Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 26 Night Attack
Ni Yuanlu didn't understand the difference between the two sentences.

But he didn't delve into it.

As long as the rebel army is willing to negotiate, it will be a life-saving straw for the current Ming Dynasty!

Fearing that his majesty would refuse to negotiate because of those false reputations and face, Ni Yuanlu came here specifically to persuade Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, whatever the rebellion's demands, we will meet them. I have privately consulted Duke Ying, and he says that in just ten days, the 200,000-man Guanning Army will arrive, and the 800,000-man army from the four Jiangbei garrisons and Ningnan Earl Zuo Liangyu will arrive in just over a month."

"When the time comes, the heavenly soldiers will gather and will surely annihilate the rebels!"

"Your Majesty, do not put the world in danger of collapse for the sake of temporary respectability!"

Faced with Ni Yuanlu's almost pleading persuasion, Zhu Youjian nodded slowly.

"Don't worry, Lord Ni, I won't act on impulse."

Of course he wants to talk, not only talk, but also talk a lot!
He had analyzed the situation since he came here.

In his previous life, when Li Zicheng was besieging the capital, he also sent people to negotiate with Chongzhen. Li Zicheng only wanted half of the western half of the country, the title of King of the Great West, and three million taels of silver as financial aid, and he would withdraw his troops to fight Huang Taiji.

Unfortunately, Chongzhen really had no money at that time and could not afford to pay three million taels. Li Zicheng did not even wait and entered the capital the next day.

If it were Zhu Youjian now, he would never negotiate with Li Zicheng about three million taels of silver.

If it is given out, wouldn’t it be telling Li Zicheng clearly that the capital is empty but rich, so come and attack.

He has to use all this silver to draw entries, and then use the entries to continue confronting Li Zicheng!

Otherwise, without soldiers and money, even if Li Zicheng really retreated, he would not be able to deal with the military leaders and the Donglin Party.

Seeing that Zhu Youjian was so easy to talk to, Ni Yuanlu became uneasy.

To be on the safe side, he decided to go into battle himself.

"Your Majesty, I, as the Minister of Rites, should be in charge of this negotiation with the rebels."

It’s a pity that Zhu Youjian didn’t give him this opportunity.

"Since Lord Ni is devoted to the country, then call all the ministers and have a good talk with the rebel envoy."

……

Sunset West Mountain.

The night watch drum of Youshi was sounded in the Forbidden City.

Under the coiled dragon caisson in the Qianqing Hall, Ni Yuanlu's hands, holding the ivory tablet, trembled slightly.

It's not cold, it's angry.

"Become the king of the northwest, receive a million yuan annually, and split the land at Tongguan." The shrill voice of Du Xun, the former eunuch supervising the army in Xuanfu and now the envoy of the rebel army, echoed between the beams and pillars, and the four-clawed dragon on the gold-inlaid python robe was coated with a layer of light in the twilight.

Whether it was the enthronement of the king in the northwest or the granting of territories, all of them were madly hitting the bottom line of this old Confucian.

But he didn't dare to vent his anger at all, for fear of angering Du Xun, who was relying on his power, and thus affecting the overall situation.

Perhaps sensing the ministers' restraint, Du Xun paused deliberately, "My king requires another five million silver coins as rewards for the army, to be paid in cash."

Zhu Youjian sat on the dragon throne with a smile on his face. He did not answer Du Xun's request, but looked at the ministers below.

This time he only summoned a few representative ministers, including Ni Yuanlu from the loyal emperor faction, Zhang Shize representing the nobles, Zhang Fengxiang representing the old officials, and Wu Xiang representing the military leaders.

There are only a few other officials in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

This time, he wanted to use the opportunity of negotiation to seemingly unite the court.

At least several senior officials have to stand on the same line.

Simply put, it is to use Li Zicheng's negotiations to set the main tone of the future court.

Otherwise, if it continues like it is now, with some saying talk and some saying fight, it will be easy for his orders not to be carried out properly.

By the way, let’s also take a look at the interests pursued by each faction.

The emperor remained silent, and among the ministers, Duke Ying was the first to lose his composure. "Eunuch Du," Zhang Shize suddenly chuckled. "In the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, you were the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Administration. You embezzled 400 war horses and sold them to Xuanfu. How many cuts of flesh should you have suffered according to the law?"

