On the seventh day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Mingming, which belongs to the traditional Chinese Valentine's Day, Shen Yichen did not go to the cabinet to be on duty today, but chose to accompany Chen Qingtong in this traditional festival to walk in the lantern night market on the streets of Beijing, enjoying a rare peaceful time for his own husband and wife.

Compared with the Orthodox Dynasty or the Jingtai Dynasty, the streets of Jingshi are more prosperous and lively, but the biggest change is that you can see more women in the bustling crowd.

You must know that although Qixi Festival is Valentine's Day since ancient times, under the oppression of Cheng Zhu Lixue's etiquette of "preserving heavenly principles and destroying people's desires" in the Ming and Qing dynasties, adult women were basically deprived of the opportunity to show their heads, not to mention that they could go to the streets to visit and play at will in the 28 cardamom years.

During the years that Shen Yichen was in power, although he still did not deny the correctness of Cheng Zhu's science on the surface, the expansion of the concept of "Shen Xue" has a certain significance, which has in fact challenged the dominance of science science.

Coupled with the large-scale promotion of commerce and the surge in overseas trade brought about by the opening of the sea, the Jiangnan region and the prosperous cities of Jingshi have already given birth to the handicraft industry, and the number of employed workers has reached a certain level, which is the earliest germ of capitalism.

Women have jobs and incomes, and often imperceptibly improve their status and independence, and the two-pronged approach of thinking and action has created a more prosperous festival in the Ming Dynasty and liberated more labor.

"On weekdays, I have to take care of Qingying in the house, and my husband is busy with government affairs, I don't know how long I haven't visited the night market, I didn't expect it to become so prosperous."

Chen Qingtong was amazed by the changes around him, and at the same time curiously looked at the new things that appeared in the night market, as if he had returned to the state of the little girl in the Taining Hou Mansion back then.

"Qingying is also older now, so you don't need too much care, you can invite the little sisters to hang out if you have nothing to do."

Shen Yichen took Chen Qingtong's hand and strolled through the streets of Beijing, today the two of them specially chose a relatively low-key shirt, just because they didn't want the people to realize their identity as either rich or noble.

At the same time, there is another thing that makes Shen Yichen feel lucky, that is, there was no photography and photography technology in ancient times, even the people in the Sijiu City at the foot of the Son of Heaven only heard of his name as the first assistant of the cabinet of the current dynasty, and did not know who he was.

Of course, whether others feel the difference in momentum, Shen Yichen doesn't know, as long as no one recognizes it in person and reveals his identity.

However, the comfortable warmth is always short-lived, and soon the staff member Bian He leaned over and whispered in Shen Yichen's ear: "The proprietor, Yu Shaobao sent military news from the border pass, do you want to take a look?" ”

Bian He also knew that after Shen Yichen served as the first assistant of the cabinet, he rarely had time to walk with his wife so easily, so he lowered his voice to a very low voice and did not directly indicate the content of the military situation.

Hearing Bian He's words, Shen Yichen took Chen Qingtong's hand, subconsciously clenched it a little, and began to think fiercely in his mind. Yu Qian led the Monan Army and the Liaodong Army to go out to conquer Saiwai, without the support of the Daming Post Station System, the speed of transmitting military information was countless times slower.

In addition, the logistics system was blocked by the Tartar cavalry, which affected the passage of the heralds, resulting in a long interruption of communication between the two sides.

To be honest, Shen Yichen is not worried about any big problems in Yu Qian's department, after all, this raid soldiers and horses are the elite selected from the Liaodong Army and the Monan Army, and the degree of ability to fight well surpasses the Western Expeditionary Army led by Zhongguo Gong Shiheng, after all, these two soldiers and horses are the first-line troops fighting against the Mongol Khanate at the border all year round.

If he didn't transfer back the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses he sent to the Western Regions, it would be impossible to swallow the 20,000 horses of the expeditionary army in one bite by relying on the 30,000 households in Eastern Mongolia and the 30,000 Jurchen households.

It's like the battle of Tumubao, are the 200,000 Ming soldiers really not the opponent of the Mongolian iron cavalry?

Answer: In fact, it is negative, the Ming Dynasty maintained an offensive against the steppe most of the time before Tumubao, and how could it wantonly attack the Tartars without strength to rely on. The fundamental reason for the defeat of the Ming soldiers is that the logistics supply is not enough, and even the most basic drinking water cannot be guaranteed, so they will be defeated in the unbearable heat.

In order to avoid triggering opposition from the conservatives of the imperial court, Shen Yichen did not carry out large-scale mobilization and reserve sufficient supplies under the idea of feeding the war with war. Now that the war is not going well, the logistical problems will be highlighted, and he can only hope that Yu Qian and Guo Deng, two important ministers, will seek the country and bring the soldiers back safely and steadily.

