Regarding the matter of the Jiannu exchanging the entire family of Prince Lu and Zu Dashou for the remains of Ajige and Ebilun, Emperor Chongzhen’s stance was that the sooner the exchange took place, the better. What he cared about was not the family of Prince Lu, but Zu Dashou himself. If Zu Dashou could be brought back alive, Emperor Chongzhen could solve half of the problems plaguing the Guanning Army.
However, the Jiannu kept stalling. To force their hand, Emperor Chongzhen began to up the ante. If they wanted to drag things out, so be it—he would add another chip to the table for every day of delay, until they were forced to flip the table. In reality, Emperor Chongzhen did not truly expect the Jiannu to release Zu Dashou, but he insisted on publicly claiming he would trade for him. He did this for no other reason than to send a message to the Guanning Army: Zu Dashou had rendered great service to the state, and although he had been forced to surrender to the Jiannu, the Imperial Court had never forgotten him.
After Emperor Chongzhen made his position clear, the morning court session continued. After an unknown amount of time, the session ended amidst the voices of censors impeaching Wang Yongji. Emperor Chongzhen did not leave immediately; instead, he sat alone on the dragon throne, seething with frustration. He desperately wanted to punish these censors, but under the law, censors could not be punished for their speech, and Wang Yongji had indeed failed to capture Ni…
Chapter 804