North Zhili, Jingshi, Forbidden City.

In July, the climate in Beijing is already quite cool. It is the best season of the year, there is no heat, no cold, no wind and sand, the sky is blue and the sky is cloudless. Looking at the past, no matter where you look, you can clearly feel that autumn is coming.

In the past, autumn was a spring and autumn autumn, and the air seemed to have the smell of harvest and a strong fruity aroma. However, in the autumn of the ninth year of Chongzhen, I don't know why, inside the Forbidden City, it was extremely sluggish, and some leaves were even faintly yellow. Chongzhen's mood was like these leaves that had yellowed in advance, a little bit of a sign of wilting.

The situation from Shaanxi is very bad, during this period of time in the southern part of the Tartars, after the Shaanxi Liukou has been dormant for a period of time, it has become a huge momentum again. Li Zicheng's troops even kept approaching the ancient city of Xi'an, so frightened that the King of Qin in Xi'an hurriedly sent people to Jingshi for help. Gao Yingxiang's troops conquered Fengxiang. Zhang Xianzhong's troops conquered Pingliang. Cao Cao's troops conquered Qingyang. Basically, the northwest of Shaanxi fell into the hands of the Liukou.

It is rumored that the number of Liukou in Shaanxi has reached one million, of which there are 30,000 or 40,000 cavalry alone. During the period when the imperial army left Shaanxi, the Shaanxi Liukou concentrated the main force and went to Ningxia Town for a walk. Although it did not capture an important stronghold in Ningxia Town, it obtained a large number of war horses and soldiers from Ningxia Town, and its strength was greatly developed.

As for the situation in Liaodong, it is even worse. Originally, Chongzhen was going to withdraw the 150,000 Liaodong Army, as well as other military households, and left Zhang Zhun with a piece of white land. As a result, after Zhang Zhun went to Liaodong, the situation of the Liaodong Army changed greatly. Not only did Zu Dashou rebel against the Tartars, but a considerable number of Liaodong troops were also unwilling to withdraw to the mainland.

According to the reports of Gao Qiqian and Wu Aheng, there were only about 50,000 Liaodong troops willing to withdraw to the mainland. The army of 150,000 people only took back 50,000 people in the end, and Chongzhen really wanted to cry without tears. All the previous money and food were spent in vain, and they were all given to Zhang Zhun to train soldiers. Who suggested giving up Liaodong in the first place? Chongzhen really can't wait to cut his skin and bones to the end, and he is cheap Zhang Zhun for nothing

The 15th day of July is the traditional Midyear Festival (i.e., the Ghost Festival) and a day to mourn the ancestors. In the morning, Chongzhen first went to the Fengxian side hall to worship his mother. Chongzhen's mother is just an ordinary palace maid, because of a favor from the crown prince Zhu Changluo, she was lucky to have Chongzhen. When Chongzhen was five years old, his mother was given suicide by the irritable Zhu Changluo.

This incident had a great impact on Chongzhen's psychology. He hated his father very much and felt that he was sorry for his mother. From then on, he did not dare to trust anyone, and he remained fully suspicious of everyone. On the issue of his father Zhu Changluo, Chongzhen also got by, and he didn't have any proactive thoughts. Unless there was something proposed by the Ministry of Rites, he was reluctant to mention his father at all.

What's even worse is that because his mother is just a palace maid and doesn't have any reputation, which brings a lot of Nanfu to her posthumous seal. Now that he has become the emperor, it is difficult to give his mother a high honor. Because his mother's original status was too low, he could only take it one step at a time. Until now, his ** spiritual position can only be placed in the side hall of the Fengxian Palace, and cannot be placed in the main hall.

The treatment of the side hall and the main hall is obviously different. It would be better to move the mother from the side hall to the main hall, and it would be better to sit in the position of the queen mother. It's a pity that the operation here is difficult, quite large, and the people in the Ministry of Rites will not easily agree. Without the support of the Ministry of Rites, Chongzhen's wish would definitely not be achieved. Besides, those crazy officials will also write to impeach themselves one after another. Therefore, Chongzhen is not able to operate this for the time being.

