Ming politicians

(Thanks to pattonhz for voting for the precious monthly ticket, and thank you for choosing to take the middle route without being left or right, and the moonlight is frosty as a reward, thank you.)

Yang Sichang had just returned to the mansion, and while he was still changing clothes, the housekeeper spoke outside, saying that there was something urgent to report, Yang Sichang was a little strange, such a thing had never happened before, even if it was a very urgent matter, The butler wouldn't be in such a hurry.

After changing his clothes, he walked out of the room. Yang Sichang's expression was not very good, and the housekeeper's face turned pale, but he still spoke in a low voice.

"Master, there is a guest coming to visit, but the younger one refused. The guest insisted on leaving a letter, saying that it was a very urgent matter involving the court and the master. The younger one was very anxious, so he disturbed the master."

The butler held the letter in his hand and stood there without moving.

Yang Sichang looked at the butler, a little strange and a little surprised. After becoming the chief assistant of the cabinet, many people came to visit the mansion, and the butler had seen the world, so he wouldn't be so gaffe. identities, but also know that things may be unusual.

It's inappropriate to speak outside the house. Since the butler has such an attitude, it means that things must be unusual. Yang Sichang didn't say anything, but went straight to the study, and the butler followed behind.

After entering the study, Yang Sichang spoke.

"Tell me, who is it that came to visit?"

"Master, the person who came here said he was representing Lord Su Tiancheng. The little one was very surprised and rejected the person's request."

Yang Sichang's complexion changed. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he needs to tell the housekeeper who can and cannot be contacted.Sometimes there is no need to explain the reason, and sometimes it is necessary to explain the reason. For example, when it comes to Su Tiancheng's matter, it must be clearly stated. This involves vital interests, so that the housekeeper does not know.Contacting them hastily caused huge troubles, besides, the emperor kept a close eye on the civil and military ministers, Jin Yiwei and Dongchang's fans were not vegetarians.Especially after Su Tiancheng's incident happened, the emperor strengthened his surveillance on the civil and military ministers.

The letter was placed on the table, Yang Sichang thought for a while, and then spoke.

"Go and tell the concierge, I'm a little tired today, and I don't want to see anyone."

The butler bowed his head and agreed.Exited the study.

Yang Sichang opened the letter and looked at it seriously.

Watching and watching, Yang Sichang's expression changed again. He stood up and walked around in the study, muttering something, not knowing what to say.

Not long after, Yang Sichang read the letter.He stayed where he was, and began to meditate.The time for contemplation was not long.

Next, Yang Sichang picked up the letter again and read it carefully, this time very quickly.

After reading the letter again, Yang Sichang began to pace the study, lost in thought.

After a quarter of an hour.Yang Sichang took the letter decisively, walked up to the oil lamp, hesitated a little, and lit the letter.

The butler entered the study.

"Get ready and invite Mr. Lu Shanji to come to me. Don't let anyone see it. Don't mention the letter to anyone. Understand."

The butler nodded again and again. I don't know if what he did today is good or bad. The butler has always been worried. Seeing that the master didn't lose his temper, his heart has already fallen. As for things that are kept secret, even if the master doesn't entrust them Absolutely not talking nonsense, besides, the master's entrustment is so serious, it must be a big deal.

After the butler went out, Yang Sichang fell into deep thought again.

Soon, Lu Shanji came.

Since he became an official, Lu Shanji had nothing to do. He was planning to go back to his hometown, but unfortunately the emperor did not allow him and asked him to stay in the capital. The sacred order must not be violated, and Lu Shanji had no choice.From the position of Minister of the Ministry of War, he became an unemployed person all of a sudden, and the gap was not small. He fully felt the snobbish habit in the officialdom.

Lu Shanji knew very well why he became an official. It was because Su Tiancheng, including Jin Wang Zhu Shenxuan, was under house arrest, let alone himself.But Lu Shanji thought to himself that he had never done anything to offend the emperor and the court, so it didn't matter.

In his free time, Lu Shanji often thought of Sun Chengzong, who had passed away for a long time, and how much Sun Chengzong attached to Su Tiancheng. It was an extraordinary importance. Isn't it strange that Master Sun even entrusted his family to Su Tiancheng.Lu Shanji never believed that Su Tiancheng would rebel, but now, he had to think about this issue. Maybe Mr. Sun Chengzong had already thought about this issue, but he just didn't say it.

Just now when Yang Sichang's housekeeper came to the mansion, Lu Shanji was very surprised, but he didn't waste time. After packing up, he followed the housekeeper and set off. He entered Yang Sichang's mansion and walked through the side door. This made Lu Shanji feel a little lost.

Straight into the study, Lu Shanji cupped his fists, ready to salute Yang Sichang.

Yang Sichang walked up to Lu Shanji and grabbed him.

"Brother Lu, this is at home, don't be so polite, I invite you here today, I have something to discuss with you."

"Your Excellency is busy with all kinds of affairs, pretending to be the important affairs of the family and the country. I'm afraid it's hard for me to have any good ideas and opinions."

