"Li Zhuangshi, Mrs. Li, I actually like to make friends with heroes and righteous men, but I grew up in the palace and don't have this opportunity. I am very happy to talk to you two today. Come, I will give you and your wife a drink!"
"I don't dare. To receive His Majesty's favor, it is my husband and I who should respect His Majesty."
"Okay, how about we drink together?"
After saying that, the three of them raised their glasses at the same time and drank the wine in one gulp.
When the couple saw how heroic the little emperor was, they were filled with emotion and wished they had gotten to know him earlier.
"In my palace, most of the things in various places are only known from memorials. Can you two tell me what the situation in various places in the north is now?"
Zhu Cixi picked up a piece of vegetables and said casually.
In fact, this was one of the reasons why he entertained the two of them.
After all, his predecessor knew nothing about the external situation, and in his previous life he only knew a thing or two from historical records.
We know that natural disasters continued in the late Ming Dynasty, people were in dire straits, and the north was bare for thousands of miles, but the specific scene could only be imagined.
It would be unrealistic to talk about how to govern without knowing the real situation in each place.
And he certainly won't be able to inspect various places in person in a short period of time, and his subordinates may not report truthfully.
The two of them had no such concerns. One was from a lower class background and the other was from a gentry, so they must have known each other very well. It would be good if they could understand some of the real situation from them.
"I wonder what your Majesty wants to know?"
Li Yan was still thinking about the intention of Zhu Cixun's words, but the red lady asked directly.
“Then let’s talk about Henan first!”
"For example, how many people are there, how the fields are being cultivated, etc."
"Your Majesty, Henan is located in the Central Plains, and the situation is the most serious. Most of the houses in various places are empty, the villages are abandoned, the fields are barren, and the population is declining."
The red lady drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and then spoke slowly and in a low tone.
After speaking, I was afraid that he would not understand, so I gave a detailed analogy.
"Let's put it this way, Your Majesty, if you go to any county, you will find that most of the villages are deserted. At first glance, it is a bare, cracked land. Apart from bones on the roadside, it is difficult to see anything else. ."
"Alas! So, it really is a purgatory on earth, with the red land thousands of miles away and not even one out of ten people left alive?"
Zhu Cixiang took a deep breath, feeling the heavy pressure, and had the idea of running to the south. The north was so bad that it made people feel hopeless.
"Your Majesty, it is not as terrifying as what I described. The situation has improved in the past two years. At least the counties have gained a little vitality and the fields have been cultivated again. The Central Plains is no better than other provinces and only needs to recuperate and recuperate. In twenty years, you will be able to regain your strength."
Li Yan said and glared at the red lady fiercely.
The latter looked innocent and said in his heart that the little emperor wanted to ask the question himself, and I was just telling the truth.
"How many people are there?" Zhu Cixiang looked at the red lady, obviously believing what she said more.
"No one has made any specific statistics on this. It's hard to say. I think there are probably one or two million, but there are no children under ten years old or elderly people over forty years old. I can't see any of them."
"Oh, why is this?"
"Because the elderly have long since starved to death, and the children have been eaten, especially those four or five years old."
After the red lady finished speaking, she looked at Zhu Cixiang to see if he would be frightened. Li Yan also looked at Zhu Cixiang's reaction calmly.
Although Zhu Cixiang looked ugly, he was not frightened.
After all, what you say is not true with your own eyes, so after a moment of silence, he continued to ask: "What about the situation in Shanxi and Beizhili?"
"It's much better than Henan anyway, but the landlords don't have enough food left. Most of the people don't have enough to eat, so they start to change their sons for food."
“What about Shaanxi?”
"Shaanxi is miserable..."
"Ahem!"
When Li Yan saw that she was about to shake off her old wife, he coughed quickly, feeling extremely helpless towards his wife.
The red lady could only sneer: "Let my husband-in-law tell His Majesty about the situation in Shaanxi. He is a scholar and knows more than me."
Li Yan only spoke vaguely, apparently unwilling to say more about the situation in Shaanxi.
Zhu Cixiang did not force himself and asked again about the specific situation in Henan and Shanxi. He did not hide anything from Li Yan in the two places and answered almost all questions.
Just like this, the three of them were drinking and chatting, and before they knew it, two hours had passed.
