Yang Shen said: "Tang Tong has already confided the truth in the conversation, and the Shaanxi soldiers who followed Li Zicheng to fight the world were very proud of their victory, and they ignored the newly surrendered soldiers and regarded them as slaves. ”

"According to our detailed report, after the destruction of Beijing, Shaanxi soldiers were stationed in the city of Beijing, extorting gold and silver, robbing and raping, and corrupting discipline. Tang Tong's soldiers could only be stationed in the suburbs and in the area of Changping. It turned out that there was no salary in the Ming Dynasty, and now under the rule of King Li, there is no salary. Don't say that his soldiers are very poor, although he himself is Dingxibo and the chief military officer, he is also very poor. ”

Wu Sangui smiled and nodded: "The old Shaanxi people eat meat in Beijing, and Tang Tong's people don't even drink the broth." Don't lose, who told him to surrender first and betrayed Emperor Chongzhen. ”

"Zhang Ruoqi is even poorer," Yang Shen continued, "I wish someone would give him a little silver to save the emergency." ”

Wu Sangui asked, "Is he also poor?"

Yang Shen smiled and said, "Uncle, how can you forget? He has always been a Beijing official and has not let go of foreign appointments. Before the defeat of Songshan, he served in the military department, and was later promoted to the staff of the military department, and later was ordered by Qin to be the supervisor of Hong Chengchou, and was punished for the defeat. Fortunately, he was not severely punished by the imperial court, and he barely kept his position. ”

"Those who are Beijing officials, especially the Qingshui Yamen like the Ministry of War, although they are the upper officials of the Sipinlang, they are like living on a bluestone slab, and they all rely on the autumn wind to live on those new governors and other feudal officials who have entered Beijing from other provinces, and there is no opportunity for corruption on weekdays, so they need the most silver. ”

Wu Sangui laughed and said briskly: "In this case, I will give them two thousand taels of silver each, and they don't have to be petty." ”

Yang Shen said: "Uncle is so generous, our game of chess will be alive, so do it?"

"That's it, so let's do it. Anyway, the silver was sent by the Li thief, and the wool came out of the sheep. As the saying goes, hit him in the eye with his fist. I want to make Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqiming for the use of King Chuang, and secretly for my use. ”

Wu Sangui said with emotion: "Li Zicheng rebelled for 16 or 7 years, and there were no loyal people around him. As for the fact that he sent a new subordinate, different from his single-minded and virtuous military generals, it also shows that he is a thief after all, not a great cause. ”

Wu Sangui immediately ordered a servant to go to the courtyard next door and tell the quartermaster to quickly take out four thousand taels of silver, wrap every two thousand taels in red silk as a bag, and personally send them for backup.

After a while, the quartermaster and his own soldier came with two bags of silver and placed them on the ground. Wu Sangui asked, "Two thousand taels per pack, there's nothing wrong, right?"

"Back to Uncle, take a total of eighty ingots from your humble position, divided into two packs, that's right. ”

Yang Shen is a very scheming person, and suddenly a question flashed in front of him. He quickly took out two ingots from a red silk bag and placed them on the table, shining white in the candlelight. He picked up an ingot, looked at the words cast on the bottom, and instructed: "This new ingots cannot be used, and they will all be replaced with old ingots, as long as they are full of silver." ”

Wu Sangui was puzzled for a while, looked at the flashing new ingots and asked, "Could it be that the fineness of these ingots is insufficient?"

"No, uncle, this new ingots can't be used!"

"Why?"

"Uncle, according to the secret agent's report, after the thieves occupied Beijing, in addition to arresting officials above the sixth grade to torture and recover the stolen goods, they also used various methods to loot gold, silver, precious jewelry and other valuable things. It is said that a total of 70 million taels of silver were looted, and the Baoyuan Bureau of the Yamen of the Ministry of Household was ordered to melt the silver and cast it into ingots, and every 100 new ingots, that is, 5,000 taels of silver, were put into a wooden box, and a general named Luo Dain was sent to lead 3,000 elite soldiers to transport the 70 million taels of silver back to Xi'an. ”

The silver that had been sent to the army was taken from the silver that was going to be shipped back to Xi'an. As soon as I saw that this was a new ingot, I understood it in my heart, and then looked at the bottom of the ingot, which was cast with the four words Yongchang ingot, and I understood it all in my heart. As the saying goes, there is no impermeable wall in the world. In case the Li thief knows, not only will our plot to bribe Tang Zhang fail, but they will also be killed by the Li thief. This is no joke!"

Wu Sangui suddenly understood, and asked the quartermaster, "Do we have any old ingots in our warehouse?"

