"Did you hear that the Houjin Tatars in Liaodong withdrew their troops..."

"I heard about it. It's strange why the Houjin Tatars took the initiative to withdraw their troops. Are they afraid of Denglai's new army..."

"What? I heard that there was some agreement between Lord Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, and Huang Taiji of Hou Jin Dynasty, so all the Tatars of Hou Jin Dynasty evacuated..."

"Impossible. Lord Wu led the Denglai New Army and defeated the Houjin Tatars many times. Let me tell you, the Houjin Tatars must have been afraid of Lord Wu and the Denglai New Army, so they withdrew their troops..."

"How is it possible? The Houjin Tatars and the Denglai New Army withdrew without fighting. If the Houjin Tatars were really afraid of the Denglai New Army, then Master Wu wouldn't have led the Denglai New Army to attack...

"

"That's right. The withdrawal of troops by the Hou Jin Tatars this time is indeed a bit strange, but I still feel that Lord Wu is unlikely to reach any agreement with Huang Taiji..."

"I can't say for sure. Maybe Huang Taiji of the Later Jin Dynasty felt that he couldn't get any advantage, so he made a secret agreement with Mr. Wu and evacuated the army..."

"This is still possible, but I still don't completely believe it..."

...

Numerous disturbing rumors appeared in the court, and those who were discussing in private were the civil and military officials below the fourth rank in the court. The civil and military officials above the fourth rank were much calmer, and they could not clearly see the situation, so they did not participate in the discussion.

Several documents are placed on the imperial case, which are all information collected by Jin Yiwei and Dongchang.

This information touched Zhu Youjian's sensitive mind and made him spend the Spring Festival very uncomfortable.

In fact, Zhu Youjian had known for a long time that Denglai's new army crossed the Liao River and defeated the Hou Jin Eight Banners Army, but instead of pursuing the victory, they returned to the west of the Liao River. Wu Zongrui, the governor of Ji Liao, did not report such a major victory, which made Zhu

You Jianhe was angry and felt that he could not understand that the adults in the court should report directly as long as they had a little merit. Wu Zongrui actually did the opposite. This was not in line with common sense.

Of course, later, Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army entered the camp on the east bank of the Liao River and confronted Denglai's new army on both sides of the Liao River, which made Zhu Youjian relax slightly. Perhaps Wu Zongrui sensed the danger and the army did not dare to

It was too deep, so I chose to withdraw my troops and stand firm to resist the attack of the Eight Banners Army of Later Jin Dynasty.

One wave after another, Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army actually evacuated the camp on the east bank of the Liao River, and they moved very quickly, without any warning in advance. When Wu Zongrui urgently reported, Zhu Youjian was stunned.

It took a full quarter of an hour.

Now, rumors have emerged in the court, saying that a secret agreement was reached between Huang Taiji of the Later Jin Dynasty and Wu Zongrui, so Huang Taiji chose to withdraw his troops.

These rumors came so suddenly. Jin Yiwei and Xichang tried their best but could not find the source of the news.

The documents on the imperial court all reported these matters, including the names of officials from the DPRK and China who discussed the matter privately.

Zhu Youjian felt nervous, but he didn't want to show his cowardice, so he held on and did not show any abnormality during the morning meeting with the side hall.

When Fan Fucui, the chief assistant of the cabinet, entered the side hall, Zhu Youjian was still thinking.

Fan Fucui didn't know the reason why the emperor summoned him. He saw that the emperor was deep in thought and did not speak, but stood silently below.

When the emperor raised his head, Fan Fucui finally spoke.

"I pay my respects to the Emperor..."

"Fan Aiqing, I came to you for two things. The first thing was that there was a discussion in the court. It was said that Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, had a secret deal with Huang Taiji of Hou Jin Dynasty. They reached an agreement in private, so Hou Jin Tatar

Only then will Liaodong evacuate and Liaodong become peaceful. I want to ask you what you think of these discussions."

Fan Fucui spoke without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I heard some scattered discussions, but I definitely don't believe these rumors. I even think that someone is deliberately spreading rumors to disrupt the stability of my court..."

There was not much expression on Zhu Youjian's face as he watched Fan Fucui speak again.

"Fan Aiqing, please tell me why the late Jin Tatars suddenly withdrew their troops."

Fan Fucui was stunned for a moment, having an unknown premonition in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I don't know the reason why the Jin Tatars withdrew their troops."

Zhu Youjian looked at Fan Fucui and stopped continuing the topic.

"Fan Aiqing, you know the situation in the Central Plains. It has been almost four months. Hong Chengchou, the commander-in-chief of the five provinces, has been stationed in Xi'an Fucheng and has not launched an attack on the rogue bandits. The first month is over in the blink of an eye. I feel that the rogue bandits are afraid

Something is about to be done. If Hong Chengchou is still stationed in Xi'an Fucheng, the situation in the Central Plains will be turbulent again. How can it be..."

Fan Fucui raised his head and looked at the emperor on the chariot, feeling a little dizzy. What was wrong with the emperor?

"Fan Aiqing, what do you think of the situation in the Central Plains?"

"Well, Your Majesty, regarding the situation in the Central Plains, I think it is better to let Mr. Hong make his own decision. Mr. Hong has been in office for four months. He should be familiar with the situation in the Central Plains and has his own methods of dealing with rogue bandits. I should not interfere too much.

..."

Zhu Youjian stood up immediately.

