lcionline Chapter 669 Chongzhen's Concession
Chapter 669 Chongzhen's Concession
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and said, "How can I bow down to a military man? Am I really going to execute my ministers and issue an edict of self-reproach? Who is the ruler and who is the subject?"
Wen Tiren hesitated for a moment, then said, "If we don't offer him any incentives and try to get him to withdraw his troops with just words, it will be very difficult..."
Emperor Chongzhen's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.
Wen Tiren knew Chongzhen's temperament: stubborn, self-willed, and concerned with saving face. He knew he had to give Chongzhen a way out in many situations. So he slightly turned his head, gave Wang Jiayan, a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Personnel, a wink, and then looked at Yang Sichang.
Wang Jiayan and Wen Tiren had a close relationship, with Wang often acting as Wen's vanguard in impeaching political enemies. They also had a tacit understanding; upon seeing each other's exchange, Wang Jiayan knew the Grand Secretary's intentions. After silently preparing his words, he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Ye's brazen entry into the city is indeed an unforgivable crime. However, Yang Sichang, as the Right Vice Minister of War, held great power when the Minister was absent, yet he did not reward Liu Ye and his associates. Instead, he surrounded them with heavy troops, intending to kill them. He is the culprit behind today's events. I beg Your Majesty to punish him."
Emperor Chongzhen was speechless for a moment. Logically speaking, this argument was correct. If Liu Ye and the troops who came to his aid had been rewarded and honored in due course, everyone would have been happy, and this situation wouldn't have arisen. But treating a meritorious official as an enemy, mobilizing all the cannons in the capital to bombard him, and even sacrificing thousands of Beijing garrison soldiers to their deaths, simply doesn't make sense to ordinary people. The Ming Dynasty had few capable military generals; if they were all killed, who would defend against the Tartars?
The problem is that the fundamental reason for eliminating Liu Ye is that he is too powerful and uncontrollable, and is suspected of harboring excessive military power. However, this reason must remain unspoken, otherwise it would only make him appear narrow-minded and intolerant. Furthermore, the matter of peace negotiations is also involved, which is currently inconvenient to disclose, making it even more difficult to explain everything. It's a dead end.
Since there was no way to explain it, it was only natural to find someone to take the blame. However, all of Yang Sichang's actions were tacitly approved by Chongzhen. If Yang Sichang were to be punished, it would be tantamount to slapping himself in the face, which was something Chongzhen was unwilling to do under any circumstances.
Emperor Chongzhen remained silent, and Yang Sichang also kept quiet. Everyone assumed Chongzhen had tacitly accepted this trend and were eager to try their luck. Wang Jiayan's words were like lighting a fuse; several officials from the Donglin faction jumped out to impeach Yang Sichang, stating that "he must be punished to relieve the siege of the capital," while Liu Ye, Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu, and others were to be "outweighed by their merits." This was, in fact, the first time since Wen Tiren became Grand Secretary that he had sided with the Donglin Party.
Looking at the officials spitting as they spoke, Chongzhen felt a surge of annoyance. He spat out a sentence through his teeth: "Whether Yang Wenruo is wrong or not, we can discuss that another day. Today, let's talk about how to withdraw the troops. Anyone who keeps bringing this up is putting the cart before the horse. Take him away and give him thirty strokes of the cane."
The officials immediately shut their mouths, not daring to utter another word.
Wen Tiren was somewhat surprised. The pot was handed to him, and he could have easily pinned it on Yang Sichang to resolve the current predicament. But the emperor didn't take the bait and clearly intended to protect him. Why was that?
However, he quickly realized that it was probably because the matter of peace talks was not easy to bring up, and the emperor's protection of Yang Sichang was also a way of protecting his own reputation.
However, at this critical juncture, it is necessary to secure more benefits for the allies. The emperor, in protecting Yang Sichang and keeping the peace negotiations secret, will inevitably have to pay a price, presenting a perfect opportunity to make exorbitant demands. Wen Tiren, feigning difficulty, said, "Since Your Majesty does not intend to agree to Liu Ye's conditions, perhaps you could offer some other incentives to persuade him to withdraw his troops?"
Suppressing his resentment, Chongzhen said bitterly, "As long as he withdraws his troops, I will not pursue the crime of letting his troops offend the imperial city. Isn't that enough?"
Wen Tiren was taken aback and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The courtiers in the hall fell silent, each thinking: "Your Majesty, how can you still not see the situation clearly at this point? If the other side had even a shred of fear, how could they have been so audacious as to storm Chengtian Gate? In this situation, if you can dismiss them with a single sentence, it would be as if the other side were an idiot."
Finally, it was Yang Sichang, the person directly involved, who broke the awkward atmosphere. He said bitterly, "Your Majesty, Liu Ye's appetite cannot be satisfied with just saying that he will not be punished. You should still bestow rewards upon him, otherwise, if this continues, he may take desperate measures. Moreover, the siege of the capital will greatly damage Your Majesty's prestige..."
Hearing Yang Sichang say this, Chongzhen felt a tightness in his chest. He leaned back on the dragon throne and said helplessly, "Since Changqing and Wenruo both say so... then let the cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites discuss it... give him a title and a promotion, and make him leave the capital as soon as possible!" He did not want to back down, but the situation was beyond his control, and the important ministers did not support him. He had no choice but to give in.
Outside Chengtian Gate.
Liu Ye looked up at the sun, which was gradually rising overhead, and muttered to himself, "Could it be that Chongzhen has made up his mind and has no intention of backing down? This isn't like him..."
Just as he was considering whether to really blast open Chengtian Gate with cannons, a commotion arose on the opposite city tower, and a familiar figure appeared, greeting people below: "Is General Liu of Qionghai Town here? I am Wen Tiren, and I have been ordered to come to discuss the matter of withdrawing troops."
Liu Ye was overjoyed. His own people had arrived! Such a good opportunity for inside and outside cooperation—it would be a shame not to take advantage of Chongzhen to extort some money from him. He replied, "So it is Grand Secretary Wen. This humble official is here. If you are sincere, please come down and discuss this in person."
Upon hearing this, the people on the city wall were horrified and urged, "Your Excellency, please don't listen to him. Who knows what heinous things he might do? Your job is important, but your life is also of utmost importance."
Wen Tiren replied with "righteous indignation": "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The task entrusted to me by the Emperor must be carried out. What does my personal safety matter? Guards, lower me down!"
The crowd couldn't help but flatter him, praising the Grand Secretary for his loyalty and courage.
After being lowered down from the city in a gondola, Wen Tiren went straight to Liu Ye and said with a stern face, "I have a message from His Majesty to General Liu. Please dismiss everyone else."
Once everyone had retreated several feet away, Wen Tiren relaxed and complained, "Zhiwen, how could you take such a risk? You should know that letting troops into the capital is something that has never happened before in this dynasty. Did you really want to repeat Zhao Jiuzhong's Chenqiao Mutiny?"
“Hehe, Yang Sichang is pushing too far, and the emperor is the mastermind behind it all. If we keep tolerating it, we will inevitably face open and covert attacks in the future. It’s better to resolve this issue once and for all.” Liu Ye explained casually at this time, “I have not mentioned the emperor at all, and I have only targeted Yang Sichang. This is already very restrained.”