Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Dangerous

Xiong Tingbi's memorial was exactly as he expected, and it aroused a lot of opposition in the court; this time, it was not because of factions, personnel affairs, or the meaningless spirit of opposing for the sake of opposition, but because of Liaodong who really opposed him. policy. The ministers who knew nothing about the situation in Liaodong almost uttered a surprised question in unison: "How can you grow others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige?" Because of ignorance, they opposed taking a defensive position and advocated an offensive. Most people in the court said: "Sarhu's defeat is really a shame and a shame; the court entrusted Xiong Tingbi with a heavy responsibility because he was expected to go forward bravely. , Annihilate the slave chieftains in one fell swoop, wash away the shame of Saarhu, and revive our great power, why don't we go on and take it back, and stop our troops in Liaoyang?"

Some people even said: "Qinghe, Fushun, Kaiyuan, and Tieling are all important places. After they fall, they will have a great impact. If he doesn't regain them as soon as possible, he will be a big thief!" "When he was appointed, the Lord Long Live had a decree: Restoring Kaiyuan is an urgent task for the imperial guards to secure the frontier. Now, he does not attack but only defends. Doesn't he fail the holy family of the Long Live Lord?" These words became more and more intense, and finally boiled over, spreading to others: First of all, Yang Gao, who was arrested and imprisoned, had to spend more money to break through joints and beg to save his life; while Li Rubai, who was stagnant on the battlefield and was also imprisoned in Beijing, was weighing his father and brother. He is no longer there, the power of the family has declined, and it is difficult to reduce the charge of retreating without a fight, so he committed suicide in prison.

Secondly, Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, originally wanted to take leave as much as possible because his son was not up to the mark and caused him a lot of trouble. He hid at home and bided his time. He had to go back to court to take care of this matter; but the matter was really tricky and difficult, and he had a terrible headache. For several days in a row, he could only use the word "drag" instead of facing the problem directly, so that the voice of the courtiers calmed down a bit; then he braced himself and went to report to Emperor Wanli. He intentionally created an atmosphere where the courtiers' opinions against Xiong Tingbi's policy were not strong - while doing so, he secretly prayed: "God bless, let this matter pass soon..."

Of course, he hoped that Emperor Wanli would adopt Xiong Tingbi's Liaodong policy, not because he really valued and supported Xiong Tingbi's plan, but because he didn't want to be responsible for "one more thing is worse than one less thing"—the idea of ​​resigning has been raised several times However, Emperor Wanli did not approve it, so he was not allowed to "provide for the rest of the world"; he hoped that Emperor Wanli could approve Xiong Tingbi's performance, so that no matter how well Xiong Tingbi "keeps", the Liaodong issue can be delayed for a while , and I may resign as an official during this period, then there is no need to worry about Liaodong anymore.

This "wishful thinking" is of course extremely helpless, but it is the best way for him to deal with himself in this complicated political environment. Although Emperor Wanli didn't realize that the basic mentality of his cabinet ministers was not for the country and the people, and he didn't know much about the situation in Liaodong far outside the customs, but this time, he made a surprising move. What happened - he actually read Xiong Tingbi's memorials himself. This was the first time in many years, and Fang Congzhe was so surprised that he yelled wildly: "A miracle happened..."

And then, Emperor Wanli's performance surprised him even more—Emperor Wanli personally approved Xiong Tingbi's memorial. He couldn't believe it was true—it was a long time later that he found an explanation for this unexpected bumper harvest: "It really is the unfathomable power of Heaven!" He didn't understand Emperor Wanli's heart, he didn't understand how the only "diligence" that Emperor Wanli saw in his life happened. He was only surprised by the miracle that happened to him; , apart from joy, he was also surprised. In fact, Emperor Wanli was still ill, and his condition was getting worse day by day, so severe that he once again felt that his life had shrunk and was exhausted to the point where he had only one breath left; He never dared to leave for a moment; the diet and medicine he took used the most precious materials to maintain his life; however, he still felt dizzy, chest tightness, foot pain, shortness of breath, and occasionally fainted. At that time, he silently said to himself: "I am going to die..."

Sometimes, when he wakes up from his lethargy, he feels lucky and surprised when he finds that he is still alive, as if secretly pleasantly surprised that he has recovered his own life; and at such moments, he also occasionally reviews his life For a lifetime. He is not a fool with low qualifications. If he really thinks about it, he will certainly feel absurd—— His whole life has been wasted, and at the beginning of his ascension, the "Wanli Reign" that everyone in the world was looking forward to has come to naught—what kind of evaluation will he get in history? He trembled unconsciously.

And Xiong Tingbi's memorial was just in time, and it was delivered the next day after he shuddered. The eunuchs didn't dare to expect him to read the memorabilia in person, but because "this is a big deal", they seized the moment when he was sober to report to him. When they heard that he wanted to "read it with their own eyes", they were overjoyed Not caring about the sigh that was ringing in his heart: "I can't let Liaodong be lost in my hands..." Debilitated, he lay upright on the magnificent and luxurious dragon bed waiting for his life to end. This idea seemed to be his final awakening; thus, the last hard thinking in his life appeared.

Liaodong must be kept—that is to say, a way must be found to keep Liaodong, and a decision must be made to keep Liaodong—otherwise, he will become a fool who lost his country, a prodigal son who lost the great country left by his ancestors. Based on this spur, he forced himself to cheer up and think about it intently. He remembered the three key points that Xiong Tingbi had put forward before leaving Beijing: steadfast defense, advance and suppression, and recovery. He also carefully looked at Xiong Tingbi's present memorial. Liaodong is dilapidated, with insufficient troops, lack of food, wages, horses, and weapons. It cannot be improved in a short period of time;

"At present, if we stick to Liaoyang, increase troops and pay, dispatch good generals, and train soldiers and horses, we can expect to wipe out the slave chieftains within three to two years..." "It is not suitable to use troops at the moment, otherwise we will repeat the mistakes of Saarhu's defeat; moreover, Liaoyang is the capital of Liaodong, once it falls, the consequences will be very serious compared to the previous defeat..." He understood the memorial, so he looked at Xiong Tingbi's new plan. "Setting up troops in four dangerous places can stop the slave chiefs..."

He was unfamiliar with the dangerous place names, so he asked the eunuch to find out, looked for a map, and then approved Xiong Tingbi's performance. "Let him give it a try and defend Liaoyang first!" He called Fang Congzhe, and personally "made an order". In Fang Congzhe's astonishment, he issued an order: "There is no chance of winning the battle, and we should really adopt a defensive strategy--I have used troops many times in the court, and the rate has cost more money and food, and the soldiers have been damaged; Now that the national treasury is empty and there are few soldiers, just follow Xiongqing's instructions and stick to it!" And after saying these words, his strength was almost exhausted, his spirit was exhausted, his breath became weaker and weaker, and finally he couldn't hold it anymore, and his eyelids closed; Feeling for his pulse; Fang Congzhe of course had to kowtow three times and backed out. Finally, a definite decision was made on the Liaodong matter. However, such a seemingly simple decision made him exhausted and weakened during his illness. After Fang Congzhe quit, he was exhausted for ten days. He couldn't even open his eyelids, except for his breath, he was completely a corpse. It wasn't until more than two months later that his spirit recovered a little bit, and he was able to open his eyes to see the scene outside the brocade tent, and the world was already a different scene. First of all, the season has become midwinter, and the world is silvery white; Xiong Tingbi has exhausted all his efforts, and finally defended the remaining land of Liaodong for him, without losing any piece of land or city.

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