Hong Chengchou listened to the emperor's approval, but he couldn't be happy in his heart, the emperor's words had an over-the-top sound, and there was a sense of blame, and even the title he had just shouted changed back. Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren and others also felt that Hong Chengchou was a little carried away and committed a big taboo between the monarch and the minister, but seeing that the emperor did not apply for compensation, they were silent and drank in small sips.

Hong Chengchou said to Chongzhen again: "The Holy Reading has passed, and the minister wants to return to Shaanxi immediately, so he will no longer stay in Beijing." ”

"How? I also want to go to the Taishe and Taimiao to pay tribute to the ancestors of heaven and earth, and I also want you to go to the court to see Your Majesty, reward you for your meritorious deeds in the Fengtian Temple, give you an order, and send it to your mansion in Beijing with a guard of honor and drum music. Oh, by the way, you have been away from Beijing for many years, and even if you have a house, you have already sold it, and I will give you a piece of the house. ”

"The minister's house is small, Shaanxi can't get food and salary, and the minister is not down-to-earth......"

"I remember it in my heart!" Chongzhen interrupted him, stood up and said slowly, "The military salary you want, as well as the tax money you want to withhold, I have already instructed the household department Shangshu Bi to handle it strictly." Hong Chengchou was overjoyed and thanked him urgently.

The emperor's outskirts greeted the commander and gave a banquet to the commander, but it was just a ritual, and after eating three glasses of wine, he withdrew from the banquet. Chongzhen went out of the tent, got on the horse and returned to the city, followed by Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, Hong Chengchou and other civil and military ministers. After entering the Desheng Gate, it was already dark, and Zhou Yanru and others watched the emperor enter the Xihua Gate and went back to their homes to rest. As soon as Chongzhen entered the Qing Leisure House, the palace maids were busy serving washing water, changing clothes, and offering herbal tea. After a hard day, Chongzhen ate a few herbal teas in a row, and then felt that his throat was cooler, but the heat receded, but he felt a burst of fatigue on his body, leaning on the dragon chair, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep, but there was no trace of sleep, and the things of the day came to his heart one by one, lingering.

Ma Yuancheng came in quietly and said with a smile: "Long live the lord, the new deputy capital of the Imperial Palace, Yang Sichang, asks to see you." The slave replied that the long live master was tired, and it was not too late to talk about anything tomorrow, but he refused to leave, and said that he had to meet him overnight. Seeing that the palace gate is about to be keyed, and you can't get out without a special order, what can you do? ”

The fire in Chongzhen's heart rose vigorously, and he said sharply: "It's another thing that doesn't know what to do!" You tell Yang Sichang that if you thank Yang He, you will have a serious excerpt, and I won't listen to him in person. ”

Ma Yuancheng went out for a while, and came back and said, "Long live Lord, he didn't come to thank you." ”

"So what's going to do? I didn't teach him to accompany him to dinner! ”

"He wants to impeach Hong Chengchou."

"Oh, he's coming in!"

Ma Yuancheng saw that the emperor was so angry, he went out tremblingly, led Yang Sichang in, and kept whispering on the way. Chongzhen looked at Yang Sichang who was kneeling at his feet, and asked in a sullen voice: "Yang Sichang, you have been asking to see you all night, do you really want to join Hong Chengchou?" He is your great benefactor, aren't you ungrateful? ”

Yang Sichang was dressed in a new peacock supplement, and he could see sweat stains on it, he was promoted to the deputy capital of the Imperial History, his own family did not expect it, and what he didn't expect was that the holy decree specially indicated that the official rank was from the third grade, which was one level lower than the normal deputy capital imperial history of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he guessed that the emperor was out of comfort, and the promotion was a gratifying thing, but when he thought of exchanging his father's life from the black yarn of the third grade, he was unwilling. Today, I was very happy to know that my father did not have the disaster of the sword light, but at the same time, I also added a wave of anger to my heart, which was a hundred times more terrifying than the horror of my father. He lowered his head and couldn't see the color on Chongzhen's face, but he heard the emperor's words be aggressive and aggressive.

