Before the words could even be scolded, Zhou Tingru couldn't scold him. He seemed to be at the Jin Kingdom's camp, not at home. After he realized what he was doing, Zhou Tingru's face turned pale and his hands were trembling, not to mention the fear.
Zhang He and Wen Tiren even rolled their eyes. They looked at Zhou Tingru as if they were aliens. Hey, Zhou Tingru, Zhou Tingru, do you think this is at your own home? Isn't this an obvious trick?
Just when they were scared, they heard footsteps coming from outside. Now the three of them became nervous, fearing that the Jurchen Tatars were angry and looking for trouble. The door curtain was opened, and a relatively quiet young general from the Jin Kingdom glanced at it and pointed.
Pointing to Zhang He and Zhou Tingru, he raised his voice and said, "You two can leave and go back to the capital. My king has an order to send you two back."
Now Wen Tiren and others were directly confused. What kind of medicine was sold by the Jurchen Tatars? Suddenly Wen Tiren remembered what happened last night. Could it be that another wave of peace talks had been completed by the envoys? Thinking of this, he looked towards
There was something wrong in the eyes of Zhang He and Zhou Tingru. There was a hint of sarcasm in the mockery, and a bit of sadness in the conceitedness. Wen Tiren felt that he had been betrayed and abandoned by everyone.
Zhang He and Zhou Tingru felt baffled and had no idea what was going on, but they wanted to ask, but the Jurchens would not explain, so they were forcibly sent out of the tent.
Watching Zhang He and Zhou Tingru leave, Wen Tiren straightened his brocade robes, and there was a coldness in his eyes. He seemed to be no longer afraid, and calmly said to the Jin soldiers outside the account, "Go and tell your king, if
If he wants more benefits, he comes to talk to me."
Why did Wen Tiren change like this? Maybe it was because his state of mind was different. When he felt that there was only one way left to go, he was not afraid of anything. The worst he could do was to die. Those Jurchen soldiers also lamented Wen Tiren's great change and stared at him.
Wen Tiren looked at it and finally helped pass on the message.
To Wen Tiren's joy, Dorgon came not long after.
Wen Tiren was very happy that his words had an effect, but as for Dorgon, he looked at Wen Tiren as if he were a fool. They all said that Wen Tiren, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, was extremely intelligent. When we met today, he was far behind Tie Mo.
His intelligence is only the so-called small cleverness. Dorgon really misunderstood this point. Wen Tiren's intelligence is not limited to small thoughts. He still has great wisdom, but right now he is blinded by the confusion.
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In the final analysis, Wen Tiren was too distrustful of Zhou Tingru and others, and was afraid that someone would harm him, which gave Dorgon the opportunity to take advantage of him.
When he came to the big tent, Dorgon found a soft cushion and sat down. He frowned and looked outside from time to time, looking impatient. Wen Tiren and Dorgon had met before, so they were considered acquaintances.
, Dorgon is a typical master who can't afford to do anything early, so Wen Tiren had to rack his brains and think about how to persuade Dorgon.
After pondering for a while, Wen Tiren sat down and stared at Dorgon with his eyes, "Taiji, I wonder how many benefits the imperial envoy promised you?"
Hearing Wen Tiren's question, Dorgon had a look of surprise on his face. He frowned, waved his hands and said with a smile, "What did Mr. Wen say? Ben Beile can't understand. Didn't the Ming Dynasty just entrust you with full authority?"
Are you talking about peace talks? How many benefits are promised? Don’t you know?"
Dorgon flatly denied it. The more he acted like this, the more he strengthened Wen Tiren's suspicion. Having already said this, Dorgon still pretended to be dumbfounded. It seemed that the benefits promised by others were quite a lot.
Gradually, Wen Tiren became a little anxious. He needed to live. He didn't want to die in this ghost place like this.
Dorgon looked up at the top of his head, Wen Tiren lowered his head and kept thinking. For a while, the big tent became extremely quiet. Only the spring breeze outside the tent flapped at the door curtain from time to time. As time passed by, Wen Tiren could hear it.
I heard my own heartbeat. If I want to live, I must live. Suddenly, a wave surges in my chest. Damn it, I’m going to risk it all. When I look up again, there is a bit more fierceness in my eyes. This ferocity, even for many times,
Ergon felt his heart tremble when he saw it.
At this time, Dorgon had to admit that he had made a mistake. Wen Tiren was indeed not a mortal. How could someone who could compete with Zhou Tingru be so simple?
"Taiji, I have said that as long as you are willing to talk to me, you will get much more benefits, and I can still stay in this tent as a hostage. Taiji doesn't have to worry about my Ming Dynasty not practicing it.