After expressing deep guilt to his mother, Chongzhen slowly returned to the Qianqing Palace, his eyes still rosy. After a while, I felt a little quiet when I stepped on, so I sat in front of the imperial case and read the papers. He first read Hong Chengchou's request for His Majesty's resignation, and then read Sun Chuanting's request to summon the right person, and then he immediately summoned them at the same time on the platform tomorrow morning. He looked very weak in the Fengxian side hall just now, the corners of his eyes were covered with tears, and now his face was full of murderous energy.

Hong Chengchou has been reappointed as the governor of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan, and is in charge of the military of Shaanxi Liukou. Both Chongzhen and the Manchu civil and military believed that he was a commander with deep qualifications, high prestige, and could take on the heavy task of suppressing thieves, and placed great expectations on him. Hong Chengchou knew that there were many difficulties, and the task of suppressing thieves was becoming more and more difficult day by day, but he deeply felt the emperor's kindness and was determined to go to Shaanxi to rectify military affairs and relieve the emperor's worries.

This time, Chongzhen was determined to eliminate the Shaanxi Liukou first, and then turn back and deal with Zhang Zhun. To do this, it is necessary to buy time. The more time the imperial court spends on Shaanxi Liukou, the stronger Zhang Zhun's strength will be. For this reason, some of the soldiers withdrawn from Liaodong were supplemented to Hong Chengchou's command.

These soldiers, mainly the Liaodong cavalry, are relatively strong in their combat capability. Chongzhen was full of hope that the Liaodong cavalry would be able to defeat all the Liukou's cavalry, thus defeating all the Liukou. Moreover, the speed of the cavalry is so fast that it would be even better if they could catch those bandit leaders. Chongzhen clearly instructed that once these leading figures are caught, they will be killed, and the tragedy of Chezhou Gorge will never be repeated.

According to Chongzhen's arrangement, Hong Chengchou commanded the soldiers and horses in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Gansu and other places, Yang Sichang commanded the soldiers and horses in Huguang and Henan, Wang Kun and Shi Kefa commanded the soldiers and horses in Shanxi and other places, and Gao Qiqian and Wu Aheng commanded the soldiers and horses of Beizhili, and they surrounded the troops and horses from the west. This tactic was originally proposed by Chen Qiyu, but later Yang Sichang evolved it and became a model of ambush from all sides.

"Now, the troops of the whole country have been assembled in the Central Plains."

"Next, it's up to you."

Chongzhen said slowly.

Today's platform, in general, the atmosphere is still relatively relaxed, and Emperor Chongzhen's face is not particularly ugly. When Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting had made the usual courtesy, Chongzhen asked Hong Chengchou a few words, nothing more than about the departure time and how to prepare for everything, etc., as for the future strategy of using troops, they had already been discussed when they were summoned twice not long ago, so there was no need to ask again today.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen's expectations have always been clear and unambiguous, that is, to completely exterminate the thieves. For this reason, he gave Hong Chengchou a few words of encouragement, hoping that he would play Jieyin as soon as possible and send the heads of Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others as soon as possible. After Hong Chengchou got up, Chongzhen restrained the gentle look on his face and whispered coldly: "Sun Chuanting"

"Wechen is in"

Sun Chuanting knelt on the ground and didn't dare to look up, waiting for the emperor to ask.

For a moment, Chongzhen looked at him and did not ask, and remained silent. This unusual silence made Sun Chuanting's heart uneasy. He vaguely felt that Emperor Chongzhen might be a little dissatisfied with him.

Last winter, Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou led their mentors to the suburbs of Beijing. After Lu Xiangsheng was arrested and imprisoned, Hong Chengchou recommended Sun Chuanting to the imperial court as the governor, and hung the right squire of the military department and the right to the imperial history title, and represented Xiangsheng as the governor of Zhulu to reinforce the army, and asked Shang Fang to give the sword. It's a pity that in the end, Emperor Chongzhen chose Yang Sichang, and Sun Chuanting's wish was frustrated.

For this, Sun Chuanting is quite unconvinced. He believes that Yang Sichang has never led many soldiers before, let alone personally commanded the battle, just because he knows how to pat the emperor's sycophants and win the emperor's favor, he became the prime minister of the five provinces, and even led the soldiers and horses of the king of Qin. With such a heavy burden, where can Yang Sichang afford it?

The facts since then seem to prove that Yang Sichang's ability to command the army is indeed limited. When the Tartars were exhausted by the Tiger Ben army, Yang Sichang held heavy troops and did not give the Tartars a single blow, watching the Tartars leave the Central Plains and go out of the fortress. Sun Chuanting wrote a poem for this, secretly satirizing Yang Sichang's incompetence, but Yang Sichang accidentally knew about it and had an opinion on Sun Chuanting.

