Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 82: Traitor
In the hall, Qu Shisi was about to speak again, but Ding Kuichu saw the dissatisfaction on the face of His Royal Highness the Regent, his eyes turned, and before Qu Shisi could speak, he spoke again respectfully.

"The battle and defense of Guangdong is a military and national issue, and should be put to public discussion in the court. Why did Lord Lu remain silent? I wonder what Lord Lu thinks about this."

Ding Kuichu looked at Lu Daqi who had been silent in the train, and the ministers in the court also looked at Lu Daqi in front of them.

Zhu Lang's eyes flickered when he heard this, and he also looked at Lu Daqi below.
He could guess the attitudes of Qu Shisi, Ding Kui and Chu beforehand, but he didn't know much about Lu Daqi. Now was a good opportunity to see what his attitude was.
Lu Daqi felt everyone's gaze, and after a moment of silence, he stepped out and spoke.

"I have just arrived in Guangdong Province and do not know much about the military situation in Guangdong Province. I dare not make any rash comments on how to mobilize troops."

"But in my opinion, the court must not abandon Guangdong without firing a single shot, otherwise it will greatly damage the prestige of the court."

After Lu Daqi finished speaking, he bowed to the top and walked back to the train again, obviously not wanting to say more.
Lu Daqi's statement was very clear. He had no intention of interfering in military affairs, but his attitude was similar to that of Qu Shisi and others. Even if he wanted to retreat, he had to fight for a while before making any decisions.

As for this battle, whether to send out all the troops or send a few thousand remaining soldiers to fire a shot in the battle to give an explanation to the upper and lower levels, it would be up to the two people in the court to decide who would win.

Although both Lü Daqi and Qu Shisi advocated fighting for a while, their attitudes were different. Qu Shisi planned to fight with all his strength for a while, and then retreat to Guangxi Province if it was really impossible. Lü Daqi's focus was to give an explanation to the court.

Ding Kuichu's face relaxed slightly. Lu Daqi's attitude was not firm. He did not fully support Qu Shisi and others. The key point was that he did not comment on the issue of moving the capital.

In other words, as long as he could give an explanation to the court, Lu Daqi would probably acquiesce to the matter and would not strongly oppose it.

Ding Kuichu looked at He Wuzuo who was standing next to Lu Daqi and said

"Mr. He, please give me some advice too."

He Wuzuo no longer looked at Lu Daqi's hint beside him. Without any hesitation, he stepped out and said:

"I think what Lord Qu said is very true. If the court suddenly abandons Guangdong Province and evacuates before the enemy appears, it will surely lose the support of the people of the world."

"Guangdong Province is the only fertile land left in the court. We must not abandon it unless it is absolutely necessary. In my opinion, we should quickly send a large army to guard the border of Guangdong Province and never let the Qing invaders enter our Guangdong Province."

After He Wuzuo finished speaking, he didn't even look at the faces of the people in the room. He bowed and walked back to the line.
A cold light flashed in Ding Kuichu's eyes. He was not surprised by He Wuzuo's attitude. He Wuzuo, like Chen Zizhuang, was from Guangdong Province. Of course, he wanted to tie the imperial court to Guangdong Province to protect his hometown.
These officials of Guangdong Province only want to kidnap the court for the sake of justice and help them defend their hometowns, but they completely ignore the current strength and survival of the court.
Compared with the survival of the imperial court, what does a province of Guangdong mean? These scholars of Guangdong are really unworthy of being ministers!
At this time, the five elders in the field had already expressed their opinions, but Ding Kuichu did not stop, but looked at a person who was slightly behind the train.

"What does Lord Su think?"

When the ministers heard what Ding Kuichusu said, they were stunned for a moment, and then they remembered that in addition to the five ministers who served in the cabinet, there was another minister.

Su Guansheng has the title of Dongge Grand Secretary, and he has already served in the cabinet in the previous dynasty. Now he can barely be called a cabinet elder.
As Ding Kuichu finished speaking, the five ministers suddenly became alert and looked at Su Guansheng, who had been in hiding since the establishment of the new dynasty.

