The bell on the Meridian Gate rang.

As usual, Chongzhen once again rode a chariot to the court.

Starting from Jiajing, several emperors of the Ming Dynasty rarely visited the court to listen to politics, and rarely even met with ministers. However, after Chongzhen ascended to the throne, he tried his best to correct the long-standing shortcomings of "weak imperial outline" and went to court every day. As diligent as he was The emperor is rare in history, and his level of diligence is even comparable to that of the emperor Gao.

It was not until after the army of thieves passed through the Xuan Mansion that due to military emergencies, he needed to deal with many issues at any time, and he also needed to summon a small number of ministers, workers and secret merchants at any time, he stopped the daily morning court method and changed it to every three, six and nine days. The door listens to the government. But today is not the 369th. It was suddenly decided to go to court. The order was not sent yesterday. How could the ministers come?

When Chongzhen took the chariot not far from the Qianqing Palace and arrived at the Jianji Palace, he realized that he was wrong. He was so confused that he sighed in his heart:

"Is this also a sign of national subjugation?"

But the bell on the Meridian Gate has been ringing for a while, and it is already too late to cancel the court meeting.

He then thought about it, considering the current situation, it would be good to see only a few ministers on the platform. Maybe someone would come up with an emergency plan. If Wu Sangui's reinforcements are not available today and the "rebels" break through the city, this will be his last time. Yumen listens to politics...

The thought of losing his ancestor's country in his own hands made him almost burst into tears.

Today, the emperor suddenly decided to go to court. Although the bells on the Meridian Gate rang for a while, most of the officials scattered in the East, West and North City did not hear them, and the few who heard the bells could not arrive. Therefore, Chongzhen's visit to the court was In the past seventeen years, the court has never been so out of order and deserted as it is today. There are only a few eunuchs waiting on it, and there are only two ministers kneeling on the platform to receive him: one is Li Banghua, the censor of the left neighbor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the other is the Ministry of War. The minister assisted Wang Jiayan in the military affairs. The seventy-one-year-old Li Banghua had a white beard as silver, floating on his chest, and the fifty-seven-year-old Wang Jiayan also had gray hair and beard. He saw only two veteran ministers kneeling a few feet away from the imperial case. Apart from them There were only a dozen ministers who came with him, and the few lonely people made the courtyard even more empty. For a moment, he shed tears unconsciously.

In the past, even during the usual regular court, there were at least one or two hundred people, step by step, divided into two classes. The appearance in front of him made Chongzhen not think that today was a temporary bell ringing for the court, so not many courtiers came, he just and Compared with the past situation, I sighed sadly in my heart and said:

"Alas! What a sign of national subjugation!"

Chongzhen couldn't even bear this unseemly phenomenon, so he ordered.

"Retreat from the DPRK".

This surprised the eunuchs and two ministers on the left and right. Before everyone could turn around, Chongzhen had already stood up and walked back. But just as he was about to get into the chariot, he regretted that he should not suddenly retreat. The palace is so confused! Thinking that Wang Jiayan is the minister of the Ministry of War and is responsible for defending the city. Now he is rushing to court? There must be something urgent to report.

Should we ask face-to-face about the situation of the defense of Ming City? As for Li Banghua, he was also a veteran of the four dynasties. He was a learned and ethical minister who was upright and upright, and was highly respected by the court officials.

He even then thought about the fourth day of this month. Li Banghua and Fan Jingwen both suggested escorting the prince to Nanjing. How good this suggestion was, but it was only because some officials at the time opposed it. He couldn't make up his mind for a while, and it was not adopted in the end.

Hateful! Hateful!

Some court officials suggested that he move to Nanjing himself? But he did not adopt it because of opposition from officials.

Hateful, hateful!

Yan Guan is really hateful!

Chongzhen, who was full of regrets, suddenly had another idea in his mind? Did Li Banghua have any new suggestions today?