Because of this, Sun Chuanting had a very bad relationship with Yang Sichang, and later because of the use of the Liaodong Army, he accidentally offended Gao Qiqian and was condemned by the emperor. Chongzhen asked Hong Chengchou to go to Beijing to see His Majesty, and made the minister work in the suburbs, but he was not allowed to enter Beijing to see His Majesty. Obviously, Emperor Chongzhen didn't trust him very much.

After the Qing soldiers withdrew, Chongzhen adopted Yang Sichang's suggestion, appointed Hong Chengchou as the governor of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan, and handed over all the troops of Shaanxi Qinwang to Hong Chengchou to guard against the Liukou. Sun Chuanting was very opposed to throwing the entire Liaodong Army into the Central Plains, and he fought hard and bluntly criticized, saying that this part of the Liaodong Army must not come, and if it came, the "thieves" in Shaanxi would grow again, and the result would be useless to suppress the thieves.

It was because of this letter that Sun Chuanting completely offended Gao Qiqian, and at the same time offended the high-level of the Liaodong Army. What do you mean kid? Saying that after our Liaodong Army comes, the Shaanxi Liukou will become even more vigorous, isn't this scolding our Liaodong Army for its ineffectiveness in suppressing thieves, or even colluding with the Shaanxi Liukou?

In fact, the reasons for the performance are all disguises. The most fundamental reason is that Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting are unwilling to come to share the credit of the Liaodong Army. For a long time, it was a few of them who were fighting thieves in Shaanxi, and once there were outsiders, it would be difficult to do. There are some things in this, which they said early on, if they change to an outsider, it is still a very strong outsider, and if it is not done well, something will happen.

To put it coldly, it means that all the thieves have been exterminated, and their good days will come to an end. Without the thieves, what would they ask the court for money and food? It's like the Liaodong Army, if there were no Tartars, would the imperial court still care about their feelings? Will they still be given priority in the allocation of money and food? It's good not to let them go back to the field.

The Liaodong army was reluctant for others to meddle in their territory, and the Qin army was equally reluctant to let others meddle in their affairs. Because of this, the Qin army and Lu Xiangsheng's Huguang army before had a lot of contradictions, and it took a lot of effort, and the two sides finally coordinated. If the Liaodong Army and the Jin Army come to intervene now, God knows what the front line will become. I'm afraid that Li Zicheng will be them, and they can easily pass through the joint forces of the various armies with swagger.

Sun Chuanting was a very proud and conceited person, and he always looked down on the strategy of using troops planned by Emperor Yang Sichang on behalf of the emperor. Because he was not able to be summoned by the suburbs like Hong Chengchou, he was even more dissatisfied with Yang Sichang and was determined to fight with Yang Sichang, so before the Qing troops retreated, he said: "The rupture of Xinjiang over the years is mostly due to poor plans. When the war is over, I beg the emperor to give His Majesty a meeting and face the big plan. ”

After the failure of the struggle to return to Shaanxi, his desire to see His Majesty became more urgent. Now that he has been summoned correctly, he has the opportunity to speak to him, but the emperor told him to speak in such a stern tone, will he be allowed to play many words about the country's plans happily? He bated his breath, sincerely frightened, while waiting for the emperor's questioning, he peeked at the ivory Chao Wat and saw that the neatly made small block on it was written with the main points of the strategy he wanted to play.

After looking at Sun Chuanting for a while, Chongzhen was full of anger, and said in a majestic voice: "Sun Chuanting, I ordered you to patrol Shaanxi and assist Hong Chengchou in suppressing the thieves. In the battle of Dongtong Pass in the southern plains, Ru Lian was victorious, and the whole army was wiped out, and the corpses were piled up like a mountain. It is hateful to deceive the war record, and I ask you today: Where is the rebellion now? ”

The emperor's anger and reprimand, Sun Chuanting didn't expect it at all, it was like being caught off guard when he was hit with a stick. Although his personality was very stubborn, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, his face was pale, and his limbs trembled slightly. Soon, he came to his senses. While he was fighting Yang Sichang, why wasn't Yang Sichang hitting him? Emperor Chongzhen's rebuke was obviously because of Yang Sichang.

