Zhu Yujiao and his entourage, all the way north, and rested, twenty days later, finally returned to the capital.

Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou met with their daughter who was married to Shandong in Kunning Palace.

Then, when they saw the generous gift list sent by Li Xiao, both of them were very relieved and happy in their hearts, and they were very satisfied with Li Xiao, a generous and bold son-in-law.

At this moment, this heavenly home is suddenly full of warm atmosphere, and the entire Kunning Palace is full of warmth. Zhu Yujiao, who finally returned to Beijing once, snuggled in the arms of Queen Zhou like a kitten, and whispered with a smile with Queen Zhou, which was very lovable.

And Emperor Chongzhen, on the side, looked at them with a smile and Yan Yan, with a rare smile on his face.

Empress Zhou asked in detail about Zhu Yujiao's life in Shandong, and when she learned that she lived extremely comfortably and comfortably in Shandong, and was not excluded or wronged, Empress Zhou and Emperor Chongzhen were very happy.

There is no parent in this world who does not want their children to live well. This is the first in the world, and it is no exception.

As the conversation deepened, the relationship between the mother and daughter became more and more intimate and relaxed, at this time, Queen Zhou covered her smile and asked in a low voice: "Jiao'er, during this time, is the relationship between the two of you as husband and wife okay?" ”

Zhu Yujiao didn't react, and asked rhetorically: "What does the queen mother mean by this?" My husband has always been good to me, why does the queen mother ask me like this? ”

Queen Zhou was stunned for a moment, feeling that Zhu Yujiao's answer was a bit strange, so she asked in a low voice: "Child, the queen mother just wants to know, you and Li Xiao, when the husband and wife are warm, are they happy and harmonious?" ”

When Zhu Yujiao heard this, she also understood what Queen Zhou wanted to ask, her face instantly turned red like a ripe red apple, and she murmured in a low voice: "What is this......, child, child and husband, although they have the name of husband and wife, they haven't really done that thing yet......

As soon as Zhu Yujiao's words came out, Empress Zhou and Emperor Chongzhen on the side suddenly changed their faces.

Isn't it, I've been married for almost a year, and this Li Xiao hasn't touched his own daughter?!

This, this Li Xiao, what kind of fame is he doing?!

Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, the two looked at each other with extremely complicated expressions, and the expressions in their eyes were indescribable.

"Father, Mother, what's wrong with you? Do you have to do that between husband and wife? Fourteen-year-old Zhu Yujiao asked innocently and incomprehensibly.

Empress Zhou sighed lightly and asked, "Child, since you are husband and wife, how can you not have any intimacy after more than half a year?" Then day after day of long nights, are you all alone, alone in the lonely lamp? ”

Zhu Yujiao shook her head and said, "Of course not." My husband Li Xiao is busy with government affairs, and it is rare to be at home, although I am a wife, I also understand his hard work. Besides, every night, his eldest daughter Li Jing comes to sleep with me, and we are good friends. In addition, my husband's wives and concubines often come to me to talk to me, so how can they be lonely? ”

Listening to Zhu Yujiao's childish words, Queen Zhou sighed lightly, but Chongzhen shook her head with a wry smile.

When Zhu Yujiao saw Chongzhen and Queen Zhou, she was unhappy and very surprised. Her face turned even redder, and she muttered, "Father, mother, don't worry. Li Xiao said to the child, saying that although I am a wife, I am too young after all, and it will not be too late to have sex when the child grows up in the future. ”

Queen Zhou squeezed out a smile on her face, and could only comfort her: "It's okay, the queen mother is also worried about Jiao'er, so she just asks you casually." ”

Afterwards, Queen Zhou chatted casually with Zhu Yujiao for a while, and then let her go down to rest first.

After all, Zhu Yujiao was still a fourteen-year-old child, and she didn't know the complexity of the adult world at all, so she happily promised and left.

In Kunning Palace, Chongzhen and Queen Zhou sat together in a daze, like a pair of puppets.

