What Emperor Chongzhen did not expect was that after he reprimanded Chen Xinjia's proposal for peace, only fifteen days later, an envoy from the Qing court came to the capital, asking to meet the emperor and discuss the matter of peace.

The Qing court envoy group was very large, with more than 20 people, the chief envoy was Shi Ning Wanme, the former cabinet university, and the deputy envoy was Bao Chengxian, who participated in politics on the right side of the ministry.

It stands to reason that Ning Wan, a national-level university scholar, is still a little aggrieved to serve as the chief envoy of a small envoy group, but now that Ning Wan has been dismissed from his post as a cabinet scholar, he is now at the most depressed time.

And the reason why he was dismissed was because during this period of time, Ning Wan and I were ineffective in handling the matter of Mongolian supply, and I was reported for corruption, and was punished by Huang Taiji, and was removed from the position of cabinet scholar and became an ordinary clerk.

Therefore, in order to give this old Han minister, who has been loyal for many years, a chance to recover, Huang Taiji specially asked Ning Wan and me to serve as the envoy of this peace conference.

Then, Huang Taiji considered that he had to give Ning Wan and me a rule that understood the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, so he decided to use Bao Chengxian, a former general of the Ming Dynasty and now a scholar of the Inner Secretaries' Academy, and Bao Chengxian, who participated in politics on the right side of the Ministry of Officials, as a deputy envoy and went with Ning Wan and me.

The news that the Qing court envoy was coming was first shot to Ningyuan with an arrow book, and after Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan, got the letter, he immediately sent the letter to the Ming court in an expedited way of 800 li.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw this letter, he was stunned.

He originally thought that if the Ming and Qing dynasties wanted to negotiate peace, it was very likely that as Chen Xinjia said, they could only send envoys to beg the Qing court for peace, which was the only way that could be accepted by the Qing court. But he never expected that the Qing court would first send someone over to negotiate peace with him, which made Emperor Chongzhen a little unable to turn around.

What's going on?

Why is it that now, the Qing court is more anxious to negotiate peace than itself?

However, now that Ning Wan, I, Bao Chengxian and the others have arrived, and I can't see them, Chongzhen thought about it, and decided to summon them separately in the Qianqing Palace.

Soon, Ning Wan and Bao Chengxian, under the leadership of the eunuch Wang Zhixin, came to the Qianqing Palace.

When I entered the palace and saw Emperor Chongzhen wearing an ochre yellow dragon robe and sitting on a dragon chair, Ning Wan's face was still normal, and Bao Chengxian, who was a general of the Ming Dynasty and later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, obviously showed a trace of shame on his face.

The two states are ministers, the ministers are all lost, and when they come back today, Bao Chengxian felt ashamed faintly, but fortunately he controlled his emotions in time.

The two came to the Danqi, hesitated, and still bowed to the ground according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty.

"Let the ministers finish me and knock on the emperor."

"The criminal minister Bao Chengxian, knock on the emperor."

Seeing these two officials wearing Qing Dynasty costumes, kneeling in front of him, Emperor Chongzhen was full of emotion in his heart, and his face was very complicated.

Fundamentally speaking, these two people were actually his subjects, Ning Wan I was a Liaodong Xiucai, and Bao Chengxian was a general of the Ming Dynasty, but now, they both joined the alien race and became enemies who shared the sky.

See again, from the beginning to the present, how many important ministers of the Ming Dynasty have fallen to the Manchu Qing outside the Guan, such as, Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou, Meng Qiaofang, Zu Daming, Zu Dacheng, ......, this series of names made Chongzhen sad.

Chongzhen's heart suddenly felt an inexplicable sourness, as if something was constantly biting his heart.

However, he still reacted in time and whispered to the two people below: "Well, you two should be even." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

When the two stood up, their faces were unnatural, especially Bao Chengxian, who didn't dare to raise their heads at all.

In the Qianqing Palace, there was an awkward silence for a while.

I still opened my mouth first, he bowed deeply to Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen is here to meet Your Majesty on the order of the emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty, and I want to discuss peace with your country. “

Hearing the peace talks, Chongzhen was very unhappy, he gritted his teeth and snorted softly.

Seeing Chongzhen's unhappy face, Ning Wan chuckled in my heart, but still said stubbornly: "Your Majesty, with all due respect, the two countries fought in Songjin before, and there were many casualties, which is really unbearable to look back on. But this matter has been revealed, Weichen believes that the relationship between the two countries needs to look further, and since then the two countries have been harmonious, and there are no disputes, which is a good thing. “

After Ning finished speaking, he squinted his eyes and glanced at Chongzhen's expression.

After listening to my words, Chongzhen felt even more annoyed and depressed in his heart, but he couldn't express it in words, so he could only sit with a tense face.

