The cold wind whistled outside the window, making the window paper rustle, but there was a dead silence in the Ganqing Palace.

Looking at Yang Sichang and Xiong Wencan, who were kneeling in their eyes, Chongzhen suddenly felt an indescribable fatigue and weakness.

Li Xiao, Li Xiao, why did I admire you and care for you so much before, and wanted to be a model of friendship between the king and the ministers of the ages, but why do I have to be in a situation where I am tense and fight with each other in the internal struggle?

Is it really that I was wrong?

Or are you now, gradually becoming in a rebellious due to changes in shape and posture?

Chongzhen suddenly felt like a mess in his heart, as if something was blocking his heart. He wanted to shout, but he couldn't say anything.

In the end, Chongzhen waved his hand powerlessly and asked Yang Sichang and Xiong Wencan to retreat first.

When Yang Sichang left the hall, his throat was surging, as if he was talking too much to say to Chongzhen, but Chongzhen waved his hand and signaled that he didn't need to say too much. Yang Sichang sighed and stepped back.

Emperor Chongzhen sat in the Ganqing Palace like a puppet for a long time, and finally sent an order to Cao Huachun, who was standing beside him, and told the chief assistant Liu Yuliang to come to the palace to meet him.

Liu Yuliang, the chief assistant who was working in Wenyuan Pavilion, heard the emperor's urgent summons and rushed into the hall, and then fell to the ground and knelt down.

"My minister Liu Yuliang, please come to your Majesty, long live my emperor."

"I'm calm."

Liu Yuliang stood up and quickly saw the worried look on the dragon throne with Emperor Chongzhen's face. He had already guessed in his heart why the emperor was worried.

Liu Yuliang blinked and bowed his hands and replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty summoned me to come, but I want to ask me, what do you think of the Donghai Marquis Li Xiao?"

Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "Yes, Ji Long, as the chief minister, I call you here today because I want to hear your opinion."

Liu Yuliang's heart moved, but he still asked carefully: "The humble opinion of the meritorious minister is afraid that there will be a devilish hearing. But I wonder if Your Majesty has ever asked Yang Ge's troops and Xiong Shangshu of the Ministry of War?"

Chongzhen waved his hand irritably, with a resentful expression: "Oh, of course I have asked them! It's a pity that both of them were standing on Li Xiao's side to help him speak. I'm not very worried, so I ask my dear to come and want to hear what you think."

After Chongzhen finished speaking, he briefly described his views and opinions on Li Xiao just now, Yang Sichang and Xiong Wencan.

What Chongzhen did not expect was that after listening to Chongzhen's brief description, Liu Yuliang thrust and then knelt down on the ground.

"Your Majesty, what Yang Gemen and Shangshu Xiong said, in the eyes of the empress, is just a temporary act. If this continues, it is like raising a tiger." Liu Yuliang sighed and replied.

Liu Yuliang's words made Chongzhen's heart tremble and he hurriedly said, "Why did you say this?"

"Your Majesty, do you still remember what I said to Youth Majesty before? No matter how worn the hat is, it must be worn on your head. No matter how gorgeous the shoes are, it must be worn under your feet. You must not put the cart before the horse. Then Li Xiao was born in a destitute hunter in Liaodong. Fortunately, His Majesty had a keen eye to recognize talents and promoted them vigorously. Only then can this person have the title of high-ranking official today. It is a pity that Li Xiao was so deeply favored by the holy people and his family were very honored. He did not want to serve him. He turned his heart and wanted to seek personal gain. He was dissatisfied with the emperor's great absent-mindedness to the court. How could he not let the minister sigh for such a ruthless act? "

A cold light of resentment flashed through Chongzhen's eyes.

