"The military department reported that the battle in Lushun was fierce, the army of Jiannu was only in Lushun as many as more than 100,000 people, there were still garrisons in the south of the four guards, tens of thousands of food auxiliaries, the total number has exceeded 150,000, the siege of Lushun has been more than ten days, the earth city is higher than the city wall, according to the royal court test report, Jiannu Hongyi cannon as many as forty or fifty, there are still small bronze cannons, generals, Fran machines and other hundreds, Lushun arrows rain rain cannons like rain, Dengzhou town is high-spirited and not afraid of strong enemies, killing and wounding Jiannu thousands, but Dengzhou is the barracks, left and right associations also lost Yan zhòng, Chen Xin, the chief soldier of the crown prince and young Fu Dengzhou, asked for a total of 3,200 additional pieces of Hongyi artillery, armor, and furlong machines, as well as a number of military salaries, grain and grass, gunpowder, rockets, iron, and sulfur. ”

On the platform of the Forbidden City, the emperor is discussing with the cabinet, and there are Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, Min Hongxue, Xu Guangqi, Liang Tingdong and others who come today, and Wen Tiren's faction is still the majority.

The thin Wen Tiren said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Chen Xin has sworn to defend Lushun to the death, and declared that he would rather die than abandon the last piece of land in Liaodong, as long as he holds Lushun, my Ming people's hearts will be greatly boosted, and the emperor will ask the emperor to recruit and transfer border troops to help, and reverse the situation in Liaodong in a war." ”

After Liang Tingdong finished speaking, he handed over a military report from Dengzhou, Chongzhen took it curiously, and after reading the headline written by Chen Xin, he nodded a little excitedly, and said to Liang Tingdong after reading it: "Young Master Chen's recital a few days ago was also written like this, vowing to live and die with Lushun, in fact, I ......."

Chongzhen stopped suddenly, and all the ministers waiting quietly to see what the emperor was hesitating.

"Actually, I don't want Mr. Chen to have to break the net with Jiannuyu, but Lushun can't stop it." Chongzhen closed his eyes, stared at Liang Tingdong after opening them and said: "This matter must be handled in a hurry, the household department and the Ministry of Industry must work together, if someone shirks and delays, Liang Aiqing can come to the palace at any time to face him." I will not spare it. Chen Xincai captured Zijin Liang alive in Henan, killed more than 10,000 rogues, and it was too late to sacrifice prisoners, and in a blink of an eye, he returned to Lushun to resist Jiannu, and he couldn't even breathe. ”

Liang Tingdong said: "The minister understands, and he also knows the difficulties of General Chen, and the materials will be raised as much as possible." But this side of the army ...... There is really nowhere to draw, Shaanxi Sanbian and Guyuan have to guard against Hudun Rabbit and Trick Kou, the distance is too far, Cao Zhao and other troops besiege Liukou in the southeast of Shanxi, and the same is true for the people and horses of Xuanda Three Towns. None of these soldiers could be mobilized, otherwise the rogue would have escaped. Jizhen people need to guard the Beijing division, and it is not appropriate to be transferred, there is only one Liao town, Liaodong Governor Fang Yizao has been sparse in recent days, saying that tens of thousands of Jiannu are haunted near Jinzhou, and Zu Dashou has repeatedly asked for help. Please send border troops to Liao. ”

When Chongzhen heard the name Zu Dashou, his face was unconsciously gloomy, but it was only a short moment, and he quickly returned to normal. Ningyuan and Jinzhou are both places outside the country, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they have become a country within a country. The Battle of Daling River was a major turning point for Zu Dashou, as this battle seemed to have shattered his confidence in defending the city, plus killing He Kegang when he got out of trouble. Although he has his own reasons, it is completely inconsistent with the law at all. So he simply put on all the ways of a warlord. Ignore the imperial court's decree that he would enter Beijing.