Promise. If something happens, my life will be left here."
Dorgon really laughed three times in his heart. This plan finally worked. What he wanted was for Wen Tiren not to bargain, and now he has achieved it.
Moti was so happy in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it on his face. As long as he showed it a little bit, Wen Tiren would probably come back to his senses, squint his eyes, pretend to think, and after a long time, he would sigh.
, "Master Wen said this, which really made me look at him. Since Master Wen has such confidence, wouldn't it be stupid for Benbeile not to agree to it again? I don't want to hide it from Master Wen. Someone came to Benbeile yesterday and made a promise.
Two million gold, tens of millions of silver, countless cattle and sheep, if it were you, would you be tempted by the benefits? Of course, there are some requirements for so many benefits, that is, Lord Wen cannot be allowed to return to the capital."
What Dorgon said was exactly the same as what Wen Tiren was thinking. In this case, why did Dorgon say it again? It was just to sow discord. Wen Tiren knew this very well and allowed Dorgon to provoke him.
If he hadn't said these words, wouldn't he have known about those things? Those people were still ruthless enough. With two million gold, they not only gave away the Jurchens, but also gave away the life of Mr. Wen. It was a really good deal.
Anger surged from his chest. If he hadn't suppressed it deliberately, he didn't know if it would have burned him.
After finally calming down the anger in his heart, he leaned forward and asked Dorgon with a sneer, "Taiji, tell me how many benefits you want. In short, I want to return to the capital alive."
Dorgon had already thought about the specific amount. He seemed to be hesitating. He did not directly answer Wen Tiren's question, "Master Wen, are you sure? No matter how much Benbeile wants, you can agree to it?"
"Taiji, do you think life or wealth is more important? If you were the official, how would you choose?" Wen Tiren smiled helplessly, while Dorgon nodded in agreement, "Haha,
If it was Ben Beile, he would naturally survive first."
The words had been spoken, and there seemed to be no obstacles. Dorgon put his right hand on the table, rubbing his fingers against the palm of his hand. After a while, he said calmly, "Five million taels of gold, fifty million taels of silver, and cattle."
Ten thousand sheep each, and millions of silks. In addition, the Ming Dynasty ceded three camps, Hanerzhuang, and Dushan to the Qing Dynasty. What do you think, will Mr. Wen still accept these conditions?"
When Dorgon quoted the price, Wen Tiren was filled with hatred, because the amount Dorgon quoted was so annoying.
Nowadays, the limit that the Ming Dynasty can bring out is just this much. Dorgon’s demand for so much must have been accurately calculated. What the Ming Dynasty has, he wants to take it all. If the Ming Dynasty cannot bring it out, he will not
Just like he wanted cattle and sheep but not horses, Ming Dynasty had everything but lacked horses, so he wanted it in vain.
As for Santunying and other places, Wen Tiren didn't pay much attention to it. Now that the Qing Dynasty has moved south, Jizhou has been occupied, and Huairou is the treasure of the Qing Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether it is given to them or not. As for Dushan
, has been occupied by the Northern Shanxi Army, and there is no problem in giving it to the Jurchens. If the Jurchens have the ability, they can snatch it from Tie Mo. If the two sides really fight because of Dushan, then that is really a good thing.
The number was astonishing and insulting, but Wen Tiren didn't hesitate for too long and nodded directly, "Okay, just follow what Tai Ji said, but the king also has to do me a favor. When announcing it to the outside world, be sure to say it's expensive."
The country asked for a doubled amount, but I was able to reduce it to this amount because of my hard work. In addition, I took the initiative to stay as a hostage in order to win your country's trust and protect our capital from war."
Wen Tiren's eyes were bright and there was no fear at all. At this time, he had risked everything and was not afraid of anything. After recalling Wen Tiren's words, Dorgon was shocked. Wen Tiren looked gentle and even a little pedantic, but this
He is ruthless enough in what he does, and his methods are also superb.
In the end, Dorgon agreed to Wen Tiren's request, and he had no reason not to agree. Isn't it a good thing to help Wen Tiren improve his reputation and win over people's hearts, while instigating internal strife in the Ming Dynasty in disguise?
Soon, the preliminary documents of the peace talks were delivered to Zhang He. In fact, Zhang He and Zhou Tingru did not leave. Instead, after being taken away from the tent, they were detained in the military tent to the east of the military camp. Zhang He and Zhou Tingru waited for a long time.
