"Your Majesty, in today's plan, state affairs are so corrupted, and they cannot be saved unless there is a great power. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoIn my foolish opinion, in this whole country, only Tang Guogong Li Xiao can be the pillar of the country, if His Majesty can consult him, he will benefit more. ”

Zhou Yanru knelt on the ground and said in a low voice.

It's just that his slender eyes sneak a glance from time to time to watch Emperor Chongzhen's face react.

Chongzhen muttered twice in his throat, his face was very ugly, and he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything.

Zhou Yanru seemed to expect the emperor to have such a reaction, he raised his head slightly, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, but for Li Xiao, the Duke of Tang Kingdom, he has a big dislike with His Majesty?" ”

A wry smile appeared on Chongzhen's face, and he muttered, "It's still Aiqing's heart!" Alas, in such a situation now, I regret it in my heart, how can I say it! ”

Seeing that the emperor's words were loose, Zhou Yanru sighed, and hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, that Tang Guogong Li Xiao, even if he has more festivals with His Majesty, he is also our Ming Dynasty's courtier, and our Ming Dynasty's Tang Guogong." As long as the emperor shows sincerity, communicates well with him, resolves old grievances in the past, and makes Li Xiao change his mind and serve the country loyally, it is not difficult. ”

Chongzhen's eyes lit up, but he said in a low voice: "Then what method should I take to resolve the past with Li Xiao, so that the monarch and the ministers should negotiate and discuss state affairs?" ”

Zhou Yanru blinked, and said: "Since Your Majesty asks like this, then Weichen will be happy and blunt, if there is anything inappropriate, I hope the emperor will not blame it." ”

"It's okay, you can speak up, and I forgive you for your innocence."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. The emperor, Weichen thought that the first thing was to make up for Li Xiao's great credit for driving the Qing army back to the outside of the customs last time. Zhou Yanru said in a deep voice: "The last time the Qing captives invaded the pass, they drove thousands of miles, and it was not until they entered Kou Jinan that they were repelled by Li Xiao in a desperate battle, and since then they have no strength to follow-up, so they have to withdraw from the pass. In this crucial battle, although Li Xiao defeated the Qing army, he also suffered heavy losses. However, his contributions, even at the beginning of the country, were also brilliant and outstanding. However, the emperor, because after the war, you were stationed in Shandong and occupied Jinan without authorization, so you were suspicious and dissatisfied with it, and even refused to reward it coldly. ”

Chongzhen's face was cold, his eyes were cold, and he was silent.

Zhou Yanru continued: "Li Xiao saw that he had made great contributions, but he could not get the reward he deserved, so he was disappointed in the imperial court, so he was disheartened. However, as a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, of course, he did not dare to strongly oppose the decision of the king, but since then, he has no intention of responding to the orders of the imperial court. It is precisely because of this that Li Xiao turned his attention to foreign countries, using troops in Nanyang, as well as border barbarian places such as Ezo Kuye, to expand the territory in order to protect himself. In Weichen's view, Li Xiao's overseas use of troops has too many unavoidable points, which is really regrettable. ”

Zhou Yanru paused, and said: "However, that Li Xiao, although he is fully expanding overseas, still has a considerable impact on the Ming Dynasty. The minister heard that he had agreed with the rogues that if they captured the city, they would sell all the people in the city to him, and he would arrange for these homeless homeless people to go to Nanyang to settle down and live, so that these people would be spared from the disaster of swords and soldiers, and they would not be ghosts of the blade. Li Xiao's move allowed thousands of people to escape the butcher's knife of the thieves and survive, which is a great merit. ”

When Chongzhen heard this, his face was already full of complexity, and he sighed lightly and said, "Aiqing, I also know what you said." That's why now my heart is so remorseful! You can pick and choose the important ones, what do I have to do now to restore relations with Li Xiao and make him obey the orders of the court again. ”

Zhou Yanru straightened up, and arched his hand with burning eyes: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of Weichen, now in the land of Shandong, since Li Xiao has garrisoned the whole territory and has firmly taken Jinan as his own, the land of Shandong, it can be said, is completely in Li Xiao's bag. Then why didn't the emperor just do it. The beauty of people, the land of Shandong, like Dengzhou, is fully handed over to Li Xiao to govern? “

"Ah, hand over the whole of Shandong to him......

