In the Taimiao, Chongzhen was dressed in white clothes, kneeling there with a gloomy expression, and there were tablets opposite, as well as portraits of emperors of previous dynasties, with crying in his words.

"Ancestors, unfilial son Zhu Youzhen is ashamed of you, so that the ancestors are humiliated. The rebel army captured the emperor's township, dug the ancestral grave, and burned the emperor's Jue Temple of Taizu......"

The Yamen of the Ministry of War, Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Hou Sui, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, were alone in a room, discussing the military situation, looking extremely nervous, and in a state of anxiety, and even more frightened for the difficulties of Fengyang Mansion.

"Zhang Shangshu, now it seems that if only 3,000 iron cavalry battalions and 2,000 Tianjin soldiers are transferred, it is too few, far less than to suppress bandits, and cannot meet the emperor's requirements."

"Yes, the emperor has repeatedly asked and confirmed, this is to complete his work in one battle, and want to exterminate the rebellious army in Henan in one fell swoop." Zhang Fengyi nodded slightly, with a thoughtful look on his face, and then said further: "Hou Shangshu, let's do it, this official is going to add 2,000 iron cavalry battalions, 3,000 Tianjin soldiers, and 3,000 Sichuan white pole soldiers on the original basis, so that the total strength of the bandits gathered in Henan will reach 72,000. At the same time, the salary will be increased by another 150,000 taels, a total of 930,000 taels, and I hope that Lord Hou will help and the household department will support it and allocate the silver as soon as possible. ”

"But... Zhang Shangshu... You're not..."Hou Sui swallowed and spit out, and finally gritted his teeth, his face was embarrassed, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Zhang, you also know that the treasury has long been empty, and it is impossible to make ends meet. Every time the tax money collected, it is often distributed as military salaries as soon as it is collected to supplement the needs of the Guanning army. ”

Zhang Fengyi's expression became more and more ugly, and his voice became low: "Hou Shangshu, if the salary is not in place, even if there are more soldiers recruited, they will not be able to suppress the bandits, but they will harm themselves and there will be a new mutiny." ”

"But, Zhang Shangshu, the official can't help it, the money and grain can't be taxed, and I have no ......" Speaking of this, Hou Sui's words stopped abruptly, as if he had figured out something, his face showed a meaningful expression, and he turned to say meaningfully: "Lord Zhang, the emperor is extremely angry when the rebel army breaks through Fengyang Mansion this time, at this time, if we mention the shortage of money again, presumably the emperor will allocate some money from his personal treasury as military salary." ”

Obviously, this is a hint that the royal ancestral tomb is dug up, and the emperor in anger will not hesitate to pay out of his own pocket to let the troops encircle and suppress the rebels.

Hearing this, the anxious Zhang Fengyi's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood the meaning, took a deep look at Hou Sui, and praised sincerely: "Wonderful... Lord Hou, when this plan is presented to the emperor, I hope to help one or two, Zhang will never forget this favor. ”

"Hehe... Master Zhang, where is this? You and I are colleagues, and in times of national crisis, we should help each other and relieve the emperor's worries. Hou Sui smiled, his face relaxed.

In the afternoon, Chongzhen had already returned to the palace from the Taimiao, still wearing white clothes, his face was yellow and thin, sitting in the imperial study, the whole person looked very tired, as if he had aged several years at once, and after quietly listening to Zhang Fengyi and Hou Sui's report, he waved his hand and said without hesitation: "I have approved this plan, and allocated one million pieces of silver from my private treasury as funds to suppress bandits." ”

Speaking of this, Zhu Youzhen's words paused, picked up a book from the side, and continued: "At the same time, tell Hong Chengchou that Fengyang Mansion has fallen, the ancestral tomb has been destroyed, the Huangjue Temple has been destroyed, and he is in Shaanxi and has just taken office, so I don't blame him." ”

Hearing this, Zhang Fengyi and Hou Sui both breathed a sigh of cold air, pinched a cold sweat for Hong Chengchou, secretly sighed for Hong Chengchou's shrewdness, took the initiative to ask for guilt, and took all the responsibility on himself, which made the emperor embarrassed to punish.

However, Chongzhen's next words suddenly made the two of them raise their hearts to their throats again, especially Zhang Fengyi.

