On the seventh day of October in the thirteenth year of orthodoxy, with the temporary lifting of the siege of Beijing, Guo Jing, the eunuch of Datong Town, returned to Beijing to resume his life, and was appointed by Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu as the eunuch of the imperial horse supervisor.

The Ming Dynasty set up 12 eunuchs, and the most powerful eunuch institution was the internal eunuch at first, and the scope of authority was very miscellaneous, which can probably be simply understood as the emperor's close attendant and internal officials, who were in charge of the affairs of the inner palace.

Cheng Jing served as the eunuch of the internal official and the seal of the seal, and it can be seen that Zhu Qiyu trusts him and entrusts him with the most personal service and care.

But later, with the eunuch in charge of the seal, after having the power to approve the red for the emperor, his status quickly surpassed the previous internal official eunuch and became a well-deserved eunuch of the twelve eunuchs.

Wang Zhen relied on this position to lean towards the government and the opposition, and the Jingtai Emperor was held by the veteran eunuch Jin Ying.

As for the Imperial Horse Supervisor, it belongs to a potential eunuch institution. Originally, its terms of reference were limited to the dispatch of military horses and the demand for ceremonial horses, but because it was responsible for the supply of war horses, it inevitably had a close connection with the army.

Later, after Ming Chengzu Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, the internal forbidden army in the imperial court was handed over to the imperial horse supervisor to be responsible for management, which is equivalent to allowing the palm seal eunuch to directly have military power, and the degree of control over the soldiers and horses is far greater than serving as a local supervisor.

It is precisely because of the particularity of the army that the power of the eunuchs in charge of the imperial horse eunuch has skyrocketed. Until the period of Ming Xianzong, Wang Zhi, the great eunuch of the palm seal, was in power, and he also founded the Xichang spy agency, which once made the status of the imperial horse supervisor more than the celebrant eunuch.

Guo Jing has been guarding the nine sides all the year round, and now he is returning to Beijing to serve as the eunuch of the imperial horse supervisor, which can be called a "professional counterpart".

It's just that Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu never imagined that this could also be a big thunder buried by himself......

After Guo Jing returned to Beijing to meet the new monarch, he sat on the throne of the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Eunuch, but there was not much joy of promotion in his heart, on the contrary, he seemed to be preoccupied.

On the way back to Beijing, he had already received instructions from Taishi Yexian, asking Guo Jing to lead the peace negotiations between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia, and also to negotiate the return of Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen to Beijing.

In the face of Yexian's instructions, Guo Jing was 10,000 unwilling in his heart. After all, he is not a pure "inner ghost", just out of the greedy nature of the eunuch, he does some border smuggling arms trade with the tile spur.

He is not an immortal, who knew that after so many years of obedience and abnormality, the Tile Thorn Department actually harbored evil intentions and wanted to rebel?

But the problem is that whether it is out of greed or treason, Guo Jing's collaboration with the enemy is an objective fact. Moreover, he was able to serve as the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, or relying on the information obtained from Yexian, Tumubao informed the imperial court of the intention of the Mongol army to encircle before the first battle, so that he was rewarded by the new monarch at that time.

If Guo Jing refuses Yexian's instructions, then the collusion behind it will be exposed, how beautiful it is now, and how miserable it will be liquidated next.

The handle was pinched, and Guo Jing had no choice!

"Godfather, are you going to Cining Palace to meet the Queen Mother today?"

The little eunuch standing on the side looked at Guo Jing with a solemn expression, and waited for a long time before he couldn't help but remind.

"Has the Mongolian peace envoy arrived in Beijing?"

Guo Jing asked rhetorically, after all, it was impossible for him to lead the negotiation of peace, and he had to fan the flames after the Mongolian mission arrived in Beijing.

"I have arrived at Honglu Temple, but Your Majesty has no intention of receiving it, and even the officials sent out to dock are only members of the Ministry of Rites."

Obviously, judging from this low reception specification, Zhu Qiyu has no intention of peace talks at all.