Chongzhen's face became obviously complicated.

"Your Majesty, forgive the minister, now that Li Xiaobing is strong and strong, if he has the heart to oppose the imperial court, and instruct his arrogant soldiers and fierce generals to swallow the whole of Shandong into his stomach, what can the imperial court do? Rather than being forced to be helpless and watching Shandong being gradually encroached upon and annexed by Li Xiao, it is better to be a happy favor and hand over the entire Shandong province to him for full management like Dengzhou. The officials and personnel were also arranged by him, so as to win Li Xiao's heart and make him grateful to the court, wouldn't it be a great thing? Besides, as long as Li Xiao can pay taxes and grain for the imperial court according to the amount of the past, and hand over this Shandong to him to govern, wouldn't it be a good thing to lose the east corner and collect the mulberry elm? Therefore, although the imperial court no longer cares about the affairs of Shandong, on the contrary, the emperor's future harvest is much better than governing by himself. After all, the imperial court did not spend a single official, a single official, a single money and a grain, and harvested a stable source of tax money and grain, so why not? ”

When Zhou Yanru said this, he deliberately paused and secretly watched Chongzhen's reaction.

Chongzhen's face tightened, obviously nervously thinking about something.

The emperor pondered for a long time, but then frowned, and asked in a low voice: "If I do this, won't the generals in other places do the same?" Like the ancestor of Liaodong and Zuo Liangyu of Huguang, they have all become the leaders of the army firmly rooted in the local area, and they have a tendency to be big. ”

Hearing Chongzhen's words, Zhou Yanru couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

Now, this ancestor of Liaodong and Zuo Liangyu of Huguang, which one is not selfish, has become an invisible feudal town. They took up a large amount of food and wages obtained by the state from looting the people's fat and ointment, but they were afraid of the enemy without fighting, avoided the enemy, refused to share the worries of the imperial court, and only cared about privately growing and developing their own personal forces, and even greedy for ink, oppressing the people, so as to seek huge benefits for themselves.

Such generals, to tell the truth, have become the giant beetles of the country, and their positive role is getting smaller and smaller, but the harm is increasing day by day.

Especially Zuo Liangyu, the general soldier of Huguang, is greedy and vicious, and he can be said to have knocked out the bones and sucked the marrow of the people of Huguang, and squeezed the people of Huguang so that they can hardly live. Like now, this person never fights with thieves, but robs the beautiful women of Huguang every day, day and night. Kinky good. It is shameless and vicious to throw these poor women to their subordinates or sell them to brothels after they are tired of playing.

In real history, Zuo Liangyu's department, before withdrawing from Huguang, also razed the entire Wuchang and nearby prefectures and counties to the ground, and countless poor Huguang people did not die in the hands of thieves, but all died under the knife of this person.

In today's Wuhan, there is also a legend that Zuo Liangyu killed the people too cruelly, resulting in Zhong Lingyuxiu, who can be called the most beautiful Hubei woman in the world, and the number of people who were slaughtered and died was too much, so that at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Wuhan had no beautiful women in nearly 50 years, which is really lamentable.

In contrast, Li Xiao, the Duke of Tang Guo, was prosperous under his rule, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Moreover, this person does not spend half a penny of the imperial court's salary, and all of them raise their own army, which is really a strange material for governing the army.

And under the premise that Li Xiao has made great contributions and Emperor Chongzhen has not rewarded a penny, he can still save all living beings with the world in his heart, and buy a large amount of money to save the homeless people from the slaughtering knife of the rogue. If you want to use Zu Dashou, Zuo Liangyu and others to compare with Li Xiao, it is really an insult to Li Xiao.

