By the beginning of December, the imperial court was basically clear about the battle in Liaodong, and the impeachment storm of the officials had reached its peak.

The General Political Envoy received dozens of impeachment notes against Sun Chengzong in one day, and Qiu Hejia, the governor of Liaodong, even impeached Sun Chengzong five times in a row.

Compared with them, the high-ranking officials of the six ministries and nine temples and the cabinet cherished words like gold, and they kept them secretive one by one and did not express their opinions.

Faced with such great pressure from the government and the opposition, Chongzhen's heart was shaken and he began to re-examine the first battle of Liaodong.

On December 6, the fourth year of Chongzhen, in the evening, Qianqing Palace.

In front of Chongzhen was Qiu Hejia's three-way impeachment recital, and in front of him stood Zhou Yanru, the first assistant, and Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the military department.

Chongzhen's face was expressionless, and he said, "Have you all read Qiu Hejia's recital?" ”

Zhou Yanru and Zhang Fengyi raised their hands together and said, "Yes." ”

Qiu Hejia's recital is a kind of progressive style, first analyzing the situation in Liaodong, then expounding the process of the war, and then analyzing the results of the war, and finally concluding that Sun Chengzong 'raised trouble from outside, attracted thieves, cowardly the enemy and feared the war, and hesitated', 'the slaves and food were not enough, and the thieves wanted to retreat, so they sent troops and succeeded', 'the thieves besieged the city, Chengzong did not save them, but the thieves retreated, went out of the city with all their might, and thought carefully and subtly, fearing that there would be a collaborator with the enemy, and had to check 'Yunyun'.

Probably means that Sun Chengzong was afraid of the war at first, and then Jianyu was about to retreat, so he went out of the city to pick up the cheap and got a great success, and then think about it, Sun Chengzong may be suspected of collaborating with the enemy.

"What do you think?" Chongzhen said lightly. This emperor has more and more cities, and he hides his thoughts tightly, and it is difficult to see anything from his face.

Zhang Fengyi looked solemn and said: "Your Majesty, Master Sun is an old minister of the Four Dynasties, loyal to the emperor and my Ming Dynasty, dreaming of sleeping at night, rectifying Liaodong, if he says that he collaborates with the enemy, the minister will definitely not believe it!" ”

Chongzhen listened to his words, his brows furrowed slightly.

Qiu Hejia's recital pointed out a lot of questions, such as why did Sun Chengzong leave Youtun unsaved for two months? There are 20,000 people in Youtun, and the grain and grass are only enough to support half a month, why do you hold on for nearly three months? Jianyu is obviously going to retreat, why does Sun Chengzong still have a large army out of the city, isn't he afraid that the whole army will be wiped out and the entire Liaodong will be affected?

These Chongzhen can't figure it out, and if they can't figure it out, it comes down to what Qiu Hejia said, 'betraying the country and collaborating with the enemy'.

Chongzhen was dissatisfied with Zhang Fengyi's words, turned to Zhou Yanru, and said in a tone that was not sad or joyful: "What do you think of Shoufu? ”

Zhou Yanru lowered his head, as if he had been pondering, listening to Chongzhen's words, he sighed sadly, and said: "It's a pity, Cao Bianjiao is only a few zhang away from the thief chieftain's tent, if Qiu Hejia can send troops on time, I can't say, my army is already on the way to Shenyang, and the emperor's great cause of Pingliao has been accomplished, but it's a pity, it's a failure......

Looking at Zhou Yanru's expression and listening to his words, Chongzhen's face suddenly became angry, the green tendons on his head were throbbing, and his eyes were like fire.

Boom!

