Beijing, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was obviously a little overworked, had to put down what he was doing and take a nap under his physical exhaustion.

The loyal eunuch Wang Chengen stood on the side, his eyebrows and eyes did not move, and he looked like an old monk in a settled position. But he was preoccupied with paying close attention to Emperor Chongzhen's reaction, so that he could listen to the emperor's summons at any time.

"Cheng'en, the Datong war has started again, I don't know if Cao Yue can defeat the invading gangsters!" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly asked softly.

"Long live the lord, don't worry, with the master of the horse, you will definitely be able to defeat the invading rogues and keep Datong safe," after glancing at Emperor Chongzhen, who was still with his eyes closed, Wang Chengen replied in a low voice: "The last time Jiannu attacked, the master of the horse defeated Jiannu outside the city, Geng Zhongming's nearly 10,000 horses were completely annihilated, and finally Duoduo also fled back to Shengjing in a hurry. Liukou's combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of Jiannu, and I believe that the master of the horse will be able to make miraculous achievements again. ”

Emperor Chongzhen had already made a decree and was ready to marry Princess Zhu Yujiao of Kunxing to Cao Yue, so Wang Chengen changed his words and called Cao Yue the master of the horse to show his respect. Today's Wang Chengen has very complicated feelings for Cao Yue, this young man who gave him rich rewards, he always feels that the future is limitless, and he may even become a very powerful person in the court, so he attaches great importance to it.

He was also worried that Cao Yue would be uncontrollable and that the emperor's authority would be challenged. He, the eunuch of Bingbi, gave everything to the emperor, and if Emperor Chongzhen had an accident, then he would also be unlucky. Therefore, he did not want Cao Yue to become a powerful warlord.

But now it seems that only Cao Yue can hold Datong, defeat the Liukou, and share the emperor's worries. He wanted to come and go, when Cao Yue's power did not swell, he still had to support this quasi-concubine.

"I hope so," Emperor Chongzhen opened his eyes slightly, and sighed, looking worried, "I really can't imagine that in just a few years, the trend of the rogue has grown so big, but I can't do anything, let it run rampant in Shaanxi and Henan, and now its army has hit Shanxi, alas, there is no one in the court to share my worries." ”

In front of Emperor Chongzhen's case, there was an urgent military report that he had just received, which was sent from Kaifeng, Henan. The military newspaper said that Li Zicheng led a large army to besiege Kaifeng, which was in danger, and implored the imperial court to rescue him immediately.

Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's more than 100,000 men and horses quickly marched north, preparing to attack Taiyuan and Datong, while Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and other major figures of the Liukou led nearly 200,000 men and horses to wage large-scale warfare in Henan and Shaanxi, with a posture of not giving up until Henan and Shaanxi were completely captured. After they captured Luoyang, they pointed directly at Kaifeng. If Kaifeng fell, almost the entire territory of Henan would be occupied by them.

Although Emperor Chongzhen was not too good at military affairs, he also saw that Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's more than 100,000 men and horses went north to attack Taiyuan and Datong, and the soldiers pointed to Beijing, but in fact, they didn't really want to attack Beijing, and they didn't even have to attack Taiyuan and Datong. After discussing with his ministers, Emperor Chongzhen came to the conclusion that these two forces were feints, and the purpose was to contain the Ming official army in the north and make the official army unable to rescue Henan and Shaanxi.

However, Liu Zongmin continued to go north and tried to attack Datong jointly with Li Yanbu, but Emperor Chongzhen and his ministers were puzzled, why did Liukou attack Datong, which was more powerful, instead of Taiyuan, or other important towns? Could it be that they have an enmity with Cao Yue? Or is there something else going on?

Kaifeng City continuously sent urgent reports, saying that it was fiercely attacked by the rogues and was in danger, and asked the imperial court to send a large army to rescue. Kaifeng was attacked on a large scale by the Liukou, which confirmed the conclusion reached by Emperor Chongzhen and other ministers after consultation, and the real intention of the Liukou was still in Henan and Shaanxi, not that they wanted to get involved in the north now. But Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's army continued to attack Datong, which has no good theory to explain, Emperor Chongzhen was confused, a little not sure how to deal with it, and the ministers of the court and the central government were also stubborn, and there was no one to relieve him, which made Emperor Chongzhen very angry.

