The last decree at the court meeting was about Sun Chengzong and Ma Shilong.

Although Cao Zongbing did the work in this plane, the credit of Sun Ma and the others who led the army to defend the capital and finally sent troops to "recover" the lost land is indelible, and Xinke Zhongyong will not take this credit, so the emperor still gave these two rewards.

Sun Chengzong first added the title of Taifu here, and then the descendants inherited Shangbao Sicheng, and then gave python clothes and coins, and finally the old grandson still received the military department.

This military department secretary is the same as Cao Zongbing's military department squire, a false title who has no right to meddle in ministry affairs, but it is still useful: you can be a troll.

Although the military system of the Ming Dynasty was crude and inefficient, the basic military administration and military orders were still separated: the governor's office of the five armies was in charge of military orders, and the military department was responsible for military affairs.

Generally speaking, the adjutant generals of the local general armies under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Governor's Office have no right to dictate military affairs outside the defense area. Like Mao Wenlong, even if he became the governor of Zuodu, it was impossible to criticize Shanxi's defense, he could only manage the stall in Dongjiang Town.

So now that General Cao has the title of Squire of the Ministry of War, he is similar to a researcher of the Ministry of National Defense, although it is false, but from now on he can point fingers at the military affairs of the whole country. Most importantly, as the Emperor's official military advisor, the Soldier was always available to meet the Emperor and provide professional advice.

This right was specially given by Chongzhen: this time the change made Chongzhen extremely disappointed with the original military mobilization and think tank system of the Ming Dynasty. Now that an expert in Tartar killing has emerged, the Emperor will definitely use this to get more information.

After Sun Chengzong received the order to thank him, Ma Shilong also came out to receive a reward: add the prince Shaobao, and make up for the hereditary thousand households of Ningxia Wei, the descendant of Ningxia.

At the same time as receiving the reward, Sun Ma and the two of them were also revoked as the temporary general manager of the Qin Wang Bing. From this moment on, they lost command of more than 200,000 Qinwang troops.

After that, the fate of the two was different. Ma Shilong returned to Ningxia within a few months in history, and died of illness a few years later. Sun Chengzong, on the other hand, continued to stay in the imperial court to preside over the war - after the Ming court, he would launch a wave of strategic counteroffensive in northern Liao.

In the end, due to the defeat of Da Linghe, Lao Sun Tou finally went home and retired completely.

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After the will of the highest ranking official was announced four times in a row, the business of today's special court meeting was completed. As for the other subordinate to-dos, the emperor will work on them later.

Next is the entertainment time: the emperor feasts the courtiers and gives rewards to the courtiers - with Chongzhen's character and poverty, it is really not easy to invite a meal and give out red envelopes in the New Year.

This time, the 4,000 heads not only dealt a heavy blow to the hard power of the Houjin, but from a certain point of view, it is crucial to enhance the confidence of the Ming government and the opposition in fighting against the Houjin.

Since the old slave raised the army for many years, the military strength of the Ming State has been defeated step by step. After Salhu, from strategic offensive to strategic defense, it can be said that until today, the Ming military has not won a single major battle.

Even the battle of Ningyuan, which was blown into the sky by the Donglin Party, was only a defense of the city in the final analysis. After that, all the soldiers and civilians on Juehua Island were slaughtered by the Tartars, not to mention for the time being, even if it was captured under the city of Ningyuan, there was no ...... Yes, it is said that the Tartars took all the corpses under the city and burned them, so there were no heads.

If there is no head, it is not clear about the military exploits, there is no way to publicize it, and the court will not take it seriously - "the artillery is everywhere, and it is not counted to kill the northern cavalry", and the generals of the border army will often write the same recital to the military department to cheat the merits. If you rely on the number of enemies killed by the Zhangzhang alone, let alone Houjin, plus the Mongols can't bear it, they will be extinct long ago.

This is why Cao Zongbing was able to get a national-level ceremonial reception after entering Beijing: 4,000 human heads were placed there for the world to test the results, no need to exaggerate, no need to argue, the pyramid-shaped two Beijing temples have their own shocking effect, which is irrefutable hard-core merit.

These two Beijing temples not only brought shock, but most importantly, they boosted the confidence of the military and the people, and clearly told the government and the opposition: Tartars can be defeated, and the so-called invincible is a joke. As long as you find the right way, the originally dark future will definitely change.

This kind of confidence seems to be illusory, but for the government and the opposition, who have just experienced the siege and have fallen into a low ebb, it is like a thick shot in the arm.

In the end, people are able to settle accounts.

Among the 4,000 heads, there are 3,000 elite people in the authentic Manchu Eight Banners.

The reason why the Later Jin was able to suppress the Mongols and many Baoyi was that there were more than 20,000 elite Manchus. Now losing 3,000 elites in a war is a huge loss that cannot be afforded.

The bandit group cannot be defeated, and once defeated, the reputation of invincibility is lost, and the bandits have nothing.

In the current situation, there is not much need, as long as there are one or two more losses of the same level, the Houjin bandit group will disintegrate on the spot - once the core strength is below the critical point, the vassal forces will back.

This is not only known to the robbers themselves, but also to the Ming monarchs and ministers.

