Shen Yichen rode on a tall horse, looking at the magnificent gate of Jingshi in front of him, and suddenly had some mixed feelings. This is not the first time he has led the army back from Andingmen, but every time he arrives, he has a different state of mind.

From the initial excitement and excitement to today's sighs and sighs, the youthful spirit of those who once carried a three-foot sword and made immortal achievements seemed to have been consumed by the cruelty of one war after another, and they were more inclined to the heaviness of one success and ten thousand bones.

In that year, from Fujian Wuzhao to the north, and then to the Dagu Haiphong Pass and the Shandong Guards and Horse Division, Shen Yichen led a full 60,000 local guards. Now that more than three years have passed, the sons and daughters who can still follow him behind him and set foot in Beijing again are only 30,000 and half of them.

And most of the soldiers who were killed and injured could not even return to the most basic fallen leaves, and could only sleep forever in the vast grassland. The only thing to be thankful for is that Shen Yichen took that land back from the Mongols, at least their souls returned to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, not some foreign land!

Hu Hu watched Shen Yichen come to him, his figure staggered a little and took a few steps forward, and then shouted loudly: "This official is ordered by the Son of Heaven to welcome the old Shen Pavilion and the soldiers of the conquest army in Andingmen. ”

"Chen Shen Yichen, on behalf of the conscription army, thank Your Majesty Enlong!"

Shen Yichen turned over and dismounted, and thanked the emperor in the direction of the Forbidden City, and then Hu Hu took his arm and said with a friendly smile on his face: "Shen Zhongtang, please get up, Your Majesty has set up a celebration banquet in the Wuying Palace, and is waiting for you to come over and offer condolences in person." ”

Shen Yichen slowly got up, looking at Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, who was close to Chi Qi, he hadn't seen him for almost two years, he seemed to be much older, and his whole spirit looked drooping and old, and he no longer had the old man's demeanor when he met.

Maybe in the past few years, there have been too many things and changes in Jingshi, far beyond the control of an old minister like him, and after a long period of powerlessness, the state will naturally go down.

But seriously speaking, the relationship between Shen Yichen and Hu Hu has always been in the category of general friendship. Except for the surprise and sigh caused by the change that has not been seen for a long time, there is nothing more touching, and soon he looked at Yu Qian who was standing on the left side of Hu Hu.

As the secretary of the Ministry of War, he must welcome the return of the soldiers of the conscription army, but the leading department of the ceremony is the Ministry of Rites, and Hu Hu is above Humility regardless of his official rank, qualifications, and status, so he can't say much.

The two looked at each other, Yu Qian smiled at Shen Yichen, he was not a good communicator, the polite words of the scene were enough for Hu Hu, and the emotions in his heart were all in plain sight.

Compared with Yu Qian's free and easy, Shen Yichen's eyes were red at this time. I still remember that Yu Qian went out of the local governor of the town, even if he offended Wang Zhen and was targeted in various ways, he still adhered to his principles and justice with high morale.

As a result, after becoming a squire in the military department, the huge court is like a lonely family, and now as the prince and the young protector of the military department, he has the power of the governor of the world's soldiers and horses, but Yu Qian has turned white in just a few years.

If it weren't for that still familiar face, Shen Yifu felt that he was seeing a strange old man, and he didn't know what he had experienced in the turbid officialdom in the past two years to become so tired.

Retracting his gaze, Shen Yichen exhaled lightly, calmed down his somewhat sluggish mood, and then asked Hu Hui: "Uncle Zong, in addition to the celebration banquet of the lower officials, does the imperial court prepare a banquet for the soldiers of the conscription army?" ”

The merit of conquering the Wuliang Ha Sanwei was made by tens of thousands of soldiers in the bloody battle of Monan Mongolia for two years, so the celebration banquet naturally cannot be enjoyed by individuals. Shen Yichen held back in his heart for two years in the matter of the imperial court's deduction of the salary of the Xuanda border army, and he knew very well that if he didn't help the soldiers at the bottom to fight for something, no one in the Manchu Dynasty would look down on them!

"Meritorious soldiers who fought for the country, of course the court will not be treated badly, Shen Zhongtang can rest assured."

Hu Hu is worthy of being an old fox in officialdom, and his words are not leaky, so that people can't find any fault.

"Then the lower official is here, thank you first."

"Shen Zhongtang is polite, don't keep Your Majesty waiting, please."

After that, Hu Hui led a group of welcoming officials to turn sideways and make way for Shen Yichen to go first with the soldiers of the conquest army.

Behind them were the soldiers of the Beijing camp, and in the distance there were the people who heard the sound of the Beijing division. At this time, the countless pairs of eyes looking at Shen Yichen were filled with a kind of worship and fanaticism, after all, removing the aura of being young and in a high position, the real territory brought by the general is enough to make people yearn for and admire!

