After receiving the urgent information from the Qianhu Office of Jinyi Wei Liaodong, Emperor Chongzhen tossed and turned all night, feeling both relieved and apprehensive. Ｘ

Fortunately, under the condition that Mao Wenlong was not dead and Dongjiang Town was strengthened, Huang Taiji still had the courage to lead the army to leave Shenyang and march west or even south.

The reason for this relief is that the various arrangements made by Emperor Chongzhen in the Gyeonggi area since his crossing are all in response to this major event that happened at the same time in history.

For example, to win over Burhatu, the leader of the Karaqin Mongol tribe.

Another example is to send Cao Wenzhao to train the martial arts battalion in Rehebao.

It even includes the abolition of the Jiliao Governor's Mansion in Shanhaiguan, the establishment of the Zhili Governor's Mansion in Tongzhou, and the restructuring of the Gyeonggi Guard, the first town of the Guards Army, the redeployment of the five military battalions, the three thousand battalions, the Jianchang battalion, and the Santun battalion.

All of this is to avoid repeating the mistakes of history, and to deal with a surprise attack from outside the edge of Thistle.

If Huang Taiji did not lead his army to attack Jizhen in the winter of the second year of Chongzhen in this life, or did not make a detour to Mongolia to the south, then the role that this Chongzhen Emperor has made now will be greatly reduced?

What made him feel uneasy and unable to sleep was whether the preparations he had made in the past two years were sufficient and could he change the outcome of this crisis.

In addition to worrying about the border situation north of Gyeonggi and the combat strength of the army deployed in the Gyeonggi area, he was also deeply worried that when Burhatu in Karaqin returned to the Ming Dynasty, and Ulan Hada, Santata, Rehe Fort and other important places in northern Saibei were all defended by the Ming army, would Huang Taiji really break through the border outside Jizhen?

If Huang Taiji's peace negotiation was just to stabilize the Ming Dynasty, so as to lead the army all the way to the west and make an expedition to Chahar, then should the Ming officers and troops stationed outside the fortress join forces with Lin Dan Khan to deal with Huang Taiji together?

Or sit back and watch Huang Taiji lead his army to fight Lin Dan Khan to the death, and at the same time order Andong Hou and Pyongyang Bo to attack the Houjin hinterland from the east?

Or sent an edict to Sun Chengzong, who was sitting in Rehe Fort at this time, and ordered him to command the tens of thousands of Ming officers and troops stationed outside the fortress, and take advantage of the fact that Huang Taiji led the Jurchen and Eastern Mongolian armies to the west to go north to the north of the West Lamulun River again, and sweep away the Horqin and other Eastern Mongolian tribes that were attached to the Later Jin?

The choices that can be made are many.

But the more options you have, the harder it is to make up your mind.

In this way, Emperor Chongzhen dismissed Gong Yonggu, Sun Chan and the attendants, military attaches and ministers on duty around him, and returned to the dormitory in the west wing of the Qianqing Palace, that is, the bedroom of the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen slept until noon, only then did he wake up in horror, and saw that the Western table clock placed in the dormitory was about 12 o'clock at noon, and hurriedly got up to change clothes and wash, preparing to send someone to summon the cabinet auxiliary ministers, the minister of military aircraft, and the relevant officials of the military aircraft department, the military department, and the household department to come to discuss the matter.

Wang Chengen's inner servants had just written down the emperor's instructions to summon the ministers, and left the emperor's bedroom to deliver the decree.

"Wait! Humble duty is immediately passed! ”

When Lu Hualin saw Fang Zhenghua coming, he immediately bowed and saluted, and after saying this, he turned around and went to find Wang Chengen to report.

Heads of Ming intelligence agencies like Gong Yonggu and Fang Zhenghua have access to the palace forbidden waist cards, but when they arrive at the gate of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, even if they have a pass waist card, they must be searched and inspected by the Gong Wei Division according to the rules.

However, a character like Fang Zhenghua, Lu Hualin, a person born in a family, would not really step forward and search with his hands and feet.

Fortunately, Lu Hualin has been on duty outside the Qianqing Gate for a long time, and just by taking a look, he knows whether he needs to really search or not.

Lu Hualin went fast and came back quickly.

Fang Zhenghua tidied up his clothes, and Lu Hualin had already brought one of Wang Chengen's attendants out to greet him.

This time, what Fang Zhenghua brought to Emperor Chongzhen was also the intelligence of Liaodong Jianyu.

Different from the brief information sent back by the infiltrated personnel of Jinyiwei Liaodong Qianhu, the news sent back by the spy personnel of the Liaodong Station of Dongchang is much more detailed.

At the very least, it was clear who the commander of Jianlu's sworn expedition was this time, and it was clear which of the eight banners the troops who followed the expedition came from.

After Emperor Chongzhen read the information brought by Fang Zhenghua, in addition to letting Fang Zhenghua record the meritorious personnel and file the promotion reward, the rest was to be silent and wait for the arrival of the ministers.

It didn't take long for Li Guo, the first assistant of the cabinet, Xu Guangqi, the cabinet minister and secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Zhang Weixian, the minister of military aircraft, Bi Ziyan, the secretary of the household department, Sun Yuanhua, the director of the Armed Forces Institute and the right attendant on duty in the military department, Jiang Yueguang, the deputy envoy of the Military Aircraft Council, Gong Yonggu, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and Niu Juming, the staff of the military department, arrived at the Wuying Hall to wait for the discussion.

Of course, these people didn't know what the emperor had summoned them to do, but so many people were summoned to the Wuying Hall to discuss matters, and everyone knew in their hearts that something big must have happened, so everyone was silent, and their mood was gloomy and heavy.

