Li Xiao, who withdrew from the palace, followed the eunuch who led the way, and left the palace silently. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info walking on the wide and smooth bluestone slab road, with towering and tortuous dark red palace walls on both sides, Li Xiao has a feeling of walking between the labyrinths.

It's just that this labyrinth of the Forbidden City is easy to walk, when will this maze in my heart really come out?

When passing by the Xingqing Palace where the prince lived, Li Xiao, who had been bowing his head and groaning, was blocked by a young man about ten years old dressed in a bright red dragon robe and wearing rhino leather boots.

And next to this young man, there was a girl about the same age as him, she was wearing a double mustache, wearing a pink thin silk jacket, staring at Li Xiao with dark eyes, without blinking.

"Uncle Chifeng, this is the crown prince. Next to it is Her Royal Highness the eldest princess. ”

The eunuch next to him bowed to the young man and whispered to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao sighed, looked at it, and saw that this young man was indeed the crown prince Zhu Cihong he had seen when he entered the palace last year.

The eldest princess next to her was the first time she had seen it.

So, he hurriedly bowed and bowed.

"Minister, Chifeng Bo Li Xiao, I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince, His Royal Highness the Princess."

"Oh, so you're that Li Xiao? Please flatten down. ”

The prince's accent, which imitates the speech of adults, although there is a hint of heavenly majesty, is still full of childishness.

After Li Xiao got up, Zhu Cihong looked Li Xiao up and down, and then said with a smile: "General Li, when Gu grows up, I will go with you to the battlefield to kill the Tartars, okay?" ”

Listening to the prince's childish words, several eunuchs couldn't help laughing, and they couldn't help laughing.

Li Xiao looked at the prince's expectant expression, a smile appeared on his face, and he said to Zhu Cihong kindly: "Okay, Weichen promised His Royal Highness, when the prince grows up, he will take the prince to the battlefield to kill the Tartars and fight to Shenyang together!" ”

Listening to Li Xiao's words, Zhu Cihong's eyes suddenly filled with hope.

"Great, Lone wants to go to Shenyang and kill all the captives! Uncle Chifeng, you are not allowed to lie to the orphans, you have to talk about it? ”

"Hehe, of course, Wei Chen'an dares to deceive His Highness."

Zhu Cihong laughed with joy, and at this time, his sister Zhu Yujiao, who was only a few months younger than him, sounded like a crisp bell: "Uncle Chifeng, I heard my mother say that you are a big hero who has killed a lot of Tartars, and this palace thought that you were a fierce man with a beard, but I didn't expect that you didn't look fierce at all." ”

Zhu Yujiao's words made Li Xiao laugh.

He lowered his head, looked directly at Zhu Yujiao's clear black eyes gently, and said with a smile: "Your Royal Highness Princess, Li Xiao's fierceness and severity will only target my enemies of the Ming Dynasty, but for the prince and princess, Li Xiao, as a subordinate, will of course treat each other gently." ”

Zhu Yujiao chuckled, she blinked her big eyes, as if she suddenly thought of something, and said to Li Xiao: "Master Li, did you bring anything interesting with you to Beijing this time?" ”

Listening to Zhu Yujiao's childish words, Li Xiao was stunned.

I came to Beijing in a hurry this time, thinking about how to answer the emperor, but I really didn't bring anything interesting.

However, he subconsciously groped around his body, and wiped two items from his sleeve, and there was a look of relief on his face.

These two items are the same half-foot-long, cast of pure gold, and inlaid with emerald jade on the gold handle jade Ruyi; It is also cast of pure gold, carved by goldsmiths, and can be called a vivid golden lion.

Such items are all made of gold from Li Xiao's Zhaoyuan Gold Mine, and their appearance is quite beautiful and beautiful, extremely luxurious and exquisite.

Originally, Li Xiao planned to take a look at the important ministers in Beijing who took these two things to visit the important ministers in Beijing that he wanted to associate with, but he didn't expect that now, it was just right to use it for the prince and princess.

What's more, now seeing that the emperor is full of hesitation about his own peace policy, and it is very difficult to make a decision, Li Xiao is very helpless in his heart, and he no longer has the heart to visit important ministers.

Now he just wants to leave the capital and return to Shandong.

So, Li Xiao smiled and took out these two gold ornaments from his cuffs, gave the golden handle jade Ruyi to Zhu Yujiao, and gave the golden lion to Zhu Cihong.

"Wechen came from Shandong, and he didn't bring any interesting objects, these two gold ornaments, just show a little care that Wechen gave to the prince and the princess."

Li Xiao said to them with a smile.

Zhu Cihong and Zhu Yujiao, seeing that Li Xiao gave themselves such a valuable and beautiful gift, couldn't help but be overjoyed at the moment, and after the two thanked Li Xiao repeatedly, they chased me and ran back to Xingqing Palace.

Seeing the two children laughing and leaving, Li Xiao shook his head with a smile, and continued to follow the eunuch who led the way and left from the palace.

Walking outside the Daming Gate, Li Xiao stopped, he looked up at the clear blue sky, feeling the blazing sun that made people's whole body hot in the summer, but in his heart, it was inexplicably cool.

