The early morning sun slanted through the branches and leaves, sprinkled with mottled paths, all kinds of crisp bird calls echoed each other, and the trail was full of flowers, full of refreshing fragrance of flowers, and the group walked slowly among the flowers and plants.

This is the imperial garden of the Forbidden City, the young emperor Chongzhen is taking a leisurely walk, there are some direct guards on guard around, followed by some palace maids wearing silk palace clothes, all of them are beautiful girls, the palace clothes are narrow sleeves of the elegant style, the color is light cyan. After Chongzhen saw Concubine Yuan wearing this pale cyan dress for the first time, Chongzhen thought that this color was "Teya Qian", and took the meaning of "night rain dyed into the sky and water", and called it Tianshui blue, and since then the women of the harem have followed suit and become the popular color and style of the harem.

The early morning air made Chongzhen energetic, this mood was not much for him, there were not many things that were smooth in the four years since he ascended the throne, but there were many troubles.

Liaodong's Jiannu is always a sword hanging over the head, the southwest and southeast are a little peaceful, but Shanxi is never peaceful, Yang He asked for 100,000 taels of Zhao'an silver, who knows that the Liukou took the silver and turned his face, in May, Yang He was helpless in the face of the surging tide of Liukou again, Chongzhen was disappointed in Yang He at the same time, and his patience with Liukou was finally exhausted.

The main reason for his relaxed mood today is that the Wendeng camp once again defeated Jiannu on Phi Island, coupled with the achievements of the generals in Dongjiang Town, beheaded and captured Zhenyi at about 1,000, and captured Zhengbaiqi Gushan Ezhen Kak Duli, this is a big victory that has never been seen since the East Affairs, in Chongzhen's view, Liukou is just a trouble, and Houjin is the real danger, as long as he can suppress Jiannu. The mere rogue is not taken seriously by him.

Lu Zhi's good news arrived one step ahead, the heads and prisoners were on the way to Beijing, according to the style of the Wendeng camp, these heads would not have any fakes, so Chongzhen had already believed this battle report, but he still ordered the military department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to send personnel to check the head, if it was true. He entered Beijing by land from Dengzhou, showing the results to the people along the way.

Chongzhen went to a pavilion by the lotus pond and sat down, and beckoned Cao Huachun, who bowed his head and followed behind. asked him casually, "Cao Companion, let the palace maid serve some refreshments." I'll take a moment to rest here. ”

Cao Huachun hurriedly called a few palace maids, took out some snacks from the food boxes they carried, put them on the stone table with their own hands, set up the teacups, took out some cord-shaped tea leaves, washed them with water, and said to Chongzhen while making tea: "Your Majesty, this is the monkey red robe that Fujian just provided this year, and I heard that there are only a few plants in Wuyi Mountain." ”

Chongzhen has no particular hobby of luxury. But this cup of tea is really fragrant, take a look at it, the tea leaves are a little oily, the aroma is thick and quiet, and the soup is clear with golden yellow. He took a sip gently, mellow and sweet, it was indeed the best in tea. He put down the teacup with a faint expression, and after a while, he said: "Tea is good tea, but I hope that Xiong Wencan will spend less effort on tribute, and it is true that those Haikou will be eliminated as soon as possible." As long as Fujian is peaceful, it is better than the best tea. ”

Cao Huachun took another food box, took out the food chopsticks from it, and replied seemingly indifferently: "Lord Xiong is quite talented, I'm afraid that there will be good news soon, the last time the slave went out of the palace, I listened to a few Fujian people chatting, saying that Zheng Zhilong is a strong general, and his subordinates are known as Eighteen Zhi, and even Hongmaoyi is not his opponent, I am afraid that it will not take long to exterminate those pirates." ”

Chongzhen didn't have a good impression of this Zhao'an pirate, and said lightly: "Li Kuiqi has been a disaster abroad for several years, and he was able to extinguish it by relying on his internal strife, so Zheng Zhilong is afraid that it does not match the rumors." ”

"What the emperor said is that the minions also feel that Li Kuiqi is afraid that he is more powerful, but fortunately, this person will eventually die, and now there is one pirate left who is said to be not Zheng Zhilong's opponent, and Fujian will be peaceful soon."

The emperor was in a good mood today, and after listening to Cao Huachun's words, a little smile appeared on his face, but Cao Huachun said hesitantly, "It's just that the slave heard that this ......"

Chongzhen smiled and nodded slightly: "Cao is with you, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

"The minions have only heard people talk about it, I don't know if this matter is true or false, Zheng Zhilong once said, 'Destroy the small group and dominate the four seas', the minions always feel that those pirates are all unable to support their families, then Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin, Yang Liu, Yang Qi have all recruited An, I am afraid that Lord Xiong's warships have been given to Zheng Zhilong, and then the pirates will be completely destroyed, if this Zheng Zhilong has a different heart, who can control it."

