imperial edict and go quickly. Open warehouses in Tongzhou to collect grain, and requisition all mules, horses, and vehicles to transport as much grain as they can. Then the entire army abandoned their base and moved north to guard the Changping Emperor's Mausoleum, waiting to meet up with the palace chariots, and then went north to take refuge in Xuan Mansion - after the Ming Dynasty. Within two days, I will lead the Jinyi Guards and the Internal Cao Jing Army to go out, trying to get ahead of Jiannu’s siege and protect the palace family members from the dangerous areas of the capital..."
Then, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the eunuch to give Lu Xiangsheng a royal order flag and a sword from Shang Fang, "...if the official warehouse in Tongzhou disobeys the order and refuses to release grain, you can send troops to attack it. If any officials in the capital dare to obstruct it, Even if it is You can also kill the nobles such as college students, ministers, and ministers. According to the secret report of Jin Yiwei, all the officials in the capital are now quite close to the captives. There are not many trustworthy people anymore. The safety of me and the world will be left to Lu Qing. ”
Lu Xiangsheng and Wen Tiren were stunned for a moment by Emperor Chongzhen's insane decision and arrangement. After a while, Wen Tiren muttered loudly, "...Your Majesty, do you really have to be so urgent? Don't you have to wait any longer? Maybe the situation will turn around?" "...We can't wait any longer!" The time-traveling Emperor Chongzhen shook his head, "...Leave early and feel at ease! If you don't leave, you won't be able to leave in a few days!" ”