Later Jin switched to Zu Dashou's political offensive, Zu Kefa, Zu Runze and others had private contact channels with Jinzhou, Huang Taiji was shrewd, these people were not bad, they knew that the current state was the most beneficial to the Guanning army, and they benefited between Ming and Jin, as long as Zu Dashou stood tall in Jinzhou, they could also get preferential treatment in Houjin. The ancestral army maintained such a non-offensive and non-defensive posture, Zu Dashou naturally would not surrender lightly, he was a good king of Jinzhou, and he would not take refuge in the past because of Huang Taiji's few words, no matter how beautiful Huang Taiji said, it could not change the quality of the high-grade coating. And no matter how much the Houjin boast about themselves, they have not now reached the form of a regime, more like a huge primitive tribe.

Fang Yizao also played two secret performances after taking office, and he selectively picked out some situations to report, all of which were superficial, and he didn't dare to involve substantive things, but Chongzhen could guess it, and his transfer of his ancestor Dashou into Beijing was the best temptation. But even if he knew, he didn't dare to be short of a penny of Zu Dashou's silver, in case the balance turned to Houjin, such a huge military town with ill intentions was three hundred miles away from Beijing, and Jizhen and Denglai were particularly important.

Cao Heng has been engaged in Jizhen for two years, and the base has built a defense line, and the people here are usually out of tune. Denglai can contain Jiannu and Liaozhen at the same time, Chongzhen is not very clear about the strategic position of Lushun, he feels that Lushun is not as good as Jinzhou, because Jinzhou is an acropolis, and Lushun is only a thousand households. Despite this, his role in southern Liaoning is very clear, that is, to contain the two forces that pose the greatest threat to Jingshi at the same time.

Several pavilion elders all knew that Zu Dashou was a warlord, but this warlord still talked about the rules in Beijing, and there was no shortage of filial piety, and now the imperial court can't deal with it, so several people are interested in not going into this topic.

Chongzhen asked Liang Tingdong in a deep voice: "There are already 100,000 Jiannu in Lushun, Fang Yizao said that there are tens of thousands of Jiannu in Jinzhou, and the military department can go far to investigate and defend, where did these tens of thousands come from?" ”

"The minister has sent someone to Liaozhen to investigate, and as soon as the military situation returns, the minister will report immediately." Liang Tingdong made a move to delay tactics, he actually concluded that Zu Dashou was indiscriminately reporting the military situation, and Jiannu must have done his best to attack Lushun, and would never send tens of thousands of people to deal with Liaozhen who did not dare to go out of the city, but everyone would not say it in front of the emperor.

Chongzhen accepted Liang Tingdong's statement, after all, Liang Tingdong's performance this year was very good, and he did not embarrass Liang Tingdong on the spot.

"That being the case, let Fang Yizao also be more clear, don't write some confused words about tens of thousands of Jiannu in the future, let him be the governor of Liaodong, not a microphone of Jinzhou, how many Jiannu came, he has to find out by himself, otherwise what is the use of him, when the cabinet gives him a vote, write these words of mine into it."

Liang Tingdong immediately responded, and he said: "The nine sides can't transfer people, and Lushun has to Dengzhou Town for the time being, but the minister has ordered Tianjin Navy Division and Dongjiang Town to respond to Lushun." ”

Min Hongxue stood up at this time and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister has something to do, and now the beacons are everywhere, and Dengzhou Town is going to the east and west, which is really unbearable." Henan Governor Xuan Mo was sparse and asked Dengzhou Town to stay in Henan, and Xu Congzhi reported that bandits were rampant in Yishan. It is also to ask for the help of Dengzhou Town. Dengzhou town to the east and west to seek heavy losses, just in Henan will lose as many as a thousand, and a town of elite soldiers is really a family, according to the old minister, Dengzhou town is strong, is to Qi Shaobao's law to practice the family, this kind of family is mostly Dengzhou mountain fishermen, just like the volunteer Dongyang miners, only Denglai Qing three places are the most simple and dare to fight. After a few times, it was not enough. Now that Lushun has fought bloody battles, Lao Chen is afraid that he will be unbearable when he enters the town next year. ”

Chongzhen asked softly, "What does Min Aiqing mean?"

