There were several huge candles burning in the side hall, the table was full of melons and fruits, and some pen, ink, paper and inkstones were placed, all the eunuchs withdrew, and the door of the hall was closed. Xie Jin was the youngest, but his courage was not small, he quietly walked to the door and pushed the door of the hall, but found that he did not move, smiled bitterly, and shook his head at Fang Xiaoru and the others.

"Alas!" A sigh ensued.

Qi Tai looked at everyone, and then said in a low voice: "Let me ask first, have you used any force behind the refutation of the matter this time?" ”

"Huh?" Everyone leaned over and looked surprised: "How come? Who would dare to do that? ”

"No, no, no!"

Qi Tai looked at everyone's demeanor, also smiled, and continued: "Now it's the second time, if the third holy decree is refuted, the emperor will definitely be angry, I'm afraid that he will be dismissed from the matter, and then the matter will be big." Let's think about it, is there any way to make the holy decree be issued and not be refuted. ”

"Well, it seems unlikely." Zhuo Jing thought for a while and said, "In the past two days, many colleagues have come to me to talk about this matter, and I think everyone should be the same." As he spoke, Zhuo Jing looked at everyone and found that everyone was nodding.

Zhuo Jing sighed and said: "As far as the officials know, the courtiers have three opinions: the first is that they think that the matter is not clear, and they suspect that Song Zhong and Xie Gui forced the King of Yan to rebel, or blocked the path of the King of Yan, or bullied the King of Yan, causing the King of Yan to rebel, so the posthumous two of them will be refuted, but it is just a letter from the emperor The second is that the emperor is too ruthless and encourages the soldiers to kill the king of Yan in battle; the third is that the emperor is stimulated and his temperament has changed greatly, and he is afraid that the incident of Emperor Gao Yang of the Northern Qi Dynasty will be repeated. That's why the decree is refuted. Speaking of this, Zhuo Jing looked around: "The news you got is also like this." ”

"Almost!" "That's pretty much it!"

So the problem now is that the courtiers think that the emperor's reaction is too fierce and goes against the way of the saint's forgiveness, and they are worried that the emperor's temperament will change drastically and repeat it...... Reenactment ......" Xie Jin said halfway, but in the end he was too timid to speak.

But everyone understood what he meant, and this was what everyone was worried about.

......

In the end, Wang Du came up with an idea and said: "Everyone, the courtiers hope that the emperor will be lenient, but rebellion can not be punished, so why not take a two-pronged approach, and give two holy decrees, the first one will send someone to Beiping to tell King Yan, let him rein in the precipice, and enter Beijing to ask for guilt, if he does not obey, then the second holy decree can play a role, since King Yan is determined to rebel, that is, what the emperor said, 'everyone gets and is punished', and the emperor is not to blame." ”

In fact, when Wang Du was halfway through, everyone understood what he meant, and couldn't help but admire Wang Du's active thinking, but Fang Xiaoru felt that his junior brother was becoming more and more hypocritical and flattering.

But others didn't think about it so much, but actively spoke and improved. After about half an hour, a conclusion was formed, and everyone joined forces to return to the emperor. And Zhu Yunwen took advantage of this time to close his eyes and recuperate for a while, sorted out his thoughts, and after listening to everyone's reply, he thought about it, and finally agreed with a wry smile. For the sake of such a little righteousness, the front line does not know how many soldiers will be killed in vain, and I don't know whether these people in front of them are too taken for granted, or they are too naïve, maybe this is the origin of "not firing the first shot" in later generations.

The next day, the sixth day of October, was fine.

Princess Ningguo is the second daughter of Emperor Gao, Chinese New Year's Eve is fifty-five years old this year, and in the eleventh year of Hongwu, she married Mei Yin, the second son of Marquis Mei Xingzu of Runan. Mei Yin is respectful by nature, can ride a horse and shoot arrows, was awarded the title of Rong Guogong, and is currently a scholar in Shandong. Zhu Yuanzhang liked Mei Yin very much, and before he died, he instructed: "You are faithful, and you can take care of the young master." The way of returning to the edict: "Those who dare to violate the heavens, you will ask for it."

After Princess Ningguo entered the Qianqing Palace, she first saluted Zhu Yunwen, and Zhu Yunwen hurriedly stopped: "Auntie, Yunwen grew up with you, so you don't have to be so polite." ”

"Your Majesty, the ceremony cannot be abolished."

Looking at the serious Princess Ningguo, Zhu Yunwen smiled, helped Princess Ningguo to sit down, and then said, "Auntie, do you know that Uncle Yan Wang rebelled?" ”

"This," Princess Ningguo was stunned for a moment, and said, "Auntie heard about it, but," Speaking of this, Princess Ningguo hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, does my aunt think there is any misunderstanding?" Is it that the people you sent down are too domineering and bullying the fourth brother, the fourth brother is a person who would rather bend than bend, so he killed Song Zhong and them by mistake, the emperor must find out the situation, and he can't listen to the nonsense of the people below. ”

Zhu Yun was stunned for a moment, and his heart was really like this, at this time, the family affection of the Zhu family was not completely indifferent, and there was still a family affection between them. It's just that this family affection gradually disappeared with Yongle's accession to the throne and the completion of the cutting of the domain.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "Auntie, I'm afraid that this is the case, my aunt and Uncle Yan Wang are the most familiar in the clan, I want to trouble my aunt to go to Beiping, persuade Uncle Yan Wang, let him know his way back, don't make trouble anymore, okay?" ”

"This?" Princess Ningguo paused for a moment: "My aunt is just a woman, can she participate in military affairs?" ”

"There is no major military matter, as long as Uncle Yan Wang's armor rests his troops, everything is easy to say."

