0p0 Chapter 272 Delay strategy
Chapter 272 Delay strategy
The emperor couldn't stop talking. His eyelids gradually became heavy and drooped down, as if he was neither awake nor asleep.
It is said that when a man is at his most vulnerable and saddest, he is most likely to arouse the maternal pity and emotion in a woman's heart.
But faced with the emperor's heartfelt expressions, Ruyi felt that she might have developed a heart of stone long ago, and she was not moved at all.
Ruyi sighed softly and beckoned Rong Pei to bring a bowl of sobering soup, "Your Majesty is drunk, that's why he's thinking so much.
I ordered someone to prepare a bowl of sobering soup, and Your Majesty should drink it and take a nap first.
Tomorrow morning, I will accompany Your Majesty to forget all the unhappiness of today, and everything will be fine."
The next morning, when the emperor opened his eyes, his first reaction was to look towards where he was.
He rubbed his forehead, and his thoughts from last night slowly came back to him. The emperor couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He was intoxicated last night and said so much about his feelings. It was really wrong.
It was not until he smelled the familiar and tranquil fragrance of agarwood that his slightly tense heartstrings slowly relaxed.
"Your Majesty, you are awake. Have a cup of light tea to clear your mouth."
Ruyi had already changed into a chastity yellow Manchu dress with a pine flower pattern and a slanting collar, her hair was neatly combed, and she was waiting quietly by the bed with a tea tray in her hand.
The emperor reached out to take the flower-mouthed covered bowl with pink peach blossoms and green leaves painted on it from the tray. With Ruyi's help, he rinsed his mouth, and only then did he get rid of his morning drowsiness and regain some clarity and restraint.
"Ruyi, I can't quite remember. Did I say anything I shouldn't have said last night?"
The emperor was wiping the non-existent tea stains from the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, his eyelashes drooped, making it difficult to discern the expression in his eyes.
Facing the emperor's temptation, Ruyi just smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. There is nothing in the world that the emperor cannot say.
Your Majesty and I are one and the same. If the Majesty can't remember something, then I definitely can't remember it either."
The emperor then stood up with satisfaction and placed his hands lightly on Ruyi's shoulders, "Ruyi, you are always so considerate. Only when I am with you can I feel at ease."
In the Yangxin Palace, the emperor became angry when he saw the memorials from the Junggar Khanate.
"This Dawachi is really cunning and cruel. He was desperate and actually took Hengchu hostage and wanted to sit down and negotiate with me."
A bright yellow memorial flew out of the emperor's hand and fell to the ground like a broken butterfly.
The emperor was very angry, and all the princes and ministers below were silent and dared not speak.
Only Yongqi stepped forward, picked up the memorial on the ground, but without even looking at it, he closed it and put it back on the emperor's desk.
"Your Majesty, calm down and wait and see what Dawachi wants to negotiate before making a decision."
Although Yongcheng was young, he was quite courageous. He tried to guess the emperor's expression and said, "Fourth brother, we don't need to guess that Dawachi is such an ambitious man. We can know that he must still be thinking about continuing to sit firmly on his throne as the Khan of Dzungar."
The emperor said in a deep voice, "The thing I least want to see has happened.
Dawachi took Duanshu hostage and said that he was willing to sit down and negotiate with the Qing Dynasty.
As long as the two sides stop fighting, he is willing to make Duanshu his principal wife and promise not to go to war with the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years. "
Yongqi was young and full of vigor. Seeing that the emperor seemed to be willing to compromise, he hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, please think twice. Dawaqi is full of tricks. I don't think his words can be trusted.
The so-called peace talks might just be a cover.
Things on the battlefield change rapidly. If we delay, things will change. If we really let Dawachi delay and think of other ways, I am afraid that we will be the passive ones by then. "
Yonghuang and Yongzhang both echoed the emperor and asked him to reconsider.
The emperor was torn. On the one hand, he had to worry about the lives of his soldiers and the peace of the Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, he had to worry about his sister Hengchu and the seriously ill Empress Dowager. It was really difficult to have both filial piety and righteousness.
Yongcheng rolled his eyes and asked tentatively, "Father, the Empress Dowager has always been angry with you because of Princess Duanshu's remarriage.
On the one hand, it was because Dawachi usurped the throne, and on the other hand, it was because the eldest princess was demoted from wife to concubine.
Now, Dawachi is willing to make concessions and make the eldest princess the principal wife, which can relieve the Empress Dowager's worry.
When a woman gets married, being the principal wife is the most important thing.
Anyway, the Qing Dynasty has the upper hand now, so please consider the Empress Dowager and the Princess. It would be better for us to have a peace talk with Dawachi first and see what happens next."
As soon as Yongcheng finished speaking, Yongqi frowned and objected, "Sixth brother, this is wrong.
When the two armies were fighting, Dawachi took women as hostages, which shows that he had no sympathy for women and children and was cruel by nature.
Even if he made Princess Duanshu his principal wife, he might not necessarily treat her sincerely.
It would be better to take advantage of Dawachi's weakening power, completely destroy Dzungar, and bring the eldest princess back to the Qing Dynasty to take good care of her.
This way, the world will be at peace forever. Your Majesty has done a great deed, so why should we be so concerned about a mere hundred years of peace?"
The emperor's blood boiled at Yongqi's words.
Li Yu suddenly trotted into the hall, whispered a few words to the emperor, and then handed over a simple letter.
The emperor opened the letter, his face suddenly turned pale, he snorted coldly, and slammed the letter hard on the table.
The princes and ministers in the hall knelt down one after another, and the palace servants even prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to breathe.
“You are right, this Dawachi is indeed cruel, tyrannical, sinister and cunning by nature.
His so-called peace talks were indeed a delaying tactic. Now Dawachi has joined forces with more than 100,000 elite Junggar troops, and they are in a state of confrontation with our army.
Seeing that the Qing Dynasty had refused to accept peace talks for a long time, Dawachi ordered his men to shout in front of the battlefield, shamelessly saying that he would give our army three more days.
When the three days are up, if our army still refuses to negotiate, we will immediately cut off Duan Shu's head and sacrifice her blood to the flag. Even if we die, we will drag her down with us!"
The emperor's roar echoed in the palace, shocking everyone.
Yongcheng is young and the most impatient. Seeing that his brothers didn't dare to say much, he thought that his chance to show himself had come.
He mustered up his courage, suddenly stood up from the crowd, and said indignantly, "Father, I think Dawachi is really shameless!
He has lived in peace at the cost of the lives of women and children. Sooner or later, he will lose the support of the people, be despised by them, and be infamous forever. How can a coward like him be the ruler of Dzungar?"
Yongcheng's words were very logical and reasonable, but they were very ironic to the emperor.
Hengchui's remarriage was just a compromise made by the emperor for the sake of temporary stability.
By this calculation, isn't the emperor himself also a person who sacrifices women and children in exchange for peace and stability?
Every word of Yongsheng's indignant words pierced the emperor's heart like needles, making his face turn red with shame and anger.