Zhou Zheng was a 'guest army' in Liaodong, and he was sent by the imperial court to 'assist in the battle', and in principle, he was subordinate to the Jiliao Governor.

Qiu Hejia wanted to take care of Zhou Zheng, but Zhou Zheng ignored it, and Sun Chengzong was under pressure from above, Qiu Jiahe could not use many means, and the battlefield was quickly transferred to the imperial court.

The court received a total of two impeachment transcripts against Zhou Zheng, and the weight was still very heavy: one was Zhang Hua, the inner supervisor of the Liaodong Governor, and the other was Qiu Hejia, the Liaodong Governor.

When the two scripts arrived in the capital, Chongzhen couldn't ignore it, and called Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the military department, and Zhou Yanru, the first assistant, to the Qianqing Palace.

Chongzhen had two notebooks in front of him, looked at Zhou Yanru and Zhang Fengyi, and said: "Qiu Hejia, Zhang Hua impeached Zhou Zheng, saying that he 'has a lot of money and food, acts recklessly, and does not respect the orders of his superiors', 'Without asking for instructions, expand the army and build the city, do not listen to the order, I am afraid that there will be misdeeds'?" ”

What Chongzhen said was actually light, Qiu Hejia and Zhang Hua's recital was to imply that Zhou Zheng's money and grain came from an unknown source, which may be related to Jianyu, Songshan is close to Jinzhou, if Zhou Zheng has different aspirations, the consequences will be serious, and he has to be prevented.

Once these two scripts are known by officials at all levels of the imperial court, whether there is or not, there will be an uproar, Zhou Zheng will definitely not be able to stay in Liaodong, if someone fanned the flames, it would be doomed to prison!

Zhou Zheng was sent by the Ministry of War, Zhang Fengyi hurriedly raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the treasury is tight, it was the Ministry of War that authorized Zhou Zheng to raise money and food by himself and recruit soldiers, this cannot be evidence of Zhou Zheng's crime, otherwise who is willing to do things for the court in the future?" There can be no punishment! ”

The imperial court treasury is tight, and those who suppress bandits in the northwest outside, whether it is Hong Chengchou, Qin Liangyu, or Lu Xiangsheng in Henan, in fact, most of the money and grain do not come from the imperial court.

Chongzhen was still expressionless, glanced at Zhang Fengyi and did not speak.

The reason why he sent the lieutenant out of the palace was that these people who led the troops were becoming more and more disobedient, and if Zhou Zheng committed a crime against the wind, he would never be soft!

Zhou Yanru bowed his head for a long time, pretended to groan, and said, "Your Majesty, this is a good thing." ”

Chongzhen frowned slightly, and said, "What's a good thing?" ”

Zhou Yanru raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is said that Zhou Zheng colluded with Jianyu, and the minister will never believe it, but he is the one who turned the tide under the capital and killed the thief chief Haoge." His expansion of Songshan Fort is the intention of Master Sun, and there is nothing wrong with it. Now Qiu Hejia has written a letter of impeachment, and the others are silent, which shows that Liaodong is no longer monolithic, and His Majesty has put Zhou Zheng in Liaodong, which has achieved initial results. ”

Zhou Yanru said three words in a row, and Chongzhen's face finally loosened, and a slight smile appeared.

To say that Zhou Zheng colluded with Jianyu and plotted against him, Chongzhen himself didn't believe it.

The second article that Zhou Yanru said is actually a foreshadowing for the third article, that is, the purpose of Chongzhen and the imperial court to divide Liaodong and strengthen control has been achieved.

There is Zhou Zheng, the Tianjin soldier sent by the imperial court, and those generals in Liaodong must always act with a few scruples, and they cannot disobey Chongzhen and the orders of the imperial court, and regard them as a deaf ear.

If you use modern terms, Zhou is Chongzhen, a catfish put in Liaodong by the Ming court.

Chongzhen's previous dissatisfaction in his heart suddenly dissipated, and he looked down at Qiu Hejia's recital, and said, "Then you say, what to do with their recital?" ”

Zhou Yanru said very decisively: "I ordered to reprimand Qiu Hejia." ”

Chongzhen was stunned and said, "Reprimand Qiu Hejia? ”

Zhou Yanru said: "It's not enough, I have to give Zhou Zheng the title of Imperial History of the Capital, and reiterate that he only listens to the assignment of Jiliao Governor and the Ministry of War." ”

Chongzhen understood, nodded lightly with a smile, and said, "Zhou Aiqing is really old and seeking a country, so let's do it." ”

Zhou Yanru raised his hand as usual and said, "Obey the order, the minister will retire." ”

Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the military department, who only said one sentence from beginning to end, glanced at Zhou Yanru and secretly admired it in his heart. No wonder this has become the longest-reigning chief assistant of the Chongzhen Dynasty, this speech, doing things, especially the ability to figure out and influence the emperor's mind, is difficult for ordinary people to reach!

