On the first day of July in the fifth year of Chongzhen, Taimiao on the outskirts of the capital.

This day can be said to be the happiest day since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, under the bloody battle of hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers led by Zhenguo Gong, all the internal and external troubles faced by the Ming Dynasty were wiped out!

Li Chuang, the thieves, the Manchu Tartars, the Mongolian Tartars, and the Korean State were all wiped out by the Ming soldiers one by one, and from now on, the Ming Dynasty can be reborn from the ashes, concentrate on restoring national strength and reinvigorating the national prestige!

On this day, the Taimiao can be described as a sea of people, and more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians poured into the capital and Beizhili, etc., and they were excited to catch up with this grand event in the world when they watched on the periphery of the Taimiao.

In the Taimiao, Emperor Chongzhen led hundreds of civil and military officials to sacrifice to the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and then personally recited the sacrificial text aloud, and told the emperors of the Ming Dynasty that the foreign captives were wiped out and the Ming Dynasty was prosperous.

At this time, Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, was also among the many ministers of civil and military affairs, standing quietly and solemnly.

On Liu Yunwei's side are Chen Xinjia, the first assistant of the cabinet, and Sun Chengzong, the secretary of the Ministry of War.

As early as half a month ago, after Emperor Chongzhen received the good news of the left and right armies one after another, he convened Chen Xinjia, the first assistant of the cabinet, and Sun Chengzong, the secretary of the military department, to discuss the aftermath of the war.

Emperor Chongzhen said the worry in his heart, that is, after Zhenguo Gong achieved such a great victory, the imperial court was already unsealed and rewarded. Now that Liu Yunwei is the prince of Zhenguo, commanding the most elite army of hundreds of thousands in the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that he is above 10,000 people under one person, and the imperial court can't make Liu Yunwei king, right?

If Emperor Chongzhen really crowned Liu Yunwei, the Duke of Zhenguo, as the king, it would not be a reward for him, but he would sentence Liu Yunwei, the Duke of Zhenguo, to death! When the time comes, Liu Yunwei's power will be high and the power will dominate the world, and there will be only one way to die!

In the face of the current problem, Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong were silent, and neither of them dared to speak on such a major matter.

Emperor Chongzhen was also full of sadness, and the three of them were speechless for a while.

Just when Emperor Chongzhen, Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong were in a dilemma, Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, was delivered. Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly opened it and took a look, only to see that there was only one sentence written on it: "Minister, please go to Beijing alone to restore your life!" ”

After Emperor Chongzhen watched the recital, his face was full of incredulity, and he said to Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong: "What Zhenguo Gong said is the truth? ”

Chen Xinjia's face turned pale and he didn't know what to say, while Sun Chengzong frowned and said: "Your Majesty can order the Duke of Zhenguo to go south from Miyun Town to Beijing, and at the same time give an order to Ma Ke, the chief military officer of Miyun Town, and order him to secretly reorganize the armament in case of accidents. ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded, then shook his head and said, "If the Duke of Zhenguo really leads his army south, will Ma Ke be able to stop it?" ”

Hearing this, Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong glanced at each other, and both of them said with a wry smile: "I can't stop it!" ”

"Alas!"

Emperor Chongzhen sighed heavily and said: "Then don't do it too much, just give an order, let the Duke of Zhenguo enter Beijing, and pay tribute to the Taimiao with me!" ”

In the Taimiao, Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong looked at the scene in front of them, and they all recalled the previous conversation with Emperor Chongzhen, and the eyes of the two looking at Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, were extremely complicated, and at the same time full of admiration.

Whether it was Chen Xinjia or Sun Chengzong, they never thought that Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, would really enter the capital with only twenty personal guards and iron cavalry as he said in his compromise, and in addition, every soldier of the expeditionary army remained unchanged and continued to garrison outside the fortress!

Sun Chengzong looked at Emperor Chongzhen, who was reading out the sacrificial text, and said secretly in his heart: "The sky protects my Emperor Ming, when the state affairs are about to collapse, Daming has obtained a loyal minister and good general like Zhenguo Gong!" It's just that this will happen ......"

Sun Chengzong was thinking, but he heard Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo beside him, say in a low voice: "Elder Chen Ge, Lord Sun, this prince has something to ask for, and please don't shirk the two adults." ”

Chen Xinjia, who was next to him, hurriedly smiled and said with a smile: "Zhenguo Gong, please speak, as long as I can do it, I will definitely do it!" ”

Sun Chengzong hurriedly smiled and said, "Zhenguo Gong, please speak!" ”

"Lord Sun, this time this prince entered the capital to face the saint for three things, and these three things require the help of the two adults."

Hearing this, Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong both thought of something, and their faces were not very good-looking, but they still suppressed the surging emotions in their hearts and listened carefully.

"The first thing is to rebuild the Daning Protectorate and the Hanhai Protectorate in the hometown of the Mongolian tribes, and for the candidates for the Metropolitan Protector, this Duke thinks that Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Huguang, will be promoted to the Metropolitan Protector of Daning, and Wen Poyu, the chief military officer of Jizhou Town, will be appointed as the Metropolitan Protector of the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate; In the homeland of the Korean state, the Andong Protectorate was rebuilt, and Wu Xing, the chief military officer of Liaoyang, served as the Grand Protector of the Andong Metropolitan Protectorate. The Nuer Gandu Division was reorganized into the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate, and Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, was appointed as the Grand Protector of the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate. Finally, this prince suggested that in addition to retaining Shanhai Town and Liaodong Town, all the towns of Liaodong and Nuer Gandusi should be abolished! ”

Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong were both excited after hearing this, and they were even more shocked in their hearts, this is a reappearance of the majesty of the Han and Tang Dynasties!

