Zhao Yan passed through the guards, and then the guards closed together, and followed Zhao Yan out of the Taihe Palace, and a group of people quickly fell into Chongzhen's eyes.

Soon, Zhao Yan left the Forbidden City, he did not stay in the Forbidden City, nor did he arrange any soldiers and horses inside, most of the soldiers and horses were in the imperial city and the inner city to capture the soldiers of the Beijing camp, and at the same time maintain law and order.

Only the 4th Cavalry Battalion remained outside the city in case of an attack by imperial reinforcements.

Zhao Yan came to the staff headquarters with the holy decree, put the holy decree on the table, and said to Mao Yuanyi and the others: "Get a few eunuchs and send the holy decree immediately." ”

"Yes."

…… Soon, the General Staff sent people to find dozens of eunuchs from the Forbidden City, and after explaining the task clearly, they sent out these holy decrees one by one under the escort of the cavalry.

At the same time, Zhao Yan wrote two letters and sent them out quickly.

One letter was written to Yan Jizu, asking him to enter Beijing as soon as possible.

One letter was written to Zhu Dadian, and at the same time, he was asked to enter Beijing quickly.

In addition, he also issued an order to transfer 200 elite officials from Shandong, and Li Jingyang, chief of the Shandong Military Court, and 10 judges to Beijing.

Zhao Yan's actions are preparing for the formation of a cabinet.

The cabinet will allocate seats according to party affiliation, and there will be a total of 100 seats. The highest Dali Temple was served by Li Jingyang, the chief of the Zhaoyan Shandong Military Court.

The military, politics, and law are separated, and Zhao Yan controls the military, politics, and law at the same time, even if Chongzhen retains the power of national defense militarily, he cannot pose a threat to him.

Politically, he intends to remotely control the cabinet by installing cabinet members.

Legally, it is completely composed of Shandong judges, not controlled by the monarch and the cabinet, and nominally not controlled by Zhao Yan, but these people were cultivated by him and naturally under his command.

Coupled with the provisions in the "Shandong Military Privilege Law", Zhao Yan has the right to prosecute any political, economic, military, and criminal criminals, so only any unpleasant guy is caught by Zhao Yan, and it will be dead. And in this era of corruption, there are so many handles, which official did not take bribes? What official has not eaten unjustly paid? What salt merchant has never sold illicit salt? Which Great Jin merchant did not trade with the Manchus?

At this time, Zhao Yan had already controlled the imperial city and the inner city, and Chongzhen was not pinching it as much as he wanted in his hands.

"Lord, this is a critical period, our troops in the capital are still too weak, it is better to transfer the 30,000 townships of Yingzhou into the capital, so that everything can be done." Mao Yuanyi was still a little worried about the strength of the capital, in case there was any big mess, if there were not enough troops, it would cause big trouble.

"Hmmm! Then transfer the 30,000 townships of Yingzhou to Beijing! Zhao Yan nodded and said, Yingzhou's 30,000 Xiangyong is currently stationed in Longkou, and he can go north from the return road at any time.

Soon this order was also issued, this plan has reached a critical moment, Zhao Yan should indeed increase some troops in the Beijing division in case the situation changes.

With soldiers and horses in hand, I have the world.

Any resistance can be used to eliminate their **.

On the afternoon of 19 August, the 2nd Battalion mobilized its forces and began to sweep the outer city. The resistance of the outer city was very weak in the case of the loss of the inner city and the imperial city, and by dark, the second battalion had successfully controlled the outer city.

The personnel of the Beijing camp and the Jinyi guard were captured one by one and then put into the prisoner of war concentration camp, and the education committees of several battalions were constantly giving ideological education to the prisoners in the prisoner of war camp.

The entire capital was under martial law, and notices were posted everywhere in the capital, and cavalry patrolled the streets, but the people were gradually leaving their homes.

The people of Beijing found that the Shandong soldiers who entered the city were very reasonable, and they did not loot or destroy silver, let alone lead sheep on the street and eat and drink for nothing.

When some people are in trouble, they will be eager to come forward to help. The people in the capital gradually became relieved, and for Zhao Yan's evaluation of Qingjun's side this time, under Zhao Yan's propaganda, the public opinion of the entire Beijing division also began to change.

The people of Jingshi all thought that the emperor had gone too far, and the general had fought to the death with Jianlu in Liaodong, and the Jianlu had been greatly injured, and the imperial court had to negotiate peace with Jianlu.

