At dawn, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia rode their horses to the Ming army camp outside Desheng Gate. After almost a night of running around, the two were exhausted, but they did not dare to be negligent for fear that Liu Yan would change his mind temporarily.
In the Chinese army's tent, Liu Yan and the chief military officers of each town were still there, and no one had left. Hong Chengchou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, and immediately took out Emperor Chongzhen's edict, without bothering to read out the departure procedures. Pass it to Liu Yan and let everyone check it out together.
"Your Majesty has ordered Li Daiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu, the Supervisor of the Army, to raise money. Within one day, we must raise money for the rewards and pensions for the officers and soldiers in each town. You generals can rest assured."
Everyone's faces showed joy. Although the counts and seal titles of Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui, Wang Pu and others remained unchanged, they were still temporarily designated and titled less than generals with random titles, but after all, they were already better than ordinary generals. The official has risen one level and is considered to be a noble class, so everyone can still accept this result at the moment, as long as the money is in place.
As for Liu Yan, he also showed a satisfied expression at this time. Emperor Chongzhen had agreed in the edict to include Yanzhou Prefecture and Dengzhou Prefecture into Qinglai Town. The population and land under Liu Yan's command had doubled, which meant that The space that I can operate has been greatly increased.
With land, you can accumulate wealth, with population, you can expand your army. In troubled times, these are the top priorities.
At the same time, Emperor Chongzhen also dismissed Zhou Yanru from the position of chief minister of the cabinet, and in the edict, he placed all the responsibility for treating the army harshly on Zhou Yanru, removed him from all official positions, and ordered him to leave the capital within a time limit.
Neither did Liu Yan
Jin sighed, this is like what Emperor Chongzhen did. If something goes wrong, he will definitely find a scapegoat as soon as possible. Officials in the Ming Dynasty are not that easy to be.
As for Zhou Yanru, this person is like a weakling who cannot be killed in history. He has served as the chief minister of the cabinet twice, and his ups and downs are countless. Although Emperor Chongzhen was dismissed from office and driven away this time, God knows whether this person will make a comeback. After all, the direction of history has changed a lot, and Zhou Yanru's relationship in the court is still very strong.
"Zhou Yanru, if you can return to your hometown alive, I, Liu Yan, will take your surname!"
Just when Liu Yan was secretly thinking about "dealing with" Zhou Yanru, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia both looked at Liu Yan eagerly. After all, Liu Yan's official position was still not promoted. I wonder if Yanzhou and Dengzhou could satisfy Liu Yan. Yan's appetite is gone.
And Chen Xinjia couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "When did the imperial court fall to the point where it has to negotiate terms with the warrior?"
Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui and other general officers also looked at Liu Yan. At this time, everyone was relatively satisfied, and they were worried that if Liu Yan continued to persist, the money they were about to receive would be wasted.
Yang Guozhu said: "Dinglupo, look at this..., how can this matter end better?"
Liu Yan naturally understood what everyone was thinking. Since the commander-in-chief of each town had been promoted and was about to get money, he naturally began to waver. If the trouble continued, he would probably be the only one left.
So Liu Yan was ready to accept it as soon as it was good, but he still had to ask for more benefits.
"Director Hong, my soldiers, as far as I know, the imperial court has no money. I wonder how Li Shangshu can raise money?"
Hong Chengchou immediately
He explained Li Daiwen's method and assured that the army would be able to collect all the money in one day.
Liu Yan sneered and said: "Okay! Since His Majesty has issued an edict, as a minister, this town will naturally obey."
"good!"
Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia breathed a sigh of relief and praised Liu Yan for "knowing the general situation", "knowing how to advance and retreat", "being able to do things that ordinary people cannot", etc. Liu Yan immediately interrupted the two of them and said: "But our soldiers and horses in each town must We can only withdraw our troops if we see money. I hope Li Shangshu can live up to expectations!"
Hong Chengchou looked at Chen Xinjia and said, "Just in case, I think I should work hard again to help Li Shangshu and the two supervisors raise money. How about it?"
Chen Xinjia was also afraid that something might happen in the end, so he nodded and agreed. He was about to go back to the city, but was stopped by Liu Yan: "I have something else to tell Li Shangshu."
"Haha, Dinglupp, please speak."
"Our town of Qinglai has grown into two new prefectures at once, and Yanzhou and Dengzhou are in dire straits. Since the beginning of the year, droughts and locust plagues have continued in these two states. The people have been displaced, and the farmland has been barren and harvestless. However, the government's relief efforts have failed. Very few.”
"This town adheres to the original intention of sharing His Majesty's worries and serving the imperial court. Even though he was treated harshly, he still resolutely accepted the land of the two mansions. Should the imperial court also provide some support? For example, in order to restore Yanzhou and Dengzhou. In order to make a living, please ask the imperial court to allocate an additional 500,000 taels of silver and 300,000 shi of grain to Qinglai Town to provide relief to the people and rest and renovate the two mansions."
After Liu Yan finished speaking, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia both widened their eyes. It was obviously to appease Liu Yan that they added two more places to Qinglai Town. What should they do now?
It was as if he, Liu Yan, had endured the humiliation and endured the heavy burden, so the court still wanted to think of him favorably?
Wu Sangui, Yang Guozhu and other chief military officers also had strange expressions. Everyone finally knew why they were all chief military officers. Liu Yan was successful and powerful because of his ability to confuse right and wrong and his courage to fight with The courage of the imperial court to openly challenge him!
"This, so much money and food, the court will definitely not be able to collect it all in a while!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "Then give Li Shangshu one more day. In two days, when the rewards and pensions of the troops in each town are in place, and the relief money and food in this town are in place, this town and all the general soldiers will withdraw."
Chen Xinjia had no idea at this time. He never expected that Liu Yanlin would speak again, so he looked at Hong Chengchou.
