"If Bachelor Yang is not in the city, there won't be any problems in Tongzhou, right?" Some people were frightened and whispered.
"How can there be a problem? There are 30,000 troops in the city, and Wang Xian only wants to conquer the city?" All the ministers laughed.
"That's right, lower officials should not destroy their own prestige and enhance the ambition of others." Those worried officials also laughed sheepishly.
Before everyone could stop laughing, another messenger rushed in, looking for Yang Shiqi everywhere.
"The Lord Chief Assistant is not here," Huang Huai, the only bachelor present, said to the messenger: "Give it to me."
The messenger knelt down in front of Huang Huai, raised the mailbox with both hands, and said in a trembling voice: "Old Yang Ge, urgent report!"
Huang Huai took the mailbox with his hand, removed the paint, took out the letter inside, and frowned as he read it.
This time, the princes and ministers were much calmer, and they all speculated: "It must be Mr. Yang Ge who reported Wang Xian's appearance in Tongzhou."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a click and saw the mailbox in Huang Huai's hand falling to the ground. The ministers immediately became quiet and asked anxiously: "Mr. Ge, is there something wrong?"
Huang Huai's hand holding the letter suddenly fell down, and he said in despair: "Tongzhou is lost..."
"What?!" All the ministers were stunned, and there was a dead silence in the hall.
When Yang Shiqi left and returned, he saw that everyone was still petrified. The chief minister felt that he needed to say a few words: "Don't worry, the sky won't fall. So what if Wang Xian arrives in Tongzhou? What awaits him is the court's dragnet!
"
The ministers remained expressionless. Huang Huai slowly stretched out his hand and gave Yang Shiqi a loud slap in the face!
It was a real slap in the face to Yang Shiqi, not a metaphor...
There was a crisp sound of 'pop', and Yang Shiqi covered his face in shock and looked at Huang Huai in disbelief.
The reactions of the officials were also very interesting. They were only startled when they were slapped, and then quickly became quiet. They still looked at Yang Shiqi expressionlessly, as if the slap was a matter of course...
"Are you crazy?!" Although Yang Shiqi has been keeping his tail between his legs recently, he has been the chief minister for so many years, where has he ever been slapped?
Well, he was beaten by someone two months ago, but that was because the other party didn't know his identity at all, so it didn't count.
"You are crazy!" Huang Huai glared at Yang Shiqi fiercely, slapped the military report on his chest, and roared: "Look at the good deeds you have done! The emperor's empire will perish in your hands.
It’s in!”
Yang Shiqi ignored the attack and took the military report. When he lowered his head and looked at it, his vision suddenly went dark. He fainted just like his good brother Yang Rong...
No one doesn’t know what Tongzhou means to the capital, and no one doesn’t know what losing Tongzhou means to the capital. Wang Xian’s move was really cruel! He defeated the imperial court seven inches away, causing a deathly silence in both the government and the public...
The news that Wang Xian had captured Tongzhou reached the prince's ears almost at the same time. Zhu Zhanji's eyesight also went dark, but he did not faint. He sat on the horse absentmindedly for a long time, tears flowing down for some reason, and his heart
Falling into the bottomless abyss...
To be honest, this is the first time that His Highness the Crown Prince has felt the threat of failure. Even if Wang Xian rushed into Zijin Pass before, he was not particularly worried. With the 300,000 troops in the capital and King Qin's troops coming from all over the country, why can't he be dealt with?
How many tens of thousands of people are there?
But when Wang Xian captured Tongzhou, everything was different. The throat of the capital was strangled, and the threat of food shortages hung over millions of soldiers and civilians! For the first time, the balance of victory and defeat tilted towards Wang Xian!
"Damn slave!" Hatred rose in His Highness the Crown Prince's chest. His black face was covered with bruises and his face was extremely ferocious, and he said, "Why did I bring you out of the backcountry in the first place!"
"Wang Xian!" In an instant, the hatred for Wang Xian replaced the fear in his heart. Zhu Zhanji gritted his teeth and said to Zhang Fu: "You return to Daxing immediately and use all your troops to prevent Wang Xian's Shandong army from going north!
"
Zhang Fu's face was no better than that of the prince. He actually let Wang Xian slip away under his nose and went to capture Tongzhou. This was really another shameful humiliation! That's why he followed the prince north to seek revenge from Wang Xian.
Come on.
Now that the prince asked him to return to Daxing, Zhang Fu was naturally willing to do so, but he also knew that the overall situation must be the top priority at this time, so he could only say in a low voice: "Yes!"
After sending Zhang Fu back to Daxing, Zhu Zhanji rushed to Tongzhou in a hurry. On the way, he met an imperial envoy who sent an edict, saying that the emperor had summoned him to return to Beijing immediately and they had important matters to discuss. Zhu Zhanji had no choice but to let Wang Yan, the Marquis of Wu'an, lead his army.
Go to Tongzhou and hurry back to Beijing.
In less than an hour, Zhu Zhanji rushed back to the capital. When he entered the city, he met Yang Rong who was also waiting to enter the city.
Yang Xueshi looked downcast, but his expression had regained his composure. When he saw the prince, he did not burst into tears. He just cupped his hands and said, "The person who is waiting to die has seen your highness."
"..." Zhu Zhanji wanted to have a fit, but sighed and said, "Let's share the hardships together..."