When the two left, Chongzhen's smile faded away, looked at Li Zhong not far away, and said, "You just said that Zhang Hua made a lot of money in Liaodong, and he also sent you and Wang Chengen silver?" ”

Li Zhong hurriedly turned around and said, "Yes, long live the lord, I don't know how many slaves and maids were given to Mr. Wang, but Mr. Wang didn't accept it." The three thousand taels given to the slaves and maids were all put in the inner treasury. ”

Chongzhen covered his face with frost, and said coldly: "I don't know what is dead or alive, I will be embarrassed, find a reason to call him back!" ”

Internal supervisors often misbehave, making the palace ugly. Chongzhen is a person who attaches great importance to face, where can he endure it.

Li Zhong said: "Yes, the slave maid will find a way." ”

Chongzhen suddenly stared at Li Zhong again, and said, "Where did Zhou Zheng's money and food come from?" ”

Li Zhong looked hesitant and said, "Long live Lord, the slave doesn't know whether to say it or not." ”

Chongzhen's brows sank, and he shouted, "You still want to hide it!" ”

Li Zhong knelt on the ground with a puff, and hurriedly said: "Long live Lord, Zhou Zheng Yongping Mansion, Hejian Mansion vigorously rectified the acres of fields, household registration, taxes, and the amount of money and grain in the two places has increased several times compared with the Apocalypse, and most of them have not been handed over to the treasury and used to raise soldiers." ”

Chongzhen suddenly said with an angry face: "He Zhou Zheng has a few heads, aren't you afraid that I will cut him?" ”

Li Zhong knelt on the ground and said, "Long live Lord, in fact, the adults in the imperial court know about these things, but they dare not say that if the money and grain of Yongping Mansion and Hejian Mansion have increased several times to the treasury, what will the other provincial government officials do?" What can the adults of the court do? Therefore, this matter should be turned a blind eye, everyone should not know, anyway, this money and food is not enough to support 30,000 people, and they are all working for the imperial court......"

Chongzhen listened, his fists turned white, and he said angrily: "You mean, Zhou Zheng is in collusion with the officials in the imperial court and deceives me together?" ”

Li Zhong raised his head tremblingly, looked at Chongzhen, and cried: "Long live Lord, even if you know about this matter, what can you do?" I'm so big, there is only one Zhou Zhengyun in the world, I can't rectify it, I can't rectify it, I can't rectify it, I will, long live the world chaos......"

Chongzhen looked at Li Zhong with tears on his face, and the anger that had surged to his throat suddenly dissipated, and he sat on the chair, his face was blue.

He has been on the throne for more than four years, and he has a deep understanding of various situations in the Ming Dynasty, and the taxes of the imperial court have been decreasing since the Jiajing period.

After a while, Chongzhen's face softened a little, looked at Li Zhong, and snorted coldly: "Dog minion! Get up, and if you dare to tell me, everyone else should be blind, deaf, hateful, and deserved! ”

"Long live you." Li Zhong stood up and wiped the tears from his face.

Chongzhen looked at him and nodded lightly: "You are a person in my hidden mansion, I treat you no better than others, and you don't need to shy away from it, tell me honestly, how do you think of Zhou Zheng outside?" ”

Li Zhong still had tears on his face, and said with some trepidation: "Long live Lord, Zhou Zheng behaved upright when he was the first emperor, offended hundreds of officials, and was sent to Yongping Mansion because it was difficult to gain a foothold in the imperial court. Now the government and the opposition, except for a few adults who appreciate him, most of them don't like him, whether it is the previous eunuch party or the Donglin party. ”

These Chongzhen knew this, and said, "Go on." ”

Li Zhong said: "Zhou Zheng is very similar to his father Zhou, his temperament is a little withdrawn, he has very few friends, and he just wants to bury his head in things, so he has offended too many people, and he is very isolated in the government and the opposition, and he has countless people impeached in Yongping Mansion, even if he is victorious under the capital. It can be seen from this that this person is not a likable person, in the future, I am afraid that there will be other things, most of them will not be promoted, and like Lord Zhou, he can only resign and return to his hometown, and if he is not good, he will have to lose his head......"

Chongzhen snorted and said, "Dog minion, you really dare to say it!" Am I the kind of faint king who leaves virtuous ministers in the wilderness and treacherous rulers? ”

Li Zhong hurriedly said: "The slave should die!" Of course the Long Live Lord is not, Long Live Lord is diligent and self-denying, and has the style of Taizu, how can he be a faint king? ”

Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Go to the inner library to receive the reward." ”

Li Zhong said in a loud voice: "Long live you." ”

Chongzhen looked at Li Zhong's still trembling back, his mood was a lot more comfortable, and he didn't know what to think of, but a slight sneer appeared on his face.