When Chongzhen heard Li Mingrui speak so bluntly and so straightforward, he felt very uncomfortable inside, and the muscles on his face were twitching slightly.

Yes, reinforcements are hard to reach, and there is no strong force inside. Such a huge capital city is actually like a building shaking on the beach. I am afraid that a strong wind can completely blow it down.

Such a terrible and dangerous situation, even a fool, understands how dangerous it is.

However, when things come to an end, can I really be so determined and completely abandon this capital that has lasted more than 200 years since Emperor Yongle established his capital?

Can you really give up the ancestral temple, the Forbidden City, the heart of the Ming Empire, the political center of the Ming Emperor, and then you can't cross the Hainan and move south in a hurry?

So, isn’t it any different for Emperor Gaozong of Song, who immediately ran away from the Jin soldiers who heard about it and were frightened to become impotent?

"Taixu, if I act like this, but I don't know what the ministers in the court should think of it?" Chongzhen, who was embarrassed and angry, had a very low voice.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry for me, I'm blunt, there must be a large number of critics among the court officials, so why not wonder?" Li Mingrui looked anxious: "But, the situation is so dangerous now. Even if there is a villain who criticizes you, how can you bewitch you so wisely and sagely, how can you bewitch you by him?! If you miss this last opportunity and the capital is surrounded by the enemy, then your Majesty will want to go south again and again, and you will never be able to get out of the siege!'

In these words, Li Mingrui cleverly described his escape from his life and moving south as an extremely decent personal expedition, which shows his good intentions.

However, Chongzhen's face was still full of gloomy. He lowered his head and kept stroking his beard, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty, if the holy heart is hard to be broken, or if you are determined to live and die with the capital, please give me a courageous battle and ask me to lead the crown prince south, and immediately divide King Ding and King Yong to ensure peace and stability of the country and to calm the people's hearts." Li Mingrui gritted his teeth and finally said this.

As soon as Li Mingrui finished speaking, the muscles on Chongzhen's face trembled involuntarily.

Li Mingrui's intention was nothing more than to let the crown prince Zhu Cilang go to Nanjing to be the governor of the country when the emperor refused to move south, and at the same time he enfeoffed King Ding and King Yong, thinking that the vassal kings were defending him. This method can be said to be second to the next. If Emperor Chongzhen dies, he can survive the foundation of the country and ensure the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty and continue.

But Li Mingrui didn't know that this suggestion was actually completely in line with the emperor's wishes.

Because if this method is implemented, the emperor himself will still be unable to escape from the danger, which is something that the emperor will never accept in his heart.

Moreover, the emperor always had fantasies in his heart, that is, if he was lucky and God would favor him, those foreign soldiers who could arrive in time before the bandits arrived and eventually managed to defend the capital by chance, then the prince's governor's country, Nanjing, might repeat the old drama of Tang Suzong ascending the throne and forcing his father Tang Xuanzong to abdicate as the Supreme Emperor. Such a thing was absolutely intolerable by Chongzhen.

So, after hearing Li Mingrui's words, he immediately said with anger: "Taixu, what is your words? I think I have managed the world for more than ten years and cannot help. What are the things my brothers and children have done? There is no need to say anything about the prince's movement south."

Li Mingrui, who had a hard work but had a nail, keenly guessed the emperor's subtle thoughts, and for a moment, he didn't know how to reply.

In the East Warehouse, there was an awkward silence.

Li Mingrui thought for a while and said tentatively: "If Your Majesty feels that the southern expedition to Jinling is too far away, it has a great impact on the morale of the army, you can move to Jinan where the King of Tang is located, and set up a court there. This way can also ensure that Your Majesty is safe and that the Ming Dynasty will remain unmoved. However, Shandong is the territory of the King of Tang, and Your Majesty will live in it, so it may be inconvenient..."

Chongzhen was worried and said that Li Mingrui's words were no longer unpleasant. He waved his hand to interrupt Li Mingrui's words, and sighed: "Forget it, I understand your suggestions, Taixu, you don't have to say too much, just step back first."

Humph, I don’t even want to go to Nanjing, and I want me to go to the territory of the former traitor Li Xiao. Isn’t this like Emperor Xian of Han, who automatically runs and is controlled by Cao Cao? How could such a thing happen?!

Li Mingrui raised his head and looked at the emperor's melancholy and haggard face, feeling very sad.

He opened his mouth and wanted to say something more. However, he lowered his head and bowed his hand to give the gift slowly, and then left the East Warehouse.

Chongzhen looked at him disappearing silently outside the palace gate and couldn't help but sigh again.

