The next day, Emperor Chongzhen did not go to the early dynasty, but ordered Wang Chengen to summon Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, and Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the new military department, into the palace to discuss the withdrawal of the Liao army.

The reason why Emperor Chongzhen did not discuss this matter openly in the early court was also to follow Wang Chengen's advice, after all, what kind of factions those ministers in the court were, Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen both knew in their hearts. Anyone knows that such an important state matter cannot be delayed for a long time, and a result must be agreed upon as soon as possible. However, if it had been openly discussed in the early court, those "virtuous ministers" would have been able to discuss the matter until a few years later before making a decision, and by that time, it is estimated that the soldiers of the Liao army would have already turned into wasteland bones!

It didn't take long for Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia to come to the imperial study together, at this time Emperor Chongzhen had already waited impatiently, but after seeing Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia, he still reluctantly squeezed out a smile and said to the two who were making a big salute; "Okay, Elder Ge and Chen Shangshu don't have to be polite, give them a seat."

At this time, there were no other eunuchs serving in the imperial study, only Wang Chengen was around Emperor Chongzhen. Wang Chengen personally set up the seats for the two, and then returned to the left side of Emperor Chongzhen with an expressionless face.

After Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia saluted again, they sat down and respectfully waited for Emperor Chongzhen to speak.

"Presumably the two of you already know, now that there is a problem with the supply of money and food for the Liao soldiers, the imperial court can no longer support it. Today, I summoned the two Aiqing, just to let the two Aiqing solve problems for me, and come up with a foolproof plan to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Liao army have no worries about food and clothing! ”

After Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia listened to Emperor Chongzhen's words, their faces changed slightly, but they didn't expect Emperor Chongzhen to directly set the tone, today is to find a way to raise money and food supplies for the Liao army, not to discuss how to withdraw the army!

Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia glanced at each other and nodded slightly, and Chen Xinjia understood. So, Chen Xinjia got up and said: "Your Majesty, as the secretary of the military department, Weichen can't blame himself for relieving the worries of the front-line soldiers, and he has been worried about this matter recently. Wechen has gathered all the stocks of the Ministry of War, and will donate together with the ministers of the Ministry of War, and has raised more than 8,000 taels of silver and more than 50 stones of grain and grass. Wechen has ordered people to send these money and food to the front line as soon as possible to meet the needs of the front-line soldiers. ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhou Yanru got up and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister also discussed with the household department Shangshu, and raised 50,000 taels of silver and 30,000 stone grain and grass from the household department, and this batch of money and grain will be shipped together with the money and grain raised by Chen Shangshu, Your Majesty does not need to worry." ”

After finishing speaking, Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia stood aside together, and their faces were as usual, calm and relaxed, without the slightest embarrassment.

Seeing the two of them like this, Wang Chengen whispered to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Ge Lao and Chen Shangshu are forcing Your Majesty to issue an order to recall the Liao army!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't see it, at this time, Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia were so angry that they were trembling, and they couldn't say a word, they just stared at the two of them, and they couldn't wait to rush up and beat the two out.

Wang Chengen also glanced at Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia, and said with a sneer: "Ge Lao and Chen Shangshu are really the pillars of the country, and they have raised so much money and food for the soldiers of the Liao army in such a short period of time?" It is estimated that this money and food are not even enough to cover the rations of the people along the way! ”

Chen Xinjia heard this, his face flushed with a hint of shame, but Zhou Yanru still did not change his face, but said with righteousness: "Now that the state affairs are difficult, although the amount of money and food is not much, this has been raised by the old man and Chen Shangshu with all their might. Even if there is only a grain of rice and a penny, the imperial court will send it to Liaodong, and let the soldiers of the Liao army see the determination of the imperial court! ”

Wang Chengen looked at Zhou Yanru and said impassionedly, and he couldn't help but feel a trace of disgust in his heart, and Emperor Chongzhen already regretted letting Zhou Yanru be the head of the cabinet.

"Today, I summoned the two of you to discuss countermeasures, not to deal with errands! Once the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Liao army run out of food and grass, the consequences will be unimaginable! Nowadays, the imperial court can no longer afford any defeat, if the Han Wei army and the Dangkou battalion led by Po Junbo defeat Liaodong, what will it mean, presumably Ge Lao and Chen Shangshu should be clear! ”

Zhou Yanru said calmly: "Your Majesty, of course the old minister knows, but now the imperial court is already struggling, and he really can't come up with money and food to continue fighting." ”

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said, "Then let the princes and ministers in the capital pay for the grain!" The country has been raising soldiers for hundreds of years, and now everyone should contribute money and efforts when the country is in trouble! ”

When Chen Xinjia heard this, he immediately said: "Your Majesty, according to the Taizu's testament, the officials of the national dynasty are all pitifully small, and the subsidies for the family are already stretched thin on weekdays, where is there any money and food donations." Please think again, Your Majesty! ”

In this way, Emperor Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia worked around for more than an hour, but the two always insisted that the imperial court could not come up with money and grain. Under the repeated pressure of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia promised to raise 200,000 taels of silver and 100,000 stones of grain and grass for the Liao army. However, immediately after that, Zhou Yanru said that this money and grain was not used to attack and fight, but to be used by the Liao army when it withdrew.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious after hearing this, and was so angry that he knocked all the imperial pens and other things on the bookcase to the ground, and then walked away with a blue face.