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting's heart was even more unconvinced. Your Yang Sichang, you don't have the ability to fight, but the ability to make small reports is very strong, so with your little caution, you still want to enter the cabinet? He mustered up the courage to reply: "The annihilation of the whole army of the prelude to the prelude of Weichen is indeed the truth, and I dare not deceive in the slightest, and there is the governor Hong Chengchou to prove it." ”

"Smack"

Chongzhen slapped the imperial case, which frightened Sun Chuanting and hurriedly lowered his head.

"Qubbling with you, not only did you not capture the thief, but even his important henchmen such as Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Gao Yidong, Li Guo, etc. all escaped the net. The so-called 'all the traitors are wiped out, and they will die if they are not captured', is it not a deception? ”

Chongzhen shouted angrily.

Since it must be Yang Sichang making a small report, Sun Chuanting's inner unconvincing mood is even more blazing. He tried his best to keep his composure, and replied slowly: "Weichen is in front of the monarch's father, how dare he argue. In October last winter, the ministers and governors went to Tongguan in person, encircled and suppressed the soldiers, and set up three ambushes to wait for the thieves. After a day and a night of fighting, the whole army of the rebels was indeed defeated, with casualties all over the field, and the armor was abandoned like a mountain. Although the thieves and their important henchmen were not captured, most of them were likely to die in the chaos. Later, because the minister led the king in the starry night, he did not have time to find the dead body of the giant thief, and offered his head to comfort the worries of the monarch's father and relieve the doubts of the subjects of the Beijing Division, which was really a big hate. ”

Chongzhen shouted angrily: "Do you know that the rebels and thieves have all slipped through the net? ”

Sun Chuanting said euphemistically: "After the minister led his troops to Shanxi, he heard that there were scattered thieves who fled into Shangluo Mountain. In order to cut down the grass and eradicate the roots and avoid future troubles, the minister immediately heard about His Majesty, and sent the deputy general He Renlong to lead the troops back to Tongguan and seriously search and suppress in the Shangluo Mountains. As for saying that the thieves have all slipped through the net, the minister really doesn't know. ”

"Hmph, you're still dreaming" Chongzhen picked up a few copies of the Song Shu and Tang Newspaper from the imperial case, threw them to Sun Chuanting, and said angrily: "Look at it, this is the result of your victory in Tongguan"

Hearing that Li Zicheng and others had indeed "slipped through the net", and saw the emperor throw down a few documents, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but be terrified again. This Yang Sichang is really going to put himself to death, needless to say, these songs and Tang Bao must have been made up by Yang Sichang. He picked up the paperwork with trembling fingers, held it in his hand, and hurriedly browsed the "Yinhuang", and fully understood in his heart that this was indeed Yang Sichang's ghost.

Slightly calming down, Sun Chuanting respectfully handed a stack of documents to the eunuch standing aside, and then kowtowed to the emperor and said: "Since the king of Qin, although the minister has been running around Jifu and Shaanxi and Henan day and night, he has no time to listen to the situation of the remaining thieves, but some of the Tang newspapers have also been seen by the ministers. In the opinion of Yuchen, if the reverse break does slip through the net, the worrying person is not in Cuihan Mountain, but in Shangluo Mountain. The remnants of the thieves who entered the Tong Pass and burned the Lingbao City Pass were just under the guise of the thief, not the thief himself. If the officials and soldiers ignore Shangluo and gather troops in the Cuihan Mountain, I am afraid that they will not be fooled. ”

Chongzhen said angrily: "How do you know that it is not the thief himself who is in the Cuihan Mountain? ”

Sun Chuanting said euphemistically: "If the thief is not dead, he will definitely lurk and wait for the opportunity to move, and he will never be ruined and have no time to recuperate, but dare to play the banner of the traitor and deliberately provoke the officials and soldiers to chase and suppress." ”

Chongzhen said coldly: "But why do other remnants play the banner of rebels and provoke the officials and soldiers to chase after them?" Are they going to die on their own? ”

Sun Chuanting said slowly: "The minister has been away from the thief army recently, and he doesn't dare to make inferences. But the minister and the traitor have been wrestling for three years, and he knows that the traitor has a lot of cunning, and often takes the false as the real and the real as the false. Reasonably, the person who waeds the banner of a thief in the Cuihan Mountain is definitely not the thief himself. ”

