In the middle of February, the Qing army went out of the customs, the Beijing division lifted martial law, the Qing army plundered more than 2,000 miles in the pass, broke more than 70 cities, involving Shuntian, Baoding, Hejian, Zhending, Shunde, Yanzhou, Jinan provinces, galloping across the country as if entering no man's land, looting the population, property countless, and the Ming army in Gyeonggi, Shandong with hundreds of thousands of troops but never dared to fight, just far away to let it plunder.

When the Qing army went out of the customs, the people were sleepy and tired, and the wind and snow were muddy, almost vulnerable, the Ming army did not dare to intercept, but they cherished their reputation, in order to avoid the insult of Azig saying "all officials are exempt" last time, they simply did not even do the work of tailgating. There are also those who are bold, and Sun Maolin, the sub-eunuch of Jizhen, quickly blocked the border wall pass, but this dead eunuch engaged in extortion and strictly ordered the Qing soldiers who fell behind to hand over fifty taels of silver each, and ordered the cannon to be fired without giving money.

The courtiers were secretly happy that they had escaped a catastrophe, the Ming Emperor couldn't swallow this breath, the Qing army walked on the front foot, and he settled the account on the back foot. The military department first impeached the guilty ministers, and divided the defeat into five major cases - the case of the entrance of the wall, the case of the continued entry of Qingshankou, the case of the ruined city, the case of the martyrdom of King De, and the case of the full exit, and listed the guilty ministers in each case: Inspector Liu Yuliang, Governor Wu Aheng, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, Governor Chen Zubao, Zhang Qiping, Yan Jizu, Inspector Song Xuezhu, Zanhua Yang Tinglin, Director Deng Xizhao, Gao Qiqian, Sub-supervisor Sun Maolin, Chief Soldier Wu Guojun, Chen Guowei, Wang Pu, Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu, Hou Gongji, Liu Guangzuo, Zu Dashou, Ni Chong, Liu Zeqing, Zu Kuan, Li Chongzhen, Hou Gongji, Cao Bianjiao, ......, almost all the high-ranking civil and military officials who participated in the war were on the list, Zhang Jinyan also denounced the first assistant Liu Yuliang for his lack of internal and external merit, and the inspector who went out of Beijing became a joke, and Yang Sichang, the secretary of the Ministry of War, had the idea of depositing Kou's heart, and the central dispatch was completely improper, and the naturalized general soldier Li Yu first had no intention of chasing the enemy after prevarication, but there was no head as proof of success, and there was a suspicion of falsely reporting war exploits, and these three people should also be severely punished.

Zhang Jinyan started, and other Taiwanese officials immediately followed up, and the recitals of impeaching the guilty officials flew all over the sky, and the officials who were involved in the incident were not willing to wait for death, and they all set up their own merits - Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu desperately boasted to the military department about their brave performance in the two battles of Tuxiao River and Qi River, and handed over more than 700 heads as evidence, and blamed Jia Zhuang's escape from the battle as Lu Xiangsheng's incompetence in command; Yan Jizu and Song Xuezhu not only handed over more than 600 heads to prove that they had a share of the great victory of Tuxiao River and Qi River, but also exposed Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen for collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, and secretly led the Eastern Captives to attack and plunder Jinan, which led to the loyal sacrifice of King De, and the existing people confessed as evidence; Gao Qiqian, Liu Zeqing, Liu Guangzuo and others were also unwilling to be convicted, and they defended themselves one after another for containing the great victory of Tuxiao River and Qi River, and also offered more than 100 heads as evidence.

The courtiers are still arguing about whether Li Yu has falsely reported his military exploits, and the nobles and children of the Jingshi also ran to the military headquarters with their heads to recount their merits, and they had to pull themselves into the great victory.

The first level has always been a hot commodity on the black market, and the recent trading is very active, but the supply is sufficient, and the price has not increased much, what is going on? According to Liu Wenzhong, the eunuch of the supervising army, the naturalized general soldier believed in Buddhism and could not bear to see the deceased's head in a different place, so the naturalized army did not behead the level, and the captives were sent to Fengzhou to do coolies. The emperor has money to take and doesn't care, but Liu Wenzhong has money in his hands, and when he returns to the palace, he not only pays attention to food and clothing, but also gives the filial piety silver to the ladies and eunuchs in charge, and the emperor is suspicious and immediately asks him where the money comes from? I really couldn't hide it, Liu Wenzhong had to confess honestly - the battle of Tuxiao River was a sea of corpses, he felt that it was too cheap to let the hateful Dongyu get a whole corpse, and after the war, he quietly led people to dig up the corpse and behead it, and the intact heads were no less than 2,000, some of them were filial piety to the power of the palace, and some of them were sold at a high price, and he also confessed that Yan Jizu, Song Xuezhu, Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu and others also did the same thing, but these people did contribute a lot to the victory. After hearing this, the emperor scolded Liu Wenzhong and sent this grave digger to Changping to summon the naturalized general soldiers to Beijing to face Shengxugong.

