Chapter 177 Emperor Chongzhen (Part 2)
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The man who appeared before Emperor Chongzhen was Zhou Kui, the father of Empress Zhou Yufeng. Zhou Kui had been fighting with the Tang family caravan for a long time. In the past ten days, Zhou Kui, Tian Hongyu, and Zhang Guoji, three royal relatives, had cooperated with the Tang family caravan in many businesses. In recent days, as Tang Li's power grew, the business cooperation became more and more frequent. Although Zhou Kui did not completely overthrow Tang Li like Tian Hongyu, after the forces of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were destroyed, everyone knew that the next one to be destroyed would be the Ming Dynasty. Although many people still did not believe it, Zhou Kui knew the general power of Tang Li's subordinates, so Zhou Kui also believed that the next one to be destroyed would definitely be the Ming Dynasty.
In order to prevent his family from being destroyed in the future change of dynasties, Zhou Kui also began to think about how to further improve the relationship with the Tang family. Although this man is an extremely greedy guy, it must be said that Zhou Kui still has some vision in judging the situation. Emperor Chongzhen came to Cangzhou in person to negotiate, and Zhou Kui jumped up and down in the capital, busy for the future of his Zhou family. He formed a gang with Tian Hongyu and Zhang Guoji, and frequently contacted the secret personnel of the Tang family caravan in the capital, hoping to establish a relationship with Tang Yu. Finally, Zhou Kui came up with an idea.
Zhou Kui persuaded his daughter, Queen Zhou, and suggested that Queen Zhou marry Princess Changping to Tang Xi for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. Princess Changping was not Queen Zhou's biological daughter. Her parents died early, and it was Queen Zhou who raised her and set her birth status under Queen Zhou's name. In other words, Princess Changping was the eldest daughter of Queen Zhou, and Zhou Kui could be regarded as Princess Changping's grandfather.
Empress Zhou was a very virtuous woman, and she was always thinking about sharing the worries of Emperor Chongzhen. She was very clear about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. Although she did not approve of using her daughter Princess Changping's happiness in exchange for a glimmer of hope for the Ming Dynasty, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou finally sought the opinion of her daughter Princess Changping.
In fact, soliciting opinions was unnecessary. Princess Changping was a filial girl, and she was also worried about her father, the emperor and the empress. Besides, how could a girl like her, born in the royal family, have her own opinions? Amidst Empress Zhou's sigh, Zhou Kui, who received the letter, wanted to promote this marriage before the negotiations between the two sides were over.
If this marriage was promoted, the one who would benefit the most would not be Zhou Kui, but the Ming court. Once Tang Yu agreed, the offensive against the Ming Dynasty would surely slow down. Therefore, after meeting Zhou Kui, the desperate Emperor Chongzhen seemed to see a glimmer of hope from the words of this father-in-law. Although this glimmer of hope was very slim, it was still a glimmer of hope. However, after thinking for a while, Emperor Chongzhen sighed.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has been an ancestral precept that forbids marriages between foreign invaders. Although the Han Dynasty was strong, it relied on women to marry off foreign invaders in exchange for temporary peace. Although the Sui and Tang Dynasties were prosperous, they left behind the criticism of forcing women to marry off foreign invaders. Although the Ming Dynasty was not as strong as the Han and Tang Dynasties in the past two hundred years, it was the most resolute in dealing with foreign invaders. With a personality like Emperor Chongzhen, he would have agreed to a marriage even if it meant his own death. If the Tang Dynasty had not been established, and if the Tang Dynasty was not Han Chinese, Emperor Chongzhen would not have even considered it.
Zhou Kui could see that Emperor Chongzhen was somewhat tempted. After all, in this desperate situation, this was a way to delay the end of the Ming Dynasty. Observing his expression, Zhou Kui understood what the Emperor was worried about and smiled slightly. "Your Majesty, I've heard from Your Highness the Princess that although Tang Jing had destroyed countless nations, he always remembered in his heart that he was a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. The last time Your Highness was on an overseas diplomatic mission, the entire Tang family treated you with great respect. Tang Jing was once a minister under Your Highness, and even now, he doesn't have the title of founding a country. I believe he still has feelings for his homeland. He's not like the rebels like Li Ziyu and Zhang Xianzhong, nor like the former slaves like Huang Taiji. If Your Majesty were to test him in this way, perhaps you could understand his true feelings."
"You mean, I summon you as the son-in-law?" A glimmer of hope flickered in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen. He was a man who cared a lot about face. If Tang Qi was willing to acknowledge the title of the son-in-law, Emperor Chongzhen would really be willing to recruit him as the son-in-law.
