"Wang Chengen, summon Lord Li to the audience." Chongzhen did not issue the arrest order immediately, but planned to tell Li Banghua about this matter first.
"As you wish."
After Wang Chengen left, Chongzhen thought for a moment and said to Li Ruolian, "How about I discuss something with you?"
Li Ruo Lian knelt flattered and said, "I don't deserve it. Your Majesty, just give me your orders."
"Mr. Li is the Prime Minister of the current dynasty and the Minister of War! Jin Zhijun is the Vice Minister of War and is Mr. Li's subordinate."
"Once the news of Jin Zhijun's betrayal gets out, Lord Li will definitely be accused of lax governance and negligence. Although I can keep him safe, it will ultimately damage Lord Li's reputation."
“This is not the situation I want to see.”
"So I plan to ask you to give this great achievement to Lord Li, so that he can make up for his mistakes! What do you think?"
Li Ruolian knelt on the ground in a daze, and after hesitating for a moment, he accepted the order.
Looking at Li Ruolian's performance, Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction. This commander of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty was indeed a man of great justice. He gave up this great credit without hesitation, which would have been impossible for others.
It’s right to give the task of Jinyiwei to him.
"Go to the treasury later and collect 12,000 taels of silver as my compensation to you." Chongzhen said with both kindness and force.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I...I still have a lot of silver and am not short of money." Li Ruolian was so excited that he almost cried.
The Jinyiwei was the emperor's private army. The emperor could do whatever he wanted. Not to mention giving the credit to others, he would not have any complaints even if he was asked to take the blame.
The Ming emperor in front of him not only talked to him about this matter in a negotiating tone, but even planned to buy this credit with money.
At that moment, he felt as if he was on an eye-level with the emperor.
Terrified, absolutely terrified.
"This is my reward to you, don't refuse it. Besides, with this money you can let your family live a good life and at the same time you will not be impeached by those censors." Chongzhen's words were unquestionable.
Li Ruolian had no choice but to accept the order, and then stood aside waiting for Li Banghua.
Li Banghua was stunned when he entered the room, and then he vaguely guessed the result.
"Li Banghua pays respect to His Majesty!"
Without Chongzhen's instructions, Li Ruolian exposed the acts of treason and betrayal by Jin Zhijun and others.
Li Banghua was shocked and took several steps back. If Wang Chengen hadn't supported him, he would have fallen to the ground. He never expected that Jin Zhijun, who worked hard in the government office, would do such a thing.
"Commander Li, do you have any evidence?"
"There is Yang Rucheng's testimony."
"Ah!" Li Banghua was so angry that he stamped his feet and beat his chest. Then he realized that he was also guilty, and hurriedly apologized to Chongzhen: "I have not been strict in my rule, please punish me, Your Majesty."
"This has nothing to do with you, Lord. You are not guilty. Moreover, Li Ruolian took the initiative to give you the credit so that you can make up for your faults."
After hearing this, Li Ruolian looked at Chongzhen in surprise.
After seeing Li Ruolian's performance, Li Banghua immediately understood the whole story. He first bowed deeply to Li Ruolian, and then knelt down to thank Chongzhen.
"The Royal Guards are arresting people, and Lord Li is organizing a joint trial by the three judicial departments. We must not let a bad guy go, nor can we wrongly accuse a good guy. This is my principle!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The two of them left the Palace of Heavenly Purity after receiving the order.
After everyone left, Chongzhen opened the map of the Ming Dynasty again, looked at Huguang and Sichuan, and was silent for a long time.
......
That night, a room in Jiujiang Mansion was brightly lit.
Yuan Jixian, the governor-general of Jiangxi, Huguang, Anqing and Yingtian of the Ming Dynasty, and Lu Daqi, the right vice minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, sat opposite each other.
The two of them stared at the imperial edict in front of them in a daze.
Yuan Jixian, in particular, thought he had seen it wrong, and asked Lu Daqi again: "Brother Lu, am I right? His Majesty asked me to borrow 50,000 troops from Zuo Liangyu. If I don't lend it, will you plot to get rid of them, father and son?"
Half a year ago, he personally went to Wuhu to persuade Zuo Liangyu to recapture Wuchang. Half a year later, the imperial court issued an imperial decree asking him to borrow troops. If the other party refused, they would get rid of him and his son. It was incredible!
Lu Daqi nodded. Although he didn't say anything, his expression was as complicated as Yuan Jixian's.
In the 16th year of Chongzhen, when he was the governor-general of Jiang, Hu, An and Ying, he joined forces with Zuo Liangyu to fight against Zhang Xianzhong. The former comrades-in-arms were about to become enemies.
It's really sad.
After a long while, Lu Daqi said, "It is clearly written in the imperial edict that the court asked him to go to the capital to defend the emperor. Zuo Liangyu had previously drawn up a military plan according to the years and months and submitted it to the court. By the time the court received his plan, the bandits had already been repelled."
"Does Zuo Liangyu not understand the principle that speed is of the essence in war?"
"Zuo Liangyu held his own troops and refused to serve the emperor. This is a capital crime. In addition, he repeatedly robbed grain and salt ships and plundered the people. He is worse than a bandit."
"Especially Wuchang. When Zhang Xianzhong captured Wuchang, Zuo Liangyu claimed to have 200,000 soldiers and horses, but they collapsed at the first blow and immediately fled to Wuhu! If it weren't for your strong persuasion, how could Zuo Liangyu counterattack Wuchang after Zhang Xianzhong left Wuchang?"
"So, he deserves to die, and..." At this point, Lu Daqi stroked his beard and glared fiercely: "He must die!"
Yuan Jixian was stunned for a moment, then nodded uncertainly.
They have all led troops into battle, and if they encountered the enemy they would always run away. Over time these soldiers would develop a habit in their minds: run away.
The personnel and equipment on the battlefield can be bad, but the momentum cannot be bad.
Otherwise, failure is certain.
Even if Zuo Liangyu had a million men, they would still be a mob if they were used to running.
"Then do as the imperial edict says?"
Yuan Jixian was the successor to Lü Daqi's position, and the two were in the process of handing over the formalities, so some things should be discussed. After all, the soldiers in Jiujiang were all Lü Daqi's old subordinates, and Yuan Jixian would not be familiar with them in a short period of time.
"You dare to disobey the imperial edict?" Lu Daqi said with a smile.
"But..." Yuan Jixian was a little embarrassed, "Should I borrow troops or get rid of them directly? There are two options in the imperial edict."
Lu Daqi did not answer the question directly, but analyzed the current situation for him: "The prince is in Nanjing now. Downstream of Wuchang is Jiujiang, downstream of Jiujiang is Anqing, and downstream of Anqing is Nanjing!"
"If the borrowing of troops fails, Zuo Liangyu will certainly become suspicious. If he leads his troops down the river to Nanjing to control the crown prince... your majesty's strategy will all be in vain."
After hearing this, Yuan Jixian no longer hesitated, took out the map and placed it on the table in front of him, and began to discuss seriously with Lu Daqi.
"We can't take a large army with us. Zuo Liangyu is suspicious by nature. Once he finds out that we are leading troops to Wuchang, he will definitely be prepared."
"What should we do? We can't call him out for a duel, right?" (The term "duel" already existed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.)
Lu Daqi and Yuan Jixian fell silent at the same time.
It is very difficult to kill someone who is very wary, especially an old guy like Zuo Liangyu.
Sudden!
Lu Daqi slapped his forehead, and the gloom on his face disappeared, replaced by a smile: "I heard that the prince brought more than a thousand Jinyiwei, all of whom are good fighters in the capital."
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