After sending away the general of the Runing Army, Emperor Chongzhen was embarrassed.

When he went to the capital to report the victory, he didn't expect that he would be embarrassed. So after being announced to the Jinluan Palace, he cowered and knocked his head to the sky. Even when Emperor Chongzhen politely asked about the battle, he stammered when he spoke.

Although he has never seen any big scenes, the words he said are very simple, but the language has feelings, but it is very touching to people's hearts.

When that always speaks of the brutal strangulation before the war; When he spoke of the fierce fight in the Blood Ridge; When he talked about being bombarded by artillery, when he talked about hand-to-hand combat in the heavy rain, the handsome times he was always choked up and speechless......

Until the general withdrew from the main hall, the people in the hall were still immersed in this fierce war scene, and their mood was agitated. At this time, no one suspected that the Runing Army had falsely reported its military exploits, and they were all impressed by the courage and tenacity of the Runing Army.

"Hey! Reward! After a long sigh, Emperor Chongzhen first confessed to Wang Chengen, and asked him to give them a generous reward for the victory. Then Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "Wu Changjing also suffered a heavy loss!" ”

In the previous performance just now, the general manager would definitely not hide anything, so he truthfully told the casualties of the Runing army. But Emperor Chongzhen now came up with such a sentence, which made the ministers in the palace smell it all at once.

Those ministers are all very mature political figures, feelings belong to feelings, politics belong to politics, and they are all quite clearly distinguished. So immediately a minister came out and reported: "Although Wu Runing is loyal and brave to the country, he and the Tartars are only defeated and defeated, which can only be said to be fruitless and without fault." ”

Emperor Chongzhen's bad feelings towards Wu Shigong are well known to everyone, and the minister thinks that Emperor Chongzhen is unwilling to reward Wu Shigong. So I took the initiative to go out and "relieve your worries"!

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly, and said kindly: "Aiqing doesn't need to be demanding. After all, Wu Changjing is willing to fight hard, and he has not fallen into the power of my Heavenly Empire. It is still meritorious, and it should be rewarded even more. However, the Tartar army has not been expelled yet, so let Liu Yuliang step up! All the merits and demerits will be talked about later. ”

As soon as he said this, the ears of the ministers in the palace were pricked up. Emperor Chongzhen clearly revealed two meanings: first, he was dissatisfied with Liu Yuliang, the first assistant; The second is that he is ready to wait for the Qing army to leave the customs, and he will settle accounts with the responsible ministers after the autumn. Soon, the imperial court will face a major reshuffle. The ministers immediately began to think about what they could gain from the reshuffle. Relatively. Whether to give Wu Shigong a reward or not is a small matter. Therefore, after some official responses, the court meeting ended in a hurry.

There is an undercurrent surging in the court, but the people in the capital are like the New Year. When the good news of the Runing army spread everywhere, the cheerful atmosphere went without saying, and those who visited the Yangwu Marquis Mansion and the Gongshun Marquis Mansion. It's also endless. And a few days later, when the news came from the palace that Emperor Chongzhen even wanted to confer a knighthood on Wu Shigong. This visit has reached its climax.

In such an atmosphere. Only Xue Lian's mind is very clear. One night, he said lightly to Mrs. Zhang and Xue Yufei: "It seems that Changjing is going back to Beijing." ”

Mrs. Zhang and Xue Yufei were of course happy for Wu Shigong's return to Beijing, but Xue Lian knew that this was a clear ascent and a secret descent.

According to Wu Shigong's merits, the decent reward should be a general. However, if he is knighted, Wu Shigong will resign from the rank of general soldier and return to Beijing to serve in the Governor's Office of the Five Armies. In other words, you can't lead troops. And Wu Shigong still has bitterness that he can't say. After all, he has also become the most honorable lord of the Ming Dynasty.

Yangzhou.

"Second Master Lu! I heard that your Lu family has been emptied and has gone to Runing? Guo Zeng'an asked Lu Jianchen in a low voice.

"Isn't that the case with your Guo family? Why do you need to take 50 steps and laugh at 100 steps? Lu Jianchen shot back without showing weakness.

Today, the two happened to meet on the street, so they met for breakfast together. After Wu Shigong went on the expedition, and even after the Runing Army lost contact. The Lu and Guo families simply clamped their tails in Yangzhou City, and even let the children of the family flee to Runing with floating wealth. They all understood that when the news of the defeat of the Runing army came, it was the time when the Lu and Guo families were destroyed.

"Then why didn't Second Master Lu leave?" Guo Zeng'an asked with a smile again.

"Better than you! There is a big brother below. Lu Jianchen also smiled and replied.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then tacitly erupted into a burst of daxiao. In this regard, the Lu family is more advantageous, the head of the Lu family, that is, Lu Jianchen's eldest brother, has left Yangzhou. And Guo Zeng'an can't hide if he is alone, he is the same as Lu Jianchen, even if the family is destroyed, they still have to stay in Yangzhou to preside over the sweep.

However, this kind of daxiao is just a pleasure in suffering, and after laughing a few times, Lu Jianchen asked: "I don't know if they will take into account the friendship of their peers and not come to kill them all." ”

Of course, Guo Zeng'an knew that the "they" mentioned by Lu Jianchen meant the salt industry counterparts in Yangzhou City. However, when it comes to this topic, Guo Zeng'an is also quite discouraged: "It's time to lift the cup, and you can only look at the size." As long as we know each other and lose the things outside our bodies, we should not have to worry about our lives! ”

"Hey!" Lu Jianchen also knew the truth of what Guo Zeng'an said, but he still vented: "When the time comes, give it away casually, it's not cheap for those bastards." But those things have worked hard for several generations of our Lu family, and I am really reluctant! ”

"Willing to lose!" Guo Zeng'an advised, "I got news from there, they have already gone to the salt envoy and the prefect's yamen several times. Hey! Your Lu family is fine, at least a few more years, but what about my Guo family? Hey! ”

"What? Do you Lao Guo regret it? Lu Jianchen asked again.

"I also know the rules for buying and leaving. And you don't regret buying the medicine? Guo Zeng'an smiled bitterly, "Fortunately, my Guo family's old house has not been sold, and after this time, my old Guo is ready to go back to his hometown to retire." ”

From beginning to end, neither Lu Jianchen nor Guo Zeng'an thought of the possibility of the Runing Army winning. The best result they expected was nothing more than a small defeat for Wu Shigong and he would be able to escape back to Runing. But this result is not helpful to the future of the Lu and Guo families, because they have already received the news that as long as Wu Shigong is defeated, Lu Jiude, the eunuch who guards Nanjing Town, will immediately march into Runing and Guide together with the officials and troops of Fengyang and Huguang, and take over the foundation of the Runing army. (To be continued......)