"The minister is not ungrateful."

"Hong Chengchou once interced for your father, and today he invited me at the banquet in the suburbs, but you want to join him, isn't it ungrateful?"

Yang Sichang kowtowed and replied: "The kindness that the minister knows is different from what the emperor said. ”

Chongzhen saw him put his words back, and sneered: "According to what you say, I don't know what kindness is? ”

"The minister didn't dare, the minister didn't mean to slander the emperor. What the minister thinks about is the grace of the country, and there is no personal favor; Thinking is about justice, not personal righteousness. Yes, Hong Chengchou has repeatedly interceded for his father, and the minister is inexplicably grateful, if it is about personal friendship, the minister can naturally become a friend of life and death with him, but the minister thinks about the court etiquette and ethics, so he has to join him. Yang Sichang said at the end, with an awe-inspiring expression.

"Then what do you want to do with him?"

"He is proud of his achievements, despises the emperor, and has no courtesy."

As soon as this statement came out, it shocked everyone! The eunuchs and palace maids who were waiting next to them were all stunned, their hands trembling, and they secretly looked at Chongzhen's face. Yang Sichang's words touched Chongzhen's hidden pain, he slowly leaned forward, stared at Yang Sichang carefully, and was secretly surprised in his heart, a newly arrived deputy capital of the Imperial Court of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was so bold, and his words were straightforward, I don't know how to take care of his face, it is really unexpected. He began to think about Hong Chengchou's actions again, and every move, that is, a word, a look, and a gesture were recalled in an instant. He stared at Yang Sichang for a moment before asking, "Do you want to use Shenhong Chengchou to make a name for yourself?" ”

"The minister is not selfish!"

"Then I want to listen to what is wrong with Hong Chengchou? He has just established an immortal merit for me, the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military ...... No, no, everyone knows everything. I welcome the emperor in person, and the grace is extreme, just to give the people of the world a model for the court, he is proud of his achievements, why can't I see it? ”

Yang Sichang pinched his kneeling legs with his hands, kowtowed and replied: "The minister wants to ask the Pope, the art of war often says that the general will not accept the order of the monarch outside, but should the general accept the order of the monarch inside?" ”

"Excuse me."

Yang Sichang raised his head and said: "The emperor said that Hong Chengchou is a person who has made great contributions. Yes, if there is no emperor who has repeatedly summoned the right people to discuss good policies, and there is no food, ordnance, horses, and ...... of the imperial court, can he alone win this great victory? This layer of Hong Chengchou will not be unexpected, but the emperor is in the suburbs to greet him, especially gracious, when the emperor gave wine, he actually ate it calmly, without half a word of thanks. The emperor's military parade and horses, Hong Chengchou insisted on punishing the soldiers who violated discipline, ignoring the emperor's edict to exempt him from punishment, where did he put the emperor like this? In the long run, the soldiers only know that there is a Hong army gate but do not know that there is an emperor, so won't they become the Hong family army? Once Hong Chengchou has different ambitions, what can he do? ”

Chongzhen glanced at Ma Yuancheng, Ma Yuancheng knew that the emperor was going to have a secret talk with Yang Sichang, so he hurriedly waved his hand at those eunuchs and palace maids, quickly retreated, and gently closed the door. Chongzhen really sighed and said, "What you just said, I am not unaware, what should I do to eliminate his military power?" No, I still want to use him, Shaanxi can't do without him. Now it is flat, but I know in my heart that Shaanxi has suffered from a major drought, Shandong, Henan, Anhui and other places, that is, Jiangnan known as rice warehouses, this year's harvest is not good, the imperial court can allocate limited food, Shaanxi civil uprising is naturally difficult to eradicate, wildfires are inexhaustible, and the spring breeze blows and grows! I received Wu Fu's secret recital, and although Wang Jiayin died, the rest of his troops elected Wang Ziyong as the leader, and he was still fighting against the imperial court. I'm worried that it will resurge and become a prairie fire! Hong Chengchou has established a prestige in Shaanxi, others can't replace him, and he can't be suppressed, what should you do if you teach me? Only endure it, as the so-called lesser of two evils! If you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, Hong Chengchou is a little arrogant, but he doesn't have the courage to commit it, and there is no trace of rebellion, I have to use both grace and power. Chongzhen got up and walked off the couch, pacing while saying: "Although it can't be said to be a troubled world now, there are a lot of internal and external troubles, I want a capable minister, not a loyal minister!" Can you comprehend my painstaking efforts? ”