This is enough to eat Chongzhen to death.

Especially in the Beizhili area, which was most severely ravaged by Jianjiao, there were no people who were not very Jianjiao, and public opinion gradually stood on Zhao Yan's side by Zhao Yan's propaganda.

But that's not enough.

Zhao Yan was in the General Staff Department, and he was planning to build momentum for the constitutional monarchy in the near future, and the way to build momentum was very simple, that is, to hold demonstrations.

"Tomorrow, let some education committees take to the streets to stir up, and be sure to let the march spread to the entire Beijing Division." Zhao Yan said.

…… Early in the morning of August 19th!

The people of the outer city were quickly woken up by the noise in the streets, and when they opened the windows, they immediately saw a huge banner that read: "Severely punish the thief Yang Sichang, restrict the rights of the monarch, and separate the three powers of military politics and law."

"Down with Yang Sichang, hit the monarch's prerogatives."

"Down with Yang Sichang, down with the monarch's privilege ......"

A large crowd of people crowded into the street, holding flags in their hands and shouting loudly, looking at the eyes, I don't know how many people there were, but the street was crowded, and the momentum was very huge.

The group walked down the street, and people kept joining the procession.

However, people don't really understand what restricts the privileges of the monarch and separates the three powers, but when it hit Yang Sichang, many people joined in.

After Zhao Yan's propaganda, the mastermind of the peace negotiation was Yang Sichang, and many people hated Yang Sichang to the core, so the team continued to expand.

The procession traveled from the outer city to the inner city, expanding again. When they arrived in the imperial city, tens of thousands of people joined the demonstration.

Of course, there are many people who follow along to watch the excitement.

Zhao Yan looked at it in the imperial city and said with a smile: "Good job, I'll enter the palace to face the saint." ”

"Subordinates cooperate outside." Mao Yuanyi said. Zhao Yan nodded, and then left for the palace.

There was a bleak atmosphere in the Forbidden City at this time, all the eunuchs and palace maids were listless, Zhao Yan entered the palace gate unimpeded, and then headed towards the Qianqing Palace.

…… Chongzhen discussed with Empress Zhou in the palace for a night, and Empress Zhou was well-known and said to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Zhao Yan has already controlled the imperial city, but he does not touch the Forbidden City, he still has a loyal heart to the Zhu family." If someone else had been replaced, he would have rushed into the palace and put us under house arrest, or he would have become the emperor himself, or he would have blackmailed the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and he would never have come up with a covenant like him. ”

"If the emperor signs the law, the Ming Dynasty will be governed by the cabinet in the future, as long as the constitutional monarchy is deeply patient, the future will be a change of dynasty, then it will only change the cabinet, and the descendants of the Zhu family will be the emperor for generations." Empress Zhou said to Chongzhen.

"What does the woman's family know, if I sign these covenants, then the cabinet is not controlled by this thief." Chongzhen said angrily, Queen Zhou was silent for a while, and suddenly said to Chongzhen: "The concubine said something in her heart, the emperor has been on the throne for ten years, but the situation in the Ming Dynasty has become more and more erosive. On the other hand, Zhao Yan carried out reforms in Shandong and vigorously reclaimed land, and the entire territory of Shandong was restored to peace, and the people were also rich. Although this son is a military general, his talent for governing the country is unmatched. If he is in charge of the cabinet, the world will be at peace. ”

"For this son, the emperor can only win over, not suppress. This son can not only command the army, but also conquer the war, and is good at governing the country and managing finances, if His Majesty can win him over, it will be a great joy for everyone. If suppressed, this son can fight well, and he is good at making money, and the court is no longer able to check and balance, this change is all due to the emperor's desire to balance Shandong. Empress Zhou patiently persuaded.

Chongzhen was silent, he had to admit that he had made a bad move. The reason why this is so is because Zhao Yan was too loyal and brave before, which made Chongzhen mistakenly think that he was foolish and loyal.

One move offended Zhao Yan's core interests, but Zhao Yan didn't buy it, and what Chongzhen didn't expect was that Zhao Yan's reaction was so intense, and the banner of Qingjun's side came out.

Seeing that Chongzhen didn't speak, Empress Zhou continued: "Besides, this son has not deprived the royal military power, even if the administrative power is lost, as long as the emperor carefully selects talents and strengthens the military, there will be opportunities in the future." ”

Although Empress Zhou was so persuasive, she didn't hold out much hope in her heart. The [***] of the officials and armies of the Ming Dynasty is well known to the world, and if you want to take back the administrative power from the cabinet, you must first defeat Zhao Yan's Shandong army.

