The war outside the border affects the hearts of countless people, whether it is Shengjing or Beijing, are paying attention to this rare war in the Ming Dynasty in the past 100 years, it can be said that this war will determine the future national fortunes of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Once the Ming Dynasty wins, the Manchu Qing will no longer have the strength to peep into the Guannai within twenty years, and the decades of efforts of the two fathers and sons, Nurhachi and Huang Taiji, will come to naught, and once the Manchu Qing win, the strength of Huang Taiji, who is wrapped in the power of victory and has obtained almost all the firearms in Yueyang, will swell to an almost terrifying Cheng Dù, and there will be no one in the Ming Dynasty who will be his opponent, there is no doubt about it.

Of course, some people naturally hope that there is a third ending, that is, Yue Yang and Huang Taiji fought in a mess, and in the end, it was best to lose both sides and end up together, and it was naturally Chongzhen who was sitting in the Forbidden City with this idea.

Today, the revitalization year who was sitting in the Nuanxiang Pavilion was a little absent-minded, and he suddenly asked Wang Chengen behind him after closing a book.

"Big companion, how do you say Yue Yang and Huang Taiji are fighting now? Did they decide a winner? ”

"Your Majesty, the slaves and maids don't know."

Wang Chengen, who was standing next to Chongzhen, also looked helpless, although the Ming Jinyi Guards were ubiquitous in the Ming Dynasty, they were limited to the Ming Dynasty, but they were beyond the reach of the whip.

Beijing has not warmed up in March, and there is still a biting chill in the spring breeze. Chongzhen is a diligent person, a person like him in the entire history of the Ming Dynasty can only be compared with his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the country, but the difference is that whether it is in governing the country, the army or playing politics, our Chongzhen Emperor is so bad that he can almost pull out eighteen streets compared to Zhu Yuanzhang.

For the current situation of internal and external troubles in the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen can be said to be heartbroken. He trembled day and night to review this fold, his understanding of the entire Ming Dynasty is limited to what he saw from the fold, he has never lived in the people, he does not know what kind of misery the people of the Ming Dynasty live in at this time. He can't do anything about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty's financial scarcity, he is eager to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, but he lacks enough courage, he hates civil officials, but he does not dare to break with the cultural management group, this is Chongzhen, the contradictory Chongzhen!

Chongzhen threw aside a piece of the fold in his hand and sighed lightly. This is a report sent by Dengzhou requesting the imperial court to allocate silver taels for relief to the victims. It's almost routine. Nowadays, almost every state capital will send such a few letters every year, and it is an eternal truth that crying children have milk to eat. The officials below don't care whether the court has money or not, and they don't care whether they really need relief under their rule. In short, it is not wrong to send such a letter of crying poor on time every year.

And Shi Chongzhen's cousin Xiàn is also very helpless. You can only write the three words "I know" and leave it in the middle. This result is not surprising. Since ancient times, after any empire has lasted for a period of time, their successors naturally do not have the vigor they had when they were founded, because the civil officials who have been their teachers since they were sensible have been constantly brainwashing in their ears, telling them that they can't do this and that. In particular, those civil officials who were armed with the Tao of Confucius and Mencius were even more happy about it, so much so that any emperor would become a Taoist gentleman after ascending the throne.

It was because of this that the civil officials bullied the children and grandchildren of the old Zhu family to death. The folk call this phenomenon good people being bullied, otherwise if the one sitting on the dragon chair is Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Di, you try, dare to deceive me or be greedy for my silver, see if Lao Tzu doesn't kill you, and if you don't die, hundreds of thousands of people will not be finished.