When everyone arrived, Wu Weiye, who was on duty in the Wuying Palace, hurriedly came to the Qianqing Palace to ask Emperor Chongzhen to move the Wuying Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen simply ate some pastries sent by the queen, and then took a group of attendants and military attaches around him to the Wuying Palace.

After everyone paid their respects, Emperor Chongzhen said: "Today, I heard that all Aiqing came to Wuying Hall to discuss matters, because I received urgent reports from Liaodong in two days from yesterday to today. The slave chieftain Huang Taiji personally led the Jianyu army and left Shenyang to the north, and his whereabouts are temporarily unknown.

"According to the Liaodong Exploration Report, the army led by the slave chief Huang Taiji, in addition to the yellow and yellow flags led by the slave chieftain, there are also the blue flag and the red flag army. According to my rough calculation, there are nearly 100,000 people from the Four Banners who went north this time.

"A few months ago, Jianyu went north to Fanggui, and now he has sworn out with more than half of the main force, and the momentum is violent, and the plan is bound to be significant."

Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen swept the ministers in the palace, and then said: "I think that the current situation outside the Nine Sides is a three-legged situation of the Ming Dynasty, Jianyu and Mongolia. If the target of the slave chief's trip is not Mongolia, it is my Ming Dynasty, and the two will be one of them.

"However, no matter whether Jianyu came to my Ming Dynasty this time, or went to Mongolia in the south of the Saiwai Desert, my Ming Dynasty can't help but judge and respond to this. Today, I convened the secretary and others to discuss the matter, which is to set the countermeasures of the imperial court as soon as possible. ”

After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen got up and left the throne in the middle of the Ming Hall of the Wuying Palace, and walked towards the side hall of the west wing of the Wuying Palace, crossed the high threshold, and entered the huge sand table room in the Wuying Palace.

Seeing this, Li Guo and other ministers also followed the emperor's footsteps and rushed in, thinking about how to answer the emperor's questions as they walked.

When they arrived at the terrain sand table room, a group of people followed behind and on both sides of Emperor Chongzhen, surrounding the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces and the surrounding terrain sand table that Niu Juming, Xu Hongzu and others had just done with great effort, and they were all speechless.

Since the rise of Jianlu, the Ming army has been defeated repeatedly, except for the failure of Jianguo to attack the Dongjiang River in September last year, there are few defeats in the face of the Ming army.

Since the apocalypse, the ministers of the DPRK and China have even talked about the construction of the captives and changed their colors, and regarded Liaodong as a dangerous road.

Now that the slave chieftain has raised nearly 100,000 troops to go on the expedition, Emperor Chongzhen said that the plan must be not small.

Just when everyone was thinking in their hearts, the cabinet minister Xu Guangqi took the lead and said: "Your Majesty! Now in Liaodong and Saibei, the enemy situation is not yet clear! After the defeat of Andong Hou last year, I have been at peace with the Ming Dynasty, and this time I suddenly raised troops, and I must have come prepared. Besides, with nearly 100,000 troops, it will be a big battle whether the West Tu Mongols or the south attack us!

"However, with the minister's thoughts, Jianyu suddenly raised troops but swore to go north, if he went south to attack my Ningjin, or went east to seek the Dongjiang River, this move would be redundant.

After the defeat of Yehe, the rest of the troops fled to Chahar and attached to Lindan Khan, and the Lindan Khan of Jianju and Chahar became old enemies. Therefore, the minister thought that most of Jianyu's move was to go to Chahar Mongolia!

"Yes, please don't worry too much, report this warning to the nine sides, wait for the situation of the enemy in Liaodong and Saibei to be clear, and then discuss the strategy of war and defense!"

After Xu Guangqi said this, he saw that the emperor was staring at the map of Daming Kunyu carved from sand and cement in front of him, and he didn't say anything, and he didn't speak anymore.

At this time, Niu Juming, the official of the Ministry of War, suddenly bowed to the emperor, and then said, "Your Majesty! Thinking about it, even if what Xu Ge Lao said is not true, it is not far away!

"However, it is worrying that the department of Lin Dan Khan of Chahar is now far away in the Tumo River of the south of the desert, if the army of Jianyu conquers Chahar in the west, it will inevitably pass through Karaqin, and the Guiyi King of Karaqin Burhatu will go to kill his envoy in the year, and return it to my Ming Dynasty, and be willing to be the barrier of my Ming Saibei, which will cause the jealousy and hatred of the slave chieftains.

"If the Jianyu army pretends to attack the enemy, or suddenly goes south to attack Karaqin, then I am afraid that my Ming will lose a barrier, and if this is the case, my Ming Ji Town will also be in danger outside the border!

"And with the geography of the border of Jizhen and the land of the capital division, Wei Chen is deeply afraid that my Ming Jingshi may suddenly become a dangerous place! Your Majesty must not ignore this possibility! ”

As soon as Niu Juming's words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked, is there really such a possibility? !

At this time, Sun Yuanhua, the director of the Armed Forces Institute and the duty attendant of the Military Department, and Jiang Yueguang, the deputy envoy of the Li Fan Academy, said one after another: "Since the establishment of the army, the ugly captives of Jianzhou have regarded me as an enemy of the Ming Dynasty, and the ambition of the wolf is unpredictable!" What the cowherd said must not be worried! ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "The most worrying person is exactly like this!" ”

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen's voice fell, Li Guo, the first assistant of the cabinet, said: "Fortunately, His Majesty My Emperor has already planned, Sun Chengzong, a scholar of Wuyingdian and Minister of Military Aircraft, Sun Ge Lao, is in Saibei Rehe Town at this time!"

"And Sun Ge Lao has been inspecting and rectifying the border preparations of Xuanfu Ji Town for several months, even if the Jianyu army really dares to turn around and go south on the way to the west to Chahar, my Daming Ji Town border is now ready, solid as gold!" r