Near Qianmen, Beijing, there was a bleak crowd, and the once downtown city is now bleak. The epidemic is only one of the reasons, and the other is to start with the Jisi change in the second year of Chongzhen. Jiannu traveled thousands of miles apart and entered the pass and plundered. Near the capital of the capital, and even Gunzhou, Shandong, and Linqing, were all seriously affected by troops.

It is only mentioned that the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, which was the plunder last year. Jiannu Dorgon led his army to massacre to Gunzhou, massacred 68 cities, and plundered 600,000 people. There were countless dead people. Many places were burned to white land, and it was difficult to recover without 20 or 30 years of hard work.

In addition, Linqing, an important canal town with a population of over one million, was slaughtered and the canal was almost cut off. As an important hub for freight transportation in the north and south, it was naturally impossible to talk about business. After the Chinese New Year, by the 16th year of Chongzhen, there was a plague not long after the beginning of spring. Now it has developed to burn two or three hundred corpses every day, and people are in panic. Who is still interested in walking?

Li Banghua rode in a sedan chair and stopped on the empty street. He got out of the sedan chair, his eyes flashed, and he quickly covered the sun with his hands. With the help of the servants on both sides, he finally stood firm.

The old man sighed: I am old at the end.

He was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Wanli, and now he is 69 years old. His life has been going on, and he has long seen through the world. He only hopes to retire next year and return home and enjoy the joy of family. However, his loyalty in his heart forced him to run outside and repair this crumbling imperial dynasty.

"Master, we're here." Chang Sui, who was beside him, said.

Li Banghua looked up at the plaque in the restaurant, with the words "Go again" written on it. This restaurant is a place that young scholars and business travelers come to Beijing. Generally, the censors who have joined the official will not come here easily. Now the market is not good, and the whole restaurant is deserted and there is no one to drink or eat.

The waiter looked around at the door for a long time, but couldn't tell whether these people were passing by or coming in for a meal. It was not until Li Banghua slowly walked towards him that he boldly came out: "Master Guest, do you want a private room?"

"Furong Pavilion, I have booked a seat." Parent Li followed him up and replied.

The waiter smiled and said, "It's such a coincidence that the master has just come up. The master is leaving here, please raise your feet."

Changsui threw the reward and sent the waiter to leave, helped the master to the steps, and walked all the way to the second floor private room.

A long bearded man was already sitting in the private room, with gray hair and no longer young. When Li Banghua's footsteps sounded, he stood at the door. As soon as he met, he bowed to the ground and praised: "Students have met Zongxian."

The General Constitution is the respected title of the Censor of the Capital. Li Banghua replaced Liu Zongzhou last winter and was transferred from the Nanjing Censorate to the Beijing Censorate. He was the second-rank senior official of the Ming Dynasty.

"Why do you have to be polite to Taixu?" Li Banghua nodded slightly, as it was a gift to return.

After the two sides separated, Li Banghua made his head stand, coughed lightly, and said, "What's the matter with Taixu asking me to come out this time?"

Taixu is Li Mingrui's name. Li Mingrui and this Zongxian are both from Jiangxi, and because of their friendship as fellow villagers. At that time, Li Mingrui was elected as an official in the Eastern Palace and served as Zuo Zhongyun because of the recommendation of Li Banghua. In the officialdom where there are many roots, he can be said to be his own person.

"The General Constitution comforted Zuo Liangyu in March, which was really a painstaking effort." Li Mingrui felt a little unbearable when he saw his benefactor's hair.

"It's a must-have for a minister." Li Banghua got older and was a little tired after a while. He forced himself to cheer up and said, "I'm old and have no energy. If Taixu has something to do, just say it."

Li Mingrui lowered his head slightly and was about to express his draft of the draft when he suddenly heard the steps outside. After a while, he heard someone pulling a chair and moving the table. He shouted loudly. There was a table of guests next door. He chose to meet the Censorate General. He didn't want anyone to know about it, but someone penetrated it, which made him smile bitterly.

Li Banghua nodded to the servants beside him. The servants knew each other and went to guard the door.