Chongzhen was really annoyed, and he was about to slap the table again, and said hatefully: "Nonsense, this rebel thief is out of nowhere, and he has frustrated the officials and soldiers." Looking at the treacherous situation of his use of soldiers, there must be no doubt that the thief himself, and some people have seen the thief in blue clothes and felt hats, riding a black barge horse and standing under the banner, what is the doubt? Do you still have to quibble? ”

Feeling that Chongzhen was really angry, Sun Chuanting didn't dare to continue arguing, so he had to scold Yang Sichang in his heart for not having a son, and said aggrievedly on the surface: "Even so, Yuchen still doesn't dare to believe that it's true." ”

Chongzhen said coldly: "The local report, the evidence is conclusive, you said that you can't be trusted, isn't it to deceive the monarch in front of him, hoping to escape responsibility?" ”

Sun Chuanting said helplessly: "The minister sends a letter to accept it, that is, he promises the country with his body." In the seventh year of Chongzhen, His Majesty paid Weichen to suppress the thief, and the minister always tried his best to repay the grace of the saint's acquaintance, how dare he face the monarch's father? ”

Chongzhen said angrily: "You have the heavy responsibility of suppressing thieves, and you have caused all the thieves to slip through the net, and you still don't admit your guilt, and you blindly quibble, which is really hateful. Since you know how to repay the kindness of what you know, why don't you take the traitor? And the bereaved father's worries? ”

Sun Chuanting hurriedly said: "If it weren't for the edict of Lian Feng, the king of the starry night, the ministers would definitely go around and not let a thief slip through the net." ”

Chongzhen said angrily: "Nonsense to take it for me"

When he arrived, two brocade-clothed wrestlers dragged Sun Chuanting up from the ground, stripped off his clothes, and pushed him out.

Hong Chengchou quickly knelt down, kowtowed again and again, and said: "Although Your Majesty Sun Chuanting is guilty, I implore Your Majesty to remember that he has been suppressing thieves for several years, and it is not without hard work. Although there is a deception in the report, it is indeed true that the rebellion collapsed in Tongguan, and there is no exaggeration, and I implore Your Majesty to ......"

Chongzhen didn't wait for him to finish speaking, sneered, and said expressionlessly: "Qing doesn't have to intercede for him. Qing served as the governor and personally went to Tongguan to supervise the battle, but he made the culprit slip through the net, and he couldn't shirk his responsibility for the law. But I remembered that your merits were too big and too small, so I didn't investigate deeply, but handed over the heavy task of suppressing thieves to the secretary again. Wangqing will work hard in the future, and don't live up to my high hopes like Sun Chuanting. ”

Hong Chengchou kowtowed again and said: "Weichen was ordered to suppress the thief, but he failed to eradicate the adverse atmosphere, and he did his best, causing the thief to resurgence at present, and he really deserves death." The emperor not only exempted him from heavy punishment, but also sent his ministers to supervise Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan and continue to suppress thieves. Such a grace is so generous that Weichen is often grateful. Weichen dared not to break his bones in order to repay His Majesty"

However, at present, when the country is employing people, Sun Chuanting is very strategic, and he is also a useful material among Xinjiang officials. Fu begging the saint to breathe the wrath of thunder, give the grace of rain and dew, suspend the severe punishment, so that he will wear the guilt and try to make merit, not only Sun Chuanting will be afraid of the power and Huaide, and try to redeem the previous sorrows, that is, the soldiers of the three armies will also hear it and be excited. ”

After speaking, he prostrated and almost bled blood.

He is Sun Chuanting's teacher, and he naturally wants to save his students. What's more, Sun Chuanting is indeed a talent in terms of fighting. If Sun Chuanting is really imprisoned, he Hong Chengchou will have to lose a good helper. Thinking of the gathering of the army this time and the fact that there were many masters, Hong Chengchou had to work hard to defend Sun Chuanting.

