The next day, Zuo Zhan had already sent people to find out the cause, and sent the county order and the county seat of Tongxian County to prison, and interrogated overnight to learn that Zhou Yingqiu of the Ministry of War and Qian Qianyi of the Ministry of Household had a direct relationship, and these two people had a common identity, that is, the Donglin Party.

Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yingqiu were still half-asleep at this time, and when they heard the emperor's questioning, they knew that the matter was exposed, so they hurriedly stepped forward to defend themselves and said:

"The Holy Emperor is magnificent, loves the people like a son, and is praised by the world. Rong Chen and others immediately investigated the matter and severely punished the relevant people. ”

Seeing that the two of them were still shamelessly whitewashing themselves, Zuo Zhan couldn't help but be furious, angrily pulled out the Tai'a sword, and yelled at the two:

"Her justice is also the justice of the people in the world, and when the two of you find out, I am afraid that the people have already risen up. I have found out that there is serious corruption in the bereavement of the fallen soldiers in Liaodong this time, and there are also acts of deducting grain and cotton for disaster relief, do you two remember what I said before? ”

Everyone saw the emperor draw his sword in court, knowing that the two of them would die soon. The emperor once decreed that all acts of corruption and sabotage related to the war and disaster relief in Liaodong should be punished regardless of the amount. Now that the emperor has personally brought witnesses and seized evidence, Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yingqiu will not escape death even if they have nine lives.

Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yingqiu knew that the matter was revealed and hurriedly kowtowed to ask for guilt, but Zuo Zhan had already moved to kill, and decided to use the two of them as a breakthrough to let them bite out a group of Donglin Party members, and use the anger of the army and the public opinion of the people to completely eradicate the remnants of Donglin.

This matter was naturally handed over to the great eunuch Wei Jinzhong to deal with, this guy was deliberately snubbed by Zuo Zhan for a period of time, not only was he not discouraged, but he did his best to collect the evidence of Donglin Academy, and compiled the "Donglin Point General" as the internal case teaching material of Dongchang, so that it is illustrated and illustrated, which can not be described as unprofessional. He regarded all the officials from Donglin Academy as mortal enemies, and even upright and virtuous ministers such as Sun Chengzong, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and Li Banghua were also included in the target of the attack, which could not be described as disrespectful.

After Wang An finished reading this black material, Sun Chengzong knew that he could not escape the involvement, and said with a blushing face:

"Qi Song Sheng, this matter involves a wide range of things, and it is inevitable that there will be grievances, please think twice."

After speaking, he knelt on the ground, and everyone knelt down one after another when they saw this, begging the emperor to be extrajudicial and forgiving.

Zuo Zhan knew that many of the officials involved in the case were his protégés and former officials, and a few of the good officials were indeed wronged, so the old man inevitably had to speak out. Zuo Zhan thought about it and didn't reply in a hurry, walked up to the old man and held her hands and said:

"Old man, do you remember me?"

The old woman was already confused, and saw that the splendid hall was full of court officials, and her legs were already weak due to this momentum, if it weren't for Qi Changguo's support, it is estimated that she would have slumped on the ground long ago. When she saw the little doll coming over that night, she hurriedly helped Zuo Zhan and said:

"Good doll, you accompanied the old woman to say so many considerate words, and brought me to the capital to feed, how could I not remember you."

Qi Changguo saw that she was out of honor in front of the palace, and whispered that this was the current emperor, so frightened that the old woman hurriedly knelt on the ground and cried. Zuo Zhan was very embarrassed when he saw this, glanced at Qi Changguo reproachfully, and then returned to the dragon chair and said:

"This old man understands the righteousness, not only did he not complain about the court that night, but also persuaded me to be a person who accumulates virtue and does good, I feel ashamed! The old man's four sons are all considered to have sacrificed their lives for the country, so is the country treating the bereaved families of the martyrs like this? After that, when the country is in trouble, who is willing to throw his head and spill blood!

