After Zhang Mingzhen and the Kaifeng defenders reopened the grain route, there was nothing worth repeating about the humanitarian rescue and transportation and grain relief in the next few days.

Li Zicheng's troops had already retreated, and they couldn't imagine that the Ming Dynasty would come to rescue the people in Kaifeng City, so it was impossible for them to think of killing a horse or something.

In Li Zicheng's eyes, from the moment he broke the water, he would treat the whole city of Kaifeng as dead. He didn't want to rob the treasures scattered by King Zhou's mansion, so he fed them to the dogs.

In addition to saving people, Zhang Mingzhen also did two other things at the first time, one was to report to Shen Shuren, and the other was to join forces with Gao Mingheng and King Zhou at the same time, and immediately gave Chongzhen a good news, confirming that Li Zicheng had completely gone away.

……

A few days passed in a flash, and the time came to November 22, three days later, in the capital.

Chongzhen had actually learned from the normal channel of the military department Tangbao two days ago that Shen Shuren seemed to be around Chen County and broke Li Zicheng's army once.

Although there was no more detailed situation, it really made Chongzhen feel relieved for two days.

The reason why the news of the Battle of Chen County was only delivered two days earlier than the lifting of the siege of Kaifeng was also because the Battle of Chen County was not all settled, and Shen Shuren was modest, so he did not need to rush for six hundred miles.

And then got in touch with Gao Mingheng and King Zhou, and confirmed that after Kaifeng lifted the siege, everything was conclusive, and he went to 600 miles to expedite.

Therefore, although there is a difference of five or six days between the actual time of the two events, the time difference between the time when the news was delivered to the capital is only two days.

When the news of Chen County's victory first arrived, Chongzhen was excited for a whole day, and he kept fantasizing about "when will there be further letters to be delivered".

So much so that he couldn't sleep until midnight that day, and asked Wang Chengen to call Chen Xinjia into the palace in the middle of the night to play the right game, and asked him "Why is there no more detailed military information all day."

At that time, Chen Xinjia was also speechless, so he had to patiently explain to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Chen County is more than 300 miles away from Kaifeng, and a normal march can take six or seven days. Even if it was a hurried march without food and grass, it would take four or five days.

The surrounding area of Kaifeng has now been repeatedly looted and looted by thieves, and it is definitely impossible to raise food on the spot, so if the troops of the Shenshu people want to advance, they must bring their own grain and grass. This is still a state of singing all the way without fighting, and if there is a follow-up battle, such as the thieves gathering the defeated army and fighting again, it will be even more protracted......"

After listening to this explanation, Chongzhen also realized that he was too anxious, so he secretly warned himself for the time being to be calm and not let his subordinates feel that he was not like a human king.

In order to hide his anxiety, he also temporarily asked Chen Xinjia about the progress of some other affairs, such as asking him how he negotiated peace with Huangtaiji in Liaodong.

Chen Xinjia also said at the time that everything was going well, and the two sides actually did not have much difference on the substantive conditions, but Huang Taiji always insisted on formally signing a peace treaty, not a private secret treaty, in case the Ming Dynasty would repent.

Of course, Chongzhen couldn't accept this, so he implied Chen Xinjia to find a way by himself. Chen Xinjia had no choice but to retreat in dismay-

As an aside, in history, Chen Xinjia should have been dead for almost two months at this moment, because at the end of September of Chongzhen's fifteenth year, he should have been attacked by the Manchu Dynasty for leaking secrets in the peace talks with the Manchu Dynasty, saying that the emperor admitted that he had lost his power and humiliated the country, and finally Chongzhen could only say "This is Chen Xinjia who bullied the monarch and betrayed the lord to talk to Huang Taiji in private", and asked Xu Shiqi, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to discuss the crime to Chen Xinjia, and finally beheaded.

But now, apparently because of some butterfly effects, for example, in March, in the final sweeping stage of the Songjin War, the Ming army Zhang Mingzhen and Zheng Chenggong achieved additional victories, annihilating the two full Jiala, and almost annihilating the entire Han army flag of the Qing army.

By the way, the Ming army's original victory actually had a subtle effect, which was to make Huang Taiji's health further deteriorate due to anger. Historically, Huang Taiji actually lived until August of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen before he died of illness, and now it is estimated that he will die a little earlier. And when Huang Taiji's health was not good, of course, the Qing army did not dare to be too arrogant, and he didn't have much to do with the outside world, and he wanted to fight for power and profit to fight for chips for his faction.

All this led to the Qing army's attitude towards the Ming Dynasty being slightly softer than in the same period in history, and the process of secret negotiations was maintained more smoothly, and there was no leak for the time being, and Chen Xinjia was not dead for the time being.

If he can survive this winter smoothly and deal with the discussion and reward of the Shen Shu people's series of big victories, it will obviously be a major good news for the Shen Shu people-

Shen Shuren's relationship between the DPRK and China is mainly related to Yang Sichang's lineage, after all, he himself was promoted all the way by taking Yang Sichang's route.

After Yang Sichang died in the middle of the year, Shen Shuren was left in the court, only Zhou Yanru, a friend who had been newly developed for less than a year, but the relationship was not very iron. In addition, Chen Xinjia, who is also from Yang Sichang's faction, has always been very iron with Shen Shuren.

If Chen Xinjia is taken out in the future, or even killed as in history, the new military department Shangshu is estimated to be a faction that is not very good to deal with. It is impossible for the Shenshu people to raid the cold stove to maintain the corresponding relationship, and even if it is maintained, I don't know if it can be used for a full year.