Chen Qingtong didn't hear what Bian He said, but after so many years of being married to Shen Yichen, he could sense any subtle changes clearly.

"Husband, since there is an important matter in the court, it is still the most important thing to deal with government affairs, you can deal with it."

Chen Qingtong didn't want Shen Yichen to be embarrassed, so he simply spoke for him.

"Okay, I've wronged you."

Shen Yichen replied a little apologetically, who would have thought that Yu Qian's military situation would come so coincidentally.

"The old husband and wife, there is still a need to say this, who calls the person who marries a concubine is a hero who has the world in mind."

Chen Qingtong replied self-deprecatingly, there is no woman who does not expect her husband to be in a high position, but she has really come to this point, but she no longer belongs to herself.

"When the four seas are leveled, I will compensate you for the second half of my husband."

Giving a distant promise, Shen Yichen turned around and motioned to the Canghuo head who was guarding from afar to come over, and instructed: "Escort Madame back to the house, I still have important things to deal with." ”

"Yes, proprietor."

The first few people of Canghuo took the order, and then formed a semi-arc around Chen Qingtong.

In the past, Shen Yichen's security was not so cautious, but the energy of Zhao Ranyuan, a scholar in the middle school, reminded him that the political struggle between him and the eunuchs may not be limited to the court, and people like Cao Jixiang have no bottom line at all.

To bring down this historical-level eunuch, Shen Yichen will not give him any opportunity to take advantage of.

sent Chen Qingtong away, and Shen Yichen received the handwritten letter from Bian He from the border pass. It described in detail the predicament encountered by the conquest army, and his final decision to withdraw the army, and finally asked Shen Yichen and the court for guilt.

The reason is that this expedition of 20,000 soldiers and horses took a lot of effort, but in fact, there were not many results, and it can even be said that the losses were even greater. When the military news is transmitted back to the center of the court, Shen Yichen, who presumably leads the war, will face many accusations, and Yu Qian intends to take this fault himself.

Of course, Shen Yichen doesn't care about the outside world's comments, and now that most of the eight departments of the imperial court are under his control, as long as they don't continue to violate the core interests and bottom line of the civil official group, they have already seen the situation clearly, and they are too lazy to do some meaningless struggles.

"Yu Shaobao is really not old, the Beijing division has been silent for so many years, the battlefield smell is still keen, and the conquest army has now withdrawn to the Daming Pass, so there is no need to worry about being surrounded by the main force of the first division."

After Shen Yichen read the content of the letter, he excitedly said a word to Bian He beside him, and the other party was also relieved after hearing it.

"The proprietor, since the Western Expeditionary Army and the Expeditionary Army have returned to the division safely and have no worries, is it time for us to take the initiative to take action against Cao Jixiang?"

Earlier, Shen Yichen smashed the Tartar liaison station lurking in Beijing through the Jinyi Guard, so as to find out the spy Zhao Ranyuan who was planted in the cabinet, and by the way, he learned that the mastermind behind it was Cao Jixiang, the master of ceremonies.

However, the progress of the eucalyptus case has reached this point, and it came to an abrupt end on the surface, Zhao Ranyuan committed suicide in fear of crime, and Xie Zhi of the Sibin Department died inexplicably at home, as for the captured Mongolian secret agent, either he committed suicide by taking poison, or he didn't know it at all, anyway, the clues couldn't be pushed forward.

But this is only the situation on the surface, secretly Zhao Ranyuan has fully revealed the conspiracy behind Cao Jixiang, and under the torture methods of Jinyiwei, no one in this world can withstand the interrogation, including those Tartars who think they are iron-clad.

Now the records in the edict prison about Cao Jixiang's subordinates tandem with the Tartars can be described as a mountain. But even so, trying to rely on these testimonies to bring down Cao Jixiang is tantamount to a fool's dream.

Shen Yichen knew this very well, so after releasing the news of Zhao Ranyuan's suicide in fear of crime, he did not make any moves against Cao Jixiang and his henchmen, mainly to dispel the other party's vigilance.

Another point is that Shen Yichen did not dare to ensure that Cao Jixiang bought the palace insider, only Zhao Ranyuan for one day. In case his actions are too obvious, and the other party jumps over the wall and betrays Yu Qian's expeditionary army again, the loss to Da Ming will be too great.

Now that Yu Qian's soldiers and horses have successfully withdrawn to the pass, Cao Jixiang is equivalent to one less card in his hand, and it is time for Shen Yichen to play his cards.

