Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 186 Turning the tide
In the spring of the 19th year of Chongzhen, for Yan Ermei, there were mixed feelings of sadness and joy.

The joy is that since His Majesty's Western Expedition last year, he has won every victory, and half of the Ming Dynasty has become more stable and full of vitality.

The sad thing is that not long ago Kaifeng fell, the prince was captured, and then the news of General Zhou Yuji's death and martyrdom spread to Nanjing.

Undoubtedly, this is the biggest setback the imperial court has suffered since it moved south, and it is also an unprecedented test!

The crown prince of a country falls into the hands of the enemy, and the influence is extremely huge and extremely bad.If you make a mistake, the world might be in turmoil, and even your majesty's hard work in the past two years will be wasted.

"Fan Wencheng is indeed a vicious conspirator and a cunning strategist!" Yan Ermei sighed sincerely.

After Huang Zongxi brought the news of the drastic change in Kaifeng back to Nanjing, it caused a huge shock.From the queen to the common people, everyone was in panic and unrest. Rumors abounded and people's hearts were unstable.

But at this time, the emperor is far away in Sichuan and Shu, and the court has no backbone, and no one dares to make a decision rashly.But wait for the emperor to issue instructions before taking action, I am afraid there will be greater changes during this period.

The Manchu and Qing courts arrested the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and there are rare goods to live in, so they will definitely make a big fuss and make good use of them.Thinking of all kinds of terrible consequences, Yan Ermei felt horrified.

The situation is critical, we cannot sit still!

Yan Ermei decides to fight with Fan Wencheng. The two smartest counselors in the late Ming Dynasty finally stepped into the ring, and a big drama kicked off.

Fan Wencheng was the first to make the move.On the third day after Huang Zongxi rushed back to Nanjing, Chen Hongfan, the envoy of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, led the mission across the Yangtze River and came to Nanjing for negotiations.

No sooner had the crown prince been captured than the Manchu and Qing missions arrived. Obviously, this was an arrangement Fan Wencheng had made before he raided Kaifeng.

Empress Zhou and the ministers in the court felt that it was very difficult to talk about it or not to talk about it, how to talk about it, where the bottom line of the court was, and what kind of attitude it should uphold.

Empress Zhou silently watched the ministers arguing for a while, then suddenly asked: "Hey, why didn't Master Yan come to the palace to attend the meeting?"

Only then did the ministers realize that Yan Ermei was not present.

Everyone knows that Yan Ermei is His Majesty's most trusted minister. When the country is in crisis, many things are still waiting for him to make suggestions and turn the tide. Why doesn't he show up?
"I personally went to the Military Advisor's Mansion." Jiang Dejing said.

"I'm going too!" Liu Wenbing said.

Jiang Dejing, Liu Wenbing, and Yan Ermei are all former Jiangbei ministers, and they all have close friendships in private.It would be perfect for the two of them to ask Yan Ermei to come forward, to have a look, and to ask for advice.

Unexpectedly, the two arrived outside the gate of Yan's mansion in a sedan chair, but they were rejected.The butler of the mansion said apologetically: "I'm really sorry, my master is sick and doesn't see any guests."

"Ah, why are you sick at this time?" Jiang Dejing exclaimed.

"Then let's go to the mansion to see the sick!" Liu Wenbing said, rushing into the mansion.

The butler blocked the door, and a few boys rushed over to dissuade them, saying nothing to let them in.

Jiang Dejing and Liu Wenbing looked at each other, but retreated in desperation.

Liu Wenbing said unhappily: "Could it be pretending to be sick? The emperor thinks highly of Junshi Yan, but when the court needed him, he hid himself..."

"Junshi Yan is not such a person!" Jiang Dejing waved his hands hastily, and sighed, "Maybe he is really sick, hey, it's really a house leak and it rains all night, what should we do?"

For three consecutive days, Yan Ermei neither went to court nor saw any guests.Wang Chengen and Cao Huachun received the Queen's order and came to visit one after another, but they were also stopped outside the mansion.

The court couldn't make up its mind, so it had to hang Chen Hongfan and his party in the Siyi Pavilion.Chen Hongfan lost his patience, shouted loudly, and had a very tough attitude.

In the afternoon of that day, Chen Hongfan put on a show in the Siyi Hall again, picking noses and eyes at the reception officials, cursing: "Your crown prince is still in my hands, if you neglect our envoys, aren't you afraid that the crown prince's life will be lost? "

The reception official murmured: "Dog traitor, what a crime!"

"What did you say?" Chen Hongfan was putting on his boots. Hearing this, he threw his boots at the reception official.

The hospitality officer dodges and the boots fly outside the house.

A man walked in with boots, and said with a smile: "The spring is cold, don't wear boots, and be careful of frostbite on your feet. Ambassador Chen, I am the housekeeper of Yan Junshi's residence. My lord invites you to come over to the residence."

Chen Hongfan said: "Emperor Chongzhen is not in Nanjing, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty, big and small, except for Yan Ermei, this ambassador looks down on anyone. To be honest, this ambassador only recognizes Yan Ermei when I come to Nanjing to negotiate this time! Okay, He is finally willing to show up, take me to see him quickly."

……

Yan Mansion, inside the hall.

After drinking for three rounds, Chen Hongfan laughed loudly: "Commander Yan, we were old friends during the Battle of Xuzhou. Even when the war was raging, we still kept in touch with each other. I have always missed you!"

"There is one more person you should miss, General Zhou Yuji." Yan Ermei said.