Today, I canonized her as the fourth rank of the four meritorious people, and moved to Cining Palace for her to retire and send her to the end, so as to comfort the martyrs who sacrificed and encourage the men in the army to fight bravely to kill the enemy. At the same time, it also warns those corrupt officials that the righteous judgment is sometimes late, but it is never absent! ”

In ancient times, officials from the first to the fifth rank were called, and the sixth to ninth grades were called. On this basis, the Ming Dynasty formed a complete set of feudal system, and the wife was called the lady from the husband's rank, and the first and second grades were called the lady, which was the most common in the book. In addition, the third grade is called the lady, the fourth is called the Gong person, the fifth product is called the pleasant person, the sixth product is called the Ann person, and the seventh to the ninth grade are collectively referred to as the Ruren.

To get back to the point, Zuo Zhan's decision to support the old man in the Forbidden City is a strange story for the ages, and the ministers are all shocked by it. Let's not say that he is kind-hearted, if you tell the world who is not convinced? At that time, the people's hearts will be applauded. At this moment, Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi and other old ministers began to understand the young son of heaven in front of him, who was bent on the Buddha to prosper and be born by the common people, and was bent on conquering and killing demons, punishing and eliminating evil.

After the dispersal of the dynasty, Zuo Zhan personally accompanied the old woman to Cining Palace, and visited the scenery of the imperial garden by the way. Wang An had already informed the people in the harem of this matter in advance, and Concubine Zhuang and Concubine Shen had already stood outside the palace gate and waited, and even Zhang Yan, who had always moved little, came over to join in the fun.

I saw the emperor strolling along with an old man in ragged clothes, Zhang Yan bowed slightly and asked curiously:

"Your Majesty brought back an old man the day before yesterday and placed him in Cining Palace, and the concubine hasn't had time to ask yet. I heard that this morning, the dynasty canonized her as the fourth rank of the edict, which is really gratifying. ”

Zuo Zhan saw that she was talking in a fake manner, but her face was naughty, and she pretended to reproach and said:

"Concubine Ai doesn't have to blame herself, the old man doesn't know etiquette when he first enters the palace, and you and the concubines will teach you together in the future! It's just that she was too frightened today, so let's send it to the palace to rest first. ”

After that, he took her hand and went back to Qianqing Palace to wash and eat, and the two flirted and scolded all the way. Wang An saw that the relationship between the two was so sweet, and took the opportunity to say:

"The slave is going to say hello to the Lord and the mother."

At this time, Zuo Zhan was washing up, and he didn't take it seriously, but just mumbled in response. Wang Anxin thought that the little couple might not know what it meant, and continued:

"Back to Long Live Lord and Niangniang, the Tai Hospital came to ask for a safe pulse for Niangniang yesterday, and after going back to discuss Niangniang's pulse, it was unanimously agreed that it was a happy pulse, so I was waiting outside the palace early this morning, and I want to confirm it again."

Before Wang An finished speaking, he saw Zuo Zhan squirt mouthwash all over the ground with a pop, and asked excitedly:

"Ome, what did you say?"

Without waiting for Wang An to reply, he continued:

"I said why a few imperial doctors are here, why don't you let them in quickly."

When the news was confirmed, Zhang Yan was nearly two months pregnant at this time, and everyone was busy saying congratulations to the emperor and Niangniang. Zuo Zhan didn't care about etiquette, picked up Zhang Yan, kissed her on the belly, and said with tenderness in his eyes:

"Yan'er, you were given to me by the gods, and now you are pregnant with a dragonborn, and I will immediately canonize you as the queen."

Zhang Yan saw that the emperor cherished himself and the child in her belly so much, and she was overjoyed in her heart, and excused herself:

"The concubines are satisfied if they can always accompany the king, how dare they hope to be the queen of the Ming Dynasty. However, the sister of the Xiong family is about to be married, Your Majesty might as well take her to the palace as soon as possible, and it would be good to have one more person around to serve in the future. ”

Zuo Zhan knew that Zhang Yan was telling the truth, which was why he gave up 5,000 beauties and chose her as the queen alone. As the lord of the six houses, scheming and means can be cultivated, but character is innate.