Whether it was being exiled to the Ministry of Works, being deprived of the right to join the cabinet, or the previous disputes in the Imperial Lectures, Su Guansheng, apart from fighting for Gu Yuanjing to be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, almost never spoke out about the affairs of the court, and was only concerned with the Guangzhou Autumn Silver Fund, which was worth an unknown amount of silver in the Ministry of Works.
But the more low-key Su Guansheng was, the more people dared not to underestimate him. If there was an imperial party in the court at this time, Su Guansheng was the real imperial party, not even Qu Shisi could match him. He was recognized by the court as the absolute confidant of His Highness the Regent.
Some alert ministers in the field quickly reacted and stared closely at Su Guansheng in the train.

As a minister who was recruited into the court by His Highness, they could figure out His Highness the Regent's true intentions just by looking at Su Guansheng's statement.
Su Guansheng felt everyone's gaze, but his face was expressionless. He was silent for a moment before stepping out and speaking.

"I am only in charge of the Ministry of Works, and I don't know much about the affairs of other ministries. You elders have a comprehensive view of the affairs of the court and have a far-sighted vision. What you have come up with will surely be perfect."

"How to deal with the Ganzhou incident, I will follow the court's arrangements. If you are to tour Wuzhou in the west, I will send craftsmen to build a temporary palace. If you are to garrison Meiguan in Nanxiong, I will send people to repair the wall to defend against the Eastern Tartars."

After Su Guansheng finished speaking, he immediately returned to the train without saying anything more.
The ministers below looked at Su Guansheng's back and could not help but feel speechless. Su Guansheng was indeed a loyal member of the imperial party. Even his attitude was exactly the same as that of His Royal Highness the Regent above.

Su Guansheng seemed to have said everything, but in fact he said nothing. It was obviously an excuse to shirk responsibility.

The ministers below looked dissatisfied. Qu Shisi and Chen Zizhuang above looked at each other and frowned. Ding Kuichu even had a barely perceptible smile on his face.
As a lone minister in the court, Su Guansheng's attitude is the attitude of His Highness. Although Su Guansheng shirked his responsibility and did not express his position, not expressing his position is also a kind of statement.

There are only two possibilities for Su Guansheng's attitude of not being involved in the matter. One possibility is that Su Guansheng has received instructions from His Highness not to express his opinion on the matter.

The other possibility is that His Highness has never explained anything to Su Guansheng, and he is just following His Highness the Regent's statement.

Whether His Highness gave instructions or not, this can prove one thing: His Highness the Regent must have already decided to retire.

Although His Royal Highness the Regent did not dare to suddenly stand up and support the withdrawal of the Western Tour, he definitely did not want to fight the Qing army to the death.
When Ding Kuichu thought of this, he immediately made up his mind. He glanced at Qu Shisi and others who looked unhappy, and then spoke loudly:

"The foundation of the world depends on Your Highness. If Your Highness is safe, the court will be safe. Even if we lose Guangdong Province, our Ming Dynasty still has Guangxi Province, Hunan Province and Yunnan Province." "If Your Highness is lost, our Ming Dynasty will lose a wise leader, and the world will be in the hands of someone else. The foundation of the country depends on Your Highness, and you must not lose him."

When His Highness the Regent heard Dai Kuichu's words, his eyes lit up, as if he was very appreciative, and he could not help but nod his head repeatedly.
When Ding Kuichu saw the reaction of His Royal Highness the Regent, a smile flashed in his eyes.

"However, what Lord Lu said is reasonable. Our Ming soldiers are brave and valiant, so why should we be afraid of a battle with the Eastern Tartars? I request that 6,000 Gui troops under Li Mingzhong and 6,000 Guangdong troops, a total of 10,000 people, be stationed in Guangdong to fight against the Eastern Tartars."

"I also ask Your Highness to tour Wuzhou in the west to observe the war in Guangdong Province. If the war goes well, return to Guangdong Province and the elite troops of the court will go out to defeat the Eastern Tartars. If the war goes badly, deploy defenses with Guangxi Province as soon as possible and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."

As soon as Ding Kuichu finished speaking, a hint of joy flashed across the face of His Royal Highness the Regent above him, and he could not help but speak loudly.

"Mr. Ding is mature and thoughtful, worthy of being the head of the country. What you said is very good. What do you think?"