Chongzhen's brows furrowed slightly, he was indeed very disgusted with the tricks and rebellions of these sea robbers, and he was originally wary in his heart, but the Daming Navy Division was not as strong as the one that swept the Luliang Sea Bandits back then, and the silver was not even enough to supply the nine sides, so how could he have the spare strength to build a water division again, and relying on the sea to fight the sea master seemed to be the only choice.

Cao Huachun raised his eyes slightly to observe Chongzhen's face, and then continued: "Don't worry, the emperor must not worry, the slave is just hearsay, Zheng Zhilong has also been honest in recent years, not accurate is really a loyal, and the current sailor is also very useful, this time the victory of Mi Island, there is the merit of the sailor, the emperor allowed Wendeng Camp to establish a water camp, it is far-sighted, Zheng Zhilong has both the ability and loyalty, and he can also rely on it in Liaohai in the future." ”

Chongzhen looked at Cao Huachun, with a suspicious look on his face, but seeing that Cao Huachun had no different color, he sighed softly and said: "Zheng Zhilong was originally a giant on the sea, and his heart is unpredictable. ”

Cao Huachun hurriedly knelt down and said: "Yes, the slave was worried, and he was quick to speak, and he almost put the emperor in danger." ”

Chongzhen waved his hand to get him up, Cao Huachun stood up and said: "The slave is just thinking about the shortcut of the island, but the sailor is really useful, Jiannu is only good at land warfare, and he doesn't know anything about water warfare, and when he gets to the sea, he is like a tiger leaving the mountains and forests, not my Ming opponent, Lu Zhi said this time that Jiannu also wants to build a sailor, it just so happens that this Zheng Zhilong is only good at naval warfare, but when he gets to land, he is like a dragon losing the sea, and he just responds to the scene, so he has a reckless discussion." ”

After he said that, he hurried to get the other food boxes, Chongzhen seemed to have an understanding, and gently repeated, "The dragon lost the sea......

Cao Huachun turned around and put on a plate of "Silk Nest Tiger's Eye Candy" and a plate of "Buddha Jackfruit", and then asked the emperor: "Long live, what did you just say?" ”

Chongzhen didn't answer him, and said to himself, "Cao Banban just said that he won a great victory on Mi Island, and Lu Zhi made a great contribution this time. It was also your recommendation back then, if it weren't for the fact that he was quite competent when he commanded the Nine Gates, how could I send him to Denglai. ”

Lu Zhi is not an old person from Xinfu, he was recommended by Cao Huachun back then, and he is considered Cao Huachun's faction, Lu Zhi has made a great contribution this time, and the emperor will naturally add impression points to himself. Cao Huachun didn't show the slightest smugness, and said flatteredly, "Relieve the emperor's worries." Originally, it was the duty of the slave and maid, how dare he take credit, every qiē of the slave and maid was given by the emperor. Even if the foreign minister is sneering, as long as the emperor is relieved, it is a great blessing for the slave and maid. ”

Chongzhen looked at a dragonfly flying lightly on the lotus leaf in front of him, his eyes were slightly confused, and he shook his head after a while: "It is true that Xiong Kaiyuan has impeached the ministers and supervised the army, you don't have to pay attention to these things and the imperial history, who really does things, I still know, Xiong Kaiyuan said, 'sending ministers is not the same power', Lu Zhi is also a minister." Why was he able to break the Jiannu in Denglai, but the governor of Sun, who had applied for a military salary of more than 800,000 taels since taking office, despite my repeated clear statements about the reuse of Wendeng camp, the use of money and food was inappropriate. The camp was badly wounded, and I wanted to see his self-defense. Do things with no heart, you can see at a glance what the ministers are and the ministers are outside. ”

Cao Huachun knelt down with a puff, and couldn't cry, "There is this sentence from the emperor." And the slave and maid were content...... Those imperial histories, slaves should be, as if they were rabid dogs barking days. ”

Chongzhen laughed rarely, "Don't say that about the imperial history of science and technology, most of them are still loyal." ”

"The emperor forgives the sin, the slave is just angry, but some officials hear the wind and rain, for the people who are not in the eyes, there is a mistake and do not ask about their merits, for the people who are in the eyes, there is a merit and do not worry about their faults, even the soldiers are not in their eyes, for the slaves and maids such ministers, even if there is no fault, the ministers themselves are excessive, the slaves and maids have always been timid and small, they look like that, the slaves and maids are very frightened."

happened to talk about the matter of Liang Tingdong, Chongzhen asked casually: "Cao Banban, what do you think of Lord Liang about the recent impeachment of this soldier?" ”

Recently, Liang Tingdong has been embattled, Shen Min and An Guodong have been implicated in things such as greed and reward, some people impeached Liang Tingdong for accepting his bribes, and continuously promoted An Guodong, and said that Liang Tingdong accepted bribes from Li Youlong and promoted him to guerrilla, and his position as a soldier was in jeopardy.