Since the emperor knew the truth, he disdained the guys who held the first rank to reap the benefits, but he sighed that the naturalized general soldier was a person, and he would rather give up the opportunity to become an official and become a knight than let the dead be buried in the ground, which is benevolence and righteousness! The spoils of bloody and desperate gain, and I still want to give you a copy, this is loyalty! The courtiers were embarrassed to impeach the naturalized general soldier for "first prevaricating and then having no intention of chasing the enemy".

Compared with the naturalized general army, how unbearable the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were, especially Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were given high hopes, one exaggerated and ended up with a defeated and dead army, this person died innocently, and the pension and nickname were not given, and the other was even more hateful, first refused to take office under the pretext of deafness, and then supported the army to protect themselves and could not retreat. The more the emperor thought about it, the more angry he became, and immediately convened a meeting in front of the ministers, and in front of the ministers, he ordered Jinyi Wei to arrest Sun Chuanting and put him in prison to discuss the crime, and ordered Yang Sichang, a scholar and secretary of the military department, to check the crimes of the wrecked ministers one by one with the military department.

Yang Sichang was a little uneasy, the emperor wanted to build a big prison, this errand that offended people was not easy to do, he hesitated for a while, but said another thing: "The naturalized general soldier has been delayed in the future, but he has gone to Juyong Pass, Your Majesty, should the naturalized general soldier not have to come to Beijing and return to the town directly?" ”

"No need, Chen Xinjia has been appointed as the governor of Xuanda, and he has arrived at Juyong Pass to command the army, and he wrote to say that the naturalized general army will come to Beijing in a few days," the emperor waved his hand, and then said with some excitement, "The ministers think that I treat people meanly, in fact, as long as I do things honestly, why should I be embarrassed by others, I just want to summon the naturalized general army and give him another favor, so as to tell the subjects of the world that if the minister does not live up to the king, the king will not live up to the minister!" ”

"Your Majesty is benevolent, and the ministers know it, but pedantic people may not be aware of it, and it is even more difficult to expect that someone has malicious intentions to take the opportunity to make trouble, Your Majesty, the minister has the courage to say bluntly, don't let the naturalized general soldier have an accident!" Yang Sichang suddenly knelt on the ground and started to play - the courtiers and Li Yu are incompatible, and they have long had the intention of killing him, if someone has a hot brain and makes a black hand against Li Yu, naturalization will inevitably change, and the risk is too great.

"Yang Aiqing is old and seeks the country, I understand!" The Emperor nodded solemnly.

After the ministers retreated, the emperor pondered for a while, and summoned the eunuch Wang Zhixin, who was in charge of the ceremonial supervisor, Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and Wu Weiying, the military affairs of the Jingying camp, to discuss secretly.

When it was dark, Wang Zhixin and Luo Yangxing went out of the palace and rushed back to Jinyiwei to command the envoys, and found that Zhang Shi'an, a thousand households of Jinyiwei's naturalization of thousands of households, was sitting in the lobby - this guy is now completely developed, not only has the strongest business ability, can provide the most timely and detailed Liaodong information, but also leads all Jinyiwei brothers to get rich together, and dominates the entire private salt market in Zhili, Zhang Shi'an has become a hot figure in Jinyiwei, and the new and old spies all regard him as a model for learning, if they are not dead or alive, they will not leave naturalization, It is very likely that he will be transferred to the command and envoy to take charge of the matter.

"Wang Gonggong, Lord Luo, his subordinates have seized more than a dozen profiteers who have fornicated with Dongjiao, and the cases are all ironclad evidence, and our Jinyiwei has made great contributions." Zhang Shi'an smiled and handed over a roster - Fengzhou wants to run Shandong, of course, it has to crack down on competitors, and the vast majority of the roster are Qilu merchants who trade with the Qing State privately.

There is a job to do to copy the house, the emperor can make a fortune, Dongchang, Jinyiwei's brothers can also get a little light, Wang Zhixin and Luo Yangxing are so happy that they can't keep their mouths together, Wang Zhixin praised repeatedly: "Our Jinyiwei is the most capable of Xiao Zhang, and every time I come to Beijing, there are happy events." ”

"The emperor is looking for you two to go, can you talk about the big boss coming to Beijing?" Zhang Shi'an pretended to be modest and asked in a low voice - "Big Boss" is the name of Li Yu in the inner circle of Dongchang and Jinyiwei, everyone understands whose food is eaten and whose money is earned.

