Qiu Yu thought for a moment and spoke first: "Although it is just a verbal message, I will still obey your majesty's wishes. After packing up my property, I will leave Chengdu under the protection of General Qin Liangyu and go to Yunnan."
"That's right!" Chongzhen said with a smile.
"As soon as the King of Shu packs up his property and leaves Chengdu, Qin Liangyu will be ordered to arrest him!"
Li Banghua was stunned: "Why did Qin Liangyu capture the King of Shu?"
"Ancestor's rule! Emperor Taizu has a rule that our vassal kings are not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without permission, otherwise they will be stripped of their fiefdoms and demoted to commoners!"
After Chongzhen finished speaking, Li Banghua felt a chill on his back.
This plan is so cruel!
First, they tricked the King of Shu into leaving his fiefdom. Once he packed up his property and left his fiefdom, he would fall into the trap. The court had a law that the princes were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without permission. Otherwise, they would be demoted and become commoners, and their property would be confiscated!
"But...it was His Majesty who asked the King of Shu to seek refuge in Shu!"
"I sent a message, but the person who delivered it is dead. How can you prove that it was I who said it? My message clearly told him to defend Chengdu to the death and not to leave his fiefdom without permission!"
Fang Yuegong, the Minister of Finance, was somewhat at a loss as to what to do when Chongzhen refused to admit his mistake. "This...this...Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, and your words should be binding..."
Chongzhen narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Minister Fang is wrong! My words are binding in front of you loyal ministers. To deal with those shameless people, we must do the opposite!"
"When the country is in trouble, every citizen has a duty! As a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, he should shoulder his responsibilities."
"If I ask the King of Shu to lend me money, I can kill him the moment he refuses to lend me the money. I, the Ming Dynasty, do not support idle people!"
"Now I have given him a chance to live, he should thank me."
"Let's do this! First, give Yuan Jixian a secret decree, asking him to plot to get rid of Zuo Liangyu; then give Qin Liangyu two imperial decrees, asking her to ask the King of Shu for money and food. If the King of Shu neither lends money nor falls for the trick, Qin Liangyu can just rob it, and the blame will be on me."
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. As long as we can stop Zhang Xianzhong, I can bear any price."
"That's all for today. There will be no morning court tomorrow. Please come to the Palace of Heavenly Purity after breakfast. I have something important to discuss with you."
After saying this, Chongzhen turned around, flicked his sleeves, and started to chase people away.
Upon seeing this, the four cabinet members immediately stood up, saluted and left.
Chongzhen only breathed a sigh of relief after they walked away.
He doesn't like gambling, but these decisions require gambling on luck!
It's a gamble whether Zuo Liangyu's troops will mutiniate! It's also a gamble whether Qin Liangyu can stop Zhang Xianzhong!
Now that things have come to this, it is up to us to decide.
Since you have chosen to do something, you can only leave it to fate.
A moment later, Wang Chengen pushed open the palace door and walked in: "Your Majesty, Li Xingzhong is waiting outside the palace for an audience!"
"Xuan!" Chongzhen was a little excited.
This is the descendant of Li Chengliang, the son of Li Rusong.
Although the Li family has disappeared in Liaodong for many years, its influence in the Liaodong army still remains.
Li Xingzhong is one of them.
Historically, it was during the late Ming Dynasty, especially from the 16th year of Chongzhen to the 17th year of Chongzhen.
Many members of Li Rusong's family served in the army and were active on the Liaodong battlefield.
From the time Li Zicheng attacked Beijing to the end of the Battle of Shanhaiguan, Li Rusong's family also suffered heavy losses.
Li Xingzhong was killed by Wu Sangui, Li Chunzhong (Li Rumei's eldest son) died in battle in Beijing, and Li Xianzhong (Li Rumei's second son) was killed in action.
As a representative family of Liaodong generals in the Ming Dynasty, the Li family can be said to have accompanied the Ming Dynasty to its last journey.
In fact, Li Chengliang's family had the opportunity to rule Liaodong for generations, but the atmosphere in the court at the end of the Wanli period was very strange.
The war in Liaodong has become the vanguard of party struggles.
Everyone knows that the Li family understands Liaodong best, and using the Li family is most in line with practical needs. However, if the Liaodong war goes wrong, it will become the focus of party disputes, and the Li family will naturally become a victim.
To this day, Li Xingzhong, a member of the Li family who is nearly fifty years old, only serves as the deputy general of the central army in Liaodong.
"Your Majesty, I, Li Xingzhong, pay my respects to you!" Li Xingzhong, wearing military uniform, knelt on one knee.
Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Please stand up, please. Do you know why I want to see you?"
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"I really don't know." Li Xingzhong looked confused.
Chongzhen hesitated for a moment, stared into Li Xingzhong's eyes and asked: "Do you think the Ming Dynasty can still be saved?"
Li Xingzhong was so frightened that he shuddered all over and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am stupid and cannot guess your intention."
"Can't guess? Or are you pretending to be stupid?"
Li Xingzhong stopped talking.
To be honest, he was ready to be questioned.
After all, it is only more than 800 miles from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan, and then from Shanhaiguan to Beijing.
How long did it take them to travel the 800 miles?
Twenty days!
An average of more than 40 miles a day.
Slower than walking!
Being diligent in rescuing the emperor is meritorious, while being late in rescuing the emperor is a crime. After the merits and demerits offset each other, perhaps you can still keep your original position!
Just when Li Xingzhong was thinking about it, Chongzhen spoke: "Deputy General Li, do you think the Guanning Army is still my Guanning Army?"
"Yes!" Li Xingzhong answered with gritted teeth.
"No!" Chongzhen shook his head. "My Ming Dynasty has three elite forces. The Liaodong Iron Cavalry was defeated by Korea, and the Dongjiang Denglai New Army was defeated by Wuqiao. But this last elite Guanning Army has the surname Wu. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"Your Li family has guarded Liaodong for decades. Your generation should have ridden on the battlefield to kill the enemy and serve the country. I didn't expect that many years later, you would become a deputy general under Wu Sangui."
"Oh!" Chongzhen pretended to sigh, his eyes flickering.
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