"I thought Li Xin would definitely be willing." Wang Chengen said without thinking: "Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Sun Chengzong take the verbal letter with the emperor. However, the court still could not turn against the tribes of the grassland. These tribes who were exempted from doing anything to Li Xin, so they attacked our border."

"Oh, this is all my incompetence. The emperor gave this country to me, but made me look like this. These are all my incompetence!" Emperor Chongzhen sighed.

"The emperor worked hard to govern, and was a role model for emperors of all dynasties. The emperor was not wrong. The ministers around him were mostly Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang." Wang Chengen quickly explained: "These ministers do not want to share the worries of the king and father all day long, and they all want to make money. These are the sinners of the Ming Dynasty."

"Yes, if Wu Xiang hadn't escaped in the battle, how could Zhang Chun fail?" Chongzhen suddenly thought of what Sun Chengzong said in the memorial, and suddenly became furious and said angrily: "I will send an order to escort Wu Xiang to Beijing and hand it over to the Ministry of Justice for treatment. I will not be willing to kill this person."

"Emperor, this Wu Xiang is Zu Dashou's in-laws and a prominent family in Liaodong." When Wang Chengen heard that Chongzhen was going to kill Wu Xiang, he quickly reminded him carefully.

"Send an order to dismiss Wu Xiang. Let him return to Beijing to retire!" Chongzhen was stunned and soon understood what Wang Chengen meant. Although Jiannu was defeated, it was not completely eliminated. If these prominent Liaodong clans colluded with Jiannu, they would eventually lose the entire Liaodong. So Wu Xiang could only do this, but Chongzhen was extremely unwilling to accept it. After thinking about it, he said, "Chengen, what should Sun Chengzong do if you think about it?"

"This? This is a major event in the court. How can the slaves know how to deal with it? The emperor should ask the ministers. This person is the imperial teacher of the late emperor. What's more important is that he has made contributions to the court over the years." If someone was told, Wang Chengen could say it, but the Sun Chengzong in front of him was not an ordinary person. He was the teacher of the late emperor and an imperial teacher of the Donglin Party. If such a person was killed, he would probably not be enough for the Donglin Party members to kill him. Therefore, Wang Chengen did not dare to say bad things about Sun Chengzong, but instead excused Sun Chengzong.

"Yes! Sun Chengzong was the teacher of the emperor's brother and made great contributions to the court. Such a person cannot die at my hands." Emperor Chongzhen also nodded and said, "Then let him go home to support his old age!"

"Emperor, such an imperial edict cannot be spread now. The so-called general without ever winning on the battlefield. Jiannu's army is in danger and defeat is common. What is more important is that Jiannu failed this time, and tens of thousands of troops were killed and injured. It can be said that it was a victory for the court. What Sun Chengzong said makes sense. If his army had not dragged the Jiannu's army, how could Li Xin win? Therefore, Sun Chengzong still made some contributions. Since it was a contribution, the emperor should not let him go back to retire." Wang Chengen's eyes turned and he quickly said, "It's just that whether Sun Chengzong had any contributions in this matter is what I think. It's better to let those ministers talk."

"Well, since that's the case, you can announce this memorial to the world!" Chongzhen quickly understood what Wang Chengen meant. This battle seemed to be a victory for the court. Because Jiannu suffered heavy losses, Sun Chengzong made contributions in this regard. Moreover, Sun Chengzong worked hard all his life and went to the ghost place of Liaodong at such an old age. From a point of view, he was a member of the Donglin Party and the teacher of the late emperor. In this regard, he was a respected person. Such a person, wouldn't it be unkind to let him go home to support his old age at this time? If Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial edict, how would the people in the world view themselves? He was mean and rude? Who else would work for you in the future?

So Chongzhen could not issue an order in this regard. But those ministers were different. These people were not capable on weekdays, but they were very good at fighting in the nest, especially they could not bear the power of others. Just like Li Xin last time, he made a contribution and killed Ajige, but he did not get any benefits. Even more so now, Sun Chengzong seemed to have won a battle, but he did not win a battle. Chongzhen wanted Sun Chengzong to go back to retire, and I was afraid that the ministers in the court would speak. If Chongzhen did nothing, these ministers would pick on the memorials and attack Sun Chengzong. Wang Chengen wanted to use the mouths of these ministers to deal with Sun Chengzong.

"The emperor is wise." Wang Chengen said quickly.

"What should Li Xin do?" Emperor Chongzhen asked again with a frown. Sun Chengzong's affairs were easy to deal with. He believed that the incompetent ministers in the court would help him solve this problem. But Li Xin was not like that. Now that he had lost the suppression of Jiannu, there were no soldiers available in Liaodong. If Li Xin did not appease him, he might have sent troops to Liaodong, or simply entered the pass from the nine sides to harass the capital, or united with the rebels in the Central Plains. When Emperor Chongzhen thought of tens of thousands of cavalry circulating across the Central Plains, he couldn't help but shivered, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.

"The emperor can add Li Xin to General Zhenbei or General Zhenshuo." Wang Chengen thought for a while and said.

"General Zhenshuo is the general of Xuanfu, and it is probably inappropriate for Li Xin to believe this position." Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while and finally said, "Didn't he take the Han cavalry as an example? I will first sign him as the lieutenant of the lieutenant of the rank of Yao. If he really pacified the grassland, I will sign him as the general of the steward of the cavalry."