Li Xiao had already thought that the hesitant Emperor Chongzhen would definitely discuss this draft of peace with the ministers, so that he should immediately face the impeachment chapter that flew like rain.

Sure enough, as Li Xiao expected, only three days later, there were many mountains of impeachment recitals piled up on Chongzhen's desk.

"Wen Tiren, the first assistant of the minister's cabinet and a scholar of Dongge University, intends to impeach Yang Sichang, the secretary of the military department, and Li Xiao, the secretary of the Chifengbo, who deceived the monarch and betrayed the country, exercised authority externally, and was good at prestige internally。。。。。 If the charges are true, please ask Your Majesty to correct these two people on the spot, so as to punish the traitors and reaffirm righteousness, then the Ming Dynasty is very fortunate, and the people of the world are very fortunate。。。。。。 ”

"The minister Shao Zhan Huang Daozhou, Yang Sichang of the impeachment of the military department, and Li Xiao, the chief military officer of Dengzhou, are shameless, betraying their ancestors for glory, and they want me to be brilliant and bright, and succumb to the obscenity of the Qing Dynasty, which is to follow the humility of the Southern Song Dynasty, and I am deeply gnashed! There is a way, Huayi does not stand together, Han thieves do not coexist, the minister implored His Majesty, the two thieves will be sent to Dali Temple for strict interrogation, if it is found that there is indeed a crime of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, please immediately put the two thieves to death at the mouth of the vegetable market, so that the world's traitors are also vigilant。。。。。。 ”

"Zhou Zuo, the right of the Imperial Inspectorate, saw Yang Sichang of the Ministry of War and Li Xiao of Shandong Chifeng Bo yesterday, and the terms of the peace agreement on the Qing Dynasty were very sad and sighed. These two people have sinister intentions, hidden ghosts, and want me to marry the daughter of the Tatar chieftain tomorrow, thinking that it is a strategy to steal peace, and I want to imitate the story of Song and Jin, and offer filial piety to the Qing court with a human face and a beast heart every year. Although the minister is old, he really can't bear to be deceived by these two thieves, and he mistakenly fell for his treacherous schemes. Please arrest these two thieves immediately and send them to prison for detailed trial。。。。。。 ”

"The ministers of the left capital of the imperial history Zhong Wei, impeached Yang Sichang of the Ministry of War, Chifeng Bo Li Xiao two traitors, yesterday read the terms of their proposals, the ministers were angry and rushed to the crown, gnashing their teeth and hating it! was so angry that he had to tell His Majesty the truth。。。。。。 ”

"The ministers gave He Kai in the matter, impeached Yang Sichang of the Ministry of War, and Li Xiao, the chief military officer of Dengzhou, and the two thieves 。。。。。。"

"The Imperial Shi Lin Lanyou。。。。。。"

"Chen Hanlin Academy revised Liu Tongsheng's 。。。。。。"

"The minister edited and repaired Zhao Shichun's 。。。。。。"

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Chongzhen looked gloomily at the mountains of impeachment recitals, but the content was similar, reading these contents that were obviously impeached and attacked by Yang and Li, but secretly seemed to be very dissatisfied with himself, the emperor, the emperor's heart, irritability and anger almost went crazy.

"Wow!"

The Emperor stood up in a rage, and with a slash of his right hand, swept all the pieces on the table to the ground, rolling everywhere.

Seeing that the emperor was so angry, the eunuchs next to him were terrified and frightened, and they shrank their heads one by one, and they didn't dare to come out to clean up.

"Hmph, one by one, they flaunt the high, one by one pretend to be righteous, you attack me and Yang Li like this, your mouth is happy, but no one can come to tell me, in addition to Yang Sichang and Li Xiao's method of peace, now that the internal and external difficulties are in the Ming Dynasty, what can be saved!"

The emperor pointed his finger into the void and scolded angrily.

Then, he sat down again.

He suddenly felt extremely helpless.

What to do?

Should they listen to those courtiers and continue to take a tough attitude towards the Qing court and maintain the current plan, or should they show determination and courage, follow the advice of Yang Sichang and Li Xiao, negotiate peace with the Qing court, and then go all out to suppress the rogues in the country?

The emperor hesitated.

Such a major decision was too difficult for a young emperor who had not received systematic imperial training since he was a child and had considerable experience in governance.

Therefore, in such a dilemma and indecidable situation, the countermeasures that the emperor can take are one word, delay.

In other words, the emperor neither indicated that he was in favor of peace, nor did he clearly state that he was against peace, but let the following days pass in confusion and confusion.

Yang Sichang saw that the emperor had been hesitant and refused to express his position, and he also felt quite disheartened, so he left Beijing on the grounds of inspecting Shanxi's military affairs.

Seeing that Yang Sichang had left the capital, Li Xiao, who had been very bored in the capital, also planned to return to Shandong.

However, Li Xiao still did not give up, and he still wanted to meet the emperor again before leaving Beijing.

On this day, the weather was fine, and Chongzhen arranged for Li Xiao to come to the Imperial Garden again to meet him.