Chongzhen slammed the table and said angrily: "Qiu Hejia, you should kill!" ”

Zhou Yanru's expression moved, as if he had just come back to his senses, raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, if it is said that Boss Sun collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country, the ministers do not believe it, most of them are coveted by the military exploits of Liaodong, so they are entangled in the attack of the officials in order to be promoted." ”

Chongzhen was still immersed in the anger that Cao Bianjiao almost killed Huang Taiji, and his great cause of Pingliao was destroyed one step away, and said in an angry tone: "The first battle in Liaodong, what do you think? ”

Zhou Yanru hesitated and said, "The minister is a civil minister, and he doesn't know the soldiers. But judging from the battle situation and results, everything is under the control of Master Sun, and Liaodong has no losses, and there is no doubt about the victory. The minister heard that there was a rumor in Jianyu, saying that he wanted to negotiate peace with my Daming. ”

Chongzhen's anger subsided slightly, and he still snorted coldly, and said, "Negotiate peace, they want to be beautiful!" Sent an edict to Sun Chengzong, asking him to step up fundraising, reorganize the army, prepare for the Northern Expedition to Shenyang, pacify Liaodong, and completely eliminate Jianyu! ”

Zhang Fengyi hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, now that the government and the opposition are boiling, they are all impeaching Elder Sun, Your Majesty and the imperial court, you must not act rashly." ”

Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, then became more and more angry, stared at Zhang Fengyi and said, "Is it just watching such a good opportunity slip by in front of you?" ”

Zhang Fengyi raised his hand and explained: "Your Majesty, the purpose of this battle is to recreate the prisoners, and then gain a foothold in Youtun, and gradually advance northward until the prisoners are completely eliminated. Although this battle was a big defeat for Jianguo, but the main force of Jianguo was not damaged, if you rashly send troops, I am afraid that there will be a big defeat, and the gains will outweigh the losses......"

Chongzhen became more and more annoyed, his face was blue, his eyes flashed for a while, and he waved his hand violently: "Allow Sun Chengzong to give advice!" ”

Zhang Fengyi knew that Chongzhen's killing of a Qiu Hejia was not enough to vent his anger, and Sun Chengzong was involved, so he sighed lightly in his heart, but he couldn't.

Zhou Yanru still frowned, raised his hand, and said: "Your Majesty, although the government and the opposition impeached Boss Sun, the Qing Dynasty still praised Boss Sun's exploits this time, and we also know this. ”

Chongzhen was full of anger now, and he didn't have the heart to think too much about it, so he said directly: "What do you say?" ”

Zhou Yanru was also a little irritable, pondered for a long time, and said: "Zhou Zhengyun is seriously injured and can no longer lead the army, so he writes to resign, and the others should be rewarded heavily." Zu Dashou defected to the enemy and treason, and was imprisoned for ......"

Chongzhen is now only a little successful in the great cause of Pingliao, but the five organs are all fire, and I can't wait to catch Qiu Hejia and slaughter it with my own hands now!

Listening to Zhou Yanru's words, Chongzhen was still reluctant to calm down, twisted his brows and said: "Zhou Zhengyun sacrificed himself for the country twice, and he really wanted to be rewarded, and so did Mangui Zhao and others, who were meritorious in Wu Xiang, and Zu Dashou did not sit in a row, and the rest, the military department discussed and submitted it, so let's go here today." ”

Zhou Yanru looked at Chongzhen's angry look and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He already felt that Chongzhen was dissatisfied with him, most of this dissatisfaction was caused by the impeachment of the officials, and in the case of Liaodong, he, the first assistant, was not able to get rid of it, and he was responsible in Chongzhen's eyes.

Fortunately, he can still hold on.

Zhang Fengyi didn't think as much as Zhou Yanru thought, but he just felt that this matter was a 'perfect' ending, and he was not as mean as last time.

The two of them raised their hands and withdrew, and a few steps away from the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Fengyi couldn't help but say, "Yuanfu, why don't you explain it to the emperor?" The emperor should be able to understand Lord Sun's tactics. ”

Zhou Yanru has always played the role of a capable minister who has always been a veteran of the country, and sighed lightly when he heard the words: "Don't say that I don't understand, even if I do, how much can the emperor listen to it?" It's already good to have such a result, if you force it, the emperor is afraid that he will be suspicious of you, the secretary of the military department. ”

Zhang Fengyi's expression was entangled, and he also sighed, shook his head, and didn't say anything more.

Zhou Yanru walked slowly, with a trace of anxiety in his heart. Chongzhen became more and more suspicious, which made him a little frightened. He was going to find a time to meet Zhou Zheng in person, but the exchange of letters alone could no longer reassure him.