Zhu Youzhen sat alone in the Heart Cultivation Palace, it was already the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, the Heart Cultivation Hall was empty, and it looked extremely deserted, he should have returned to the harem to spend the New Year with the queen and others, but Zhu Youzhen still sat here.

After Zhou Yanru entered the Heart Cultivation Palace, he was about to salute, but Zhu Youzhen waved his hand.

"Today's New Year, I should have rested, I thought of some things, and I found Aiqing to discuss, and those etiquettes were waived."

Zhu Youzhen's voice seemed very peaceful, he didn't feel anything, it seemed that he should have said this when he was in a stable mood, but Zhou Yanru didn't think so.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru entered the cabinet, and then soon became the first assistant of the cabinet, and won the trust of the emperor, it can be said that he knows the emperor very well, before the emperor ascended the throne, there was no hope of becoming the emperor at all, if it were not for the poor health of the first emperor, plus no queen, the emperor would never have a chance, and like other vassal kings, he finally went to the fiefdom and lived honestly for a lifetime, I am afraid it is precisely for this reason that the emperor has been in the palace before he ascended the throne, and life is not so good. At that time, Wei Zhongxian, who was flying rampantly, did not look at the emperor at all, and later the emperor ascended the throne and decisively eradicated Wei Zhongxian, in Zhou Yanru's view, this was actually the bane that had been planted before.

The emperor has been in the whirlpool of power for many years, trembling before ascending the throne, and all aspects are very attentive, and the struggle in the palace is also very clear, it is precisely because of these understandings, with different encounters, it is difficult for the emperor to really trust a person, and many things he does are ultimately self-centered, which is probably the tragedy of the emperor.

On the question of how to treat Su Tiancheng, this is very clear, Zhou Yanru guessed. The emperor probably thought of Zhang Juzheng in the Wanli period, and even Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in the Eastern Han Dynasty, afraid of becoming a puppet, there is nothing wrong with such an idea, but unfortunately Su Tiancheng is too good to give the emperor any chance to do it at all.

After the emperor ascended the throne. has always been very strong, the pursuit of perfection in everything, the requirements for oneself are also like this, lack of flexibility, plus it is difficult to fully trust others, such a character is placed on the emperor's body, and it will inevitably form a tragedy. What's more, the Ming Dynasty is already riddled with holes.

Today's emperor's attitude is so soft, there must be something big.

Sure enough, Zhou Yanru just sat down. Wang Chengen came over with the edict.

Zhou Yanru took the edict, and just after reading the beginning, his body began to tremble, this turned out to be the edict of guilt and abdication written by the emperor himself, and the emperor was ready to let the crown prince Zhu Cihong inherit the throne.

After hurriedly reading the edict of guilt and abdication, Zhou Yanru stood up and was about to kneel down to speak, when Zhu Youzhen spoke.

"Zhou Aiqing. I've made up my mind, for so many years. I am diligent and diligent, I can't imagine that the Ming Dynasty will still be destroyed in my hands, I am sorry for my ancestors and ancestors, I am not qualified to be this emperor, today I am thinking about discussing with Aiqing. I am ready to announce my abdication tomorrow. ”

Zhou Yanru knelt down.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks it's impossible, the emperor is diligent and diligent, but my Ming Dynasty has suffered so many disasters, this is not the emperor's fault. The Manchu Dynasty civil and military ministers need to bear the main responsibility, the minister implores the emperor to withdraw the edict of guilt and abdication, at this critical moment, if the emperor issues the edict of abdication, I am afraid to shake my Ming Dynasty. ”

"Zhou Aiqing, stand up and speak."

Zhu Youzhen's voice was still peaceful, but there was a hint of anger in the peace.

"I don't know what to do, the south is all occupied by Su Tiancheng, and there are not many places in the north, only the surrounding areas of the capital are still under the control of the imperial court, I am afraid that after the Spring Festival, these places will not be under the control of the imperial court, I have no face, the shame of the king of the dead country, I am going to recall."

Zhou Yanru lowered his head and didn't speak, at this time, he didn't know what to say, any comforting words would not have much effect, the Jiangning battalion occupied Tianjin, I am afraid that the attack will be launched soon, at this time, unless he can think of a way to defeat the Jiangning battalion, the rest are empty words. The emperor said these words, made him think of the early years of Chongzhen, at that time, the emperor was only more than ten years old, suddenly shouldered a heavy responsibility, full of enthusiasm to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, sixteen years have passed, the emperor has entered middle age, but ushered in such a situation, the sorrow in the heart can be imagined.

"I am not the king of the dead country, but in the court, all the ministers of the dead country."

When Zhu Youzhen said this, Zhou Yanru's body trembled again, and he couldn't help but kneel, this sentence was very serious, which was equivalent to completely vetoing the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. This also shows that the emperor has reached the brink of despair.