"Your Majesty, look, what does Li Xiao mean by doing this to Jiao'er?" Empress Zhou asked worriedly.

Chongzhen shook his head irritably and replied, "Alas, what Li Xiao thinks, how can I know." What's more, now that Jiao'er is married to her wife, can I still regret it? ”

"Your Majesty, it's just that if he and his husband have not had sex for a long time, and they haven't had a man and a half woman for a long time, in the future, the concubines will only be afraid of Jiao'er, in that Li Xiao's family, although she is a wife, but her status and status, I am afraid ......that she will be left behind" Queen Zhou's voice was very low.

"Queen, I don't know what you're worried about!" Chongzhen stood up and paced back and forth in the room irritably: "Li Xiao did this, I don't know if he really wants to be good for Jiao'er, or if he deliberately wants to keep a distance from her." I can only hope that, as he said, he thinks that she is too young, and would rather wait a few more years. ”

Tears suddenly welled up in Queen Zhou's eyes, and she sighed: "Poor girl! Although I am not her own mother, in the heart of the concubine, she is completely like the concubine's own child. I only hope that she can find a good family, and live a stable and happy life for the rest of her life, and I, as a mother, will be content. Now that Li Xiao treats her like this, Jiao'er is still not sensible, but I, a mother, after listening to it, I feel really uncomfortable......"

"Alright, don't say any more!" Chongzhen interrupted her words with a frown, and then sighed and said, "Even if there is disharmony between Li Xiao and Jiao'er, now is not the time to pursue him. You must know that two months ago, if Li Xiao hadn't sent troops in time, Kaifeng City, and even the entire Henan Province, would have fallen into the hands of thieves. Such an important minister of the country, the court leans on the pillar, but it is the biggest reliance on me at the moment. ”

Chongzhen had a complicated expression on his face and continued: "You must know that between me and him, although there is a relationship between me and this son-in-law, in the name of the so-called monarch and minister, how can the past festivals be solved suddenly. A lot of things, it's better not to break it. I really don't want to see Li Xiao, a minister of the humerus of the country, have to make another mess for me like before. ”

Chongzhen let out a long sigh, and finally said in a concluding manner: "Queen, all in all, now on Li Xiao's side, even if there is some disagreement with Jiao'er, the two of us can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, and turn a deaf ear, which is right." As the old saying goes, if you are not stupid or deaf, you are not a family member, and sincerity is the most reasonable. ”

Chongzhen, who finished saying this, sat down again.

The entire vast Kunning Palace suddenly fell into a depressing silence again.

When Zhu Yujiao returned to Beijing and enjoyed a rare good time with her father, queen mother, and queen mother, at this time, in the land of Liaodong, an earth-shattering battle that had been planned for a long time was about to begin.

On April 14, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Golovin, the overseer of the Russian Empire, led 2,000 musketeers and 500 Cossack cavalry, set out from the city of Verkhnimiya Minsk, and arrived at the city of Shenyang in the Qing Dynasty after a long journey of more than two months.

When Huang Taiji saw Golovin, he really brought soldiers and horses over, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed, so he gave Golovin the second-class Merle Zhangjing Street, which made Golovin very happy and knelt down to thank him.

After Gelovin and all the soldiers and horses rested outside Shenyang for three days, Huang Taiji immediately ordered the Manchurian, Mongolian and Han soldiers and horses in the country, gathered a total of 150,000 soldiers and horses, and claimed to be 300,000 to the outside world, and went to Jinzhou City in a mighty way.

Since the twelfth year of Chongzhen, after being hit hard by Li Xiao and beating out of the border, the Qing Dynasty, which had been dormant for three years, was like a wild beast.

At this time, the situation in western Liaoning, as Fan Wencheng expected, such as Zu Dale, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui, the chief soldier of Ningyuan, Bai Guangen, the chief soldier of Jizhen, Zu Dabi, the deputy chief soldier of the forward battalion, and others have already led their own troops and are suppressing bandits in the pass, so the city garrisons in various parts of western Liaoning are very weak.

