The bell rang at the noon gate.

As usual, Chongzhen once again rode to the court.

Starting from Jiajing, several generations of emperors of the Ming Dynasty rarely listened to the government, and even rarely met with the ministers. But after Chongzhen ascended to the pole, he tried his best to correct the shortcomings of the "emperor's sluggishness" and went to court every day. A diligent emperor like him can be said to be rare in all dynasties, and the degree of diligence is even comparable to that of Emperor Gao.

It was not until after the army of thieves passed through the Xuanfu that many problems needed to be dealt with at any time because of military urgency, and he also needed to summon a small number of ministers and secret merchants at any time, that the method of daily morning court was stopped and changed to listen to the government at the imperial gate every 369. However, today is not the 369th, and it was suddenly decided to go to the court, and there was no announcement yesterday, how could the ministers come in a hurry?

When Chongzhen left the Qianqing Palace not far away, and when he arrived at the Jianji Palace, he thought that he was wrong. He sighed in his heart:

"Is this also a sign of national destruction?"

But the bell on the noon gate had already sounded for a while, and it was too late to cancel the court.

He thought about it, as far as the current situation is concerned, it is good to only see a few ministers on the platform, maybe someone will come up with an emergency solution, if Wu Sangui's rescue is not available today, the "traitor" will break the city, this will be the last time he will listen to the government......

Thinking that his ancestors' country was thrown into his hands like this, it made him almost cry bitterly.

Today, the emperor suddenly decided to come to the court, and although the bell on the noon gate rang for a while, most of the officials scattered in the east and west cities and the north city did not hear it, and the few who heard the bell could not arrive. Therefore, in the seventeen years since Chongzhen was in the court, there has never been such an abnormal and deserted court as today, only a few eunuchs waiting, and only two ministers kneeling on the platform to take over: one is Li Banghua, the left neighbor of the Imperial Procuratorate, and the other is Wang Jiayan, the assistant director of the military department. Seventy-one-year-old Li Banghua's white beard is like silver, floating on his chest, and fifty-seven-year-old Wang Jiayan also has gray hair. Seeing that there were only two old ministers kneeling a few feet away from the imperial case, except for a dozen of them who came with the car, the courtyard was even more empty with a few lonely people, and for a while, he unconsciously shed tears.

In the past, even in the usual dynasty, there were one or two hundred people, step by step, divided into two shifts. The appearance in front of him made Chongzhen not think that today was a temporary bell to go to the court, so not many courtiers came, he just compared with the previous situation, sighed sadly in his heart and said:

"Alas! What a sign of the country! ”

Chongzhen couldn't even endure this unorthodox phenomenon, so he commanded.

"Retreat".

This surprised the eunuchs and the two ministers on the left and right. Before everyone's thoughts turned a corner, Chongzhen had already stood up and walked back. But as soon as he was about to go to the palace, he regretted that he shouldn't have suddenly retreated back to the palace, and his mind was so flustered! Thinking that Wang Jiayan is a squire of the military department, he is responsible for guarding the city, and now that he has come to the court, there will be something urgent to report.

should be asked face to face about the situation of the Ming City's defense, as for Li Banghua, who is also an old minister of the Four Dynasties, he is a learned, ethical, upright, and important minister who is respected by the courtiers.

He even thought that on the fourth day of the first month of this month, Li Banghua and Fan Jingwen both suggested escorting the prince to Nanjing. How good this suggestion was, just because there was an opposition from the official at that time, he couldn't make up his mind for a while, and in the end it was not adopted.

Hateful! Hateful!

Some courtiers suggested that he move to Nanjing, but he did not accept it because of the opposition of the officials.

Hateful, hateful!

Yan Guan is really hateful!

Chongzhen, who regretted it, suddenly had a thought in his heart, could it be that Li Banghua had any new suggestions today?

"Tell Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan to wait for the summons in Dongnuan Pavilion!"

Chongzhen gave an order to the eunuch, and his voice was choked.

After returning to the East Warm Pavilion, Chongzhen waited for the arrival of the two. He thought hatefully in his heart.

"In the past, big and small ministers, this request was called, that request was called, why since the capital was besieged, the country was about to die, but no one asked for the call? In the past, not only did many documents be sent from all over the country every day, but also the ministers of the capital also had many copies every day, but in the past three days, there was no one to write a book, and no one offered a plan or suggestion to save this dangerous situation! Is this the official raised by the Ming Dynasty? All the officials are mistaken! Hateful! Hateful! ”

While waiting for Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan, Chongzhen wondered why Wang Chengen didn't see a shadow, and his mind was in turmoil, and an internal official came in and bowed and said:

"Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan have arrived, waiting to be summoned."

Chongzhen says:

"Tell them to come in quickly!"