"Please build a new battalion in Denglai, recruit local mountain people and fishermen into the army, and send a military attache to lead the troops, which will be under the rule of the governor of Denglai. In this way, it can also give Mr. Chen a chance to breathe. ”

Chongzhen suddenly hesitated, Chen Xin is currently very obedient, but Dengzhou's super combat power makes him quite worried, the current scale is the largest Cheng dù he can accept, he is worried about Liao Town, but also guarding against the appearance of another Liao Town.

The emperor's hesitation. It shows that he has concerns, and Zhou Yanru said appropriately: "Wang Tingtry to transfer Geng Zhongming, deputy chief soldier of the Fubiao Middle Battalion in Dengzhou, to impeach Chen Xin, impeach Chen Xin for bullying the standard camp in Henan, and forcibly occupying the head of the standard camp. or even the arson and plundering of the local gentry, the minister thought that for the sake of President Chen's military plan, he should still find out. ”

Chongzhen motioned for Wang Chengen to bring it. After reading it silently, he didn't speak. He has been using Denglai to contain Jiannu and Liaozhen, but who will contain Dengzhou Town. He didn't think about it, Wang Ting tried to be harmonious, and Chongzhen didn't believe that he could strike a balance in the town.

Wen Tiren and the others were silent, Liang Tingdong coughed and stood up, and said respectfully to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Lord Shufu forgot about it, and General Chen also went up to impeach Geng Zhongming, saying that he didn't listen to the dispatch when he was in Henan, and he only cared about looting the military resources of the Liukou, which caused the whereabouts of the army to leak, so that Gao Yingxiang, the Eight Kings and others who should have been captured escaped, so they were reprimanded by General Chen many times, and it is possible for him to hold a grudge. ”

Chongzhen smiled slightly, sighed softly and said: "This Geng Zhongming, when he was in Dengzhou, he followed that Li Jiucheng to make trouble, but fortunately, he finally got lost and returned, I also saw it last time I came to Beijing, although it is majestic, I can also see a brute force, these two people are impeached, I feel that I am afraid that Chen Zongbing is more reliable." However, Geng Zhongming's military exploits are also there, and the military department still has to do something to make peace, don't let these battles of will affect the overall situation, Dengzhou Town is now an important town in the world, and there is no chaos at all. ”

Zhou Yanru preemptively said: "The minister also thinks so, and now that the two of them are in Lushun, the war is so fierce, it is not appropriate for them to defend themselves, the old minister Jianyi, this matter will be said after the war, but it should be said clearly, or the two should be asked to explain, especially Lord Chen, he should be returned to a clean house, tens of thousands of soldiers in Dengzhou Town, and most of the left and right associations are from Deng, if the general is not in harmony, the chaos will be greater than Li Jiucheng's generation." ”

Hearing Zhou Yanru's insinuations, Wen Tiren finally couldn't help it, and stood up and said: "Mr. Zhou has good intentions, but this rhetoric is still slightly inappropriate, Lord Chen is dedicated to the country, and has been born and died several times, I don't know if Lord Shufu has read the report of the capture of Zijin Liangtang transferred by the Ministry of War, and thinks that Zijin Liang has been a disaster for Shanshan for many years, and finally died in front of Dengzhou Town." Chen Xinqin led 3,000 foot soldiers to travel 100 miles at night, went deep into the 100,000 liukou, captured Zijin Liang alive in the first battle, suffered three knife wounds, and lost more than 1,000 soldiers. Chen Xin has already held a very military position, if he does not have the heart of loyalty, how can he be willing to take such a big risk, this is the reign of the Holy Son of Heaven, and the good will be in the Ming Dynasty, but listening to the words of the old gentleman, just because the two impeached each other, he suspected that such loyal and generous people were in rebellion. ”

Zhou Yanru said calmly: "Mr. Wen's words are bad, and the official also thinks that Lord Chen is loyal and generous, and he has been brave and brave for many years, and he is really a rare loyal and brave man in my Ming Dynasty. However, he has always had many conflicts with the villagers in the countryside, according to the official remembers, since Chongzhen has not broken it for two years, some time ago Riyang and Zhu Wannian of the military preparation road also went to the impeachment of Chen Xin to privately train the army......"