As the most frontier of Jinzhou in the entire western Liaoning, only more than 3,000 soldiers and horses led by Zu Dashou, the chief soldier of the forward battalion, guarded it, and the situation in the entire western Liaoning can be called dangerous.

Compared with the huge strength of the Qing army, the Ming army's soldiers and horses are like a lonely boat in the vast ocean.

The Qing army came here, the momentum shook the sky, and the forward battalion commander Zu Dashou, who was guarding Jinzhou, and Qiu Minyang, who was the governor of Liaodong at the time, were very shocked after getting the military information that the Qing army was coming from the east, and immediately wrote a piece of music to the imperial court Feizhang to complain.

Zu Dashou lamented in the recital: "...... Jincheng soldiers and horses are only 3,000, rice is only for more than a month, and the beans are less than a month, the cunning voice is again Yin, Ning Jin's qi pulse is interrupted, how can he say that he is anxious! Now the three cities of pine, apricot, and brocade are all in a precarious situation, and the day is not overdue, and I hope that Your Majesty will urgently send troops and horses to save it......"

The famous Battle of Songjin in history finally appeared in the form of a makeover.

In real history, the situation of the entire Songjin Battle can be roughly summarized as follows. (Note: It is not for the number of words, but for the convenience of readers to understand the combat situation and relevant background at that time.) ）

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the Ming court transferred Hong Chengchou as the governor of Jiliao, which was the northeast frontier defense and defended the Qing army.

In March of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji learned the lessons of the past storming Ningyuan and the setback of Jinzhou, formulated a battle plan for a long siege and forced him to surrender, and ordered Prince Zheng Jierharang, Dorobelle Duoduo and others to lead the troops to build Yizhou City (Yizhou Town, Yixian County, Jinzhou), "stationed in Tuntian, so that Ningjin outside the Mingshan Customs is not allowed to be cultivated." He also sent troops to capture the outlying strongholds of Jinzhou City, and then camped on all sides to cut off its foreign aid.

In March of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Wu Bashi, the guard of Jinzhou Dongguan, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing army captured the outer city of Jinzhou. So far, the Qing army has completed the encirclement of Jinzhou City, "fill in the trenches and destroy the trenches, and the solidarity is cut off", at this critical moment, the Ming court ordered Hong Chengchou to lead Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Tang Tong, Bai Guangen, Cao Bianjiao, Ma Ke, Wang Tingchen, Wu Sangui eight general soldiers, 130,000 foot cavalry, and quickly ordered the general soldiers of each town to go out of the customs immediately, and the troops will be in Ningyuan to relieve the siege of Jinzhou.

In late April of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou Department went to Songshan and Xingshan. Beginning on 25 April, the two sides were locked in a stalemate at Rufeng Mountain, with each side winning or losing.

After learning about the strong combat power of the Qing army, Hong Chengchou did not dare to advance, so he stationed in Ningyuan to spy on the situation in Jinzhou.

And said to the imperial court: "The enemy is in front, the soldiers are in danger, the siege is relieved and the brocade is rescued, the moment is difficult to slow, the dead are buried, and the wounded are not raised." Within half a month, the decisive battle will be supervised again, and the urgency of Jinzhou will be relieved. ”

Unexpectedly, Hong Chengchou's statement made the imperial court very dissatisfied, and Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, advocated a quick victory on the grounds that the soldiers were too much to pay, urging Chengchou to march, and Emperor Chongzhen ordered Hong Chengchou to "march into the army immediately", and appointed Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi as the head of the Ministry of War, and the staff Langzhong supervised the decisive battle.

Hong Chengchou was forced to be helpless, on July 26 of the same year, he swore in Ningyuan, led eight general soldiers, 130,000 people, arrived in the area of Rufeng Mountain in the south of Jinzhou City on the 28th, and on the 29th, ordered the general soldier Yang Guozhu to lead the troops to attack the west stone gate of Jinzhou Outer City occupied by the Qing army, Yang Guozhu was killed by an arrow, and he was not allowed to take the Shanxi general soldier Li Fuming Dynasty.

