flew a windfall and put it all in his pocket, Mao Wenlong unceremoniously accepted it all, and he didn't mean to reward Chen Jisheng and others at all. According to him, these are ill-gotten gains, which should be used for people's livelihood, which can be regarded as accumulating virtue for Chen Jisheng.

As subordinates, Chen Jisheng and others can only reluctantly accept Mao Wenlong's pickpocketing, and they have to compliment a few words.

got a lot of windfall, Mao Wenlong's mood also improved a lot, and sent Chen Jisheng and others down to rest. By the way, they were told that they would start expanding the army from tomorrow, and Chen Jisheng and the others hurriedly agreed, and then dispersed.

The council hall was suddenly empty again, leaving only Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou. Mao Wenlong pondered for a while, and said with some worry: "The current situation in Shanxi is not clear, although the imperial court has dispatched troops, it is aggressive to eradicate Li Zicheng. Judging from the current situation, it seems that there is no room for optimism, and I heard that the two armies are now fighting each other in the area of the Daimyofu. ”

Hong Chengchou glanced up at Mao Wenlong, but he didn't speak, but waited for Mao Wenlong's next words.

Sure enough, Mao Wenlong continued: "Do you think that when the imperial court and Li Zicheng are fighting hotly, will Huang Taiji lead troops to invade the border again?" ”

Mao Wenlong's worries are not groundless, but grounded, according to Huang Taiji's style, whenever a war breaks out in the Central Plains, he will lead his troops to attack the border pass. Either take the opportunity to grab some supplies, or grab people, in short, it is indispensable to get some benefits.

And this time in the chaos in Shanxi, the Beijing division will inevitably be implicated, and now Chongzhen is even more transferred from the border pass. Once Huang Taiji receives the news, he will inevitably come to attack, there is no doubt about this.

Hong Chengchou finally suddenly woke up, it was precisely because Mao Wenlong had such worries in his heart that he was in such a hurry to expand the army, and what he should do was to prevent Huang Taiji's attack.

Understanding what Mao Wenlong was thinking, Hong Chengchou also said bluntly: "The Tartars will never let go of such a good opportunity, so the imperial court may be in big trouble this time." ”

Mao Wenlong agreed, he nodded and said: "Once Huang Taiji leads the army into the pass, the Jingshi will be attacked from both sides, and there is a possibility of collapse at any time. And Li Zicheng is definitely not the opponent of Houjin, and Shanxi will inevitably fall into the hands of Houjin at any time after that. I can't put my life in the eyes of others. ”

The corners of Hong Chengchou's mouth rose slightly: "That's why you're in such a hurry to expand the army, just to target Houjin, right?" ”

Mao Wenlong looked up at the sky outside the door and said: "Yes, once the Later Jin overthrows the Ming Dynasty, it is definitely something that the Han family children in the world do not want to see, and for this, we must be prepared." ”

Hong Chengchou nodded silently, the so-called family affairs cannot be interfered with by outsiders, no matter how civil strife Daming is, in the final analysis, it is his own business. But once a foreign enemy intervenes, the nature changes completely.

In the imperial study of the imperial city, Chongzhen's brows were deeply locked, and there were mountains of twists and turns on the dragon case, but he didn't have the slightest heart to review it. At this moment, he was upset when he saw those recitals sent from all over the country.

What is said in the recital is not where there is another natural disaster, or where there is a rebellion, either for money and food, or for soldiers and horses. Day after day, year after year, Chongzhen was already completely tired.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go back to the palace to rest for a while?" Wu Chengen said cautiously on the side.

Chongzhen turned to look at him, shook his head and said, "What is the progress in Shanxi now, it has been a few days since Lu Xiangsheng sent troops to fight, why hasn't there been a battle report yet?" ”

Wu Chengen felt bitter in his heart, the situation in Shanxi has not been optimistic, Wu Chengen saw Chongzhen upset in the past two days, he did not dare to report the news, but secretly intercepted it.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Chongzhen resolutely asked, it was obviously impossible to hide it anymore. After some hesitation, Wu Chengen had to tell the truth: "Your Majesty, the two armies in Shanxi are currently fighting frequently. Presumably, Lord Lu was also busy with the war and could not be distracted to report the military situation, but the slave maid sent someone to investigate, and it was reported that now the two armies were trapped in the area of the Daimyo's Mansion, and they had won and lost each other several times, and they could not decide for a while. ”

"Bastard!"

When Chongzhen heard this, he was immediately furious: "This time the dispatch of 100,000 elite soldiers at the border pass has not been able to quickly take down the traitor, what is Lu Xiangsheng doing." Didn't he understand that Houjin could invade the border at any time? ”

Wu Chengen saw that Chongzhen was angry, he wanted to say something good for Lu Xiangsheng, but he didn't dare at this time, he stood aside and didn't dare to say anything more.

Chongzhen's anger did not subside, he quickly returned to the dragon case, and said coldly: "Spread my will, order Lu Xiangsheng must repel the rebels within ten days, and after twenty days, I will hear that Shanxi is already under the control of the imperial court." If not, the punishment will be severe! ”

Wu Chengen's heart was slightly cold, the imperial court did dispatch 100,000 elite soldiers, but the 100,000 elite soldiers only had less than half of the grain and grass. Now Lu Xiangsheng not only has to find ways to make the soldiers have food and clothing, but also needs to take down Li Zicheng as soon as possible, and it is estimated that he will be very embarrassed at this time.

But no matter how difficult he is, it is Lu Xiangsheng's business, he Wu Chengen will excuse him if he has the opportunity, and if he doesn't have the opportunity, he can only ask for more blessings.

Wu Chengen ghostwrote for Chongzhen, quickly wrote down the holy decree, handed it over to Chongzhen for review, and only after there was no problem did he stamp the national seal, and then sent the eunuch to pass the decree.

When Lu Xiangsheng received the decree, he was furious. Since Chongzhen ordered him to go on the expedition, he didn't ask anything except give him military power. It took Lu Xiangsheng a lot of effort to gather these 100,000 elite soldiers at that time, and he finally got together the soldiers and horses.

But where are the 100,000 soldiers and horses the so-called elite soldiers, they are completely the remnants of the soldiers selected by the generals stationed in various places. It's just a few people they arrested indiscriminately. The real elite soldiers were tightly held in the hands of the generals from all over the country, how could they be handed over to Lu Xiangsheng.

If this is all the way things are, then they will give up, and what makes Lu Xiangsheng unable to swallow the most is that the imperial court actually does not give rations of grain and grass. Everything must be done by Lu Xiangsheng himself, with a group of people, without food and grass, now he can have a tie with Li Zicheng and these traitors, Lu Xiangsheng is already thankful in his heart.

Unexpectedly, Chongzhen actually gave him such an order at this time, which undoubtedly forced him directly into a desperate situation.

After some deep thought, Lu Xiangsheng felt that it was necessary to state the predicament he was currently facing to Chongzhen. He immediately took up a pen and wrote a letter of grievance, and gave it to the eunuch who came to deliver the message to take back.

However, before Lu Xiangsheng could wait for Chongzhen's response, he was suddenly attacked by Li Zicheng's army, and his 100,000-strong army was forced to withdraw from the Daimyo's mansion, and the two armies also temporarily ceased fighting.