As soon as Li Xiao's words were finished, Chongzhen's face suddenly became extremely complicated. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

This Li Xiao is really bold enough to say so directly that he has always dared not face the problem that the emperor has always dared to face.

Isn't he afraid of following in Yuan Chonghuan's footsteps。。。。。。

In the Cuihua Pavilion, there was a sudden silence.

"Li Aiqing, apart from your eight-character suggestion, is there any other way?"

In the end, it was the emperor who spoke, breaking the oppressive silence.

"Your Majesty, please forgive the minister's wine words directly, the current Ming Dynasty, internal and external difficulties, the people are poor, the food and salary are difficult to continue, the army is discouraged, such an unbearable situation, my Ming officers and soldiers, it is still difficult to try to block one side, how can I still fight with the two fronts of the Qing and Liukou!

Li Xiao's brows twisted into a deep knot of pain.

Chongzhen let out a long sigh and paced back and forth a few steps, but asked again: "Aiqing, Yang He, the governor of the three sides that day, once proposed to me that I should first level the Kou and then fight the Tartars, does Qing think it is okay?" ”

"No!" Li Xiao made it clear that he was against it. "Your Majesty, the current situation is that compared with the Tartars, the Tartars are strong and the Rogues are weak, and they should be weak first and then strong, but they can't be reversed!"

"Oh?"

Li Xiao saw the hesitation on the emperor's face, and said: "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I think that back then, during the Wanli Apocalypse, when the Liukou had not yet gained momentum, my Ming officials and troops fought with the Tartars many times, but did they have any victories?" ”

Seeing that the emperor did not speak, Li Xiao continued: "Your Majesty, if the last general is not mistaken, since the end of Wanli, that old slave betrayed my Ming Dynasty and established a pseudo-gold outside the Guan, first unified the Jurchen tribes, and then began to invade the Ming land. In the past 20 years, our Ming Dynasty has successively lost the six forts of Kuandian, Fushun, Shenyang, Liaoyang, Guangning, and all the land in central and southern Liaoning. The Tartars fought all the way and sang triumphantly, and the total number of my Ming officers and troops was more than 200,000 elites! Up to now, most of the land in eastern Liaoning has been lost, and only a corner of western Liaoning remains. However, in addition to possessing a large area of land in central and southern Liaoning, the Tartars have also wiped out all the Mongolian tribes this year, and their national strength is like the sky, and it is already a big country that spans thousands of miles. Therefore, the minister thought that it was no longer possible to consider the current Qingyu from the perspective of the past. ”

Chongzhen was still silent, and his face was gloomy.

Li Xiao paused, and then continued: "Since the early years of Chongzhen, the Tartars have entered the customs several times. Every time I entered the customs, they were all invaded and plundered for thousands of miles, and their arrogance was rampant, all of them attacked the city and plundered the people and animals, and all of them beat the Ming officials and troops everywhere in our country to a mess. The Tartar combat power is so strong, and the soldiers from all over our Ming Dynasty have long been afraid of the Tartars in the successive defeats. Moreover, although the imperial court has levied two salaries (note, among the three major salaries in the late Ming Dynasty, the training salary was levied according to Yang Sichang's proposal in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, and it has not yet been levied at this time. However, our officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are still fed and paid everywhere, so that the morale of the officers and soldiers is depressed. In this short period of time, how can the combat strength of our Ming official army rise sharply, and how can we go to the Qing army Tartars, who have merged the power of the Han army and the Mongols, and have already risen sharply, to carry out an all-out struggle! ”

Chongzhen's face became more and more ugly, and he slowly turned his back and sighed.

"Your Majesty, the combat strength of my Ming official army now, generally speaking, although it is far below the Qing Dynasty, it is still slightly higher than that of the Liukou. Therefore, the minister thought that under the excellent situation that the rogues had not yet formed a battle force beyond our army, it was the only feasible strategy to first sweep away the thieves from all over the country, and then go to the Qing Dynasty Tartars to slowly recover the old land of Liaodong! “

After Li Xiao finished saying this long paragraph in a row, he let out a sigh and looked up at Chongzhen who was sitting in the chair.

"Li Aiqing, do you think that Qing Yu will agree to my proposal to seek peace with the Ming Dynasty?" Chongzhen hung his head and said this sentence with difficulty.

Li Xiao raised his head and said to Chongzhen in a firm tone: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, now is the best time to negotiate peace with Qing Yu!" ”

"Oh, why do you think so?"

