Beijing Forbidden City, Wuying Palace, only thirty-two years old Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen sat there with a depressed face, the whole person seemed to be drained, he held a piece of music in his hand, the song of the Battle of Songjin, defeated, defeated, the whole army was annihilated, the original Ning Jin's men and horses, plus the people and horses who went to reinforcements, not many people came back, and almost all the territories outside the customs were lost.

The four cities of Songshan, Jinzhou, Tashan and Xingshan fell, and Zu Dashou surrendered the city, resulting in the elite of the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty and the grain of China. The great earthquake in Beijing, since then, outside the Shanhai Pass of the Ming Dynasty, only a lonely city in Ningyuan remains, and the Guanningjin defense line has been completely destroyed. The Ming Dynasty spent 20 years, and countless manpower and financial resources built up the defense line was destroyed, and countless important ministers were all lost in this battle, and Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen was really difficult to accept.

Although Zhu Youzhen is only thirty-two years old, his temples are already gray, and the wrinkles on his face are also very obvious, he looks like a fifty-year-old man.

"Your Majesty, now Ningyuan is a lonely city, unable to defend, my Ming elite is lost in this battle, Zu Dashou has surrendered, Zhang Ruolin has been imprisoned, the most important thing at the moment is to keep Shanhaiguan, Shanhaiguan is an important barrier for me to resist the Qing army's entry into the customs, the city is high and thick, known as the first pass in the world, the Qing army wants to break through, it is not so easy, the elite of the nine sides can be re-recruited, I still have a chance to reorganize the mountains and rivers!"

Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, is standing there at the moment, although he knows that the Ming Dynasty has been in turmoil, but he can't say it, he can only cheer up the emperor, he is the first assistant minister of the Ming Dynasty, although he has no name as the prime minister, but he has the fact of the prime minister, at this time, the monarch and the ministers still need to have firm confidence in order to redeem the defeat.

Zhu Youxiao smiled bitterly, and sighed helplessly: "How many chances are there, since I ascended the throne, there have been displaced people everywhere, I don't know why, I have always longed for great governance, but I didn't expect that in the end, the situation became more and more erosive, Cao Wenzhao, who was known as the world's good general, died in battle, Lu Xiangsheng died in battle, Yang Sichang was also martyred, and now even Hong Chengchou is ...... Ay! I feel more and more that the dream of Zhongxing is really out of reach, is it true that the ancestors' country and society are really going to be lost in my hands? ”

"Your Majesty, although Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Sichang are gone, Sun Chuanting is still there! The emperor, the minister asked the emperor to release Sun Chuanting, give him soldiers and horses, first destroy the thieves, and then break the Manchu Dynasty, the emperor, Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, was captured by Sun Chuanting? Zhou Yanru also hurriedly said at the moment, you must not let the emperor lose confidence, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will really be finished.

"Sun Chuanting? Yes, Sun Chuanting, how did I forget him? Back then, he joined forces with Hong Chengchou and repeatedly defeated the thieves, and Li Zicheng and others were almost killed by him, okay! Let him lead the army to pacify the thieves, as long as the thieves settle down, there will be a chance at that time. ”

Chongzhen heard Zhou Yanru's words, and suddenly seemed to be beaten with chicken blood, very excited, for Sun Chuanting, Chongzhen is naturally no stranger, King Gao Yingxiang was taken by Sun Chuanting, Li Zicheng has also suffered losses in his hands repeatedly, it can be said that Sun Chuanting has an absolute victory.

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639), the imperial court transferred Sun Chuanting to the military affairs of Baoding, Shandong and Henan, and Sun Chuanting immediately asked to see the emperor, but it was not successful due to Yang Sichang's obstruction, Sun Chuanting was angry in his heart, and he took a leave of absence. But Yang Sichang still didn't let go, and said that Sun Chuanting said that the illness was a prevarication. Emperor Chongzhen was furious, and after demoting Sun Chuanting to a commoner, he imprisoned him pending a verdict. If it wasn't for Zhou Yanru's words, Chongzhen really couldn't think of Sun Chuanting, and it was as if he had grasped a life-saving straw at the moment.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."Just when Chongzhen was discussing with Zhou Yanru, the eunuch Wang Chengen ran in with an excited face, bowed to the ground, and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, great joy, Cao Bianjiao is back." ”

"Cao Bianjiao? Cao Bianjiao is back, where is it, let him come and see me quickly! Hearing Cao Bianjiao's name, Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen was excited again, at this time, the Ming Dynasty talent withered, this fierce general who fought for the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years, is definitely a priceless treasure, Chongzhen naturally attaches great importance to it.

Wang Chengen hurriedly replied: "Report to the emperor, Cao Bianjiao is not in the capital, but in Dengzhou, this is a six-hundred-mile urgent document sent by Zeng Ying, the governor of Denglai, which tells the matter in detail!" Wang Chengen hurriedly presented the piece in his hand and handed it over to Chongzhen and Zhu Youzhen.

Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen also immediately finished reading, opened it and read it quickly, closed it again soon after, handed it to Zhou Yanru, and said with a smile: "Okay!" When Cao Wenzhao died in battle, I saw Cao Bianjiao, I knew that he was a talent, but I didn't expect him to live up to the real expectations, and he actually killed back from the hinterland of the Tartars, and captured more than 1,000 people and captured hundreds of warships, which is really a happy event! ”

Zhou Yanru also read it quickly, and also laughed with the emperor, and said: "It is indeed a happy event, although our army was defeated in this battle, but Cao Bianjiao's return from a small victory can be regarded as a kind of comfort, the emperor, the country is at the time of employing people, and Cao Bianjiao should be rewarded heavily!" ”

"Zeng Ying said in the chapter, Cao Bianjiao because of the war injury, is now recuperating in Dengzhou, it will take a while to recover, now Huainan Zhang Xianzhong is rampant, it is better to give Cao Bianjiao Mountain Fenglu the post of chief military officer, overseeing the Jiangbei thief and all the soldiers, and Zeng Ying, this person is upright, strong temperament, the current Jiliao Governor is lacking, it is better to transfer Zeng Ying to the post of Jiliao Governor, what does the emperor think?"

Zhou Yanru also recommended two people to Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen in a timely manner, Zeng Ying once worked with him, he is a talent, Zhou Yanru knows his talent very well, at the moment the governor of Jiliao is a hot potato, ordinary people dare not follow, but he believes that Zeng Ying will be duty-bound and unhesitating, and Cao Bianjiao, for Zhou Yanru, he is just a general, since he is injured, let him stay in Shandong.

Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen also nodded, expressed his approval, and immediately issued an order: "What you said is good, just do it, but if you really want to reuse Cao Bianjiao, order the cabinet to draft an edict, immediately send it to Dengzhou, and transfer Zeng Ying as the governor of Jiliao, in addition, Cao Bianjiao is not chaotic in the face of danger, loyal to the country, and captured so many material prisoners, when there is a reward, he will be rewarded with brocade clothes and jade belts, 100 silver coins, into the Lord of Zhongyi, and crowned Cao Bianjiao as the general of Pingliao, and went to conquer Zhang Xianzhong, and he continued to command the soldiers and horses of the headquarters, and after recuperating from his injuries, Good students serve the country. ”

Chongzhen also rewarded Cao Bianjiao a lot, in order to win people's hearts, but also to boost morale, at this time morale is the most important, Cao Bianjiao's small victory, for Zhu Youzhen, is very rare. He must come up with it to make a fuss, in this way, he can set an example for the people of the world, an example of loyalty to the country, a model of hope for the Ming Dynasty, and the political purpose is very strong.