I'm really not the carpenter emperor

All the officials in the court know that since the Lord took over the throne, the number of court meetings has been getting less and less each year, and now it simply becomes that there are no important events.

Cui Chengxiu cleared her throat, looked around the hall, and said lightly:

"All of you send people back to the manor to inform you that the court meeting will end tonight until tomorrow morning, and everyone will not be able to go back."

"Your Majesty's meaning is to ask the Ministry of War to come up with a solution as soon as possible. The slave chiefs want to negotiate a peace. Is this 'peace' or 'discord'...Let's speak freely!"

Chapter 372 Cui Chengxiu Meets Wei Zhongxian

"Peace?"

"With the murderous temperament of Jiannu outside the customs, it is strange that he can make peace, strange..."

Hearing this news, the first impressions of all the officers of the Ministry of War were unbelievable.

What rebelled Nurhachi at the beginning, was not the wolfish ambition of wanting to stand on his own, and now he suddenly sued for peace, I'm afraid he didn't have any good intentions.

What's more, how many people were slaughtered by Jiannu in Liaodong?

"My lord!"

Suddenly, an official stood up and said loudly:

"My dynasty must never negotiate peace with Jiannu. The Jiannu country is small and the people are widowed, and it will be restored after less than a year. If it is planned to commit another crime at that time, will it be necessary to conscript the army of the border town to leave the customs?"

"This time, in order to assist Fuyuwei, the imperial court has rewarded the Mongolian tribes many times, and that is 200 million taels of silver! There are also expenses and expenses for the army's march, and the rewards after the war may be even more."

The person who spoke was called Zhang Shifan.

Listening to his words, Cui Chengxiu nodded slightly.

Zhang Shifan was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Wanli. Because of his outstanding calligraphy, he was appointed as a good scholar by the Wanli Emperor, and later entered the Imperial Academy.

During his stay in the Imperial Academy, he proposed several border war strategies, all of which were adopted by Emperor Wanli, which brought great changes to the situation on the nine frontiers.

In the second year of Tianqi, when Wang Zaijin presided over the Jingcha, he also said that Zhang Shifan was good at war strategy, and recommended him to serve in the Ministry of War in the memorial.

After consideration, Zhu Youxiao confirmed that it was true. He felt that it was a pity that such a talent stayed in the Imperial Academy, so he allowed Wang Zaijin to promote Zhang Shifan to the Ministry of War, and he was appointed as the right servant.

Zhang Shifan's suggestion actually represents a voice.

When most people heard Jiannu asking for peace, they just thought it was extremely ridiculous. They themselves rebelled in Liaodong and slaughtered the people of Liaodong. Now they can't fight and want to ask for peace.

But since it is a discussion, there are bound to be voices of opposition.

One person stood up, raised his eyebrows coldly, and said sarcastically:

"Master Zhang also said just now that the imperial court has recently rewarded Fuyuwei, Duoyanwei, and Tainingwei with more than two million taels of silver. Although these Mongols have been stabilized, they still have huge military expenditures every month. expenditure."

"If this fight continues, the national treasury will soon bottom out. Right now, there are different degrees of famines in various places. The treasury is exhausted. How can we provide disaster relief?"

"Master Zhang is good at planning military affairs, but can he understand people's livelihood?"

There is some truth to this kind of statement. After all, wars have cost people money, North Korea, Mongolia, and domestic famine. There are too many directions that Ming has to take care of, not just a single slave.

It is naturally the best result to stop fighting and make peace, to recuperate and recuperate.

Zhang Shifan disagreed, and said with a sneer: "The Liaodong war was to compete with Jiannu for their wealth. This time, they will not be hurt. The Liaoshen war, the Guangning war, and the Horqin and Fuyuwei wars will be next year and the year after. , there will be every year!"

"At that time, it is not right for the imperial court to deploy troops, nor is it wrong to sit back and watch the barbarians poop without dispatching troops. The protracted war will drag down the government's finances!"

Cui Chengxiu did not speak, but was also thinking.

What these two people said has some truths. Whether it is harmony or not is indeed a headache.

Let's negotiate a peace, those soldiers who fought for the country, and the Liaodong people who were slaughtered by Jiannu died in vain, don't negotiate a peace, continue to fight, I am afraid it will take several months, it is really a waste of money.

In the hall of the Ministry of War, oil lamps were lit all night, and the officials were arguing fiercely.

