Before Yang Zhen arrived in the capital, the news sent to the capital from Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan had already been sent to the palace ahead of Yang Zhen and his party.

After Yang Zhen won the victory in the October Songjin Defense Battle, he once again crossed the sea and went deep into the enemy's rear, and broke the news of Fuzhou, Jinzhou and Lushunkou in one fell swoop.

It spread among the people.

Yang Zhen's contribution is indeed extraordinary. Since the first year of Chongzhen, although there have been many military generals in the Ming Dynasty who have made great contributions, they have never reached this level.

Yang Zhen not only captured the Tatar clan princes and a number of high-ranking officials, but also recovered Fuzhou, Jinzhou and Lushunkou, several cities that had been lost for many years.

From Lushun to Fuzhou, there are three hundred miles of land.

Everyone in the Ming Dynasty, from the emperor to the ministers, thought highly of Spyker and refused to reward him easily, but in the face of Yang Zhen's contribution, it would be unreasonable not to reward him.

Not to mention whether it would dampen the enthusiasm of other generals in the town to serve and improve, just speaking of Yang Zhen's side, without heavy rewards, it would chill Yang Zhen's heart first.

Of course, this is not Yang Zhen's own opinion. Yang Zhen doesn't care whether he gives it to Spyker or not.

He is very open-minded about these false reputations and doesn't care.

In contrast, what he cares more about is whether Emperor Chongzhen can completely delegate power to him. It is best not to let Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao interfere with him too much, and at the same time, he should let Governor Xu Renlong of Denglai interfere too much.

As long as Emperor Chongzhen can give him full power, that is, give him complete autonomy in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula, then he would rather not have any false reputation.

Under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, Yang Zhen followed Zhang Ruolin into the city from Guangqumen, went west to Caishikou, then turned north from Caishikou, entered Xuanwumen Nei Street, and finally turned east, arriving at Chengdu around noon.

Outside Tianmen.

Along the way, Zhang Ruolin, a staff doctor, talked to Yang Zhen about various plans of the imperial military department, and Yang Zhen also seized every opportunity to instill his own ideas into Zhang Ruolin.

Yang Zhen wanted to put forward his ideas and requirements through Zhang Ruolin, and in fact, of course, through the mouth of Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, and pass them on to Emperor Chongzhen.

This is the benefit of having someone in the government.

It would be inappropriate and inappropriate for Yang Zhen, as a minister of the Ming Dynasty, to raise some matters with Emperor Chongzhen in person.

For example, let the newly recovered places such as Fuzhou, Jinzhou and Lushunkou get rid of the control of Governor Denglai, or even get rid of the control of Governor Jiliao, and then become a relatively independent place, directly obeying the orders of Emperor Chongzhen, or directly under the command of the Ministry of War

military defense zone, if Yang Zhen brought up such a thing, it would definitely be inappropriate.

Once Emperor Chongzhen disagrees, Yang Zhen's layout at the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula will immediately be in trouble.

Because once he brought it up to Emperor Chongzhen in person, his relationship with Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, or Xu Renlong, the governor of Denglai, would be irreparable.

However, if this matter was brought up by someone like Zhang Ruolin or Chen Xinjia, it would appear to be very smooth.

Even if Emperor Chongzhen disagreed in the end, Hong Chengchou and Xu Renlong certainly could not blame Yang Zhen for this, at least openly they could not blame Yang Zhen for this.

In this way, even if the matter fails, there will not be no room for change between Yang Zhen and the future Shangguan Hong Chengchou and Xu Renlong.

Along the way, Yang Zhen used various methods to sell his ideas to Zhang Ruolin, a doctor in charge of the Ministry of War, and repeatedly instilled in him the benefits of reducing the command hierarchy between the imperial court's Ministry of War and Yang Zhen himself.

"Master Zhang is familiar with military strategies, and since he is in the temple, he has always stood high and seen far away. He would not know that the land of Liaonan is located in the heart of Donglu. Although I have captured it now, the battle situation is changing rapidly. If the front line

If there is a warning, our troops will first cross the sea to Denglai, or cross the sea to Ningyuan, and then send the warning to the capital from Ningyuan or Denglai. We go back and forth, and I don’t know how much time is wasted!"

Yang Zhen was not secretive in front of Zhang Ruolin, but was very frank.

In fact, everything he mentioned is a real problem. If these problems are not solved, the internal friction caused by the various mutual constraints between the top and bottom will be too serious.

When the country is peaceful and the people are safe, checks and balances between the civil and military forces are of course very necessary. But in the war years, if we continue to have such checks and balances, there will be no need to do anything.