On the one hand, the word "peace negotiation" has been used by the Mongols, from the battle of Tumubao to the present, almost every time before the start of the war, the name of peace negotiation must be used to extort money from the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, the current Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu has let go of the hesitation and anxiety when he ascended the throne, and gradually adapted to the new identity of the emperor.

The royal brother stayed in Mobei with peace of mind, and there was no need to come back through the peace negotiation.

"Since the Mongolian mission has come, let's go and see the Queen Mother."

"Yes, godfather."

The little eunuch hurriedly helped Guo Jing to get up, and then helped him tidy up his robe, preparing to meet the Empress Dowager Sun.

In Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Sun was praying sincerely in front of the Buddhist shrine, hoping that the counterattacking Ming army would rescue Zhu Qizhen and then re-ascend to the throne of the Ninety-Five Supreme.

The reason is that Empress Dowager Sun found that Zhu Qiyu, the servant king who had only been on the throne for more than a month, was already a little out of her control. If this continues, the situation will be stable, let alone return the throne to his son, I am afraid that even if the crown prince Zhu Jianshen can succeed to the throne smoothly, it will become doubtful.

At this moment, the serving palace maid told Guo Jing to ask for a meeting, and asked the Empress Dowager Sun to stop chanting the Buddha.

In the family letter that Zhu Qizhen passed back before, he once mentioned the name of Guo Jing, the eunuch guarding Datong Town, and thought that he was a credible person. Could it be that this sudden request to see is related to the Emperor?

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Sun immediately asked the palace maid Xuan Guo Jing to meet her.

"Slave and maidservant Imperial Horse Supervisor Palm Seal Eunuch Guo Jing, meet the Queen Mother!"

Although Guo Jing is a eunuch, and counting Emperor Jingtai, he can be called the veteran of the Five Dynasties. But he has been guarding outside all the year round, and he is really not familiar with the concubines in the harem, and he has no intersection with the Empress Dowager Sun before.

"The mourning family recognizes you, it was mentioned in the emperor's family."

"The emperor can remember the slave maid, it is really a blessing for three lives!"

Guo Jing looked very moved, and then quietly wiped a handful of tears, as if he and Zhu Qizhen had a deep master-servant relationship.

"Father-in-law Guo, why are you asking to see the mourning family?"

"The slave is here for the emperor's business!"

With Empress Dowager Sun's initiative to ask, Guo Jing just took this opportunity to tell all about the peace discussion that the Taishi had also explained first.

At the same time, on the other side, Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu was discussing military affairs with Yu Qian.

After the retreat of the Mongol army, in addition to the main force of the headquarters that could still maintain discipline, some other servant armies such as Hami and Jurchen were basically rabble. Even when it was time to flee for his life, he didn't forget to rob him, and he was defeated by the Ming army from all walks of life.

However, in the end, there was a strong Mongolian army in front of the Ming army, and he was the 20,000 palace elite cavalry led by Polo.

Seriously, Polo is also the brother of Taishi Yexian, but he is not related by blood. The Mongols used to adopt fallen brothers or children of the frost as their heirs to ensure that the tribe had a strong population.

Therefore, the 20,000 elite cavalry led by him are not comparable to the group of stinky fish and rotten shrimp of the servant army, most of them are the elite of the Tile Thorn Division, with a small number of cavalry from the Tatar Division.

Now there are two options in front of Yu Qian and Zhu Qiyu, one is to bypass this broken cavalry, not to entangle with them too much, and directly pursue the main force of the Mongolian army led by Taishi Yexian.

The other is naturally to find a way to eat the broken troops, and then continue the pursuit.

According to the normal deployment of the march, it is clear that the second option is more appropriate. However, after the pursuit in the past two days, the signs of attacking Liaodong first have become more and more obvious, if there is no way to eat this broken elite cavalry in a short time, then the Liaodong army will not be able to wait for reinforcements.