Yang Sichang heard the emperor say frankly, tears had already appeared in his eyes, and he kowtowed again and again: "The ministers and ministers made the worst plans before entering the palace, thinking that they were loyal to the country, but they didn't expect that the emperor was thinking about a deeper level, and the ministers and ministers never thought that the emperor had such difficulties. As soon as the emperor congratulated the Hongjun on the outskirts of the gate, the minister hurriedly entered the palace to complain, which was too reckless and uninteresting. Ask the emperor to punish him! His tone was choked, and his face was full of remorse.

Chongzhen stopped in front of him, shook his head and said, "I really thought about how to deal with you, and I am going to teach you to take care of your illness at home, and I have thought about it behind closed doors, but after thinking about it, it is not a good way." I didn't want to spread the word, and the courtiers talked a lot, how could it be that the tone had changed and gone out of tune? In that case, Hong Chengchou will inevitably be uneasy about his position, and he will not lead troops to fight for me wholeheartedly. As an official of the Wind Constitution, this time you are a little unbright, but fortunately, you whispered to me, otherwise you would have been caught off guard by such an army in front of the court's ministers. First, I can't pretend to be confused anymore, and second, I can't be fooled, how to deal with this difficult problem? You are joining him for the courtesy of the monarch and the minister, it is a great thing, I don't blame you, and I shouldn't blame you; But in order to appease Hong Chengchou's heart, for the peace of Shaanxi Province, I have to blame you. I'm so embarrassed! I have read the history of the scriptures since I was a child, and I know a lot about the chaos of the previous dynasties. But Emperor Jing had to kill him. Chao Cuo really deserves to die, his words are not at the right time, and he has added chaos to Emperor Jing, and the emperor is not ready how to deal with it, but Liu Bi and the other Seven Kingdoms have the pretext of rebellion. ”

Yang Sichang looked up at Chongzhen, tears finally flowed, and he said regretfully: "If the emperor's plan is ruined, the minister will really die and will not be redeemed." ”

"It's good that you know. Flatten! Chongzhen's tone became majestic again.

"The minister doesn't dare, the minister should kneel, even if his legs are rotten, he deserves it."

"Get up and talk!" Chongzhen returned to the couch, "You get up early tomorrow morning, and rush to Hong Chengchou to thank you, if he asks about your entry into the palace, he will say that he is thanking me for your father." I thought that Hong Chengchou could not be splashed in Shaanxi, but only this province, there would be no big chaos, I want to use another person to governor Shanxi, and then gradually transfer a few Shaanxi generals into Jin, which can not only block the eastward advance of thieves, but also mention what is unruly in flood control. Tomorrow morning, I want everyone to elect a governor of Shanxi, but I don't want to teach Hong Chengchou to be suspicious, you have to sing this play to me, understand? ”

Yang Sichang is so alert, just worried about his father's crime for several days, and his mind is a little confused, and now after Chongzhen's explanation, he has already suddenly understood in his heart, and knelt down and bowed: "The emperor is taught, and the ministers are grateful, and they are inexhaustible." ”

The next morning, Hong Chengchou was dressed in a python suit and stood in the crowd. After Chongzhen ascended to the throne, he first said that the Jin Emperor Taiji led his troops to surround Daling City, and the chief soldier of Liaodong, Zu Dashou, was isolated and helpless, and ordered everyone to discuss where to send soldiers and horses out of the pass to relieve the siege. The courtiers and courtiers all looked at Zhou Yanru, waiting for Shoufu to speak. Zhou Yanru thought that he had comprehended the emperor's will, looked back at the spirited Hong Chengchou, and went out to play: "Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, strategized and overlooked, just coerced the Yuwei of Shaanxi, and raised the male soldiers out of the customs, and he will be able to live up to expectations and share worries for the country." ”