"Look, Shen Ge is over, he has finally returned to the court!"

"The Northern Expedition to the Tartars, opening up my Ming territory, Shen Ge Lao Zhen is the mainstay of the imperial court."

"Shen Ge is a young man who will enter the prime minister, and he has made great achievements in expanding the territory, and I am afraid that he will have to be a marquis in the future."

"At this time, I beat the Tartars, and raised the evil breath since the civil fort, and the wolf Juxu is just around the corner!"

"Shen Pavilion Old Mighty!"

"Shen Pavilion Old Mighty!"

Thousands of words eventually converged into fanatical shouts and slogans, no matter what Wang Daohua said, no matter how good it sounded, in the eyes of the people of Limin, they only knew that they could conquer the Tartars in the north and open up territory for the Ming Dynasty, which was the credit of standing up to the sky.

Listening to the praise of the soldiers of the Beijing camp and the people of the Beijing Division, Shen Yichen glanced behind him, and then shouted with all his strength: "The Ming army is mighty!" ”

This shout made Feng Zheng, Li Zan and other generals who followed behind stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted, and shouted with excitement with Shen Yichen: "The Ming army is mighty!" ”

The sound soon swept the surrounding people, and they transferred their personal praise for Shen Yichen to the Ming army as a whole. The tens of thousands of soldiers and soldiers who followed behind listened to the cheers of the soldiers and civilians of the Beijing Division, which changed from "Shen Ge Old Mighty" to "Ming Army Mighty".

After only a short period of surprise, they understood Shen Yichen's painstaking efforts, and many people's eyes couldn't help but be full of tears.

After all, after two years of hard fighting, countless brothers fell on the grassland, and the "slight" exploits that can be remembered by the people of the Ming Dynasty can bring great relief and emotion to people after all.

The thunderous shouts passed through the imperial city and jumped into the Forbidden City, until Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor at the banquet in the Wuying Palace, could faintly feel the lively scene outside.

"It seems that Shen Qing has returned from the expedition for two years, and his prestige is still the same as it was back then."

A sentence that is an ordinary sigh for others came out of the emperor's mouth in the Forbidden City, so that the civil and military ministers in the hall looked at each other, not knowing how to answer, lest Zhu Qiyu mean something.

Seeing that Huanqing's anger was developing in a strange direction, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, smiled at this time and said: "Don't look at Shen Ge is always a literati, he is not lost to the warriors in conquest and warfare, but has the talent of the heavens and the earth. ”

"The minister still remembers the scene of fighting side by side in Liaodong now, not to mention the ordinary people of Beijing."

Although Shi Heng is a high-flying and domineering person, he also has the simplicity and refreshment of a martial artist in some aspects. At least in terms of gratitude and reciprocation, if you give him a little thin face, he will repay you a little affection.

】

In a sense, Shi Heng's personality and behavior are not like a Ming Guogong, but more like a gang boss. has a good face and talks about the righteousness of the rivers and lakes, and takes a group of younger brothers to eat and drink spicy, but as long as he provokes him, he will repay him regardless of the choice.

"Really? In terms of talent alone, Shen Qing is indeed worthy of being a capable minister. ”

Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu nodded with a smile, and used this compliment to resolve the ambiguity that might be contained in the previous sentence, but whether he really thought this way in his heart, I'm afraid only the emperor himself knew.

The longer he stays on the throne, the more unpredictable the emperor's mind becomes!

Ride all the way along the royal street to Chengtianmen and dismount, looking at the familiar and unfamiliar Forbidden City in front of you, many people and things have changed in two years, only this palace representing the imperial power has always stood majestically.

Seeing Shen Yichen coming, a scarlet-robed eunuch standing in front of Chengtian Gate immediately greeted him and said, "Our family has seen Shen Ge Lao, so we are waiting to welcome you into the palace." ”

The eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty who can wear scarlet robes means that this is the emperor's clothes, Shen Yichen looked at the picture on his chest embroidered with flying fish, which means that the other party is at least a high-level eunuch of the twelve eunuchs, or even a prison palm print.

So Shen Yichen arched his hand and said, "Let my father-in-law wait, dare to ask the surname Gao?" ”

Seeing Shen Yichen so polite, the eunuch's expression was obviously a little happy, after all, the body is crippled and the mind is relatively sensitive, and the identity and credit of the other party are there, this courtesy has a light on his face.

I saw that the eunuch smiled and waved his hand and replied: "Our family is just a servant of Your Majesty, how dare you call the surname Gao in front of the elder Shen Ge, commonly known as Wang Cheng, and currently serve as the palm seal of the internal official supervisor." ”

Internal official supervisor palm print?