"Instruct Li Banghua that Wang Jiayan will go to Dongnuan Pavilion and wait for the call!"

Chongzhen gave instructions to the eunuch, his voice choked with sobs.

After returning to Dongnuan Pavilion, Chongzhen waited for the arrival of the two of them. He thought bitterly in his heart.

"In the past? Ministers and ministers, big and small, asked for the right one? Which one asked for the right one? Why has no one asked for the right one since the capital was besieged and the country was about to perish? In the past, not only were many documents sent from various places every day, but also the size of the capital

My ministers, there are many memorials every day, but there has been no memorial in the past three days. No one has offered any strategies or suggestions to save this dangerous situation! Is this the official the Ming Dynasty has fostered? Officials have misunderstood me.

!Hateful! Hateful!”

While waiting for Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan, Chongzhen wondered why Wang Chengen was nowhere to be seen. His mind was in a state of confusion. An internal official came in and bowed to report:

"Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan have arrived and are waiting to be summoned."

Chongzhen said:

"Tell them to come in quickly!"

The internal officials respectfully withdrew to deliver the order. After a while, a eunuch opened the curtain, with Li Banghua in front and Wang Jiayan in the back. They entered Wennuan Pavilion and bowed in salute in front of Chongzhen.

"No gift."

Chongzhen asked:

"Wang Jiayan, how is the defense on the city? What's going on with the rebels?"

Wang Jiayan held the wat and said:

"Your Majesty, the troops on the city are thin, and the people are dissatisfied. Now, many of the troops attacking the city outside Xizhimen and Fuchengmen are surrendered troops from the Beijing camp. The surrendered troops from the Beijing camp are constantly shouting at the city gates about how powerful the rebel forces are.

, there are 200,000 elite soldiers surrounding the capital, who can break the city at any time, and persuade the people in the city to understand the current situation, open the door earlier and surrender, so as to avoid being massacred, and said that if they do not surrender for five days, the whole city will be slaughtered. The morale of the soldiers on the city is now disturbed...

…”

Wang Jiayan burst into tears when he mentioned the situation in the city. He couldn't say any more. When had such a situation happened in the past dynasties?

Is Ming Dynasty really exhausted?

Li Banghua also cried silently. He regretted that he had a reputation for being upright and dared to speak out, but he did not dare to have a firm opinion on the issue of moving south, which led to today's disaster.

Seeing the two ministers crying, Chongzhen couldn't help crying, but what's the use of crying now?

After taking a look at Li Banghua, Chongzhen thought that he still had important things to talk to him in secret. He shed tears and asked Xiang Jiayan:

"Since you became an official, you have been a veteran minister of three dynasties. Now it is your second time to dedicate yourself to the defense of Beijing. You and your ministers share weal and woe..."

The emperor's words made Wang Jiayan burst into tears. Chongzhen also cried.

When the emperor and his ministers were crying, Li Banghua interjected with tears in his eyes:

"The country is in this state, and all officials, both civil and military, cannot absolve themselves of their blame. I should remain silent. I deeply betray Your Majesty and deserve to die!"

Chongzhen was not very clear about the true meaning of Li Banghua's two sentences, and he didn't want to think about it. He then said to Wang Jiayan:

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"Wang Jiayan, you are my loyal minister. Now that things have happened, don't you have something to do?"

Wang Jiayan choked and said:

"Your Majesty, my heart has been shattered and my strength has been exhausted. I can only repay Your Majesty's kindness by dying!"

His answer made Chongzhen fall into despair and burst into tears for a while. Wang Jiayan also fell to the ground and sobbed. Li Banghua also shed tears, and he secretly regretted in his heart that he had not persisted in moving south.

The monarchs and ministers cried to each other for a while, and Chongzhen said to Wang Jiayan:

"Queen, please quickly patrol the city and try your best to defend until Wu Sangui's reinforcements arrive!"