Chongzhen also did not expect that someone would recommend Hong Chengchou out of the customs, there were tens of thousands of elite soldiers left by Yuan Chonghuan outside the pass, Hong Chengchou went there like a tiger with wings, plus his soldiers and horses in Shaanxi, the elite soldiers of the world have come to his command, in the situation that he is not sure how much loyalty he has, this is an extremely dangerous move, and it must not be easily dropped. Between the lightning and flint, Chongzhen thought about it again, and said quietly: "Although Shaanxi has been flattened, the people have not yet lived and worked in peace and contentment, and there are still a lot of aftermath affairs, so it is inconvenient to change others, or Hong Chengchou is familiar with the road." Besides, the fruit tree planted by Hong Chengchou has already bloomed, and when others come to pick the fruit, it seems that I am not fair, right? The emperor's words were a little witty, and the atmosphere of sincere fear when everyone bowed to the court was swept away, and they all felt a lot more relaxed.

Wen Tiren looked at Zhou Yanru, who had touched a gray nose, secretly relieved himself, and said: "The minister recommended Sun Yuan, the governor of Denglai, to resolve the siege of Daling. When Zhou Yanru heard this, he secretly wondered in his heart: Sun Yuanhua was originally my confidant, what was your intention when you drove him outside the gate? Is it to weaken my strength? Hmph, your hand is too long, how can I let you get what you want! Sun Yuanhua went to Liaodong, I will make up for one dead and wounded, see what else you can do? But it's not good to speak rashly about this matter, the emperor has already been too careless about himself, and he must not be careless. He forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and glared at him fiercely, Wen Tiren was stunned, and said eloquently: "Ningqian Road, where Daling is located, is under the jurisdiction of the governor of Denglai, and Laizhou and Liaodong face each other across the sea, whether they go by sea or land, they are much closer than Shaanxi. Sun Yuanhua had a lot of Liao people, and after Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, his subordinates Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Li Jiucheng, etc., all avoided Dengzhou from the Dongjiang River, and Sun Yuanhua used it as a general. This is all out of reach of the soldiers in Shaanxi, and the most unreachable thing is that Sun Yuanhua has a lot of firearms. Zixian, Sun Yuanhua is your proud protégé, and you can't know his details very well. ”

Xu Guangqi, a gray-haired cabinet minister, listened to Wen Tiren talk about himself, and had to go out to play: "Your Majesty, Sun Yuanhua studied firearms with his ministers for a few years, and also wrote a book called "Western Law Divine Machine", which is all about the style, manufacturing and usage of Western firearms. Speaking of the firearms under his hands, they are still old things from many years ago! Chen remembered that in the second year of the Apocalypse, Zhang Tao brought 26 guns from Macao, which were originally the naval guns sunk by the Portuguese soldiers in Dianbai County, Gaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong, 14 of which were left in Beijing, one was blown up during the test cannon, and the remaining 11 were installed in Ningyuan City. In the first year of Chongzhen, Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde of the Liangguang Military Gate were ordered to go to Macao to recruit 31 gunners and craftsmen to purchase seven large iron guns, three large bronze guns and 30 eagle beak guns. These firearms were all in Sun Yuanhua's camp. A few days ago, Zhang Fengyi had just taken over the soldiers of the military department, and received Sun Yuanhua's proposal to build a firearms battalion. ”

Zhang Fengyi hurriedly explained: "Sun Yuanhua's appetite is surprisingly large, and he wants to establish fifteen elite firearms battalions, each battalion is equipped with 120 two-wheeled vehicles, 120 artillery vehicles, and 60 grain trucks, a total of 300 vehicles. There were 16 Western cannons, 80 medium cannons, 100 eagle guns, 1,200 bird guns, 2,000 soldiers fighting in battle, and 2,000 carrying soldiers. They also need armor and ordnance, and all that is needed in the army, and prepare them one by one. Say that if four or five battalions are built, there will be no worries about the pass; If ten battalions are built, there is no need to worry about the outside of the customs; After the fifteen battalions were completed, they did not worry about advancing into Liaodong and recovering the lost territory. What a big deal! ”

Wen Tiren looked at Chongzhen with a pensive face, thinking that he was a little tempted, and said: "Since he has such ambitions, why not teach him to give it a try?" If it succeeds, it will naturally be a blessing for the community, and it will also share the emperor's worries. At that time, whether or not to build a firearms battalion would not have been necessary, so there would be no need to deliberate repeatedly. ”

"Once the army is lost, it will ......," Zhang Fengyi hesitated.

