Early the next morning, Shang Yi and Zeng Hualong changed into official uniforms and rushed to the palace. When they arrived outside Chengtian Gate, Zeng Hualong explained to the eunuch guarding the gate, and the eunuch immediately took the two of them into the palace.
The imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty was also known as the Forbidden City in later generations. Shang Yi was no stranger to this place and had visited it several times. However, the imperial palace in later generations was actually a palace left over from the Qing Dynasty. The imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty burned down after Li Zicheng invaded Beijing.
Most of them. After the Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains, they generally relied on the layout of the Ming Palace and rebuilt it. Although there were some differences in the architecture, the layout was basically the same. Therefore, for Shang Yi, this palace
Instead, it became the most familiar place to him in Beijing.
However, unlike the opening up in later generations, the palace was very tightly guarded. All the pavilions and pavilions were guarded by guards with swords and guns, and they remained motionless. Only some eunuchs and maidens could be seen coming in and out from time to time. But apart from the sound of footsteps, other people could only hear the sound.
Everything was silent.
The eunuch took them to the Gongmo Room to wait for the emperor's summons, and then went into the palace to report. Zeng Hualong took the time to teach Shang Yi various etiquette after meeting the emperor, and to answer the emperor's questions.
The fixed format at the time, and other issues that need to be paid attention to, etc.
About half an hour later, the eunuch came back and said that the emperor had sent the two of them to the platform of Jianji Palace to meet him. The two of them followed the eunuch there and passed through many palace gates. It took them about ten minutes to arrive.
Arriving in front of the Yuntai Gate of Jianji Hall, there were still many guards inside and outside the hall. Many pairs of eyes were staring at the two people, which made Shang Yi feel extremely uncomfortable. Zeng Hualong immediately pressed the instructions he had just taught Shang Yi.
He knelt on the ground and waited for the emperor to see him. Although Shang Yi was extremely depressed, he had no choice but to imitate Zeng Hualong and kneel on the ground to wait.
After a while, someone inside was heard saying in a high-pitched and bright duck voice: "The emperor has an edict, and the governor of Denglai, Zeng Hualong, is here to see you."
After hearing this, Zeng Hualong shouted: "I see you here, Zeng Hualong." He got up from the ground, straightened his clothes first, and then dusted off his robes. In fact, the ground was very clean, and there was no trace of dust on it at all.
There was no dust. Then he walked into the palace. But Shang Yi could only kneel on the ground, envious of Zeng Hualong's good luck, and only knelt for a while before he could enter.
I don’t know how much time passed, but I heard a male duck’s voice shouting from inside: “The emperor has a decree, and he has sent word to Qingzhou Prefecture’s Mulingguan Qian General Shang Yijin to see him.”
After hearing this, Shang Yi was finally relieved, and he quickly agreed, "I'd like to see you, Shang Yi." After saying that, he got up from the ground and walked inside.
However, Shang Yi still followed Zeng Hualong's instructions and could not walk with his head held high. He could only lower his head and walked about twenty meters with small steps. From his lowered eyes, he saw several steps ahead. Shang Yi
When he knew that he had arrived, he knelt down and kowtowed again, and raised his voice: "My lord, Qingzhou Prefecture Mulingguan Qianzong Shangyi, I am here to see our Emperor. May my Emperor live long live!" Then he punched the ground with his head, not daring to do so.
Move again.
After a while, I heard a voice that seemed to be full of weariness: "Pingshen."
Shang Yi said: "Long live thanks." He thought it was finally over.
However, when he stood up, he still secretly raised his head and glanced around in front of him. He saw a man wearing a bright yellow robe sitting on a throne on the steps. There were more than a dozen eunuchs standing on both sides of the throne. Zeng Hualong and others
Three or four ministers, all wearing the red official uniforms of first-class officials, stood respectfully on both sides at the foot of the steps.
The person on the throne is naturally the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian, and the ministers at the foot of the steps are probably cabinet bachelors. I just glanced at them without looking at their faces. After getting up, Shang Yi looked down again. Turn your head and retreat to the right side.
Chongzhen looked at Shang Yi carefully and then said: "Shang Yi, I read Zeng Qing's memorial and said that you defended Muling Pass alone and defeated tens of thousands of chiefs and slaves. We won all the victories, recaptured one government and two counties, beheaded more than 17,000 people, captured 900 She people alive, and rescued tens of thousands of people. It is truly an unprecedented victory for our Ming Dynasty since the rebellion of the chief slaves. But is it true?"
Shang Yi immediately took another step towards the middle, lowered his head and said: "Reporting to the emperor, I dare not deceive the emperor. What Governor Zeng said is indeed the truth. If there is any falsehood, I am willing to ask for death." .”
Chongzhen nodded and said: "Shang Yi, tell me the whole story of the war."
Shang Yi said: "Respect the decree." Then he explained the entire process of fighting the Qing army in detail. During the talk, he was interrupted several times by Chongzhen and other ministers, who all asked for details. Naturally, Shang Yi took the trouble to explain everything in detail. At the same time, he also told about the trophies, heads, and prisoners he had brought. After talking for nearly an hour, he finally finished explaining everything. At the same time, Shang Yi also understood Several other ministers present, namely Chen Yan, Wei Zaoxing and Wu Zong, are all members of the cabinet. Except for Zhou Yanru, the chief minister, who invited the governor, all other cabinet ministers were present today.