Henan will fall into the hands of the Liukou, this is a sure thing, but Emperor Chongzhen has a feeling of powerlessness about it. Datong City, which is close to Gyeonggi, was attacked by the Liukou, and the imperial court was unable to send reinforcements, so it could only rely on Cao Yue's own men and horses to toss, and what could he do to save the chaos in Henan? I couldn't figure out the true intentions of the Liukou, the treasury had no money and food, the court could dispatch few people and horses, and there was no available commander in the court, which made Emperor Chongzhen feel haggard.

If there is a suitable candidate for commander, Emperor Chongzhen can of course issue an edict to recruit a group of men and horses to rescue Henan, even if the troops are a little smaller, it can make the rogues fearful. Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to transfer Hong Chengchou to supervise Henan and Shaanxi, for fear that the move of folding the east wall to make up the west wall would give Jiannu an opportunity to destroy the situation in Liaodong, which had finally gained an advantage.

The fact that Jiannu hit the city of Beijing a few years ago still made Emperor Chongzhen have some scruples, for fear that a similar scene would appear again. But apart from Hong Chengchou, Emperor Chongzhen really couldn't think of who could do it.

Wang Chengen, who knew very well what Chongzhen's sentence "no one in the court can share my worries about" meant, thought for a while, and finally said cautiously: "Long live the lord, in fact, the slave maid thinks that there is a person who can share the worries for the long live lord." ”

"Who is it? Do you say it's Cao Yue? Emperor Chongzhen didn't raise his eyelids, and said weakly: "Cao Yue is certainly a general, but he is too young and has no experience in commanding an army. ”

"Long live the master, the slave is not talking about the horse master, but another person!"

"Who is it?" Emperor Chongzhen's eyes widened suddenly.

"Sun Chuanting!"

After these three words came out of Wang Chengen's mouth softly, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up in an instant. However, he did not express his position immediately, but closed his eyes again and thought seriously.

Wang Chengen closed his eyes very interestingly and did not speak again. He knew Emperor Chongzhen very well, and the change in Chongzhen's eyes just now had clearly explained everything. In fact, Wang Chengen dared to recommend Sun Chuanting in front of Emperor Chongzhen because of Cao Yue's relationship.

In the secret letter written to him, Cao Yue probably talked about the current situation, and said that he guessed that the possible target of the Liukou was not Datong, but the whole of Henan and Shaanxi, and he hoped that the imperial court could raise a large army, commanded by a capable person, and deal a severe blow to the arrogance of the Liukou. Cao Yue talked about Sun Chuanting, who was now imprisoned by Emperor Chongzhen, in the letter, and said that in addition to Hong Chengchou, who can take on a great job, there is only this old man Sun.

Because he had read some historical materials before crossing over, Cao Yue probably knew what capable people were at the end of the Ming Dynasty, of course he knew Sun Chuanting's name, and he also had a general understanding of his deeds, and Sun Chuanting's ability was also recorded in the history books, and his people almost reversed the general trend of the world and completely eliminated Li Zicheng.

Because of this, Cao Yue hoped in the letter that Wang Chengen could recommend Sun Chuanting in front of Emperor Chongzhen. After Wang Chengen received Cao Yue's generous gift again, he did not live up to Cao Yue's expectations, and mentioned Sun Chuanting's name to Emperor Chongzhen at a very suitable time. But whether Emperor Chongzhen will pardon Sun Chuanting's guilt and reactivate it, Wang Chengen does not dare to guarantee it.

After thinking about it seriously for a while, Emperor Chongzhen finally slowly opened his eyes and instructed Wang Chengen: "Chengen, immediately send an edict to bring Sun Chuanting out of the prison, and I will personally summon him!"

"Yes, long live the Lord!" After Wang Chengen heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went to give the order.