Luo Yangxing nodded: "My father-in-law and I are still converging on the way back, who is the most suitable to send to protect the big boss?" Xiao Zhang, you came just in time, immediately go and choose some reliable and capable brothers, the big boss and his guards live in the barracks outside the Xuanwu Gate this time, and the guards in the big camp will be handed over to you, and I will personally supervise the surrounding vigilance. ”

"Our family has been on an errand in the palace for many years, and I have never seen the emperor worry about anyone so much, we must be cautious, even if we risk one hundred and eighty lives, we can't let the big boss lose a single hair, remember, the whereabouts of the big boss must not be leaked, Cao Huachun of the master of ceremonies, and Wu Mengda, the fellow of your Jinyi Guard, have always been close to Wenchen, and they can't let their people interfere in." Wang Zhixin also solemnly told him that he had invested no less than 100,000 taels of silver in Fengzhou before and after, and he was most afraid of an accident with the big boss in the background.

In a large courtyard in Beijing, a large group of people were shouting excitedly, including a pawn of a peddler in cloth clothes and rough hands, a poor scholar with simple clothes and elegant manners, a person with a face full of flesh and a fierce look in his eyes, and a few bald monks, and a few small hats in green clothes standing in the middle, but their gestures were more like officials.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is news from the DPRK that the Beiyu will come to Beijing in the next two days, this person recognizes the thief as his father, colludes with Jiannu, and tries in vain to steal my great rivers and mountains with the chaos of China, and he also instigates the emperor to negotiate peace with the Dongyu with the military department. A man in his fifties who looked like an official shouted.

"Kill this traitor!"

"Serve the Ming Dynasty and swear to kill this thief!"

……

The crowd was full of passion, raising their arms and shouting.

"I heard that the naturalized general army just won a big battle some time ago, it doesn't look like he was with Jiannu!" A scholar-like man muttered quietly.

"You speak for a traitor, you are also a traitor, beat this dog traitor!" The crowd immediately became angry, and they rushed up and knocked the scholar to the ground.

The old official waved his hand and said: "Die for righteousness, die as you deserve, the cowardly just go away, the gentleman does things above board, there are many Ming sons gathered in Beijing tonight, you are not the only one who swears to kill the thief, don't be afraid, there will be people in the court and China who will speak for you and serve the country without guilt!" ”

Gongshun Bo Wu Weiying is an honest man, after taking over as the governor of Beijing, he has been cautious, not seeking merit but seeking no fault, compared to the death of his predecessor Xiangcheng Bo Li Shouqi is much more down-to-earth, after entering the palace and the emperor to talk with the emperor directly into the barracks, several groups of people came to him were blocked out of the camp - Wu Weiying's ancestors were Mongolians, in the Yongle Dynasty with the tribe to Shun Ming meritorious, for the family to pass on a hereditary title, in his opinion Li Yu is a Hu people, the Han people said that it was completely boastful, The future of the Li family will definitely be the same as the Wu family, and they will eat and wait for death, since the emperor greets him, of course he should take more care of this kind.

Wu Weiying waited for Li Yu in the afternoon of the next day, and the guards along the way had been arranged, and both sides of the road were full of official and military posts, leading from outside the city to the barracks outside the Xuanwu Gate. The people were taken aback by this battle, thinking that a big man was coming, and they gathered on the side of the road to watch the excitement, but they saw clearly that it was a group of bearded horsemen who shaved their hair, and then they booed - the people of the capital were knowledgeable and felt that Daming was too exalted of these barbarians. Li Yuzheng was chatting with Wang Zhixin, Wu Weiying, and Luo Yangxing, and frowned when he heard the boos, and glanced at Zhang Shi'an, Zhang Shi'an nodded, and immediately led the Flying Tiger to speed up and rush to Xuanwumen, but the team had just entered Xizhimen and an accident happened.

"The naturalized general army came to encourage the imperial court to negotiate peace with Jiannu, and this northern captive who forgot his ancestors and recognized the thief as his father wanted to betray the Ming Dynasty."

"Traitors and traitors can be killed, old and young masters!"

Suddenly someone pushed away the soldiers on the side of the road and rushed towards Li Yu's Daxu with a loud noise, and the crowd immediately rioted. Mo Rige and Gao Heizi hurriedly led the guards to surround Li Yu, and the Flying Tiger Rider also raised his bow and arrow, and the horse gun - someone in the crowd felt for sticks and short knives, obviously with bad intentions.