Liu Yuliang paused and said again: "There is a saying that all over the world is the king's land, and the shores of the land is the king's minister. Li Xiao was young and became a marquis of Donghai, and he was extremely honored and favored. Unexpectedly, after this man became famous, he was rampant and rebellious and domineering. First, he ignored the ban on the court and went to Hyoghen Island to fight lightly. Later, he strictly refused the imperial officials to receive Taiwan's orders and occupied Taiwan's territory for personal gain. His shapes are all not the most counter-rebellious! If the emperor did not punish such a rebellious minister, he would be asserted as Yang Gemen and others, blindly indulge and keep his eyes shut and listen. The minister dared to assert that in two years, when Li Xiao's power grows stronger, he will definitely become the second Kong Youde to rebel! "

After Liu Yuliang said that, Chongzhen's face was pale.

"I, I, do have the intention to punish Li Xiao, but Wenwei also said that if Li Xiao is moved lightly, I am afraid that he will rebel, and then will be out of control?" Chongzhen murmured.

"Your Majesty, if you stubbornly deprive Li Xiao of military power and punish him for his serious crime, then Li Xiao will not be anxious. But I think that Your Majesty can completely conceal his intentions to cover up his eyes and ears. "When Liu Yuliang said this, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes: "In my opinion, Li Xiao's army is maintained by one person. If Li Xiao is eliminated, the military power will naturally collapse. Therefore, as long as Your Majesty uses a little strategy to earn Li Xiao, Li Xiao will be worried about his side and will be no longer worried."

"Oh, what strategy do I want to use? Ji Long please tell me in detail."

"Your Majesty, I think your Majesty can use his plan and use the rumors in the market to summon Li Xiao as Duke, and then summon him to the capital to be awarded title. As long as Li Xiao enters the capital, he will be trapped in the shallows and tigers will be separated from the forest. At that time, Your Majesty will put him in prison and punish him, and at the same time send others to Shandong to receive Li Xiao's foundation. Isn't it a good plan?" Liu Yuliang smiled sinisterly.

Chongzhen nodded slightly with a gloomy face, and then asked again: "This plan is good, but what if Li Xiao is guilty and refuses to go to Beijing to receive titles?"

"Your Majesty, if he refuses to go to the capital, the rebellion will become clearer. Your Majesty should be summoned and transferred to another place to another position. In order to dispel his vigilance, the titles and official positions he transferred to the local area are the same as those of his Shandong to paralyze his heart. Finally, if he secretly decomposes his power and dismantle his army, then Li Xiao's power alone will be captured."

Chongzhen nodded, he stroked his beard and pondered for a while, and then whispered: "Ji Long, if Li Xiao refused to go to Beijing and refused to make another move, what should he do?"

Liu Yuliang snorted coldly and said in a deep voice: "If Li Xiao really rebelled like this and even rejected the heavenly order, his rebellion would be a foregone conclusion. Then, if Li Xiao wanted to completely break up with the court in this way, the court could only send troops immediately to eliminate the rebel Li Xiao to serve as a warning to others, and he would never leave any more troubles."

"Oh, if so, in your opinion, do I need to gather troops and attack Dengzhou, Shandong with all my might?" Chongzhen frowned.

Liu Yuliang shook his head: "No. In my opinion, we should first sweep the branches and leaves and then plan the main trunks to make a safe plan. Didn't Li Xiao still spread more troops from other places, but he could eliminate them first."

Chongzhen said again and said hesitantly: "Although that being said, Li Xiao sent many troops to Huguang, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Datong and other places to assist the local governments and soldiers in suppressing bandits. If these bandit suppression forces were regarded as chaotic troops, I was afraid that all the soldiers would be dissatisfied."

Liu Yuliang said anxiously: "If Your Majesty is kind and generous, he will not seek to suppress the bandits and horses. Then Li Xiao has a territory, separated from his headquarters, and the emperor will take it down to establish his authority."

"Oh, where is it?"

"Xuanfu Town North Road, Jintang City." Liu Yuliang said in a deep voice.

"Oh." Chongzhen nodded and stroked his beard. After a long time, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes: "Okay, according to your opinion, I will summon Li Xiao!"

On the fifth day of the second month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen.

In the Dengzhou government, Li Xiao led a group of civil and military officials and generals to kneel down and listen to the eunuchs and kings' hearts, and came to pass the orders he passed.

