When the red lady came closer and saw that it was really Zhu Cihong, she jumped off her horse, drew her sword, pointed at him and said coldly.
"Escort!"
A group of Jinyi guards immediately drew their swords and protected Zhu Cixiang in the middle. They were all shocked.
He thought secretly: Your Majesty is confused!
However, Zhu Cixi pushed everyone aside and took a step forward: "Mrs. Li, what do you mean?"
"Hmph, although I haven't read many books about red ladies, I'm not a fool either. Someone shot a letter into my camp that night, informing me that the intruders wanted to do harm to my couple. Wasn't it the letter you sent someone to shoot?
You instigated a relationship between my husband and I and the intruder, causing my husband to die tragically at the hands of the intruder. Do you dare to say that all this was not a stratagem by you?"
"What?"
"Li Zhuangshi was killed by King Chuang. How is this possible?"
Faced with the red lady's questioning, Zhu Cixiang looked shocked at first, and then explained that he was using a divorce tactic to force the two of them to surrender, and had absolutely no intention of harming Li Yan.
"Mrs. Li, you also know that I have always admired you and your wife very much, but I couldn't get what I asked for, so I resorted to the divorce plan."
"But I never expected... No, I've already reminded you. Why did Li Zhuangshi still go to Xi Daying?"
"And even if the intruder suspected that Li Zhuangshi had taken refuge with me, he should have arrested you first and threatened you. How could he kill you directly?"
Zhu Cixiang's doubts this time were not pretending, but he really didn't understand.
After all, according to common sense, it would be absolutely unwise to kill Li Yan before finishing off the Red Lady and her soldiers.
He saw the situation that night very clearly. King Chuang was almost killed by the red lady.
"It must be those two traitors, Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing, who were fanning the flames. That's why the intruder directly killed my husband. It's hateful! One day, I, Li Ying, will cut out the hearts and lungs of these three people, skin them and cramp them, in order to retaliate.
This bloody feud!"
The red lady bit her lip until it bled at the end of her speech. That night she tried her best to get back her husband's head.
"Alas! Even if you knew that Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing were at odds with you, why didn't you stop your husband? You still let him risk going to the West Camp?"
Zhu Cixiang sighed and stared at her.
Seeing that he was really confused, the red lady explained in a low voice: "The intruder is always on guard against my husband and I, so he always takes my husband with him. Usually, if nothing happens, he rarely returns to Beiying.
Looking for me."
"I see!"
"This is a mistake on my part. If I had known this, I would rather you and your wife be my enemies, and I would never use this stratagem to alienate you!"
Zhu Cixi suddenly realized.
I finally understood the problem with my divorce plan, and then I felt annoyed and remorseful.
He really didn't want to kill Li Yan, he just wanted to subdue him and give him a heavy responsibility. He even planned to let Li Yan serve as the chief minister of his cabinet in the future and preside over reform matters. After all, the Ming Dynasty had truly talented and learned literati.
Not much left.
This true display of emotion made the red lady's expression gradually soften, and she finally let out a long sigh.
"You are the emperor and we are rebels. The two armies are fighting. Each side relies on its own methods and life and death are determined by destiny. I can't blame you for your tricks. The only blame is that I and my wife were blind and took the shameless villain for their own good.
As the Lord of the Ming Dynasty, I thought he could save the people of the world..."
At the end of the sentence, he was filled with hatred, both for the intruder and for himself. After saying this, he slashed the stone on the side with his sword.
Then he looked at Zhu Cixi with some confusion and said: "Little emperor, I, the red lady, have always had a clear distinction between grudges and grievances. That day when my husband and I entered the city, you not only showed great courtesy, but also hosted a banquet in person. I am still grateful to this day. Today I will
I won’t embarrass you, but you can’t do it if you want me to surrender, so just go back!”
After saying that, he sheathed his sword, jumped on his horse, and was about to leave.