The Cabinet respectfully withdrew from the proclamation. After another moment, a eunuch lifted the curtain, Li Banghua in front and Wang Jiayan in the back, entered the Liwen Warm Pavilion and bowed in front of Chongzhen.

"No courtesy."

Chongzhen asked:

"Wang Jiayan, how is the city guarded? What is the movement of the traitor? ”

Wang Jiayan held the wat and said:

"Your Majesty, the strength of the city is weak, and the hearts of the people have been scattered. Now there are many sieges outside Xizhimen and Fucheng Gate are the surrendered troops of the Beijing camp, and the surrendered troops of the Beijing camp continue to shout at the city gate how strong the rebel army is, and there are 200,000 elite soldiers surrounding the capital, who can break the city at any time, and persuade the people in the city to know the current affairs, open the door and surrender as soon as possible, so as not to be slaughtered, and say, do not surrender in five days, and slaughter the whole city. The defenders of the city are now in turmoil......"

Wang Jiayan, who couldn't cry when he mentioned the situation in the city, really couldn't go on, when did there ever be such a situation in all dynasties.

Could it be that Da Ming is really exhausted?

Li Banghua also cried silently, he regretted that he had the reputation of being upright and daring to speak, but he did not dare to have a firm proposition on the proposal of moving south, which led to today's disaster.

Seeing the two ministers crying, Chongzhen couldn't help crying, but what's the use of crying now?

Glancing at Li Banghua, Chongzhen thought that there were still important things to talk to him secretly, and the tearful king asked Jiayan:

"Qing has been an old minister of the three dynasties since he entered the office, and now it is the second time that he has done his best for the defense of Beijing, and the monarch and the ministers have shared the ......."

The emperor's words made Wang Jiayan cry bitterly. Chongzhen also cried.

When the monarch was crying, Li Banghua interjected with tears:

"The country has come to this point, and all civil and military officials cannot escape the blame. The old minister should not say anything, he is deeply disappointed by His Majesty, and he is innocent of death! ”

Chongzhen didn't know the true meaning of Li Banghua's two sentences, and he didn't care about it, so he went on to say to Wang Jiayan:

"Wang Jiayan, Qing is my minister. Now, don't you have a solution? ”

Wang Jiayan choked up and said:

"Your Majesty, the people's hearts have been scattered, the minister's strength has been exhausted, and the minister can only repay His Majesty's kindness with a death!"

His answer made Chongzhen fall into despair, and tears rained down for a while. And Wang Jiayan also fell to the ground and whimpered. Li Banghua also shed tears, and he secretly regretted in his heart that he did not stick to the end in the matter of moving south.

The monarchs and ministers cried for a while, and Chongzhen said to Wang Jiayan:

"Qing quickly went to the city to inspect and try his best to defend it, waiting for Wu Sangui's rescuers to arrive!"

Wang Jiayan, who was crying bitterly on the ground, kowtowed and got up, and after receiving the decree with tears, he withdrew from the warm pavilion.

After Wang Jiayan withdrew, Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua and said:

"Sir, flat. Sit! ”

After Li Banghua bowed down to thank him, he sat sideways and waited for the emperor to ask questions. Treating a learned and ethical minister like Li Banghua, Chongzhen has always been extremely respectful, and he usually calls Mr. instead of by name. But he understands that now that Jingshi is besieged, it is not the time to talk calmly, even though Li Banghua has the prestige of the old ministers of the four dynasties, it will not help to save the overall situation. Sighing, Chongzhen 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, how to come to the court? I don't know what is important? ”

Li Banghua leaned over in the chair and said:

"Your Majesty, since the thief passed through Changping, the old minister knew that he could not do anything important, 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 thief broke the city, and the minister hanged himself on the side of Prime Minister Wen. ...... for 2 days"

Li Banghua's words shocked Chongzhen's heart, and he waved his hand to stop talking. He suddenly remembered a fierce dream last night, thought that he was going to hang himself, and thought that his ancestors' country would not be protected, and he couldn't help but hide his face and whimper. Seeing that the emperor was crying, Li Banghua also cried, and he regretted that as a minister, he was guilty of the "disaster of the country" that came to his eyes. Chongzhen, who didn't know Li Banghua's remorse, whimpered for a moment and then said.

"If the ministers are like gentlemen, upright and loyal, how can state affairs be so bad today!"

The emperor's praise made Li Banghua leave the chair, kneel down and kowtow and plead guilty:

"Your Majesty! The country has come to this point, and the old minister is not innocent! ”

Chongzhen was suddenly startled, stunned for a moment, and asked:

"Why did you say that, sir?"

"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 now he can't regret it!"