What was waiting was a document, in which the price to be paid by the Ming Dynasty had been drawn up. The most terrible thing was that the Jurchens had detained Mr. Wen, the Minister of Household Affairs, as a hostage. When the things written in the document were delivered, the household was released.
The Minister of the Ministry of Finance returns to the capital, and within two days if there is no money or silk, the Jurchens will kill the Minister of the Ministry of Finance Wen Tiren, attack Huairou by force, and kill them in the capital.
The Jurchens asked for too much, five million taels of gold and fifty million taels of silver. The Ming Dynasty gave all of these to the Jurchens. What will the people of the Ming Dynasty do in the future? If there is a natural or man-made disaster, there will not even be any money for disaster relief.
, and how to collect so much money was even more troublesome. Zhang He wanted to see Dorgon, but was forcefully blocked by the Jurchens. Time was tight and they did not dare to delay, so Zhang He and Zhou Tingru returned in disgrace.
Arrive in the capital.
In fact, Zhang He has been hesitating. He doesn't know how to open this mouth and tell His Majesty the amount the Jurchens want. How can Your Majesty bear it?
Zhang He once stayed in the Ministry of Household Affairs and knew the status of each department. Take the Salt Department as an example. In the sixth year of Chongzhen and the seventh year of Chongzhen, the total tax revenue was only eleven million taels. This thousand
One million taels had to be divided among the water transportation excavation and labor salaries, and the various ministries and departments were more greedy. In the end, less than 7 million taels were put into storage and sealed.
You must know that this is the Salt Class Department, the department with the best tax revenue in the Ming Dynasty. It took the Salt Class Department two years to accumulate 7 million taels, not to mention other aspects. The Jurchens asked for 50 million taels.
Doesn’t this mean to hollow out the Ming Dynasty?
What's more, there is five million taels of gold in front. Five million taels of gold is simply more unacceptable than fifty million taels. In fact, during the Ming Dynasty, the real hard currency was gold. If all five million taels of gold were
If it is given to the Jurchens, the situation in the Ming Dynasty will probably be a mess.
In fact, Zhang He's worries are not unreasonable. Even if too much gold is lost in future generations, it will be a heavy blow to a country's economy. If a country's economy has its roots, this root lies in gold. If the foundation is gone, the above
Everything has become a castle in the air. Without support, the ability to deal with risks is much worse. And Dorgon dared to ask for five million taels of gold because he was sure that the Ming Dynasty had so much gold and could only get so much.
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Compared with Zhang He, Zhou Tingru is much more leisurely. How much money the Tatars want has nothing to do with him. That is what His Majesty should worry about. He is worried about Lord Wen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, because he is afraid that the cabinet will get rid of Wen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Sir, you will deliberately not pay me.
In the palace, Zhu Youjian waited around, but he never expected that this would be the result. The Minister of Household Affairs was detained as a hostage, and the amount demanded by the Jurchens was also terrifying. Five million taels of gold, it was all out of pocket.
Even the Ming Dynasty treasury may not be able to collect enough.
Now Wen Tiren is not a trusted official in the eyes of Zhu Youjian. Wen Tiren secretly communicates with the cabinet and is secretly colluding with the Northern Shanxi Party. Zhu Youjian is not ignorant of this. If he takes this opportunity to kill Wen Tiren
Physical benevolence is not impossible.
Zhu Youjian wanted to delay it until the Jurchens got angry and killed Wen Tiren, which was simply a wishful thinking. Zhu Youjian did not listen to Hou Shilu's advice and still insisted on his own way, but something happened the next day, February 11th.
Early that morning, a voice came out from nowhere, saying that in order to keep the capital safe and prevent the Jin Tatars from using troops against the people of the capital, Wen Tiren was willing to stay in the Jin military camp as a hostage, waiting for the imperial court to allocate money and silk to the Jurchens.
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This statement spread like wildfire, and soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. For a moment, Zhu Youjian felt like he was being roasted on a stove. If Wen Tiren was allowed to be killed at this time, how could he Zhu Youjian?
Are you no longer the person who harmed your brothers?
The people of Dongcheng gathered spontaneously, and they shouted for the court to take action quickly and not to harm the life of the Minister of Hubu. At least at this time, the people in the capital felt that Mr. Wen, the Minister of Hubu, was a good man. He was willing to go to war for the sake of the people of the capital.
Taking the risk of staying in the Jin military camp as a hostage, the people would not think about how much money Ming Dynasty would have to pay to redeem people, because those things were not the concern of the court.
Faced with this chaotic situation, Zhu Youjian panicked a little. He was afraid that the reputation he had finally won would be in vain again, so he had no choice but to ask Hou Shilu for advice.