For the diligent Emperor Chongzhen, July this year is a season of joy and sorrow.

First of all, the official army of Zhuxian Town was defeated, and the 180,000 army because of Zuo Liangyu's cowardice - seeing that the peasant army was strong, he fled south to Xiangyang by night plundering the camps and mules, and the supervisors Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue and other three-way officers and soldiers also rushed for their lives. Li Zicheng immediately sent an elite detour to intercept the attack, and Zuo Liangyu's troops were in great confusion, and they fell into the trenches dug by the peasant army one after another, trampling on each other, and suffering heavy casualties. The rebel army lost tens of thousands of soldiers, more than 7,000 horses and mules, and countless ordnance and firearms in the first battle, and re-encircled Kaifeng.

The bad news came, and Chongzhen had the heart to eat Zuo Liangyu. But people are far away in Huguang and have heavy troops, what can Emperor Chongzhen do?

Fortunately, the good news came immediately after the pass, but Zheng Zhilong was entrenched in Niuzhuang, and saw that the Qing army that had attracted the Songjin front line to come back, so he immediately sent out a division to go straight to the sea outside Songshan, and sent people to communicate with the Ming army in Songshan City.

Although the Ming army of Xingshan also broke through immediately after, and the Ming army of Tashan also reluctantly retreated, but in any case, this is a great joy.

And so it is. In the original time and space, the Songshan Ming army was destroyed, and then the Tashan Ming army was destroyed by the Qing army, and then the 7,000 Ming army in Xingshan City surrendered without a fight, and Zu Dashou in Jinzhou City also surrendered. More than 30,000 Ming troops in the area north of Ningyuan City were completely annihilated.

And now, Hong Chengchou is alive, Xingshan has broken through, Tashan has withdrawn, although half of the Jinxi Corridor has been lost, and the ancestor Dashou has been really sold, but more than 30,000 Ming troops have kept six or seven percent.

With these 20,000 soldiers and horses, isn't this a big day for the Ming Dynasty.

The most important thing is that Hong Chengchou went to Beijing alive.

This person, who was trusted and relied on by Emperor Chongzhen, did not fall into the hands of the Qing army and chose to surrender. Instead, he went to Yanjing with brisk steps.

Emperor Chongzhen naturally couldn't help but punish him, but Emperor Chongzhen's trust in Hong Chengchou would not be shaken much. More importantly, Hong Chengchou is a person who has proved his ability to suppress bandits with his own experience, killed Li Zicheng to the point that only eighteen horsemen were left and ran to Shangluo Mountain, and single-handedly suppressed the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty that had been boiling for more than ten years to the bottom, such a talent is what Emperor Chongzhen urgently needs today.

But Zheng Zhilong doubted that Hong Chengchou had the ability to save the day.

The current peasant army is not the peasant army of the past, and while defeating the official army again and again, the peasant army of all walks of life has already absorbed a large number of defeated troops and prisoners of the official army, and the quality is only better than that of the official army.

Looking at the performance of Li Zicheng's old battalion in the battle of that stone, it was still quite capable of fighting.

Can Hong Chengchou really suppress the current King Li Chuang again?

Zheng Zhilong didn't believe it.

In just three years, Emperor Chongzhen has squandered the chips in his hand, whether it is inside or outside the gate. It is not only Huang Taiji who has become a general trend, but also Li Zicheng.

Now the only official army in the pass that still has combat power is the Qin army led by Sun Chuanting, but the current Qin army is not the original Qin army, this is an army brought out by Sun Chuanting, can Emperor Chongzhen still let Sun Chuanting give way to Hong Chengchou?

Moreover, the Ming army gathered in Ningyuan will disperse sooner or later, and the nine-sided important town of the Ming Dynasty is not just one Liaodong outside the Guan!

The two news, one bad and one good, made Emperor Chongzhen feel very indescribable, so in August, after receiving the news that Zheng Zhilong was 'helpless' to give up Niuzhuang and lead the army back to Juehua Island, his heart was very peaceful.

It's all been honed out of his state of mind by bad news over the years, and besides, he also knows that the possibility of Zheng Zhilong being willing to obey orders and stick to Niuzhuang is not very big.