"However, although I have no intention of blaming Hong Chengchou, I must also set a time limit to limit Hong Chengchou to destroy the rebellious army within half a year, so as to comfort the previous emperors. If you can't complete the task on time, I will not spare it! ”

At this moment, Zhang Fengyi's cold sweat flowed, although Hong Chengchou replaced his in-law Chen Qiyu and became the governor of the five provinces. However, once the suppression of bandits is ineffective, he, the secretary of the military department, is also difficult to blame and has an unshirkable responsibility.

As for the end, the previous military department Shangshu is the best example, and the best result is to dismiss the official and save a small life.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Weichen immediately sent a note to Hong Chengchou, urging him to eliminate the bandits as soon as possible and stabilize the Guannei."

Chongzhen nodded slightly, still with monstrous anger on his face, and said fiercely: "Not only that, but also, after passing on my will, after taking back Fengyang Mansion, Yang Yipeng, the governor of Fengyang Mansion, will be beheaded in the downtown to sue Tianwei!" ”

At the same time, the edict ordered Zhu Dadian, the right attendant of the military department and the governor of Shandong, to go to Nanzhili, the governor Caoyun, and concurrently serve as the governor of Lu, Feng, Huai, and Yang, to assist Hong Chengchou in suppressing bandits. There was also Cao Wenzhao, the commander of the military who came to aid and suppress, and immediately issued a document from the Ministry of War, urging Cao Wenzhao to go to Henan to meet with Hong Chengchou and exterminate the bandits. ”

At this moment, Zhang Fengyi and Hou Sui understood that although the emperor looked very calm and calmly issued a series of intentions, he was angry in his heart.

Especially when they heard that Yang Yipeng, the governor of Fengyang, had been killed in the city, the two of them felt a chill in their hearts, and they were full of excitement, secretly complaining for them, but they didn't spit out a word.

......

"Hi... Have you heard of it? Fengyang Mansion fell, the royal ancestral tomb was dug up, and the chaotic army conquered dozens of state capitals and counties in Henan in a row. ”

"How could it be that you haven't heard of it? This matter has spread, no one in the world knows about it, and the court can't cover it up if it wants to! ”

"~ This gang of rebels is too fierce, and they are too desperate and too unsparing, and there is no possibility of surrender! Digging up people's ancestral graves is the biggest humiliation, and it is simply a slap in the face of the royal family! ”

......

When the world was boiling and hotly discussed, in the city of Lushi in Henan Prefecture, in the county government, in the temporary residence of Henan Governor Xuan Mo, in the study, an old woman sat in the position that originally belonged to him, Xuan Mo stood there quietly, standing with his hands alone, extremely respectful.

"Son~ Mother is not a person who does not understand the family and the country, if you really die on the battlefield because of serving the court, throwing your head and spilling blood, your mother will be proud of you and will never stop half a point."

"However, you have also seen that at this time, the world is in chaos, and how many capable ministers and officials are dying, and death is worthless. Not to mention far away, what is the fault of Yang Yipeng, the governor of Fengyang? Isn't he the one guarding Fengyang? ”

"What's more, the reason why Yang Yipeng fled from Fengyang Mansion is unknown to others, don't you know? Lord Yang had to go to Jinling City in order to move the rescue soldiers. Otherwise, Fengyang Mansion is still in the hands of the chaotic army, and the coffin of the royal ancestral tomb does not know how long it has been sunburned? Such a good official, he will kill when he says kill. ”

From beginning to end, Xuan Mo would be silent, bowing his head and listening, without any response, let alone any expression, the woman was not angry, she had the temperament of everyone's lady, and did not lose the demeanor of a woman, and said earnestly: "As the saying goes, a man should defend his family and defend the country, and die in battle, but he must also die well, and his death is worthwhile." ”

"Since taking office in Henan, Wei Niang has never said anything, and she is not willing to interfere in your government affairs. However, for nearly a year, you should be very clear about the situation in Henan, and blindly suppressing bandits will not solve the problem at all. If you can't make up your mind, maybe one day in the future, you will follow Yang Yipeng's old path, and you will be infamous on your back. ”

"Son, is it really worth it to persist like this? Is it really what you want? ”