Zhu Youjian believed his anguish was genuine. A man in office had to shoulder its duties. As Minister of War, he could rest easy when there was no fighting, but once war broke out, suffering defeat after defeat was sheer torment.
"You are my trusted pillar, my minister. Let us speak no more of asking forgiveness. What matters now is driving the Jurchen back. Rise and speak."
Yang Sichang rose as commanded, still looking anguished and full of self-reproach. "Your Majesty has already ordered Governor Lu to detach troops and march to meet them. As for the roving rebels, I beg Your Majesty to reconsider. We are at a critical juncture. You must not recall Governor Hong and Commander Zu!"
Under the Ten-Sided Net strategy, Zhang Xianzhong had already accepted amnesty, while Li Zicheng had fled into the Shangluo Mountains with a dozen or so men. The remaining roving rebels, including Luo Rucai, no longer posed much of a threat. With the situation so favorable, recalling Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou would surely bring the Ten-Sided Net to ruin just short of success.
"Of course I know that. But the capital cannot be lost. Those two must return to defend it." Although Zhu Youjian knew the Jurchen were not targeting Beijing, he also worried about the changes his transmigration might have caused. If the capital stood undefended, what if the Jurchen suddenly took it into their heads to change the direction of their attack?
Forget six years-his tour of the Great Ming Dynasty might last only six days!
If he could transmigrate back, that would be all right. But if he could not, Zhu Youjian was utterly unwilling to throw away the life of a promising young man from the twenty-first century for this court riddled with a thousand wounds. Even before the King of Hell, he would have to cry, "What an injustice!"
Zhu Youjian's response had been entirely within Yang Sichang's expectations. Now, at last, he revealed his true purpose. "Your Majesty, why not send someone with a message to Huang Taiji and seek peace talks?"
If peace talks could be arranged, the Jurchen would first have to withdraw, allowing the Ten-Sided Net strategy to continue. Once the roving rebels had been wiped out, it would hardly matter whether the negotiations succeeded.
Zhu Youjian could not help giving Yang Sichang a few appraising looks. The Minister of War and Grand Secretary was a man well versed in the classics. Someone who could devise the Ten-Sided Net strategy was no mediocrity, either. How could he still be so naive?
As Zhu Youjian saw it, peace talks with the Jurchen were nothing but wishful thinking.
If they negotiated peace with the Jurchen, would they really stay obediently in the north?
If they negotiated peace with the Jurchen, would the court no longer have to bear the military expenses of defending the northern frontier?
Of course not. At this point, the Jurchen had already conquered Mongolia and Joseon, while the roving rebels kept stirring up trouble within the Great Ming. Expecting a scrap of paper to restrain the Jurchen was surely painting far too rosy a picture!
Even taking a step back, suppose the Jurchen honored their word and truly settled down peacefully in the north. The money and provisions needed to concentrate on crushing the roving rebels would still be a major problem. There was hardly any silver left in the Taicang Treasury.
So peace talks really were not among the options Zhu Youjian was considering.
"Absurd!"
Zhu Youjian slammed his palm onto the desk. The tall stack of memorials toppled, scattering across the floor in a clattering cascade. The palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly dropped to their knees throughout the hall. Even Wang Cheng'en was startled by the emperor's sudden fury and knelt to one side.
"Please quell your anger, Your Majesty!"
Yang Sichang knelt again and kowtowed to beg forgiveness, utterly bewildered.
He had raised the prospect of peace several times before His Majesty, yet the emperor had never reacted so strongly. Earlier, His Majesty had even instructed him to find someone to sound Huang Taiji out. Had the war not erupted so suddenly, they might already have made contact with the Jurchen.
What had come over him today?
An unbidden unease rose within Yang Sichang. It was as though something nailed firmly into place had suddenly revealed a loose nail, and the whole board was about to split apart.
No. This matter still had to be discussed!
Having made up his mind, Yang Sichang kowtowed again. "Your Majesty, please reconsider. The situation is dire. If we clash head-on with the Jurchen, I fear the roving rebels will seize the chance to rise again from the dead ashes!"
Seeing that Yang Sichang remained obstinately deaf to reason, Zhu Youjian could not help grumbling inwardly. Not just a fool, but a stubborn mule!
"I recall that, barely two months after I ascended the throne, Huang Taiji sent messages seeking peace. Three times he sent them, saying he wished to establish friendly relations between our two states. I rejected them all. And now I am to raise the matter myself? Hah..." Zhu Youjian gave a few cold laughs. "Never mind what the officials, high and low, would think. Huang Taiji would certainly believe our court had no capable men left. He would think that I... feared him!"
"Your Majesty, circumstances have changed. As the saying goes, a gentleman can wait ten years for revenge. Did Goujian not sleep on brushwood and taste gall for ten years before destroying the state of Wu? Our Great Ming would merely be buying time. Once the threat of the roving rebels has eased, it will not be too late to settle accounts with the Jurchen!"
"Very well. If we seek peace, have you considered what price our Great Ming would have to pay? Ceding land and paying indemnities? Or a marriage alliance? Must our mighty nation bow its head before them? If we grant them concessions and the Jurchen still break the agreement, will you offer the heads of all nine degrees of your Yang clan to answer to the realm?"
Zhu Youjian walked toward Yang Sichang, step by step, and looked down at him from above.
Yang Sichang felt as though every step the emperor took ground into his heart, and every word stabbed into his body like a knife.
Yang Sichang had never been so afraid. Trembling all over, he pressed his forehead to the floor. "Please quell your anger, Your Majesty... forgive me, Your Majesty..."
Once the lives of his Yang clan were mentioned, he no longer dared insist. Had he continued arguing his case, Zhu Youjian would have admired his iron backbone. So this was all a grand secretary amounted to. In the end, the court's future could not outweigh his own safety, wealth, and honors.
"Peace talks? Just look at what came of the peace between the Song and the Jin..." Zhu Youjian snorted coldly and turned to walk back to the throne, only to fall abruptly silent. He stared ahead, his brows drawing together slightly, as though some momentous matter had occurred to him.
Just then, a flash of inspiration had sparked in his mind, and Zhu Youjian had suddenly conceived a bold idea. Like a balloon, it swelled and filled out in his mind, gradually taking shape.
Zhu Youjian leaned back on the throne, his right index finger tapping unconsciously against the armrest. The steady knocking echoed through the hall. Hearing it, Yang Sichang raised his head a little for a glance. Seeing the emperor frowning in thought, he quickly lowered it again.
Yang Sichang remained on his knees. In the quiet hall, there was only the monotonous tapping of a finger. The emperor neither spoke nor permitted him to rise, leaving him all the more anxious.
Though braziers burned in the hall, cold sweat broke out across Yang Sichang's back. His inner robe clung damply to his skin, yet he did not dare move a muscle.
Abruptly, the tapping stopped, and Zhu Youjian's voice rang through the hall. "Still, if the Jurchen only want silver, peace talks aren't out of the question!"
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