Fu Zonglong's troops entered Kaifeng, which naturally attracted the attention of the government and the opposition, and the center of the Beijing division paid special attention to it, for no other reason, the two fronts were carried out, and any mistake was an irreparable loss for the Ming Dynasty. However, the financial system of the Ming Dynasty, which was actually on the verge of collapse, could not withstand these two large-scale battles at the same time, and Emperor Chongzhen was under tremendous pressure from the beginning of the Battle of Ningjin in July.

It can be said that the initiative on the battlefield is no longer in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming army has completely lost the right to choose when to start a war, like this, and where to start a war. The two great forces of the Manchu Qing and the Liukou launched an attack on the Ming army at the same time, and the Ming army had to make two big bets at the same time in order to protect themselves.

Fu Zonglong was very aware of the difference in strength between himself and Li Zicheng, so he pretended to rush across the Ru River, but secretly led the main force of the Shaanxi army and the Baoding army to raid the Xincai area, intending to suddenly cross the river here, directly hit the ribs of Li Zicheng's army, causing its chaos, and then taking advantage of the situation to cover up.

However, Fu Zonglong's plan was seen through by Li Zicheng, who led the army to pretend to cross the river, but ordered the generals Liu Zongmin and Yuan Zongdi to lead the elite cavalry to intersperse with the Xincai area. Fu Zonglong wanted to be taken by surprise, but he was caught off guard by Liu Zongmin's men, and the two armies engaged in a battle, retreated back at the same time, and confronted each other by the Ru River.

When Emperor Chongzhen got the battle report, he was naturally worried, he was afraid that the battle of Henan would become a protracted war of attrition again, and the Ming court would definitely not be able to withstand such attrition again. As a last resort, he allowed Chen Xinjia's construction, and ordered Hong Chengchou to start a decisive battle with the Manchus as soon as possible to end the war outside the Guan.

The court is a mess, but He Youling is nested in the palace all day long, and he rarely even goes back to his private house, and he still has a position as an internal official supervisor. But he is an old qualification, and he has a close relationship with Cao Huachun and Du Xun, the big bosses of the ceremonial supervisor, so even the eunuch on duty in the internal official supervisor does not dare to hold it up in front of him, so this position is just an ornament.

These days, He Youling has been a little uncertain, and he can't say why, but he is just uncomfortable, and this feeling makes He Youling very worried. Because of this, he has been staying in the internal official prison in order to get the latest news. has been in the palace for 50 years, from entering the palace in the Wanli period to the present, He Youling has seen too many changes in the palace, and what Ping Suli has to warn himself every day is the word "take precautions".

After the failure of the Tianjin incident, none of the people involved in the matter could escape back from there, and Mao Yunju and Wang Liang, who were specifically responsible for the matter, heard that they had died in the chaos, which barely made He Youling settle down. But he was also afraid that there would be any clues involving him, so in addition to bribing Du Xun, the upstart in the palace with a lot of money, and taking the line of Tian Guifei, he stayed in the palace every day, and arranged manpower and fast horses at the palace gate to prevent accidents.

He Youling is a native of Shanxi, he was sold into the palace since he was a child, and during the Apocalypse, he became the small leader of the eunuch party, and it was at this time that he got into a relationship with the Fan family. Over the years of cooperation with the Fan family, He Youling is also clear that everything is a big crime of losing his head and punishing the nine clans, but he can't care about so much. In today's court, which of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the big men of the ceremonial supervisor are not deceiving the world and stealing their names and selling dog meat with a sheep's head. He is a eunuch, and he has no face to enter the ancestral grave, and the only thing he can rely on is gold and silver treasures. With these, no matter where you go, you can still live a luxurious life of fine clothes and food.

Maoyang Boliu Zhongshu has looked for He Youling several times these days, and He Youling has seen him once and then stopped seeing him. Although this person is a son of Xungui, he is very courageous, and he should have noticed the Tianjin incident, and he was a little unstable and wanted to find out some news. If it weren't for the fact that this person had made a great effort when the Fan family had set up strongholds in Hebei, Zhili, and Jianghuai, I am afraid that Fan Yongdou and He Youling would have kicked him away a long time ago.

Seeing that August 15 is only a few days away, although the palace is not prepared for extravagant celebrations, the rituals that should be performed on weekdays are essential. Therefore, the internal officials and supervisors who are in charge of the civil engineering and daily necessities in the palace are also extremely busy.

At noon that day, He Youling was drinking in his duty room alone, but Cui Zhinian, the eunuch on duty in the internal official supervisor, came to the door. He Youling had a good relationship with him, so the two were not too polite, and He Youling immediately instructed the little eunuch to put an extra pair of chopsticks.

As soon as Cui Zhinian sat down, he sighed for a long time, full of complaints, and what he said was nothing more than how difficult it was now. Emperor Chongzhen abolished the use of the palace, but all the things and preparations for this Mid-Autumn Festival need to be prepared by the internal officials and supervisors. In the past, the celebrant also allocated some silver, but this year he did only give an order, but he did not see a penny of silver allocated at all. made Cui Zhinian anxious now.

