Xie Ming

The north wind howled across the south bank, filling the palace with a deathly stillness.

Despite his ailing health, Emperor Hongguang mingled among his ministers, secretly determined to issue a decree to urgently summon Xiao Jun back to the capital to defend against the northern enemy and block the Yangtze River.

However, recently, the officials in the court have been terrified by the overwhelming force of the Jurchen army.

Moreover, they came to protect their clans and homes but not to serve their country. Each harbored their own selfish motives, and public sentiment was boiling. They all wanted to submit surrender documents to avoid the calamity of war.

Given this public opinion, even though Zhu Cilang was still the supreme ruler, the Southern Party was ultimately too powerful, making it difficult to openly break ties and thus further complicating the internal strife.

Therefore, the palace council was deadlocked. The young emperor wanted to break the deadlock, so he had no choice but to grab the newly promoted Zeng Jishi and press him with harsh words, hoping to force him to give in and create an opening.

However, this person is indecisive and avoids the important issues.

Seeing that it was the emperor's message, he changed the subject and tried to protect himself.

Driven to desperation, Zhu Cilang, having failed to win the game, turned his anger to the point and confronted Zhu Cilang directly.

"Cough, cough cough cough."

"Bastard!"

"That's all nonsense!"

"Former subordinates from Chuzhou?"

"Can those ten thousand old and weak people hold off the Jurchens?"

"At that time, I listened to your advice and mobilized more than 100,000 troops from the four garrisons of Huaibei to garrison the Shandong and Huaibei areas."

What do you say?

"With such a strong and powerful army in Jianghuai, capable of defending the north, there will be no worries in Jiangnan."

"And what will it all amount to in the end?"

"It's fine if we can't win the battle."

"It's hateful that those two Lius sent tens of thousands of troops to defect to the enemy!"

"Nowadays, the enemy's strength is growing larger and larger."

"The Jurchen vanguard's swords and spears are almost at my pillow, and you, Zeng Ji, are still pretending to be confused in the palace, trying to fool me with old, weak, and disabled soldiers?"

"Do you think I'm some three-year-old child who can be easily fooled?!"

Emperor Hongguang was furious, his face turned purple, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He pointed at Zeng Ji, the Vice Minister of War, and berated him.

In an instant, having incurred the wrath of the Holy One, Ye immediately knelt down on the ground.

Zeng Ji, now in his forties, was filled with trepidation as he rose to prominence in the imperial court.

His expression shifted several times as he waited for the words of the Hadith to be spoken.

Suddenly, his son's eyes narrowed.

"Your Majesty is right! This humble subject deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

"Your Majesty, I have figured it out."

"This battle is a matter of life and death for the nation."

"Given the current situation, in order to safeguard Nanjing, the only option is to urgently summon the troops of the Duke of Jingguo stationed in Jiujiang to return east and resist the Qing army from the north!"

After saying this, he put on a solemn face and kowtowed to the ground.

Zeng Ji, cunning and calculating, never acted until he saw the benefit.

He is the kind of person who appears upright and dignified with his thick eyebrows and large eyes.

However, in reality, this is the most hypocritical thing about him. He has no principles to speak of and is exactly the kind of old political scoundrel he is.

The reason for this deliberate provocation of the emperor's anger is to put on a show for the Southern Party's enemies and Ma's faction.

After all, he was caught in the middle, unable to find a way out.

After this commotion, and with the emperor's rebuke, they would no longer dare to provoke the Southern Party.

He never cared about who was right or wrong, who was in the wrong.
They gritted their teeth and tried to survive in the cracks, but it was all for their own selfish reasons to get through the ordeal.

"Pooh!"

"Zeng Ji, you hypocritical and fickle villain, so obsequious to the emperor's will and disregarding the safety of the nation, what are your true intentions?"

Unexpectedly, Ma Shiying was the first to point out this move, and with a flick of his sleeve, he prepared to refute it.

Judging from his posture, how could he not know that this was the intention of the Hongguang Emperor?