Hearing the other party's internal official title, Shen Yichen was subconsciously stunned for a moment, you must know that the position of internal official supervisor palm seal belongs to Cheng Jing.

Could it be that Cheng Jing has been promoted to the master of ceremonies to serve as the palm seal?

The key skills required by the internal officials and eunuchs include observing words and expressions, and the subtle changes in Shen Yichen's expression naturally can't hide from Wang Cheng's eyes.

He then explained with a smile: "Shen Ge is old out of the town, and he doesn't know anything about the changes in the court, and Cheng's father-in-law submitted to His Majesty to return to his hometown to sweep the tomb last year on the grounds of old age, and our family took over as the internal official and supervisor palm print." ”

Cheng Jing has returned to his hometown?

Hearing this, Shen Yichen was surprised, but he understood why Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu's temperament changed drastically, and he was obsessed with alchemy and collecting folk prostitutes in the obscene palace.

For Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, Cheng Jing plays the role of both a master and a father in a sense, and he is also fundamentally different from Wang Zhen, who has a similar identity.

You must know that although Wang Zhen's reputation is not low, he relied on teaching the inner study hall as a person, which completed the accumulation of original capital in the palace. But Wang Zhen entered the palace by himself, this ruthlessness and courage are unimaginable to ordinary people, and he is destined to go to the road of eunuch dictatorship.

Cheng Jing has a higher reputation, a real two list of Jinshi, a typical traditional Confucian literati. He was purely implicated in the rebellion of the King of Han, and in order to protect his family's reputation, he had to be corrupted and entered the palace of the king of Yu as a eunuch.

If Cheng Jing's physical defects are put aside, he is a teacher with the style of a literati, and he will inevitably restrain and persuade the emperor's behavior in all aspects, and only when he does these Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu can listen to it all.

Now that Cheng Jing has returned to his hometown, it is obvious that the successor Wang Cheng and other eunuchs cannot reach the point of persuading and restraining the emperor. Coupled with Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen Bintian, Zhu Qiyu completely sat on the throne without external threats, and could let go of his self-willedness, which led to many absurd behaviors.

"I see, then I will ask the prince to take care of me in the future."

Putting away the reverie in his heart, Shen Yichen politely complimented Wang Cheng, if he remembered correctly, he seemed to be an old man during the period of the palace of the king of Yu. And the internal officials and supervisors don't see that they don't have much real power, but their status is a bit similar to the Ministry of Rites in the Six Ministries, and they can't sit in this position if they are not the emperor's cronies and important people.

Thinking about the cooperation with Cheng Jing at the beginning, Shen Yichen resolved several crises, and was able to control the movement of the Forbidden City and the emperor's true thoughts for the first time. Now that Wang Cheng has been replaced, he naturally has to have a good relationship in advance.

"Shen Ge is polite, then move around more."

Wang Cheng replied with a smile, the foreign official wanted to talk to the internal official and get first-hand news from the palace.

If the internal officials are ambitious, they also need to hand over the foreign officials to convey the decrees, and even further control the government and the opposition, and the two sides can be regarded as mutually beneficial.

However, Wang Cheng's attitude made Shen Yichen's eyes flash a strange light, if this sentence was answered by Cheng Jing after hearing it, he would definitely not say how much to move, on the contrary, he would immediately reply that he couldn't afford it.

What grade is a eunuch, why can you take care of the cabinet ministers on the surface, and you don't reach the step of Wang Zhenquan leaning towards the government and the opposition, you are also worthy?

But this also exposed Wang Cheng's ambitions and intentions, he was unwilling to be just an internal official in the Forbidden City, wanting to usurp more power.

Shen Yichen didn't know at this time that in the official camp that had just welcomed the victorious return to the army at Andingmen, there was a newly promoted cabinet minister and the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, named Wang Yining.

He entered the Wenyuan Pavilion to participate in the maintenance of the machine, and it was not a normal process of the minister's court push, but was invoked by the eunuch Wang Cheng, and Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor, was directly appointed to the cabinet, thus creating a precedent for the Ming Dynasty eunuchs to be introduced into the cabinet.

Of course, Shen Yichen would definitely not show the thoughts in his heart, he immediately showed an affectionate attitude and echoed: "That's naturally to move around more with the prince, I don't know if there are any major changes in the palace officials in addition to becoming a father-in-law?" ”

Shen Yichen has been at the border for two years, and to be honest, he really doesn't pay much attention to the things in the palace, after all, compared to Jin Ge Iron Horse, what concubines and eunuchs change is really a little irrelevant at the level of the family and the country.

"The big change is nothing, and Guo Jingmou reversed the position of the palm print of the Imperial Horse Supervisor to vacate it, and Gonggong Cao later took over."

"Grandpa Cao?"

"It's the original superintendent of Cao Jixiang, Father-in-law Cao."