On the first day of March, the city of Beijing.

The city of Beijing in early spring is dry and cold, far from the warmth of the early spring in later generations, walking on the street, the oncoming wind is like a small blade, constantly blowing on the face, sucking away the last trace of water.

Chen Xinjia got off the sedan chair, walked into the noon gate, and walked towards the imperial study under the guidance of the little eunuch.

Along the way, Chen Xinjia frowned, constantly recalling the events of the past few days.

Since the news of the Shandong People's Rebellion came, Emperor Chongzhen became furious, and almost every day he summoned Hong Chengchou, the first assistant of the cabinet, Li Zhiwen, the head of the household department, and Chen Xinjia, to the palace to discuss the matter of transferring troops to quell the chaos.

But from the end of February to the present, no conclusion has been discussed, which makes Chen Xinjia sit on pins and needles every day.

Just yesterday, Chen Xinjia received a report from Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, in which Yan Jizu's rhetoric was very fierce, claiming that if the imperial court did not mobilize troops and horses to help, the city of Jinan would fall soon, and he was ready to die and die for the country!

Thinking of the fall of Jinan Mansion and the murder of the vassal king in the city by thieves, Chen Xinjia, who was the secretary of the military department, was in a cold sweat, and this result was enough to make him fall into a situation from which he could not recover.

Soon, Chen Xinjia came to the outside of the imperial study, and after the little eunuch reported, he walked in.

At this time, Hong Chengchou and Li Zhiwen stood aside and bowed their heads silently, and Emperor Chongzhen sat on a circle chair made of golden silk nanmu, with Wang Chengen serving next to him.

"Minister, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, meet Your Majesty, my emperor is ......"

"Get up!"

Chen Xinjia was choked and almost didn't come up, so he hurriedly got up and stood next to Li to ask.

"I heard that Yan Jizu is on the fold again?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, please take a look."

Chen Xinjia hurriedly presented the chapter to Wang Chengen, and then looked down at Hong Chengchou, only to see Hong Chengchou shaking his head slightly, his face was very ugly.

Chen Xinjia's heart sank suddenly, it seems that it has not been negotiated today.

Sure enough, after a while, Emperor Chongzhen said coldly: "Yan Jizu, a governor, when he asked the military department for money and grain to rebuild the Fubiao camp, didn't he boast about Haikou, saying that he wanted to build an elite army comparable to Liu Yan's new army?" When the matter comes, he can't even deal with the people who have become thieves, and he is really incompetent! ”

Chen Xinjia said: "Your Majesty is angry, the military department had no money at the beginning, but only gave Yan Jizu tens of thousands of taels of silver, and these military expenses were not enough at all, so Yan Jizu's Fubiao battalion only recruited more than 1,000 people, and the army was not fully equipped, so it was still very lacking in combat power." ”

After speaking, everyone looked at Chen Xinjia, Emperor Chongzhen was angry, and Hong Chengchou and Li Zhiwen sighed. At this time, Chen Xinjia told the truth to tell Emperor Chongzhen that the current responsibility was not Yan Jizu's, so whose was it? Is it the emperor's!

Emperor Chongzhen said coldly: "In this case, why didn't the military department say it earlier, and only now did it say that the money and food were not enough, why did you go to the military department earlier!" ”

Chen Xinjia was speechless, did he really not report it?

Immediately, Chen Xinjia looked at Li Beiqing, but saw that Li Beiwen bowed his head and was silent, completely ignoring what was going on outside the window, and did not answer the question at all.

"This old slippery head!"

Hong Chengchou saw that things were a little off, so he said: "Your Majesty, let's discuss the reconstruction of Fubiao Camp in the future, the top priority now is to mobilize troops and horses to support Yan Jizu's troops, and we must not let the people of Shandong become stronger."

。 ”

"In mid-February, Henan Governor Gao Mingheng led his troops to pursue the remnants of Li Chuang, and after recovering Luoyang City, he led the army to the area of Mangdang Mountain, but was raided by the army of thieves, and more than 20,000 people from Gao Mingheng were wiped out, and no one survived."

