After the important officials of the imperial court came out of the main hall of Qianqing Palace, Yang Zhenfang turned around and stepped forward, crossing the high threshold and entering the center of the hall.

Facing the emperor's throne is the emperor's throne located in the middle of the Ming Dynasty Palace of Qianqing. Above the emperor's throne hangs a horizontal plaque with the four gilded characters "Jingtianfazu" written on it.

Of course Yang Zhen visited the Forbidden City in his previous life, but at that time the plaque in the Qianqing Palace was replaced with "Justice and Brightness".

At this time, when he saw the four words "Respect Heavenly Patriarch", he knelt down again and said: "I, Yang Zhen, have an audience with Your Majesty! Long live my emperor! Long live my emperor!"

"Han Qing gets up and speaks!"

When Emperor Chongzhen saw Yang Zhenlin saluting, he stood up from the splendid throne and walked down while talking.

By the time Yang Zhen stood up from the ground, Emperor Chongzhen had already arrived in front of him.

At this time, Yang Zhen heard Emperor Chongzhen say to the remaining eunuchs and servants in the palace: "Wang Daban stays, Chu Xianzhang is guarding outside the palace gate, and everyone else, please retreat!"

When Emperor Chongzhen said this, all the chamberlains who were originally on duty in every corner of the hall retreated with a huff.

Soon, there was no one in the huge hall except Emperor Chongzhen and Yang Zhen, as well as Wang Chengen who was standing far away with his head bowed.

When Yang Zhen saw this, he knew that Emperor Chongzhen must have something to tell him that he didn't want to spread or let other people know.

"What gift did Han Qing prepare for Da Sima when he came to the capital this time?"

Yang Zhen's mind was racing, thinking that he should take this opportunity to say something to the emperor, when Emperor Chongzhen spoke, and as soon as he spoke, Yang Zhen was startled.

"This, this, I know that I am guilty. I am not exempt from the secular world. Please punish me!"

Although Emperor Chongzhen's question was uttered with a smile on his face, Yang Zhen had to admit it and quickly knelt down to apologize.

Yang Zhen's panicked expression of kneeling down to plead guilty made Emperor Chongzhen quite satisfied.

Of course, if Yang Zhen denies it at this time, it will definitely be a different situation.

"Get up. That day, Zhang Ruolin, a doctor in the Ministry of War, came back from Liaodong and once praised you, Yang Hanqing, as an extraordinary man from Liao Zuo. Now it seems that you, Yang Hanqing, are still an ordinary person who cannot be exempted from vulgarity after all!"

When Emperor Chongzhen came up, he first gave Yang Zhen a showdown, and then took the initiative to give Yang Zhen a step down, displaying his imperial skills for a while.

And Yang Zhen was also very cooperative. After hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, he just kept admitting his mistake and apologized.

Of course, it was impossible for Emperor Chongzhen to punish Yang Zhen for this kind of thing. Seeing that he was so frightened and frightened, he had achieved his goal, so he bent down to help him up, and then said:

"It is human nature to reciprocate with courtesy. Fortunately, you are finally willing to listen to me. From yesterday to now, you have been waiting for orders in Guanglu Temple with peace of mind, and you have not gone around to pay homage to those so-called rich and powerful families! On this point, Han Qing, you can do it Well done!”

When Yang Zhen heard this, he realized that Emperor Chongzhen had been observing him from the time the platform meeting ended yesterday to the time he entered the palace again.

Fortunately, he was really tired yesterday. After arriving at Guanglu Temple, he had a good meal, then went to where he stayed and fell asleep. He slept until dawn today.

This morning, I was waiting for Emperor Chongzhen's summons that might arrive at any time, so I didn't go out.

This situation fell in the ears of Emperor Chongzhen, and it became evidence that Yang Zhen was very obedient.

"The things you asked Chen Xinjia and Wang Dehua to advise you are not private matters, so why don't you come to me and talk about them yourself? How can I treat them differently if they speak with a public heart?"

"This, minister——"

When Yang Zhen heard that Emperor Chongzhen asked Chen Xinjia for gifts and Wang Dehua's help in making suggestions, he knew everything about it. He was really panicked at the moment, fearing that the suspicious and fickle Emperor Chongzhen would veto his previous agreement on the general offensive and defensive strategy of Liaodong, so

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to word it.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen saw Yang Zhen bowing and was about to kneel down. He smiled and patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Qing Han. I have agreed to everything Han Qing requested and have already ordered the cabinet to do so."

, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel and the Governor's Office will make arrangements quickly!"

Yang Zhen, who was originally very nervous about this matter, suddenly heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, and he was overjoyed. He immediately knelt on the ground and worshiped Emperor Chongzhen from the bottom of his heart:

"Your Majesty is wise! I thank your Majesty for your kindness! After I return to Liaodong, I will do my best to serve my emperor long live!"

"Haha, if I don't agree to your requests, Han Qing, won't you go out of your way to repay me with your thoughts?"

"Ah? How dare I—"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Emperor Chongzhen burst out laughing when he saw Yang Zhen's panic. After laughing for a while, he said to Yang Zhen: "I know you didn't mean this. Han Qing doesn't need to be nervous. However, you don't have to be in a hurry to thank me."

Having said this, the smile on Emperor Chongzhen's face suddenly disappeared. He turned to look at the world outside the hall door, sighed, and then said:

"I agree to your expansion of the army. The original battalion can be expanded into an army. After all, this is a town alone behind enemy lines. It has three cities anyway. The original five thousand pay is indeed insufficient.