Chen Hongfan said hypocritically: "General Zhou died bravely in battle. It is really a pity! Master Fan Wencheng praised General Zhou very much, and felt sad for his death. This is the end, please send condolences to Master Yan!"

Then he turned to the main topic and said: "Master Yan Jun, Master Fan Wencheng sent me as an envoy to your dynasty. There is only one condition, that is, you and I will rule the river. Your dynasty will assign all the areas north of the Yangtze River to our dynasty. I immediately released your Highness the Crown Prince, and sent him back to Nanjing City respectfully. What do you think?"

"What a big appetite! Does it mean that we have to give up the Jiangbei area and hand over the newly recovered Sichuan and Shu areas?"

"That's exactly what it means!"

Yan Ermei said: "What if I don't agree to your conditions?"

"Zhu Cihong is in danger!"

"Oh, please go ahead." Yan Ermei raised her eyelids.

"Why, you don't want to save Zhu Cihong, don't you even want the crown prince?" Chen Hongfan emphasized his tone.

Yan Ermei got up and said: "Chen Hongfan, you were also a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty, so you should be familiar with the allusions of our dynasty. In the change of Tumubao, Emperor Yingzong fell into the hands of the Wara tribe. How did the court respond at that time?"

"Yu Qian Yu Shaobao fought against all opinions, welcomed the new emperor, and won the battle to defend the capital, defeating the plan of using Emperor Yingzong to blackmail him first..." Chen Hongfan said this, frowning and said, "Master Yan, could it be that Do you want to learn from Yu Qian?"

Yan Ermei said: "Why not? The one you captured back then was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the one you captured by the Manchu Qing Dynasty was just a prince. Can the bargaining chips in your hands be compared with that of Ye Xian? In addition to Zhu Cixian, our Majesty, There are still two princes, and it is easy to change to another prince."

"Once I establish a new crown prince, Zhu Cihong will be insignificant. If you want to use him to threaten my court, it is nothing more than a fool's dream!"

Chen Hongfan said: "Mr. Yan, this is indeed a clever plan! But don't forget what happened to Yu Shaobao. Later, Emperor Yingzong launched a coup to seize the gate and regained the throne. Yu Qian was taken to Chongwen Gate and beheaded for public display. You want If you learn from Yu Qian's actions, won't you be afraid of being decapitated in the future?"

Yan Ermei stood with her hands behind her back, and said in a clear voice: "Thousands of hammers and ten thousand chisel out a deep mountain, and the fire will burn like nothing. Don't be afraid of being smashed to pieces. I want to stay innocent in the world. My ambition lies in Shaobao's poem "Lime Yin" bingo!"

Chen Hongfan realized that Yan Ermei had made up his mind and was very firm.

If the Ming Dynasty really established a new crown prince, Zhu Cihong would become a weakling, and Fan Wencheng was so busy with his work, it would be nothing but a bamboo basket to fetch water.

Thinking of this, Chen Hongfan became nervous, and said unwillingly: "Welcoming the new crown prince is the most important thing for the country, and the power has always been in the hands of the emperor, and no one else is allowed to touch it. Even if you, Yan Ermei, are not afraid of death, will others respond?"

"That's right, there is indeed a lot of resistance, especially the empress and the inner court forces will definitely oppose it!" Yan Ermei said.

"It's good that you know, let's get rid of this idea as soon as possible, so as not to be forever." Chen Hongfan showed a sarcasm smile.

Yan Ermei stared into his eyes, and said word by word: "Things in the world are both difficult and easy, if you only pick the easy things to do, then you are a mediocre person; Those who cannot be done are saints. I, Yan Ermei, cannot be a saint, but I want to be a man!"

"Hmph, let's see how you can convince the queen and others!" Chen Hongfan said.

"It's very simple, please lend me something, Mr. Chen."

"what?"

"Your head!"

"Are you going to kill me?" Chen Hongfan jumped up and gasped.

He suddenly realized that Yan Ermei's strategy was vicious but effective.

Because killing the envoys of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties meant completely tearing up the face, blocking the retreat of the Ming Dynasty, and cutting off the thoughts of Queen Zhou and others, so they had to give up Zhu Cihong and establish another prince.

Thinking of this, Chen Hongfan became frightened. He broke into a cold sweat and said, "If the two countries are at war, don't behead the envoy! If you kill me, aren't you afraid that the Qing court will send troops south?"

"The two dynasties, you and I, were already at war. It is said that if you have too many debts, you don't have to worry about it. If you have too many lice, you don't have to be afraid of being bitten. If the Manchu Tartars are angry, they will be angry. What's the big deal? Dorgon and Fan Wencheng don't say that they have fought the Yangtze River." , I'd better clean up the mess in my hand first!"

Chen Hongfan ran away, and ran to the yard, where he was surrounded by more than a dozen servants in the mansion.

He thumped and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy: "Master Yan Jun, let me go, you want to welcome the new crown prince and learn from Shaobao, I will not stop you, I just beg you to spare my life!"

Yan Ermei said: "Without your head, I can't continue to sing this big show! Chen Hongfan, you have been a traitor for more than two years, and you should pay for your life. You are lucky if you fall into the hands of the official. One day, if it falls into the hands of my emperor, you will die miserably!"

With a wave of his hand, the servants all slammed their sticks together.Chen Hongfan died, ending his shameful and sinful life.

Yan Ermei said: "Cut off his head and put it in a box. Come on, master, I want to take a bath and change clothes, and go to the palace overnight to meet the queen!"

(End of this chapter)