Qu Shisi looked at the overjoyed Regent above him, and then looked at Ding Kuichu who was bowing his head with a smile on his face. Suddenly, he felt a surge of grief and indignation in his heart. He could no longer bear the anger in his heart.
What about touring Wuzhou in the west, what about sending troops to guard Guangdong? Once the center escapes from Guangdong, it will surely cause fear throughout the province.
If they were to go west to Wuzhou, the imperial army would also have to move away, and the 10,000 people they sent would become a truly isolated army.
With a strong enemy in front and no reinforcements behind, this is basically sending people to die. With these 10,000 soldiers and horses, they can silence the mouths of the people of the world, but how many soldiers are there in the court? Can they let them waste like this?
Qu Shisi was filled with grief and indignation, and could no longer bear it. He turned around, pointed his finger at Ding Kuichu with a stern expression, and spoke loudly:

"Ding Guangsan, as the Prime Minister, you watched the Eastern Tartar invade, but instead of planning to prepare for the enemy and protect the people, you fled before the enemy even arrived."

"Now, in front of all the nobles in the court, you dare to persuade His Highness to abandon the country and leave. History will tell on you. Aren't you afraid of being infamous for eternity?"

Qu Shisi's shout resounded throughout the hall.
The ministers listened to the shouts echoing in the hall, and their expressions suddenly changed. They all looked at the middle-aged man in the hall wearing a red robe and a seven-beam crown and pointing angrily to one side.
The second chancellor of the imperial court angrily rebuked the first chancellor, this was a complete fall out.
Ding Kuichu was also shocked by Qu Shisi's violent reaction for a moment, but he soon reacted and his face darkened instantly. He felt a surge of anger rushing to his head.
It has been a long time since he took office as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and no one dared to be so presumptuous in front of him.

Who does Qu Shisi think he is? He is the Prime Minister of the court!
Ding Kuichu's expression turned cold, and he turned around and stared at Qu Shisi beside him, and spoke in a cold voice

"I think you, Qu Jiaxuan, are the real traitor. When the enemy troops entered the country and the central government was in danger, you did not think about protecting the emperor and father first, but instead wanted to threaten His Highness with the people of Guangdong Province to save your reputation."

"If you do this, where do you put Your Highness and the court?" Ding Kuichu's cold voice also resounded throughout the palace.
"Slanderous..."

Qu Shisi's face flushed and he was furious. He was about to argue, but suddenly there was a loud shout from above.

"enough"

"I asked you to come here to discuss matters and fight the enemy, not to listen to your quarrels."

"Now that the border city has been breached, the Qing invaders will invade the court at any moment. Instead of planning to prepare for the enemy and stabilize the center, you ministers are attacking each other, one traitor here, one traitor there. According to what you said, is the Ming Dynasty now full of traitors and villains?"

His Highness the Regent suddenly stood up from his throne, his face flushed, and pointed at the people below and roared like thunder.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for my misconduct."

When the ministers heard the angry shouts echoing in the hall, their expressions changed slightly, and then they all bowed and apologized.

Although His Royal Highness the Regent was roaring and shouting, the ministers did not feel much fear in their hearts. They knew that His Royal Highness the Regent was just taking the opportunity to vent his fear.

But this also made the ministers more pessimistic about the future. Those who can still stand in the court are all veteran ministers. How can His Highness hide his little thoughts from everyone?

Although His Highness has not yet clearly supported which side, anyone can see that His Highness has already had the intention to leave.

The reason why His Royal Highness the Regent is still unwilling to express his opinion is that he wants to wait for more people in the court to submit a petition for a western tour, so that a situation of popular support can be formed.

In this way, he could announce a western tour to Guangxi Province, so that His Royal Highness the Regent could evacuate Guangdong Province without being labeled as a deserter.

The ministers in the hall bowed their heads, while the Regent walked back and forth on the jade steps, looking anxious.
There was silence in the hall for a while, and suddenly a voice came from above again.

"The border situation is unclear and the military situation is urgent. Elder Ding, Elder Qu and the Ministry of War should first discuss a number. No matter how many, we should send a group of troops to Nanxiong to observe the situation."

"Then, led by Minister Ding, other ministers and officials above the third rank in the court discussed how to deal with the Qing invaders."

"Whether to fight or defend, we must come up with a plan today and discuss this matter again at the morning court tomorrow."

"Now, adjourn the court."

The Regent looked irritable. He gave a series of instructions and then, after finishing, he waved his sleeves and walked towards the back of the palace.
The ministers bowed and stood there for a while. When they raised their heads, there was no sign of His Highness the Regent above them.
The throne was empty, and in the hall, only Ding Kuichu and Qu Shisi were left, staring at each other angrily.
(End of this chapter)