As for the more than 30,000 soldiers and horses led by Shen Yichen, Yu Qian didn't have much confidence to be honest, both in quantity and quality, there was a big gap with the Mongolian soldiers.

At the critical moment when Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian were about to make a decision, Guo Jing led the Empress Dowager Sun into the Wuying Palace.

Seeing that it was the Queen Mother coming, Zhu Qiyu had an inexplicable panic. During this time, Empress Dowager Sun and Empress Qian were either moved by affection or reasoned, anyway, all kinds of pressure required him to take the opportunity to welcome Emperor Zhu Qizhen back.

If nothing else, this time it will be the same.

"The son visits the queen mother."

"Meet the Queen Mother."

Facing Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian's salute, Empress Dowager Sun raised her hand very casually, and then walked straight to Zhu Qiyu and said, "Emperor, the mourning family heard that the Tartars sent a peace mission, but is there such a thing?"

Hearing that it was about the peace mission, Zhu Qiyu's heart sank, he was really afraid of something.

"After returning to my mother, this is indeed the case."

"Then why don't you make peace with the Tartars and welcome the Emperor Taishang back to Beijing?"

"Now that the Tartars have retreated to the north, if it is too late, the Emperor Taishang will have to be exiled to the bitter cold land of Mobei, how can you bear it?"

The emperor's prevarication, the courtiers' perfunctory, these things are all in the eyes of the Empress Dowager Sun.

She understands the truth of a son of heaven and a courtier, but once Zhu Qizhen is taken to Mobei by the Tartars, it will undoubtedly be even more difficult to rescue him. Now that the Tartars are weak, they have taken the initiative to ask for their return, and when will they wait?

"The queen mother is a little restless, the son has already sent the Ministry of Rites to negotiate with the officials of Honglu Temple, and he will definitely welcome the imperial brother back to Beijing."

Zhu Qiyu hurriedly reassured, Yu Qian and other courtiers are still here, and the matter is big and will damage the royal face.

"This kind of saying has been heard countless times, and the Tartars have given the conditions for peace talks, as long as the Great Sima gives up the pursuit, they can send the Emperor Taishang Gong back, can't these conditions be agreed?"

Hearing the Empress Dowager Sun say this, Zhu Qiyu had some doubts in her heart, and she had just known about the conditions of peace first, how did the Empress Dowager know?

So he looked at Guo Jing on the side, looking at the other party's panicked expression, Zhu Qiyu understood the reason.

It's just that Zhu Qiyu still can't understand why he treats Guo Jing so well and asks him to return to Beijing to report on his work and be transferred to the palm seal of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, why do he still stand on the side of the Queen Mother and the Emperor Taishang?

"The queen mother, the Tatars are scheming, and they have deceived the court with the imperial brother many times before, so you must not be a cronie."

"How can the emperor know if he doesn't try? The mourning family saw that the Tartars were very sincere this time, and they even said that they were willing to lead the Emperor Taishang to the front of the two armies, as long as the soldiers and horses under the command of Da Sima suspended the pursuit for a few days, and let them return to Mobei safely, they could ensure the peaceful coexistence of the two countries! ”

"The queen mother, it's not that the sons don't want to try, but ......"

Just when Zhu Qiyu was about to continue to explain, Empress Dowager Sun's patience reached the extreme, and she angrily scolded: "Although the mourning family is not your biological mother, these treat you as your own, and the emperor even took into account the feelings of brotherhood and did not let you go out."

"As a great tomorrow, how can you be disloyal and unfilial!"

The word loyalty and filial piety was the absolute moral criterion in ancient times, and when Empress Dowager Sun said this, she was undoubtedly warning Zhu Qiyu that his actions were disloyal to the former emperor Zhu Qizhen and unfilial piety to his mother.

If this matter spreads, it will deal a great blow to Zhu Qiyu's prestige, and even the throne will be unstable. After all, Emperor Jingtai's legal system comes from Empress Dowager Sun's edict and Zhu Qizhen's edict.