The light gradually came out outside the house, and Cui Chengxiu sighed listening to the crowing of roosters outside the imperial city, and walked away from these officials, and came outside a mansion.

"Tuk Tuk Tuk..."

There was a knock on the door, and soon an old man came to open the door, and before Cui Chengxiu could speak, he stepped aside and said with a smile:

"The factory is just waiting for the minister in the lobby."

"The factory knows me..."

Cui Chengxiu shook his head, followed the old man to the lobby of Wei Mansion, and saw Wei Zhongxian dressed in black standing behind the wall with his hands behind his back.

Hearing footsteps, Wei Zhongxian glanced up and said casually:

"Here we come, let's take a look."

Cui Chengxiu came a step behind and found that the calligraphy he was looking at was a pair of calligraphy that Zhu Youxiao had bestowed on Wei Zhongxian in the second year of Tianqi.

"This is... His Majesty's handwriting."

"Well, sit down."

Wei Zhongxian turned around to signal, and ordered his servants to serve tribute tea, sat on a chair, took a sip, and asked with a smile: "Does the minister know that our family asked you to see this, what do you mean?"

Cui Chengxiu gave a wry smile and replied:

"Please tell the factory owner clearly."

"This pair of His Majesty's calligraphy has been hung in the main hall at home, and we look at it every day and night. With it, my Wei Mansion can be safe and sound."

"This pair of calligraphy is also the reason why our family can be ruthless to deal with those people who are too arrogant. Do you understand this time?"

Cui Chengxiu seemed to understand, but suddenly realized, but before he could speak, Wei Zhongxian smiled lightly, waved his hand and said:

"Go down."

After leaving the Wei Mansion, Cui Chengxiu was still a little confused.

Just as he was thinking about it, a horse came galloping from a distance, but it was a servant from his mansion. The servant came and got off the horse, handed the reins to Cui Chengxiu, and said eagerly:

"My lord, the court meeting is about to start, so go!"

Only then did Cui Chengxiu come back to her senses, quickly got on her horse and galloped towards the Forbidden City.

……

Soon after, the court meeting began.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the main hall, looked around Cui Chengxiu who was still panting violently, and asked lightly:

"Ai Qing, is there any result from the Ministry of War?"

When the words fell to the ground, all the civil and military officials in the court turned their gazes. Cui Chengxiu was very nervous, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stood out with some frightened steps, bowed and said:

"Return to Your Majesty, there is a result."

Hearing this, Zhang Shifan and other military officials all looked at him.

Some people were puzzled, some sneered, they didn't know what Cui Chengxiu was up to.After all, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, and this is a court meeting. If one sentence is wrong, he will be the next Zhang Heming.

People like myself are just subordinate officials, and all right and wrong can't be judged by them.

"The Ministry of War inscribed, and refused to negotiate a peace."

As soon as he said a word, it immediately caused a buzz of discussion in the court.

Cui Chengxiu carefully peeped at Shangyan, and found that Zhu Youxiao looked normal, so he decided secretly, and then said: "My Daming and Jiannu are not dead, negotiating peace is irresponsible to thousands of Liaodong soldiers and people."

"I think what Zhang Shilang said is right. Since our court has spent millions of taels of military expenditure on this battle, we can't give up halfway. We must continue this protracted war."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao looked at the person next to him and asked:

"This is what you said?"

Without any fear, Zhang Shifan said proudly: "Returning to Your Majesty, this is the minister's suggestion. Our court and Jiannu must not make peace easily!"

Zhu Youxiao stared at him intently without saying a word, and the atmosphere in the hall became more and more dull.

Someone ridiculed secretly in their hearts, Zhang Shifan claimed to be smart, but he didn't know that he was dragged into the water by Cui Chengxiu and made a substitute for the dead.

After a while, Zhu Youxiao suddenly smiled and said:

"Very well, the Ministry of War's suggestion to me is to refuse to negotiate a peace, and continue to fight this battle without dying. What do you mean?"

Immediately, a fierce quarrel broke out in the hall.

Zhu Youxiao was a little irritated by the noise, coughed twice, looked at the chief assistant of the cabinet, Han Yu, narrowed his eyes and said:

"The situation is urgent, Mr. Ge said something to decide."

