At the end of August, the city of Beijing.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty went out of the bloody battle, all the way to destroy the ancient and decayed to recover Liaodong, so that the Ming monarchs and the people regarded the Manchu Qing Dynasty as a nightmare was beaten to ashes, and even the Manchus and the Mongols were almost wiped out, such a good news into the capital, suddenly like a violent hurricane, the Ming Emperor was blown inside and outside the capital swaying, and then this hurricane was blown all over the north and south of the Ming Dynasty!

When Emperor Chongzhen received the good news written by Liu Yan himself, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and even fainted directly in front of the cabinet scholars who came to report the victory, so frightened that Wang Chengen screamed and called the imperial doctor, and under the busy work of a group of scholars, Emperor Chongzhen was sent back to the dormitory, and after being diagnosed and treated by the imperial doctor, it was considered to be settled.

Subsequently, when Emperor Chongzhen calmed down, he summoned the cabinet ministers into the palace and said: "Lu Guogong has made such a shocking achievement, the cabinet should come up with a reward strategy as soon as possible, and the Ministry of Rites should immediately prepare to sacrifice to the Taimiao!" ”

Huang Jin, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, immediately received the order, and Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the General Staff Department, also received the order in place of the cabinet.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Xinjia took out the preparation strategy for the construction of the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate sent by Liu Yan and the chapter of changing the Nuer Gandu Division to the Andong Metropolitan Protectorate, and said: "Your Majesty, the current cabinet has approved the two strategies of the cabinet elder, please approve the red of Your Majesty." ”

The cabinet let Emperor Chongzhen approve the red, but it was just a process, showing Emperor Chongzhen that he was still the emperor of the Ming Empire, and the cabinet ministers still enshrined him as the superior.

In fact, at this time, Xu Ming had been appointed by Liu Yan as the protector of the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate, and Li Dingguo had also been appointed as the protector of the Anton Metropolitan Protectorate.

Emperor Chongzhen himself knew these things very well in his heart, so he immediately did not hesitate, and directly picked up the imperial pen and read it, and the two strategies sent by Liu Yan were all approved.

Then Emperor Chongzhen remembered and asked, "Did the elder Ge ever say, when will the army return to the court?" ”

Everyone in the cabinet looked at each other at this time, and after a while, Chen Xinjia said: "Your Majesty, the elder of the cabinet, he will not return to the court for the time being." ”

"What does this mean??"

Emperor Chongzhen was taken aback suddenly, and looked at Emperor Chongzhen with wide eyes, and Wang Chengen on the side also clenched his hands nervously, afraid that he would really hear something shocking.

Seeing this, Chen Xinjia also understood the reason, and hurriedly said: "This time, my Wang Shi went out to recover Liaodong, and the Korean State actually sent more than 200,000 soldiers and horses to support the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and even was willing to reorganize these more than 200,000 elites into the Korean Eight Banners of the Manchu Dynasty, which caused a lot of obstacles and casualties to my Wang Division, so the elder of the pavilion was ready to lead the army eastward after stabilizing the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate and the Andong Imperial Protectorate, preparing to destroy the Korean State!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen was relieved when he heard this, and Wang Chengen on the side also quietly wiped his sweat, and he was afraid for a while.

Then Emperor Chongzhen asked: "In this way, does the imperial court still have money and food to supply the army to continue fighting?" ”

Shangshu Yue Ming of the Ministry of Finance said: "Your Majesty, the current financial situation of the imperial court is very bad, although the war in Liaodong has stopped for the time being, and the military expenditure has been reduced somewhat, so that it can still be maintained at present, but once the army is dispatched to the war, the expenditure of the imperial court will skyrocket again, and then the imperial court will have to tighten its belt to live." ”

Listening to Yue Ming's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

Yue Ming, who is the god of wealth of the Ming Dynasty, just said "tighten your belt", and did not say that the Ming Dynasty could not supply the finances, which means that the war against Korea can still be done.

So Emperor Chongzhen didn't say more, and at this time he also understood the current situation in his heart, the authority of the Ming Dynasty had been controlled by Liu Yan, and it was operated by the cabinet, as long as he could sit on the throne.

On the first day of September, Taimiao on the outskirts of Beijing.

In the early morning of this day, Emperor Chongzhen's Luan drove from the palace to the suburban Taimiao.

Although due to the rush of time and the embarrassment of the imperial court's financial resources, the pomp prepared by the Ministry of Rites this time was not large, but today can be said to be the happiest day for Emperor Chongzhen since he ascended the throne, even happier than when Li Zicheng was destroyed!

After the bloody battle of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the National Defense Army led by Liu Yan, the Duke of Lu, all the internal and external troubles faced by the Ming Empire have been wiped out!

Whether it is Li Chuang, the thief, or the Manchu Tartars, or the Mongolian Tartars, under the successive attacks of the Ming soldiers, they have all been wiped out, and the Ming Dynasty has been reborn!

On this day, the Taimiao on the outskirts of Beijing can be described as a sea of people, the original Ming royal sacrifice is not allowed to be watched by the people, and there will be a large number of soldiers and horses in Beijing around to be vigilant.

But on this day, Emperor Chongzhen under the advice of the cabinet ministers, allowed the people to watch, and suddenly more than 100,000 people poured into Beijing and the surrounding places, even if the soldiers of the garrison battalion in the capital struggled to maintain order, they could not stop the enthusiasm of the people, and the entire temple was surrounded by a sea of people. The people watching from the periphery of the temple were all excited that they could catch up with this grand event in the world.