"In accordance with the will of heaven, the emperor ordered: Li Xiao, the Marquis of Donghai, has spread thousands of miles away, recovered the old territory, promoted the prestige of the country to foreign countries, and adopted the distant people as a child. Such a wonderful achievement is brilliant, and I am very happy to hear the report. Li Xiao strives to seek governance in order to rely on the ministers of his loyalty; he will rely on the court's pillars to support chaos and suppress rebellion, and he will be promoted to the great achievements of the king and sing the glory of the country. I will seek this for the sake of the test, so how can he lose his achievements without praise for them? I should do it?

He was promoted to the emperor's will to reward the emperor's decree for merit. He was promoted to the Duke of Tang, and was awarded the title of Guanglu Dafu. He also gave the honor to the country and the eldest son was crowned the prince. He passed on his title forever and inherited it forever. The meritorious soldiers of his subordinates all gave him the Minister of Cong You to discuss. I was ordered by Xi to play the role of the country and the country was transformed into a wilderness. I hope that Li Xiao, the general of our Gancheng, would be powerful and strong, and would be deeply loved by the Yuanrong, and he would be promoted to China, and he used the Pixun of Zhaolu cloth. He temporarily made great achievements and entered the capital to receive a title to match my wishes. I admire this."

When Li Xiao heard that the emperor had truly made himself the title of Duke of the Kingdom and was inherited and replaced by his inheritance, he was quite shocked.

The officials and generals kneeling beside each other were also moved.

Li Xiao, who had read a little bit of Ming Dynasty history in his previous life, still has a certain understanding of the dignity of this duke.

The Ming Dynasty was founded for more than 200 years, and only ten dukes were granted the title of "Duo" in total. Only five families of Wei, Ding, Qian, Cheng and Ying. Now Li Xiao was promoted to the title of "Duo" and was awarded the title of "Duo" to the Guanglu Dafu, and was awarded the title of "Honor of the Pillar". At least on the surface, the emperor was extremely honored and favored by him, and there was no one in the court.

In particular, the emperor also granted Li Xiao a title of rank of the upper pillar. Although the upper pillar country is only a medal rank, this medal rank is as rare as a phoenix.

Because in the Ming Dynasty, the title of the Pulse Kingdom was even more rare than being named Duke. In the more than 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, it was granted ten Dukes, but the number of Dukes was added to the Pulse Kingdom. In the official history, only the Shaoshi Xia Yan and the Pulse Kingdom were the famous minister Zhang Juzheng who was posthumously awarded the Shangzhu Kingdom after his death. Even the founding Marshal Xu Da reached the peak of his personal honor, he was only at the Left Pulse Kingdom. Because the title of the Shangzhu Kingdom was so rare, even Yan Song, who was powerful in the world, dared not accept the title of the Shangzhu Kingdom given by Emperor Jiajing.

Of course, in the Southern Ming Dynasty, in order to win over military leaders from all over the country, the emperor eventually became a king and a king was like a dog, and the kings and princes were everywhere. This originally honorable title of Duke was almost the same as ordinary commercial goods on the streets.

However, Li Xiao quickly thought in his heart that after the emperor was very disrespectful and strictly refused the court to arrange for officials to intervene in Taiwan, he was still able to give himself the title of Duke so generously. He was deeply surprised.

It is said that things are abnormal and there will be monsters. I am afraid that it is not that simple for the court to enthrone themselves in this way.

After reading this long imperial eunuch, Wang Zhixin, took a few breaths before proclaiming: "Duke of Tang Li Xiao, receive the imperial edict."

"My minister, Li Xiao, thank you for your gratitude."

Li Xiao, with a stern face, slowly took over the imperial edict from Wang Zhixin.

Wang Zhixin smiled and helped Li Xiao up: "Duke Tang, our family congratulations. Duke Tang is so young but he is in the high position of Duke Guo, which really makes our family envious and respectful."

Li Xiao smiled and said, "My father-in-law is wrong. What kind of virtue can Li make the emperor trust so much? I feel really dissatisfied. But I don't know that this father-in-law has a great name?"