She really didn't blame the little emperor in her heart, and she also understood that he really admired her husband-in-law, and by using the divorce plan, he just wanted to force the couple to surrender, otherwise he would not come in person today.
But no matter what, my husband-in-law died because of him. Although I don't blame him, I don't want to sacrifice my life for him anymore.
Zhu Cixi also didn't expect that this red lady would be so reasonable and understanding of justice, but he also saw that she would not submit to him anymore, and said anxiously: "Mrs. Li, wait a minute!"
"I know you are still angry with me, but now you are at the end of your rope. You have no other choice but to surrender to the imperial court. My coming here in person today is enough to show my sincerity. I hope Madam will give it serious consideration."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
"No matter how good fortune is, your Majesty, please come back!" the red lady sighed, but her attitude was very firm.
well!
Zhu Cixi also lamented that sometimes this kind of woman who acts on impulse and does not consider the consequences is really a headache. If it were Li Yan who was judging the situation, I am afraid that he would be demoted as soon as he came.
In desperation, he had no choice but to retreat and say: "I am not blessed. Since Mrs. Li is unwilling to surrender, how about cooperation and alliance?"
"An alliance?" The red lady looked surprised.
"Yes, if I am not wrong, you should be running out of food soon, and I have plenty of food, but I urgently need a strong army to stabilize the throne, so the two sides can cooperate and each get what they need."
Zhu Cixiang explained.
The reason why he dared to come was because he knew that the Red Lady must have run out of food and was already in a desperate situation.
And there is a Supreme Emperor in the city. It is useless for them to capture or kill him, so they are fighting. If it is really impossible to persuade them to surrender, they will cooperate with them first, and then use their strength to force the nobles to compromise and give up the throne.
Sit tight.
“How to form alliances?”
The red lady hesitated and asked.
Because Zhu Cixiang's guess was correct, there was indeed no food in the city, and Juyongguan was blocked by Wang Chengyin. It was really that there was no way out, and everything was exhausted.
Just now she was hesitating whether to detain the little emperor and extort some food, but she finally gave up.
"It's very simple. If you go back with me, I will publicly announce that you have surrendered. When I stabilize the throne, I will give you a batch of food. You can choose to leave at any time."
"This is feasible, but there are three stipulations. First, we will not enter the city. Second, in addition to food, we must also give you some weapons. Third, we will not help you fight."
The red lady did not suspect that he had ulterior motives. Her husband had said before that the little emperor was temporarily pushed out to take the blame. Now that the intruder has been defeated, he may be deposed by his father at some point.
"The second and third are fine, but the first is not. If you don't enter the city, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to make those nobles compromise."
Zhu Cixi shook his head.
As long as he gets them into the city, he will have enough means to slowly conquer them.
"How do I know you're not trying to trick us again? You want to lure us into the city and then lay an ambush?"
The red lady was obviously not stupid, she stared straight at him.
"Mrs. Li, you can rest assured. I will enter the city with you when I arrive. If there is an ambush, you can kill me on the spot. After entering the city, if you are still worried, how about you stay with me at all times?"
"Commander, I think it's feasible!"
Several generals looked at each other and nodded towards the red lady. As long as there was no ambush when entering the city, if the little emperor dared to have evil intentions, they could completely kill him.
"Okay, let's make it a promise and give it a high five." The red lady is also a decisive person. She immediately jumped off the horse, stretched out her palm, and worked for the little emperor. She really couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart, but forming an alliance was
No worries at all.
"OK!"
Zhu Cixiang laughed, gave her a high-five, and then asked impatiently: "By the way, Mrs. Li, I wonder how many soldiers and horses you have under your command? How is their combat strength?"
"Back to Your Majesty, I still have 30,000 troops, 10,000 of which are veterans who have fought with me for several years, and the other 20,000 are the broken troops who have gathered together in the past few days."
The red lady said truthfully.
"Okay, without further ado, let's go back to Beijing immediately!"
Zhu Cihong was overjoyed when he heard that she still had 10,000 old soldiers, and didn't want to delay any more.
