Chongzhen counted and found that the court officials were divided into three factions.
Led by Li Banghua, the Left Censor-in-Chief, nearly 20% of the officials jointly petitioned the emperor to defend the capital and send the crown prince to Yingtian Prefecture. If Beijing could not be defended, the Ming Dynasty would still have half of its territory.
People led by Li Mingrui believed that the prince was too young to take on important tasks in Yingtian Prefecture, so it would be better for the emperor to go in person and give up Beijing.
Fifty percent of the people supported Guang Shiheng. Under the instigation of the Minister of War, they all believed that the city of Beijing could be defended and that the emperor and the prince could not leave. If they left, it would cause instability in the military and panic among the people, which would be detrimental to defending the city.
All three viewpoints have their merits, and the three groups argued endlessly in the Huangji Hall.
There are also some people who do not express their opinions. They may be Buddhists, or they may be observing the situation in the court and waiting for an opportunity to act.
At first, everyone was discussing matters of the court, but soon, it turned into personal attacks.
"Your Majesty, Li Banghua proposed moving south at this critical moment, which is actually spreading rumors to mislead the people. He should be executed according to the law!" Guang Shiheng said.
"Guang Shiheng is short-sighted and dares not serve as an official of the emperor. He is unworthy of the position and his head should be chopped off." Li Banghua counterattacked.
"Your Highness, if we don't leave now, we will not be able to leave when the bandits surround the city!" Li Mingrui advised again.
"Quiet!" Seeing that everyone had almost stopped arguing, Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to speak up and stop them.
He looked at the cabinet chief Wei Zaode and asked, "What is the cabinet's attitude?"
Wei Zaode looked around, then walked out slowly and bowed, saying, "The cabinet has not yet reached an agreement!"
"Oh," Chongzhen sneered, "you guys discuss this immediately."
Historically, Wei Zaode had already prepared for rebellion.
He said: For a person with talent like me, Li Zicheng will definitely treat me as a guest of honor and serve me with delicious food and drinks!
Therefore, Wei Zaode did not want Chongzhen to succeed.
According to his plan, Chongzhen and the three princes would stay in Beijing. If they could defend the capital, he would have a share of the great credit; if they lost the capital, Chongzhen and the three princes would be his token of surrender to the Dashun.
It is also a huge achievement!
You are a court official in the Ming Dynasty and you are also a court official in the Dashun Dynasty. There is no need to care about who is the emperor!
Wei Zaode looked back at the other four people and asked for their opinions in a low voice.
The cabinet originally had seven people, but former Prime Minister Chen Yan and cabinet minister Jiang Dejing resigned. Li Jiantai was captured by bandits in Baoding while rushing to help Shanxi, so now the cabinet has only four people, including Wei Zaode.
The other three cabinet members are Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen and Qiu Yu.
Among these people, Fan Jingwen was the second assistant of the cabinet and served as the Minister of Works. His position and power were higher than the other two.
Fang Yuegong and Qiu Yu knew that they could not afford to offend anyone, so they said at the same time: "We all listen to the words of the Prime Minister and the Second Minister."
Seeing this, Fan Jingwen said loudly: "I think Li Yushi's plan is feasible. Our Ming army is short of money and food. The journey to Nanjing is long. If a mutiny occurs on the way because of the money, the consequences will be disastrous."
Wei Zaode shook his head slightly. "Master Fan is wrong! The garrison in the capital is not large to begin with. If the prince moves south, we will need more than a thousand men to escort him. It will be even more difficult to defend the city."
"The prince is young. If he goes to Yingtian Prefecture alone and encounters court officials, eunuchs, or imperial concubines interfering in government affairs, it will bring disaster to the Ming Dynasty."
"The capital is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. If Your Majesty abandons it, it would be like handing over half of the country to the bandits. This is a poor plan."
"Now we should defend the capital and wait for the army to come to our rescue. Although the bandits are huge, they are just a motley crowd. Once Wu Sangui's Guanning Army arrives, they will surely flee in all directions." Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the cabinet, said word by word.
There are three sentences. The first sentence opposes Li Banghua's point of view, the second sentence opposes Li Mingrui's point of view, and the third sentence shows that he supports Guang Shiheng.
It is well-founded and cannot be questioned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