"At the end of February, the new Henan commander-in-chief Chen Yongfu led his troops to aid Luoyang City, and was besieged by Li Zicheng's troops and horses on the way, and his 30,000 elite soldiers were defeated and retreated to Kaifeng to defend it."

"At the same time, Zheng Chongjian, the governor of Shaanxi, led He Renlong and Li Guoqi to aid Henan, and was severely injured by the thieves Liu Zongmin and Li Guobu, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were defeated.

Hong Chengchou's face became more and more solemn, and he said: "Your Majesty, now that Li Zicheng is a thief again, the imperial court must quell the Shandong civil rebellion as soon as possible, and then concentrate on mobilizing troops and horses to besiege Li Chuang's army, and this matter must not be delayed any longer." If Li Zicheng is allowed to sweep the provinces of the Central Plains again, and then connect with the Shandong thieves, the world will be in danger of falling and the dynasty will be in danger of being defeated! ”

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't sit still at this time, and secretly regretted that he had transferred Liu Yanbu away, if it was Liu Yan who cleared the remnants of Li Zicheng, instead of Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu, it is estimated that Li Zicheng's grave grass is now one zhang high!

It's too late to say anything now, so Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to say: "Then the people of Shandong are changing, who will lead the army to go?" ”

"Liu Yan!"

Chen Xinjia directly named: "Liu Yanbu is in Shandong, with close distance and strong combat power, so he is the most suitable candidate." ”

Hong Chengchou said: "That Yan Jizu is the governor, and Liu Yan is the real power of the general soldier who has been knighted and hung the general's seal, they get together, who listens to whom?" When the time comes

Waiting for the two to have an opinion, this battle will not be fought! ”

Chen Xinjia didn't understand: "Naturally, Liu Yan listened to Yan Jizu, how can there be a reason for the governor to listen to the chief military officer?" ”

Hong Chengchou looked at Chen Xinjia like a fool and said, "This soldier thinks that Yan Jizu can suppress Liu Yan? ”

Chen Xinjia reacted at this time, blushing and not speaking.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that things had come around again, and said, "Then what the hell is going on!" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that since Lu Xiangsheng died in battle, the post of governor of Shandong has always been vacant, it is better for the imperial court to send a person as the governor of Shandong, to have an overview of the war situation in Shandong, supplemented by Yan Jizu, Liu Yan led the troops to obey the dispatch, so that the people of Shandong can be pacified!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen looked at Hong Chengchou approvingly, and said: "The elder of the pavilion is doing things safely, and this discussion is very good." But who will take the post of governor of Shandong? ”

Hong Chengchou, Chen Xinjia, and Li Beiwen were silent again, and the three of them had no suitable candidates at all.

At present, there are several bandits and soldiers rampant in Shandong, chaos in various places, and there are real power generals like Liu Yan, which has become a big trend, Hong Chengchou, Chen Xinjia, and Li Zhiwen are nominated, and those people in the DPRK and China will never go.

Emperor Chongzhen's face was already black and red at this time, and he said coldly: "If the three Aiqing don't have a suitable candidate, it is better to choose one of the three of you to temporarily take the position of governor of Shandong!" ”

Hong Chengchou has 100,000 reluctances in his heart, now Shandong is a crater, and with strong subordinates like Liu Yan, no one wants to govern Shandong. And Emperor Chongzhen's meaning is also obvious, that is, he doesn't want to mobilize Liu Yan's troops to quell the chaos, even if

The transfer, but also to arrange a person to be the governor of Shandong, this credit cannot be given to Liu Yan.

So Hong Chengchou thought for a while, clenched his fists and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the selection of the governor of Shandong is very important, and it is better to be cautious in the selection." The ministers affirmed His Majesty's grace time, and the ministers should search the government and the opposition to select suitable candidates for His Majesty. ”

Chen Xinjia and Li Zhiwen echoed one after another, Emperor Chongzhen saw that the three of them were like this, and felt deeply powerless, the government had just improved, but it had deteriorated sharply, and he was the emperor but he was powerless to control it at all, could it be that the Ming Dynasty really wanted to be defeated in his own hands?