"The queen mother is angry, and the son knows his mistake."

has no choice, Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu can only bow his head and admit his mistakes, otherwise he will be confirmed that he is disloyal and unfilial.

Seeing that Zhu Qiyu was soft, Empress Dowager Sun also changed her gentle tone and said: "The mourning family does not want to interfere in the government affairs, but after the Tatars retreat this time, the Emperor Taishang has to be in the bitter cold land of Mobei thousands of miles away, how can his body and bones hold on?"

"It can be regarded as a request from the mourning family to the emperor, agree to the peace conditions of the Tartars, and give up continuing to pursue and welcome back the emperor."

After that, Empress Dowager Sun even pulled up Emperor Jingtai's arm, and played the emotional card with a tearful look.

Empress Dowager Sun also knew that the longer Zhu Qiyu succeeded to the throne, the deterrent effect of her deposing the emperor would become less and less, until she finally lost this ability.

Blindly being tough will only make the emperor deviate from morality and speed up the pace of cultivating his own court power. Only by combining soft and hard can Zhu Qiyu be unable to refuse his request and welcome the Emperor Taishang back to Beijing as soon as possible.

Sure enough, in the face of Empress Dowager Sun's request, Zhu Qiyu could only look at Yu Qian on the side and said: "Da Sima, since the Tartars intend to let the Emperor Taishang return, if the situation is true, you can promise them to give up the pursuit."

"Your Majesty, the Tartars are obviously a delaying tactic, and their intentions are already very obvious, that is, the sword is aimed at Liaodong!"

The game between the emperor's mother and son, even if Yu Qian can understand it, he can only stand aside and cannot participate.

But if you really want to give up the pursuit, it is equivalent to letting the Tartars slaughter Liaodong. Counting Shen Yichen's galloping soldiers and horses, a full 80,000 Ming soldiers will be abandoned, can the Emperor Taishang compare to the entire Liaodong Metropolitan Division?

At the beginning, Yu Qian said loudly that the society is important, and the monarch is light, and now his concept is still the same, he can't make peace with the camp and give up the pursuit of the Tartars!

"I will order the soldiers and horses of Liaodong to abandon the siege and defend on the spot, the Tartars are not good at attacking the city, and winter is approaching, they cannot stay in Liaodong for a long time."

Zhu Qiyu's expression was full of helplessness, the originally planned siege of the Tartars was going to be stranded.

But in the face of the Queen Mother's request, as a son of man, he had to agree.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks ......"

Yu Qian still wants to argue with reason, the Tatars have experienced several siege wars over the years, and the experience has grown very fast, and the kind of Tucheng border fort in Liaodong is not as good as the nine-sided town and the Beijing Division, and it is not so easy to defend the city.

"Presumptuous, the emperor's order, does Da Sima still want to resist and disobey?"

Empress Dowager Sun saw that Yu Qian was still refusing, so she opened her mouth and scolded. The emperor has already promised to give up the pursuit, which round will get one of your courtiers to oppose it?

"Da Sima, take the order."

When Zhu Qiyu said this, he shook his head lightly at Yu Qian, signaling him not to disobey the Queen Mother forcefully.

Faced with such a situation, Yu Qian could only give up his hand and say: "Yes, the minister obeys the order."

"Let's go down."

"Minister, retire."

Yu Qian slowly withdrew from the Wuying Palace, glanced back at the backs of the emperor and the queen mother in the palace, and then took a deep breath, and walked towards the military camp outside the city with an unusually firm pace.

At this moment, he suddenly understood Shen Yichen a little bit why he didn't summon the army to Beijing in the first place.

Many times the fighter plane is in front of you, but you can't help yourself because of the law!

However, there is a saying from ancient times to the present, which is called the general who is not subject to the life of the king.

This time, Yu Qian not only understood Shen Yichen, but he also planned to follow Shen Yichen and pursue the Tartars without a call!