Wang Jiayan, who fell to the ground and cried bitterly, kowtowed and stood up. After receiving the order with tears in his eyes, he left the Nuan Pavilion.

After Wang Jiayan withdrew, Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua and said:

"Sir, please sit down!"

After Li Banghua bowed and thanked him, he sat sideways and waited for the emperor to ask questions. Chongzhen always respected a learned and ethical minister like Li Banghua, and as usual called him sir instead of calling him by name. But he understood that now that the capital was under siege, he could not take it easy.

At that time, even though Li Banghua had the prestige of a veteran of the four dynasties, it was of no use to save the overall situation. Sighing, Chongzhen asked casually:

"Sir, today I am in a state of confusion and have to go to court temporarily. None of the civil and military officials knew about it beforehand. Sir, you are already seventy years old. How can you come to court? Is there any important memorial?"

Li Banghua leaned forward on his chair and said:

"Your Majesty, since the intruders passed through Changping, I knew that the big thing was no longer possible, so I moved to the shrine of Prime Minister Wen and did not go home again. I decided to hang myself next to Prime Minister Wen for two days until the day when the rebels broke through the city.

Come……"

Li Banghua's words shocked Chongzhen's heart, and he waved his hand to stop him. He suddenly remembered a terrible dream last night, thinking that he would hang himself, and thinking that his ancestor's country would be in danger, he couldn't help but hide his face and sob. Seeing the Emperor

After crying, Li Banghua also cried. He regretted that as a minister, he was responsible for the "disaster of national subjugation" that came before him. Chongzhen, who was unaware of Li Banghua's regret, sobbed for a moment and said again.

"If all the ministers were honest and loyal in their official positions, how could the state affairs be as bad as it is today!"

The emperor's praise made Li Banghua leave his chair, knelt down, kowtowed and apologized tremblingly:

"Your Majesty! The country has reached this point, and the old minister will not be punished until he dies!"

Chongzhen was suddenly startled, stunned for a moment, and asked:

"Why did you say this, sir?"

"I am guilty of mistreating the king and the country."

"Sir, why did you harm the country?"

"Your Majesty doesn't know about this, but I know it in my heart. It's too late to regret it now!"

Chongzhen heard that there was deep regret in Li Banghua's words, but he didn't understand it at the moment. He made random guesses and asked Banghua to sit down and talk. After Duhua kowtowed and stood up again, Chongzhen asked:

"What are you referring to, sir?"

Li Banghua leaned forward and said:

"At the beginning of the first month, the thieves crossed the river and entered Jin. Although Taiyuan had not yet fallen, the whole Jin was empty and the capital's defense was weak. Anyone with knowledge knew that the capital would not be able to hold on. Li Mingrui suggested that your majesty take advantage of the fact that the enemy troops were still far away and quickly drive south to patrol.

Then, relying on Jiangnan's wealth and military resources to organize the army and build military skills, this is the best strategy for the country..."

"At that time, some government officials tried their best to oppose it and confused me. This plan did not work, and I regret it now. I hate that the government officials and ordinary civil servants were ignorant and only talked empty talk. Now that I think about it, many things have been ruined by these crows in the past seventeen years.

It’s extremely hateful on my body!”

"Although some civil servants at that time knew the scriptures but did not know the rights, they obstructed His Majesty's southern tour plan and misled the emperor and the country. However, I was a veteran of the four dynasties and as the capital of the country. I was also worried at the time and could not be brave enough to carry out the southern tour. It is really

It is the crime of misusing the king and the country."

"At that time, Qing suggested that important ministers should be selected to escort the prince to support the army in Nanjing, which would be a good strategy to save the country."

Once again, Chongzhen regretted it. If he had sent the prince to support the army in Nanjing, how could his ancestor's empire be lost?

"My original intention was to suggest that the emperor go to Nanjing. Seeing that Li Mingrui's suggestion was opposed by many people, I instead asked the prince to send his troops to Nanjing."
To be continued...