After Yang Zhen said these words, he went to see Zhang Ruolin. He saw Zhang Ruolin nodding thoughtfully and seemed to agree with his words, so he continued:

"The most important thing is that after Liaonan's military information is transferred to Ningyuan or Denglai, even if it reaches the capital, it has to go through the General Affairs Department, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and even the hands of the Holy Emperor before it is forwarded to Chen Benbing and Mr. Zhang.

Then the princes of the Ministry of War will discuss the countermeasures, and finally submit it to the palace for a decree. Sir, you think, after so many back and forth, by the time the imperial court has a decree, the situation in southern Liaoning will have already changed!"

At this point, Yang Zhen saw Zhang Ruolin reining in his horse and had a solemn look on his face, so he added more energy: "Why was Dongjiang defeated back then? Mr. Zhang is a professional doctor and a trusted advisor to the Holy Emperor and Chen Benbing. How could he

Don’t you know? Now that you know it, how can you not know about meeting Your Majesty?”

"Well, I didn't think anything about this before, but after you said this, Han Qing, I realized that this matter is so important. After Liaonan is recovered, Donglu will not sit idly by and ignore it. From now on, Guan Ning Songjin

Maybe we can relax a little, but if Jin returns to Lushun, it will suddenly become a serious problem for the Eastern captives."

Zhang Ruolin likes to talk about military affairs. Although most of it is on paper, he is not a complete idiot. At least he has certain theoretical attainments in military strategy. Otherwise, how could he be the mastermind behind Chen Xinjia, and how could he be deceived into being suspicious?

What about Emperor Chongzhen?

At the moment, after listening to Yang Zhen's words, Zhang Ruolin nodded and admitted that Yang Zhen's situation in southern Liaoning was not optimistic. He was likely to replace the Songjin Guanning defense line in western Liaoning and become the target that the Eastern captives must eliminate quickly.

Then he continued:

"Even if you don't say anything about this, I am just about to remind you to be vigilant. And what you just said is indeed reasonable. From now on, there will be no shortage of military intelligence and warning messages in southern Liaoning. If it goes back and forth like this,

I'm afraid it will indeed take a lot of precious time! But, in your opinion, what should we do?"

Although Zhang Ruolin had realized that what Yang Zhen said was reasonable, he couldn't think of a good solution for a while.

For him, it was the practice of the Ming Dynasty that the leading generals in border towns were under the control of the local governor. This had always been the case. What else could he do?

"Master Zhang, in my opinion, the Liaohai, Liaonan and other places as well as the former Dongjiang old land are directly under the Holy Majesty, that is, directly managed by the Ministry of War. If there is a warning in Liaonan, it can be reported directly to the capital and the Ministry of War. Since then,

, the Holy Spirit’s decree comes morning and evening, and the orders of the Ministry of War are as easy as the fingers, wouldn’t it be better?!”

"Directly under the Holy Majesty? Aren't the affairs of the world now under the direct control of the Holy Majesty? Southern Liaoning is directly managed by the Ministry of War? Now the soldiers and horses in the world, as well as the border troops on all fronts, weren't they already under the control of the Ministry of War?"

After Zhang Ruolin heard what Yang Zhen said, he didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional. He just reined in his horse and stopped, turned around and looked at Yang Zhen who was riding almost parallel to him, and asked with a half-smile on his face.

When Yang Zhen saw him like this, he didn't explain much. Instead, he chuckled and asked Zhang Ruolin, "Really? If that's the case, then why is it necessary to ask Yang Gebu to go to Jingxiang to supervise the battle and suppress the bandits?"

The Yang Gebu that Yang Zhen refers to refers to the previous Minister of War, Yang Sichang.

If the imperial military department could command the world's troops like an arm and a finger, then there would be no need for Yang Sichang to go to Huguang or Xiangyang in person to supervise the war.

Others may not know the reason for this, but how could Zhang Ruolin, who is a doctor at the Ministry of War, not know?

He already knew what Yang Zhen meant just now, and the reason why he said that was just because he was unwilling to completely tear down the fig leaf that the imperial court and the Ministry of War were unable to control the soldiers and horses in all towns in the world, and even the local governors who had soldiers and horses in their hands.

However, after Yang Zhen finished saying this, he saw that Chengtian Gate was already in sight. He immediately clamped his horse's belly and stepped forward, quickly following the official honor guard led by the Ministry of Rites.

At this time, many court officials in auspicious uniforms had gathered outside Chengtian Gate.
Chapter completed!