The news of the great victory in northern Shaanxi reached the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen, who had not been happy for a long time, finally had a smile on his face.
During this period, many bad things were weighing on Chongzhen's mind, which made him breathless. In the past two years, almost all the money already in the treasury was sent to Liaodong, but Liao's salary was still not enough.
A few days ago, Yuan Chonghuan submitted another letter asking for an increase in salary.
Chongzhen couldn't figure it out. Wasn't he always downsizing his troops? How come the number of troops was reduced, but the salary and silver were getting more and more? If it were another person, Chongzhen would have sent an imperial edict to arrest that person in the capital and question him clearly. But the other person was Yuan Chonghuan.
, Chongzhen said nothing, summoned officials, and tried every means to get money.
It’s not for anything else, just because the other party is Yuan Chonghuan. Yuan Chonghuan said that the Liao Dynasty will be pacified in five years. As long as the chaos in Liaodong can be quelled within five years, Yuan Chonghuan will give him whatever he wants. Chongzhen will not say no.
Yuan Chonghuan is the person chosen by Chongzhen. Since he has identified him, he must first find ways to support him.
For more than ten days, Chongzhen tried his best to scrape his internal funds again, and delayed the salary allotted to Jinyiwei. Then he scraped together 180,000 taels of silver and rushed it to Liaodong. Because of this, the court officials
But there are quite a few complaints. The civil unrest in Shaanxi is getting more and more intense, and many Shaanxi soldiers and horses have not been paid in full. Shaanxi officials have written several times to urge military pay, but the court has not given a penny. Yuan Chonghuan had better write a letter,
Your Majesty collected 180,000 taels of silver and sent it over quickly.
Not to mention some officials of the imperial court, even some general soldiers of the Nine Borders were quite dissatisfied with this. For the Xuanfu, the head of the Nine Borders, military pay has always been a big problem in recent years. In order to get enough pay and silver, Hou Shilu had to think of something wrong.
If it weren't for special circumstances, he wouldn't have bothered with Tie Mo's idea. In short, Hou Shilu liked whoever could make money for the Xuan Mansion.
Everyone is trying to find a way to survive, so why should Yuan Chonghuan give him whatever he wants? Just because he is the governor of Jiliao?
There was a lot of dissatisfaction inside and outside the imperial court. It’s not like Chongzhen didn’t know it. He couldn’t hold Yuan Chonghuan back at this time. If Yuan Chonghuan couldn’t do anything, wouldn’t he be slapped in Chongzhen’s face?
Worries came one after another, but fortunately there was good news from Shaanxi. Hearing that Wu Yangui's party among the two bandits in Shaanxi was defeated, Chongzhen couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, and his face became more joyful.
In the military report, Chongzhen saw Tie Mo's name again. It was this Tie Mo who used cavalry to attack and completely defeated Wu Yangui's troops. It can be seen from the military report that the Shaanxi generals intended to promote Tie Mo as the first contributor.
Tie Mo, what kind of person is he? He has made many military exploits in two years, especially at the age of just twenty.
When he was less than twenty years old, he was already a garrison and guerrilla general of the Yun Mansion. According to his merits, it was impossible not to reward him. After much thought, Zheng Zheng decided to promote Tie Mo to the rank of general of the Xuan Mansion, and he still served as a garrison of the Yun Mansion.
After Shaanxi's great victory over other generals who had made meritorious services, Chongzhen didn't put much thought into it and directly handed the matter to the cabinet. After the cabinet came up with its opinions, it passed it directly and drafted the decree to be sent to northern Shaanxi.
...
In the Wenhua Hall, Chongzhen sat behind his desk, squinting his eyes and enjoying the little free time he had.
On the chair below, Queen Yi'an Zhang Yan sat elegantly and listened carefully.
"Sister-in-law, you have been to Zhangbei and met Tie Mo. Can you tell me what kind of person Tie Mo is and whether he can be used?"
Zhang Yan frowned slightly, and for some reason, she suddenly felt nervous. Involuntarily, the man's figure flashed before her eyes.
On the windy grassland, facing the setting sun, there is one person and one wolf.