Zhu Cixiang was always asking, Li Yan was answering, and the red lady would interject from time to time.
"Your Majesty, I don't know about the peace talks. What do you think?"
Seeing that Zhu Cixi was already a little drunk, Li Yan couldn't help but ask.
"I guess you don't have much food and grass anymore. There are plenty of troops in the city and the fighting power is rising. Why do I want to negotiate peace?"
"When your food and grass are cut off and your morale is completely lost, wouldn't it be better if I order the army to go out and destroy them all in one fell swoop?"
"Your Majesty, it is true that our army's food and supplies can only last for three more months. The previous sieges were blocked and the losses were considerable.
However, it is not that our army cannot attack, but that we do not want to lose too many elite soldiers, so we want to negotiate peace.
If Your Majesty insists on not wanting to negotiate, our hundreds of thousands of elite rebels will definitely fight to the death, and the outcome will be difficult to predict. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
"Furthermore, since Your Majesty is determined to rebuild the country, he should negotiate for peace and buy time. Otherwise, if the stalemate lasts too long, once the Northeastern slaves take the opportunity to enter the border, both sides will be in danger of destruction. This is what the student said from the bottom of his heart. I hope Your Majesty will seriously consider it."
After Li Yan finished speaking, he stood up and bowed to the end again.
Seeing that Zhu Cixi remained calm, he could only grit his teeth and add:
"If Your Majesty is waiting for reinforcements from King Qin from all walks of life, students can tell the truth. Except for Wu Sangui from Liaodong, no Ming troops have come to help yet.
And Wu Sangui only brought a mere 20,000 soldiers and horses, and he stopped advancing in the Yutian area three days ago. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Your Majesty to count on him."
"oh!"
Zhu Cixiang's eyes lit up. He was not afraid of Wu Sangui's procrastination, but he was afraid that the guy wouldn't come.
Then he said calmly: "I can agree to the peace talks and canonize Li Chuang as the King of Qin, and he will rule the northwest forever. He will not obey the imperial edict or visit him in court!"
Li Yan was overjoyed, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but frown and wink at the red lady beside him.
The red lady understood and immediately said: "Your Majesty, you have come all the way to the capital to have an audience, so you must be rewarded with some gold, silver and food, right?"
"Forget it, let's reward Li Chuang with a jade belt, a python robe, a hundred taels of gold, a thousand taels of silver, some beautiful jade, and ten altars of wine."
Zhu Cixiang said seriously after thinking about it.
The couple looked at each other and felt a headache. They didn't know whether the little emperor really didn't understand or was pretending not to understand.
Li Yan could only wink at her again.
The red lady then said again: "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter what kind of wild robe and jade belt you have, and the jade for drinking wine is optional, but you must be rewarded with at least three million taels of silver and one million shi of food. Otherwise, if the news spreads, won't the world be disgraced?"
Are you laughing at Your Majesty for being stingy?"
Li Yan added: "Your Majesty, in addition to Shaanxi and Henan, Shanxi can be returned to the Ming Dynasty. If your Majesty agrees, our army will retreat immediately."
"Hmph! Do you really think that I am a rich man from Shanxi?"
"If I really had so much money and food, why would I let you come to the capital?"
"The maximum amount of silver is 500,000 taels, and the grain is 50,000 shi. Shanxi and Henan must also return all of them, otherwise there will be no discussion!"
Zhu Cixiang slapped the table with an angry look on his face.
"this…"
"Ms. Sir, what your Majesty said is true. Otherwise, we should go back and let King Chuang make his own decision."
Li Yan was a little embarrassed. Such conditions were far from what he thought, so he wanted to try again, but the red lady stood up and said directly.
In her opinion, this little emperor was more pleasing to the eye than King Chuang, and he really cared about the common people at heart.
So she really didn't want to deceive him. If it weren't for her husband not wanting to be a villain, she would have simply surrendered and negotiate a ridiculous settlement.
"That's fine, Your Majesty. The student and the bitch will go back first, and I will reply to Your Majesty after consulting my Queen."
Li Yan had a forced smile on his face and could only say.
"We didn't entertain you well today. It's getting late. You two should rest for the night and go back tomorrow!"
After saying this, without waiting for the two to refuse, he ordered the surrounding generals to send the two of them to rest.