However, Sun Chengzong still asked: "Then how can the rest of the general soldiers from all walks of life be rewarded?" What about the arrangement of soldiers and horses in each town? ”

Liu Yunwei said with a smile: "My father's suggestion is to give the general soldiers of each town a knighthood, and as for the arrangement of soldiers and horses in each town, it involves the second thing that my father wants to propose." ”

Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong were shocked when they heard this, and hurriedly asked, "What's the matter!" ”

Liu Yunwei, the Duke of Zhenguo, said with a straight face: "This Duke is ready to ask His Majesty for war, send a conquest of the Western Regions, re-establish the Beiting Protectorate and the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions, and reopen the Silk Road!" ”

Chen Xinjia exclaimed when he heard this: "Zhenguo Gong still wants to lead the troops to the battle? ”

Liu Yunwei laughed when he heard this, and said, "Haha! Bengong will not lead the army to the expedition, and Bengong has said that he will not go south to enter the customs again. In the future, this duke is ready to resign from His Majesty, find a pasture outside the Saiwai to graze, and enjoy the glory and wealth. ”

Chen Xinjia's face was full of disbelief when he heard this, and Sun Chengzong stared at Liu Yunwei for a while, suddenly his eyes were slightly red, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Then who is the Zhenguo Gong going to escort to lead the army?" ”

"Chief Officer of Tongzhou Town, Lu Ying!"

Sun Chengzong and Chen Xinjia glanced at each other and asked almost in unison, "What about the third thing?" ”

Liu Yunwei said with a smile: "Of course, I ask Your Majesty to send some money to my father, and I can go to buy land outside the Saiwai!" Ha ha! ”

After finishing speaking, Emperor Chongzhen also finished reciting the sacrificial text, this Taimiao ancestor worship is also about to end, Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, and the ministers stepped forward to bow together, but Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong's hearts were mixed, and they couldn't believe that what they heard just now was true, as if they were dreaming and unreal.

That night, Emperor Chongzhen convened Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong's imperial study to discuss matters, when Emperor Chongzhen listened to the three things proposed by Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, his face was also complicated, and after a long time, he sighed and said: "Zhenguo Gong is really, the dry city of the country!" ”

Sun Chengzong asked softly: "Your Majesty, how should we deal with the three things mentioned by the Zhenguo Gong?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen pondered for a while and said: "The first two things mentioned by Zhenguo Gong can be played accurately, and these two things are all meritorious actions for the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, now all parts of the Ming Dynasty are checking the land, preparing to distribute land to the people of the world, and the commercial tax and mining tax in various places are also growing. The money and grain in the treasury can still support the expenses of the army's westward expedition, so I decided to play on it! Do the two Aiqing have any objections? ”

When Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong heard this, they hurriedly got up and said, "The minister has no objection!" ”

In fact, in the hearts of Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong, the Ming Dynasty's expedition to the Western Regions only has benefits and no harms. After all, the main force of the Western Expedition army is from the Zhenguo Gong lineage, and if the Ming Dynasty recovers the Western Regions and reopens the Silk Road, the country will only get stronger and stronger; And if this battle is lost, the soldiers and horses in all parts of the Ming Dynasty will not lose much, and almost all of the losses are the subordinates of Zhenguogong, which can just balance the situation of Zhenguogong's dominance within the imperial court, the best of both worlds!

At this time, what Chen Xinjia and Sun Chengzong really cared about was actually the third thing, how Emperor Chongzhen would deal with the placement of Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo!

I saw Emperor Chongzhen sitting on the dragon chair, his brows furrowed and he was silent, and it took a long time before he said: "I heard that there are still some old soldiers in the old mansion of Zhenguo Gong in Chengdu, but is this? ”

Sun Chengzong nodded and said: "Your Majesty, those old soldiers are the old soldiers who followed General Liu Ting to the battlefield and died and survived a hundred battles. ”

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but nod when he heard this, then sighed and said, "You all stand down, I want to be quiet for a while." ”

Sun Chengzong and Chen Xinjia glanced at each other, then bowed down together.

After the two walked out of the imperial study, Chen Xinjia said worriedly: "Lord Sun, what do you mean by Your Majesty?" ”

"Your Majesty is hesitating."

Sun Chengzong said: "Your Majesty still can't make up your mind! ”

After speaking, Sun Chengzong strode away, leaving only Chen Xinjia, who was still pondering the words of Emperor Chongzhen just now.

In the imperial study, Emperor Chongzhen's face was solemn, and he muttered: "Zhenguo Gong really gave me a problem!" ”

Wang Chengen, who had never spoken on the side, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the old slave mentor thinks that Zhenguo Gong has already presented a plan for His Majesty, otherwise, how could Zhen Guogong take the initiative to go south to Beijing alone?" ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen stood up suddenly, looked at Wang Chengen in surprise, and said, "Is that really the case?" That Zhen Guogong is the hero of my Ming Dynasty and the benefactor of my Zhu family! ”

At midnight, Liu Yunwei, the prince of Zhenguo, still did not fall asleep in the pavilion, as if he was waiting for someone.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a teenage young man walked in, saluted Liu Yunwei, and said, "The villain has seen the prince of Zhenguo, and my master sent the villain to deliver a message." ”

"Please!"

"My master said: Everything is ready, only one promise is owed!"

Liu Yunwei smiled faintly when he heard this, clasped his fists and said, "It's hard work!" ”