Zhang Yan will never forget that scene. It was the first time in her life that she saw such killing. One person and one wolf, like thousands of troops.
Similarly, Zhang Yan also understood her imperial brother Zhu Youjian. Tie Mo had outstanding abilities but was also ambitious. The emperor's brother would definitely not tolerate such a person in his heart. Zhang Yan didn't know what she was thinking. For the first time in her life,
He lied in front of Zhu Youjian.
"Your Majesty, Tie Mo is young and capable. The most important thing is that he is loyal to the court. A few months ago, Jizhou was in trouble and I went to Shanxi to raise donations. Those people were unwilling to pay a penny.
Yes, it was General Tie who came forward to raise enough money."
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Zhang Yan cursed herself secretly. Why did she have to say good things for Tie Mo?
Chongzhen nodded and smiled meaningfully, "That's right. I have told people that this person was born in poverty and went to the north to sell goods. In a short period of time, he can create a world in northern Shanxi, which is considered capable.
Outstanding. If he really loves the imperial court as the emperor's wife said, he can be reused."
"But he is too young and needs to be polished!"
"I am also very young!" Chongzhen smiled faintly and was about to say something else when Wang Chengen's voice came from outside the door. After listening carefully, it turned out that Sun Chengzong was waiting outside.
Facing Sun Chengzong, Chongzhen did not dare to neglect, and quickly asked Wang Chengen to invite Sun Chengzong in. Sun Chengzong, who was over sixty years old, was already gray-haired, but his legs were weak and his spirit was hale and hearty. He did not look like a dying old man at all.
Entering the Wenhua Hall, Sun Chengzong was slightly surprised when he saw Zhang Yan was there. He raised his hands and saluted, "I have seen the empress."
Zhang Yan didn't dare to accept Sun Chengzong's gift, so she quickly helped her.
After helping Sun Chengzong sit down, Zhu Youjian smiled and said, "Why are you here at this time?"
"Hey, I have to give up. I would like to ask, how does Your Majesty plan to deal with Yuan Chonghuan's impeachment of Mao Wenlong?"
"This..." Chongzhen immediately looked embarrassed. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, it was because he really didn't know what to do.
Since Yuan Chonghuan arrived in Liaodong, he has not dealt with Mao Wenlong. He has written several times to impeach Mao Wenlong and asked the court to punish Mao Wenlong. Several times before, Chongzhen had been conciliatory and advised Yuan Chonghuan to be patient. But this time, Yuan Chonghuan's attitude was very firm.
, saying that Mao Wenlong had an affair with Hou Jin, and wanted to punish Mao Wenlong.
Regarding Mao Wenlong, Chongzhen couldn't answer. Sun Chengzong's face tightened and he sighed: "Your Majesty, you shouldn't have sent the 180,000 taels of silver to Liaodong before. Since Yuan Chonghuan is the governor of Jiliao, there are some things that must be found."
You can solve it yourself, and you can't turn to the imperial court for everything. Now the imperial treasury is empty, and the internal funds are also empty, doesn't he know?"
"Your Majesty is so used to Yuan Chonghuan. He must be arrogant and afraid that trouble will occur in Liaodong."
Chongzhen sat next to him and asked puzzledly: "There's trouble? Teacher, what do you think the students should do?"
"If Your Majesty had not sent the 180,000 silver, Yuan Chonghuan would have had taboos in his heart and would not have dared to act recklessly. But now, it is no longer certain. In short, the old minister thought that Mao Wenlong had to use it. Although Mao Wenlong had secretly engaged in trade and pretended to be the leader of the military,
He acted like a bandit. But one thing is that as long as Mao Wenlong was there, Hou Jin would not dare to leave Liaodong too far. As long as Hou Jin dared to leave Liaodong, with Mao Wenlong's temperament, he would definitely send troops to Liaodong and dig a hole in Hou Jin's heart."
"Mao Wenlong has the meaning of his existence, so even if Mao Wenlong is unpopular, he must be used."
"For the present plan, Your Majesty had better write a letter, scold Yuan Chonghuan, and ask him to take the overall situation into consideration and maintain the relationship with Liaodong."
"Huh? Teacher, is this necessary?"
Chongzhen scratched his head and was quite speechless.