Li Yi followed.

After going to the hall, Mao Wenlong saw Li Yi coming and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is very kind, and the reward will be given today. Mr. Li, you are the first to do it."

Li Yi smiled and said: "It is only because of the commander's skillful command that he was able to annihilate so many Donglu soldiers."

At first, Li Yi and Mao Wenlong inspected the Tieshan farmland affairs, but when they returned, they found that Jierhalang led his troops to attack and wanted to kill Mao Wenlong.

Li Yi proposed a strategy and raided the suspected soldiers led by Li Yongfang. Then, when the battle was intense, he rushed into the formation and killed the leader of the suspected soldiers, Li Yongfang. He also led the musketeers to injure Jierhalang when resisting the night attack, which was a great achievement.

big.

In this battle, two thousand people were beheaded on the spot, of which one thousand were Han soldiers, three hundred bannermen, and more than seven hundred were real soldiers of the Eight Banners Army.

In response to this great victory, the imperial court excluded all Han people from military merit and only remembered Zhu Shen's head. However, even so, the military merit was very impressive.

Mao Wenlong said: "Master Li has repeatedly provided suggestions, so that Mao can achieve a great victory. You are the first to do it, and it is only natural and right."

Li Yi looked at Wan Qing and Wan Xue behind him, who were looking at him, and said: "Commander, since you are happy today, I am shameless and want to ask the commander to help you."

Mao Wenlong looked at the two women behind Li Yi and then at Kong Youde.

Kong Youde nodded quietly, indicating that Li Yi had been tricked.

At that moment, Mao Wenlong showed a smile on his face and said, "Aren't they just two maids? If Master Li likes them, you can take them away yourself."

Li Yi smiled and said: "Thank you, Marshal, for cutting me off."

Wan Qing and Wan Xue felt very happy when they saw that they were really free from Mao Wenlong's control and could follow this young and promising official.

"Wait a minute." Kong Youde said suddenly.

Li Yi looked at him, wanting to know what he wanted to do.

Kong Youde walked up to Mao Wenlong and said with a smile: "Commander, these two women are famous beauties in Dongjiang Town. They are innocent and know how to play music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and they can be regarded as two talented women. Why don't you regard them as righteousness, Commander-in-Chief?"

Girl, if I give it to Mr. Li, I can also make a good connection with the family."

After hearing this, Mao Wenlong secretly thought that Kong Youde was really smart. If he recognized the two women as adopted daughters, then Li Yi would be considered related to him. In this way, his words and actions would be much more appropriate in the future.

Glancing at Kong Youde with admiration, Mao Wenlong said to Li Yi: "What do you think, Mr. Li?"

Li Yi now wants to kick Kong Youde to death. He can think of any harmful ideas.

But looking at Wan Qing and Wan Xue's nervous expressions, Li Yi knew that if he didn't agree, the two of them would probably go back to the pit of fire.

After thinking for a while, he nodded and said: "Since the commander-in-chief is so kind, of course I have no objection."

Mao Wenlong laughed loudly, looked at the two maids and said, "Why don't you come over and kowtow?"

Poor Wan Qing and Wan Xue trembled, lowered their heads in fear, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Mao Wenlong: "My daughter pays homage to her adoptive father."

Mao Wenlong nodded and said: "From now on, you will follow Mr. Li in peace. If Mr. Li favors you and gives you two status in the future, don't forget your adoptive father's good intentions today."

The ceremony was simple, and now there was even a trace of connection between Li Yi and Mao Wenlong. Although it was very weak, it would be very troublesome if someone wanted to take advantage of it.

At this time, the imperial edict arrived, and the palace sent people directly from Tianjin. The person who announced the edict was a middle-aged eunuch with a slightly fat figure.

Mao Wenlong had inquired clearly in advance and knew that this eunuch was Gao Qiqian, a close confidant of the emperor. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Eunuch Gao, you have had a hard journey."

Gao Qiqian nodded, looked at the surrounding furnishings with a hint of disdain, and said, "Commander Mao, why don't you prepare a desk incense burner?"