Wang Chengen twitched when he heard this, but he lowered his head and did not speak. The lieutenant Yao was the official position that Emperor Wu of Han when Huo Qubing first joined the army. Emperor Chongzhen appointed Li Xin as the lieutenant Yao. It seemed that he was a compliment to Li Xin and full of confidence in Li Xin. But in fact, the position of a lieutenant can command tens of thousands of cavalry. This is not a compliment, but an insult. But you can't say anything. Look at the emperor's value you. As long as you make contributions, the emperor will enthrone him as the General of the Cavalry. You must know that there was no title of General of the Cavalry in the Ming Dynasty. Now the emperor has set up this position for Li Xin. This shows that Chongzhen's favor for Li Xin.

"The emperor is wise, I will go and pass the order now." Wang Chengen held back his smile and whispered.

"Wang Cheng'en, you will go here in person this time to meet this Li Xin for me. I want to know who Li Xin is?" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly said quietly.

"I understand." Wang Chengen was stunned when he heard this, and soon realized that Emperor Chongzhen wanted to examine whether this Li Xin could be used by the court.

The so-called "no secret to the capital". The next day, the news of Liaodong quickly spread throughout the capital, winning first and then losing. However, later, all the Jiannu soldiers were destroyed by Li Xin's desolation. So, was the court won or lost in this battle? There were many different opinions for a while, but no matter what, Li Xin's name was completely popular throughout the capital, and some storytellers began to make up Li Xin's story into stories and legends everywhere.

"Yuan Fu, did Sun Chengzong win or lose this time?" A middle-aged man with a loyal face was saying respectfully in Zhou Yanru's mansion.

"Changqing, what do you think?" Zhou Yanru saw the other party's respectful look, and his face suddenly showed a hint of satisfaction. Because this person was no other person, Wen Tiren, who entered the cabinet in the third year of Chongzhen, served as the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of the Dongge. He was from Wucheng (now Huzhou), Zhejiang, with his courtesy name Changqing and his pseudonym Yuanjiao. In the third year of Chongzhen, he entered the cabinet to assist in the government as the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of the Dongge.

In the late Ming Dynasty, there were countless generals. Unfortunately, there was no good prime minister. Whether it was Zhou Yanru or Qian Qianyi, the previous term, they were not really talented as prime ministers. This was even more so. Emperor Chongzhen decided to add cabinet members. In the winter of the first year of Chongzhen, the imperial edict ordered the cabinet ministers to be promoted. As soon as the imperial edict was issued, Wen Tiren privately made up his wishful thinking. He knew that he had shallow qualifications and low reputation, and he would not be able to enter the cabinet if he was just based on this point. However, Wen Tiren also had his advantages. Emperor Chongzhen promoted him to the Minister of Rites as soon as he ascended the throne. Wen Tiren believed that this was a signal that the emperor intended to reuse him. Therefore, he was very confident about this entry into the cabinet. However, during the promotion process, Wen Tiren was repeatedly neglected and was unable to enter the cabinet. Qian Qianyi, a talented man in Jiangnan, privately ranked first, and Wen Tiren's wishful thinking was dashed.

However, Wen Tiren discovered.

That is, Zhou Yanru, whose talent is far superior to him, is not on the list of elected candidates. Zhou Yanru is well-behaved.

He was very good at observing words and expressions, and was very favored by the emperor. Zhou Yanru was defeated, and Wen Tiren speculated that the emperor must have doubts. Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen felt very dissatisfied when he saw that Zhou Yanru's name was not on the list.

Wen Tiren believed that this was a great opportunity to overturn the case. He and Zhou Yanru quickly colluded and pointed the finger directly at Qian Qianyi. They wrote to the emperor and re-exposed Qian Qianyi's joint bribery case and urged the emperor to cancel Qian Qianyi's qualification as a minister. The so-called joint bribery case refers to the fact that when Qian Qianyi was in charge of Zhejiang in the second year of Tianqi, he accepted bribes from Tong Shengtian Qianqiu, and used a vulgar slang poem "A day goes up to the sky" as the joint, and designated him as (Xieyuan). This matter was later reported. Qian Qianyi was punished by taking his salary and being cut off from his post.

This case had already passed, and Wen Tiren raised it again. It suddenly touched the heartstrings of Emperor Chongzhen, thinking that he was too rash in such a major personnel decision. Therefore, the next day, he ordered Wen Tiren and Qian Qianyi to go to Wenhua Hall for questioning. That day, officials from various departments gathered in Wenhua Hall and made private arguments. I don’t know what happened. At the beginning of the meeting, Wen Tiren first attacked. Finally, he defeated Qian Qianyi with a conspiracy. Soon, Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren entered the cabinet one after another. Wen Tiren served as the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of the East Pavilion, realizing his conspiracy.

However, the so-called soldiers who do not want to be generals are not good soldiers. In the Ming Dynasty, literati who does not want to be chief ministers were not excellent literati. Wen Tiren was very respectful to Zhou Yanru on the surface, but in private, he was a disobedient to Zhou Yanru. However, Zhou Yanru still trusted him very much.
Chapter completed!