This kind of assassination method is too clumsy, it is like coming to die, no, it may be a trap - Li Yu's heart moved, and he violently pushed away the guards, and shouted to Hadari and Rabudu, "Don't do it, beware of fraud!" ”

"Li Shuai, our family is angry for you," Wang Zhixin's face was pale, these people must have come to die, some people want to make a bloody case, in order to arouse public anger and force the emperor to kill people, if the high-ranking officials present at the court can't run away, these scholars are so vicious, waving their hands and roaring, "These chaotic people are slaves and spies, and they want to assassinate the court officials and kill them!" ”

"Yes, it must be Jiannu who is making trouble, sons, kill them!" Wu Weiying also reacted and immediately gave an order to the officers and soldiers of the Beijing battalion.

"Catch more alive, don't rush to kill." The old spy Luo Yangxing reminded loudly.

Xizhimen fell into a scuffle, the Jinyi guard, the Beijing battalion officers and soldiers shouted "kill the Dongyu", "beat the spies" to block the assassination of the mob and beat, the mob is also fierce enough, while resisting stubbornly, while still shouting "Long live my emperor" and "Serve the country is not guilty". Zhang Shi'an slashed two mobs with a knife, and then ordered his entourage to blow the trumpet, and a large group of ordinary people with red cloth wrapped around their arms rushed out from all corners, together with Jinyi guards and officers and soldiers to surround the mob and beat to the death, until they couldn't move before they tied up - Zhang Shi'an was not hanged on a tree, and also pulled some relatives and nobles to protect Li Yu, these people have business and savings in Fengzhou, of course, they don't want the big boss Li Yu to make a mistake, Jiading Bo Zhou Kui saw the letter of his distant nephew Zhou Yi and immediately took the lead in responding, and all the prefectures sent family members and thugs to help. The mob was outnumbered, and soon they couldn't stand it, screaming and fleeing in all directions, but Wang Zhixin still didn't give up, and ordered Jinyi Wei to chase after him, and he must wipe out all the spies who had infiltrated the Beijing Division.

With chickens and dogs jumping all the way, Li Yu entered the barracks outside the Xuanwu Gate, and then he enjoyed the highest-level guards rarely seen in the Ming Dynasty - the Flying Tiger Battalion occupied a large area of barracks, tightly surrounding the mansion where Li Yu lived in the middle; On the periphery of the Flying Tiger Battalion, the officers and soldiers of the Beijing Battalion were on high alert, almost three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, and Zhang Shi'an also led the Jinyi Guards to patrol everywhere at any time; Out of the barracks, the dark posts of Jinyi Weiming Gang were all over the streets and alleys, and the "Xuanwu masses" composed of family members and thugs from various prefectures were also waiting day and night at various intersections around them, and such strict guards were like putting Li Yu in an iron cage.

When night fell, the lights in the Wuying Hall were bright, the emperor patted a stack of folds, sat on the throne with a gloomy face, and the cabinet ministers trembled and bowed their heads silently-this evening, someone reported that the naturalized general army had just entered the Beijing Division, and suddenly burst out to commit murder, and the Jinyi Guard and the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp also joined forces to kill innocents, and the corpses in Xizhimen were everywhere, and the blood flowed like a river, and the people of Beijing were boiling with resentment, and they asked the court to severely punish the murderers; And Wang Zhixin came to report that some people wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of assassinating the naturalized general army to provoke a popular rebellion, and the officers and soldiers of Jinyiwei and the Beijing camp killed dozens of people on the spot and arrested more than 100 people, including many Jiangyang thieves wanted by the government.

"I know what's going on, someone wants to force me to kill the naturalized soldiers, I can't afford this, these righteous men and gentlemen think that they can do whatever they want with righteousness in hand, and they are willing to be in the company of Jiangyang thieves, they are really well-dressed beasts, Xue Aiqing, how do you say this matter should be handled?" The emperor finally spoke, pointing at Xue Guoguan and asking—Liu Yuliang has been deposed, and this person has taken over as the first assistant to the cabinet.

Xue Guoguan ran into trouble as soon as he took office, although he hated the Qingliu who had not achieved enough things and had more than enough failures to die, but he wanted to offend people by turning big things into small things, and replied stubbornly: "This matter is not trivial, since it is a matter of courtiers, can Your Majesty transfer this case from Jinyiwei to the Criminal Department for trial?" ”

The emperor sneered and ignored Xue Guoguan, turned his face to Yang Sichang and said: "I want to summon the naturalized general soldier as soon as possible, and the military department can find him tomorrow to talk about his merits, Aiqing told him that I will ensure that he has no worries in Beijing!" ”