Early the next morning, the army of the Broken Captives escorted more than 20,000 captives north to Baoji (formerly known as Chencang), and then marched east from Baoji to the direction of the capital through Chang'an. After more than half a month's march, www.biquge.info the Broken Army arrived in the capital in mid-September.

During the period of the return of the Broken Army, the achievements of the Broken Army and Liu Fan also spread all over the world with the Di Newspaper. Since the death of Qi Jiguang, this is a rare big victory in the internal and external wars of the Ming Dynasty. With an army of 10,000, Liu Fan fought against tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops of the Liukou, not only defeated almost all the Liukou, but also captured Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the Liukou, with his own hands. Gao Yingxiang's capture indicated that the activities of the rogues had fallen into a trough, which greatly encouraged the morale of the Ming Dynasty and the people.

For the people of the capital, this year is indeed a year worth rejoicing, although the northern Jianyu ravaged the Xuanda area, but after all, they were confined to the border pass and could not go deep. The rogues in the Central Plains were beaten by the army of the Ming Dynasty and almost wiped out. Without the harassment of the Tartars and the rogues, the people of the capital can finally relax and live a stable year. Under the leadership of Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty won victory after victory, and there was a statue of Zhongxing.

But Liu Fan knew that all this was an appearance. This year is also the last year before the Ming Dynasty slipped into the abyss, because the Later Jin Dynasty has pacified Mongolia and Korea, and the rear has been at ease, as long as they integrate all their forces, they will invade the Ming Dynasty again and again, draining the last trace of blood of the Ming Dynasty, until this behemoth collapses with a bang, and then these invaders will stand on the corpse of the Ming Dynasty as a victor to show off their might.

Liu Fan knew that there was not much time left for him to develop with peace of mind, he already had some fame, and after the sacrifice of prisoners, he would have greater rights, and he also proved his worth like Chongzhen, and the premise of letting go of his hands and feet was already there. Liu Fan is like an arrow at the moment, and he just wants to return to Shandong as soon as possible to recruit troops and expand his strength to deal with the upcoming crisis.

In order to avoid making a big fuss and causing unnecessary trouble, Liu Fan did not engage in any grand entrance ceremony. Instead, he directly placed the army and prisoners in Niutun Fort, and he only brought some personal soldiers into the palace to meet Chongzhen. After learning that Liu Fan had returned triumphantly, Chongzhen was very happy, and even left behind the complicated government affairs and took time to meet Liu Fan alone.

In the side hall of the East Warm Pavilion, the two monarchs and ministers sat opposite each other, Chongzhen couldn't help but look at Liu Fan carefully, and then he opened his mouth and praised, "I haven't seen you in just half a year, and the people have changed a lot!" Blackened, thinner, stronger than before. There is a kind of evil spirit that has returned from a hundred battles, and now Jimin is more like a general who can fight well! Not bad, not bad! ”

Liu Fan said humbly, "It's all the Hongfu who dragged His Majesty, and Weichen can achieve some small achievements." Besides, it is also the duty of a minister to defend the country as a soldier, and he does not deserve such praise from His Majesty. ”

Chongzhen sighed, "I know all about Jimin, and Jimin is willing to chase and kill Li Zicheng and other bandit leaders for thousands of miles, I am very relieved!" It's hateful, Chen Qiyu misled the country and the people, and almost missed my big event! Fortunately, I can give an explanation to the people of the world! ”

Liu Fan smiled wordlessly and did not speak, Liu Fan did not agree with Chongzhen's practice of shirking responsibility. But it's not good for him to confront Chongzhen face to face now. After being silent for a while, Liu Fan said, "Your Majesty, the minister wants to ask Your Majesty for his life and return to Jiaozhou as soon as possible." Now the Tartars outside the pass have pacified the rear and united the Mongol tribes. The minister expected that this Xuanda incident was just a temptation for them, and that there would be an even greater storm waiting for us in the near future. In the next few years, the center of gravity of the Ming Dynasty will shift from the Central Plains to the north. The Tartar has always been fierce and tight, and the minister wants to go back as soon as possible to prepare! ”

Speaking of Hou Jin Tatar, the smile on Chongzhen's face slowly disappeared, and his family knew his own affairs. This Xuanda war did not go as smoothly as the imperial court advertised. Not only did it not go well, but it can even be said to be miserable. Xuanda is an important town in the northern border pass, and in terms of military strength, it is only slightly inferior to the Liaodong group. Coupled with the strong combination of Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao, Xuanda's border army can be said to be the largest force that Chongzhen can command now. However, such a powerful force was a little powerless in the face of the combined invasion of the Later Jin and the Mongol cavalry. The strength of the Houjin cavalry gave Chongzhen a great sense of crisis, and every time he thought of this, Chongzhen's heart was filled with sorrow.

Looking back at Liu Fan, who was looking forward to it in front of him, Chongzhen had an idea and said, "Jimin, this time you have made a lot of meritorious contributions." I once said that when you triumph, I will make you a general worthy of the name. You don't have any jokes, so how about I want you to succeed Cao Wenzhao as the chief soldier of Datong? ”

"Datong General Soldier!?" Liu Fan was shocked in his heart and blurted out, "What about Cao Wenzhao?" ”

Chongzhen saw Liu Fan's reaction and said with a smile, "You don't have to worry about this, after Chen Qiyu left office, I intended to let Hong Chengchou take over the position of governor of the five provinces and continue to pursue and suppress the thieves." It just so happens that Cao Wenzhao and Hong Chengchou cooperate very well, they are old partners, Hong Chengchou will definitely apply to me to bring Cao Wenzhao with him when he goes to suppress thieves. That's just the right time to transfer them together to quell the rogue! How to help the people? Datong General Soldier is a serious first-class general, as long as you become Datong General Soldier, you can rest assured that you will call yourself a general in the future! ”

Liu Fan couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, what about Jiaozhou?" The minister's new policy has just started, and Jiaozhou has just improved, once they leave, those gentry will inevitably fight back, so our efforts over the years have not been in vain? Now that the Houjin Tartar is now full-fledged, and the invasion is imminent, we don't have another three years! ”

Chongzhen was also a little worried when he heard this, Liu Fan proposed a Jiaozhou as an experimental field, and he fully supported the implementation of the new policy. So he also knew very well how much price and effort Liu Fan had paid in Jiaozhou. Even he himself was under tremendous pressure. If you give up like this, don't say that Liu Fan is unwilling, even Chongzhen himself is very reluctant. After thinking about it for a long time, Chongzhen proposed a compromise solution: "Jimin, you take care of the affairs of Jiaozhou first, and temporarily hand it over to Sun Yuanhua to manage." How about you bring someone to Shanxi yourself? ”

Seeing that Liu Fan was still a little hesitant, Chongzhen hurriedly explained, "I want you to go to Shanxi, just because I want you to be able to build Shanxi like Jiaozhou, and guard the gate of the north for me, so that I can spare all my energy to exterminate the thieves in the Central Plains." Don't worry, Jiaozhou I will watch for you, and I won't let others ruin your hard work! With me, no one dares to touch Jiaozhou! (To be continued.) )