"Yes, Your Majesty, if the other party is really willing to acknowledge the title of the son-in-law, it also means that the other party still has the Ming Dynasty in his heart. At the same time, it can also ease the current war between the two sides." Zhou Kui's plan in mind was not like this. His main goal was to become a relative of Tang Li. As for whether Tang Li would destroy the Ming Dynasty after the marriage, it was not what Zhou Kui cared about. What Zhou Kui wanted was to have a legitimate excuse and opportunity to surrender to Tang Li. At the same time, with this relative relationship, Zhou Kui believed that Tang Li would not treat the Zhou family too badly after they surrendered to Tang Li. Although Princess Changping was not his, Zhou Kui's granddaughter, presenting a woman with the identity of a Ming Dynasty princess to Tang Li was also a big gift in any way.
If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. It would be unfair to say that Zhou Kui has never thought about the Ming Dynasty. It's just that compared with thinking about himself, the benefits of the Ming Dynasty are not worth mentioning at all. As for Princess Changping, who is only his granddaughter in name, Zhou Kui will never treat her as his own. So he betrayed her. As long as he, Zhou Kui, can continue to live a rich and prosperous life and as long as his Zhou family can continue to prosper, giving away a princess of the Ming Dynasty is nothing.
Emperor Chongzhen, however, did not know what Zhou Kui was thinking. Zhou Kui was a good speaker and he kept saying that he was doing it for the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family. His loyal appearance made Emperor Chongzhen almost not think about what Zhou Kui's intention was in persuading him to recruit Prince Tang as the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty. After thinking about it for several times, Emperor Chongzhen let Zhou Kui handle this matter.
Zhou Kui was overjoyed when he received Emperor Chongzhen's approval. After some preparation, he came to Tang Li the next day to express his intention to surrender. However, this surrender did not mean that Tang Li had surrendered, but that Tang Li was hinting that he was willing to do some favors for Prince Tang. Tang Li was very surprised by Zhou Kui's arrival.
In fact, the negotiations during this period were at a stalemate. Although Tang Yu continued to put military pressure on Emperor Chongzhen on the battlefield, he was also afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would make a desperate move. Not to mention that Emperor Chongzhen still had nearly 300,000 troops in the capital area, the Ming Dynasty also had at least one million troops in the entire southern region, and all of them were Han people. Tang Yu did not want to raise the butcher knife in his hand against his own people. This was not a woman's thought, but a nationalist idea brought over from later generations.
Tang Li warmly welcomed Zhou Kui into his residence, although he looked down on this guy in his heart. In history, Zhou Kui was simply a fat pig waiting for Li Zicheng to slaughter him. However, since Tang Li wanted to unify the world with relatively peaceful means, he had to warmly welcome a guy like Zhou Kui. This is the so-called rule of law. Although Tang Li did not like to be such a guest, he had come to this point and had to do many things.
"Haha, I wonder what advice Mr. Zhou has for you this time. We haven't seen each other for a long time since the last time we met. It's a rare opportunity for Mr. Zhou to come this time. I am very happy in my heart. Come, please sit down, please sit down. When you come to my place, it's like being at home. Mr. Zhou, there's no need to be so polite." After Tang Qi welcomed Zhou Kui into the meeting place, both parties sat down as host and guest. Although Tang Qi spoke very enthusiastically, Zhou Kui didn't dare to be impolite in front of Tang Qi.
"Your Highness, you are so polite. Ever since I had the honor of meeting you last time, I have been busy with mundane affairs. Although I really want to talk to you, I always have no free time. This time, I am fortunate to come to you to talk to you on the emperor's order." Zhou Kui bowed to Tang Lu again according to etiquette before sitting down.
"Oh, I don't know why you have to trouble Mr. Zhou. You and I are old friends. If you have any questions, just tell someone." Tang Yu smiled and thought that Zhou Kui came to plead for Emperor Chongzhen, so he was polite casually.
"This is no small matter. How can we just send anyone to do it? Although this matter should not be interfered by me, I am the only one who can be the middleman in this situation." Zhou Kui paused, trying to pique Tang Qi's interest. However, Tang Qi never dreamed that Zhou Kui was here to act as a matchmaker between him and Princess Changping. He also thought that Zhou Kui was here to ask for some favors for Emperor Chongzhen, so he sat there calmly without saying a word.
Zhou Kui saw Tang Qi listening to him with a smile on his face. Although the smile was fake, it didn't express any meaning. Zhou Kui didn't know whether Tang Qi noticed what he said. After observing for a while, he didn't find that Tang Qi showed any intention, so he continued: "Speaking of this matter, I have to congratulate you, Your Highness. I believe you have seen Princess Changping of our dynasty. The Emperor intends to marry Princess Changping to you. I wonder if your opinion is..."
"Puff..." Tang Qi was casually drinking a sip of tea at this time, and he spat it out when he heard the words.
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