Take a plane to the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 326 Selected

The battle report ahead came one by one, and Chongzhen lay down on the chair listlessly, looking up at the beams of the house, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Wang Cheng'en, who was next to him, dutifully sorted out all the memorials and read them to him one by one.

The emperor just listened and never gave any instructions.

The entire platform hall was quiet, not that there was no one there.

All the officials knelt down below without omission, but no one dared to speak loudly.

"Liaodong, it's over!"

After a long time, Chongzhen said four words, then lowered his head slightly, looked at the crowd with distracted eyes.

"The elite of the nine sides will be destroyed at once."

Said a word, sighed, and in the end, Emperor Chongzhen almost lost any strength.

"Wang Chengen, help me up, I want to go outside!"

Wang Chengen gently placed the memorial in his hand on the table, then helped up the confused Emperor Chongzhen, led him down the stairs little by little, and walked out of the main hall door.

The sun was shining outside the door, and the autumn wind was blowing slightly. The withered and yellow leaves on the trees on both sides in front of the hall rustled with the wind.

"It's autumn!"

Chongzhen squinted his eyes, and leaned his tired head on a big red pillar beside him. The red pillar hadn't been renovated for a long time, and the paint leather on it was damaged piece by piece, making it look old and mottled.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's autumn!" Wang Chengen replied with his head down, looking at the cool autumn wind outside, he motioned to the maid next to him.

The court lady brought a set of thin long gowns for the emperor to put on.

"En!" Chongzhen looked at the withered garden under the platform under the autumn sun, nodded slightly, and stopped talking, but was alone in endless silence, silently watching the quiet scene , looking at the urchins laughing outside.

There are men and women among the urchins, and they are all his children.

The platform is the dividing line between the outer court and the inner palace, and it is on a high place. It is not unusual to look up and see the situation in the inner palace.

"Your Majesty, the prince is here!"

Wang Chengen said softly to the emperor who had almost turned into a sculpture.

"Oh!" Turning his head and looking at the 12-year-old prince, Chongzhen showed a rare kind smile on his face, stretched out his hand to touch the prince's head, and said, "Brother Lang, I haven't seen you for more than half a year. I've grown taller."

Zhu Cihong took Chongzhen's arm, looked at his father's pale hair, and said: "Father works hard for the court every day, and my child feels uncomfortable seeing it."

"Don't feel bad, in the future, you will be like this too!" With a wry smile, he simply asked Wang Chengen to move a stool, then sat on it himself, sighed and said: "Your grandfather and uncle left me a broken country, I Originally, I thought I would pass it on to you after I took care of it, but, alas... one generation is not as good as the next generation!"

"Father!" Zhu Cihong wanted to say something more, Chongzhen waved his hand to stop him, and said: "Stop talking, I am tired of the affairs of the court these days, come, let me have a good talk with you, talk about Dr. Li today What kind of homework did I give you?"

Chongzhen wanted to enjoy a little family happiness, but he never thought that just after he dragged his eldest son to his side, a servant came to report.

"Your Majesty, urgent report!"

Wang Chengen took it over to present the play, and Emperor Chongzhen just glanced at it, then suddenly felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, spit out a mouthful of blood, and then lost consciousness when his eyes went dark.

Wang Cheng'en, the crown prince and all the ministers rushed up to lift the emperor to the dragon bed in the side hall. Then, the imperial physician rushed in and began to see a doctor.

The emperor didn't have a serious problem, but he had a lot of affairs recently, he was exhausted, he didn't sleep for many days, his body was weak, his nerves were stimulated again just after reading the memorial, he suddenly had a seizure and passed out.

After hearing the news, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the emperor is fine. If the emperor dies, if the 12-year-old prince succeeds to the throne, the Ming Empire will really perish.

Two hours later, it was already mid-afternoon. Emperor Chongzhen woke up leisurely. He opened his eyes and saw his son Zhu Cihong first. , father is doing well!"

"Father, are you awake?" Zhu Cihong hurriedly wiped away tears.

"En!" Chongzhen sat up with the eunuch's support, squinted at the bright light outside the window, waved his finger, and said, "Prince, and Cheng En, help me out, I want to bask in the sun."

After leaving the side hall and arriving at the main hall, seeing the officials and concubines kneeling all over the floor, he couldn't help feeling a little angry, and said, "Why do you kneel on me, do you want me to return to heaven now?"

Angrily, he dragged the prince out of the palace, found a place with plenty of sunshine and no wind, called a few brawny ministers over, and said bluntly: "Just now I received the memorial. Then open the door and offer the city."

"There is no one left in Liaodong!"

"Your Majesty!" Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant of the cabinet, knelt down and said: "Hong Chengchou's grandson and his ilk, who have owed the holy favor, will die if they do many injustices. There will always be a day of self-destruction. However, my minister Guan Liaodong Wu Sangui is quite As a general, after the Battle of Songjin, the rest of the generals either died or surrendered, but Changbo stood firm at Shanhaiguan, which made it impossible for Huang Taiji to enter the pass, and I thought Changbo Wu could be of great use."

"Your Majesty!" Jiang Fengyuan also stood up and said: "Now that Liaodong is retreating and Hong Chengchou surrendered, no one can take care of the overall situation. Wu Sangui turned the tide when the army was defeated and guarded Shanhaiguan. I also think that the eldest uncle can be of great use."

What does it mean?
Needless to say, it is promotion, such as giving Wu Sangui a high official, such as the governor of Liaodong, the superintendent of Ji Liao. Moreover, Chongzhen knew in his heart that the only general in Liaodong who performed well was Wu Sangui.