"I can give you an additional five thousand as salary. You have to rely on yourself for the rest, especially food and grass. You mainly need to raise it yourself."

After Emperor Chongzhen said these words, when he saw Yang Zhen looking up at him, he quickly turned away. It seemed that he knew that an emperor should not say this, so he did not face Yang Zhen.

Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen, who turned around, did not wait for Yang Zhen to answer, and then said: "I also agree with the matter of recruiting people to cross the sea from Dengzhou and go to Jinzhou and other places to farm. Now there are many refugees in the pass.

Even in Gyeonggi, Shandong, and the land of Denglai, there are many people who have heard of it. You can raise as much as you wish. I will give you the decree, and I will also give the decree to the ministers in Denglai, Shandong."

After Emperor Chongzhen said these words, he seemed to think of the miserable situation of the people in Guan Nei, and was silent for a while, only sighing.

What he said about raising food and grass by himself was actually not beyond Yang Zhen's expectation. Yang Zhen knew that the current Emperor Chongzhen could not provide any money at all.

At that moment, after he kowtowed and thanked him, he thought for a while and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I know that the imperial court is currently using troops for many purposes, and I also know that people's livelihood in the world is very difficult. I really can't bear to talk about the allocation and transfer of grain, grass, ordnance, but I am alone.

Things are difficult overseas, so I beg your Majesty to give me the right to act expediently behind enemy lines in southern Liaoning."

After saying these words, Yang Zhen kowtowed.

"Yes, I agree! You can understand the difficulties of the court and mine, how can I not understand you? I have prepared a handwriting for you, which will give you the right to act expediently behind enemy lines in southern Liaoning!"

Yang Zhen originally thought that Emperor Chongzhen would consider it for a while, but he didn't expect that Emperor Chongzhen immediately agreed without saying a word as soon as he proposed it.

Yang Zhen was waiting to receive the order to thank Emperor Chongzhen when he heard Emperor Chongzhen say: "Another point, I have thought about it, you still have to take care of Songshan's affairs. Even if you order your troops to move eastward in large numbers and station in Jinzhou, Lushun, and Fuzhou,

We can’t evacuate them all, we still have to leave a force of people and horses to help defend Songjin. Only with you taking care of them, I can feel at ease!”

"This——, I obey your order!"

The idea suddenly expressed by Emperor Chongzhen made Yang Zhen a little surprised and a little touched at the same time.

What surprised him was that he originally wanted to gradually break away from western Liaoning and fully manage Jinzhou, Lushun and other places. This plan had been approved by Emperor Chongzhen through the so-called strategy of attacking from the east and defending from the west. Unexpectedly, just one day later,

Emperor Chongzhen was a little shaken by this strategy.

Of course, in the final analysis, Emperor Chongzhen might still be worried about Zu Dashou's group and their Liaodong Army, and wanted to arrange for constant military checks and balances in western Liaoning.

What moved Yang Zhen was that Emperor Chongzhen's trust in him seemed not to be shaken, but also went a step further. It could even be said that the Ming Dynasty's last hope on both sides of the Liaohai Sea was pinned on him.

Therefore, although Yang Zhen was a little surprised when he heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, he finally kowtowed and obeyed.

After he agreed, Emperor Chongzhen continued: "There is another matter. Yesterday, you asked Shen Zhixiang to be granted the title of World Lord. I did not agree at that time, but today I have agreed."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

"You don't have to be in a hurry to thank me. World princes like to reward you, but worldly fortune is hard to give. How can I be inferior to a slave chief? How could I not know that a large reward can gather people's hearts? It's just that the court is in a difficult situation, and there are already emperors and distinguished ministers.

If the salary is not enough, what about new ones?"

When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, then stared at Yang Zhen and said, "I heard that Shen Zhixiang is your step-uncle?"

When Yang Zhen saw Emperor Chongzhen asking this question, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded and replied: "The mother of the Qiu family, Shen, is the cousin of Shen Zhixiang. After all, Shen Zhixiang can be said to be my uncle."

.The reason why Shen Zhixiang dared to believe his minister's words was also related to this."

"Well, very good. Then let him be yours and do whatever you want."

"I accept the order and thank you!"

"Well, there is one thing, but I have to settle it with you, Mr. Han first. Your salary as a nobleman needs to be halved for the time being, and half of it will be given to Shen Zhixiang's salary. For the time being, it is up to you to raise it yourself.

, and then issue it to the person in the name of the imperial court."

"Ah? This -"

After hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, Yang Zhen was a little stunned.

He knew that the imperial court's finances were in dire straits, but he did not expect that the difficulties would reach this level.

"If you, Qing Han, agree, then today I will grant you the invitation for Shen Zhixiang. If you are in trouble, Qing Han, I will write down the merits of Shen Zhixiang's coming back from the city, and we will discuss them together when the Liao Dynasty is conquered."

A reward for meritorious service. What do you think?"

When Yang Zhen heard this, he was even more dumbfounded. Emperor Chongzhen was going to give himself an IOU!

As soon as he thought of this, Yang Zhen immediately replied: "Your Majesty has an order, and I have no objection!"

"That's good. If that's the case, if your uncle comes back as a puppet from the East, I will give him a Spyge. I have discussed it with Da Sima and others. Shen Zhixiang was born in Liaoyang, which was called Xiangping in ancient times.
Chapter completed!