However, in front of the emperor, Zhou Yanru didn't dare to say what he really thought in his heart, he rolled his eyes a few times, and then said to Chongzhen in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it is normal for you to have such worries. Na Weichen was thinking that if the emperor could get closer to Li Xiao, then Zu Dashou, Zuo Liangyu and others, even if they were dissatisfied, they were afraid that they would have nothing to say. ”

"What do you mean by Aiqing?"

"Your Majesty, in the humble opinion of Wei Chen, Your Majesty might as well recruit Li Xiao as a concubine and marry Princess Kunxing to him to show favor and envelopment. In this way, the relationship between Li Xiao and the heavenly family is more intimate, and with this relationship, the emperor will give a place in Shandong as a dowry to Li Xiao for management, and other generals have nothing to say. ”

Zhou Yanru finished saying this in a low voice, and then bowed his head and knelt on the ground.

"Ahh How does this make! ”

Chongzhen stood up from the dragon chair and said with a shocked face: "Yu Jiao has just turned thirteen years old this year, and she has not even reached the minimum marriage age of sixteen men and fourteen women set by Taizu, how can you marry Li Xiao, who is nearly thirty years old and has a group of wives and concubines!" ”

"Your Majesty, at this very moment, how can you be bound by common sense!" Zhou Yanru raised his head and said with an anxious expression: "Your Majesty, with all due respect, the country is already so critical, and the rogue has already poisoned the world. If the country is in trouble, the society is not protected, even if it is the golden branches and jade leaves of the heavenly family, how can it be preserved! ”

After Zhou Yanru finished saying this, he realized that his words were missing, and he was terrified, so he kowtowed again and again.

Chongzhen's face was extremely ugly, he hung his head, his eyes were gloomy like knives, but he didn't say anything.

Zhou Yanru, who kowtowed his head for a while, slowly raised his head, and his forehead was already bruised.

He saw that Chongzhen was silent, so he continued to persuade: "Your Majesty, the princess is thirteen this year, and she will be fourteen next year. If the princess can marry Li Xiao, so that Li Xiao can truly become a person of the heavenly family, then the emperor and Li Xiao are relatives of Weng's son-in-law, even if there is a big holiday, it is enough to erase it. You must know that in history, Li Shimin, the male lord of the Tang Dynasty, in order to win over his general Chi Jingde, also wanted to marry his 12-year-old daughter to him, who was already in his fifties. And Your Majesty is far beyond Yao Shun's holy king, and he is an outstanding emperor rarely seen in the ages, and your knowledge and ability, Your Emperor, how can Li Shimin compare. ”

When Zhou Yanru said this, he knelt down deeply.

At this time, Chongzhen sighed and sat back on the dragon chair.

"Haha, I really didn't expect it! Now, I'm so down! I want to exchange the happiness of my own daughter for the loyalty of a military general, I, I am really worthy of my ancestors and ancestors! Chongzhen shook his head and kept laughing miserably.

"The Emperor's ......"

"Jade Rope, you don't have to say more, you step back first, Rong Zhen will think about it."

"This ......, yes, the minister retired first."

After Zhou Yanru withdrew from the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen stood up angrily, picked up the fine porcelain teacup on the imperial table, and threw it down the stairs fiercely.

There was a crunch bang, and the teacup shattered.

Then the Emperor let out a long sigh and sat back down on the dragon chair.

Zhou Yanru's words were like stirring up a big storm in Chongzhen's heart, making him feel breathless.

Okay, since you are the Supreme of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, not only can you not dictate to your subordinates, but you have to deliberately curry favor with your subordinates, such as Li Xiao's high-flying and domineering subordinates. Not only do you want to reward him with the national land, but also give her most beloved Kunxing princess Zhu Yujiao with both hands, such an act, where is there still a little bit of dignity of a human monarch, this is simply his mother's extreme wretchedness and grievance!

It's just that Zhou Yanru's words, can he really not listen to them at all?