Mao Wenlong smiled and said: "They are all in the backyard."

Gao Qiqian nodded and said, "You still know the rules."

Mao Wenlong said: "How can I, Mao Wenlong, be disrespectful of the Emperor's grace? I hope you will accept this little bit of filial piety."

After speaking, he put two land deeds and a stack of banknotes into Gao Qiqian's sleeves.

Gao Qiqian was already an old man receiving gifts. He could estimate at a glance how much money Mao Wenlong had paid. He was very satisfied with this sensible military attaché and said, "Then let's go to the backyard."

A group of people went to the backyard, raised their heads and proclaimed the decree, explaining Emperor Chongzhen's rewards one by one.

Among them, the Dongjiang Army received rewards from Mao Wenlong to Xiaobing. Mao Wenlong was promoted to General Dragon and Tiger because of his loyalty to the state, good command, and meritorious service in beheading.

Li Yi was the first to achieve this, and was granted the title of censor of Youqiandu and deputy envoy of Liaodong's punishment and inspection department.

In this way, Li Yi was no longer a temporary official patrolling the border on behalf of the emperor, but an orthodox fourth-rank official of the Ming Dynasty.

You must know that only those who have entered the fourth rank can join the cabinet and participate in government affairs. Therefore, the fourth rank official is already a central official and has great authority.

After Mao Wenlong and Kong Youde heard the news, they both looked at Li Yi in surprise.

You must know that Li Yi is not yet twenty years old and is already a fourth-rank official. I am afraid that in time, he will be able to join the cabinet and become the prime minister. This is really terrifying.

In the more than 200 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been such a powerful monster, right? Even the powerful minister Zhang Juzheng, who was regarded as a child prodigy, only entered the Imperial Academy in his twenties.

Gao Qiqian put away the imperial edict and placed it in Mao Wenlong's hand.

Mao Wenlong was a military attache of the second rank. He respectfully placed the imperial edict on the crime scene and knelt down to worship.

After discussing the pros and cons, Gao Qiqiu walked up to Li Yi and said with a warm smile: "Master Li, the reason why this reward took so long is because the emperor was dedicated to fighting for a high position for you, and was delayed by the opposition of the courtiers.

If it weren't for your contribution to the Xuanda border, I'm afraid the courtiers would not let go, and the emperor cannot be dictatorial with the Holy Heart."

Only then did Li Yi realize that it was Emperor Chongzhen who had fought for him to suddenly become a fourth-rank official.

Although he has made outstanding contributions, it has never happened since the founding of the Ming Dynasty that a young man under the age of twenty could become a high official. It is normal for courtiers to object. I thought that I would be granted the title of a fifth-rank foreign official at most, but I did not expect that Emperor Chongzhen would be like this

Love yourself.

Li Yi immediately prostrated himself on the ground and said: "Your Majesty's grace, Zizheng's death is not enough to repay it."

Gao Qiqian looked at Li Yi's performance with satisfaction and said with a smile: "It's good that Mr. Li knows the emperor's good intentions. Just follow me."

With that said, he called Li Yi to a corner.

Li Yi followed, and saw Gao Qiqian take out a letter from his sleeve, quietly stuff it into Li Yi's sleeve, and said solemnly: "This is the emperor's secret letter. Destroy it immediately after you read it."

Li Yi did not expect that Emperor Chongzhen would write to him, so he nodded and said, "I understand."

After Gao Qiqian announced the decree, he returned to Tianjin Wei on the same day.

That night, Li Yi took advantage of the silence of the night to take out the letter from Emperor Chongzhen to himself. After opening it, he took out the letter.

After slowly reading what Emperor Chongzhen said in his letter, Li Yi couldn't calm down for a long time.

At the beginning, Emperor Chongzhen expressed his appreciation for his many meritorious services and was very proud of his ability to know people and make good use of them. Then he expressed his views on the governance of the country originally proposed by Li Yi.

At the beginning, Li Yi proposed the problems that the Ming Dynasty needed to solve from the three aspects of military system, economy and government affairs, and highlighted that the government affairs were the most important. Only when the whole court was united and the administration was efficient, could chaos be rectified and the Ming Dynasty should be reformed.

