In the defense of Beijing, the losses of the Ming army were far greater than those of the Eight Banners of Manchuria.

Among them, Shanhaiguan and Xuanfu, the two armies that are second only to the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, also disappeared with the death of the leading commanders Zhao Shujiao and Man Gui. The combat effectiveness of the troops of Hou Shilu and You Shiwei's Datong and Changping towns was already very weak, and after a bloody battle with the elite of Manchuria, they basically lost their combat effectiveness. As for the "Tianxiong Army" that Lu Xiangsheng hastily assembled, it also suffered heavy losses and was overwhelmed.

The only one who did not suffer much loss was the Suzhou Weaving Yamen Group Training, but because the number was too small, it was difficult to take on the heavy task of counterattacking and pursuing Huang Taiji.

And Zu Dashou and He Kegang, the only ones who still have strong combat effectiveness, once caused a scandal of mutiny on the battlefield because of Yuan Chonghuan's imprisonment, and now they can only try to appease the fetters, and it is difficult to immediately enter the battle.

Therefore, the Ming court could only sit back and watch the Manchurian Emperor Taiji lead the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners, calmly from Xifengkou, and calmly from Xifengkou, until half a month later, Zu Dashou's department gradually settled down, and the Ningxia soldiers led by Ma Shilong, the chief soldier of Ningxia, who were mainly responsible for fighting the Mongols in the Hetao area, rushed to Beijing, and the Ming court had mobile combat force in his hands.

Therefore, the Ming army had to recover the city in the Daming Pass occupied by Huang Taiji.

The battle was led by Sun Chengzong himself, while the Manchurian defenders were led by several generals such as Haoge, Yuetuo, and Duoduo.

These Manchurian generals were either brave and reckless men, or some junior characters who had no experience in leading the army alone, how could they be the opponents of Sun Chengzong, who was shrewd and experienced in commanding operations?

Sun Chengzong led Zu Dashou and Ma Shilong two elite soldiers, and it took only ten days to recover all the cities in the pass, and after besieging Xifengkou for three days, he used the strategy of combining the inside and the outside to break through the pass.

At this point, the situation finally returned to the situation before October of the second year of Chongzhen, at least on the surface.

After completely driving the Manchurian soldiers and horses out of the pass, Emperor Chongzhen's hanging heart finally fell to the ground, and he had the strength to rectify the officials in the court who were eating vegetarian meals-

After the invasion of the Eight Banners of Manchuria into the Guannei, several ministers of the Prime Minister's cabinet naturally couldn't sit still, and the first assistant Han Kuang, the second assistant Qian Longxi, the scholar Zhou Yanru, and the scholar Wen Tiren submitted their resignations to Emperor Chongzhen at the same time, requesting to resign from the cabinet.

Emperor Chongzhen has seen more or less clearly the so-called Donglin Party after this "change of self", most of them are nerds who only know the courage of their tongues, and they do not have much practical ability. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen approved the positions of Han Kuang and Qian Longxi without hesitation, but left Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren in the cabinet to continue to counsel government affairs, and the throne of the first and auxiliary ministers naturally sat under the ass of the more senior Zhou Yanru.

And Wen Tiren thought that his talent and ability were not under the old man Zhou Yanru, and he had already begun to plot to usurp Zhou Yanru's position as the first assistant.

In addition, after the military defeat, Wang Qia, the military secretary of the military department who presided over the military affairs of the imperial court, naturally had no good fruit to eat. There is also a deficit in the treasury and almost can't pay the silver, and the head of the household department is also unlucky. Coupled with the fact that these two people were both members of the Donglin Party, Chongzhen became more and more angry when he saw it.

So these two ministers, who were quite honest officials, were waved by Emperor Chongzhen's pen and escorted to the vegetable market to be beheaded to show the public.

The rest of the officials were promoted and demoted.

In particular, it is worth mentioning that Sun Yuanhua's affairs on behalf of the Jingshi Shenji Battalion were quite effective, and he was appointed by Emperor Chongzhen to be promoted to the governor of Shandong. And Xu Guangqi, who was meritorious in protecting Sun Yuanhua, was promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of Rites. These two have a lot of friendship with Ji Qingwen, and their promotion is a great benefit to Ji Qingwen.

Among the generals who led the army, Hou Shilu, You Shiwei, Ma Shilong, and He Kegang, although they did not care about the results of the battle, they had no merit and hard work after all, and most of them were promoted to the next level.

Although Zu Dashou made such a shocking thing as a mutiny on the battlefield, but now the Liaodong Iron Cavalry under his command is the largest and strongest army in the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court still has to rely on Zu Dashou's strength if it wants to contain and deal with Huang Taiji. Therefore, although Emperor Chongzhen was reluctant, he could only do not reward or punish Zu Dashou in the name of meritorious service, and still let him return to the original place to guard Liaodong.