Yang Sichang had already come out of the class and said: "Your Majesty, the minister has been in Shanhaiguan for many years, and he knows a little about the Houjin soldiers and horses and the length of our army. The horses are fast and arrows, and they are good at fighting in the wilderness, but they are not good at siege. The strength of our army lies in firearms, and the Western guns are far superior to the Houjin bows and arrows, and the arrows of the Jianyu cannot reach the head of the city, and the ammunition fired by the Western guns has entered the enemy camp. ”

"But it's inconvenient to move, I'm worried that it's too late, and they won't be able to hold it out when Zu Dashou is over."

Wen Tiren said: "There are 38,000 defenders in Denglai, and they spend more than 800,000 yuan of silver every year, which is more than 1.4 million people's extra money every year. ”

Chongzhen nodded and agreed: "I ordered Sun Yuanhua to rescue him from the sea." Now that Shaanxi is flat, I am also relieved. But I received an urgent report from the governor of Shanxi, saying that there were several bandits in Shanxi suddenly, how to pursue them? ”

As soon as Chongzhen's voice fell, Yang Sichang played: "Power must be single-minded, so that it is good to ......"

Hong Chengchou took over the conversation and said: "The governor of Shanxi said that there were rogues in the territory, but in fact, it was not clean to impeach the ministers. Since the minister has been ordered by the Holy Order, the governor of Shaanxi to suppress the thieves, if the thieves do not stop for a day, the minister will not stop for a day, and swear to be consistent with this matter, and there is no reason to stop. Now Shanxi reported that Shaanxi thieves had entered the country, and the ministers invited them to go to Jin to suppress the thieves and control the government affairs of Shanxi's military horses. ”

"I don't think so."

"Yang Sichang, go on!"

"With Hongjunmen's strategy is naturally the best choice, the minister is not against him entering Jin to suppress thieves, but he is worried that he will go to Shanxi, the thieves are afraid of him, do not dare to fight, and retreat to Shaanxi, so chase and suppress, in vain my division, but also fell Hongjunmen's tiger power, it is really useless." Yang Sichang paused slightly, his eyes swept over Hong Chengchou's face, and he saw that there was nothing unusual, and then said: "The minister thinks that it is better to assign another person to be the governor of Shanxi, and work together with Hong Junmen to attack, the thieves will have nowhere to escape, and Hong Junmen will also save the pain of running back and forth." ”

"What does Hong Qing think?" Chongzhen asked kindly.

"Lord Yang knows the art of war very well, and he knows the rogues well, so he thinks it is reasonable." Hong Chengchou naturally knew that it was not easy to get around with Liukou, so he only said that Yang Sichang was repaying his kindness and giving himself a wake-up call. The emperor is wise and scrupulous, and he takes care of everything, once the work is fruitless, the disaster is unpredictable, and he must not be considered in advance. Thinking of this, he bowed slightly at Yang Sichang with a smile and said, "The minister thinks that this position requires knowledge of the art of war and experience in the army. Did the emperor see Du Wenhuan? ”

Chongzhen shook his head lightly and said: "Since the position of governor was established in the early years of Jingtai, it has been held by people from the two lists, and Du Wenhuan is a martial artist, so it is unconventional to use him like this. ”

Yang Sichang was afraid that Hong Chengchou would come up with another candidate, and the emperor was embarrassed, so he hurriedly said: "There is a candidate for the minister, I don't know if it will work?" ”

"Which one? Tell you all about it. Chongzhen asked impatiently, seemingly extremely casually.