Chongzhen leaned his tired body back in the chair, closed his eyes and said slowly: "Big companion, today someone has broken the bullet to impeach the Marquis of Zhongyong, saying that he sent troops outside the customs without being ordered, this is the image of the feudal town, and he should be ordered to collect the troops and enter the capital to receive the crime." I don't even have the strength to laugh when I see these folds, I don't understand, what's wrong with the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces of the Ming Dynasty? Have they all read the books of their sages in the belly of a dog? ”

Seeing Chongzhen's tired face, Wang Chengen, who had watched him grow up since he was a child, was indescribably distressed, he choked up and comforted: "Your Majesty, those officials didn't read the book into the dog's stomach, but they all forgot the teachings of the sage, and they remembered the two things of promotion and wealth in their hearts, you don't have to blame yourself, you have done well enough." ”

"Well done?" Chongzhen shook his head, and shook his head very lowly: "No...... I didn't do well enough, I thought that Emperor Taizu could start with cloth clothes and lay a huge country, but I sat on the whole world and faced the predicament but was still at a loss, is this called good? ”

"This ......"

Wang Chengen's mouth was wide open, and he was speechless for a while. He smiled bitterly in his heart: "My emperor, there may not be one person like Emperor Taizu in five hundred years, why do you need to compare with him." ”

There was silence in the Nuanxiang Pavilion for a long time, and then Chongzhen waved his hand and laughed at himself: "Forget it, I am also a good look, what a character Emperor Taizu is, how can I try to compare with him, just watching these twists and turns like a funeral all day long, I really can't help but get angry." But then again, that Yue Yang is now leading his troops out of the customs to fight against that Emperor Taiji, and I don't know what the battle situation is, Daban You want to find a way to inquire, I am really curious. ”

Wang Chengen pondered for a while before he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, if you really want to know the battle situation, there are two ways, one is to send Jinyi Wei out of the customs to investigate, and the other is to let Hong Chengchou send someone to inquire, after all, Hong Chengchou is guarding the Xuanda defense line, and it is close to the outside of the pass, so it is more convenient to inquire about anything." ”

"Well, that's right." Chongzhen thought about it and felt that it made sense, and then ordered: "Okay, big companion, you immediately give Hong Chengchou a decree, let him send someone to inquire, and then quickly report to me." ”

"Yes...... Slave obeys! ”

A few days later, Hong Chengchou received this letter of urgency, but after reading it, he was confused.

"Master, the emperor asked us to send someone out of the customs to investigate the situation of the battle between Yueyang and Huang Taiji, didn't this kind of thing have always been done by Jinyiwei, why did he ask you that you are here." Hong Chengchou, who received the will, was silent. His confidant Hong Antong was also puzzled.

Hong Chengchou pondered for a long time, and then said: "This official doesn't know about this matter, what does the emperor mean by this?" ”

"Could it be...... The emperor wanted us to attack the North Road, but he couldn't say it explicitly, so he took this opportunity to inform us? Hong Antong suddenly had an idea.

"Hiss......" Hong Chengchou gasped, Hong Antong's words sounded ridiculous at first glance, but it made sense when he thought about it, maybe it was really possible. Otherwise, how could Chongzhen be so good that Jinyi Wei didn't send it, but let himself go to investigate and report the news?

And Chongzhen couldn't imagine that he was just an ordinary act that made the people below have so many undeserved thoughts.

But Hong Chengchou, who is the party concerned, thinks that the more he thinks about it, the more he feels that there is this possibility, and now Yueyang has already had the atmosphere of a feudal town based on one side. If he waits for him to defeat Huang Taiji and come back. Then his prestige will rise to a new height, and it is very likely that someone will come to add a Ming version of the yellow robe at that time. The reason why the rulers of China in all dynasties were extremely wary of military generals was because they were frightened by the Tang Dynasty's feudal towns and Zhao Kuangyin's yellow robe. After all, people's desires are endless, and this Yue Yang has never been a peaceful lord. It's good that he defeated this battle. If you wait until he comes back with the power of a great victory. I'm afraid he won't be able to suppress his desires anymore. Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but shudder.

"No, we must solve the matter of Shanbei Road before Yue Yang comes back!" Hong Chengchou's eyes shot a glint of history.

He turned his head and shouted, "Antong! ”

Hong Antong stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "What does the master command?" ”

"You ......"

"Tuk Tuk ......"

Just when Hong Chengchou wanted to speak. There was a knock on the door, and then the door was pushed open, a slender shadow flashed, and Hong Chengchou's concubine Yingniang walked in with a tray.