Originally, Liang Tingdong was also a little worried about the position of the soldier, because Jiannu was strong, every time the Ming army was defeated, the imperial historians would jump out and impeach each in a row, the soldiers and the Jiliao Governor were the first to bear the brunt, the imperial history was not easier to deal with than the Jiannu, Liang Tingdong learned the ability of the imperial history before the battle of the four cities, fortunately he was lucky, the battle of the four cities ended with a big victory for the Ming army, and finally stabilized his position as a soldier, but these two threats have always existed, so after Liang Tingdong defeated Wang Yongguang at the beginning of the year, he vacated the position of the secretary of the ministry, This position is both fat and much safer, Liang Tingdong wants to change it, but Chongzhen does not agree, and now it is really put on the fire by Yushi again.

Cao Huachun peeked at Chongzhen, the emperor's expression was very relaxed, and his pale face was also bloody, he said carefully: "Your Majesty, the slave doesn't know much about military affairs, but with the emperor's side, I listened to Lord Liang many times, and felt that Lord Liang was quite talented. Liang Lord Liang has three great victories in a row after being a soldier, although most of them are fought by the Wendeng battalion, but the soldier's strategic work is indispensable, if you cover up the big merit with a small mistake, the slave feels that those words and officials are heavier, and there is no evidence for several charges of impeachment of Shui Jiayin, which is purely hearsay. ”

Chongzhen thought about it for a while, it is true that as Cao Huachun said, there is no evidence for the impeachment at the moment, although most of those crimes are true, but as far as he is concerned, he does not want Liang Tingdong to be ousted from power, what is the official of the Ming Dynasty, he still knows it in his heart now, there is basically no greed for money, Liang Tingdong can still do things.

Chongzhen saw Cao Huachun still kneeling in a blink of an eye, with a few tears on his face, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him up, "Cao Banban, hurry up, I just said, who really does things for me, I naturally understand in my heart, and I have rested for a long time, let's go back to the Qianqing Palace first, you go and invite this soldier and Lord Shoufu to come to Xinuan Pavilion." ”

Cao Huachun hurriedly left to invite someone, and waited until he turned to no one's place, and then said to the little eunuch behind him: "Go and tell Chen Xin and Liang Tingdong's people, our family has already done their business." ”――

Inside the Chongwen Gate of Jingshi, outside a large mansion in Dongjiaomi Lane, there was a surge of people, and a man with a white face who did not need to wear a straight body passed through the door twice, and after seeing that there was no abnormality on the left and right, he walked into the alley next to him and knocked on the side a few times.

Zhang Dahui's face appeared behind the door, he hurriedly welcomed the man in, there was another person in the garden, it was Song Wenxian, the white-faced man did not enter the main hall, and stopped in the garden.

Song Wenxian came over and said respectfully to him: "Wang Xiaogong, please come inside, sit down and drink tea." ”

The white-faced man shook his head arrogantly, and opened a sharp voice, "Come on, our family won't sit anymore, just to help Cao's husband deliver a message, your business is done, don't ask our family for the rest." ”

After he finished speaking, he turned around and left, Song Wenxian hurriedly chased after him and handed over a silver ticket, "The secret language is still the same as the original, please don't dislike it." ”

Wang Xiaogonggong looked at the silver ticket, wrote two hundred taels, his face was a little pale, and added two sentences, "Zheng Zhilong's matter, the emperor has already been moved, and he went to discuss with the soldiers and the first assistant, and there will be several other pavilion elders present, Xiong Wencan is well-informed, and it should reach the ears of Xiong Wencan and Zheng Zhilong." ”

Song Wenxian hurriedly thanked him, and Wang Xiaogonggong put away the silver ticket and said to himself: "It's inconvenient to live in the palace, every time you come out, you have to find a nowhere to modify, and when you come here, you will be like a thief." ”

Zhang Dahui said with a smile: "Don't worry, the villain has prepared a set of yards for the father-in-law, not far from the palace, if the father-in-law is free, he will go with the villain to see how it goes, and even the maidservant is ready." ”

Wang Xiaogonggong smiled with satisfaction: "Zhang Gongzi is polite, then I will laugh and accept, we will come and go more in the future, but today I have to be busy going back to resume my life, so I won't go, let's talk about it next time, our family, just this hard life." ”

Song Wenxian and the others had to send him to the door, and when Wang Xiaogonggong disappeared, Zhang Da gritted his teeth and scolded in a low voice: "The dead eunuch put on a fart shelf, Lao Tzu will always cut off your head with a knife one day." ”

There was a person walking out of the room next to him, but it was Zuo Changhao, he shook his head and smiled: "Let's buy a few words from Cao's husband for three thousand taels of silver, but it's still worth it." ”