Regarding Lu Shanji's words of complaint, Yang Sichang didn't care at all. To say that he, the chief minister of the cabinet, was directly recommended by Mr. Sun Chengzong. Mr. Sun Chengzong is optimistic about Lu Shanji, and his relationship with Lu Shanji is also very good Yes, when Lu Shanji was in trouble, he needed to take action, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about what happened to Lu Shanji.

"Brother Lu, I, Ming Dynasty, won great victories in Gaizhou and Liaodong, and wiped out more than [-] post-gold tartars. You have already guided this matter. I don't want to say more, but I thought of something After thinking about it, I feel that I will definitely get a good idea if I discuss it with you."

Complaints are complaints, but when it comes to business, Lu Shanji will not be ambiguous. He is a Mongolian with a bold personality and is not used to yin and yang.

"Whatever comes to mind, my lord, as long as I can make suggestions, I will definitely know everything."

"Thank you, Brother Lu. Let's take a look at this map. Now my Ming occupies Guangning, Xiping Fort, and the south of the Liaohe River. All of them are under my direct control. Fuzhou, Xuanzhou and Gaizhou are also under my control. , the Haizhou and Yaozhou occupied by the Hou Jin Tartars are in danger, as long as we, Ming Dynasty, launch an attack, the Hou Jin Tartars will find it difficult to resist."

Lu Shanji smiled.

"My lord, not only Haizhou and Yaozhou, but also Liaoyang and Shenyang are in danger. The Houjin Tartars suffered heavy losses in Gaizhou and Liaodong. They cannot recover in a short time. This is the best opportunity. My Ming Dynasty crossed the Liaohe River in one go and threatened Shenyang directly. At the same time, I continued to hold fast in the direction of Gaizhou. I was not in a hurry to take Haizhou and Yaozhou. For the safety of Shenyang, the Houjin Tatars will definitely shrink their troops. I can't keep it any longer."

"Brother Lu, I think so too, presumably Su Tiancheng will think so too."

Speaking of Su Tiancheng, the study quickly fell silent.

Yang Sichang laughed at himself, it was indeed inappropriate to mention Su Tiancheng in front of Lu Shanji, and Lu Shanji would definitely not comment on it, so he could only keep his mouth shut.

"I made a slip of the tongue, brother Lu, don't think too much, what kind of decision will Huang Taiji make in such a situation, these days, I have been thinking about this matter. Given such a huge loss, what choice would you make?"

"That's needless to say, the best way is to stop the conquest. I, Ming, don't attack anymore, so that the post-gold Tartars can have a chance to breathe, gather strength, and heal their wounds."

Yang Sichang nodded with a more serious expression.

"That's right, but I, Daming, have already launched an attack, how can I stop it?"

"It's not complicated. If it were me, I would try every means to shake hands with Daming, even if I bowed my head and surrendered. Huang Taiji has done this before, and it's not impossible to do it again."

"Brother Lu thinks, if the Hou Jin Tartars really bowed their heads and proclaimed themselves ministers, would the court accept it?"

"It depends on how you say it. If you bow your head and surrender according to the previous request, it will have no effect. It will just waste time. Master Yang, are you trying to listen to me and tell the truth?"

"Of course I hope Brother Lu will tell the truth."

"My truth is also very clear. This kind of situation cannot happen. It is impossible for the post-gold tartars to bow their heads and proclaim themselves as ministers. They have already established the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji proclaimed the emperor, and established the crown prince. It is obvious that they want to They want to destroy my Ming Dynasty and aspire to the Central Plains, and the later gold is the world of the Manchus. The Manchus and nobles have already made clear their goals. Do you believe that they will surrender? If there is only one possibility of surrender, that is to hand over the army. This step, you can believe, the rest are useless."

Yang Sichang nodded. Lu Shanji had served as Minister of the Ministry of War for a long time, and after analyzing it many times, what the Golden Tatars said must be reasonable, and after careful consideration, it was completely credible.

Seeing that Yang Sichang didn't speak, Lu Shanji spoke again.

"What's the matter, does your lord think that the Houjin Tartars may want to negotiate peace and ask to bow their heads and surrender."

"I have such a guess."

"My lord, let me tell you the truth. It is absolutely impossible to allow the Houjin Tatars to negotiate peace at this time. No matter how sincere the Houjin Tatars are, they will not be able to negotiate peace. The plan for the present is to do everything in one go. Destroying the Houjin Tartars and the regime of the Houjin, this is the most sensible choice. If you accept the peace talks with the Houjin Tartars, I can affirm that those who threaten my Ming court in the future, or even those who aspire to the Central Plains, will definitely It's the post-gold tartar."

Yang Sichang nodded, agreeing with Lu Shanji's conjecture. In fact, he did not agree to accept the peace talks between the Houjin Tartars, but he would not say the reason for this. The letter that was just burned was written by Su Tiancheng himself. Yes, what we are talking about is that the Houjin Tartars are likely to propose peace talks at this time, proposing to bow their heads and bow their heads. Su Tiancheng is worried that the court will eagerly accept the request of the Houjin Tartars in order to divert attention from doing other things. matter.As for what to do, Yang Sichang knew it well. (to be continued..)