Seeing the person coming, Hong Chengchou frowned and asked, "Yingniang...... What are you here for? ”

Seeing that Hong Chengchou's face was not very good-looking, Yingniang's little face turned a little pale with fright, and said timidly: "Master...... Slaves...... The slave maid is there to bring you tea. ”

"Send tea!" Hong Chengchou looked at the two cups of tea on Yingniang's tray, his face softened, and he waved his hand: "Okay, you put down your things and go out quickly, you are not allowed to come in without the orders of the official." ”

"Yes!"

Yingniang hurriedly stepped forward and put the tea in front of Hong Chengchou and Hong Antong respectively, and then hurriedly trotted out of the door like an amnesty.

"Squeak", the door was closed, Hong Chengchou looked at the door and then said to Hong An: "Antong, the old man thinks about it, although the meaning of the emperor is obscure, the meaning of the words is already very clear, that is, let us take the opportunity to take back the North Road." The official calculated that Yue Yang was now at a critical juncture in the decisive battle with the Emperor Taiji outside the pass, and most of the elite of the North Road had been taken away by him, and now there were less than 6,000 men and horses guarding the huge North Road. If you think about it, only 6,000 men and horses have to defend huge places including Hunyuan Prefecture, Yingzhou Prefecture and surrounding defense areas, so their forces are bound to be greatly dispersed. At present, the defense of the North Road is mainly presided over by Yue Shunbao, the original scholar of Yueyang, as long as we can control Yue Shunbao, we can bring the North Road into the hands of the imperial court. ”

Hong Antong asked with some worry: "But master, that Yue Shunbao was born as a scholar in Yueyang, and he has worked hard for the Yue family for generations, and his loyalty to the Yue family is naturally undoubted, how can we control him?" ”

Hong Chengchou smiled faintly and said: "If this Yue Shunbao knows each other well, if he doesn't know each other, won't the old man, as the governor of Xuanda, use thunderbolt methods?" Speaking of this, Hong Chengchou's Yan zhòng showed a hint of murderous aura, "Antong, tomorrow you will start to gather soldiers and horses, and secretly camp troops near the North Road in batches, and when the old man arranges things properly, we will take the North Road into our hands in one fell swoop, and then everything on the North Road will be in my hands." ”

Looking at the light in his master's eyes, Hong Antong, who had followed Hong Chengchou for many years, knew that he had made up his mind, and he also stood up straight and said in a deep voice: "Master, that villain immediately started to prepare." ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and said, "You go, remember...... Do it quietly, don't startle the snake! And you have to remember ......"

Just when Hong Chengchou was giving instructions to Hong Antong, neither of them noticed that a figure outside the door was quietly leaving through the window on the side. Half an hour later, a gray-brown one flew into the sky from the backyard of the Governor's Palace, heading south......

In the evening of the next day, in the signing room in the front yard of the Marquis Zhongyong's Mansion, Hai Lanzhu sat at a desk and looked at the piece of information that had just been sent, and her beautiful pink face was full of coldness.

After a long time, Hai Lanzhu put down the information in his hand and sneered: "Hmph...... This is our Ming Dynasty court, the soldiers are bleeding and sweating desperately in front, but the civil officials are stabbing knives in the back, and they are stabbing without guilt. This is the court we are working so hard for! ”

Standing in front of Hai Lanzhu at this time was Jiang He, the deputy director of the Yama Division. He still had a straight face, and said indifferently: "I have long been used to it, crossing the river, demolishing the bridge, unloading the mill and killing the donkey, and even stabbing the knife in the back have always been the best tricks of civil officials." Now Hou Ye is not on North Road. We don't know how much the huge family business on the north road is eye-catching. It is too normal for Hong Chengchou to make such a move. ”

Hai Lanzhu exhaled deeply, and then exhaled a long mouthful of white mist before saying, "Fortunately, we have placed a chess piece next to Hong Chengchou in advance." That's why we learned about it in advance. ”

Mentioning this, Jiang He also approving: "This matter is thanks to Madame's foresight, otherwise if we wait until Hong Chengchou makes a move, we will be passive." ”