And Yuan Chonghuan, the Jiliao governor who was originally in Jinzhou and was in charge of Liaodong affairs, although he temporarily saved his life, he was detained in the edict prison and was not immediately punished.

Yuan Chonghuan's teacher, Sun Chengzong, was already physically and mentally exhausted after this dispute, and when he saw that the situation had temporarily stabilized, he wanted to resign and return to his hometown.

However, now there is no one in the court who can replace Sun Chengzong to preside over military affairs.

In order to keep this old superintendent, Emperor Chongzhen specially ordered to entitle Sun Chengzong as the secretary of the military department and the title of Taishi, and crowned Sun Chengzong's son as the hereditary Jinyi Guard to command affairs, and promised Sun Chengzong to only be in charge of the military affairs of the imperial court, and the rest of the miscellaneous affairs were not taken care of.

The position of Taishi is the best official position of a very popular minister, most of which is used to comfort the deceased court ministers, and in the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, only the first minister Zhang Juzheng, who was named Taishi alive.

Such a generous favor was something Sun Chengzong could not refuse, so he had to reluctantly agree, and began to preside over the military affairs of the imperial court, restore the defense of the Ningyuan-Jinzhou-Shanhaiguan line, and at the same time make up for the gap in the defense of the Jizhou-Xifengkou line.

With such a complicated work, Sun Chengzong, an old man who is over the age of old, is naturally very hard, and he urgently needs a few capable helpers to help.

And the most suitable candidate among them is none other than Ji Qingwen.

However, in the battle of Zuo'anmen, after the death of Chen Wenzhao, Ji Qingwen was in a slump, and he could no longer raise interest in handling any military affairs for a while, so he recommended Lu Xiangsheng, who had a lot of experience in the whole army, to help Sun Chengzong, and he himself stayed with the Xiangyong regiment he recruited all day long, waiting for the emperor to release him to return to Suzhou.

In this way, in the middle of December of the second year of Chongzhen, Ji Qingwen, who was stationed in the outer city of Beijing, finally waited for the emperor's will to summon him.

So Ji Qingwen, under the escort of Li Yuanyin, followed the passage of Jingshi, which he had walked countless times, to the Qianqing Palace, the dormitory of Emperor Chongzhen.

At this moment, more than ten days have passed since the "change of self-righteousness", and the government affairs that should be handled have been ordered, and the ministers who should be dealt with have been disposed of, so although Emperor Chongzhen's mood is not very good, he has also recovered a lot.

When he saw Ji Qingwen coming in, he immediately issued an order to exempt himself from false courtesy, and gave him a seat, before he said to Ji Qingwen: "After this battle, the face of the Ming Dynasty is lost, but you are a dog who can handle things quite effectively." Tell me, whatever reward you want, just ask, as long as it is not excessive, I will agree to it. ”

Based on Ji Qingwen's performance on the battlefield, Emperor Chongzhen's decision to reward meritorious deeds is also the proper meaning of the question.

Regarding this point, Ji Qingwen had already discussed it with Li Yan, and felt that it was better to pinch the Suzhou Weaving Admiral first, who could earn silver taels.

So Ji Qingwen followed the idea discussed with Li Yan and said: "Your Majesty, this time the Manchurian Emperor Taiji invaded the Guannei, the emperor's face was gloomy, and we as courtiers also lost people, and if the emperor did not issue a decree to punish him, it would already be the emperor's grace, how could the ministers dare to ask for a reward?" ”

Ji Qingwen's words were unexpected by Emperor Chongzhen, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "A good official like you who understands current affairs and ethics is not much in this court now......

He changed his words and suddenly said: "At that time, during the first battle of Zuo'anmen, I heard that you had a face-to-face conversation with Huang Taiji, and many people said that you had made peace with the Manchurian enemy chieftain in private, and you secretly released a captured Huang Taiji's fierce general, so he spared you, is there such a thing?" ”

Ji Qingwen was stunned for a moment when he heard this, his nerves suddenly became nervous, and after thinking for a long time, he finally replied: "There is such a thing, Your Majesty." At that time, our army was no longer able to fight, and the minister had to sell face to Huang Taiji, otherwise these brothers of life and death under my command would be wiped out......"

When Chongzhen heard this, he nodded vigorously and said, "What did you say to Huang Taiji, but I didn't actually take it to heart. Since you told the truth in front of me today, then I have the bottom in my heart, and naturally I won't embarrass you. Do you understand this truth? ”