The grass and trees are verdant, the winding water flows, the orchid pavilion towers, the clear light is infinite, the sound of the piano comes from nowhere, Langcong is melodious, the whole imperial garden, like a little fairyland in the hustle and bustle, stands in the world.

In the Cuihua Pavilion, Chongzhen sat dumbfounded.

The two attendant eunuchs on either side of him bowed their heads and stood like puppets.

Seeing Li Xiao coming from afar, Chongzhen's wooden expression moved.

"Minister, Li Xiao, knock to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live."

"Li Aiqing, please be even."

Li Xiao, who was kneeling outside the pavilion, slowly stood up, and then he raised his head and met Chongzhen's complicated and inexplicable eyes.

"Aiqing, I, I 。。。。。。"

Chongzhen's expression was quite complicated, he looked at the young general in front of him who he regarded as the pillar of the country, and his voice was full of choked voice: "I know that you came to see me today because you want to persuade me to adopt your peace policy as soon as possible, but I really can't resist the criticism and criticism of the Manchu Dynasty, and I really don't want to let my military secretary and confidant generals become the targets of attack by the ministers of the court!" ”

"Your Majesty, please forgive the minister, could it be that the national fortunes of the Ming Dynasty and the rivers and mountains of the Han people are not worth the so-called false name and Qing discussion?"

Li Xiao's voice was also full of sadness: "The minister knows that those courtiers must be all in the recital, and they are full of humiliation and slander to Weichen, and it is estimated that many people may hate it so much that they want to execute Li's broken body and ten thousand pieces of Ling Chi." To be honest, even if the emperor doesn't say anything about this situation, Weichen has already expected it in his heart. It's just that the minister wants to say one more thing, if these civil officials, who claim to be the clear stream of the country, can come up with a strategy, clear the captives outside, and eliminate the rogues inside, so as to save the current difficult situation of my Ming Dynasty, then Li Xiao can die in front of His Majesty, with a clear name, and there will be no complaints! ”

Hearing Li Xiao's words, Emperor Chongzhen's face trembled slightly, and an indescribable look of guilt appeared on his face.

Seeing that the emperor was silent, Li Xiao continued to talk eloquently: "Your Majesty, now that the situation in the country is so critical, and the internal and external difficulties of the Ming Dynasty are dying, it has become a tired situation, why can't the emperor make a decision to save the Ming Dynasty and the people as soon as possible!" Does it have to be equal to the time when the Qing captives re-enter the customs and the rogues regain their enthusiasm before the emperor can make another decision to negotiate peace? The minister is only afraid that at that time, the Qing chief Taiji, seeing that my Ming Dynasty has repeatedly broken his trust and broken the contract, he is afraid that he will no longer have the intention of restarting negotiations with my Ming Dynasty. ”

Li Xiao paused, and slowly finally said: "I'm afraid that at that time, my brilliant Ming Dynasty, which has been brilliant for more than 200 years, will eventually collapse under the internal and external attacks of thieves and Qing captives." ”

Li Xiao's last sentence was said very seriously, and Chongzhen in Cuihua Pavilion gritted his teeth fiercely before swallowing Li Xiao's extremely useless words.

"Li Xiao, I can actually understand your mood very well, and I also know that Aiqing has repeatedly fought with the Qing court in order to promote this peace negotiation agreement, and it has indeed taken a lot of painstaking efforts. It's just that as the king of a country, I have too many issues to consider, and there are waves of turbulent court discussions, so it is really difficult for me to sign this peace agreement that humiliates the country,。。。。。。 ”

Chongzhen's words were low, and when he said this, his eyes were shining with tears.

Seeing the emperor like this, Li Xiao could hear the sound of the pillar in his heart that had been supporting him collapsing.

He suddenly remembered what Chen Zilong had secretly said to him after returning to Shandong.

Chen Zilong told himself that the emperor Taiji, the evaluation of Emperor Chongzhen, the great tomorrow, is that this person is long in the hands of women, the arms of the temple eunuchs, and it has been difficult to go out of the deep palace several times since he was a child.

It is still difficult for such a person to inherit the ancestral business and keep the household, how can he support and save a country that is already heavy and seriously ill in this chaotic world.

At that time, after listening to Chen Zilong's words, Li Xiao was quite unimpressed.

Li Xiao thought that what Huang Taiji said was mostly a lie, and out of contempt, he slandered his own monarch Emperor Chongzhen like this.

After all, the emperor is still very young, and he is decent-hearted, and he has never had bad habits, and he is very malleable, as long as he is patient and advised, although Emperor Chongzhen can be a little mediocre, but after understanding the reason, he should finally adopt his own policy of peace.

Thinking of this, and looking at the current emperor, just because of the so-called clear name and the fear of criticism from the courtiers, he quietly rejected his own plan, Li Xiao's heart was inexplicably bitter.

In his heart, a question suddenly swelled up, which seemed quite rebellious.

That is, this Emperor Chongzhen is so mediocre and incompetent, and he is so good at being famous, and he doesn't listen to advice, so is it really necessary for him to be loyal to him all the time?