Chongzhen glanced at Li Banghua, thinking that he still had important things to talk to him secretly, and asked Wang Jiayan with tears: "Since Qing joined the office, he has been an old minister of the three dynasties, and now this is the second time to do his best to defend the city of Beijing. ”

When Wang Jiayan heard the emperor's words, he couldn't help crying bitterly, and Chongzhen also cried. Li Banghua interjected with tears in his eyes: "The country has come to this point, and all civil and military officials cannot shirk their blame. ”

Chongzhen was not very clear about the true meaning of Li Banghua's two sentences, so he didn't think about it, and then said to Wang Jiayan: "I clearly remember that in the winter of the fifteenth year, you were just promoted from the Taifu Siqing to the head of the household department, and suddenly the matter was urgent, and you were specially appointed as the right head of the military department, and the assistant manager of the Beijing camp Rongzheng. On the day of your worship, starting from the Zhengyang Gate, you rode along the head of the city and inspected the nine gates of the inner city, and the next day, starting from the Xibian Gate, you inspected the seven gates of the outer city, and you inspected more than 19,000 battlements in the inner and outer cities, and straightened out all the equipment for guarding the city, so that the defense walls of the capital division were completely new. ”

"You used to go up to the city on a snowy night without a man, and you carried a lantern with yourself, and inspected some important places. The officers and soldiers in the city and the strong men of the people, no one knows that you are a squire of the military department. On the second day, the soldiers were all amazed by the rewards you should reward and the punishments you should punish. Jiayan, although I live in the ninth level and have every opportunity, I know how to manage things diligently. ”

Wang Jiayan whimpered and said: "The emperor is so discerning, it is rare in the ages, and the bad situation today is all in the civil and military ministers." ”

Chongzhen continued: "Soon, the Qing soldiers invaded Gyeonggi, and the Jingshi was under martial law. From November of the previous year to May last year, seven months before and after, Qing bowed to the cold and heat to encourage the soldiers to use their strengths. After the Qing soldiers withdrew from the Great Wall, I gave a banquet outside the noon gate, and Jin named you the crown prince Taibao, and the hereditary brocade was commanded. Qing repeatedly retreated humbly, and I had no choice but to agree to Qing's request, only to add one level to Qing, and attack the third generation of Qianhu. ”

"After the beginning of spring this year, the imperial court promoted the secretary of the household department, and I gave instructions to the cabinet: Wang Jiayan is diligent and hardworking, and he is honest and does not love money, and he has the best financial management, so he should serve as the secretary of the household department. But at present, the traitors have crossed the river and entered Jin, and the military situation is tight. Wang Jiayan already had experience in Rong politics, and it was inconvenient for him to change when facing the enemy, so he should continue to stay in Beijing. Jiayan, Qing is my minister, so now, don't you have a little way?"

Wang Jiayan choked up and said: "Your Majesty, the people's hearts have been dispersed, the minister's strength has been exhausted, and the minister can only repay His Majesty's kindness with a death." ”

Chongzhen fell into despair again, whimpering, Wang Jiayan also whimpered, although Li Banghua did not cry, he kept crying, and secretly regretted in his heart that he did not make a strong claim on the matter of moving south. The monarchs and ministers cried for a while, and Chongzhen said to Wang Jiayan: "Qing quickly go to the city to inspect and try his best to defend it, so as to wait for Wu Sangui's rescue troops to arrive." ”

Wang Jiayan kowtowed, stood up, and exited the warm pavilion with tears. After Wang Jiayan withdrew, Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua and said, "Sir, sit down." ”

A eunuch who was standing outside the window and waiting immediately came in and set up a chair diagonally opposite Chongzhen. Li Banghua bowed down to thank him, and then sat sideways, waiting for the emperor's questioning. But he understands that now that the Jingshi is besieged, and the horses are handsome, it is not the time to talk calmly, Li Banghua is old, and even if he has the prestige of the old ministers of the four dynasties, it will not help to save the overall situation.

Chongzhen felt sad in his heart, sighed, and asked casually: "Sir, today I am in turmoil in my heart, and I am temporarily going to the court, and the civil and military officials don't know in advance." Mr. is already in his prime, why did he come to the court? I don't know if there is anything important to perform?"

Li Banghua leaned over in his chair and said: "Your Majesty, since the thief crossed Changping on the 16th, the old minister knew that it was impossible to do a big thing, that is, he moved to the shrine of Prime Minister Wen and did not go home, and decided to go to the day when the rebel broke the city, the minister hanged himself on the side of Prime Minister Wen and ...... for two days."

Chongzhen's heart shook violently, and he waved his hand to make Li Banghua stop talking, he suddenly remembered a fierce dream last night, and thought that he was going to hang himself, and couldn't help but hide his face and whimper. When Li Banghua saw the emperor crying, he cried himself, and at the same time regretted that he was guilty of the disaster of the collapse of the sky and the earth in front of him as a minister.