I think that when the emperor first ascended the throne, he wanted to rely on many civil and military ministers, and he also gave a lot of trust, the most obvious is Yuan Chonghuan, but a lot of things happened later, which made the emperor more and more disappointed, especially the party struggle and power struggle in the court, which almost made the emperor to a helpless situation, and he could only start to trust the eunuchs and Jinyiwei again.

Perhaps feeling that his words were too heavy, Zhu Youzhen slowed down his tone.

"Zhou Aiqing, let's be even, I'm not talking about you, I've thought about things for so many years."

After a while, Zhu Youzhen slowly recovered his emotions, he didn't mention the matter of the edict of guilt and the edict of abdication for the time being, in fact, this is also a way for him to vent his inner depression, the emperor is a widow, no friends, the height is unbearable, there is no place to tell the grievances in his heart, he can only bear it himself, when it comes to such a situation, in the face of Zhou Yanru, it is also a way to get rid of it, he believes that Zhou Yanru can understand and bear it.

"Zhou Aiqing, I thought about the affairs of the Liaodong Border Army, the Houjin Tartars are eyeing Liaodong, I know very well in my heart that if all the Liaodong Border Army is withdrawn, the Guanningjin defense line will soon fall into the hands of the Houjin Tartars, the capital is as dangerous as the capital, I don't want to do the thing of drinking to quench my thirst, but what else can I do."

Speaking of dealing with the attack of the Jiangning battalion, Zhou Yanru's attention began to concentrate, in fact, he had already known that the emperor was facing a situation where he could not choose, on the one hand, the Houjin Tartars were eyeing the tiger, and on the other hand, the unstoppable Jiangning battalion, both sides could not deal with it, no matter which side, it was the capital that was staring.

"Zhou Aiqing, I want to ask you, is there any other solution?"

Zhou Yanru paused for a moment and did not speak back in time.

In fact, where did Zhou Yanru know the Dao, the words released by Su Tiancheng, Zhu Youzhen already knew the Dao, that is, after Su Tiancheng took the capital, he would not harm the lives of many royal personnel, let alone do anything to slaughter and loot the city, this was originally a manifestation of goodwill, but in Zhu Youzhen's view, it was a great shame, the royal status was noble, how could he suffer such humiliation.

Zhu Youzhen's inner thoughts, Zhou Yanru didn't know, but he felt that under the current situation, he could take a step back, maybe there would be a chance in the future, and after hesitating for a while, Zhou Yanru finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, the minister has an idea, Su Tiancheng has occupied Tianjin, the next step must be to prepare to attack the capital, the emperor can send officials to negotiate with Su Tiancheng, if Su Tiancheng is willing to withdraw troops and control the south, the court will recognize his Great Jin Dynasty, if Su Tiancheng insists on attacking the capital, then only the fish will die."

Zhou Yanru said very cautiously, looking at the emperor's expression as he spoke, and sure enough, he found that the emperor's expression had changed.

"How can Zhou Aiqing say such words, I am in accordance with the will of heaven and inherit the unification, even if Su Tiancheng rebelled and became the emperor, even if he established the Great Jin Dynasty, even if he notified the entire south, even the Central Plains, how can I approve it, how can the court approve it, such an approach, don't I think that Su Tiancheng's rebellion is reasonable, I don't want to smear the faces of the ancestors and ancestors, I would rather fight to the death with Su Tiancheng......"

Zhou Yanru lowered his head and stopped talking, in fact, what he thought in his heart, even if the emperor wants to fight to the death with Su Tiancheng, I'm afraid there is no such opportunity, the Great Jin Dynasty has already controlled most of the area, and with its strong strength, even if it does not attack the capital immediately, the imperial court will not be able to maintain it, and the household department can no longer take out the silver, during the autumn harvest season, Su Tiancheng has occupied most of the southern areas, and the continuous expedition has consumed a lot of silver, and the treasury is almost empty, At this time, there is no need for Su Tiancheng to conquer, and if the imperial court cannot collect taxes, it will collapse.

Zhou Yanru knew better that the mobilization of the Liaodong border army required a large amount of silver, at least the grain and grass needed to be guaranteed, and the imperial court could no longer take out this silver, so could it be expected that people would fight to the death.

When he left the Heart Cultivation Palace, Zhou Yanru was a little confused.

What Wang Chengen said should be about the transfer of the Liaodong Border Army, but the emperor didn't directly mention this matter for what he wanted, could it be that he knew that there was no silver in the treasury of the Liaodong Province, and it was difficult to maintain the expenses of hundreds of thousands of Liaodong Border Army, or because of something else, it is said that the Liaodong Border Army can be maintained for the time being, and the Liaodong Border Army can be maintained for at least a few months, so don't think about the future, lose the capital, there is nothing, and consider what the Liaodong Border Army will do in the future.

Although Zhou Yanru has the practice of stepping on two boats, but deep in his heart, he still thinks that the Ming Dynasty will prosper, no matter what, he has become the first assistant of the cabinet twice, this kind of glory, others have not enjoyed, and he has to do things after taking the money, and on the basis of being able to think of a way, he still has to consider the survival of the imperial court. (To be continued......)