At night, the study room is brightly lit, reflecting the terracotta bricks and stones outside as if it were daytime. Important officials lined up in the Shangshu room, while lesser officials stood outside.
In the capital at the end of March, the night was still chilly, and some officials sneezed several times. At this moment, what they felt was not only the coldness of the east wind, but also the coldness from the war in the north. Just like their master.
The officials of the Ministry of War described the events in the north in detail. Li Hai huddled in the corner of the throne, tilted his head, supported his elbows on the armrest of the golden dragon chair, and rested his temples on his fists.
While listening to the official's briefing, he rubbed his forehead with the other hand. His head felt heavy today, as if it had been filled with lead.
Due to vigorous kneading, a mark the size of a plum blossom appeared between his eyebrows, that is, at the position of Yintang, and a thick shadow shrouded his cold eyes.
"enough!"
Suddenly, Li Hai couldn't bear the official's narration anymore, because he always felt that his army was invincible, but he didn't expect that he was still beaten by the town while guarding the Waqiao Pass.
The entire Waqiaoguan army and garrison generals were all captured by the feudal town, which is really the greatest shame in the history of Dajing Kingdom!
"What's the use of raising those people!" Li Hai's face was purple and dark, and there was some blueness on his face. It felt like someone had slapped him in the face. "Every time I come to Beijing, When reporting on their duties, they all told me how powerful their troops are, and guarding Waqiaoguan is even more condescending and foolproof! What about now? Hmph, they made dumplings! Think about it, I feel ashamed for them!"
The official of the Ministry of War said: "I heard that it was the feudal town who tricked the guards to open the city gates, so none of the guards will be spared, so don't take them prisoner."
"A trick?" Li Hai suddenly became interested, wanting to know what trick the feudal town used to capture all the soldiers guarding Waqiao Pass, "Tell me, what kind of trick did you hear?"
Li Hai deliberately emphasized the tone of "you heard", to satirize the incompetence and unresponsiveness of the officials of the Ministry of War, and even now they still don't know the situation ahead, and only used the word "heard", which really made Li Hai angry No way.
Is it true that Li Hai travels around the mountains and rivers every day, indulges in wine and sex, and the officials of the Ministry of War are the same
The officials of the Ministry of War obviously felt the difference in Li Hai's tone. The two were fighting, and their voices trembled: "Reporting to the emperor, at that time, my relatives led a team of more than 1,000 people and called the door at the gate, saying that they were going to Beijing to meet the Queen Mother One of the soldiers guarding the gate saw the number of the other side was small, and the two saw the Empress Dowager's face, so they closed the gate and opened it."
"After the foreign relatives led more than a thousand soldiers into the pass, they occupied the gate of the city, and at the same time set off smoke to attract the follow-up feudal towns to lead an army of 100,000 troops to enter the pass. Because of the surprise, the guards were not prepared, and this is the result now. …”
After the Ministry of War officials spoke, the volume became smaller and smaller, so that the sound could not be heard.
Li Hai slapped the handle of the faucet, and scolded in a shrill voice: "This is a disgrace to the Great Jing Kingdom! Could it be that there was no smoke and dust when a hundred thousand troops marched over? Didn't the guards have any doubts? They didn't even have this point." Don't you have any fighting qualities?"
The official of the Ministry of War wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said falteringly: "This... the coach at that time is... is..."
Li Hai was impatient with the officials playing charades: "What the hell are you doing? Tell me!"
Every time Li Hai said a word, the official's heart skipped a beat: "Reporting to the emperor, the coach at that time was outing in Guanli to enjoy the flowers, so..."
The trembling shoulders vented the anger and helplessness in Li Hai's heart, and there was also a yin and yang smile on his face: "Hey, the coach who dares to guard the pass also thinks that the current spring and Jingming, and the March of Youth, is a good time to go out and enjoy the fun." season!"
After a pause, Li Hai suddenly swept all the documents on the case in front of the throne to the ground, and roared loudly, "If the guard guard can come back, I will definitely execute him immediately! Is his family in the capital? "
The official of the Ministry of War said: "The coach's family is indeed in the capital..."
Li Hai pointed to Eunuch Liu: "Immediately let Hanlin wait for an edict to draft an edict for me, and post it at every gate of the capital, saying that the commander of Waqiaoguan gave up his defense, surrendered to the feudal town on his own initiative, captured the king's master, and committed an unforgivable crime. Take them all into custody and execute them!"
The official of the Ministry of War said: "Your Majesty, many people in the capital are still unaware of the rebellion in the feudal town. If the notice is posted, it will make people panic. At that time, the whole capital will be in a mess and it will be difficult to clean up!"
If the common people knew about this, they would flee the capital one after another, and the entire capital would become an empty city at that time.
Li Hai was furious for a while, but he didn't think about this aspect, he thought about it and said: "If that's the case, then don't draw up an order, just ask the Ministry of War to send troops to surround the mansion of the commander of Waqiaoguan, and confiscate their whole family. Stay! All children over three months old will be executed! This is to warn those generals and officials who give up resistance, either fight hard against the rebels, or wait for the whole family to be beheaded!"
Such a cruel and inhuman decree is really rare in the Dajing Kingdom. The officials looked at each other in blank dismay. Although they felt that it was too cruel, they did not dare to speak out when Li Hai was furious.
"My minister complies with the order!" The official of the Ministry of War responded in a low voice.
Li Hai pointed at the official and asked again: "What is the origin of the feudal town that rebelled against the relatives?"
The feudal town is coming in menacingly, and there are 100,000 troops. They took down Waqiao Pass without bloodshed. It seems that he is also a general who is capable of fighting, brave and resourceful. Even though Li Hai didn't know who he was, he was already terrified by his aura.
An official knelt under Li Hai and said: "Reporting to the emperor, the one who rebelled with his relatives was Pan Meichen, the Jiedu envoy guarding the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun. He is related by marriage to the Bai family and the Lin family. Three beautiful beards make a square sky draw a halberd. He is brave and resourceful, and his subordinates are well-mannered. With him guarding the north, Rong Di dare not cross the Great Wall to herd horses and sheep, so everyone calls him "General Tian".
Li Hai's face turned pale: "Hmph, General Tian? Could it be that he really replaced me and became the emperor himself? Just for his name, if he doesn't come to invade the capital, I will send troops to conquer him."
Li Hai spoke very easily, but the officials under him didn't take it seriously: "Pan Meichen seldom smacks opponents. He has fought in the battlefield for many years and has never been defeated. And..." The officials hesitated to speak.
Li Hai said: "Say it quickly, and what?"
Looking at the official's expression, it seems that he is talking about a tiger, with fear flashing in his face and eyes: "In addition to Pan Meichen, there are also rebels gathering at Waqiaoguan in various places, and they are all inextricably linked with their relatives. .They are still playing..."
"What are you playing?" Li Hai's heart was about to jump out of his throat, and he leaned forward a little, eager to hear what the official said next.
"They declared with the slogan 'Save the Empress Dowager, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty'. If the Empress Dowager is not released, they will never withdraw their troops!"
Many officials in the imperial court were unaware of the conflict between the queen mother and Li Hai. Now that various towns are under the banner of "saving the queen mother", the officials also feel very puzzled: the queen mother is Li Hai's mother in name, so how could Li Hai imprison the queen mother? stand up
Now Li Hai, even if he wants to release the queen mother, it is impossible! If the empress dowager's body is handed over to the relatives, then the relatives will not give up!