"Ning finished me, if the two countries want to negotiate peace, what are the conditions that your country has discussed?"

Emperor Chongzhen held back for a long time, and finally replied lightly.

Ning Wan I saw that Chongzhen finally spoke, and his heart suddenly felt relaxed, he took a light breath, and told Chongzhen all the conditions required by Huang Taiji.

These conditions are as follows:

First, the Ming Dynasty recognized the independent status of the Qing Dynasty, and the two countries were called brotherly countries, of which the Qing Dynasty was the elder brother and the Ming Dynasty was the younger brother.

Second, the two countries have good and bad events, and they must send envoys to each other to celebrate and mourn;

Third, every year, the Ming Dynasty gave the Qing Kingdom 3,000 taels of gold, 500,000 taels of silver, and the Qing Dynasty gave the Ming 1,000 catties of ginseng and 1,000 minks;

Fourth, the Manchurians, Mongols, and Han Chinese on the Qing Dynasty's side, and Koreans who entered the Ming Realm must be captured and sent to the Qing Dynasty; Those who rebel into the Qing territory must also be arrested and sent to Ming;

Fifth, each monarch has its own country, with Ningyuan Shuangshupu in the middle of the soil ridge as the Ming boundary, Tashan as the Qing border, and Lianshan as the moderate place to carry out mutual trade.

This condition is much more favorable than the terms required by Huang Taiji during the real Ming and Qing dynasties in history. Compared with the historical history of Baoshi, the Qing Dynasty made a proposal to the Ming Dynasty to engrave less than half of the amount of gold and silver.

Of course, it cannot be said that the reason why the Qing court did not have a lion to open its mouth was mostly due to Li Xiao's outstanding achievements and the heavy blow to the Qing court.

Hearing this news, the emperor's heart moved, but he remained silent.

He knew that he still couldn't easily agree to this seemingly bearable temptation proposal, so as not to fall into the trap dug by the enemy.

So, Chongzhen coughed lightly and said slowly: "Ning finish me, Bao Chengxian, this matter is very important, I need to discuss it with the courtiers before making a decision." You stand down and stay at the inn for the time being, waiting for a reply. “

Seeing that the emperor was noncommittal, Ning Wan and Bao Chengxian, who originally wanted to get some information from the emperor's mouth, did not feel disappointed on their faces.

It's just that the two of them can't say anything, so they can only retreat in a huff.

After the two retreated, the emperor immediately sent eunuchs to summon, and the first assistant Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, entered the palace and came to urgently discuss the matter of peace.

Soon, Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia arrived in a hurry, and after passing the courtesy of the monarch and ministers, the talks immediately entered the main topic.

The Emperor briefly relayed to the two of them what I had said, and began to ask them for their opinions.

After listening to the emperor's introduction, Chen Xinjia spoke first, and he said to Chongzhen with a happy face: "Your Majesty, this is a good thing." Now that Qing Yu has taken the initiative to sue for peace, this is a rare opportunity for me to be Ming. From the point of view, under the condition that my Ming Dynasty is so broken and the military strength is so exhausted, such conditions as the Tartars are not unacceptable. ”

After Chen Xinjia finished speaking, Zhou Yanru also coughed lightly and began to speak, but he hesitated slightly, but asked the emperor tentatively: "Your Majesty, the conditions of the Tartars, without the lion's big mouth, are indeed within the acceptable range. It's just that Wechen is only worried about a little ......"

When he said this, he raised his head and looked at Chongzhen with an inquiring gaze, and he stopped talking.

"Jade Rope, don't be restrained, tell me, what are you worried about?" Chongzhen said lightly.

Zhou Yanru sighed and arched his hand: "Weichen is worried that if the court and the Tartars reach a peace agreement, Li Xiao, the Duke of Tang, will immediately turn against the court!" ”

"Why did Zhou Shoufu say this?" Listening to Zhou Yanru's words, Chen Xinjia said anxiously: "When Tang Guogong was in Chongzhen for nine years, he was so radical, he advocated peace with the public, and he also sent personnel to participate in the meeting and negotiation of the Qing court's peace talks, and even proposed to marry the Qing princess to the emperor's absurd thing. Now, if the two countries can successfully negotiate peace, then Tang Guogong will be overjoyed, how can he oppose it? ”