However, this is almost impossible, Jianyu was beaten to the ground by the Shandong army, on the other hand, the officers and troops from all walks of life were beaten by Jianyu.

At a glance, you can see that although Queen Zhou usually does not talk about political affairs, she still has this understanding.

Chongzhen also knew in his heart that whether to sign these contracts at this time or not was out of his control, and there was still a glimmer of hope if he signed, if he didn't sign, I was afraid that Zhao Yan would use extreme methods to deal with him.

It's just that Chongzhen is still unwilling.

This is his country, his world. He can't participate in governance, what kind of emperor is he?

…… Zhao Yanlai came to the outside of the Qianqing Palace with people, Chongzhen and Queen Zhou, as well as Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol, walked out, Zhao Yan saluted, and asked directly: "I don't know how Your Majesty thinks?" ”

Chongzhen didn't speak for a long time, Queen Zhou looked at it and said, "It's all up to the general." ”

Who's this?

Zhao Yan looked at the beauty in front of him and thought, thinking for a while, feeling that this woman might be Queen Zhou, if it was Concubine Tian, it would be impossible to speak for Chongzhen.

Chongzhen saw that Empress Zhou had spoken, and he was embarrassed to be silent, so as not to make people feel that he was weak and incompetent, so he said: "I have read it all, I have no objection to most of the content of the covenant, but I have objections to some of the contents. ”

"If Your Majesty has any objections, you can point them out, and the monarch and the ministers will revise them after discussion." Zhao Yan said along with Chongzhen's words.

"This matter, Wang Chengen, Cao Huaol, the two of you and Zhao Aiqing should discuss!" Chongzhen left a word, then turned around and walked back to the dormitory.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol answered.

"General Zhao, please." Cao Huaol made a gesture of invitation to Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan nodded, and then led the people to follow Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol out of the Qianqing Palace.

…… Soon, the two sides sat down, Zhao Yan with a few staff officers, Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol with a few eunuchs, and the two sides began negotiations on the "Constitutional Covenant" and "Shandong Military Privilege Covenant".

Mao Yuanyi's appearance made Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol stunned, but they quickly regained their calm, and it was no longer time to care about these.

"The emperor agrees with the constitution, but the royal expenditure of 1 million taels is too little." Wang Chengen pointed to Article 2 of the "Constitutional Law of the Year of Bingzi" and said.

"One million taels a year, I'm afraid I won't be able to use it up!" Zhao Yan said indifferently: "Besides, if it is not enough, the palace personnel can be laid off, and the expenses will naturally be reduced." ”

"In addition to the expenses of the palace, the royal family also needs expenses." Cao Huaol said.

"The royal family doesn't need to worry about the two fathers-in-law, those vassal kings have tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, and they won't care about the imperial court. Mao Yuanyi said.

"The ancestral law is immutable." Wang Chengen said.

"All because the ancestral laws of the dynasties remain unchanged, the strength of the Han and Tang dynasties is finally a passing cloud, and all laws and regulations must comply with the actual situation." Mao Yuanyi retorted.

"1 million taels is too little, and some more must be added." Wang Chengen insisted.

"Okay, add another 100,000 taels." Zhao Yan said briskly.

"1,000,000 taels." Cao Huaol looked at Zhao Yan, opened his mouth and said, Zhao Yan laughed, "Since you don't want 100,000 taels, then you don't need to add it, the next one." ”

Zhao Yan's direct change of hexagram made Cao Hua so angry that he slapped the table, but Zhao Yan was not in a hurry, he and Mao Yuanyi sat there indifferently.

Because Cao Huaol and Wang Chengen disagreed, the negotiations had to be temporarily terminated, and the two sides began to fight each other and could not reach an agreement.

"Father-in-law, it's not good, it's not good, the people outside the city have rioted." Suddenly, a small eunuch ran in and reported, Cao Huaol and Wang Chengen were shocked, got up and asked, "What?" ”

"Two fathers-in-law, why don't you go to the city and have a look!" Zhao Yan said to the two of them with a smile.

"Let......'s go" Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol couldn't sit still, the two ran out in a hurry, and after a while, the two came to the city wall.

Looking down from the city wall, I saw a large group of people below shouting under the Forbidden City.

