Penalty of the Rod

In the late autumn of this year, a big event happened.

Every year in autumn, Beiqi would continue to cause trouble at the border. Not only would they plunder property, but they would also loot, burn and kill. They committed all kinds of evil and made the people in the north miserable.

Fortunately, Jiading occupies a natural barrier and has stationed heavy troops in the past dynasties. It is difficult for Beiqi to break through the border, and they often only cause chaos on the border.

This year was no exception. Beiqi organized cavalry again to try to break through Jiading Pass, but this time, they broke through.

Jiading alone has 50,000 troops stationed in one city, and the rest of its military equipment is second only to the Forbidden Army in Beijing. However, the 20,000 Beiqi army, with such a disparity in strength and the favorable weather and location, can actually After a long drive, the news came out, causing an uproar in the world.

The enemy troops quickly occupied Ying City, but they did not attack further south. Instead, they sent envoys to Beijing for negotiations.

This is also reasonable. After all, with only 20,000 people, no matter how powerful the tiger and wolf troops are, it is difficult to really attack the imperial capital. What's more, the internal strife between the eight tribes of Beiqi continued, and it was impossible to really maintain a war between the two countries. They only came to cause trouble for money and food.

But just the news that Beiqi had occupied Yingcheng frightened the officials in the DPRK. They must have always been afraid of Beiqi in their hearts. When they heard that Beiqi had sent envoys, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Shangshu requested peace with Beiqi, and even the Ministry of War wanted to negotiate peace.

Even though the conditions proposed by the Beiqi envoy this time were unprecedentedly harsh, they not only wanted millions of taels of silver, but also wanted Dayu to send the princess to get married and reconcile the two dynasties.

You must know that the entire imperial court's annual tax revenue is only ten million taels, and the military expenditure over the years is only one million taels. If this amount of money is really given, the imperial court will be overwhelmed and the national treasury will be in deficit, and it will naturally have to increase taxes on the people. It will definitely make the people miserable.

Emperor Shizong asked the cabinet to discuss matters in Wende Palace. Before entering the palace, Yan Ge specially ordered the housekeeper not to allow Yan Lan to leave the palace. He knew that his son had an impulsive personality. At this juncture, Yan Ge was afraid that he would go out and cause trouble.

Yan Lan could only complain to his sister in the house.

"The imperial court has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, while Beiqi only has 20,000 soldiers. Everyone dare not talk about fighting." He sneered and shook his head. "Especially the few guards in Xuancheng, each of them spoke so grandly that even the enemy's

"They are not just afraid," Yan Qing said solemnly, "Most of the generals in the army are attached to the Cai Party. Cai Yong advocated for peace. Everyone knows this . Who dares to speak against him? "

Yan Qing is right. Cai Yong is the chief minister of the court. If he fights Beiqi at this time, it would be better if he can drive the enemy out of the country. But if he loses, Not to mention that the capital will be in crisis, his position as chief assistant must be replaced.

The safest thing for him is to negotiate peace.

"But when we negotiate for peace at this time, Beiqi still doesn't know what will happen..." She whispered worriedly. After speaking, she saw Yan Lan clenching her fists and trying to suppress the anger in her heart, so she comforted him and said, "But brother, today After discussing the matter, my father will definitely persuade your majesty to go to war. Maybe your majesty will listen."

Yan Lan nodded after hearing this, but still frowned and said: "Negotiating peace at this time will enhance Beiqi's prestige. Wait for them to do so later. The eight ministries were unified and went south again, which can't be spent with money..."

When Mr. Yan Ge came back, Yan Qing realized that he was wrong. During the discussion, what Mr. Yan Ge said was the same as what Cai Yong mentioned.

Negotiate peace with Beiqi.

This time, Yan Qing was more impulsive than Yan Lan and directly asked Mr. Yan Ge, "Dad, why did you also propose peace? Beiqi has already occupied Yingcheng, but the court did not want to send troops, so it agreed to Beiqi's conditions. Isn’t it an insult to the country?”

If his son was like this now, Mr. Yan Ge would probably be angry, but he would not be willing to let his daughter go.