Chongzhen heard that Li Banghua's words contained deep remorse, but he didn't understand it for a while, and while guessing, he asked Banghua to sit down and talk. After Duhua kowtowed again and sat down, Chongzhen asked:

"What do you mean, sir?"

Li Banghua bowed and said:

"At the beginning of the first month, the thief crossed the river into Jin, although Taiyuan has not yet fallen, but the whole Jin is empty, and the Beijing division is weak, and those who know know that the Beijing division will not be able to hold on. Li Mingrui suggested that His Majesty should take advantage of the enemy's army still far away, quickly drive south, and then rely on the wealth and military resources of Jiangnan to reorganize the army and military forces, so as to seek the best strategy for the country......"

At that time, some officials tried their best to oppose it, and they messed up my mind. It didn't work, and I regret it now. It's hateful that officials and ordinary civil officials are ignorant, but they are still empty talk, and now that I think about it, many things have been bad for these crows in the past seventeen years, which is very hateful! ”

"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. Danchen is an old minister of the Four Dynasties, as the capital constitution, he was also worried at that time, and he failed to put on his liver and courage to perform the southern tour, which was really a crime of mistaking the king 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 way to save the country."

Again, Chongzhen regretted it. If the prince was sent to Nanjing at that time, how could the ancestors' country be lost?

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

Li Banghua's tears flowed down again.

"Ahh

Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua in surprise.

"That's why the minister is guilty of losing the country."

Although Chongzhen, who had just woken up from a dream, was surprised, he did not complain to Li Banghua, but shook his head and said:

"This is the number of gases, the number of gases."

After a pause, Chongzhen said again:

"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, there 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 Shandong was ......"

Why didn't you dare to tour the south at that time, wasn't it because Shandong had the territory of the German Domain? If you go to Shandong, isn't that a sheep in the mouth of a tiger?

"There is a German domain in Shandong, but Baoliu Kou does not dare to enter, although the son of the German has the name of domineering, but he is also a sincere person. If His Majesty enters Shandong, he will decree that King Qin, the son of Deshi, will personally lead the strong army and the King Qin, and where the general will pass, the chaotic people will be shocked, and who will dare to attack...... On the day when the country was in danger, the ministers were unable to perform loyally one after another, so that the misguided country failed the monarch's grace so much, it is really a resentment to death! ”

Li Banghua, who was in tears, cried bitterly.

Approaching the point of the death of the country, he was still very moved by the loyalty of the old minister, and he couldn't help but burst into tears again and choked up.

"The responsibility for this matter lies with the Cabinet and the General Secretary, and not with the Secretary."

"No, Your Majesty! Seeing that His Majesty was talking about moving south, the minister had no choice but to ask for the East Palace to raise the army in Nanjing, but he didn't dare to ask His Majesty to go south, knowing that this was a good strategy to save the country, but he didn't dare to play it. The ministers successively mistook His Majesty, mistook the Ming Dynasty, decided to be martyred for the king, and died by hanging next to Prime Minister Wen, but although he died, he died with hatred! Misleading the country like this is really a minister's sin! ”

Chongzhen sighed and said:

"If you don't want me to wait for the monarch and ministers, it's all because of this! Even if the officials oppose it, I am determined to be arbitrary, how can this be the case? ”

"The official invited to buy the name directly is really accumulating disadvantages in my dynasty, but now it's too late to say it!"

Chongzhen was only in the mood to survive at the moment, and he didn't want to talk about this issue. Because Li Banghua mentioned Youshan's words, he suddenly had a glimmer of illusion, and asked in a low voice:

"Sir, if I am now in Nanxing Shandong, what do you think of this?"

Faced with His Majesty's question, Li Banghua shook his head and said nothing, looking at his appearance, Chongzhen asked.

"Sir, don't I have a chance to go south now?"

"Your Majesty, Minister, Minister......"

Li Banghua, who was lying on the ground, cried.

"Today is not the past, now, it's too late, if the thief just entered the Jin, Your Majesty Nanxing, there is still a chance, but now...... For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty, you should no longer be in the south of Shandong! ”

What did he say?

For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I will not let the south of the province be fortunate in Shandong.

What does he mean by that?

But in an instant, Chongzhen understood why he said that?

is to avoid the internal strife of the Ming Dynasty, in order to avoid that kid has to kill the king, and then lead to infighting.

Isn't he a loyal servant?

Whether it is a loyal minister or not, only God knows, and at that time. Sometimes a loyal servant can become a traitor.

When Chongzhen was stunned, Li Banghua kowtowed to the ground again and said:

"The old minister resigned from the palace, waited for the news in the prime minister's words, and did his best for the king."

Chongzhen watched Li Banghua out of the warm pavilion, and then suddenly stood up from the throne, trembling all over, staring at his back and muttering.

"I, I......"