Although Chongzhen was very angry that Sun Chuanting did not capture Li Zicheng and others, he also knew that he was a useful material, and after listening to Hong Chengchou's words, he was silent for a moment, and said slowly: "Okay, Gu Zhun Qing played, spare him this time." Get up. ”

Waiting for Hong Chengchou to get up with gratitude, Chongzhen glanced to the side and ordered: "Call Sun Chuanting back"

After a while, Sun Chuanting put on his clothes again, was brought in by the eunuch, and knelt down on the square brick floor about a zhang away from the imperial case, and his body was very low. Chongzhen looked at him and said coldly: "Sun Chuanting, my aunt remembers that you are still willing to do things honestly on weekdays, spare you for the crime of ineffective combat this time, and still assist Governor Hong Chengchou in the military affairs of Shaanxi, Ganchuan to watch the aftermath." ”

Sun Chuanting kowtowed and thanked him, but he still couldn't stand on the ground. In his heart, he couldn't help but have some complaints. Of course, most of the complaints were not directed at Chongzhen, but at Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang actually did such a poisonous hand to him, he didn't take revenge, and he swore not to be a man

"Go down."

Chongzhen said impatiently.

Sun Chuanting kowtowed again, got up and bowed his head and retreated. Although he was very sturdy and only forty-four years old, when he stepped down from the dan qi, he was like an old man, his steps were unsteady and he almost fell. was reprimanded by Emperor Chongzhen so much, and was almost arrested and imprisoned, he was indeed unfathomable

Hong Chengchou answered a few more questions from the emperor and kowtowed to withdraw. He is an old bureaucrat who is well-versed in the world, and he knows in his heart that the reason why the emperor is so strict with Sun Chuanting today is partly because Sun Chuanting recruited him himself, and partly because he deliberately used his majesty's resignation to kill chickens and scare monkeys, so that he could see some colors. Therefore, he originally wanted to make a small plea to the emperor, but he didn't dare to say it.

As soon as he came out of the Emperor's Gate, a eunuch chased him out from inside, and orally passed a holy decree saying that the emperor would give a banquet on the platform at noon tomorrow, and instructed the civil and military officials to feast for him outside the Chaoyang Gate tomorrow afternoon. He knelt down to listen to the order, kowtowed to thanksgiving, and shouted long live, but while he was grateful for the emperor's grace, he felt uneasy in his heart, as if he had a premonition that some misfortune awaited him.

Hong Chengchou knew that the emperor's grace was unpredictable, if he went to suppress the thief in vain, he could only do his best for the emperor and die in Shaanxi, don't think about returning to the court. And when you weigh it all down, there is very little hope of success. After half a year of recuperation, the vitality of the Shaanxi Liukou has been completely recovered, and it is not easy to defeat them

The most terrible thing is that by their side, there is a tiger army, if when they are exhausted to suppress the thief, the tiger army suddenly comes up to intervene, what will they do? Zhang Zhun is the 37th battalion of Shaanxi Liukou, in case Shaanxi Liukou is in trouble, will Zhang Zhun see death and not save him? It's simply impossible.

The latest Tang newspaper, Zhang Zhun's power has extended to Huai'an Mansion and Yangzhou Prefecture, and it will soon go down to the south of the Yangtze River. Cao Yun or something, it has long been cut off. Once all the grain and tax sources in Jiangnan were occupied by the Tiger Ben army, the imperial court would collapse. At this time, Chongzhen was still staring at the Shaanxi Liukou, as if he was a bit of a sacrifice

However, after thinking about it for a while, Hong Chengchou understood Chongzhen's good intentions. The imperial court would definitely have no chance of winning if it started a war with the Tiger Ben Army at this time. Even Huang Taiji was beaten away by Zhang Zhun, where is Zhang Zhun's opponent in the army of the imperial court? Only after defeating the Shaanxi Liukou can we properly reorganize the army and concentrate the elite to compete with the Tiger Ben army. I have to say that strategically speaking, Chongzhen is correct.

When Sun Chuanting returned to the mansion, he felt that his ears were buzzing, and he couldn't hear his family talking to him clearly. He didn't eat lunch, didn't allow others to disturb him, sat alone in the study and sighed, looking at the small words written on the Chaohu last night. He originally had a lot to say to Chongzhen, but after being reprimanded by Chongzhen, he couldn't say anything.

After a long sigh, Sun Chuanting took out the key, opened the copper lock, and then slowly opened the drawer, took out a letter from it, and slowly considered it again. He pondered the letter for a long, long time, and at last, slowly, locked it back in the drawer, and put the key away close to him.

When reading the letter, Sun Chuanting's face was a little painful and a little dignified. His gaze was fixed on the name of the person who made the payment, and he stared for a long time. The person who wrote this letter was named Yang Tinglin.