"Dad agrees with the peace negotiation not because it is his idea..." Mr. Yan Ge looked a little sad and said helplessly, "It is because he understands your majesty's intention. The peace negotiation is already a certainty. If dad disobeys it at this time, Your Majesty, this is unwise..."

Her father was right. Negotiating peace is His Majesty's wish and is the trend of the times. Furthermore, going to war means doing it knowing that it cannot be done, which is unwise.

At this time, who is willing to carry the torch against the wind and carry out this unwise move?

But Yan Qing didn't expect that there was such a person.

Two days later, a memorial issued by the Hanlin Academy shocked the entire court. The memorial bluntly stated that peace talks were not possible. If the two armies faced each other and there was still a chance of winning, then peace talks at this time would be equivalent to defeat without a fight.

Not only that, this memorial of more than a thousand words points directly to the root causes of the defeat of Jiading Pass, which are insufficient military expenditure, poor defense, and weak military morale. If millions of silver were used for military expenditure instead of giving it to Beiqi in vain, It can increase military expenditures, repair defenses, and at the same time boost military morale.

At this time, a war can save the people at the border from suffering internally, and can deter foreign countries externally, and enhance the prestige of Yu State.

This memorial is striking and resonant, and the person who wrote it is just an editor of the Hanlin Academy. A seventh-rank public speaker can be said to be a low-key person in the imperial court.

But at this time when no one in the court dared to fight, only this seventh-grade editor dared to stand up. Soon, his name spread throughout the Imperial Capital.

Jiang Weiren.

When Yan Lan heard the three words "Jiang Weiren", he said excitedly, "This man is really a man, I was wrong about him!"

Mr. Yan Ge shook his head and whispered: "After all, it is still Too young..."

After saying that, she deliberately told Yan Lan not to speak nonsense outside at this time, and even Shen Zhen told Yan Qing to persuade her brother not to get involved in this matter.

"That Jiang Weiren is a little seventh-grade official. Everyone knows that he can protect himself wisely, but he insists on using eggs to attack stones. He has become a thorn in Cai Party's side. Such impulsiveness will definitely make it difficult to achieve anything in the future."

Yan Qing, who has been focusing on words since childhood, He is regarded as a role model by everyone, and he never makes mistakes with his deep intelligence and practice. He is the most valued student of his father and the leader among the children of the family.

But this time, she directly refuted it: "Don't care about your own gains and losses, but only care about the rise and fall of the world. This is benevolence. Even though there are tens of thousands of people, you still don't give up. This is courage. Although he is only seventh grade, he can be compared to those who The world needs more people like these first-class officials who are devoted to being charming and only want to be successful."

Mr. Yan Ge told Yan Lan to stay at home peacefully, but when he left, Yan Qing couldn't find his brother. silhouette. Until late at night, Yan Lan did not return home. After a while, the housekeeper found her quietly.

"A young master sent someone to report to the house, saying that the eldest young master was drunk in Jinyu Tower and asked us to pick him up, but the eldest young master refused to leave," the housekeeper said worriedly, "I dare not disturb the lady, so I can only Come to find the lady."

"You can't alert Madam, it will be even worse if you are caught by dad," Yan Qing frowned and gritted his teeth, "I'll go there myself."

Yan Qing put on men's clothes and rushed to Jinyu with a few boys. building.

The Jinyu Tower is a famous restaurant in Beijing, also on the edge of Qujiang River. Yan Lan also took her there.

Naturally, the shopkeeper also knew Yan Lan's identity. Seeing that someone from the Yan family had arrived again, he came to greet him personally and led Yan Qing upstairs to the private room reserved for Yan Lan.

Before entering the door, Yan Qing heard her brother's voice.

"The memorial has been sent to the cabinet, and has been presented to His Majesty by the Chief of Ceremonies for personal viewing. It will definitely make His Majesty change his mind."

Yan Qing thought that her father was right, and Yan Lan should be locked up at home.

When the door opened, the first thing she saw was not her brother, but the man drinking with Yan Lan. It must have been him who sent the message back to the Yan family, asking the Yan family to pick Yan Lan back up.

He probably didn't expect that the person coming to pick him up would be her.

Yan Lan hadn't seen her sister coming yet, and was still chatting over the wine, "Brother Jiang, I used to think that you were just like those in the court, and I underestimated you. I treat you today, and you are so flattering, Come, let me toast you!"

Jiang Weiren stood up and looked directly at Yan Qing.

She could only walk in bravely, nodded to him, and said apologetically: "My brother has caused trouble for the young master."

He put down the wine glass and said seriously: "I don't dare, the girl said something serious."

"Yan Lan, She walked closer and took the cup from her brother's hand, "I'm going home."

Unexpectedly, Yan Lan was so drunk that he pushed her away. Unexpectedly, Yan Qing staggered and almost fell down. Jiang Weiren was right behind her. Without any time to think, he stepped forward and reached out to hug her.

She almost fell directly into his arms, but managed to stabilize her figure. She blushed involuntarily and said angrily, "Thank you, Master."

He also hurriedly stepped back, and said a little shyly, "I'm rude."

"I won't go back!" Yan Lan shouted, waving his hands, "Brother Jiang and I met late, and it's rare for me, Yan Lan, to have a close friend in my life. But Brother Jiang, I admire you from the bottom of my heart!"

Yan Qing said helplessly: "If you don't leave, dad will be here later."

"So what if he comes! I'm not afraid of him!"

Yan Qing couldn't do anything to him, so he ordered the servants of the Yan family outside the door, "Come and take the young master directly. Help him back."

But Yan Lan was very strong and kept waving his hands, but several servants couldn't help him.

Yan Qing thought that if he came here in men's clothes and had the conversation with Yan Lan just now, he would not be able to leave a good impression of a lady in Jiang Weiren's heart, so he might as well not care about it.

"Go to the shopkeeper and ask for a rope," she ordered the servants, "and tie up the eldest young master."

Jiang Weiren was shocked by what she said, and he just watched Yan Lan being roped by several people. Tied like rice dumplings. Yan Lan was still shouting loudly, and Yan Qing took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Yan Lan," she lowered her voice and said to her brother, "If you make trouble again, I will throw you directly into Qujiang River. Do you believe it?"

After hearing her words clearly, Yan Lan actually really After he calmed down, the servants carried him straight downstairs.

Before leaving, she could only say to Jiang Weiren, "I hope you will forgive me for being rude today. I will ask my brother to apologize to you in person one day."

She really had no shame in staying any longer and wished she could never see him again. This guy is good.

Jiang Weiren watched Yan Qing enter the carriage. The driver raised his whip and urged the horse. Soon, the group of people disappeared into the night.

He naturally guessed Yan Qing's identity, and he also knew early on that Yan Ge always had a beloved daughter, but he really didn't expect that this Miss Yan would not only dress up as a man to visit the flower house, but also... The elder brother was kidnapped and brought home.

He stood in the night, looking at the direction she left, as if he couldn't recover for a long time, but the shopkeeper of Jinyu Tower woke him up.

"Young Master Jiang," the shopkeeper said hesitantly, "I haven't paid for the meal and wine yet..."

Today Yan Lan went directly to the Hanlin Academy to make friends with him. For the eldest son of the Yan family, a meal like this at Jinyulou is A place that only requires a few taels of silver is nothing. He insisted on treating guests and dragged Jiang Weiren here.

But just now he was very drunk, and Yan Qingfeng came to take him away in a hurry, and he didn't want to get the drink money.

Being a Hanlin editor is a hard job, and the salary for a whole year is only a few dozen taels of silver.

He turned around and looked at the shopkeeper apologetically and said, "I'll do it."

The shopkeeper nodded with a smile and reported the amount to Jiang Weiren that made him feel chilled.

Jiang Weiren thought that he would never come to this Jinyu Tower again.

After returning home, Yan Qing asked the maid in Yan Lan's room to drink sobering soup for him, and also asked someone to take care of him in his room at night. He was probably tired after returning home and fell asleep soon after.

After he sobered up the next day, he remembered drinking with Jiang Weiren, but he couldn't remember how he came back. Yan Qing vaguely replied: "It was the servants who helped you back..."