Chongzhen was alone, paced back and forth in the East Warehouse Pavilion. After thinking about it, he finally decided to summon all ministers to discuss matters in Jianji Hall. See the opinions of the ministers, whether they should move south immediately or have other laws to ensure that the capital does not have to make a big move to move the entire court to the south.

The next day at the court meeting, Chongzhen made a secret decision to move south again to the court officials. Sure enough, as soon as the emperor finished speaking, it caused a huge uproar.

According to Emperor Chongzhen's original intention, he planned to flee to the south himself, but first, he wanted ministers to praise him, and second, he wanted to take care of his son.

Like when Li Mingrui reported yesterday, he deliberately called the escape south "personal expedition" because he understood the emperor's good face. However, it was because of Li Mingrui's mobilization of the prince to move south that angered the emperor, which made this conversation that could have achieved results end in failure.

Even Li Mingrui, who was bold and frank, was like this. Those court officials who were determined to protect themselves were all very smart in their minds.

They were afraid that after the emperor moved south, they would leave themselves to assist the prince in the capital and become living scapegoats. This would be a fatal matter. If they were lucky enough to move south, once the capital was lost, they might have suffered the consequences because they had advocated moving south.

After all, it is highly likely that such an emperor like Chongzhen, who is irresponsible and good at scapegoating.

Therefore, the ministers in the entire court all had a submissive and undeniable attitude, which was exactly the same as the situation in real history that "the emperor wanted the minister to say something. The ministers were afraid of the emperor and did not dare to speak, and they were worried that the emperor would be left behind, or that the capital could not defend it after the journey, and the emperor would be punished by the emperor. Then no one made a decision."

And there are even more speechless things and conspiracies.

That is, such as the chief assistant Chen Yan, the Minister of Works of the Ministry of Works, Wei Zaode, and others, they even made up their minds to surrender to the bandits and change their ranks.

In their hearts, they planned to take Chongzhen, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, as a gift to the bandits, so they did not want Chongzhen to escape.

Therefore, when Chongzhen was helpless, he personally asked Chen Yan what he thought about the migration south, Chen Yan immediately knelt on the ground, crying and not saying a word.

"Chen Yan, why is your attitude?" Seeing Chen Yan's expression, Chongzhen was disgusted and asked coldly.

Chen Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, never looked up, but replied in a depressed sentence: "Your Majesty wants to move south, but I dare not say much. But what I want to say is that before the bandits arrive, they abandon the capital first, so what is the ancestral temple?'

"you!……"

Chen Yan's words touched the softest part of Chongzhen's heart, making him speechless.

Chongzhen gritted his teeth and angrily beat the dragon chaise. What can he say about the anxiety and shame in his heart?

Seeing Chen Yan's behavior like this, the emperor no longer knew how to deal with it. Wei Zaode, the left censor Li Banghua and others also came out one after another, kneeling on the ground, crying and making the whole court look like a memorial service, full of a sad and desolate atmosphere.

Seeing that they had made an appointment, they all pretended to be loyal ministers and acted like a coward who was pleaded for the country. Chongzhen was angry but it was not easy to get angry.

In the midst of chaos, the clerk, Shiheng-hyung, keenly smelled the change in the atmosphere of the court. He took the initiative and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, I think that Li Mingrui's proposal to move south is actually a evil saying. The evil intentions hidden in it must be observed!"

As soon as he said this, Chongzhen's face changed, and the whole court instantly calmed down.

At this time, Chen Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, showed a faint joy on his face. Li Mingrui, who had been standing in the court class, had a pale face and was panicked and unscrupulous.

"Guang Shiheng! Why do you say that Li Mingrui's words are evil? Let me tell you the truth!"

When Shi Heng saw the light, he spoke in shock. He put a big hat on Li Mingrui as soon as he came. Chongzhen looked very ugly and asked sternly.

Guang Shiheng was calm and raised his arms and knelt down and reported: "Emperor, the capital is the capital of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years. How can it be abandoned? I remember that the Mongolian Wasat tribe had besieged the city with 500,000 soldiers, and they could only trap the city under the strong city and could not conquer it. In the end, they had to escape in a hurry. Naihe has not yet arrived, and a large number of foreign reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty were also on the way to reinforce, and they were about to rush to the capital to repay Your Majesty. This is really the time when the superiors and subordinates are working together to defend the city. However, Li Mingrui was selfish and in order to protect his own interests, he encouraged His Majesty to abandon His Majesty and move south to Jinling. Such shameless intentions are truly punishable!"

Guang Shiheng's words made Chongzhen's face turn red and white. Before he could reply, a group of ministers in the court who were changing their minds immediately shouted with words.