Chapter 373 The Chess Game of Xinuang Pavilion

Since Emperor Tianqi decided to go to war in the spring of this year, the imperial court has invested more than [-] elite soldiers from the nine sides in the area from Fuyuwei to Liaoshen. It took millions of money and food for half a year.

After Zhu Xieyuan left the customs, he first issued rewards to comfort the guards of Duoyan and Taining, so that the tribes that had long been in conflict with each other sent troops to serve. After that, he fought against the four tribes of Neikalkha in Fuyuwei and saved Wuqiye, who was in danger. special department.

Xiong Tingbi also made a new plan based on the current situation, that is, a three-sided attack from Guangning-Liaoshen-North Korea.Now, with the next big victory in Liaoyang City, Jiannu wants to negotiate peace.

With the drastic change in the tense, it is urgent for the court to come up with a new idea, whether or not to continue this war that has cost millions of money and food.

From yesterday to this morning, the imperial court has repeatedly discussed and discussed with the ministers, but has always been hesitant.

"Negotiating peace with the captives" is a huge crime. Even Han Yu, the leader of Donglin, dare not go up against the wind and lead this peace negotiation.

As soon as Zhu Youxiao's words fell, Wang Chaofu and Han Yu passed by, holding a stack of red books, ready to invite the emperor to read them after the court meeting.

Han Yu replied: "Your Majesty, I feel that I cannot negotiate peace with my slave."

He clearly and succinctly expressed his position. Hearing this, all the officials in Donglin were relieved. No one wanted to bear such a crime.

Zhu Youxiao just received the red book, and said softly:

"In this way, elder Ge's meaning is the same as Cui Aiqing's?"

Han Yu didn't speak, Emperor Tianqi wanted to compare him with the eunuch party, this kind of thing is cleared up by itself, it's useless to say more.

Zhu Youxiao ate a closed door, and didn't plan to do anything. He got up immediately, and said with a flick of his sleeves:

"Go away."

……

The court meeting was abandoned, and Emperor Tianqi still hadn't made a final decision, but judging from the inscriptions of the court meeting and the Ministry of War, it seemed that this negotiation would fail.

After the dynasty was over, Cui Chengxiu hesitated, thinking about the advice Wei Zhongxian gave him. Just at this moment, Chaofu, the steward of Qianqing Palace, came and said with a smile:

"Cui Butang, Your Majesty welcomes you."

Cui Chengxiu was confused, and was summoned to Xinuang Pavilion, only to find Emperor Tianqi sitting on the couch playing chess with a young lady in the palace. When he entered, the black pieces had just settled, and several white pieces were swept away in response.

"Aiqing, come quickly and play this game of chess with me. It's so boring to be alone in the palace."

Naturally, Cui Chengxiu didn't dare to be negligent, and responded one after another, replacing Gong'e and sitting opposite Zhu Youxiao. Looking at the overall situation, he found that the emperor's sunspot was about to lose, and he had doubts in his heart.

He is holding a white piece and is about to drop it.

But Zhu Youxiao held the chess piece in one hand and said leisurely:

"Cui Aiqing, whether I can win this game of chess depends on Aiqing's next move."

Cui Chengxiu's hand suddenly stopped in the air, unable to drop it. At this moment, he thought of countless possibilities in his mind.

When the emperor talked about chess, he definitely wasn't talking about chess, but had other holy intentions.

Could it be that the emperor was dissatisfied with his inscription at the court meeting, and wanted to use chess to offend Yan and kill himself, but the person who didn't know how to flatter him was obviously Han Yu.

Could it be that the emperor has a heavy responsibility to entrust...

He hesitated for a while, and finally dropped Baizi in the empty space.

Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao made up his mind and said with a smile:

"Why does Aiqing have to be like this? Right from wrong is clear. In my heart, how can I not be clear about whether a person is black or white?"

Afterwards, Zhu Youxiao looked cautious and whispered:

"Actually, I know everything in the heart of civil and military men of Manchao, what they do in their hands, and what they say in their mouths. Aiqing must do her best, otherwise I will not forgive you."

After all, Zhu Youxiao's black son settled down.

Cui Chengxiu already understood the purpose of today's game of chess, so she cupped her hands and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best."

Afterwards, the monarch and his ministers seemed to let go of them all, and you played with one hand and the other with the other. Of course, Cui Chengxiu let Zhu Youxiao win the game in the end.

He then stood up and took two steps back, bowed and said: