/ The Peiping army approached the city, and Jinling City was in chaos. Many noble ministers advised Emperor Jianwen to flee west to Jiangxi for temporary refuge. However, before Emperor Jianwen had time to make a decision, news came from Huguang that the Peiping army was advancing eastward. This
At that time, there was nowhere to run even if I wanted to.
Because: to the north is the vast river, to the east is the Peking Army occupying Zhenjiang, to the south and southeast are Fujian and Guangxi, which are seeking autonomy, and to the west are the Peking Army. Emperor Jianwen knew that even if he could escape from Jinling, the world is so vast, and
Where can he go? And he himself is almost a traitor to the world. Although there are many people in the world, who is willing to "harbor" him?
Just when the monarchs and ministers were in panic, a eunuch ran into the hall and held a document, saying that it was shot in from outside the city. Emperor Jianwen opened it and saw that it was a letter of persuasion to surrender. The content was very simple.
: As long as Emperor Jianwen abdicates, the Peking Army will not enter Jinling City. The imperial property of the Ming Dynasty Palace will still belong to the royal family. The Republic of China respects the royal family as a gift from a foreign monarch and pays 500,000 silver dollars every year as royal support.
"You are so outrageous that you actually put forward such conditions. They are really a group of thugs without kings and fathers." Emperor Jianwen was furious and tore the surrender letter into pieces. For him, this surrender letter was undoubtedly a huge insult. The five
One hundred thousand silver dollars is a charity like food. He would rather die than surrender." See the latest chapter
"Your Majesty, this letter of persuasion to surrender has been spread all over the city, and the people outside the palace are all..." The eunuch's voice trembled, and he did not dare to say any more [playing Ming] first release [] playing Ming 393
"What's wrong with the people? Come on!" Emperor Jianwen was even more angry because he had noticed that the eunuchs who were originally respectful to him now had a different look in their eyes and no longer obeyed him.
"Outside the palace, the people outside the palace all said that in order to protect the city of Jinling from the disaster of war, the emperor, for the sake of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, please abdicate." The eunuch squeaked.
As he said that, in fact, he himself wanted the emperor to abdicate immediately, lest the army rush into the palace and implicate a fish like him.
"Rebellion, it's all outrageous!" Emperor Jianwen was furious. Only then did he finally understand that this so-called surrender letter was not given to him at all, but was for the whole city's soldiers and civilians to see.
Inciting the entire city's military and civilians to oppose him. If he does not abdicate, he will put the military and civilians in dire straits. I am afraid that the public opinion will soon fall to the bottom.
Insidious, so insidious! Emperor Jianwen’s mind flashed from time to time with Wan Lei’s loyal expression hiding a sinister smile.
"Your Majesty, when it comes to this situation, anger is of no use, and we have to think of countermeasures." Among the ministers in the palace, only the veteran Geng Bingwen dared to persuade him. After all, he was the emperor's father-in-law.
"What's the countermeasure? The Peking thieves have vowed to seize all the Ming Dynasty. What other countermeasures can we take at this time?" Emperor Jianwen said with some frustration.
"Your Majesty, there are many spies in Jinling City. You cannot stay there for a long time. Please allow your Majesty to move. I will protect you to the death and retreat to a safe place. Then Xu Tu will rise again." Geng Bingwen knelt down and begged.
"A safe place? Jinling has a high city and dangerous walls, and there are hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops. It is difficult to hold on. Where is a safe place?" King Gu came out and knelt down and said: "At this time, our dynasty has no way to retreat. Why?
Please protect the tens of millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River and my Zhu family clan, please think twice."
In terms of seniority, King Gu was the uncle of Emperor Jianwen. At this time, he also came out to persuade him to surrender. In fact, it was to protect himself, because he knew that once Jinling City fell, not only would his throne be difficult to protect, but his fate might also be lost. And he was not the emperor.
I still don’t want to die together
Besides, the Republic of China has sent a letter of persuasion to surrender, saying that it will guarantee the personal and property safety of the clan, and not only allow the clan to continue to live in the palace, but also provide preferential treatment, so what else is he resisting?
The King of Gu persuaded him to surrender, but Emperor Jianwen was different from the King of Gu. He was the king of a country, and he had to save face, so he was the one who came forward to ask for surrender. As the last monarch, I am afraid that he will be laughed at in history for losing face.
, he would rather die for his country than surrender.
But the crux of the problem is that he can die for his country, but he cannot bring his clan members to be buried with him, and no clan members are willing to die with him. Therefore, Emperor Jianwen was caught in a dilemma. He helplessly glanced at the few ministers of His Highness.
, seeing most of them bowing their heads and saying nothing, he finally set his sights on Fang Xiaoru, because he knew that among so many ministers, only Master Fang was always loyal to him.
"What do Fang Aiqing think?" Emperor Jianwen's voice was a little bitter. It is said that the strong wind knows the strong grass, and the rough wind knows the honest ministers. In times of crisis, there are only one or two loyal ministers who are truly loyal to him. But it is no wonder, Jiangbei's
That ten thousand thieves are so good at winning people's hearts. Just as the Peking Army crossed the river, another group of ministers abandoned the Ming Dynasty and defected to China. Even if they didn't make it, most of them were in Jinling and their hearts were in Jiangbei.
"Your Majesty must not give up easily, but if there is a glimmer of hope, you should still fight hard," Fang Xiaoru said
"The Peiping army is approaching the city, and the city is about to be destroyed. Where is there any chance of survival?" King Gu said discouraged. If possible, he did not want to leave the good prince to surrender. It was precisely because he was desperate. Look,
No chance of winning
"Our army still has more than 200,000 people, and we can still fight to the death with the Peking Army. If we can win this battle, it can boost morale, at the same time deter the rebels from all over the country, and maybe we can temporarily protect half of the south of the Yangtze River," Fang Xiaoru said solemnly
"To put it lightly, there are only more than 100,000 defenders in the city now, and people are tempted, and the defenders are not enough. How can we fight a decisive battle with the Peking Army?" King Gu glanced at Fang Xiaoru coldly, and then said: "Your Majesty, the situation is over now, for
To preserve the ancestral temple and the mausoleum of the ancestors of Sheji, we should issue an edict to abdicate."
"General Geng still has 100,000 loyal and brave men, and they are on their way to King Qin. When he arrives, we should cooperate with the inside and outside to attack the Peiping army. There is still a chance of victory. Please don't give up lightly," Fang Xiaoru said again.
"The 100,000 troops are still in Zhejiang, and it will take at least four days to get back. Master Fang dares to say: Can Jinling hold on for four days?" King Gu snorted coldly [Playing Ming] first release [] Playing Ming 393
"As a scholar, I naturally don't know how many people can defend the city. However, I have a way to stop the Beiping army from attacking the city for the time being." Fang Xiaoru ignored the provocative King Gu and said to Emperor Jianwen sternly.
"If you have any good ideas, tell me quickly." Emperor Jianwen's heart suddenly regained a little vitality.
"The way is to write this letter of persuasion to surrender. Please issue an edict and appoint me as a minister with full power to go out of the city to negotiate with the Peking Army to buy time," Fang Xiaoru said.
Emperor Jianwen looked at Fang Xiaoru in disbelief and asked, "Can this be done?"
"I will try my best to gain time," Fang Xiaoru promised.
"Okay, I'm going to do it," Emperor Jianwen gritted his teeth and said. In fact, he had no choice but to use the dead horse as a living doctor. Although using negotiation to delay time is not very authentic, it is also a no-brainer. At the same time,
, he also issued an edict, asking Geng Xuanxing of Zhejiang to rush on the road at night so that he could come back and King Qin rescue the siege.
Emperor Jianwen had made up his mind, and His Highness's ministers did not say much, but they were more of a wait-and-see mentality. Even many ministers were not optimistic about Fang Xiaoru's strategy, but other than this method, they could not think of a better solution.
The only way is to make a last ditch effort
Soon, Fang Xiaoru left the city with Emperor Jianwen's full authorization letter. The river outside Jinling City was covered with all kinds of warships, at least hundreds of them, and the muzzles were all pointed at Jinling's way.
, even many small boats full of people have been put down. Needless to say, the Peking Army is ready to seize the beach and land.
Fang Xiaoru and his party entered the river in a small boat under a white flag, and were quickly taken to the Xia 01 battleship where Wan Lei was located. At this time, Wan Lei was discussing the war with Navy Commander Liu Wenxiu. When he saw Fang Xiaoru coming, he made an exception and immediately met him.
"Mr. Fang, we meet again. This time we actually meet on the battlefield. It's really..." As soon as they met, Wan Lei let out a long sigh.
Fang Xiaoru also gave an embarrassed smile. He knew that the Peking Army had taken the initiative now, and it was meaningless to talk about who was right and wrong at this time. He calmed down slightly and said: "Fang Mou is under the order of His Majesty the Emperor.
Let’s talk about apprenticeship matters.”
"What? Emperor Jianwen agreed to abdicate? This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people." Before Wan Lei could say anything, Liu Wenxiu laughed and said
The emperor's abdication was regarded as a good thing that benefited the country and the people. This did not give face to Emperor Jianwen, nor did it give face to the emperor's envoys. After hearing Liu Wenxiu's words, Fang Xiaoru had another wry smile on his face, but he also knew how to argue.
To no avail, he just said with a grimace: "His Majesty the Emperor cares about the common people and cannot care about personal honor or disgrace, but the requirements you have put forward are really too harsh."
"Too harsh? Without Ai, we only want the emperor to abdicate, and we are not killing his whole family. How is this harsh?" Liu Wenxiu asked again.
"Now that your troops are approaching the city, you are a swordsman and I am a fish and meat. How do I know that you will not go back on your word? If His Majesty the Emperor issued an edict to abdicate, you would take advantage of the chaos and attack Jinling. Wouldn't it be tragic?" Fang Xiaoru said
"We, the Republic of China, have always kept our promises, and we will not break our promises to the world for the sake of this small Jinling City." Wan Lei finally spoke up.
"There is no need to accuse others of wanting to accuse them. If your country keeps its promises, you won't have so many conspiracies behind your back." Although Fang Xiaoru is a little naive, he is not stupid either.
"Haha, what Mr. Fang said is true. What matters between countries is interests. Doesn't your country have any conspiracy behind the scenes? Just fulfill its promises? Since your country has never kept its promises, what's the reason?
Are you accusing us of not keeping our word?"
Wan Lei sneered and said: "I know that you came here this time for other reasons. You are not here to negotiate peace at all. But you don't have to waste a lot of effort, because soon, all your illusions will be shattered.
By then, the conditions we offer will not be as generous as they are now, so I advise you to make a decision quickly to avoid regrets later."