It doesn't seem to work either.

After all, Zhou Yanru's words also have his truth.

Now the state affairs are so erosive, the rogue dominates the world, it is difficult to resystem, the Ming army in various places has shrunk their heads to protect themselves, and they dare not fight for the country, and the Ming Dynasty has reached the verge of falling apart.

In such a situation, if no one can stand up and turn the tide and save the crisis, the fall of the Ming Dynasty is really just around the corner. If the country is not guaranteed and the society does not exist, then everything is really a lie.

Looking at the whole country, the only one who can take on the heavy task of turning the tide is none other than Li Xiao, the Duke of Tang Guo.

After all, the current Li Xiao is a sharp soldier, rich in financial resources, and has opened up a large number of overseas territories, and his prestige and strength are in full swing. Compared with other military towns, it is simply a comparison of fireflies and Haoyue, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Li Xiao is the most important pillar of the Ming Dynasty.

Such a person, such a general, if he can't win over and master, but has a lot of festivals with himself, so that only the relationship between the monarch and the minister in name is left, it is not only the failure of his own emperor, but also the greatest sorrow of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Chongzhen suddenly thought that this Li Xiao had started from a rural hunter in Liaodong in eight years to become a national cadre with huge territory and strength.

Compared with Li Xiao, who started the Bai family and eventually achieved great things, I, the emperor, am a little ashamed of myself.

So, should I really give him the whole of Shandong, and then marry the underage Princess Kunxing to this person?

For a while, Chongzhen's heart was full of flavors, and his eyes were filled with tears.

In the dead silence of the Qianqing Palace, the emperor sat on the dragon chair with a blue face like a log, and no one knew what he was thinking about when he sat like a wood.

Chongzhen sat for a long time before he said to the little eunuch on the side with difficulty: "Let's go, follow me to Kunning Palace." ”

"The slave obeys."

Kunning Palace, where the empress of the Ming Dynasty lived.

The purpose of Chongzhen's visit was to see his favorite wife, Queen Zhou.

"The emperor has arrived."

With a long singing by the eunuch, the palace door of Kunning Palace was opened, and Queen Zhou, who was dressed in plain makeup, took Princess Zhu Yujiao of Kunxing, and hurriedly greeted her from the palace gate, and the mother and daughter all bowed a blessing to the emperor.

"Greeting the emperor."

"My daughter visits her father."

Chongzhen stood abruptly, he looked at the two of them with a dull gaze, his throat swelled, and for a while, he forgot to let them flatten.

His gaze first looked up and down Queen Zhou, who was wearing plain makeup, and he was very emotional.

This Empress Zhou, seeing that the palace is now difficult to use and the country's finances are weak, she also began to save money on her own, eating very ordinary food and wearing extremely cold clothes, in order to save financial resources for the imperial court. In addition, she also secretly took away some valuable jewelry and exchanged it for silver to subsidize the harem. Such a virtuous queen is really a blessing to the country, and it is also a rare virtuous helper.

It's just that now in the palace, every day is such a depressing and heavy day, but it really hurts her.

The emperor looked at Empress Zhou silently, and then looked at Zhu Yujiao next to her.

This daughter, although she is underage, has upheld the beautiful appearance of her mother Wang Shunfei, and she is beautiful and beautiful at a young age. And seeing her daughter so touching and cute, Chongzhen's heart became more and more tender.

Daughter, my lovely daughter, my hard-working daughter, as soon as you were born, your mother died of dystocia, fortunately, Queen Zhou regarded you as her own and brought you up from a young age. And the emperor, who is my father, has not been able to give you more warmth and care because of his busy state affairs, which is really a good shame, not a qualified father!

And now, his own emperor, the nominal supreme ruler of the Ming Empire, still wants to take his underage daughter and her life's happiness as a bet in exchange for the loyalty of a general.

'Father, you, why are you crying......"

Zhu Yujiao, who secretly raised her head, saw her father standing in front of her, her eyes flashed, and her face was surprised.