Chongzhen didn't know Li Banghua's remorse, and after whimpering for a while, he wiped his tears and asked, "Mr. just said that it has been two days, what about the past two days?"

"In the past two days, every fifth watch, the old minister ordered the servants to lead the horse, to the Donghua Gate, and then from outside the Forbidden City to the left gate of Que to dismount, into the left gate of Que to outside the noon gate, look for a while, and then go back. The minister thought that there was no day to see the king again, and it was also a foolish loyalty for the minister to look at the noon gate before he died, but he came to the front of the noon gate today and heard the bell, which coincided with the royal gate of His Majesty to go to court, so that the old minister had the honor to see the face of the sky again. ”

Chongzhen was moved and said with deep emotion: "If everyone in the minister is like a gentleman, who is upright and loyal, how can state affairs be so bad as it is today?"

Li Banghua suddenly left the chair, knelt down and kowtowed, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the country has come to this point, and it is not a pity for the old minister to die." ”

Chongzhen was suddenly startled and was stunned for a moment: "Why did Mr. say this?"

"The minister is guilty of misleading the king and the country. ”

"Sir, what's wrong with the country?"

"Your Majesty doesn't know about this matter, but the minister knows in his heart that he regrets it now. ”

Chongzhen heard that Li Banghua's words contained deep remorse, but he didn't understand it for a while, and while speculating, he asked Li Banghua to sit down and talk. After Li Banghua kowtowed again and sat down, Chongzhen asked, "What is the gentleman referring to?"

Li Banghua bowed and said: "At the beginning of the first month, the thieves crossed the river into Jin, Taiyuan has not yet fallen, but the whole Jin is empty, the defense of the Beijing division is weak, and the knowledgeable people have already known that the Beijing division will not be able to hold on. Li Mingrui suggested that His Majesty take advantage of the enemy's soldiers to be far away, quickly drive to Nanjing, and then rely on the wealth and military resources of the south of the Yangtze River to reorganize the army and fight the army, shout to the rebels, first pacify Chu and Henan, and then sweep Shaanxi and Jin, which is the best strategy for seeking the country. ”

At that time, some officials were like light, and the Heng generation tried their best to oppose it, and it was confusing. It didn't work, and I regret it now. It is really hateful that the hateful officials and ordinary civil officials are ignorant and only empty talk, and many things have been bad for these crows in the past seventeen years. ”

"Although at that time, some civil servants knew the scriptures but did not know the power, obstructed His Majesty's plan for the southern tour, and misled the king and the country. However, the minister was an old minister of the Four Dynasties, and as the imperial history of the capital, he was also worried at that time, and he failed to perform the southern tour, which was also guilty of misleading the monarch and the country. ”

At that time, Qing suggested that the important ministers should be selected to escort the prince to Nanjing, which was also a good strategy to save the country. ”

"The minister's original intention was also to suggest that the emperor go to Nanjing, but seeing that Li Mingrui's suggestion was opposed by many people, the minister asked the prince to send the army to Nanjing instead. ”

"Ahh

"It is true, and the ministers are also guilty of losing the country. ”

Chongzhen woke up like a dream, but he didn't complain to Li Banghua, shook his head and said, "This is the number of qi, the number of qi." After a pause, Chongzhen said, "According to Mr., if I went to Nanjing at that time, what would be the journey?"

"At that time, the army of Li Thief had just crossed the river into Jin, and it was impossible to intercept the southern tour of the Holy Driver. If you want to catch up from behind, you are still more than 2,000 miles apart. Moreover, there were soldiers and civilians guarding the city everywhere, and the river was blocked, so that the thieves could not drive into the city for a long time. ”

"But at that time, Henan had been lost, and thieves had already entered Shandong, and the canal and waterway were interrupted. ”

"The thieves entered Shandong Province only a sporadic small group, relying on false voices to intimidate, and inciting the people with the words of suppressing the soldiers and reassuring the people and opening warehouses to give relief, so the ignorant people responded when they heard the wind, expelled the officials, and opened the door to welcome the surrender. These are all problems of ringworm and scabies, and the strong army that is not a thief has entered Shandong. Where His Majesty passed, the people were shocked by the might, who would dare to commit a crime?"

"Not long ago, Ni Yuanlu asked to send the prince to Nanjing, but His Majesty refused, leaving Yuanlu's secret behind. Seeing that the situation was urgent, Yuan Lu suggested that he use sixty gold to recruit a strong man, and recruit a total of 500 people who dare to die, so that he could break through the encirclement and summon the army of King Qin.

"This negligence was also left in the middle, at that time, the traitor was still outside Juyong Pass, what did he say to recruit five hundred people who dared to die to break through the encirclement?"