"Well, okay, my aunt can go, but what does my aunt say?"

Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and said: "Auntie, I plan to let the left attendant of the Ministry of Ministers, Tyrant Zhao, and the Duke of Wei Xu Huizu accompany my aunt, Tyrant Zhao once wrote a letter and was willing to persuade Uncle Wang to stop the army, Xu Huizu is the younger brother of Princess Yan, so arrangement, my aunt thinks it's good?" ”

"Yes, my aunt doesn't understand, but it sounds good."

"Well, when the time comes, my aunt will tell Uncle Yan that as long as he stops his army, I will forgive him all his sins, but he can no longer stay in Beiping, and I will give him two choices, one is to go to the northwest instead of King Su to guard the border, and the other is to go to Nanchang to live for a long time. What does my aunt think? ”

Princess Ning Guo said happily: "The emperor is so magnanimous, my aunt thinks that the fourth brother will definitely agree." ”

"Hehe," Zhu Yunwen was silent for a while, bowed down and said, "Auntie, but Uncle Yan Wang has to come to Beijing to explain the reason before he can divide the seal again; ”

"In addition, his army can't cross the Lugou Bridge, otherwise I will think that he is going to rebel, so don't blame me for not being merciful."

"Well, what if my aunt arrives in Beiping, the fourth brother's army has already crossed the Lugou Bridge?"

"This is also easy to deal with, from the day my aunt entered Beiping, I gave him five days, if five days later, the Yan army is still south of Lugou Bridge, then don't blame me. In addition, when my aunt went north, she met Yan Jun, and she could also tell them what I meant. Is that good? ”

"Well, that's good, it's just," Princess Ning Guo got up and knelt on the ground.

Frightened, Zhu Yunwen hurriedly got up and wanted to help Princess Ningguo, but Princess Ningguo couldn't hold on, looked at Zhu Yunwen's eyes, and said: "Your Majesty, my aunt watched you grow up, don't lie to your aunt, lie to your fourth uncle." ”

Zhu Yunwen smiled, insisted on helping Princess Ningguo, and said, "Auntie, don't worry, I can swear, if I break my oath, people and gods will abandon it, and my descendants will not be able to give birth!" ”

......

After sending off the princess of Ningguo, Zhu Yunwen summoned Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei.

After sitting down, Zhu Yunwen found that Xu Huizu was a little nervous, and couldn't help laughing: "Wei Guogong, what's wrong?" ”

"Your Majesty, Yan rebelled, does the emperor have an opinion on his ministers?"

"How so?" Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily, stood up and walked in front of Xu Huizu, held his shoulder, looked at Xu Huizu's eyes, and said, "Wei Guogong, in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, I trust you the most." ”

Looking at Zhu Yunwen's sincere eyes, Xu Huizu was very excited, but Zhu Yunwen pressed on his shoulder, and he couldn't kneel down to thank him, so he had to say: "Emperor Xie, Huizu is loyal to the emperor's heart, but the sun and the moon." ”

"Yes, I believe it." Zhu Yunwen turned around and sat down in his place, and then said: "Duke Wei Guogong, I thought that since Yan Rebellion had raised troops, it would be impossible to stop the army, but the courtiers still had illusions, and I had no choice but to send Princess Ningguo and Tyrant Zhao to Beiping with you to persuade King Yan to stop his army, are you willing?" ”

"This," Xu Huizu thought about it for a while, and said: "The emperor has an order, of course the minister is willing, but the minister is worried that his work will be fruitless, but it will delay the preparation of the imperial court." Speaking of this, Xu Huizu knelt on the ground: "The minister has heartfelt words, I hope the emperor will listen." ”

"Wei Guogong, get up and speak, I hope you can speak freely."

"Emperor Xie!" Xu Huizu stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Yan Shun is the brother-in-law of the minister, he got along more in the past, he won the true inheritance of the first emperor and his father, he is open-minded, a corporal of etiquette, very good at using soldiers, in Beiping for 20 years, won the hearts of the army; In addition, the army of Beiping fought against the Mongols many times, and the soldiers were brave and good at fighting, which was extremely difficult to deal with. ”

"Well, as you said, Yan is as cunning as a fox, fierce as a tiger and as cruel as a wolf, I know it in my heart."