"Your Majesty, the capital is my Ming capital, and you must not abandon it lightly!"

"Your Majesty is so wise and sage, how can you be bewitched by villains? If there is any mistake in the capital, I am afraid that the soldiers, people and the people in the world will be disgusted. Even if they move south to Jinling smoothly, how can they win people's hearts?"

"Your Majesty, Li Mingrui's words are definitely selfish and have an unspeakable purpose. This person is afraid of thieves and is determined to seek personal gain. Please punish him immediately to boost the morale of our Ming soldiers and civilians!"

...

Hearing these ministers took sides, quickly turned the guns, and instead put in the insult to Li Mingrui, the court meeting that was talking about moving south turned into a personal attack on Li Mingrui. The emperor's face turned ashen and almost furious.

He stood up in anger and shouted loudly: "Stop talking! Now the situation is so hot, and you are still attacking internal struggles here. What is the essence of your intention? What do you think of all the words, just referring to Li Mingrui? Such words are obvious to the argument of the clique. Can you deceive me and not be able to clearly observe it? Tell you, even if I cannot defend the country, I can sacrifice my life for the country!"

Chongzhen's words set the tone for the court meeting, and put gold on his face, temporarily extinguished the court officials' verbal disputes, but also cut off his last chance to escape south.

Perhaps, this is the fate of a dynasty.

I can't change, I don't want to change, I just think that it will be a day to go through the mud, and the ending of this self-bound self-destruction is already destined.

However, when the enemy soldiers were forced to do all the capital, Chongzhen still did the last thing he thought was the most important thing.

That is, the eunuch Xu Gao, who had personally sent the eunuch of the Sili Prison, who had personally told the man who asked him to donate 20,000 taels of silver to his father-in-law Zhou Kui, to bring his own handwritten imperial orders, risking being robbed by the Qing army navy or pirates, crossing the sea from Tianjin to Liaodong, asking Li Xiao to quickly lead his troops to evacuate Qing territory, and the entire army went straight to the capital to strive to save the capital that had been more than 200 years of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, at the same time, he also strives to save his life.

If you can't move south, Li Xiao may be the last straw to save lives.

In the dim Ganqing Palace, Chongzhen carefully sealed the edict, walked down the Danban himself, and handed the edict to Xu Gao, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Xu Gao, Cao Huachun has been to Shandong for a long time, and there is no news. I really can't wait any longer." Chongzhen looked worried, and there was an indescribable sadness in his voice: "You are going on this trip, which is of great importance. You must hand over this imperial edict to Li Xiao personally. I know that it is very risky for you to go on the sea route. The Qing barbarians and the pirates are all present. But now that I am in a hurry, I have no choice but to hope that you are on the road and be more careful."

Xu Gao raised his head, tears were already filled with his eyes, and replied with a trembling voice: "Don't worry, Your Majesty! I will not repay you with your kindness. When I go to Liaodong, I will definitely overcome all difficulties and hand the decree to the King of Tang. Don't say that I can go on a sea of ​​things, even if I have to cross the sea of ​​swords and fires, I will go to your Majesty without hesitation!"

Chongzhen's eyes were immediately covered with tears.

He was speechless anymore, so he could only pretend to be intimate and patted Xu Gao's shoulder to show comfort.

An hour later, Xu Gao, who was ready, and accompanied by several Jinyiwei, left the capital from Dongzhimen and headed straight for Hejian Prefecture, Tianjin.

They crossed Jinghai, Xianshuigu, and came to Dagu Ferry. Here they took the sea boats that the officials of Hejian Mansion had prepared long ago and immediately crossed north.

Xu Gao and others were lucky. Perhaps because the spring had just thawed, the pirates on the sea and the Qing navy were almost unseen, so the group went north smoothly.

It was a coincidence that the day before Xu Gao and others arrived in Yingkou, Cao Huachun, who set out from Laizhou, Shandong, took a boat to Yingkou, and rushed for another day. Finally, he arrived at Haicheng where Li Xiao was.

It turned out that Cao Huachun stayed in Shandong for nearly a month and was really bored. What he most hoped for every day was that the Liaodong waters could turn on ice and freeze as soon as possible, so that he could take a boat to cross the sea to announce the edict, so that he could return to the capital as soon as possible to report his life.

Therefore, after the news of the thawing of the spring in Liaodong, he could not wait for Li Xiao's naval fleet to return from Liaodong, so he hurriedly took an ordinary civilian ship from Laizhou, and he also arrived at Yingkou by chance.
Chapter completed!