He Youling has his own thoughts, so he only dealt with a few words hastily. But while talking, someone outside did report that it was the emperor of the Qianqing Palace who had summoned him and ordered the celebrant and the internal officials and supervisors to go to discuss the celebration arrangements in the harem during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Cui Zhinian had a bitter face when he heard this, and with a flick of his chopsticks, he took He Youling to the Qianqing Palace together. He Youling was stunned, Cui Zhinian put on a smiling face, "Gong He, it was said that it was summoned by the Qianqing Palace, in fact, you also know that it is none other than the father-in-law of the ceremonial supervisor to arrange relevant envoys." The position of the junior eunuch has just been sitting for half a year, and the celebrant and the princess can listen to the grievances of the juniors. You are an old man in the palace, and you can talk to Cao Gong, Du Gong, etc. This errand of the internal official and supervisor should be done properly, how can you do it without it? Please also take a trip with the juniors, tell Cao Gong about our difficulties, and listen to them, so that you can allocate some silver! ”

Cui Zhinian said sincerely, and Ping Suli took special care, He Youling couldn't refuse, so he had to change into the official uniform of an internal official and walk with Cui Zhinian.

The weather is still as hot and dry as ever, even in the inner palace in the shade, when he walked near the Qianqing Palace, he was already sweating, not to mention that He Youling was already sixty years old, although he was supported by the eunuchs under his command all the way, he was also sweating profusely and panting.

When he arrived at the Qianqing Palace, the emperor had not yet summoned him, so Huaide let Cui Zhinian and He Youling wait in the duty room for the time being.

Huaide walked a few steps, raised the door curtain high, He Youling thanked him, and caught a glimpse of the two figures in the room, but his raised feet stopped in mid-air.

Cui Zhinian behind him sneered, and pushed He Youling's back, He Youling couldn't contain his body, and suddenly stumbled into the duty room.

The curtain was lowered suddenly, and the two doors were tightly closed from the inside. Not far away, the faces of the two He Youling's subordinate eunuchs who were waiting at the foot of the steps of the Qianqing Palace changed, and they ran away quickly as if they were two frightened words.

Cui Zhinian breathed a sigh of relief, and gave up and made a gesture at Huaide, and Huaide also smiled, "This time He Youling was arrested, Cui Gonggong has made a great contribution, and the master of ceremonies will definitely reward him!" ”

Hearing this, the smile on Cui Zhinian's face became even brighter, but he still stabilized his mind, "Father-in-law, why did Shicai take He Youling's two servants together, and why did he watch them flee?" ”

Huaide sneered, "Father-in-law, rest assured, by the will of the Holy Lord, the palace gate will be locked today, and the capital will be temporarily under martial law, all in order to arrest He Youling's party henchmen, and no one will be arrested!" ”

Cui Zhinian couldn't help but shudder, although he didn't know why He Youling was so arrested, but seeing that what he had committed was definitely not small.

He Youling was defenseless, and was pushed into the duty room by Cui Zhinian, and his heart seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar in an instant, and every sweat pore on his body revealed cold.

The two people I saw just now, He Youling recognized them, one was Zhang Yunhan of Admiral Dongchang, and the other was Luo Yangxing, the commander of Jinyiwei now, the two of them did not interact with each other on weekdays, but now they appeared in front of them at the same time, even a fool knows why he came.

Luo Yangxing was wearing a python robe given by the emperor, and there were several butter candles like children's arms set up in the room, and the temperature was far higher than outside. But Luo Yangxing saw He Youling, but his face was refreshed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to be stretched out in an instant, and he greeted him with a smile.

"Gong He, it came very quickly, and he didn't let me wait for everyone for a long time! Why don't you meet the celebrant Cao Gong! ”

He Youling couldn't help but feel excited, and only then did he find that behind the lights, on Zhang Yunhan's side, there was a figure hidden in the dark with his back to him.

The man slowly turned around, and it was Cao Huachun, the current minister of the Ming Dynasty.

He Youling's heart was beating wildly, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, and barely squeezed out his clothes and smiled, "Gong Cao, ...... are you?" ”

A smile flashed in Cao Huachun's eyes, and he didn't answer, but waved his hand at Zhang Yunhan. Zhang Yunhan bowed, stepped forward, and said loudly to He Youling: "Old He, they are all people who have worked hard in the palace for many years, so we don't have to hide it." Your matter is committed, quickly recruit the comrades you installed inside and outside the palace, we still have a trace of incense, otherwise, Dongchang and Jinyiwei you can choose at will, you are also old, our generational craftsmanship is always not good to use on you! ”

Although he knew that a catastrophe was coming, He Youling still tried his best to pretend that he had nothing to do with himself and pretended to be confused. "Governor Zhang's words, I still don't understand ......!"

Zhang Yunhan didn't bother to talk nonsense with him, and clapped his hands impatiently, and a few fans from Dongchang had already come in and sent a white-suited prisoner with a big tie into the house, and put a vermilion wooden box on the table.

The man was unkempt, but when he saw He Youling, he pounced on him with a shout, "Gong He, save me!" ”

Fanzi kicked it down, but one of the man's faces came to He Youling's face, He Youling only glanced at it, and his soul was suddenly scattered. "Mao Yunju, you, you're not dead yet!"

Cao Huachun laughed out loud, pointed at the wooden box with his hand, Zhang Yunhan understood, hurriedly stepped forward to open it, and pointed the things in the box at He Youling, "Gong He, your old acquaintance, come and say hello!" ”

A miserable white face was revealed in the wooden box, a head was among them, and two figureless eyes looked at He Youling fixedly, He Youling suddenly collapsed to the ground, it was Liu Zhongshu who had been begging to see him a few days ago.

"He is bold and full of Junlu, but he doesn't know how to sympathize with Jun'en, collude with illegal businessmen, and unite with the Tartars outside the border to betray my Ming interests. Early this morning, Jinyiwei has been ordered to raid Liu Zhongshu's mansion, there is a will in the saint, such disloyal and unfilial people, what is the benefit of staying, and the special order is full of beheading, razing the three clans! ”R1152