Ming Empire

Chapter 96
Beijing, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was obviously a bit overworked, had to put down what he was doing and take a short rest when he was exhausted.

The loyal eunuch Wang Cheng'en stood by, without any movement in his eyes, as if he was an old monk in meditation.But he paid full attention to the reaction of Emperor Chongzhen so that he could wait for the emperor's summons at any time.

"Cheng En, the war in Datong has started again. I wonder if Cao Yue can defeat the invading bandits!" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly asked softly.

"Long live Lord, don't worry, with the son-in-law here, we will definitely be able to defeat the invading bandits and keep Datong safe." After glancing at Emperor Chongzhen whose eyes were still closed, Wang Chengen replied in a low voice: "The last time I built slaves came After the attack, the son-in-law defeated Jiannu just outside the city. Geng Zhongming’s nearly ten thousand horses were wiped out, and finally Duoduo fled back to Shengjing in a hurry. The fighting power of the rogue bandits is far inferior to that of Jiannu. I believe that the son-in-law will make great achievements again .”

Emperor Chongzhen had made a decree to marry Princess Zhu Yu of Kunxing to Cao Yue, so Wang Chengen changed his name to Cao Yue as his son-in-law to show his respect.Today's Wang Chengen has very complicated feelings for Cao Yue. He always feels that this young man who has given him generous rewards has a limitless future, and he may even become a very powerful person in the court, so he pays special attention to it.

He was also worried that Cao Yue would become uncontrollable and the emperor's authority would be challenged.Everything about him, the eunuch holding a pen, was given by the emperor. If something happened to Emperor Chongzhen, then he would also be unlucky.Therefore, he did not want Cao Yue to become a powerful warlord.

But now it seems that only Cao Yue can keep Datong, defeat the bandits, and relieve the emperor's worries.He thought about it, when Cao Yue's power did not expand, he still had to support the prospective son-in-law.

"I hope so," Emperor Chongzhen opened his eyes slightly, and sighed, with a worried look on his face, "I really can't imagine that in just a few years, the bandits have become so powerful, and I can't do anything about them. , Henan is rampant, and now its army is coming to Shanxi, alas, there is no one in the court who can relieve me of my worries."

Before Emperor Chongzhen's case, there was an urgent military report just received, which was sent from Kaifeng, Henan.The military newspaper said that Li Zicheng led an army to besiege Kaifeng, and Kaifeng was in danger, so he begged the court to rescue him immediately.

Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's 10,000+ troops quickly marched northward, preparing to attack Taiyuan and Datong, while Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other major rogue figures led nearly [-] troops in large-scale wars in Henan and Shaanxi. The situation of completely conquering Henan and Shaanxi will not stop.After they captured Luoyang, they pointed directly at Kaifeng again.If Kaifeng falls, almost the entire territory of Henan will be occupied by them.

Although Emperor Chongzhen was not very good at military affairs, he also saw that Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's 10,000+ troops went north to attack Taiyuan and Datong. Taiyuan and Datong, this can be seen from the behavior of Liu Zongmin's army swaying far outside Taiyuan city before turning around and leaving.After discussing with the ministers, Emperor Chongzhen came to the conclusion that these two troops were a feint attack, and the purpose was to contain the Ming army in the north and make them unable to rescue Henan and Shaanxi.

But Liu Zongmin continued to go north, trying to attack Datong jointly with Li Yan's troops, but Emperor Chongzhen and his ministers were puzzled. Why did the rogues attack Datong, which has a stronger military force, instead of Taiyuan or other important towns?Do they have enmity with Cao Yue?Or is there another picture?
Kaifeng City sent urgent reports one after another, saying that it was violently attacked by rogue bandits and was in danger, asking the imperial court to send a large army to rescue.Kaifeng was attacked by bandits on a large scale, which confirmed the conclusion reached by Emperor Chongzhen and other ministers after discussions. The real intention of the bandits was still in Henan and Shaanxi, not just now.However, Liu Zongmin and Li Yan's army continued to attack Datong. There is no good theory to explain this. Emperor Chongzhen fell into confusion and didn't know how to deal with it. People can relieve his worries, which made Emperor Chongzhen very angry.