Then the man glared at Zeng Ji, cursed a couple of times, and then ignored him, turning to face Zhu Cilang.

"emperor!"

"Martial artists should not be trusted lightly!"

"This Duke of Jingguo previously owned the land of Henan, where he raised tens of thousands of soldiers."

"Later, when Zuo Liangyu rebelled in Hubei, he was involved in the battles of Jiujiang and Anqing. According to reports, he actually swallowed up more than 100,000 of the rebel troops."

"Now that they have a large army in their hands, they have become arrogant and self-important." "But if we allow them to advance eastward, I'm afraid..." He turned his head and also mentioned Zeng Ji.

“Zeng Ji!”

"You're in the Ministry of War, how could you not know such inside information?"

"With just a few words, you dare to call it an invasion?"

“The likes of Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, and Zuo Liangyu serve as a warning to others.”

"But it turns out that the person followed in the footsteps of the treacherous and wicked."

"The aid from the East is a pretense; the real intention is to launch a pincer attack from both inside and outside."

"Right now, who will you send to control Nanjing and the entire Jiangnan region?"

"Aren't you worried the situation isn't chaotic enough? Huh?!"

"His heart is to be killed!"

"This is incomprehensible!"

Ma Shiying was making veiled accusations, his fiery temper flaring up. Given the current situation, he had no one to hold back and was attacking recklessly.

Upon seeing this and hearing these words, Zhu Cilang felt a surge of anger rising in his chest, which intensified his cough, causing him to cough uncontrollably for a moment.

"Cough, cough cough, cough cough cough."

Immediately, a flurry of activity appeared around the bed.

But Ma Shiying refused to back down and instead deliberately pressed forward, making his words clear.

"emperor!"

"Your Majesty!"

Five hundred years ago, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty concluded the Shaoxing and Longxing Peace Treaties with the Jin army, relying on the economic advantages of the Jiangnan region.

"Thus, half of the ancestral land was preserved, extending the dynasty's reign for over 150 years."

"Given the current state of public sentiment, the Tartar enemy forces have reached the river mouth and are unstoppable!"

"Even if we urgently summon Xiao's army to the east, I'm afraid they will be unable to withstand it."

“Once we are completely defeated, we will be beset by internal and external troubles, and the peace agreement between our Great Ming and the Jurchens will be completely null and void.”

"Now that things have completely fallen apart, how can we possibly salvage the situation?"

"emperor!"

"Since ancient times, one must first secure internal stability before resisting external aggression."

"You must not act rashly out of momentary courage, lest you jeopardize the three-hundred-year foundation of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

After speaking, Ma Shiying, in his impassioned manner, even imitated a loyal and upright minister, kneeling down on the ground with his back ramrod straight.

"What nonsense!"

As expected, at this critical juncture, Li Shichun, the Minister of Rites on the other side, decisively stepped forward and refuted the accusations.

“Ma Shiying, you are so distorting the truth and defying slander. I want to ask you, what exactly are you trying to do?”

"Humph!"

"Follow the example of the Southern Song Dynasty?"

"Don't forget, even when the Southern Song Dynasty surrendered, it was only after Yue Fei and Yue Pengju raised troops to resist the Jin and gained a great advantage that they had a chance to turn the tide."

"Emperor Gaozong and Qin Hui discarded the millstone after it had served its purpose, advocating for peace talks. The signed document was obtained only with the blood of soldiers on the front lines!"

"Given the current situation, Shandong and Huaibei have been completely lost."

"Completely lost!"

"Huang Degong, whom you all promoted and supported, is utterly useless."

"Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing were even more likely to defect in the face of battle."

"That's why the situation has turned out like this."

"The culprit is undoubtedly responsible, and you, Ma Shiying, are partly to blame."

"Humph!"

"At this point, what time is it already? And you're already thinking of following precedent and talking about peace talks?!"

"I bother!"

"Idiot's dream!"

Li Shichun immediately rebuked the person in court.

(End of this chapter)