But Wu Sangui absolutely cannot be the governor of Ji Liao.

why?
Because Zu Dashou surrendered to Huang Taiji and became a hero of the Qing Dynasty, it is impossible for the suspicious Emperor Chongzhen to use Wu Sangui as the governor of Jiliao.

Because Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui have a well-known kinship relationship in addition to their comrade-in-arms relationship.

Wu Sangui is Zu Dashou's nephew, Zu Dashou is Wu Sangui's uncle, dear!

"This matter is postponed..." After Chongzhen finished speaking, he coughed for a while.

The chief assistant of the cabinet, Xue Guoguan, suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the matter in Liaodong is urgent, and this matter cannot be delayed."

Chongzhen blushed for a while, coughed for a while again, and waved his hands at the ministers.

The crown prince Zhu Cihong on the side was furious, stood up and pointed at Xue Guoguan and said, "My father and emperor are ill, so why should we be forced to suffer? Master Ge, please wait for a moment!"

Xue Guoguan couldn't help but look at Zhu Cihong more, and it was inconvenient to be serious with this teenager who was only in his teens, so he only said four words, "This is a big deal!" and then stopped talking.

After Chongzhen coughed, he adjusted his breathing a little, and said: "It's okay, Xue Aiqing don't want to be offended!" While speaking, he stretched out his hand and pulled the prince Zhu Cihong behind him.

Unexpectedly, the little prince curled his lips angrily, pointed at Xue Guoguan and said: "My lord, my lord wants to impeach Xue Guoguan!"

"What?" Chongzhen was amused by the prince, laughed a few times, and said: "My son, you are still just a son, not a minister! Xue Aiqing is the pillar of the country, and it is only natural for the prince to share the worries of the emperor. Why did the prince impeach him?"

In Chongzhen's heart, he thought that the prince was dissatisfied with Xue Guoguan because of his poor health, but he didn't expect this guy to say something else: "If this guy hadn't provoke Junfu, how could my brother die young!"

What he said was exactly what Chongzhen asked Li Guorui, Marquis of Wuqing, to rely on.

After Chongzhen heard this, his heart seemed to be hit by something, and suddenly he felt flustered again.

"Cough cough!"

"Your Majesty!" Seeing the emperor coughing, Wang Chengen hurried over.

Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "It's okay, you send the crown prince to Ciqing Palace first, and order the ministers to come to the side hall to discuss the candidate for the governor of Jiliao."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Wang Chengen took the prince away, the trembling ministers in the main hall came out and entered the side hall one by one.

The emperor sat on the bed, his face as pale as paper, and when the ministers finished seeing the ceremony, he said: "Everyone loves you, the land of Liaodong is lost, Wu Sangui is alone in guarding Shanhaiguan in Gucheng, and it is difficult to last long. What's your opinion?"

Following Chongzhen's questioning, the officials below seemed to explode. Some said Wu Sangui was suitable, while others opposed it.

The reasons for saying he is suitable are basically the same, it is nothing more than fighting against Huang Taiji and defending the isolated city of Shanhaiguan alone.The reason for those who opposed was the same as what Emperor Chongzhen had in mind: he was Zu Dashou's nephew, and if he rebelled, Huang Taiji could lead his army directly to the capital.

After talking for a long time, no one put forward any constructive suggestions. Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help feeling a little annoyed. He was about to drive out the officials when he suddenly found a thin old man with his eyes squinted and silent standing in the corner of the side hall. Bright.

"Hou Aiqing, why didn't you say a word?" Emperor Chongzhen's eyes passed through the crowd and fell on the old man.

The old man's surname is Hou, and his name is Hou Xun. He was born in Shangqiu, Henan.

The reason why Chongzhen's eyes lit up when he saw this guy was because he thought of this guy's ability: knowing people.

Hou Xun himself doesn't have any outstanding talents, but there is one thing, his vision is very accurate.

For example, when he met Yuan Dudu for the first time, Yuan Dudu was still a little-known official, and then he recommended Yuan Chonghuan to guard the frontier in Liaodong, and later became the famous Yuan Dudu.

When he saw Zuo Liangyu for the first time, Zuo Liangyu was serving as a soldier under him, uh, no, Zuo Liangyu was just a handyman under him, responsible for cleaning up the kitchen of Mr. Hou, however, Mr. Hou was promoted Zuo Liangyu was a general, and later Zuo Liangyu fought in the South and the North, and Zhang Xianzhong was beaten so badly that he couldn't take care of himself.

Such a person with a unique vision has not said a word until now, Chongzhen felt that it was necessary to ask his opinion.

Hou Xun was personally questioned by the emperor, and could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb. He sighed, knelt on the ground and said, "I would like to ask Rong Chen, does your Majesty want to keep Jianlu out of the pass, or to subdue Liaodong?"

After hearing this, Chongzhen's eyes lit up, and he said, "How do you say it?"

Hou Xun didn't dare to show off under the emperor's nose, and said truthfully: "If you want to guard Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui is enough, and I think he will not rebel."

Why not, Hou Xun said the simplest truth: Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, lives in the capital, is he with his father or his uncle?
Chongzhen couldn't help laughing, secretly thought yes, why didn't many people think of this level?

"Then, what if I want to regain Liaodong?" Chongzhen asked again, full of hope.

Hou Xun said: "Although Daming is great, but if it wants to regain Liaodong, I'm afraid there is only one person in the world who can do it."

Hou Xun said this and stopped talking. Emperor Chongzhen thought for three seconds and nodded slightly.

Now that the emperor knew about it, there was no need to call names. Hou Xun gave a long bow and said, "Your Majesty also knows about the old minister. The old minister is just discussing the matter. As for what will happen in the future, I cannot say for sure."

That's right, if another Yuandudu comes out, or another Zuo Liangyu who doesn't listen to restraint appears, this is beyond Hou Xun's control.

(End of this chapter)