Li Mingrui lowered his voice and said, "Zhengxian, there are people in the court that they are circulating in the south..."

Li Banghua raised his eyes and saw turbidity in his eyes. He stared at Li Mingrui and said bluntly: "Do you want to submit a memorial to move south?"

Li Mingrui smiled bitterly: "The General Constitution is clear and clear."

Li Banghua sighed and whispered: "I'm afraid it's difficult."

"How can we be afraid of difficulties and retreat?" Li Mingrui looked stern: "Now the capital has been ill for a long time, and the Holy Emperor is just sleeping and it is useless to be trapped. It is better to jump out of here. Once we arrive in Nanjing, hundreds of thousands of righteous troops will naturally follow us, so why worry about the immortality of the bandits!"

"Hundreds of thousands of righteous soldiers?" Li Banghua sighed, "Has Taixu forgotten why I comforted Zuo Liangyu in March? In other words, the beginning of the bandits is not the King's Army during the Jisi Change?" Without food and pay, how different can loyal righteous men and soldiers be between riots! He just said in his heart, but did not say this, so as not to hurt Li Mingrui's enthusiasm.

Li Banghua went to Zuo Liangyu's army in March because the left army owed wages, and thousands of warships went east along the river, claiming to go to Nanjing to obtain food. Now, many of the troops of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui and others were also the soldiers who were serving the king during the Jisi change. Because they had no food and wages to return to their hometown, they simply fell into a rebellion.

Li Mingrui was pointed out by Li Banghua. He knew that he was a little timid, so he expressed his opinion as a scholar. He was ashamed and angry as the generals refused to work hard. He said, "Zuo Liangyu is actually in a position to ask for food and money! Now that he is stationed in the Huai River, the court cannot adjust it, and he cannot scold it. Is this the private army of the Zuo family or the public instrument of the court?"

"Okay," Li Banghua sighed helplessly, "It would be great that he could hold on to Huai Shang. He would only make trouble this time for two years without pay. Don't force another mountain king to come out."

"Don't Zongxian listen to the people? The thieves are like combs, and the soldiers are like combs! Zuo Liangyu's soldiers are worse than those of the thieves!" Li Mingrui said hatefully.

Li Banghua shook his head and said, "What's the use of saying this at this time? You are here to ask me to submit a memorial to move the capital. But I can also tell you clearly that the proposal to move the south will be closed."

"But Zongxian..."

"But you can settle for the second best." Li Banghua interrupted Li Mingrui and said slowly: "I'll ask Your Majesty to personally seek the expedition, or ask the prince to go to Nanjing to supervise the country."

"Personal expedition..." Li Mingrui carefully savored the turmoil caused by these two words, and finally shook his head. Since Emperor Yingzong rashly fought in person, he was captured by the Oirat, and more than 60 high-ranking officials including the Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue were killed on the battlefield. This has become a nightmare for the Ming Dynasty. Even later emperors were full of vigilance and fear for the Tumu Fort Incident.

"With Tumu Fort in front of you, who dares to persuade Your Majesty to personally expedition? And it is not appropriate to let the prince supervise Nanjing. If the prince is young, he will not be vigilant, and if he submits his orders, he will not be respectful. It is better to act personally by the emperor." Li Mingrui said.

"As an official from the Eastern Palace, don't you know that the prince is about to leave the palace to pacify the army?" Li Banghua said softly.

"What! The prince is going to leave the palace to pacify the army!" Li Mingrui shouted in disbelief: "Isn't this a nonsense? The prince is indeed a talented person, and he can be said to be unforgettable. He learns from one example and writes well, but he is a child after all, how can he presume the military and national affairs!"

Li Banghua remained silent, and the surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Li Mingrui realized that he had made a mistake and immediately shut up, but felt that the surroundings were so quiet that they were a little strange. There was no sound in the private room next door.

After a while, a dispute came from outside the door. Before the sound could be heard, Li Banghua's Changsui had been pushed into the door. A strong man, eight feet tall, blocked the door of the private room tightly.
Chapter completed!