"Down with Yang Sichang and severely punish the traitors. Restricting the rights of the monarch and implementing the separation of powers. The people shouted with a loud voice, and the noise was enormous.

These people were all blocked outside the palace gate by the Shandong army, and there were only a few hundred soldiers and horses in the Forbidden City.

Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol saw their legs tremble.

"This, this, what's going on?" Cao Huaol said in shock, Wang Chengen shook his body and shook his head vigorously, indicating that he didn't know why.

The following performance was very excited, and I saw that the people in front of them were desperately squeezing forward, and those heavily armed pikemen were forming a fence one after another with their spears horizontally, but they were like small sampans in the angry sea, and they were crumbling, as if one was not good, and those people would break through the barrier.

"How's that okay?" Cao Huaol panicked for a while, and looked around where there were any soldiers and horses in the palace, Wang Chengen calmed down a little, and suddenly shouted: "What a poisonous strategy." ”

"What?" Cao Huaol asked.

"If we don't agree to his covenant, he will put these mobs into the Forbidden City, and then it will be none of his business, and then send troops into the palace to suppress it, and he can still win a reputation for saving the driver, so poisonous! It's poisonous! Wang Chengen was so angry that he screamed.

"What then?" Cao Huaol panicked.

"For the sake of today, everything can only depend on him." Wang Chengen said with a depressed expression.

The two quickly returned to the negotiating table, and the two sides negotiated on the issue of the law again, but this time Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol were much more obedient.

Wang Chengen no longer requested the amendment of Article 2 of the Constitutional Law, but only requested that Article 5 be amended, which stipulates that the eunuch system should be abolished, and eunuchs shall not be recruited into the palace under any pretext or in any form, except for the existing eunuchs in the palace.

At this point, Zhao Yan resolutely did not back down, and also gave another solution, Zhao Yan proposed: "The general has sent troops to fight for the Japanese in June, and in July has besieged the Edo of the Japanese country, and also captured many Japanese slaves to come to the Ming Dynasty. ”

“……”

Wang Chengen and Cao Huaol were stunned and speechless for a while. Zhao Yan actually sent troops to fight against the Japanese while fighting with Jianyu.

While sending troops to fight for the Japanese, they even dared to send troops to Qingjun's side, which shocked the two of them speechless, and at the same time, they were also shocked that Zhao Yan's military strength could fight on three fronts.

For Zhao Yan, the third-line battle is relatively tense, but he can still deal with it. A group of uncivilized barbarians, using barbaric methods, coupled with the mobile surname of the cavalry, the Shandong army coped with it, as long as it was a battalion step by step, there was no risk.

As for the book, there were very few cavalry, and most of them were made up of infantry. And in front of the Shandong army, which had strong firepower and superior cavalry, it was easier to cope with than the Manchu Qing.

And the Ming Dynasty, it is easier to deal with, this [***] unbearable empire, most of the army's combat effectiveness has been corrupted, this is not the main reason why it is easy to deal with, the main reason is that Zhao Yan is a Han Chinese, plus the army is disciplined, the people will not resist him.

The tension is still the problem of troops, so we can only send out the villagers to fight, and the number of professional regular troops is obviously insufficient, and it is not enough to cope with the three-front battle.

After Zhao Yan returned to Shandong, the expansion of the army was certain.

"Do you have any objections from the two fathers-in-law?" Zhao Yan asked with a smile.

"No, no." Cao Huaol sneered, and Wang Chengen also wiped the sweat on his forehead. Zhao Yan continued: "Since the two fathers-in-law have no objections, then let's seal it on behalf of Your Majesty!" I'll take it to Your Majesty for signature later. ”

Saying that, Zhao Yan pushed the documents of the "Constitutional Law of the Year of Bingzi", the "Law of Shandong Privileges" and the "Memorandum of Understanding of the Monarchs and Ministers of the Year of Bingzi".

Cao Huaol took out the big seal with a bitter face, and finally tilted his head one by one to cover it.

Zhao Yan couldn't help but smile when he looked at it, and continued: "In addition, the imperial court also seized the Jimin Inn opened by us in Shandong, as well as the "Daming Newspaper" opened by me, and also asked the Holy Majesty to issue a letter to return all personnel, venues, and objects, and if there is any loss, the local government will give double compensation. ”

"It's nature, it's nature." Wang Chengen nodded, and neither of them had any objections, but Zhao Yan's bigger request was still to come......

(To be continued)