"Your Majesty, something big has happened in Shandong!"
"Yanzhou Prefecture News: Jiannu captured Yanzhou Prefecture and captured Prince Lu and his family."
"Qufutang News: Confucius Mansion in Qufu was robbed, several people were killed or injured, and two million taels of silver were lost!"
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Wang Jiayan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, read out two newspaper reports one by one.
The other ministers present widened their eyes, some of them unable to believe it.
They didn't disbelieve that Prince Lu was captured, but they didn't believe that Confucius' Mansion was robbed!
Who did it?
Jiannu?
Including this time, this is the sixth time that the Jiannu have entered the pass.
The other five times he passed by Qufu but did not enter.
Unexpectedly... this time they actually attacked the Confucius Mansion.
Wang Jiayan put down the two Tangbao in his hands and continued, "The Jiannu sent a letter. The Ministry of War checked the envelope and the letter paper and confirmed that there was no poison on it. We dare not read the contents of the letter. Please make the decision, Your Majesty."
As he spoke, Wang Jiayan raised the letter in his hand high above his head.
Wang Chengen did not take it, but looked at Chongzhen.
"Where is the messenger?" Chongzhen asked.
"The person who delivered the letter was not a Jiannu soldier, but a surrendered soldier of our army, who was detained in the Ministry of War."
Chongzhen sighed and said, "Let him go after you have investigated thoroughly. The responsibility for the loss of Yanzhou is not his."
"I... obey your order." Wang Jiayan was somewhat moved.
The first time he met Chongzhen, he actually took the initiative to care about the fate of a soldier.
Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair and said indifferently: "Minister Wang, open the envelope and read the contents of the letter to everyone!"
"I obey the order."
Wang Jiayan did not dare to delay, and hurriedly opened the envelope, took out the letter and began to read.
The letter is very long, but it only expresses two points.
First, the Eight Banners cavalry were invincible in the world. We advise Chongzhen to surrender as soon as possible to prevent the people of the Ming Dynasty from suffering with him.
Second, they demanded that the lives of the King of Lu and his family be exchanged for Ajige and Ebilun. They wanted to see them alive or their bodies dead.
"The Jiannu are too arrogant. I really don't know where they get the courage from!"
"Yeah, it seems like Wen Yuhe's beating wasn't painful enough!"
"Let Huang Degong and Gao Jie fight the Jiannu. Beat them until they are hurt and they won't cry out."
The ministers present were filled with indignation and expressed their dissatisfaction.
Li Banghua snorted coldly and said, "Don't bother talking too much, think of a solution first."
Others wanted to refute, but Chongzhen stopped them with his eyes.
The court officials of the Ming Dynasty had two problems.
One is fighting.
There is fighting for power in the court and deception among people outside the court.
The second is verbal combat.
Commonly known as talking nonsense.
No matter what the actual situation is, you will never suffer any loss by talking.
Fan Jingwen stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, I believe that Ajige and Ebilun are already dead, and their bodies are no longer of any value to the court. We should take this opportunity to exchange for Prince Lu and his family."
"I second the motion."
"I second this motion."
Officials from the cabinet and the Ministry of War all came out to agree.
Chongzhen smiled slightly and said: "You all said very well, but I think it is not enough."
"Your Majesty, what do you mean...?" Li Banghua asked with blinking eyes.
"They have the intention, and I do too. This deal can be done. But how to do it is not up to them, but I." Chongzhen looked at the sky outside the palace.
"Tens of thousands of Jiannu soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle of Wenyu River. I have no use for keeping their bodies. The bodies of Ajige, Ebilun and all the Jiannu soldiers who died in Wenyu River can be handed over to Duoduo."
"What are your majesty's conditions?" Wang Jiayan asked with some anticipation.
Chongzhen raised his lips and said, "There are two conditions. One is to bring back Prince Lu, and the other is to bring back Zu Dashou."
As soon as these words came out, the Palace of Heavenly Purity fell into silence, and then the ministers' compliments were heard: "Your Majesty is wise."
"My emperor is wise!"
"Your Majesty, this plan is indeed the best one!"
Hearing the ministers' voices of approval, Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought they would have different opinions, but I didn't expect their voices to be so unified.
There were many generals who surrendered to the Jiannu.
You can spray them and scold them all.
The only thing you can’t do is curse Zu Dashou.
Because what he has done has been worthy of the court.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Zu Dashou led troops to build Dalinghhe City.
When the city was half built, Huang Taiji suddenly sent out troops to surround Dalingh City.
Zu Dashou's repeated attempts to break out ended in failure, and he could only hold his ground and wait for reinforcements.
When the food and grass in the city were all eaten up, they ate the war horses, and when the war horses were all eaten up, they started to eat people.
Three months later, Zu Dashou, who had run out of food and supplies, opened the city and surrendered.
After Zu Dashou surrendered, he proposed to Huang Taiji that he was willing to go to Jinzhou to act as an internal supporter while the Ming army in Jinzhou did not know that he had surrendered.
As a result, Zu Dashou never returned.
In the 15th year of Chongzhen, Zu Dashou opened the gate of Jinzhou, which had been besieged for a year, and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty again.
The situation this time is exactly the same as last time, the food and grass in the city are exhausted, and people are eating each other...
Huang Taiji did not punish him for his last defection, but treated him with courtesy.
Huang Taiji did this not out of mercy, but to take the opportunity to call for the surrender of the Liaodong Ming army.
Especially the Guanning Army.
After Li Chengliang's clan lost power in Liaodong, the Zu clan began to rise.
By the time Zu Dashou arrived, he had completely taken control of the Guanning Army.
Why was Wu Sangui able to take over the Guanning Army?
On the one hand, it was because of his military achievements, and on the other hand, it was because he was Zu Dashou's nephew.
Good things should be kept within the family.
Precisely because of this relationship, when Zu Dashou surrendered for the second time, Huang Taiji did not intend to blame him.
However, in order to prevent Zu Dashou from defecting again, Huang Taiji placed him under house arrest and did not allow him to enter or leave at will.
As a frontier army general, Zu Dashou would rather eat people than surrender, and it can be said that he persevered to the end.
certainly.
After all, he surrendered, so it can be said that he did not have the courage to sacrifice his life for justice.
but.
After surrendering, Zu Dashou did not kill a single Ming soldier or even a single civilian.
For this reason alone, he is worthy of the Ming Dynasty.
Chongzhen understood this truth, and the civil officials present also knew the reason.
So when Chongzhen said he wanted to replace Zu Dashou, no one objected.
Chongzhen had another idea in mind when he brought back Zu Dashou.
Wu Sangui supported the Guanning Army and was self-reliant. He appeared loyal but was actually a traitor.
If it were Zu Dashou, the situation would be different.
Zu Dashou also commanded his own troops, but he was loyal to the imperial court.
Will not backstab Chongzhen.
Moreover, after Zu Dashou returns, he will definitely compete with Wu Sangui for military power.
Once a conflict arises between them, Chongzhen will have his opportunity.
After being shocked by Chongzhen's train of thought, Li Banghua was happy at first, then a little worried: "Your Majesty, Zu Dashou is very important to the Jiannu."
"Based on the remains of Ajige, Ebilun and the defeated soldiers, I'm afraid Dorgon and Dodo will not agree."
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