In the face of Jiang He's approval, Hai Lanzhu didn't get half a point, but just shook his head lonely: "I'd rather this chess piece never have any news." ”

Seeing that Hai Lanzhu's face was not happy, Jiang He didn't mention it again, but changed the topic and asked, "Madam, since the intelligence mentions that Hong Chengchou wants to buy General Yue, should we prepare in advance?" For example, send someone to ...... General Yue"

Although Jiang He didn't finish his words, his meaning was obvious, and Hai Lanzhu could naturally hear it. I saw her frowning and snorting coldly: "No!" Shunbao is a scholar born in Xianggong, and he has always been loyal to the Yue family, we can't treat a loyal subordinate who has served the Yue family for several generations without evidence, otherwise it won't make people feel cold to Xianggong if it spreads out. You must know that now that Xianggong is not here, my every move represents Xianggong, you must think twice before acting, without my orders, you must not act rashly, do you understand? ”

In the end, Hai Lanzhu's eyes were already full of coldness, and a person like Rao is Jiang He, who was gloomy by nature, couldn't help but breathe, and quickly lowered his head to show his obedience.

Looking at Jiang He, who was bowing his head, Hai Lanzhu sounded in her heart at this time, Yueyang's exhortation: "Daughter-in-law, you have to remember." The intelligence agency is our eyes and ears, this kind of powerful department must be firmly grasped in the hand, Jiang He has a gloomy temperament, this kind of person is a sharp sword if he uses it well, if he uses it badly, he will stab the master, so he must use this kind of person with grace and might, and must not give him military power, otherwise it is equivalent to putting a 10,000-strong enemy around us who does not know when it will explode. Therefore, it is necessary to limit his rights, and if he is found to have signs of instability, he must be removed at the first time! ”

Thinking of this, Hai Lanzhu's eyes inadvertently flashed a trace of killing intent, but this wisp of killing intent only flashed away, and was not noticed by Jiang He, who lowered his head......

A few days have passed, but Shunbao, who is in Yingzhou Mansion, always feels a little strange, these days there are obviously a lot more merchants from the direction of Datong, and there are many merchants who have asked to see themselves one after another, and have given themselves a lot of gifts. Of course, these gifts are varied, gold and silver, antique calligraphy and paintings, and even someone specially brought a few Yangzhou thin horses to give to themselves, but he was scared and quickly pushed out.

Shunbao was a little stunned by the sudden sugar-coated cannonball for a while, of course, Shunbao is not a person who has never seen silver, Yue Yang is still very generous to his subordinates, whether it is salary or welfare, and Yue Yang has long expected that someone will use gold and silver to bribe his subordinates, so he has already made a clear rule that if someone comes to give a gift, it is not impossible to accept it, but it must be reported to the Hou Mansion in time, and the gift received is not allowed to exceed twenty taels of silver, if these things cannot be returned to the visitor, it must be handed over to the Hou Mansion.

For this regulation, the officials of the North Road can abide by it, and occasionally those who do not comply have already entered the class room to eat free prison food, although Shunbao is a scholar of Yueyang, and he has won Yueyang's trust, but he does not dare to take a step beyond Lei Chi at this point, after all, many lessons from the past are in front of him.

Today, as soon as Shunbao returned to the garrison yamen after inspecting the city, he heard someone come to report that it was someone from Datong who asked to see him. Shunbao, who has been frightened by the people who have been asked to see these days, still gnawed and waved his hand irritably, signaling the sergeant to send the people out. Unexpectedly, the sergeant said, "My lord, the person who came claimed to be your world friend, please be sure to meet you." ”

"World friends?"

Shunbao was almost happy, as his ancestors for three generations were begging for a living in Yuejiazhuang, how could there be any world friends in Datong, and it was clear that he was lying.

However, at this time, Shunbao's curiosity was aroused, and he couldn't help but say curiously: "Okay, this official wants to see which one dares to claim to be the official's world friend, you bring him over immediately, I want to see who ate the bear's heart and leopard gall and dares to deceive me!" (To be continued......)