Zhou Yanru shook his head and said, "Alas, Chen Shangshu, this time and that time." At that time, the Tang Guogong was weak and unable to fight against the Qing court, and my Ming Dynasty had just given them a heavy blow in the third entry of the Qing army, so the Ming Dynasty and the Qing court still maintained a weak balance, so the Tang Guogong believed that it was feasible to negotiate peace. But now the situation has changed, Tang Guogong ran Nanyang, expanded to Manchuria, and its power has now grown stronger and stronger, becoming a military force that the Qing court cannot ignore. And the Qing court was afraid of the military power of Tang Guogong, and was swept away by Tang Guogong Jinzhou, slaughtered Hetuala, and suffered heavy losses, so it had to put down its body to negotiate peace with my Ming Dynasty. And they are anxious to negotiate peace with my Daming, it is precisely because they hope that they will not be bound by my Daming, and there is Daming who can transfuse blood for them, so that they can free up their hands to deal with Li Xiao, how poisonous their intentions are! ”

Zhou Yanru paused and replied: "Therefore, the minister thinks that if I wait like this, I will negotiate peace with the Tartars behind Tang Guogong's back, but I am afraid that after Tang Guogong gets the news, he will definitely be furious, and it will be difficult to maintain even the respect for the court on the surface." And now my Ming elite is gone, Li Xiao is for my Ming Dynasty, can be the pillar of the top country, can be the pillar of the sky, if the Qing Dynasty successfully used this peace negotiation, provoked and destroyed the relationship between my Ming and Tang Guogong, then Weichen is only afraid of this practice, but the front door to drive the wolf, the back door into the tiger! ”

Zhou Yanru's face showed a look of fear, and he said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, if such a consequence is caused, this Tang Guogong Li Xiao will be like Zuo Liangyu and other domineering generals, and since then he will not listen to the dispatch of the imperial court, and he will not even be able to show respect on the surface; The most important thing is to turn his face with the court on the spot, follow the story of An Lushan, and enter the Beijing division, if this is the case, how should the court deal with it? Taking a step back, even if Li Xiao abides by the courtiers' festivals, does not turn his face with the court, and does not complain, but when the Qing court finds another excuse, tears up the agreement, and re-opposes my Daming, Li Xiao is disheartened and only stands by the side, if I Daming can only sit and die? ”

Zhou Yanru said this very seriously, and Emperor Chongzhen was greatly moved, his mouth was half open, and the expression on his face was indescribable.

He had only read Li Xiao's letter some time ago, in which Li Xiao strongly advised him not to agree to the proposal to negotiate peace with the Tartars, and his words were still in his heart, and now Zhou Yanru's words made Chongzhen more and more confused.

Unexpectedly, Chen Xinjia sneered and said: "Zhou Shoufu, although there is some truth in what you say, but from the perspective of this soldier, you are too exalted to Li Xiao." Li Xiao has something to do, but in the final analysis, he is still a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, and it is impossible for the court to do anything, so he needs to ask Li Xiao's opinion first, right? In addition, the emperor, the minister is now saying a heart-wrenching word, the current situation has already become the tripartite trend of my Ming Dynasty, Qing Yu, and Li Xiao, but why don't the first assistant know it? ”

Zhou Yanru also frowned: "Chen Shangshu, what do you mean by this?" ”

Chen Xinjia snorted lightly and replied: "Lord Zhou, let me ask, the current Li Xiao, does the imperial court have the slightest ability to restrain him or control him?" Although he is called my courtier of the Ming Dynasty, he does whatever he wants, and is basically not subject to any control by the imperial court. Besides, it's hard to hear, now he is pretending to be like Guo Ziyi, but who knows if he will become An Lushan on the side of a Qingjun in the future! ”

When Chen Xinjia said this, Chongzhen felt that his heart was greatly hurt, and he angrily reprimanded: "Chen Xinjia, Li Xiao is my concubine, do you dare to say that about him?!" Do you know how much shock and harm your nonsense will bring to my Ming officialdom? ”

Seeing that the emperor was angry, Chen Xinjia knelt on the ground, his face swelled with sadness, and he said loudly: "Your Majesty, it is not that the ministers spend the belly of a gentleman with a careful heart, but as the old saying goes, the knife must be cut, and you must not be careful." That Li Xiao has a heavy army, a sharp soldier, and a rebellion with the imperial court, even if such a person is now re-superficially surrendered, who can guarantee how long his apparent allegiance can last? On the surface, Li Xiao is a loyal minister and protector of the country, but in fact, he can be a devouring tiger in my Ming Dynasty! “

He paused and continued: "Such a person, even if he is the emperor's concubine, but in the face of tempting power and interests, how likely it is that such an in-law relationship can be maintained for a long time, Weichen's heart is really bottomless. What kind of situation will this ambitious Li Xiao become in the future, the minister is very worried in his heart. “

"Shut up! Chen Xinjia, what do you mean by such presumptuous words and disgusting derogatory intentions to demean Tang Guogong! Do you still want me to force Li Xiao again?! “

Listening to Chen Xinjia's words, Emperor Chongzhen's face turned red with anger, he stood up from the dragon chair and pointed at Chen Xinjia who was kneeling and shouted angrily.