Seeing that her attitude was extremely resolute, Zuo Zhan didn't say much, and secretly sighed that the world was impermanent. Sometimes you can't get it with all your hard work, and sometimes you can't hide from it, it's not so much fate as human talent and virtue. There has never been a free lunch in this world, all seemingly simple problems are actually intertwined with complex contradictions, we want to do things need the help of nobles, but first we have to work hard.

Zuo Zhan thought that it would be a matter of time before he was established, and he was not in a hurry. At present, he is obviously implementing the new policy, chasing down Huang Taiji, and secretly cultivating Li Dingguo, investigating the whereabouts of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong and other grass coordinates.

In order to ensure the peace of the harem, he pretended to be casual and said:

"Concubine Ai will be closer to the elderly in the future, and it will naturally have your benefits."

Zhang Yan was puzzled, looking at him with a question mark on his face, Zuo Zhan explained:

"I grew up in this deep palace since I was a child, and I am used to seeing jealousy and intrigue in the harem. The first emperor had many sons, but only I and the emperor's fifth brother Zhu Youzhen and the three imperial sisters survived, and the evil of this harem can be seen. As for this respectful person, who lost her son in her later years and lived a miserable life, she was still able to keep a benevolent heart, and even I was impressed by her conduct. With such someone to take care of you, I will be able to handle the affairs of the previous dynasty with peace of mind. ”

Zuo Zhan's words were amazing, and it took Zhang Yan a while to come to her senses. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, he should be like a bud on a branch, carefree and ready to be released, but now he has to deal with the intrigues and tricks in the deep palace, no wonder Zhang Guoji was worried at the beginning.

Fortunately, Zhang Yan is an extremely intelligent woman, and quickly calmed down and replied:

"Today's affairs and concubines must be kept in mind, and in the future, they will be in harmony with the harem and share their worries for their husbands."

Seeing that Zhang Yan understood very quickly, Zuo Zhan continued:

"Yan'er, I originally wanted to marry you alone for the rest of my life, but the country was worried about internal and external troubles, and I had to rely on foreign ministers, and if necessary, I had to marry them to encircle them. Now that you are going to be a mother, you will also be a queen for our children, and you will be bound by the six palaces in the future and take care of this family for me. ”

Since ancient times, the royal family has been selfless, and although the harem is a woman, it is implicated in the previous dynasty, so the queens of the Ming Dynasty are basically selected from the commoners' homes, just to prevent the dictatorship of foreign relatives. Although Zhang Yan mentioned Xiong Kouyue again, Zuo Zhan still felt that it was inappropriate at present, firstly, his relationship with Kouyue was very stable, and secondly, he wanted to whet the appetite of the courtiers, and let these people work hard for the new deal through nepotism.

Cining Palace was originally the former residence of Zhu Youxiao, and Zuo Zhan did not have a lot of trouble with the Hakka here, and later simply rewarded her. This woman is known for her charm, so many of the furnishings are extremely luxurious, like a fat pink room. After the elderly moved in, the furniture became very simple. It's just coarse tea and light rice every day, and he often does some rough work, which is praised by the harem. It is said that it is easy to go from thrift to luxury, but there are still many people in the world who can not forget their original intentions, they are either in important positions, or ordinary, but their conduct is a model for the world.

Because the old man has lived in the folk for a long time, there are always endless stories to tell to the children, so Concubine Zhuang and Concubine Shen often take Zhu Youzhen and others to play, and the entertainment center of the harem was moved here from Jingyang Palace for a while. In addition, the old man had given birth to four children, and when he was young, he was still a midwife in the village, and he took care of the pregnant Zhang Yan meticulously, which won her trust.

It is said that parents are the first teachers of their children, and they are known for their kindness, and their parents are full of words of persuasion, which makes Zuo Zhan very relieved about the problem of tutoring. He had high hopes for the eleven-year-old Zhu Youzhen, and although the historical Emperor Chongzhen played a good hand, he still had a certain degree of government ability, and with a little guidance, he could be qualified as a cabinet minister.

Even Zuo Zhan mistook Zhu Youzhen for his son in another world, and the kind of licking calf unique to his father made him gentle and kind. This is life, everyone has to make corresponding changes as their roles change, be more mature, work harder, and be more tolerant.