Du Xun was not at all panicked and snorted arrogantly at Zhang Shize.

"Duke Yingguo, the Ming Dynasty law does not allow the execution of officials from other courts!"

"Believe it or not, if I die here today, the Heavenly King will be able to break through the city gate tomorrow and execute your entire family!"

Zhang Shize's face suddenly turned dark blue, and the veins on his hand holding the sword bulged. "Du, old dog, you are tired of living!"

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Ni Yuanlu took a deep breath and hurried out.

"Your Majesty, the rebels' demands are harsh, but they are acceptable. After all, there are no royal troops west of Tongguan."

After saying this, he glanced at Zhang Fengxiang, and the Minister of Works and Revenue immediately said, "I second the motion."

"Stupid!" Zhang Shize's sword hit the gilded pillar with a clanging sound.

Even if this group of ministers joined the rebel army, they could live happily, but these Ming Dynasty nobles would be finished.

"During the Tumu Incident, Yesen sent envoys to negotiate peace." He was interrupted by Wu Xiang before he could finish his words. "This is a different time now! Li Ni's army has arrived. There is absolutely no reason for peace talks. This must be Li Ni's treacherous plot! He wants us to let down our guard and wait for an opportunity to capture the city!"

He deliberately emphasized the last two words and glanced at the throne.

Ni Yuanlu and Zhang Fengxiang started arguing again, "Does General Wu want to kill His Majesty?!"

"You old dog! Have you even disregarded the country for the sake of military achievements?!"

"Corrupt scholar." Wu Xiang uttered these two words lightly.

The two civil officials were almost defeated and their faces turned red.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian could only speak out to stop everyone.

Then he looked at Du Xun and said, "I know what Li Zicheng means. Go back and tell him that if he wants to negotiate, he must show sincerity. Let him think carefully. My Ming Dynasty still has some assets. If he doesn't seize the opportunity now, he may not even be able to work as a postman in the future."

Du Xun rolled his eyes and was about to say something when dozens of Jinyiwei rushed in from the open side door, looking at him with ill intentions.

Zhu Youjian said at the right moment, "I have raised you for so many years. Even if I kill you, Li Zicheng won't say anything."

Du Xun shuddered under the blade of the Jinyiwei, and the words on his lips turned into, "In accordance with the emperor's order..."

……

When Du Xun left, the hall fell silent again.

Zhu Youjian rubbed the paperweight in his hand and looked at the ministers again.

"Just tell me what you want to say."

Song Ye, the head of the Ministry of Rites, was at the end of the list of civil officials, clutching his memorial tightly. He was not qualified to make suggestions in such an occasion.

But no one seemed to be talking, and even if they did, they were just criticizing each other.

This young man, who had just been transferred to the Ministry of Rites last year for his outstanding performance as a county magistrate, spent 1,400 taels of silver. He realized that this was his chance!

An opportunity to rise to prominence!

He glanced around, gritted his teeth, and walked out of the queue.

"Your Majesty, I inspected the Taicang warehouse last night and found less than 80,000 taels of silver." He paused. "If I agree to the rebels' request, then there will be no place to get the 3 million taels of silver. If the rebels don't see the silver, they will become suspicious."

"Regardless of whether Chuang Ni would collect the money and leave, and whether Li Chuang was willing to do so, even those thieves who rebelled against him, seeing the prosperity of the capital and the throne within their grasp, how could they be willing to give up such a good opportunity?"

"If we agree to negotiate with Li Zicheng, the morale of the capital army will be completely destroyed. If Li Zicheng changes his mind, or the Chenqiao incident happens again, how can the capital army stop him?"

Zhu Youjian's expression finally changed.

Song Ye took the opportunity to take three steps forward and said, "Listen, gentlemen. I have counted the troops and horses that have invaded the camp and the amount of food consumed is countless every day. If I send 500 death warriors to burn the food tonight, even if I fail, it will at least make them suspect that I have more strength than I need."

After saying this, he turned to Zhu Youjian and bowed deeply. "As long as we can arouse their suspicion, and since the capital is a world-renowned city, they will not dare to attack it due to fear of heavy casualties. They will definitely negotiate with me. Then, we can just ask for a change of envoys every day and negotiate the terms repeatedly. Once the royal armies arrive, the rebellion will be defeated without a fight!"

(End of this chapter)