In fact, Chongzhen and several cabinet ministers present had read the entire process from Zeng Hualong's memorial, and Chongzhen had also read Jinyiwei's secret report, so they all understood it more clearly. Compare it with what Shang Yi said just now , basically all in line. Because they heard what Shang Yi said about bringing a batch of trophies, heads, and prisoners, this was the first time that Chongzhen and several cabinet ministers heard about it, so they basically had no doubts about what Shang Yi said. Okay. After all, if you were trying to take credit, you would never come with so much evidence.
At this time Wu Zong said: "Shang Yi, I just heard what you said. The reason why you were able to defeat the chief slaves' attacks many times and even recover Jinan was all because of the use of firearms. Is that true?"
Shang Yi said: "Mr. Wu Ge, this is indeed the case."
Wu Di added: "But when it comes to firearms, there are actually many other armies in the Ming Dynasty, more than you have, but why can't they win with firearms?"
This question was what everyone present, including Chongzhen, wanted to know, and it was not the first time Shang Yi had heard it, so he already had the answer and immediately said: "Back to Mr. Wu Ge, this is due to insufficient training. , the firearms are not refined, so the fire gun cannot be used to its maximum effect, so it is difficult to collect full power."
Wu Zongdao: "But as far as I can see, many of the Ming Dynasty's troops are well-trained. Why can't they still achieve the effect you mentioned?"
Of course Shang Yi would not argue with Wu Di about whether there were well-trained troops in the Ming army. He just said: "Because you can't train in the right way, and you can't use it in the right way."
Wu Di smiled and said: "Then how come you can't do it the right way?"
Shang Yi said: "When the armies of the Ming Dynasty used firearms, they mostly used heavy artillery and light firecrackers. Although artillery is powerful, it is inconvenient to operate. It is only suitable for defending cities and not suitable for field battles. Although firecrackers are small in power, But the advantage lies in being flexible and able to defend the city and fight in the field. The two complement each other and are indispensable. Secondly, most of the armies of our Ming Dynasty are supplemented by firearms, and they still mainly rely on swords, guns, bows and arrows, and I practice them. The army is mainly based on firearms, supplemented by other armies. If the main force and the supplementary are different, the results of the battle will naturally be very different."
Although what Shang Yi said was an inevitable trend in the future of war and was basically confirmed by the great powers in Europe, it was still a brand-new concept in China at this time. Therefore, after listening to Shang Yi's words, Chongzhen and several The cabinet ministers were still dubious, but they now felt that Shang Yi still had some skills after all, and it was not unreasonable for him to achieve these military exploits.
Chongzhen nodded. In fact, in his heart, he fully hoped that Shang Yi's military exploits were true, because the Ming Dynasty really needed these achievements and generals like Shang Yi. Now it is basically certain that Shang Yi's military exploits should be true. Chongzhen was naturally very happy. Just to maintain the dignity of the emperor, he did not show it on his face. He only said: "Shang Yi, you can fight against the chief slaves with the position of a thousand generals." , I am very grateful for your loyalty and bravery, and I am very pleased." Then he said to Zeng Hualong: "Zeng Aiqing, you are waiting in the land of Denglai without looking at the imperial court to select talents and promote new talents. You are really taking credit for it. Great."
Hearing the emperor's praise of himself and Shang Yi, Zeng Hualong was also very happy and immediately said: "It is my duty to serve the country. How can I be so praised by the emperor? I am really scared."
Chongzhen said again: "I was not aware of it for a moment and mistakenly listened to the lies. As a result, my two dear friends suffered unjust injustice and were imprisoned. I am very uneasy. I hope that my two dear friends will not have to think about it. Regarding this matter, I will continue to be loyal to the country, do my best for the court, and share my worries and solve my problems."
After Zeng Hualong heard this, he was very excited. He had long forgotten the grievances of being imprisoned for the past few days, and quickly knelt down and said: "The emperor loves you so much, how dare I think of taking it from you?" Even if my liver and brain are wiped out and my body is shattered into pieces, it is not enough to repay His Majesty's kindness." As he spoke, he kowtowed again and again.
It didn't matter that he was kowtowing. He was so tired that Shang Yi had no choice but to kowtow behind him. In his heart, he greeted all the women in the Chongzhen Palace. In fact, in Shang Yi's heart, he was completely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen. , he had no intention of being loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and he would not immediately feel grateful to Chongzhen like Zeng Hualong did just because of Chongzhen's innocuous words.
Although he was framed by Zhou Yanru this time, Chongzhen also had an inescapable responsibility. Before he could find out the truth, he blindly believed Zhou Yanru's words, and did not allow himself to argue, so he immediately If Shen Yang and others hadn't rushed back to Beijing in time, and happened to meet Ye Yaoqi and the others on the way to move camp, I would have lost my head in a daze, and I don't know why. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty was hopeless. You'd better plan for yourself.
At this time, Chongzhen said again: "Shang Yi, tomorrow I will be in front of the Ming Dynasty Gate to see the supplies of prisoners of war you have brought. I also want to see the power of your army. Wu Aiqing, please make arrangements with the Ministry of War for the relevant preparations. "
Wu Di hurriedly said: "I respect your decree."
According to what Chongzhen said, a grand ceremony of presenting prisoners and military parade was to be held. This was a rare honor and a special favor from the emperor. Therefore, both Chen Yan and Wei Zaoxing looked at Shang Yi with envy.