"Your Majesty, because Yuan Lu is like building a house next to a road to discuss emergency matters in the court, he will inevitably mislead the country, so he suggested summing five hundred people who dare to die in order to prepare to escort the emperor to leave Beijing as a last resort. This is Ni Yuanlu's painstaking efforts, he has talked with the ministers in advance, but he did not dare to say it openly in the secret, for fear of violating the emperor's taboo. Today's matter has come to this, the minister can't help but speak on his behalf, Yuan Lu asked to recruit 500 dead soldiers with a lot of money, not for the plan to break through the siege, but for His Majesty's plan to drive the south. ”

"The roads are chaotic, even if you recruit 500 dead soldiers, what can you do?"

"If Your Majesty Nan Xing, of course, you have to plan everything, and all the courtiers who invite Your Majesty Nan Xing will never have the heart to be reckless. These 500 dead soldiers were handed over to a loyal soldier and a civil servant, who did not leave the front and back of the holy car. Jingshi is only more than 200 miles away from Tianjin, and the road is stable. His Majesty left two or three ministers to lead the Beijing battalion to hold on to Beijing to wait for help, and the holy car was lightly armed and simple, and suddenly left the capital at night and went straight to Tianjin, which only took two or three days to arrive. ”

"Feng Yuanbiao, the governor of Tianjin, expected that His Majesty would have a good move in the south, and was already preparing to send troops to meet him. If Feng Yuanbiao was ordered to send troops to meet him halfway, it would be easy. As soon as His Majesty arrived in Tianjin, he summoned Wu Sangui to Tianjin with 2,000 fine horsemen, and the soldiers and civilians of Ningyuan could slowly withdraw into the pass. ”

"How's the palace family?"

"In February, the rebels were still far away from Beijing, and until the beginning of March, the rebels were not yet approaching. At that time, if His Majesty decided to plan Nan Xing, the Sixth Palace Niangniang and Empress Yi'an could leave Beijing safely. As long as the emperor arrives in Tianjin, it will be like a dragon returning to the sea, and the clouds will cause rain, but in the Sacred Heart, as soon as His Majesty leaves Beijing, he will no longer sit in the city of sorrow. If Wu Sangui is named a marquis, he will be grateful for the picture and personally lead Guanning to ride the iron horse. On the one hand, His Majesty secretly ordered Shi Kefa to lead the army to the north to meet him, and on the other hand, he ordered Zuo Liangyu to enter and suppress the thief of Xiangzheng, so that the thief had worries. ”

"What if the thieves entrenched in the Central Plains pour their nests into Shandong and occupy Jining and Linqing?"

"If you have to, you can take the Kaido Minamiyuki. ”

"Kaido?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. When the traitor arrived at Xuanda, Feng Yuanbiao, the governor of Tianjin, had a secret and forced Chen Kou to the courtyard, so it was advisable to arrange it as soon as possible to prevent trouble. Seeing that the situation was urgent, he sent his son Feng Kaizhang Feizhang to play: the capital is weak in strength, and there is nothing to rely on in battle. The minister prepared 200 sea ships, led thousands of soldiers, arrived in Tongzhou, and waited for the saint to sail to the south. ”

On the seventh day of the first month of this month, Feng Kaizhang flew from Tianjin to Beijing and visited the cabinet officials. Because some people in the court attacked and moved south, and His Majesty also denied that Nan Xing, no one in the cabinet and ministers dared to assert anything, and the General Administration Department refused to forward Feng Yuanbiao's secret sparseness, and Feng Kaizhang waited until the afternoon of the 15th, because his father's secret sparse could not be heard of His Majesty, and the thieves were about to come, so he had to rush back to Tianjin with tears. ”

Feng Kaizhang came to Beijing for eight days and lived in the house of his uncle Feng Yuanbiao, so the minister could know about him. On the day when the country was in danger, the minister could not be loyal to the two things, misguided the country, failed the king's grace, and died with resentment. Li Banghua burst into tears, and his long silver beard trembled on his chest.

Before Chongzhen came to the country, he was very moved by the loyalty of this old minister, and couldn't help but burst into tears again, choking up and saying: "Feng Yuanbiao's secret performance, I don't know it. But the responsibility for this matter lies with the Cabinet and the Department of General Affairs, and has nothing to do with the Secretary. ”

"No, Your Majesty, the minister is the general constitution, and he can play for Jinfu, and besides, the governor is also the title of imperial historian of the capital, and he is a subordinate of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the minister has the responsibility to play for him. It was only because the minister saw that His Majesty was secretly talking about moving south, so he only asked the East Palace to raise the army in Nanjing, and he didn't dare to say that he would ask His Majesty to go south, knowing that Feng Yuanbiao's secret was a good strategy to save the country, and he didn't dare to play on his behalf. The ministers mistook His Majesty, decided to be martyred for the king, and hanged himself next to Prime Minister Wen, but he hated death and did not hide his guilt. ”

Chongzhen sighed and said: "I don't want to wait until the monarch and the minister are separated forever, and things have come to this point." ”

"This time, I have accumulated the shortcomings of the past few years, and it is too late to say it. ”