Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan soon entered the Dongnuan Pavilion in turn and kowtowed to Emperor Chongzhen.

Chongzhen asked, "Wang Jiayan, how is the city guarding?" What happened to the thieves? ”

Wang Jiayan is in his fifties this year, a native of Putian, Fujian, and has a Fujian face with bulging cheekbones and three strands of gray beard. Among today's courtiers, he can be regarded as upright, with clean sleeves and extremely loyal in his work.

Hearing Chongzhen's question, he said truthfully: "Your Majesty, after the battle of Fuchengmen, the hearts of the people have been cohesive, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has raised troops at a high price of one or two silver a day, and there are many strong men who have been recruited, and it is estimated that there will be more than 20,000 brave men who can go to the city today." However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince issued an order yesterday evening to remove most of the defenders of the seven gates of the outer city and concentrate them on the nine gates of the inner city. Now the defense of the seven gates of the outer city is like a void, and each gate is only guarded by a hundred people. ”

"What? Why did the prince give up the Seven Gates? You're the assistant to the government, why don't you stop it? ”

Wang Jiayan said: "Your Majesty! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has made up his mind to abandon the city and move south, and the troops of the outer city are collected in order to attract the main force of the rebels into the outer city to facilitate the breakthrough. ”

Wang Jiayan couldn't go on, and lay on the ground and wept secretly. Li Banghua, who was over seventy years old and had a white beard, was pleased, and in February he advocated that the prince go to the southern capital to supervise the country, and Chongzhen rejected his suggestion on the grounds that the prince was young and ignorant. But now it seems that the prince is really the master of Zhongxing!

"Your Majesty," Li Banghua said, "the crown prince gathered the nobles of the capital in the Chengguo Mansion last night, raised money and troops from them, and got a lot of silver, it is said that there are millions, and he also received more than a thousand strong families from various nobles. These families are now incorporated into the Kenan Battalion, and with the elite selected from the Jingshi Zhuangyong and the Beijing Battalion, the number of people in the Kenan Camp will soon reach more than 10,000. With so many strong men escorting, Your Majesty will definitely be able to live in peace......"

"Got another million?" Chongzhen was a little annoyed, "I asked them to pay, and they all didn't pull out a dime, and the prince asked them to pay, and in the blink of an eye, it was millions, why is this?" ”

Why?

Because corrupt officials' money is for spending, not for donating. And the crown prince used the decree yesterday morning to let go of more than 200 corrupt officials who had spent money! This shows that the money of corrupt officials is not spent in vain!

And yesterday afternoon, the prince bombarded Li Zicheng on the Fucheng Gate, and personally slaughtered Du Xun, who surrendered to Li Zicheng...... This can not only do things, but also kill people! Of course, such a prince of Fujun can raise silver and strong men!

Of course, this cannot be said to Emperor Chongzhen.

Shoufu Wei Zaode had no choice but to say vaguely: "Your Majesty, the prince has quite a means, and in today's situation, it is also a blessing for the country!" ”

Chongzhen nodded, "It's just that the prince is young after all, and it's always inappropriate to act too aggressively, and it's ...... Now that the Beijing division has soldiers and salaries, the matter of Nan Xing should be postponed, so as not to make people panic. ”

Li Banghua was stunned when he heard this, and quickly shook his head and said, "No! Your Majesty, although the Beijing division has soldiers and salaries, the areas around Tongzhou, Tianjin, and Dagu are quite empty. Once the rebellion divides the troops to occupy the cities of Jingdong and cut off Tianjin's way of life, the Beijing division will become a lonely city, and it will be impossible to leave when the time comes. ”

"Aren't there still tens of thousands of Guan Ning soldiers?" Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "Now that there are millions of military salaries, are you afraid that you can't inspire the Guanning army to fight to the death?" As long as the rebels are repulsed, Beijing will be safe and sound. ”

"Your Majesty is Shengming, and the minister does not advocate giving up Jingshi." Shoufu Wei Zaode was a person who had no idea, and immediately expressed his attitude and echoed Emperor Chongzhen.

Wang Jiayan, the right attendant of the military department, did not advocate giving up Beijing, and said immediately: "Now is indeed not the time to give up the Beijing division, as far as the minister knows, there are tens of thousands of cavalry in the thieves, coming and going like the wind, and the invasion is like thunder." If the soldiers of the Beijing battalion and the Kenan battalion work hard to defend the city, they may be able to hold out until the Guanning soldiers come to the rescue. If you abandon the city and leave, you will inevitably be pursued by the thief cavalry halfway, and then you are afraid that the escort soldiers will scatter in a hurry, and Your Majesty and the hundred officials will become prisoners of the thieves! ”

Li Banghua just shook his head: "If there are two or three ministers who lead their troops to hold on, contain the thieves, and then divide the troops to break through in several ways to confuse the thieves, and escort them to Tianjin with elite soldiers, the palace will be safe." ”

Chongzhen coughed: "I have made up my mind, and I will never give up my ancestral inheritance!" In addition, Wu Xiang wants to sacrifice his daughter and the prince as a talented person, what do you think? ”

What the? Wu Xiang wants to be the national ruler?

Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan were all stunned.

This thing is not in line with the ancestral system, but now that the Ming Dynasty is in turmoil, he points to Wu Sangui's soldiers and horses to save his life! If someone's father wants to be a national ruler, he should be it......

"Li Banghua!" Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "You are the imperial history of Zuodu, you can say it." ”

Li Banghua shook his head: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed not in line with the ancestral system......

"Shouldn't Wu Xiang be impeached for offering a woman to pet?" Chongzhen asked.

"This ......" Li Banghua was stunned and stunned, and he didn't know how to be the imperial history.

Emperor Chongzhen said: "You are the imperial history of Zuodu, and you have the responsibility of picketing hundreds of officials!" Now that the enemy is pressing, it is even more necessary to rectify discipline. Only by adhering to discipline can we inspire people's hearts. Only by fighting people's hearts can we defeat strong enemies.

Wu Sangui came to the aid with a large army, and he deserved to be rewarded for his merits. It is okay to be a marquis and a duke. You can also pay millions! However, the marriage of the crown prince involves the capital of the country, and it must not violate the ancestral system! ”

When Li Banghua heard Emperor Chongzhen say this, he had no choice but to obey the order.

Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction, "It's not too early, I should also prepare to go to the court, you should also go to the noon gate and wait...... At the time of the early dynasty today, I hope to see that some courtiers can stand up and be disciplined and inspiring! ”

After the three ministers went out of the Qianqing Gate together, Li Banghua, the oldest veteran minister of the Four Dynasties, asked Wei Zaode, the thirty-nine-year-old head of the cabinet, and said: "Master Ling, you know the mind of the saint best, what do you mean?" ”

Wei Zaode looked left and right, and there was no one else, so he smiled bitterly: "Isn't it obvious?" This is a problem for the East Palace! ”

Wang Jiayan, the right attendant of the military department, asked: "The saint Mo won't want to move the country, right?" ”

"No," Wei Zaode shook his head, "not right now...... However, the East Palace is too powerful, and it should be reined in. ”

"It's a bit too much!" Wang Jiayan nodded, "But is Donggong willing to restrain himself?" ”

Wei Zaode sighed and said, "Are you willing to converge on the side of the East Palace...... But if you are willing to be lucky, let you not let the East Palace accept talented people, but it is in the saint! Now the Holy One is knocking on the East Palace with these two things. If Donggong retreats, then everything will be easy to say. ”

Li Banghua asked: "What if the East Palace doesn't retreat?" ”

Wei Zaode shook his head and said, "No...... Donggong is a filial son, admit his mistake, and then hand over the millions in hand, won't everyone be happy? ”

……

"What? The purpose of recruiting talents has not come down yet? ”

"Yes, the minister went home and asked just now, but he really didn't come down."

"No, my father has already agreed."

"Xu is the courtiers against?"

"If you give an order, you can also issue it if the courtiers oppose it!"

"Maybe the Holy One thinks it's inappropriate?"

"This ......"

In the early morning of the 18th, Zhu Cihong had already returned to the Jiale Hall next to the inner school field.

Although he didn't close his eyes for another day and night, his spirit was still in high spirits, and he somehow thought of Wu Xiang's daughter...... So he asked Wu Xiang and asked. When I asked, I found out that Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have released his pigeons, and he didn't give a decree to take a concubine.

Without an order, of course Wu Xiang couldn't send his daughter to Jiale Hall to accompany the king.

"Master Chitose, do you want someone to call Concubine Ning?" Zhu Cihong's companion eunuch Huang Dabao proposed with a smile on his face at this time.

"No need." Zhu Cihong shook his head, "Huang Banban, have you asked all the people you are looking for?" ”

"Back to Chitose Lord, the slave maid has already found them according to your instructions," Huang Dabao said, "Soy Sauce Huang and Su Lao Mi are also willing to do things for Chitose Lord." ”

In the past two days, Zhu Cihong has received more than 5 million taels of silver and more than 100,000 taels of gold, all of which were taken care of by the guards and eunuchs of the East Palace, and escorted to the Zhengyin Temple near Chaoyang Gate for storage. Zhu Cihong's teacher Chen Rui and foreman guard Zhu Chunjie are in charge of the care.

However, it is not enough for someone to look at such a large amount of money, and there must be a special account room responsible for bookkeeping and cashiering.

But on the issue of managing money, Zhu Cihong did not trust the palace attendants, nor did he trust the officials of the household department. Millions are in their hands, and God knows how much ink will be lost!

So Zhu Cihong simply didn't play his cards according to the convention, and asked Huang Dabao to find the soy sauce yellow who opened the restaurant and the sauce garden, and Su Laomi, who opened a grain store, to take care of Zhu Cihong's big account together.