"Your Majesty, when the Qing army entered the customs this time, I originally thought that the club would be unhindered and would be able to return smoothly. But they would not have thought that in the Qing army of the three routes, Yanguli has been defeated by our army, and our Red Phoenix Guards, before and after combined, have wiped out more than 8,000 soldiers and horses of their troops, and the commander Yanguli has been seriously injured by Weichen, and it is estimated that today, he has died in Jiuquan. It can be said that through this battle, the Qing army has tasted the strength of our Ming official army, and the original arrogance and contempt will be greatly reined in. And because of the loss of the general of the unified army, the Qing army, which was hit hard, is very likely to retreat outside the pass and withdraw its troops. Under such favorable conditions, I proposed that peace could be negotiated with him, and I believe that Huang Taiji, the chief of the Qing Dynasty, will definitely consider it carefully. ”

Chongzhen's expression moved slightly, but he muttered a whisper: "Aiqing's words are also reasonable. It's just that I'm afraid that the words of the Qing prisoner are untrustworthy and capricious, and the agreement signed will be torn up immediately. If so, wouldn't it be in vain? ”

Li Xiao hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, the situation has changed, and it is an unchanging certainty. If I can sign a peace agreement with the Tartars, I don't want the Tartars to keep the contract forever and not violate each other, but only ask for even ten years, even five years, even three years of precious recuperation time, my Ming officials and soldiers will definitely be able to sweep away the domestic rogues, settle the people, train the soldiers, and then go out of the customs to fight against the Tartars. The last general did not dare to say that he could immediately recapture the lost territory in Liaodong, but it was possible to compete with the Tartars and ensure the stability of my Ming territory. ”

Chongzhen was already moved by Li Xiao's words, he brushed his beard and groaned, but his face was full of contemplation.

"Li Xiao, although your method is feasible, it's just that I'm afraid of 。。。。。。." Chongzhen wanted to speak and stopped.

"Your Majesty is worried that the people will say that Your Majesty is like the Northern Song Dynasty back then, weak and incompetent, betraying the country to seek glory, and signing an alliance with the invading Jin people?" Li Xiao looked directly at Chongzhen's flickering eyes and said bluntly.

Chongzhen's throat throbbed a few times, but he didn't speak, he looked at Li Xiao in front of him with a sad look.

Chongzhen's eyes made Li Xiao feel inexplicably sad.

He knew that in real history, this tragic emperor was actually not a stupid person who went to death. In the case of the increasing danger of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen also wanted to discuss with the Qing Dynasty several times, and then free up his hands to deal with the domestic rogues, but he was hesitant and afraid of being infamous by nature, and he still did not use the means of temporary retreat to negotiate peace, but in the end he only got the tragic ending of hanging and martyrdom.

"Your Majesty, Shu Weichen is drunk, and his words are direct, is His Majesty's reputation important, or is it more important to really save the country and save the people?" Li Xiao gritted his teeth and said this.

"Li Xiao, you 。。。。。。" Excited by Li Xiao, Chongzhen's face suddenly turned blue and white, he stood up from the chair, and slowly and with difficulty spit out a sentence: "How can I be a vain person, naturally it is important to save the country and save the people。。。。。 ”

"Your Majesty is a benevolent and loving king, although the ancient Yao Shun is unreachable!" After seeing Chongzhen say this, Li Xiao put on a high hat for him in time: "Although the last general is not talented, he also knows the story of Gou Jian's ten-year reunion. The emperor is the king of the British and the heavens, and he understands better the reason why a husband can bend and stretch. Your Majesty can have such insight, and the minister specially congratulates the people of the world. ”

Li Xiao bowed and bowed, which made Chongzhen's face feel a little feverish.

This Li Xiao will really go up to the house to draw a ladder, but now, he can't get off the stage.

"Then according to Li Aiqing's opinion, I need to send someone to the Qing court to negotiate peace with him next, right?" Chongzhen asked.

Li Xiao's words lowered, and he said slowly to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the micro-ministers, there should be a better way to negotiate peace. In this way, it is possible to take care of the royal face, so as not to say that His Majesty has signed an alliance under the city and lose the national dignity, and second, it can rely on this method to make it difficult for the Qing court to easily turn its face, so that the relationship between the two countries can be stable for a long period of time. “

"Oh, what is Li Aiqing's plan, come quickly." Chongzhen heard Li Xiao say this, and his eyes suddenly flashed brightly.

"Your Majesty, Weichen's idea is to send a messenger to the Qing Chief Taiji to ask to marry his daughter as a concubine!" Li Xiao knelt on the ground and said to Chongzhen with blazing eyes.

"Ah, how does this make! An has the son of heaven in Shangbang, and he asks to marry the daughter of the chief of the wilderness as a concubine! Seeing Li Xiao's words, Chongzhen was shocked.

"Your Majesty, the country is in a difficult situation, and it is a good etiquette to be re-detained!" Li Xiao, who knelt on the ground, said in a sincere tone: "When the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in the past, the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Western Wei Dynasty both asked to marry the daughter of the Rouran Khan as a concubine, so as to strengthen the country and rest the borders. According to historical legends, in this country, both men and women never take a bath, everyone smells fishy, and after the family eats, they don't even wash the dishes, but are licked by women with their tongues, which can be described as extremely backward and barbaric. Rao is like this, that Western Wei Yuwentai and Eastern Wei Gao Huan, as well as later monarchs, did not dislike it and married him. In order to protect the country and strengthen the strength, the ancients still had such insight, Your Majesty is an immortal saint of heaven, and it is even more important to do this temporary policy! ”

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he bowed to Chongzhen.