The quartermaster replied respectfully: "Uncle Hui, this time we were ordered to abandon Ningyuan, even the bottom of the warehouse was cleared, and all the accumulated silver was moved into the customs. There are a lot of ingots, and they are all full of silver, fifty taels and one ingots, but there is no dazzling silver shine of this new ingot, which is very good-looking. The old ingots we transported into the customs were in the Wanli period, the Apocalypse period, the early years of Chongzhen, the Yamen of the Household Department, and the southern ingots. If the uncle says that it will be replaced with the old ingots, the humble position will be changed immediately, and there are. ”

Wu Sangui nodded and said, "You hurry up and change it, the eighty ingots are still divided into two packs, and they will be sent to the banquet immediately." ”

"Yes!"

Wu Sangui turned to Yang Shen and said, "Let's go back to the banquet quickly, just follow what we discussed just now." ”

After Wu Sangui and Yang Shen left the hall just now, although there was still a general and a secretary in charge to accompany the guests to drink, the mood at the banquet became very dull, the wine was very small, and there was no interest in talking.

While they were wondering, they suddenly saw a lantern flickering outside the hall, and at the same time heard the servant say, "Uncle has arrived!"

The two important military officers under Ping Xibo, a chief military officer surnamed Li and a clerk surnamed Ding, who accompanied the guests to eat and drink, immediately stood solemnly, avoided their chairs, turned their eyes to the door, and breathed silently.

Although Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi were Dashun Qincha, under this atmosphere, they also stood up and looked at the door of the hall. Tang Tong muttered in his heart: "Damn, what's the good of Lao Tzu descending early? instead, it has lowered the value of my Ming Emperor to seal Xibo!"

Zhang Ruoqi's heart was pounding, and he said to himself: "Probably I will never surrender, I will detain Tang Tong and me, give Li Zicheng a little color, and bargain!"

Wu Sangui came in with a smile on his face, and Yang Shen followed closely behind him. As soon as he entered the living room, he bowed his hand as he walked to his master's seat. After taking his seat, he immediately said, "Unaccompanied, unaccompanied." Because he discussed with Yang Shen whether to surrender, he was absent for a moment and did not persuade him to drink. Thinking of the friends of distress on the battlefield of Songshan, begging the two adults Haihan. Come, let me pour you two a glass of hot wine. ”

Tang Tong said: "The wine is enough. Let's get down to business. Ping Xibo, how can Master Zhang and I reply to King Li?"

Wu Sangui did not reluctantly pour the wine, and according to the intention of discussing with Yang Shen, he said that it was late at night today, and he had to discuss with his important civil and military officials again tomorrow before making a good decision.

Tang Tong said: "Ping Xibo, you are a martial artist, I am also a martial artist, and I am a friend of tribulation on the battlefield of Songshan. As you know, neither I nor Lord Zhang are from Shaanxi, nor are we from King Li's old department, and in the Dashun Dynasty, we were sent by Qin for the first time to handle major affairs for King Li. I don't know what Zhang Dasima thinks, I'm just afraid that I won't be able to persuade him to surrender, and I will commit the crime of delaying the opportunity, just like the saying goes, I can't bear to go around. ”

"Let's stay for a day or two, waiting for you to discuss and decide with the important civil and military officials under your command, it's not impossible, but we have to give us a word, so that we can go back to Beijing to resume our lives. Brother Yang Shenren, you are an understanding person, do you say yes?"

Wu Sangui saw that Tang Tong's words were almost equivalent to pleading, and when he came, the tone of the minister was completely gone, and he nodded and said with a smile: "I will only keep you for two days, and I will definitely give you a satisfactory word, please rest assured." ”

Zhang Ruoqi was already completely disappointed with this trip, looked at the half-cold wine glass, and was silent. Yang Shen was about to speak, when the quartermaster and a Wen patrol came in with a heavy red silk baggage. Because of the list of cups and plates on the banquet table in front of the two guests, Yang Shen quickly pulled two empty chairs, put one next to each guest, and ordered the burden to be placed on the empty chair. The two guests had already understood in their hearts, their eyes lit up, and they each looked at the red silk burden beside them, hiding the joy in their hearts, pretending to be surprised, and asked at the same time, "What is this?"

The quartermaster and the two quickly withdrew, and did not speak. Wu Sangui told the servant to quickly get hot wine. Before the hot wine was obtained, Yang Shen opened a red silk bag and said with a smile: "My uncle came to the army because the two adults were sent by Li Wangqin and worked hard, so he came to the army to pay tribute to Fei Bo and talk about his heart. Send each adult Cheng Yizu 40 ingots, 2,000 taels of silver, and hope to smile. As for the officers and soldiers who come with them, there will be another silver reward tomorrow. ”

Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi also thought that Wu Sangui would send Cheng Yi, but they only thought that each person would send about two or three hundred taels, at most five hundred taels, and they never expected that each person would be two thousand taels. It was so unexpected. They were surprised and delighted, but they turned their backs on the other hand.