"Mr. Bian, you immediately send someone to the Ministry of Household and Finance, and ask them to dig out the Daming treasure banknotes in stock and distribute them to Teng Xiang Siwei according to half of the military salary. If the Imperial Horse Supervisor makes trouble and asks for an explanation, he will inform Nian Butang and Xiao Butang, saying that the logistical pressure on the border conquest is very great, and the supply of the front line must be guaranteed first, and if there is any problem, please talk to the cabinet department! ”

After saying this, Shen Yichen said with a mocking smile on his face: "The Mo Nan Army and the Liaodong Army returned in vain, and the logistics were robbed, in a sense, it was also the consequence of Cao Jixiang's leakage of military information. ”

"You have to eat the evil fruits you have with tears in your eyes, this is called evil retribution!"

"Yes, proprietor, my subordinates will do it."

After receiving the order, Bian He's figure disappeared into the vast sea of people, and Shen Yichen officially launched the first step of the action against Cao Jixiang.

August in the north of the Ming Dynasty has entered the scorching summer season, and Wang Cheng, the eunuch of the imperial horse supervisor's palm seal, is even hotter at the moment. The reason is that he just managed to persuade back a group of Tengxiang Siwei generals who were asking for salaries, and promised to settle their salaries as soon as possible.

But the problem is that Wang Cheng has no financial power, and he has to make a huge discount on his military power, so where can he find a way to solve the problem of salary?

Seeing Wang Cheng's anxious appearance, his confidant Shu Liang couldn't help but speak: "What the hell is the previous dynasty doing, the Daming treasure banknote was originally a piece of waste paper, and it was basically abolished after Shen Yuanfu took power in the past few years, and it was no longer used as a military salary and a salary. ”

"Why is this node, suddenly the treasure money is turned out again, and the proportion of water is as high as fifty percent!"

Shu Liang is also a confidant eunuch of Jingtai Dynasty, he has the same fate as Wang Cheng, with the death of Zhu Qiyu, he has no backer, so he can only choose to take refuge in Cao Jixiang and then take the position of admiral eunuch in the imperial horse eunuch, which is considered a third-in-command.

As for the eunuch who is the second-in-command of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, he is Cao Jixiang's henchman, and he belongs to the real controller of the four guards in secret.

One of the original intentions of Shen Yichen to establish the Daming money is to recycle this waste paper to establish the financial credit of the imperial court again, and pave the way for the implementation of new banknotes in the future.

Originally, under Shen Yichen's efforts for several years, this thing has basically disappeared from the market, not to mention that Shen Yichen is particularly strict about the actual payment of military salaries, and the household and military departments no longer dare to play treasure money to make up the number and deduct all kinds of operations.

As a result, who would have thought that after many years, the treasure banknote would be able to see the light of day again?

Listening to Shu Liang's complaints, Wang Cheng replied breathlessly: "There must be a demon when things go wrong, and the Ministry of Finance said that the war at the front is tight, and we must give priority to ensuring the supply of salaries and silver for the front-line soldiers." ”

"But the problem is that the Ming Dynasty has had a surplus in the treasury over the years, the treasury can be said to be very full, and it is true that the eastern and western fronts of the frontier have gone on expeditions at the same time, but there has not been a large-scale war at all, how can it not even be able to supply this military salary."

"If the imperial court's finances are in short supply, then Shen Yuanfu is still planning the Western Expedition and the Northern Expedition, and he can simply withdraw them all!"

Wang Cheng realized that something was wrong, but he couldn't understand why he had come to this point, after all, in the past few years since the new emperor ascended the throne, he was forced to stay away from the political center of the court, and he was completely unclear about the twists and turns of Shen Yichen's secret competition with Cao Jixiang.

Seeing that Wang Cheng was getting more and more excited, Shu Liang hurriedly persuaded him: "The prince is angry, don't be angry." ”

"How can our family not be angry? The generals of Teng Xiang Siwei have come to block the door to ask me for silver, and those unruly generals in the army are in danger of causing camp chaos at any time. ”

In the case of such an existence as a general, with money, meat and women, they are indeed very useful, and they can be pulled out at any time to serve the death. But again, without these things, the arrogant warrior is a time bomb that will soon backfire on itself.

However, the group of people in Tengxiang's four guards are not loyal to Wang Cheng, which means that he has not reaped the benefits, and all the disadvantages are on his back.

Just when Wang Cheng was complaining, a little eunuch walked in outside the house, and it could be seen from the robe on his body that his grade was not high, but his attitude was extremely arrogant and arrogant.

"Princess, the Minister of Internal Affairs has spoken, let you send a batch of money to Beijing as soon as possible, the brothers over there are waiting for the salary."