Chongzhen's face was quite ugly, his lips opened and closed a few times, but he didn't say anything.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Li Xiao continued: "Your Majesty, if you use this act of welcoming relatives to realize the marriage between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and negotiate peace in this way, for the loss of land in Liaodong, Your Majesty can be said to be to marry the concubine and give the Qing chieftain a dowry, then, both sides of the Ming and Qing dynasties have steps to go down, and the place of the Chinese people can be temporarily explained." And after His Majesty married the concubine of Huang Taiji, the Tartar chief Emperor Taiji will definitely be very happy for the marriage between the Ming and Qing dynasties and the marriage of the Heavenly Empire. The minister thought that if this marriage was concluded, at least in five years, the Qing army should not raise sword soldiers from our Ming Dynasty. Then with these five years of precious time, our army should be enough to sweep away the domestic rogues, reorganize the armament, accumulate money and food, and wait for all the preparations to be completed, and then the troops will go out of Shanhaiguan, then the old land of Liaodong can be restored! ”

After Li Xiao finished speaking, there was silence in the Cuihua Pavilion.

Emperor Chongzhen sat still, his face was very complicated, and finally he looked at Li Xiao who was kneeling on the ground, and said softly: "Li Aiqing is planning for the country, thinking of this strange strategy, I am very relieved." It's just that if I really do this policy, I am afraid that the government and the opposition will be shaken, and the world will be wrong, Li Xiao, you will also become the target of the public. ”

"If the country lives and dies for profit, will it be avoided because of good and evil!" Li Xiao categorically said this famous sentence of Lin Zexu in later generations. "If the Ming Dynasty survives, I have to protect my Han family's world and Huaxia clothes, Li Xiao has not regretted his death for nine years, let alone the name of the festival!"

"Good! If a profit-seeking country lives and dies, will it be avoided because of misfortune and good fortune! ”

Chongzhen looked excited, he stood up and helped Li Xiao, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Li Aiqing is dedicated to the country and completely selfless, and I have won this good general, which is really the protection of my ancestors." Chongzhen sighed with emotion: "Li Aiqing, I have written down your suggestion, and after the Qing army leaves the customs, I will start arranging it." ”

Li Xiao heard that Chongzhen had adopted what he had seen, and he was very excited, and he bowed to Chongzhen again: "Your Majesty judges the situation, does not follow etiquette, and congratulates Your Majesty on behalf of the people of the world!" ”

Chongzhen smiled and waved his hand, and said to Li Xiao: "Li Xiao, don't say it." If I really take your suggestion and make peace with the Qing captives, how can I sweep away the rogues and calm the people? ”

Li Xiao pondered for a while, and then said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, it is the matter of money and salary that wants to exterminate the rogues, but it is the most important thing. ”

"Oh?"

Li Xiao continued: "Those rogue soldiers, except for a very small number of vicious people, are all composed of ordinary people who have been forced to survive, these people are going around to plunder and fight, but for a while, they have not been able to form a strong combat force, but after capturing them, how to properly settle them is a major problem. ”

"Go on."

"Your Majesty, if you need to appease the thief and make him a good citizen who ploughs the land and spends his life, then all the grain, cattle, seeds, and houses must be ready. Therefore, the courtiers thought that if the court wanted to properly settle them and let them live in peace, instead of rebelling, then they must first obtain sufficient money and food. “

Listening to Li Xiao's words, Chongzhen had a wry smile on his face.

"Li Aiqing, if you want to solve this word of money and food, it is not easy to talk about it! Do you know that now that the imperial court has opened salaries and extorted salaries, but the amount levied has never been collected in full, and there is still a shortage of officials and soldiers, it is really difficult to settle the surrendered thieves. ”

Listening to Chongzhen's sigh, Li Xiao also understood the predicament of the emperor.

Taking Liaoyu as an example, since the war in Liaodong, from April of the 46th year of Wanli to the first year of the Apocalypse, in less than four years, the amount of silver used in Liao's salary reached 17.2 million taels, with an average annual payment of more than 4 million taels of Liao. In the first three times, a total of 9 percent of the salary was increased, and a total of more than 24.8 million taels of silver were levied, of which less than 3 million taels were left after deducting Beizhili and other local purposes, and only Shanhaiguan alone needed 4 million taels of silver per year, not to mention the entire western Liaoning. Therefore, although the Liao salary has made the people of the whole country miserable, the total amount of silver received is limited, and the supply to the border army is still very insufficient.

Moreover, even so, the salaries stained with the blood and tears of the people could not be distributed in full to the front line and to every soldier who served the country. In the process of distributing the silver, bureaucrats and generals at all levels embezzled and withheld money from the already insufficient salaries. Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the head of the household department was strict and self-strict, and he once lamented in Shangshu: "There is a shortage of food and salary, and the soldiers are scarce, that is, the commander of the eastern division is in the cave and does not leave a single arrow to the west, and I have a Ming world, which has been sitting." ”

Chongzhen looked at Li Xiao helplessly, but unexpectedly, Li Xiao looked back at him with blazing eyes, and then said clearly: "Your Majesty, the people are tired and their survival is difficult, so you can't collect money and food from them anymore." However, the minister thought that His Majesty should be able to collect taxes and silver from the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, Shanxi and other places to fund the country, which should be the most feasible plan at present. (To be continued.) )