"Fan Aiqing, regarding matters related to the Central Plains, neither the Cabinet nor the Ministry of War has been able to make suggestions. I feel it is inappropriate. As the governor of the five provinces, Hong Aiqing is familiar with the situation in the Central Plains, but there is no guarantee that all decisions made by the Cabinet are correct.

You and the Ministry of War should also remind you from time to time..."

Fan Fucui lowered his head and said nothing. When Hong Chengchou took office, the emperor made it very clear that neither the cabinet nor the Ministry of War should interfere with Hong Chengchou and let him deal with the rogues. How long has it been before the emperor changed his mind again?

Fan Fucui did not speak, which aroused Zhu Youjian's inner anger.

"Fan Aiqing, I have thought about it. Hong Aiqing should take the initiative instead of reacting passively. I know that Hong Aiqing may think that the rogue bandits are too powerful to deal with and need to take action slowly. However, Hong Aiqing does not have to always keep an eye on Li Zicheng and Li Zicheng.

Luo Rucai, and Zhang Xianzhong from Huguang, don’t you think so?”

The emperor's words were no longer pleasant to hear. Fan Fucui sighed inwardly and spoke.

"What the emperor said is absolutely true. I suggest that the emperor issue an edict and ask Mr. Hong to take the initiative..."

"I want you to write a letter to Hong Aiqing and inform me of this matter. What do you think?"

Fan Fucui's body trembled inadvertently, and he thought for a moment before speaking.

"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate for me to write a letter to Mr. Hong. If Mr. Hong does not adopt your suggestion, it will definitely waste time and delay the opportunity to wipe out the bandits..."

"I understand, you can go down, I'm tired..."

After walking out of the side hall, Fan Fucui wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Fan Fucui refused the emperor's request, which could be said to be disrespectful of the emperor's order, but he had to do so.

The emperor was anxious and wanted Hong Chengchou to take the initiative to attack, but he did not want to lose his favor. Fan Fucui knew about the letter Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, sent to Hong Chengchou years ago, and understood that it was the emperor's intention. Nearly two months had passed.

At that time, Hong Chengchou did not take any action and had already clearly rejected it. This showed that Hong Chengchou had his own arrangements. Under such circumstances, Fan Fucui would not write a letter.

The deeper reason is that Fan Fucui is unwilling to take the blame and suffer an unreasonable disaster.

The cabinet rarely discussed matters in the Central Plains. According to the emperor's imperial edict, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces, was directly responsible for all matters in the Central Plains. If anything happened, he would report it directly to the emperor. Under such circumstances, Fan Fucui wrote to Hong Chengchou in his own name.

, requiring Hong Chengchou to take the initiative to launch an attack was against the rules. If Hong Chengchou won the battle, everything would be fine. Once Hong Chengchou suffered a defeat, causing the situation in the Central Plains to become uncontrollable and leading to chaos in the world, then Fan Fucui would become a huge sinner, and he was not guilty.

But she can't explain it yet.

It was different when the emperor issued an edict. Hong Chengchou acted in accordance with the emperor's edict, and everything went as planned.

The emperor and his ministers had reached this point in their calculations, and they didn't know whether it was the sorrow of the court or Fan Fuchu's personal sorrow.

That night, Fan Fucui almost stayed up all night.

The next day, morning.

When the emperor came to the main hall and announced the start of the morning court, Fan Fucui came out.

"Your Majesty, I am old and frail. I often feel unwell. I am unable to make good plans. I am afraid that I will fail the emperor's trust. I sincerely request that I take up the post of Chief Assistant to the Cabinet..."

This is the third time that Fan Fucui has proposed to resign as the chief minister of the cabinet. The emperor did not agree to it the first two times, asking Fan Fucui to continue to do things and take charge of the affairs of the DPRK and China, even if the situation in the Central Plains is chaotic, even if the cabinet minister, the military commander Yang Sichang

He committed suicide, even though Luoyang Fucheng and Nanyang Fucheng were captured, and King Zhu Changxun of Fu and King Zhu Yurong of Tang were killed by rogue bandits.

As soon as Fan Fucui finished speaking, the emperor's face turned livid.

"Since Fan Aiqing is not feeling well, I am sure. I hope you will take good care of yourself."

The entire hall was silent.

...

One day later, an imperial edict and an oral instruction came down.

An imperial edict was issued, agreeing that Fan Fucui would resign as the first assistant to the cabinet, and Zhang Sizhi, the second assistant to the cabinet, would serve as the first assistant to the cabinet.

An oral edict was written by Chen Xinjia, Secretary of the Ministry of War, who went to Xi'an Fucheng on behalf of the imperial court to announce the decree to Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces.

The incident happened so suddenly that even the civil and military ministers in the DPRK did not react.

After receiving the imperial edict, Fan Fucui did not stay in the capital. He left the capital with his family and returned to his hometown the next day. The servants of the mansion handled the follow-up matters. Soon someone said that Fan Fucui was preparing to sell the palace in the capital, which showed that Fan Fucui did not intend to come.

The capital is coming.

Of course, the authenticity of the news cannot be verified. After all, Fan Fucui has left the capital and returned to his hometown.

Coincidentally, Fan Fucui and Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, left the capital at the same time. Fan Fucui went home after serving as an official, while Chen Xinjia went to Xi'an Fucheng to announce the decree. When the two met outside the city, they smiled at each other and greeted each other with fists in their hands.

The court suddenly became lively. It has not yet been determined whether Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, and Huang Taiji of Houjin had reached a private agreement. The chief minister of the cabinet has changed again, and Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, went to Xi'an on behalf of the emperor and the court.
Chapter completed!