Chongzhen lowered his voice and said in a deep tone, as if he was answering himself, "Since I ascended to the pole, Dongyu has been in the prison four times. In the autumn of the ninth year, the captives invaded, Changping was lost, and the mausoleum was shocked. All courtiers should lie down and taste their courage and swear to avenge the country. However, just two years later, the captives drove in again and ravaged Gyeonggi. It seems that the internal strife is not ending, and the external troubles are getting worse, how can it be good?"

Yang Sichang hurriedly knelt down and replied: "As a soldier, Weichen can't stop the thieves and rebel against the captives, and he really deserves death." In the current situation, the only way to concentrate on the thieves is to pay the money to the captives. ”

The duel between the young man and the middle-aged uncle finally made a winning hand, and Chongzhen heard the word "peace in political terms" from Uncle Yang Sichang's mouth as he wished.

"I originally intended to summon the army of King Qin of the whole country to fight a decisive battle with the captives, but as soon as the thieves are not peaceful, the country will not be able to concentrate on the outside world. At present, the best policy is to hold on to the captives, and if they can be caressed, it is not impossible to caress them. Qing and Liao Fu Fang Yizao sent Zhou Yuanzhong to Manchuria to convey the court's wishes, do you already have a clue?"

"The minister has received a secret letter from Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong, today, saying that Zhou Yuanzhong has returned, Manchuria has been proud of repeated victories, and his attitude is arrogant, and he is afraid that my Celestial Empire will have different opinions, so he will not be appeased. ”

Chongzhen's heart suddenly swelled with a hot spring of disappointment, but he himself was a leader who had grown up for twenty years, so there was almost no outpouring to the outside world, and he only paused for a moment before asking, "What are you going to do?"

"The minister thinks that this matter is related to the safety of the country, and Zhou Yuanzhong should be sent to go again to tell the court in detail about the sincerity of the court's wishes. Yang Sichang, as the first assistant, is the most important minister who knows the emperor's heart, and he also feels that if he wants to consume national strength and do this hopeless battle, it is better to follow the road of first securing the inside of the country.

At this time, although the Chongzhen monarch and ministers were desperate in their hearts, they had not yet reached the decisive point between Ning and the foreign clan and the inner ghosts. First, Chongzhen is indeed the master of Zhongxing in the Ming Dynasty, and Yang Sichang is by no means a mediocre person. In terms of military and cultural talents, the Ming Dynasty can be said to be the best in ancient and modern times; in terms of scientific and economic development alone, it is not something that a nation that is still drinking blood can look up to, but history has no definite formula or theorem.

"Will there be any leaks?" Chongzhen asked his Shoufu carefully

Yang Sichang is an experienced old driver, he didn't dare to hide all the truth like Gao Qiqian, he decided to tell a little truth, leaving himself a step back: "Because Zhou Yuanzhong is a blind man, he travels to and from Liaodong on weekdays and sells divination for business, so he sent him forward, thinking that he could avoid the doubts of outsiders." But somehow, there are already some rumors in the capital now......"

"How did it get out?" Chongzhen was a little surprised, and at the same time a little angry.

"Although there are some rumors in the capital, no one knows the real situation! As long as Your Majesty is determined and does not let the ministers obstruct the plan......

Chongzhen intercepted the words of the first assistant Yang Sichang, "No matter what, you should strive for confidentiality and not let the outer court know." ”

"The minister must be doubly careful. Yang Sichang's head hung lower

"Someone in the official said in the recital: 'Whenever it involves border affairs, the newspaper is not allowed to copy and transmit, and the people of the city are all secretive about border affairs. 'Why ban plagiarism?'

The Di Bao mentioned by Chongzhen is also known as Di Bao. There are also called court newspapers, article newspapers, and miscellaneous newspapers, which are news copies specially used for the imperial court to disseminate documents and political information about the government and government. According to historical records, the counties of the Han Dynasty and the feudal towns of the Tang Dynasty all set up "residences" in Beijing, and their role is equivalent to that of today's news agencies in Beijing, focusing on conveying the news of the government.

Di Bao was originally copied by the imperial court, and then posted at the palace gate, and copied by the public, so it is also called the palace gate copy or the Yuan door copy, which is actually the earliest way of news release, is the official newspaper of the ancient hand-copied. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, woodblock printing was used, and in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, it was changed to movable type printing to publish the contents of the edict, the song, and the Tang newspaper.

There was a hint of uncertainty in Yang Sichang's words, "I'm afraid that some of them are related to the peace talks, and some of them are military secrets, so it is inconvenient to pass them on." ”

"Anything that involves secrets is not allowed to be copied or transmitted, and if there is a newspaper between the lines, why is it not allowed to be copied and transmitted? It is not allowed to be copied at all, because it will make everyone suspicious," Chongzhen said.

"What the emperor saw was extreme. ”

Chongzhen sighed and said: "Now that the captives have come to the city, and there are rumors in the capital, it seems that the matter of making money has to be carried out slowly." ”

After a pause, he suddenly stared at Yang Sichang's face worriedly, and asked softly, "Can Lu Xiangsheng agree with the discussion?"

The minister has not yet seen Xiangsheng, and I don't know if he agrees. When he comes to see His Majesty tomorrow, His Majesty may wish to ask him in person and listen to his opinion; if Xiang Sheng also advocates the payment of money, even if there are people in the court who oppose it, his power will be small. Yang Sichang's words are still scheming, in fact, in his heart, he thinks that those who are different from the line are almost all courtiers who are not very important, and Lu Xiangsheng, who is obviously deeply favored by the country, is no longer among them.

Chongzhen nodded to show that he understood, he felt that the ministers of the foreign court had put a lot of invisible pressure on him on this issue, and he was worried that even Yang Sichang would not be able to understand his eagerness to negotiate peace with Manchuria, so he said: "I didn't advocate making money in the first place, but I had no choice but to fight every year, and there was a constant famine, and there was a shortage of soldiers and salaries, and I couldn't get out of the outside, so I had to temporarily pay money to the Dongyu. Once the civil strife is calmed down and the hands are free, you can make a big attack on the eastern captives. It's a pity that the ministers of the outer court don't know how much I am suffering!"

"Your Majesty's plan is far-reaching, and naturally it is not something that ordinary ministers can understand. However, if the matter is done, the benefit is in the community, and it is obvious to all, and those who are in an uproar today will be speechless at that time. Yang Sichang is well aware of the difficult state affairs, and he agrees with Chongzhen's national policy.

"I wish it could be so. Chongzhen's expression returned to normal

"In the past, there were not many opponents of the proposal for my answer? When the payment was completed, I was awarded the title of Shunyi Hou, and the tribute and horse exchanged markets, and from then on there was nothing to do, and the imperial court had to relieve the northwest border trouble, and use troops to Donghu, and everyone knew that the payment for me was a plan, and today's things are similar to the past. Yang Sichang is a well-educated man, and he also hopes to follow the old rules and let the dying Ming regain the dawn.

"It's very true. Chongzhen deeply felt that "I am not alone!", he was very pleased that he had such a first-hand assistant who focused on the overall situation.

(End of chapter)