In winter, the city of Beijing was depressed, and the sun and moon flags at the head of the city were listlessly rolled, just like the same listless soldiers defending the city on the city wall.

Since the southern invasion of the Manchu Tartars, the city gate has not been opened for more than two months, but the Manchu Tartars have not attacked the city, not even close to the city wall of Beijing, and the soldiers defending the city have also changed from the slightest movement at the beginning to the listless, lazy and lazy now.

On the city wall, the soldiers on duty yawned, looked at the scenery outside, and when they got bored, they sat with their backs against the wall, bragging to each other.

"Alas, what can such a day come to an end, I haven't gone out to work for more than two months, and I can't live this year at all." A soldier sighed.

"Who says it's not, the silver has been reissued for three months, but the price has risen so much that this amount of silver is not enough for the family to buy food to chew on. Damn, if it goes on like this, I can't even afford honeycomb coal for cooking! Another soldier sighed.

"Alas, who let us have no ability, if we have the ability of Mr. Chen Qian, will we still have the last meal and not the next meal?" The first soldier said.

"Mr. Chen Qian's ability, half a year ago, he didn't live as well as me, and he didn't give birth to a good son!" Another soldier expressed dissatisfaction.

"To be able to give birth to a good son is ability, your old king has given birth to five or six sons, but there is one who is comparable to Chen Qianzong?" The first soldier pouted.

"That's no comparison, alas, none of my little cubs are angry. Having said that, this time Chen Yue has made a great contribution again, Chen Qian will definitely be promoted again, do you think he will become a general? ”

"It is estimated that a guerrilla general can't escape, and he may become a deputy general, depending on how much grace the emperor has."

...

...

Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, Emperor Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair and frowned, since a few days ago someone reported good news from the city, saying that the Xishan Inspection Division inspected Chen Yue to recover Fangshan County, defeated hundreds of Tartar cavalry, beheaded more than 100, Emperor Chongzhen immediately Longyan Dayue.

The Manchu invasion, the siege of the city and the land, the army of several towns of the imperial court guarded the local area, the orders were different, no one dared to fight with the Manchu, the court was noisy all day long, arguing about who to send the army out of the city and the Manchu decisive battle, but there was no result, because there was no good candidate at all, and no one dared to take on this task. Bazhou, Hejian, Yongqing, and Hengshui have been lost successively, and there is still no result in the court. Under such gloomy clouds, the news that Chen Yue defeated the Manchu Tartars and recovered Fangshan was like a clear stream, which calmed Chongzhen's depressed, angry and anxious heart a little, it turned out that Da Ming was not without people who could fight!

With Chongzhen's meaning, he was about to issue an order to reward Chen Yue immediately, but Zhou Yanru, the first assistant, stopped him, on the grounds that he only listened to Chen Yue's unilateral return to victory, and no one saw or saw the captured head, so it was not appropriate to be in a hurry, and the military department should be asked to send someone to Fangshan to inspect it. Chongzhen thought for a while and thought that what Zhou Yanru said was reasonable, so he waited for the results of the inspection.

But when Shoufu Zhou Yanru left, he vaguely hinted that now that the household department has no more money, I am afraid that he will not even be able to pay for his military exploits.

According to the usual practice, if you seize a head of Dongyu, you will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver, and now Chen Yue has seized more than 100 heads and needs to be rewarded with more than 5,000 taels of silver. Chongzhen couldn't help but be furious, dignified, had he come to such a difficult situation?

In addition to being angry, Chongzhen could only reluctantly accept the reality, it was a day that the household department had no money, and he still owed half a year's salary to the hundred officials, and the soldiers in the Beijing camp also owed a lot of money.

The household department has no money, but the inner treasury also has no money, because just a month ago, Chongzhen allocated the silver deposit in the inner treasury and paid the soldiers in the Beijing camp.

"Your Majesty, there may be someone who can help you solve this problem." Looking at Chongzhen's depressed appearance, Wu Mengming, the deputy commander of the Jinyi Guard on duty, couldn't help but say.

"Who? Which honorable family is it? Chongzhen asked in surprise.

"It's not Xungui, but, it's your daughter, Princess Kunxing." Wu Mengming smiled.

"Kunxing? She can have a few taels of silver in a girl's house. Chongzhen shook his head in disappointment.

"Long live Lord, don't underestimate Princess Kunxing, she is a rich man now, and she is richer than anyone else." Wu Mengming smiled and carefully told Kunxing's glorious deeds.

"What? Kunxing dared to leave the palace without permission, and started a business with outsiders! Chongzhen was furious when he heard this, where is this what a princess should do!

"And you, since you know, why didn't you report it to me earlier, if the matter of Kunxing is known to outsiders, can you afford it?" Chongzhen's face turned cold, and his sharp eyes looked Wu Mengming up and down, Wu Mengming, who knew his character, knew that as long as his next words did not suit his mind, I am afraid that the only way waiting for him was to dismiss the official and expel him.

"Long live Lord, the minister is guilty, but it is really Princess Kunxing's filial piety, and the minister has to help her hide it." Wu Mengming said that Kun Xing saw his father's worries and was bent on relieving his father's worries in detail, and Chongzhen's face changed when he heard it.

Thinking of a little girl in Kunxing, who did not hesitate to show up in order to share her worries and start a business with others, Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh deeply, after all, it was his incompetence as the emperor that made his daughter so.

"Alas, this child is full of filial piety..."Chongzhen sighed, "what kind of business does she do with people, and how much money can she make!" ”

In Chongzhen's heart, Kun Xing is just a child who doesn't know anything, and even if he does business, he is afraid that it will be a small fight.

"Has the emperor ever heard of honeycomb coal?" Wu Mengming asked with a grin.

"Honeycomb coal, but there is a vague impression."

"That's the business of Princess Kunxing and people, now honeycomb coal is popular throughout Beijing, the business can be said to be making money every day, especially this month's soaring prices are making a lot of money, and the princess's dividend this month can probably be more than 10,000 taels of silver!"

"What? 10,000 taels of silver! Chongzhen was so shocked that he almost jumped, he thought it was a small fight, but he didn't expect it to be so profitable!

If you can earn 10,000 taels of silver a month, then you will have a lot more money on hand.

"Who the hell is Kunxing doing business with?" Chongzhen couldn't help but ask.

"Long live this person, you have also heard of it, it is that Xishan Inspector Chen Yue." Wu Mengming replied, and couldn't help but secretly admire Kun Xing's vision in his heart, he was so powerful if he found someone at random, he could make a lot of money in business, and he could defeat Mantar in battle and make great contributions.

"Hey, it's him!" Chongzhen sat back on the dragon chair, his face changing.