Liang Tingdong interrupted with a smile: "The Ministry of War has verified that the soldiers it trains are military households, and now most of them have been transferred to the regiment to train the general soldiers, and the training of the guards is reasonable. ”

"Naturally, the training should be practiced, but since the military department has verified it, can there be a fixed number of the geometry of the regular soldiers and the geometry of the regimental training? There are many forts in Denglai, how many forts are there, how many people are brave in each fort, and the military department can verify it? ”

Liang Tingdong replied lightly: "The Ministry of War has its own archive, Lord Shoufu can come to check it, and the lower officials also want to ask Lord Shoufu, Henan and Shanxi are also full of forts, does the Ministry of War also have to verify it?" Dengzhou has been in rebellion by Kong Youde. The people are panicked, there are countless people who have formed a village to protect themselves, most of them are not from Dengzhou Town, Lord Shoufu does not ask about cause and effect, and does not ask who the host is, as soon as he comes, he will buckle his hat on the head of Chen Zongbing, not Zaifu's mind. ”

Liang Tingdong confronted Zhou Yanru in front of the emperor, which made Wen Tiren very satisfied with him, which would show that Zhou Yanru lacked prestige in the cabinet. These sentences are also very good, and Chen Xin's handling of Sun Yuanhua is well known. Later, Sun Yuanhua was involved in bribing Zhou Yanru, which not only caused Zhou Yanru to lose a general, but also caused his prestige to plummet, so it is certain that he will have a grudge with Chen Xin.

Chongzhen waved lightly to the two and persuaded the two: "Don't argue between the two Aiqing. Shoufu didn't mean to impose a charge on Chen Xin, and Liang Aiqing was not wrong, but there was already a left and right association in Dengzhou, Zhengqi was ready for aid, and the land in Denglai was barren, and there were too many people and horses, so it was also difficult to provide for it. ”

Zhou Yanru stopped and stopped talking. Min Hongxue, who began to mention yì, said: "Your Majesty, you have a new tripartite policy, and southern Liaoning is important, and the ministers have asked to set up another general army in Qingzhou." It belongs to the subordinate governor of Denglai, and there are three battalions of regular soldiers, strange soldiers, and rangers. The ministry recruited Qingzhou mountain people and fishermen as soldiers, which was not inferior to Dengzhou Town, and could reinforce southern Liaoning and Dongjiang in times of crisis. In order not to rely on a few battalions of soldiers and horses to deal with the entire division of Jiannu as this time. Even if it does not aid southern Liaoning. It can also be requisitioned and transferred to exterminate the Liukou, and on weekdays, it will exterminate the bandits in Qingzhou, which is a triple win. ”

Chongzhen was slightly moved when he heard this, but he still couldn't make up his mind, because he knew that these ministers often said the same thing, and the real intention behind it was difficult to guess, he couldn't guess it today, and said to the following ministers at the moment: "Qingzhou is assigned to Denglai, this is a big matter, which involves a lot, don't be in a hurry, wait until I think clearly, if there is nothing else to do today, they will disperse, Dengzhou's grain, grass and armament must be tightened up, who dares to delay, will not be spared." ”

After the emperor finished speaking, he was about to get up, and when he saw Xu Guangqi in a blink of an eye, seeing Xu Guangqi's face was not good, the emperor asked with concern: "Xu Aiqing presides over the compilation of the almanac, which is a major national event, but Aiqing is old, and he must also take care of his own body." ”

Xu Guangqi bowed hard and thanked the emperor for his concern. For him, the utilitarian mind of Yiqiē has long been gone, especially the ending of Sun Yuanhua, Xu Guangqi tried his best, but he still couldn't save this most valued junior and parishioner, which almost broke his spiritual world. Now he pays little attention to the court situation, but focuses on the compilation of the Chongzhen almanac.

