Emperor Zhizheng frowned when he heard this, slowly put down the things in his hand, and then sat back on top of the golden dragon.

Empress Qi immediately handed over a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and after wiping it for Emperor Zhizheng, she stood cautiously beside her.

Emperor Zhizheng also thought about it for a long time after receiving the news of Timur's defeat, but after thinking about it, he didn't think that Tokhtar would take the responsibility on himself, and he wanted to blame him.

Now half of the court is supported by Tokto, once he resigns, Emperor Zhizheng himself is not sure to find such a shrewd and capable and loyal to himself.

But wouldn't it be unfair to punish the two brothers for such a major event as the defeat of the army?

Emperor Zhizheng thought about it and still didn't have any good ideas, so he subconsciously looked up at the two henchmen, Hama and Pu Buhua, only to see that one of them was still kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly, and the other bowed down and didn't dare to straighten up until now.

Emperor Zhizheng was angry and laughed: "You two come here, I have something to ask." ”

The emperor spoke, the two did not dare to disobey, Pu Buhua straightened up and walked over, and Hama also wiped away his tears and came closer.

Emperor Zhizheng issued a brief order: "Sit." ”

Because the ordinary little eunuchs and palace maids were driven out, Concubine Xiang, who had eyesight, moved two light low stools on her behalf, which caused the two to be shocked and kept thanking Concubine Xiang.

In order to pretend to be light and light, Emperor Zhizheng deliberately took a sip of fragrant tea, and then slowed down his voice and said: "You must have also known the matter of the defeat first, he was personally recommended by the prime minister to take command, and now that he is so absurd, how do you think it should end?" ”

Pu Buhua excused himself again and again, claiming that he was just a eunuch and did not dare to discuss the affairs of the court.

Emperor Zhizheng turned his face to look at Hama again: "What about you?" You are an official of the imperial court, what do you think? ”

Only then did Hama open his mouth: "Whether it is the prime minister or the marshal of the country, they are the humerus of the country, and their rewards and punishments or punishments should be judged by His Majesty alone, and his subordinates dare not speak falsely." ”

Emperor Zhizheng was a little displeased when he heard this: "I just want to ask you what you think, but I get you to pass the buck like this, it's really boring!" ”

Queen Qi, who was next to her, saw the two of them playing a round: "Your Majesty, don't be angry, the two of them have always been well-behaved, you might as well pardon them for the crime of arguing about the court first, and then listen to their thoughts." ”

Emperor Zhizheng thought that the queen's reminder was reasonable, so he raised his eyelids and stared at the two of them: "I forgive you for your innocence, and tell what you think in your heart!" If you don't tell the truth again this time, it will be a crime of deception! ”

After winning this gold medal for avoiding death, Hama dared to open his mouth: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that there must be punishment, but the Prime Minister must not be allowed to resign." ”

Pu Buhua also nodded and agreed: "Your Majesty, the imperial court is the time to employ people, and the slave also believes that the prime minister must not be allowed to leave Beijing again." ”

Emperor Zhizheng nodded: "I think so too, although Timur and Tokhtar are brothers of the same mother, but after all, this time the defeat of the first army has nothing to do with Tokhtar, and it is indeed inappropriate to blame Tokhtar for the first thing, let alone remove him from his position." ”

Queen Qi's heart moved, and she said good things for Tokto: "Your Majesty, the prime minister knows that his younger brother has made a great mistake, not only does he not help him exonerate him, but he is even willing to take all the charges on him, such a person is really loyal to His Majesty!" ”

Emperor Zhizheng was also satisfied with Totok's performance: "I originally thought about it, the more I exonerated this Totoku is, the more I have to punish it heavily, but I didn't expect Totoku to be so fair, and I actually played my brother's fault according to the facts." ”

Hama took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty, no one is a sage or a sage, and Marshal Xian has no merit and hard work in this expedition, and Henan has indeed stopped a lot since this period of time." ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Zhizheng asked suspiciously: "A few days ago, Henan also had frequent good news, saying that it had besieged Liu Futong, the leader of the red turban thief, why was the whole army suddenly wiped out in a few days?" I read that the newspaper said, 'Because of the camp roar in the middle of the night, tens of thousands of troops collapsed without a fight', what is this camp roar? Isn't it a powerful means of the red turban thief? ”

Ha Ma explained the matter of Ying Xiao again: "Your Majesty, such strange things have happened in previous dynasties, but the scale is not as large, and Marshal Yexian is indeed unlucky this time." As for the previous siege of Runing City, it was because the vanguard general Gong Buban mistakenly believed in the enemy's bitter plan, was killed by the thief general, and the army was surrounded by the red turban thieves who supported from Xuzhou, which turned from victory to defeat, so that later the morale of the army was low, and such a strange thing as the camp roared occurred. ”

It was the first time that Emperor Zhizheng had heard of such a thing as Yingxiao, and he couldn't help but be angry and happy, and blurted out: "It's really bad luck to encounter this kind of thing!" ”

Hama and Pu Buhua glanced at each other, the two of them had been with the emperor for a long time, and they could naturally reach the joys, sorrows, and sorrows of the emperor at any time, so they took the opportunity to intercede for the first time: "Your Majesty, you are also the marshal of the thief, although you are defeated, but please spare his life for the sake of his loyalty!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! Although he was not a good teacher, he also made a lot of contributions when he was an official in the court, so you can spare his life! ”

Under the persuasion of the two of them in turn, Emperor Zhizheng finally relented: "Don't persuade me, I didn't want to give death first." ”

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief, if they got rid of this girder, they would not fall, and Timur only needed to save his life, even if he lost his official position, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Empress Qi reminded in a timely manner: "Your Majesty, the prime minister is still kneeling outside, do you want to allow him to come in?" ”

Emperor Zhizheng waved his hand: "No need, when he comes in, he will cry and cry again, I am soft-hearted, I can't see this." ”

The emperor said and looked at Pu Buhua: "How long have you been kneeling outside?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has been kneeling outside for half an hour."

Emperor Zhizheng nodded: "The younger brother made a mistake, and the elder brother was also negligent in teaching and assisting no matter what, so let him kneel for three hours!" After kneeling, send someone to send him back to his house, so that he doesn't have to come in to see me. ”

Pu Buhua took the order: "The slave will go down to arrange." ”

Emperor Zhizheng looked at Hama again: "Spread my will, and as a marshal, not only could he not lead the army to eliminate the thieves, but he actually led to the annihilation of the 100,000 army, and he should have been beheaded to show the public, but he had done a lot of work, and I spared his life, but from now on, he was dismissed from all his positions and demoted to a commoner!" ”

Hama was secretly happy in his heart, and on the surface he bowed down to receive the order to deliver the decree.

After receiving Pu Buhua's message, Totoh was grateful, knelt on the ground outside the palace gate, and knelt for three hours before being sent back to the mansion with the support of the palace people.