"Stand down!"

Emperor Chongzhen leaned back in his chair, said weakly, and then closed his eyes.

Hong Chengchou and the three saluted respectfully, and then exited the imperial study.

Outside the palace gate, the sedan chairs of the three people were waiting on the side of the street, Li waited to greet him and took a step first, but Hong Chengchou stopped Chen Xinjia and said: "Ben Bing, what do you think about Shandong, we have to give a bottom." ”

Chen Xinjia looked left and right and said, "Then, let's go to the Pavilion Old Mansion?" ”

"Hehe, okay."

Soon the two came to Hong Chengchou's mansion, and in the main hall, Hong Chengchou said: "This soldier, Shandong's affairs are not easy to do, although those thieves and soldiers are not a climate, as long as Liu Yan sends troops, it can be leveled in an instant." But after that? Liu Yan is now unsealable, and this soldier should be able to see that His Majesty does not want to use Liu Yan. ”

Chen Xinjia said: "I can see it. It's just that without Liu Yan, you can only transfer troops from all over the North Zhili, and Your Majesty is unwilling, so what else, can you transfer troops from South Zhili, Xuzhou and other places? ”

"No."

Hong Chengchou said: "Li Zi."

The resurgence of the Chengsuo Division, whether it is the North Zhili or the South Zhili, the garrison cannot be easily mobilized. You and I still have to think about it, it is better to let someone go to Governor Shandong, with the right candidate, Your Majesty will be able to relax, and you, the secretary of the military department, can also justifiably recruit Liu Yan to send troops. ”

"It's difficult, important ministers of the court, apart from the elders, who else is qualified for this?"

Then Chen Xinjia said: "It's not as good as this, Tang Tong in Miyun Town, Ma Ke in Shanhaiguan Town, or Cao Bianjiao, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu and others can send troops, let them send troops to support Henan or Shandong, how about it?" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "No! Miyun Town, Shanhaiguan Town, as well as Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, and Cao Bianjiao can't move, although the slaves and thieves have withdrawn, they may go south at any time, these people's soldiers and horses can be called elite, and they must take guarding against slaves and thieves as the first priority. ”

"Then I can't help it."

Chen Xinjia spread his hands and said: "This is not good, that is not good, there is really no way, it is better to put this matter on the court and have a big discussion between the government and the opposition." ”

Hong Chengchou thought for a long time and said, "If Your Majesty doesn't let go, it will have to be like this." ”

Two days later, Emperor Chongzhen held a court meeting in the Qianqing Palace, and Hong Chengchou directly reported the manuscript to Emperor Chongzhen, asking Emperor Chongzhen to appoint the candidate for the governor of Shandong and mobilize troops and horses as soon as possible to quell the thieves.

Previously, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia did not have Emperor Chongzhen's ventilation, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and asked the ministers to discuss, and then glared at Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou had to bow his head, which was also a helpless thing.

However, the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty discussed for a full hour, but no one was chosen.

Zhang San proposed that Li Si be the governor of Shandong, and Li Si immediately recommended him

Wang Wu, Wang Wu simply recommended Zhang San to be appointed, everyone was fighting, that is, no one was willing to be this governor, even if Emperor Chongzhen expressed his willingness to be promoted, it would be useless.

Even in the end, the secretary of the ministry had a brain twitch, and directly proposed to let Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, concurrently serve as the governor, so angry that Emperor Chongzhen was angry on the spot, and angrily scolded the secretary of the ministry for "unworthy talent", and then walked away with a black face.

The court discussion ended hastily, everyone walked out of the hall one after another, Chen Xinjia quickly followed Hong Chengchou, and said in a low voice: "Ge Lao, what should I do now?" ”

"Discuss again, only again."

"Then the Shandong thief can't wait!"

"Let's talk about it, let's talk about it again."

Looking at Hong Chengchou who was striding away, Chen Xinjia only felt that his eyes were full of gold stars, and the military department stumbled and almost fell to the ground.