It is a certainty that Henan will fall into the hands of bandits, but Emperor Chongzhen feels a little powerless about it.Datong City, which is close to Gyeonggi, was attacked by bandits, and the imperial court was unable to send reinforcements. It could only rely on Cao Yue's own troops to toss about. What can we do to save the chaos in Henan?Not knowing the true intentions of the rogues, the treasury has no money and food, the court has very few troops to dispatch, and there is no available commander in the court, which makes Emperor Chongzhen feel physically and mentally exhausted.

If there is a suitable candidate for the commander-in-chief, Emperor Chongzhen can of course issue an edict to recruit a force to rescue Henan.Hong Chengchou is of course the most suitable candidate, but Liaodong cannot do without him. Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to transfer Hong Chengchou to supervise Henan and Shaanxi. The situation in Liaodong was destroyed.

The fact that Jiannu attacked the city of Beijing a few years ago still made Emperor Chongzhen scruples, for fear that a similar situation would happen again.But apart from Hong Chengchou, Emperor Chongzhen really couldn't think of anyone who could be competent.

Wang Chengen, who knew very well what Chongzhen meant by "No one in the court can share my worries", after thinking for a while, finally said carefully: "Long live Lord, in fact, this slave feels that there is one person who can share the worries of Long live Lord." .”

"Who is it? Did you say it was Cao Yue?" Emperor Chongzhen said weakly without lifting his eyelids: "Cao Yue is certainly a general, but he is too young and has no experience in commanding an army. Many people are not convinced, and let him go to supervise the teacher for a few days, will he be able to convince everyone?"

"Long Live Lord, what this servant is talking about is not Prince Consort, but someone else!"

"Who is it?" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Sun Chuanting!"

After these three words were gently spoken from Wang Chengen's mouth, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up in an instant.But he didn't express his opinion right away, but closed his eyes again and began to think seriously.

Wang Chengen closed his eyes knowingly and did not speak again.He knew Emperor Chongzhen very well, and the change in Chongzhen's eyes just now clearly explained everything.In fact, it was because of Cao Yue's relationship that Wang Chengen dared to recommend Sun Chuanting in front of Emperor Chongzhen.

In Cao Yue's secret letter to him, he roughly talked about the current situation, and said that he guessed that the possible target of the rogues was not Datong, but the whole of Henan and Shaanxi. Commander, hit the arrogance of the rogues hard.In his letter, Cao Yue talked about Sun Chuanting, who was now imprisoned by Emperor Chongzhen, and said that apart from Hong Chengchou who was able to hold a high position in the court, this old man Sun was the only one.

Because he had read some historical materials before crossing, Cao Yue probably knew who were capable people in the late Ming Dynasty. Of course he knew Sun Chuanting's name, and he probably knew about his deeds. The history books also recorded Sun Chuanting's ability, and he almost turned the world around. , completely wiped out Li Zicheng.

Knowing this, Cao Yue hoped in the letter that Wang Chengen could recommend Sun Chuanting in front of Emperor Chongzhen.After receiving Cao Yue's generous gift again, Wang Chengen lived up to Cao Yue's expectations, and mentioned Sun Chuanting's name to Emperor Chongzhen at a very appropriate time.But whether Emperor Chongzhen will pardon Sun Chuanting's guilt and re-activate it, Wang Chengen can't guarantee it.

After thinking about it carefully, Emperor Chongzhen finally opened his eyes slowly, and said to Wang Chengen: "Chengen, immediately send an order to bring Sun Chuanting out of the prison, and I will personally summon him!"

"Yes, Lord Long Live!" Wang Chengen heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and immediately went to deliver the order.

(End of this chapter)