After Wang Zhixin reported himself to his family, Li Xiao realized that this person was Wang Zhixin, a famous eunuch who had a bad reputation in Ming Dynasty history, who was greedy for money and good goods.

Wang Zhixin was an eunuch in the late Ming Dynasty. Where is his hometown? Since the fourth year of Chongzhen, this person has made a fortune by climbing up to Cao Huachun's thick leg. Since September of that year, he served as the Central Military Supervisor Association. Later, he led the Dongchang to investigate the wrongs and abuses. He used to torture and forced confessions to blackmail a large amount of money, thus making a fortune. He also gained the honor of his brother and nephew, Jinyiwei, and a hundred households in the Jinyiwei.

According to historical records, among the eunuchs in the late Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhixin's family was the most luxurious and wealthy, but this person was a stingy person and extremely stingy.

In the late Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng invaded Beijing. Because the army was not prepared in Beijing, Chongzhen issued a donation order: "All officials donate their salaries will be given additional titles." Wang Zhixin hesitated for many days, and was forced by Cao Huachunle, so he barely raised 10,000 yuan to pay it. In the words of historical books, it is "After paying this silver, it is like ten thousand cones piercing the heart."

After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he began to recover stolen goods and demanded wages. The famous Wang Zhixin was detained and punished, and asked him to donate the money to redeem himself. At the same time, Li Zicheng set a share for him and asked him to raise at least 300,000 taels of silver before he could let him go home. But at this time, Wang Zhixin, because the Dashun Army had washed away the mansion after the city was broken, he was unable to raise the 300,000 taels of silver. In the end, he was trapped to death by the angry Liu Zongmin, and his brain and blood were flowing all over the ground.

However, Li Xiao quickly came back from the reverie of history, and then smiled and said to Wang Zhixin: "My father-in-law comes far away to announce the imperial edict. Thank you for your hard work on the road. Li has given you something else to Cheng Yi, express his feelings. I hope your father-in-law will not refuse."

When Wang Zhixin heard this, the smile on his face suddenly became brighter: "Duke Tang was full of thought and his feelings were sincere. If our family didn't accept it, it would be disrespectful."

Li Xiao laughed loudly, and then ordered someone to give him 500 taels of snow-patterned silver to let Wang Zhixin accept it. The other followers also received different rewards according to their grades, so everyone was happy.

Wang Zhixin, who was greedy for money and good goods, was extremely happy after taking Li Xiao's 500 taels of silver-white and dazzling snowflakes. He smiled and said to Li Xiao: "Duke Tang, the emperor said that our family would take Duke Tang back to the capital, and then the emperor personally awarded the title of Duke before the ancestral temple to the right ceremony. Please prepare and return to the capital with our family as soon as possible."

Wang Zhixin didn't notice it, but a cold and cold light flashed in Li Xiao's eyes.

However, on the surface, he did not reveal any abnormalities. Instead, he smiled and bowed to the king's heart: "No hurry to do this, let me make preparations, and it will not be too late to make a decision."

Li Xiao's words made Wang Zhixin a little confused, but he didn't think so much at this time. Then, under Li Xiao's arrangement, he would check in at the inn for the time being.

After Wang Zhixin and others left, Li Xiao and his two confidants praised the painting, Chen Zilong and Jiang Yueguang, went to the secret room to discuss.

"Duke Tang, please forgive me for saying it bluntly. The students think that the Duke of the State may be unfavorable to go to the capital." Chen Zilong said with a worried look: "The Duke of the State had violated the will of the court and strictly refused to interfere in Taiwan. Now, the court not only did not hold him accountable, but instead gave him the Duke of the State. The students thought that it was really abnormal."

"I think so. If you want to take it, you must give it first. I am afraid that the court will only use the title of Duke of this country as bait to lure Lord Li to the capital. If you go here, it seems like a tiger leaving the forest and a dragon leaving the sea. I am afraid that it will be a little bit of auspicious." Jiang Yueguang stroked his beard with a worried look on his face.
Chapter completed!