Yang Rong smiled bitterly and nodded.
At this time, the hanging basket was put down on the city and the two men entered the city in it. Even though there was no enemy within ten miles, the people in the city did not dare to open the city gate. You can imagine how scared they were.
The two guards were furious when they saw this and wanted to scold them, but they were stopped by the two of them. How could they have the nerve to act like a prince or prime minister?
According to the guard's instructions, the two people sat in the basket and were pulled up to the top of the city. The officers and soldiers on the top of the city saluted respectfully, but after the two turned around, they could clearly feel the strange eyes of the officers and soldiers, like a gleam on their backs!
He hurriedly ran down the tower.
Under the city, the guard general prepared two sedans for them. Zhu Zhanji always rode a horse, so he couldn't help but frowned. The guard general quickly explained: "Your Highness, in extraordinary times, the people's mood is unstable, so please make allowances for it...
"
Although the guard general said it tactfully, Zhu Zhanji understood immediately that he was worried that the people would throw rotten eggs when they saw the two of them. His face turned red with shame, he remained silent and got on the sedan chair.
Two sedan chairs were carried directly into the palace. The two were led to the Qianqing Palace and saw the emperor on his sick bed.
Yang Shiqi had already knelt in front of the dragon bed, and the two of them hurried forward, knelt down side by side with him, and paid their respects to the emperor who was sleeping on the dragon bed.
Zhu Gaochi slowly opened his eyes, looked at the three sinners kneeling in front of him, sighed deeply and said, "What should I do?"
"This humble minister deserves to die. Please, Your Majesty, cut him into pieces with a thousand swords..." Yang Rong kowtowed heavily.
"My son deserves death..." Zhu Zhanji also kowtowed to plead guilty.
"Of course you deserve death!" Zhu Gaochi suddenly became furious and coughed violently. Zhang Cheng hurriedly supported the emperor and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with tears, but did not dare to say a word. The old eunuch also knew
It was time for the ancestral temple to survive, and the emperor had to hold on.
Zhu Gaochi slumped back on the dragon bed and said feebly: "According to my wishes, this battle should not be fought. Ask Wang Xian what conditions he has, and I will agree to him..."
When Zhu Zhanji and Yang Shiqi heard this, they immediately lost their minds and said in unison: "Your Majesty, you must not do this!" "Father, you must not do this!"
Under the desperate gestures of the prince and Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong also said bravely: "Your Majesty, that's not all. We still have our army in Tongzhou City. The guilty minister has sent a large army, and we will take back Tongzhou City even if we die!"
"Yes, Father, my army will arrive in Tongzhou soon, and 150,000 troops will attack the city together. How can we not defeat his 15,000 soldiers and horses?" Zhu Zhanji also said quickly.
"Your Majesty, all the grain outside Tongzhou City has been transported back to the capital. Together with the previous grain storage, it will be enough to save food for two months." Yang Shiqi continued: "Two months will be enough to eliminate Wang Xian in the city.
Tongzhou City is enough to trap his hundreds of thousands of troops in Badaling to death, and it is enough to give His Majesty some peace!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, don't be intimidated by temporary difficulties, victory is still in our hands!" the three said in unison.
"Haha..." Zhu Gaochi said with a hint of ridicule at the corner of his mouth: "You keep thinking about me, but in fact you are only thinking about yourself..."
The three people were immediately told about the central issue, and their faces turned red. Little did they know that the initiative in negotiating peace was still in the hands of the imperial court, but the three of them were going to die without a burial place!
"Your Majesty! If we can bring long-term peace and stability to the Ming Dynasty, it will not be a pity for me to die ten thousand times!" At the critical moment, I had to look at Yang Shiqi, who was bursting with tears. He walked forward on his knees and said, "But then Wang Xian will
Like a young tiger! When he first came down from the mountains and forests, he had already shaken the country. If you give him more time and territory, he will grow into an invincible tiger sooner or later!"
"Yes, Father, appeasement can only bring temporary peace, but it will completely destroy the ancestral country!" Zhu Zhanji immediately agreed: "We must defeat Wang Xian while the court is still capable of fighting, and completely eliminate Wang Xian!"
"Hey, it's the same argument again..." Zhu Gaochi's face was full of boredom.
But I have to admit that this set of arguments has a miraculous effect on any emperor. Zhu Gaochi finally stopped insisting and said slowly: "You must think clearly, I can still try to take care of you when negotiating peace now. If we still have to go to the end in a month,
If we negotiate this step, I won’t be able to protect you..."
Hearing that the emperor had given them another month, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly expressed their stance loudly: "I have already put my life and death at risk, but I hope you can eliminate thieves for the sake of the country!"
Zhu Gaochi looked up at the tent roof, his eyes full of ridicule, but he refrained from saying anything that would offend the scenery.
"My son, I will return to Tongzhou immediately to organize a decisive battle with Wang Xian!" Seeing the emperor relent, Zhu Zhanji pressed forward and said, "Please ask my father to mobilize more troops and horses to ensure that everything is safe!"
"No, the military strength in the capital cannot be reduced." Zhu Gaochi shook his head and refused: "You and Yang Rong plus Zhang Fu's army already exceeds 200,000, more than ten times that of Wang Xian. What else do you want?"