In the end, Tang Tong drank the freshly filled wine glass, laughed, and said loudly: "This, this is really disrespectful, and it is deserved! What can I say? Ping Xibo, if you have something to serve, just say, my brother will do his best! Hahahaha......

Although Zhang Ruoqi was more excited in his heart, he still did not lose the elegance of a senior civil official, picked up the full wine glass, first raised his glass to Wu Sangui, and then raised his glass to Yang Shen and others, and said: "At the time when the country is changing hands and the national fortunes are renewed, it is not easy for the old people to meet. Thanks to the generous gift, I dare not be ashamed. Since it was disrespectful, I had to respectfully worship it. As the saying goes, the expression of gold silk is friendly, and the wine is popular. At this time, the younger brother was in the middle of the guests, and he could not prepare a good wine to express his gratitude, so he had to borrow flowers to offer the Buddha, please raise a glass and drink it all. Please!

After everyone toasted happily, Yang Shen poured a full cup for the two VIPs and said to the guests: "Please rest assured, two adults." Xiaguan has just agreed with my uncle that tomorrow he will discuss with Guanning's important civil and military secrets about the surrender of Dashun. Now it is one with Guanning, the family is big, the army is in a group, some people are willing to surrender to the Shun Dynasty, and some do not forget the Ming Dynasty, so my uncle can't decide on this matter for a while. ”

"Fortunately, there are two adults who are sent by King Li to send a heavy golden light to the mountains and seas today, one is to reward the army, and the other is to persuade them to surrender, so that those civil and military dignitaries who intend to surrender are in a good mood. Just now I agreed with Xibo to take advantage of the east wind brought by the two of you......"

Tang Tong smiled: "Yang Shen, we are from the west. ”

"Dingxibo, that's still the east wind of persuasion. Taking advantage of the east wind you have brought, tomorrow's meeting will be ready to begin. ”

Tang Tong said: "Deputy Chief Yang Shen, my brother, please forgive me for being a martial artist, I have always spoken like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, straight to the point. There are thousands of people in the family, and the main thing is one person, tomorrow you will hold a meeting of civil and military dignitaries, and the decision to surrender Dashun is in the hands of Ping Xibo, not others!"

Wu Sangui said: "What Lord Tang said is that tomorrow I will of course come up with my own ideas. ”

Yang Shen continued: "Tomorrow, we will not only have a secret consultation with the civil and military dignitaries of the Guanning army, but also with the important local gentry. ”

Tang Tong said: "Ah, do you want to consult with the local gentry?"

"Yes, the local gentry cannot be hidden. ”

"The military power is in the hands of Ping Xibo, what does it have to do with the local gentry?"

"No, Lord Tang. My family, Ping Xibo, was ordered to escort more than 100,000 people from Ningyuan into the customs, and after entering the customs, they lived in several nearby counties. After the Dashun army occupied Beijing, the prefectures and prefectures of did not return to Shun, and the Guannai region did not betray the Ming Dynasty. If we, the Guanning soldiers, do not consult with the local gentry, once the surrender is announced, will the people and their families who are scattered in the vicinity suffer immediately? Therefore, it is indispensable to consult with the local gentry living in the Shanhai Acropolis. Did you say yes?"

Tang Tong said: "Yang Shen, you are very thoughtful, but I am afraid that I will have too many dreams at night and miss a big event." ”

Zhang Ruoqi said: "Lord Tang, we have to stay for two or three days. ”

Yang Shen said: "What Master Zhang said is that such a big event should not be rushed. It's like steamed buns, the air is not round, and the rice is not cooked. ”

Tang Tong nodded with a wry smile and agreed to stay in Shanhaiwei for two or three days, and then return to Beijing to resume his life. Besides, he has already received the rich Cheng Yi given by Wu Sangui, so it's hard to say more. But then he thought about it, he had already been in the Ming Dynasty as the Ming Dynasty to seal Xibo out of Yongguan thirty miles to meet Li Zicheng, this matter is like doing speculative business, in a hurry, the capital is too big; if he can't persuade Shanhaiwei to surrender and even lose his old capital, what is Cheng Yi who has two thousand taels of silver?

He looked at Wu Sangui again and said, "Ping Xibo, you and I are friends in trouble on the battlefield of Songshan, and we are also the earls of Emperor Chongzhen at the same time, this friendship is extraordinary. At the behalft of the new lord King Li, Lord Zhang and I came to persuade us to surrender, and I thought that we could talk about everything, put our hearts in our hearts, discuss well, and get out of the live chess. ”

"We don't say that we have made meritorious contributions in front of King Li, at least we should not be held accountable and have a safe place in the new dynasty. But for this important matter of our persuasion to surrender on the orders of Qin, you Ping Xibo will not even say a word about turning around, so that we will run headlong into the south wall, how can we reply to King Li?"