Xu Huizu raised his eyebrows, he was as cunning as a fox and as fierce as a tiger, he could understand, as for being cruel as a wolf, I don't know where the emperor heard about it, but it doesn't matter, as long as the emperor attaches importance to Yan Yi.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that since Yan rebels have raised troops, it is impossible to stop the army, even if he is willing, the proud soldiers and fierce generals under his command will not be willing, the emperor can pardon the sins of King Yan, but can he also pardon the sins of the rebels under his command? It's impossible, otherwise someone will rebel in the future, how to deal with it? In this way, there will be no peace in the country! Therefore, if Yan Rebellion agrees to stop the army, then he will inevitably die under the rebel sword, and the rebel army will support his son and continue the rebellion until he perishes. ”

"So the minister thinks that the court should make a decision immediately and quickly send troops to quell the rebellion, if the opportunity is delayed, Yan Rebellion may be big, and it will be even more difficult to quell the rebellion!"

Xu Huizu's words completely dispelled Zhu Yunwen's illusions, it was impossible for Zhu Di, the king of Yan, to turn back, but, however, the process still had to be gone through.

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a while and said, "What Wei Guogong said is very true, I still have illusions, hoping that he can turn back, but unfortunately, it seems impossible now." ”

"In this way, you don't have to go to Beiping, let your younger brother Xu Zengshou go, I heard that he has a better relationship with Yan Wei, I think it will be easier to speak."

Xu Huizu's body was shocked, he peeked at Zhu Yunwen, and when he saw Zhu Yunwen's face sinking like water, he quickly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Increasing Your Longevity is a good friend with Yan Rebellion, but just because Yan Rebellion is his brother-in-law, he is still loyal to the emperor, and he has no two hearts." ”

Seeing Xu Huizu so nervous, Zhu Yunwen laughed instead: "Wei Guogong, don't be so nervous, your third brother has a good impression of Yan Wei, it's not a bad thing, this time I originally planned to send people close to him, their words may have some effect, so that the Beiping rebellion can be quelled." ”

"In addition, I think that as long as Yan Shun wants to stop the army, kill a few of his subordinates, and deter the rebels, there will be no problem, it depends on whether he wants to or not."

"Hmm." This time, Xu Huizu didn't dare to answer.

"Xu Huizu, listen to the order!" Zhu Yunwen said suddenly.

"Minister Xu Huizu listens to the order!" Xu Huizu hurriedly knelt down.

"I appointed you as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and rushed to Liaodong every day to control the Liaodong army. Your duty is to attack the right flank of Beiping, occupy Yongping, Zunhua and other places, and contain the Yan army to the south; In addition, Daning and Kaiping will be restored according to the situation. ”

"Commandment."

Xu Huizu stood up, thought for a while, and said: "General Geng is stationed in Zhending, attacking the front of Beiping, and the last general will attack its right flank; If someone could attack its left flank, it would be good. ”

Zhu Yunwen said with a smile: "I have already asked Chen Zhen to guard Juyong Pass, and I have also sent Chen Xuan to go, due to the successful construction of Suiyuan City, the pressure on Datong has been greatly reduced, so I can transfer a part of the army." It's just," Zhu Yunwen walked to the map and thought for a while: "I'm a little worried about Feng Sheng, this person is known for his cunning and is good at sneak attacks, if he also enters the Great Wall, I'm afraid the battle situation will be complicated." ”

Xu Huizu also carefully studied the map for a while, and suddenly his face turned pale, and said: "If Feng Sheng enters Shanxi from the Xuanfu area, the battle situation will not be favorable to the imperial court. In addition, if Feng Sheng went south to attack Taiyuan, he even crossed the Yellow River and attacked Kaifeng. Kaifeng is the feudal state of the king of Zhou, if Kaifeng can not be held, then the rebels may drink the Yangtze River, so the general trend will go. Speaking of this, Xu Huizu said: "The minister is willing to go to Kaifeng to block Feng Sheng's southward pace." ”

Zhu Yunwen hesitated: "Actually, I thought about this possibility before, so I planned to station in Kaifeng and personally block the rebels." ”

"No," Xu Huizu knelt on the ground and said loudly: "The emperor is the body of ten thousand gold, once he loses, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will fall apart and repeat the disaster of the troubled times of the Warring States." ”

"It's okay," Zhu Yunwen scratched his head, feeling that he might not be as good as Xu Huizu in the war: "Then you go to Kaifeng, if Feng Sheng and the others do not enter Shanxi, then you will rush to Taiyuan day and night, command the Shanxi soldiers and horses, and attack the left flank of Beiping." As for the right wing, let Geng Xuan be responsible. ”

"Minister, Commander!"

......

On the same day, the holy decree was officially issued, and the princess of Ningguo, the former military governor Xu Zengshou, and the left servant of the Ministry of Ministers went to Beiping to tell King Yan to forgive all his sins and hope that he would return from his lost path.

Another holy decree was given to Geng Bingwen, the general of Pingyan, that as long as the Yan army crossed the Lugou Bridge, he would declare the whole army and kill the king of Yan to be crowned marquis.

On the same day, Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, was ordered to go to Kaifeng to control the Henan army; Geng Xuan was ordered to pay close attention to Feng Sheng's movements, and if Feng Sheng's troops entered the Great Wall, they would enter Shanhaiguan, attack Yongping, and contain the right flank of Beiping.

In the end, Zhu Yunwen wrote a personal letter to Geng Bingwen, reminding him to be careful of King Yan's sneak attack.