The method Li Yi proposed to Chongzhen was to select a group of ministers who supported him, and it was best for these ministers to have experience in governing, regardless of whether they were from the Hanlin Academy.

This time, Emperor Chongzhen used the liquidation of the eunuchs to remove a group of old ministers and return them home, and then promoted a group of ministers with outstanding political achievements. However, they had just entered the court and were scattered among the six ministries, and they still needed to be trained. And these

Of course, the methods could not escape the eyes of Han Xu and other veteran ministers. They discovered that the emperor was cultivating his own power and appointed some ministers who paid attention to law and discipline and implemented strict administration. They immediately became vigilant and issued orders one after another to prevent Emperor Chongzhen from continuing.

Liquidate the eunuchs and install forces.

So Emperor Chongzhen began to fight with his courtiers in the court. Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren had already defected to the emperor and opposed the Donglin Party. They fought happily in the court, but they did not expect the chaos at the border. Not to mention Xuanda

The border defense is in disrepair and urgently needs rectification. They say that Dongjiang Town is about to undergo a big change, but these courtiers are not aware of it.

Fortunately, although Emperor Chongzhen was young, he also knew that the expansion of Donglu forces had posed a threat to the northern border defense. He mentioned in the letter the truth reported by Li Yi and was very angry that the situation in Xuanda was so corrupt and that officials had done nothing. However, the current situation

The Donglin Party had the power to dispatch troops and transport money and food, and he could not take action against the Xuanda government. However, he mentioned that he would promote Li Yi's friend Song Tongyin by taking advantage of his efforts in repelling Chahar and assisting in disaster relief.

Let him become the governor of Xuanda to stabilize the situation.

Li Yi also knew that Chongzhen was now being chased and intercepted by the Donglin Party, and that the power he had cultivated had not yet matured, and that he had no ability to regulate the Xuanda border defense. However, his move to promote Song Tongyin was very clever. You must know that Song Tongyin was familiar with Xuanda affairs, had outstanding abilities, and

With the determination to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, he can at least stabilize the situation by being responsible for promoting the country.

Emperor Chongzhen mentioned Dongjiang Town at the end of the letter. He praised Li Yi for going to Dongjiang Town at this time and asked him to stabilize the situation and to supervise Mao Wenlong to prevent the situation in Liaodong from deteriorating further.

It seems that Emperor Chongzhen did not realize that Yuan Chonghuan was about to attack Mao Wenlong.

With this letter, Li Yi saw that Emperor Chongzhen had launched an offensive to fight for power. It was obvious that the Donglin Party would become the biggest obstacle for him to take charge of power and become an autocratic emperor. There would definitely be a wave between the two.

Now that Wang Xiangqian has negotiated with the Chahar Ministry, Lin Danhan also needs time to recuperate. Xuan Dabian Pass will enter a stable period in a short period of time. With Song Tongyin's care, Li Yi believes that Dongyang Town will definitely be under the management of Fuguoshe

Can thrive.

Talking about Dongyang Town, Ma Hewen obviously built it based on Anxin Town.

Once the construction is completed, in addition to the defensive bastion built in Daqingshan in the north, a large garrison will also be built next to the Dongyang River.

The 30,000 to 40,000 Mongolians will be completely dispersed, led by a small number of Han people, and dispersed into various villages for reclamation and grazing.

On the other hand, in order to have enough strength, Sun Yaowen will also select some young men from Mongolia and Han people for training, and create a militia team belonging to Dongyang based on the classification of Anxin militia and combat soldiers.

Although they are only at the level of militiamen, they can still fight evenly against some tens of thousands of soldiers from the Chahar tribe.

In order to establish such a Dongyang Army, Li Yi wrote a letter to Anxin and transferred more than 300 private soldiers from the Anxin Railway Brigade to Dongyang Town to take charge of training tasks.

In this way, the administrative and civil affairs of Dongyang Town were controlled by Fuguoshe, while the military was managed by the private battalion commander Zhang San.
Chapter completed!