After listening, Yan Lan looked at herself The red marks on my wrists are a bit puzzling.

But when he thought about yesterday, he began to talk excitedly again, "That Jiang Tingchen, I really didn't expect that he is a weak scholar, but he has such unique insights into border deployment, armaments and purges. He has read more military books than me. , It’s really rare..."

He shook his head and sighed, as if he was too late to meet Jiang Weiren.

Yan Lan planned to go to the Hanlin Academy again, but was stopped by Yan Qing, "Calm down for a while, brother, I don't know what the emperor will do after reading Jiang Weiren's memorial. Let's wait and see what happens. You can follow me now." He has a close relationship, which may not be a good thing for him." He

talked loudly while drinking last night. Now that he is sober, Yan Lan is also sober and knows that his sister is right.

Yan Lan remembered that Jiang Weiren had said last night, "I am ready to bear any consequences..."

Although his expression was calm at that time, his eyes were clearly firm. It was not that he could not predict the outcome. , I just don’t want to back down because of this.

Jiang Weiren's memorial indeed caused an uproar in the DPRK.

This memorial was finally presented to Shizong by the Supervisor of Ceremonies. What Shizong wanted in his heart was to negotiate a peace. Although a few million taels of silver was a lot, the court had to increase taxes on the people and could still give it out if forced. Beiqi suggested that the princess He also decided to reluctantly agree to the kiss.

There were two princesses under Emperor Shizong's knees, Princess Chongning, the daughter of the former empress, and Princess Shou'an, the daughter of Li Zhaoyi. Chongning was the eldest daughter and the daughter of her aunt, so naturally she couldn't go, so the only option was to let Shouan, the daughter of a concubine, went.

No matter what, these are his flesh and blood. He couldn't help but feel sad when he thought that this delicate daughter was going to marry a Tatar and spend her whole life in the desolate land of Mobei. What could he do if she fought with Beiqi? , winning or losing is unknown, and he is unwilling to take this risk.

After Li Zhaoyi learned the news, she cried so much that she almost fainted. When she woke up, she clamored to see His Majesty. Of course Shizong didn't want to see her at this time, but she was crying so hard and thinking that she was about to lose her daughter, so she went to see her. Her side.

This was a good meeting. Li Zhaoyi's words were really uncomfortable to listen to, and Shizong almost shed tears. It took him a long time to recover, and he just felt a little better when he received the memorial from the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

The more Shizong looked at it, the darker his face became. He looked at the name of the person who wrote the memorial and muttered: "Jiang Weiren... Humph, he's just a seventh-grade editor. He doesn't have a great official position, but he's quite courageous."

It happened that Cai Yong, the first assistant to Cai Yong, was with him . The two princes, the Prince and the King of England, were also in front of him. Shizong first asked the Prince what he thought of this memorial.

The prince replied: "How can these officials in the Hanlin Academy really understand state affairs? They usually only focus on impeaching officials in the court, but they only have their own opinions and do not take into account the overall situation."

After hearing this, Shizong did not say anything, and turned to ask King Zhao Chun of England, "Third brother, what do you think?"

Zhao Chun lowered his head, thought for a while and then replied: "After reading this memorial, I found that it has got to the point on border defense matters. It is quite insightful on how to clean up military affairs. It's just that his thoughts are not thorough, but he is young and has little knowledge, so it is understandable."

After Shizong read the memorial, he was angry at first, but he was not very happy when he heard Zhao Chun's words . After hearing this, I felt that what he said made sense.

He weighed the memorial and frowned in thought. After a while, he asked Cai Yong, "What do you think, Aiqing?"

Cai Yong took a closer look at Shizong's expression and said, "This man has some ideas, which are better than those who eat the corpse. It's a pity that his vision is too shallow. Is it as simple as victory or defeat between the two countries?"

"Well..." Shizong He nodded, "There are some people in this court who naively want to fight Beiqi. It would be better if they are incited by his remarks, and the army will become even more unsettled. Although it is the duty of his ministers to discuss politics, it is really wrong to make false statements." I don’t know how high the sky is, but I have sent out my will and used twenty big sticks to show punishment.”