Seeing that the Ming army was attacking in a big way, Huang Taiji rushed to help with illness, traveled more than 500 miles day and night, and arrived at Qijiabao (Qijiabao in Jinxian County, Liaoning) in the north of Jinzhou on July 19, and divided the army to station in Wangbaoshan, Zhuangzhentai, Zhai'er Mountain, Changling Mountain, Liu Xitun and other important places, digging trenches on the spot, tightly surrounding the Songshan area, and "cutting off the Songshan road".

Seeing that the back road was cut off, Hong Chengchou could only set up a decisive battle and fight with the Qing army in the Songshan and Jinzhou areas.

Huang Taiji saw that the Ming army was in a predicament, and constipation ordered Azig to raid Tashan, taking advantage of the ebb and flow of tide to seize the Ming army's 12 piles of grain and grass stored in Bijia Mountain. The Ming army "decided to return to Ningyuan for food due to lack of pay" and decided to break through the encirclement and flee south by two routes early tomorrow morning.

Wang Pu, the general soldier of Datong, led the men and horses of the headquarters to break through the siege and escape by night as soon as he returned to the battalion, and as a result, "the commanders competed for galloping, and the horses trampled on each other", and in the dark night, the Ming soldiers "fought and broke through, the soldiers were scattered, and it was difficult to recognize in the night". The general soldiers Wu Sangui and Wang Pu fled into Xingshan, and the general soldiers Ma Ke and Li Fuming rushed into Tashan. Hong Chengchou and others failed to break through, trapped in Songshan City (Songshan Town, Songshan District, Jinzhou), several times to organize a breakthrough, all failed, and soon "the road to pay is exhausted, and the city is exhausted", Songshan deputy general Xia Chengde sent people to secretly surrender to Qing, thinking that it should be internal.

Finally, on February 18 of the 15th year of Chongzhen, Songshan City fell, the general soldiers Qiu Minyang, Wang Tingchen, and Cao Bianjiao were killed, Hong Chengchou and Zu Dale were defeated and captured to Shenyang, and on March 8, Zu Dashou led his troops to surrender the city, and the Qing army occupied Jinzhou.

On April 22, the Qing army destroyed the Xingshan city wall with red-coated artillery, and the deputy general Lu Pinqi led his troops to surrender without a fight, and the three cities of Songshan, Jinzhou, and Xingshan were wiped out, so the Songjin War ended.

According to the record of Taizong of the Qing Dynasty: "It was a battle, and he killed 53,783 enemies, 7,440 horses, and 9,346 pieces of armor. The Ming soldiers went from Xingshan to Tashan in the south, and there were many dead people who went to the sea, and tens of thousands of horses and armor were abandoned. There are many floating corpses floating in the sea, like geese. ”

The defeat of the Battle of Songjin marked the complete collapse of the Ming Dynasty's defense system in Liaodong, and the last line of defense of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong was only left with Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan.

The Qing people talked about the relocation and commented on this battle: "It's a pity, the elite of the nine stops, the grain of China, all the money is thrown, but it can't be continued, and the temple is in ruins!" ”

It can be said that it was the defeat of the Battle of Songjin that caused the destruction of the elite border army at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the Liukou was no longer controlled, so that the capital was finally successfully defeated, Chongzhen was forced to commit suicide, and the key factor that led to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in the orthodox sense from then on.

At this time, after receiving the news that the Qing army was attacking Liaoxi, Emperor Chongzhen was shocked.

He never expected that the Qing army would be able to come and attack again after being heavily damaged by Li Xiao and being quiet outside the pass for three years, which caught him completely off guard now.

Cold sweat oozed from Emperor Chongzhen's forehead, and his face was trembling. He was stunned for a long time before he hurriedly ordered the little eunuch on the side: "Quick, quickly pass on Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, and quickly enter the palace to see me!" “

"Yes, slave and maid."