Especially when Emperor Chongzhen walked out of Luan's drive, the surrounding people suddenly roared and tsunami, and the cheers of "long live" resounded in the sky, which also made Emperor Chongzhen's heart stir.

Subsequently, in the Taimiao, Emperor Chongzhen led the cabinet of scholars and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to sacrifice to the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and then personally recited the sacrificial texts aloud, and told the emperors of the Ming Dynasty that the foreign captives were wiped out and the Ming Dynasty would be prosperous.

After reading out the sacrificial text, Emperor Chongzhen, under the guidance of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, began to continue the next link, but at this time, Emperor Chongzhen's heart suddenly moved, thinking that Liu Yan was already a duke, and now that he had defeated the Manchu Dynasty, how would the imperial court reward him? ? Is it possible to give Liu Yan the title of king? ?

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen secretly said in his heart: "The sky protects my emperor, when the state affairs are about to collapse, the Ming Dynasty has a loyal minister and good general like Lu Guogong!" It's just that what happens in the future ......, how will I deal with it, how will I deal with it? ”

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen's heart was filled with a thick cloud of sorrow.

At present, not only Liu Yan has no seal, but even more than a dozen chief military officers under Liu Yan's command are the same, how to settle these chief military officers in the future, is it possible to make all of them dukes?

"In that case, wouldn't the martial forces of the Ming Dynasty be going to be alone!"

Emperor Chongzhen's heart trembled, and he didn't dare to think about the next thing, even if he did.

After that, Emperor Chongzhen completed the rest of the process under the guidance of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and this Taimiao ancestor worship was almost over.

In the end, under the leadership of Emperor Chongzhen, the cabinet ministers and the Manchu ministers and military generals once again bowed to the statues and tablets of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and the ceremony was finally over.

When Emperor Chongzhen came out of the temple, there was a burst of cheers and tsunamis, until Emperor Chongzhen's Luan drove away from the temple and walked away in the direction of Beijing, and the cheers gradually subsided.

That night, Emperor Chongzhen, who returned to the palace, still did not feel sleepy, and his heart was both happy and sad, and there was never a good solution to the reward of Liu Yan and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

After Emperor Chongzhen thought about it again, he said his thoughts to Wang Chengen beside him, and asked, "Companion, what do you say I should do?" ”

Where did Wang Chengen dare to say anything, even Emperor Chongzhen had no idea for such a decision, let alone a eunuch himself?

So Wang Chengen thought about it again and again and said, "Your Majesty, is this matter discussed with the cabinet ministers?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen sighed, cabinet minister? It's just Liu Yan's helper in handling government affairs, what's the use of telling them?

"That's it!"

Emperor Chongzhen didn't have an idea in his heart, so he simply let it be, Daming can have today's grand occasion, it was already a few years ago, he couldn't dream of it, what else can he hope for?

At the same time that Emperor Chongzhen couldn't sleep, Chen Xinjia, Yue Ming, Wang Wenzhen and other cabinet ministers did not sleep, but gathered in the cabinet office to discuss matters.

"Now the Ministry of Finance can draw some money and grain from all over the country, and the displaced people in the northwest will also need a lot less relief as they go north to the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate, and the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate can also carry out work-for-relief, which can save some money and grain."

Yue Ming, the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, is settling accounts for everyone one by one, and everyone's faces are very dignified at this time, after all, after just a few years of prosperity, it is now back to the time when they were bitter haha, and everyone's hearts are a little unacceptable.

"In addition, the tax revenue in various places is also growing rapidly, and it is estimated that the overall tax payment this year will increase by more than two percent compared with last year.

Yue Ming flipped through the file in his hand, and at the same time crackled and calculated on the abacus next to him, as if he was the landlord's bookkeeper, and after a while, he calculated a number.

Therefore, with the current financial situation of the imperial court, if the elder wants to send troops to take Korea, there is only three months, and at most three months!"

The Ministry of National Defense Shang Shu Tian Huixu said dissatisfiedly: "Three months? It will take two months for the army to walk from Liaodong to the southernmost tip of Korea, and you will let Ge Lao only take one month to attack the city? ”

Xun Jingyun, the secretary of the equipment department, also said: "After three months, the taxes of the imperial court can also accumulate some more, and then we can continue to supply the front line!" ”

Yue Ming said with a bitter face: "It's already the beginning of September, and it's about to be winter." The imperial court also had to prepare clothes, supplies, and food for the people and soldiers of the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate and the Andong Metropolitan Protectorate for the winter, which was another additional expense. ”

"So the elder only has three months, and this is still the time to overdraft the amount of taxes in exchange for the future. The imperial court must take into account the people's livelihood, otherwise once the people of the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate and the Andong Imperial Protectorate starve to death and freeze to death this winter, then who will respond to the imperial court's call to migrate there? This is the key to whether the imperial court can completely occupy the grassland and whether it can re-stabilize the hometown of Nu'er Gandusi, and none of us can afford this responsibility, even the elder of the pavilion! ”

At this time, no one spoke, because Yue Ming's words were reasonable, and everyone looked solemn at this time, and they all looked at Chen Xinjia.

I saw Chen Xinjia smile bitterly and said, "Okay, I'll do this wicked person, and I'll write the reply to the elder of the pavilion." ”

(End of chapter)