However, when the news of Jinzhou's ancestor Dashou's surrender to the Qing Dynasty arrived, Emperor Chongzhen was still furious and wanted to order Zu Dale to be cut down. He was a precedent to Zu Dashou, and now he is about to settle the account.

Zheng Zhilong ignored the changes in the capital and enjoyed his own blessings. Since the withdrawal of the army, his whole person has "changed" a little. A sense of laziness from the bottom of my heart, people live like a tiger that has eaten and drunk and slept beautifully. Although it looks scary, it is not at all aggressive.

He is very satisfied with his performance these days, and he has gained a lot of fame from Tartar, the transaction with Zhou Yanru, and the transaction with Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, and Bai Guangen, each taking what he needs, and it is very much to supplement his shortcomings, which can be said to make him more satisfied.

It's like the well-fed tiger, just want to rest so lazily for a while, and don't care how noisy the rabbits and foxes in the forest are—how noisy Yanjing City is now.

Hong Chengchou definitely didn't want to see Zu Dale killed. This person is used in the Central Plains, and he is still a brave general.

It is impossible for Emperor Chongzhen to recruit Zheng Zhilong into Beijing now, which is an unspoken rule. It is impossible for the imperial court to order them to enter Beijing when they can't help people like Zu Dashou, Zuo Liangyu and Zheng Zhilong. It also allows the central and local powerful factions to tear the not tough skin!

For the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong's power is already an unexpected surprise, and he can't ask for more.

will only put on a bunch of false titles for him, such as the left governor, such as the hussar general. The former is a convention, just like the governor plus the right to the imperial history, and the governor plus the military department squire or the title of Shangshu.

The hussar general is a second grade, a military officer, and when Zheng Zhilong waits until next year, he will not establish any meritorious service, and the Ming court will continue to promote him to General Jinwu and General Longhu.

Yes, it was the dragon and tiger general that the old slave used to be. This is the highest rank of the Ming Dynasty's military officials who are called generals, and then the first rank is from the fourth order, which has the same name as the civil officials, respectively, the special Jin Guanglu doctor, the special Jin Ronglu doctor, the Guanglu doctor, and the Ronglu doctor.

As for the reward sent by Emperor Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong only felt a little ironic, did he still lack the fifty taels of silver? But then again, this can't be blamed on Emperor Chongzhen, right? This rule was set by Zhu Hongwu.

The sailors went south along the coastline and sailed with the wind, even though Zheng Zhilong deliberately slowed down, and when passing through Songshan and Jinzhou, he teased the Qing army, and the fleet arrived at Juehua Island in only three days.

Shen Tingyang looked at Zheng Zhilong, who walked down the side of the ship, thinking back to the past few months, he really had the feeling of a white cloud and a dog for a while.

A few months ago, Zheng Zhilong, although he was the king of the Fujian Sea and had great strength, to be honest, he really had no great reputation in the Central Plains. Political prestige is close to zero.

But what about Zheng Zhilong now? is already a generation of famous generals in the mouth of the gentry, and the optimus jade pillar in the mouth of the people.

Shen Tingyang didn't look at people who didn't go out on Juehua Island for a few months, but he remembered the changes in the Guannei, the transaction between Zheng Zhilong and Zhou Yanru, and the recent surge in Zheng Zhilong's popularity.

Therefore, today's Zheng Zhilong is different from Zheng Zhilong in the past.

Shen Nanguang and Jiang Zhe, who came with Shen Tingyang to greet them, the former had nothing to say, Jiang Zhe looked at Zheng Zhilong but muttered in his heart.

He especially remembered the demeanor of that person when he first saw Hong Chengchou that day.

Although he was born as a literati, he held a large army in the end, and he even won a decisive victory on the battlefield. Even if he is wrapped in a white veil around his neck, the whole person has a heroic spirit. It seems that the wind and clouds between the eyebrows are light, but in fact, there is a hidden murderous intention.

In general, it is a different feeling at first glance.

And what about Zheng Zhilong now?

Jiang Zhe rubbed his eyes, and wondered if he had seen a rich gentleman.