Therefore, this time the reward action for soldiers has a state banquet and strengthens the celebration function - not only to celebrate the past, but also to look forward to the future, and the taste of swearing-in mobilization is in it.

This is how the banquet of the ministers held in the Imperial Palace began.

In fact, the banquet is no different from usual, except that the scale is a little larger, and the scene is a little more spectacular when toasting.

However, after the emperor left the table, Lord Xinke Zhongyong was surrounded by people to persuade him to drink, and finally got drunk and was carried back to the mansion, and the scene was slightly embarrassing.

After the hustle and bustle.

In the evening of the same day, inside the Zhengyang Gate, the west of the imperial city, Renshoufang, and the palace of the loyal and brave uncle.

Zhang Dongdong was quarreled by the laughter and laughter outside.

After getting up from a Ming Dynasty-style stepping bed, Zhang Dongdong endured a headache after drinking, and went out to take a look, and found that several people were sitting in the hall and talking.

Picking up a pot of herbal tea on the table, he poured it violently, wiped his mouth, and Lord Zhongyong began to scold: "Don't say that you will get a maid to serve, see if Lao Tzu is thirsty." Oh mom, the tribute wine brewed by this Ming man is pure and can't be drunk, it seems to have a low degree, but it's actually on top. ”

"Then I didn't see you send a few barrels of good wine to the emperor?"

Xue Haiyuan, who was chatting on the side, laughed: "Besides, the emperor sent a few slaves, the question is do you dare to use them?" Let's wait two days and recruit some people ourselves, and then I will have to do a background check on these people, which is a lot of procedures. ”

"Hmm." After Zhang Dongdong nodded, his eyes looked out of the old-fashioned window with white paper: "This is the mansion given by the emperor?" What do you think? ”

"It's shabby and needs to be renovated." Zhang Zhongqi, who was wearing a low-grade military attache uniform, replied: "But in the second ring road, the area is as big as dozens of courtyards, which is more than 10 billion!" ”

"Oh, that's not bad, it seems that the emperor has also invested in order to win over Lord Ben."

Zhang Zhongqi nodded approvingly: "Yes." Even if the housing prices in the Ming Dynasty were low, the mansions on the edge of the imperial city were not so easy to get. If it weren't for the emperor's decree, the kind of Pixiu unit in Shuntianfu would be able to allocate such a big mansion to you? ”

"Let's decorate first, and bring some glass cement over first." Zhang Dongdong rubbed his swollen and sore temples with his middle finger: "What to do next?" ”

"We're all going our own way. As for you, stay honest, when the emperor is busy for the past few days, he will definitely see you alone, and then it will be done according to the agreed performance. ”

“OK！”

In this way, the first day of the army coming to the capital to sacrifice prisoners passed.

For the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Kingdom and countless people, the significance of this day is extremely important. The general army from the south and his powerful men made a public appearance, and the far-reaching effects of this will be slowly revealed in the years to come.

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At the same time that Cao Zongbing drank herbal tea to quench his thirst, in another house in the capital, a civil official after the dispersal of the dynasty also returned home, also drinking tea to quench his hangover.

This person is in his fifties, with an elegant demeanor, a three-grade complement on his chest, and is General Cao's nominal colleague, the right attendant of the military department.

Hou Sui is a native of Henan, a gentleman family, and the eldest son of Hou Zhipu of Taichangqing. This gentleman's reputation is not obvious, but the son of Hou Sui is still famous in later generations: one of the four princes of the late Ming Dynasty, Hou Fangyu.

Three generations of the Hou family are all Donglin cadres. During the Apocalypse, because of the opposition with the nine thousand years old, the father and son were driven back to their hometown. After Chongzhen came to power, Hou Suiqi was reinstated as the imperial historian of Henan Province, and not long ago, this person had just been appointed as a squire in the military department.

Today's court meeting, Hou Sui participated in the whole process, including the wine banquet afterward, so Master Hou drank a few more teas after returning to the house - although the Donglin Party people were not very interested in Cao Zongbing, but this victory was exciting after all, so most people drank a few more cups today.

At this moment, the next person came to report: There is a guest who has come to visit, and it is the engineering department to Wei Xu Wei in the matter, and the old friend of Hou Lao, Brother Songming.

Hearing this, Master Hou was stunned for a moment. At this time, he couldn't figure it out that these two people actually came together, so Hou Sui hurriedly changed his clothes and went out to meet the guests.

didn't want to see the guest for the first time, so his old friend Brother Song Ming jumped up from the chair and shook it to the ground at Old Master Hou, and at the same time wailed in his mouth: "Brother Dazhen, the big thing is not good, Da Ming is in danger, and my name is in danger!" ”

Hearing such a broad prophecy of the end times, Hou Sui was shocked on the spot.

Although the trick of "making amazing words" is a natural skill of the literati, it is used to fool other uneducated old and rough classes.

So Master Hou was angry. I saw that his face was gloomy, and he opened his mouth to ask: "Bu Daxing, are you crazy?" ”

Bu Daxing, the word Songming, the former Fujian Xingquan Road military envoy. This gentleman was bent on fighting against the traversal, and after discovering that Fujian Xiong Wencan had helped the abuse, Master Bu went to Jiangnan to continue his career. As a result, somehow, today it appeared in the Marquis Mansion in the capital again.