I saw Hong Chengchou gritting his teeth and frowning, pondering for a long time, and then said: "Okay! The governor has agreed to the money and food. I will go back with my soldiers to handle the matter. If I can't raise it within two days, my governor will The reward money and pension money from Biaoying are temporarily suspended and will be distributed to you first!"
Liu Yan was slightly stunned. This Hong Chengchou was indeed a person. His ability, determination, and courage were all first-class. It would be better if he had more integrity.
"Haha, Governor Hong is so powerful. We'll just wait here for the good news."
"but……"
Hong Chengchou then changed the topic and said: "This incident shocked the public and the public, and your Majesty was also furious. Although there was a reason for the incident, all the commanders-in-chief were also to blame. Your Majesty was magnanimous and tried his best to supplement the money and food for you, so you should also have some represented."
Everyone's hearts tightened and they all looked at Liu Yan. Liu Yan said: "What Governor Hong said is absolutely true.
Since the imperial court has given us benefits, we must also give the imperial court face. As long as the money and food are received within two days, the town and the general soldiers will submit a petition to apologize and hand over the apology document. "
Hong Chengchou stared at Liu Yan, feeling very dissatisfied. Liu Yan actually described this matter as an exchange of interests between the towns and the imperial court. How arrogant!
However, Hong Chengchou didn't say anything else. He was worried that there would be extraneous matters. As long as Liu Yan could lead his troops to withdraw for the time being and calm the situation as soon as possible, everything would be easy.
"In that case, just wait here."
Watching Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia riding out of the camp, Liu Yan stood silent outside the tent for a long time, while Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu and others were smiling. Now that they had been promoted and had money, everyone was in a good mood.
"What is Dinglubo thinking?"
Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Pu came over. Liu Yan said with a smile: "I was thinking, Zhou Yanru left Beijing and returned to his hometown, and we didn't catch up with him to give him a gift. Isn't it a bit rude?"
Although Liu Yan had a smile on his face when he spoke, Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Pu all felt a chill in their hearts. Why was Liu Yan's smile so scary?
After daybreak, Liu Yan returned to the tent of the New Army's guard camp and called Wu Guojin, who had followed the army north.
Liu Yan asked: "Did you know that Zhou Yanru was dismissed from office?"
"Know."
Wu Guojin lowered his voice and said: "My subordinates have many eyes and ears in the capital. They are even related to the Jinyi Guards. They were my former friends in Fusi, Beizhen. It was the news they spread that I just heard." Said."
"Ah, very good."
Liu Yan’s monthly payment to the Intelligence Department is in addition to his salary
, there is also a lot of "funds" specifically used to develop the intelligence network. After spending a lot of money, it has now begun to bear fruit.
"When did Zhou Yanru leave Beijing?"
"It's early this morning. I've been gone for almost an hour."
"Do you know where Zhou Yanru went?"
Wu Guojin became more and more excited as he listened to Liu Yan's questions, and said: "Zhou Yanru's hometown is Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili. According to the news, Zhou Yanru left the south of the city through Guangqumen as soon as the city gate opened at dawn. Calculating the time, we should be arriving in Dong'an County soon."
Liu Yan nodded and said: "Well, let Wang Yang take the brother who is investigating Cao, and send Zhou Yanru off for this town, so that he can get on his way quickly!"
At the same time, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia dragged their exhausted bodies back to the palace to face the emperor again and reported the news to Emperor Chongzhen. Although Emperor Chongzhen was furious, he could only continue to force Li Daiwen and the others to raise money.
Hong Chengchou told Emperor Chongzhen that the reward money and pension money for the Supervisor Biao Camp could be postponed and distributed to the generals in each town first. Emperor Chongzhen was greatly moved and immediately said: "Hong Ai knows the general situation and is loyal to the country. I am very relieved." . Now that the chief minister of the cabinet is vacant, I think Hong Aiqing should take care of it first."
Hong Chengchou was stunned on the spot at first, and then he fell to the ground and cried loudly: "O minister, you should imitate Zhuge Wuhou and die for your majesty!"
Chen Xinjia on the side was extremely desperate at this time. He originally thought that he would try his best to pull Zhou Yanru down, but with the two successful reports of the Battle of Jinzhou and the Battle of Kaifeng, why should he, the Minister of War, sit in the position of chief minister of the cabinet? .
But
This wish was shattered by Hong Chengchou again. At this time, Chen Xinjia was despairing and just wanted to find a place to cry.
On the same day, Chen Xinjia was sent back to the army outside Deshengmen by Emperor Chongzhen and ordered to "stabilize the morale of the army to avoid causing more trouble."
Hong Chengchou, as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood, split up with Li Daowen and began to raise money and grain in Beijing. For a time, there were complaints from all over the city, and money and grain were constantly shipped to the warehouses in Deshengmen for hoarding.
"Hong Chengchou became the chief minister of the cabinet?"
Liu Yan was also surprised when he heard Wu Guojin's report in the guard camp tent. According to historical records, after the fall of Zhou Yanru, Chen Xinjia should have taken over. But now that the Battle of Songjin was won, Hong Chengchou not only was not captured by the Qing army, but returned to the court in triumph and directly snatched Chen Xinjia's position as chief minister of the cabinet. Now there will no longer be a tacit understanding between the two.
"It seems that there is going to be a fight between North Korea and China again."
Liu Yan lamented that it was such an eventful time in the court, and then asked: "Did Wang Yang take the people to set off?"
"Let's set off. We've probably passed Dong'an County already."
"That's good."
Liu Yan sneered and said: "After all, he has been the chief minister of the cabinet. It is a pity that he can go home and retire quietly like this!"
"Thanks to book friend 0 for the reward, Dong Xian will continue to work hard to write good stories."