Chongzhen encouraged: "It's still the same sentence as before, the almanac is not limited to the almanac, Taixi or the folk, we must gather the strengths of the people, listen to them with an open mind, and the Western method may be both, and the different views of each family should be comprehensive." ”

Xu Guangqi was full of gratitude for the emperor's support. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, learning Western studies is a kind of scholar's fashion, not an individual behavior, but a kind of interaction between the East and the West, Chongzhen also showed great tolerance for Western science, in addition to military equipment, even the almanac such a heavy national event, but also adopted an inclusive approach, never excluding the West. The so-called view of Western science as a strange technique is a specialty of the Qing Dynasty, not the same in China.

He knelt down and kowtowed: "The minister has thanked the emperor, and the old minister has done his best, and he will definitely make an almanac a hundred years ago." ”

Chongzhen nodded, rubbed his temples tiredly, then stood up and let the minister disperse, and returned to the Qianqing Palace with the support of Wang Chengen.

Zhou Yanru and Xu Guangqi left together, Liang Tingdong and the others were with Wen Tiren, the two groups of people did not speak to each other, Liang Tingdong and Zhou Yanru tore their faces today, and even the superficial effort was saved, Wen Tiren was very gentle towards him, let him walk beside him, and talked in a low voice all the way.

After leaving the palace gate, all the officials took a sedan chair home, after Liang Tingdong returned to the official residence, the porter came to report that Mr. Song had arrived, Liang Tingdong nodded, and asked him to bring Song Wenxian in, this person is Chen Xin's agent in Beijing, Liang Tingdong and Chen Xin's interests are entangled, the most direct is the Liao salary commission, and then Liang Tingdong has two shops in Tianjin, specializing in goods entering Dengzhou, there is a lack of Dengxiang in other places, he has never lacked there, and the annual profit is very considerable, compared to other greedy ink and money, this is the right way, There is no political risk, of course, Liang Tingdong is not short of money now, and he values the opportunity to enter the cabinet, that is, the opportunity to become a hardcore of the Wen faction.

What Song Wenxian wanted to do this time was to bring Qingzhou Mansion under Denglai's rule, and to build a Qingzhou general army in Qingzhou, which belonged to the ordinary general military officers who did not hang the seal, and Qingzhou set up a regular barracks, a strange barracks and a guerrilla barracks, with a total number of more than 6,000 soldiers.

He couldn't understand whether it was Wang Ting's trial to do it, or Chen Xin's to do it, or Geng Zhongming's to do it, but the benefits in it were explained by Song Wenxian early on. These benefits are part of it, but more importantly, he has one more thing to ask Song Wenxian.

As soon as Song Wenxian, who was dressed in wealth and wealth, went to the study and sat down, Liang Tingdong drove away his subordinates and asked in a low voice: "Daoshi, you said two days ago that Lord Wen has a sharp weapon to deal with Zhou Yanru in his hands, can you find out clearly?" ”

Song Wenxian took a sip of tea with a smile and said lightly: "It's roughly clear, one is called Chen Yutai and the other is called Shen Yikui, both of them are sharp weapons, maybe Lord Liang can add one." But in the end, this matter has to be decided by yourself, in the eyes of the villain, Zhou Yanru can't pass this level, if Lord Liang wants to beat the water dogs, you might as well start, Lord Wen's status must be different. But the villain is here, still waiting for Qingzhou's reply. ”

Liang Tingdong suddenly stopped, stared at Song Wenxian for a moment and then asked, "Dao Shi, who wants this Qingzhou Mansion and Qingzhou General Soldier, you tell the official honestly." ”