Therefore, Shen Shuren must very much hope that in Chen Xinjia's hands, he will deal with the last time he bargained with the imperial court.

……

After Chongzhen listened to Chen Xinjia's explanation, he secretly warned himself to be patient, so the day after the victory of the Chen County War, he didn't ask if there was any updated big news all day.

Early on the morning of the third day, he simply took a moment of lewdness, and then forcibly drove his concern away from his mind, forcing himself to concentrate and deal with other government affairs.

This day is not the day of the court meeting, so there is no need to go to the court, early in the morning, Chongzhen went to the Wenhua Hall to directly watch the recital and review, and deal with the courtiers' instructions. In the event of a very urgent matter that needs to be dealt with, the old scholar on duty can also come directly to the Wenhua Hall to ask for a meeting.

However, just after Chongzhen finally settled down, Wang Chengen came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of War asked to see him, saying that there was another major good news. ”

Chongzhen was stunned for a long time, pinched his thighs fiercely, and then called viciously: "Come in!" This guy is really unreliable, and after a while, he talked about the march and said that it would take five or six days, isn't this coming! ”

The first half of the sentence was instructed by Wang Chengen, and the last part was already complete self-talk. Wang Chengen pretended not to hear it when he heard it, and he was very emotional in his heart: Your Majesty is rarely so happy and unexpected.

After a while, Chen Xinjia rushed in with a red face and a fold: "Your Majesty forgives your sins!" Forgive the courtier's rudeness and gallop in the palace! Kaifeng City has been lifted! This is the good news jointly signed by His Royal Highness King Zhou, Gao Mingheng, the governor of Henan, and the generals of Shen Shuren!

The number of people in the Shenshu battle has killed a total of 200,000 enemies! Li Zicheng has been beaten and fled back to Luoyang! According to the Shen Shuren scout report, it seems that they are preparing to return to Shaanxi! ”

Chongzhen Huo Ran stood up from the throne, regardless of the pain in his thighs on the imperial eucalyptus: "Hurry up!" ”

As he spoke, he actually stepped down the steps in person, snatched the fold from Wang Chengen's hand, and paced back and forth while unfolding.

"Thieves have today! Thieves can also be dealt with hard! Yang Sichang and Sun Chuanting lost for a while, but it was just a fluke of thieves! Daming has Shen Shuren so loyal and good generals to protect him, it is really a blessing for Daming! ”

Chongzhen watched it all the time, and noticed the part of King Zhou's statement above, which was sincere, saying that he was seriously ill in Kaifeng City, lacking medical treatment, eating and drinking, and his family wealth had been scattered for the army. Fortunately, the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court repelled the thieves in time, relieved the siege of Kaifeng, and saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Finally, of course, it is inevitable to talk about Li Zicheng's atrocities in digging up the Yellow River, describing the tragic situation in the city, and King Zhou also said that he felt seriously ill and died soon, which can be regarded as a dying testament. But if he can be rescued by Zhang Mingzhen, he will have a burial place in the future, so that he will not be soaked in the turbid current of the Yellow River.

King Zhou earnestly begged that if he died of illness in other places, he could not return to Kaifeng fiefdom for burial without returning to Kaifeng according to the ancestral system, because the surrounding area of Kaifeng would not be able to recover feng shui within a year, and it would definitely be yellow and muddy everywhere.

said so earnestly, of course, Chongzhen could not approve it, so other meritorious deeds and rewards could be discussed slowly for the time being, he first replied with a separate letter of instructions and sent it to Shou County to King Zhou, because King Zhou said in the fold that he had to evacuate along Yingchuan with the army, and he might enter Shou County in Huainan, which belonged to Fengyang, the central capital.

King Zhou is a person who is about to die, and he has a distant relationship with the central bloodline of the royal family, of course, he will no longer worry about the adverse effects of entering Fengyang like King Fu and King Lu. If you can be buried in Fengyang Mansion after death, it can be regarded as the best choice after returning to Kaifeng.

And after giving instructions on King Zhou's affairs, Chongzhen also felt more and more indebted to Shen Shuren, after all, he not only saved Kaifeng, but also allowed King Zhou to have a good death.

Chongzhen chatted with Chen Xinjia about rewarding meritorious deeds: "Chen Aiqing, do you think that Shen Shuren deserves such a reward for such military merits?" Is it time to be promoted to Governor of Huguang? ”

When Chen Xinjia heard this, he was also happy to see it, but he knew that what he said would not count, so he said steadily: "Your Majesty, this matter should be discussed by the elder Zhou Ge, and the opinions of the officials should be the main one."

As far as the minister knows, whether it is the elder of the Zhou Pavilion or the other elders, the attitude before the war is that if he can win, he can be knighted, but he will be promoted to governor...... Shen Shuren, who has just been transferred to Huguang this year, can't be promoted again in a year, so it's better to slow down and let go of the New Year? ”

"Then just give a knighthood?" Chongzhen thought about it, and was a little unwilling, so he told Chen Xinjia to go back and think about it first, and convey it to Zhou Yanru that they would meet together tomorrow.

Chen Xinjia took the order and left.

The day passed quickly, and Zhou Yanru also knew about it, and the next day he followed Chen Xinjia to discuss it together.

However, within a day or so, another urgent report was delivered to the south. It was sent from Hefei 600 miles in an urgent manner, and it was the thanksgiving of Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu.

Before Chongzhen met Zhou Yanru and the others, he took the time to watch what Uncle Lu Wang said. When he unfolded it, he learned that the content was also related to the Shen Shuren, and he couldn't help but pay more and more attention to it.