Seeing this, Wang Chengen glanced at Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia coldly, and then quickly followed Emperor Chongzhen and left.

After Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia left the palace together, Chen Xinjia was always very scared in his heart, so he said: "Ge Lao, in fact, it is not impossible for the military department and the household department to raise some more money and food, at least it can let the broken army fight for more than three months." Why did the elder act like this, once he annoyed His Majesty, it would be very disadvantageous to us. ”

"Humph! That Liu Yunwei is arrogant and arrogant by nature, once he sweeps away the Manchu Dynasty, it will make the Wuxun group rise again in the DPRK and China, and where will I be placed in Donglin Qunxian at that time! ”

After Zhou Yanru finished speaking, he smiled faintly and said: "As for Your Majesty, Chen Shangshu doesn't have to worry too much, Your Majesty is a Ming Jun, and you have to rely on me and other sages and sages and Donglin talents to deal with government affairs, and when your anger is gone, it will naturally be fine." ”

After speaking, Zhou Yanru got into the carriage and left.

But Chen Xinjia still had a worried face, and said secretly: "If the broken army insists on not withdrawing the army, and the army is defeated under the cut off of grain and grass, what will happen?" ”

Thinking of this, Chen Xinjia couldn't help but shudder, and a cold sweat broke out in an instant, and he hurriedly got into the carriage and went home.

At the same time, when Emperor Chongzhen returned to the harem angrily, Queen Zhou couldn't help but be shocked when she saw this, so she whispered to Wang Chengen to ask. And Wang Chengen didn't dare to hide it, so he told Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia about it one by one.

At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen slammed the teacup in his hand on the ground and roared angrily: "No one in the Manchu Dynasty is loyal to the country!" I am not a faint king, and all ministers are mediocre ministers! ”

Empress Zhou stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, now is the critical moment of the Liaodong War, Your Majesty must not mess around, there must be other ways to raise money and food." ”

"The military department and the household department are out of money, and now the local provinces are constantly in the sky, and my internal anger cannot be used easily, and I must be prepared for relief to the victims, where else can I go to raise money and food!"

Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but have his eyes slightly red, and said with a sigh: "Since I ascended the throne, I have not forgotten to revitalize the Ming Dynasty for a day, but no one has worried about me among the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. Now only Po Junbo is leading the army to fight for the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, but I can't even guarantee the money and food of Po Junbo and the soldiers of the army, how can my Daming prosper again! ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou were both sentimental for a while, and their eyes were full of tears. Wang Chengen next to him also sighed heavily, wiping his tears secretly.

Two days later, the military headquarters transported a batch of money and grain supplies to Liaodong, including 250,000 taels of silver and 120,000 stone of grain and grass.

At the same time, Emperor Chongzhen also issued a holy decree to Liu Yunwei, the uncle of the broken army, saying: Now that the imperial court is in difficulty, it is no longer possible to maintain the consumption of the Liaodong War, and this batch of money and grain from the military department is the last batch of supplies, and I hope that Liu Yunwei can use it properly. It is best to look for an opportunity to end the battle with the Qing army as soon as possible, or withdraw the army as soon as possible in order to preserve the strength and fight again in the future.

In this holy decree of Emperor Chongzhen, he did not give Liu Yunwei a death order, asking him to fight a decisive battle as soon as possible or withdraw his troops immediately, but let Liu Yunwei decide for himself according to the specific situation, after all, now the Ming army has an absolute advantage, and it still holds the initiative in the war. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen also secretly held on to hope, thinking that Liu Yunwei and the soldiers of the Han Wei Army, who had always been invincible and undefeated, would definitely be able to surprise Emperor Chongzhen and survive this difficulty.

Ten days later, Emperor Chongzhen's holy decree arrived at the Hanwei army camp outside Shimen Pass along with the batch of money and food supplies sent by Chen Xinjia.

After Liu Yunwei received the holy decree from Emperor Chongzhen, he sighed and said to Yuan Mingxuan beside him: "As expected! Fortunately, Ben Governor was well prepared in advance, otherwise this battle would have come to naught! ”

Yuan Mingxuan snorted coldly and said, "Supervisor, when this battle is over, you must discuss it with those Donglin rebels in the court!" ”

"That's nature! Such a scourge of great faithful traitors, Ben Tuk disfigured him! ”

After finishing speaking, Liu Yunwei asked again: "Is there any news from Zheng Zhilong?" ”

"There's news!" Yuan Mingxuan said excitedly: "Thanks to the Inspector's plan in advance, let Zheng Zhilong support as soon as possible, otherwise it will be really too late in time!" ”

"When will the fleet arrive?"

"Just these two days!"

Liu Yunwei was overjoyed when he heard this, and said: "Pass the order, the soldiers of each battalion will immediately prepare for battle, and attack Shimen Pass two days later!" ”