In the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Palace of Supreme Harmony, there was complete silence. All the civil and military officials held their breath and stared at Chongzhen above them. A trace of bewilderment flashed in their eyes, and the atmosphere became a little depressing.
Chong Zhen looked at the battle report in his hands. There was no joy on his face. On the contrary, he was a little solemn. His gaze was fixed on the words "200,000 troops" for a long time.
He did not feel any joy in his heart. Instead, the worry in his heart grew even greater. He felt inexplicably irritable. Wang Cheng's excellence made him feel a little uneasy.
He placed the battle report in his hand gently on the dragon throne, raised his eyes, and said indifferently,"
"Great General has worked hard. Naturally, Zhen will reward him.”
Below the imperial steps, all the officials and ministers heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this.
Ever since the truth of the demise of the pseudo-Shun was confirmed, all the ministers could not help but feel a little restless. However, Chongzhen had not expressed his intention for a long time, making these people feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles. No one dared to speak rashly.
After a little silence, everyone watched Chongzhen take two steps and then sit back on the dragon chair. Wang Chengen, who was on the side, took the initiative to open the imperial edict in his hand and read out the promotion of Wang Cheng's army.
"... Great General Wang Chengping of Jinwu destroyed Li Shun's puppet dynasty. He worked hard and made great contributions. He was conferred the title of Marquis Zhongyong..."
In the hall, all the civil and military officials had no objections to the reward of the officers. Only Wang Cheng's knighthood surprised many people, and even felt that it was unbelievable.
Some of the dignitaries wanted to step forward, but they were stopped by the British Duke, Zhang Shize, with a look.
At this moment, at such a delicate juncture, there was a reason for Chongzhen to give such a reward. For a hereditary leader like the British Duke Zhang Shize, it was obvious.
Zhang Shize sighed slightly in his heart. He felt that the tense atmosphere would suddenly sweep over Big Ming, whose situation had just improved.
As the leader of the nobility, he had been dealing with Chongzhen for more than ten years. He had long known Chongzhen's character. He was indecisive, suspicious, and ungrateful. At this moment, he must be suspicious of Wang Cheng again.
After all, Wang Cheng's strength had expanded too quickly, and he was good at fighting. Even if his great-great-ancestor was alive, he could not have done it to such an extent…
In his muddle-headed state, he didn't pay attention to the rewards of the loyal army behind him. Instead, he left the Palace of Heavenly Purity with the crowd…
After the court session, in the direction of Jianji Hall.
"Did the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery say when he would return?”
Two figures were walking slowly in the cold hall. There were no guards or eunuchs following them. The nearest one to them was 30 meters away.
Wang Chengen, who was following behind, half-bowed and looked extremely humble. He said carefully,""Reporting to Your Majesty, the loyal and brave marquis 'report said that he wanted to completely pacify the region. The Great Shun rebels have been rampant for a long time and need an army to suppress the region and rebuild the Great Ming's prestige.”
"Pingjing?"
Chong Zhen snorted coldly and strode forward.""He, the loyal and brave marquis, broke the city in one day and shook the world. Which traitor would dare to go against his tiger?”
"Your Majesty…the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has worked hard and made great contributions…"
Wang Chengen lowered his head and said in a low voice. He always remembered the scene of Wang Cheng stopping Chongzhen from committing suicide. If it weren't for Wang Cheng, there wouldn't be such a scene.
"Yes, it is indeed a great service. Ever since Li Zicheng attacked the capital, if the Marquis of Zhongyong hadn't stopped me, I would have been a dead man. Not to mention that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has turned the tide, reinstated the capital, killed Li Zicheng, and now completely destroyed the fake imperial court. Each and every one of these things makes me deliberately not go.”
Chong Zhen stood in the shadow by the window and looked at the sunlight outside through the paper-cut on the glass. He said earnestly,"It's time to find someone to share his burden.”
……
Chongzhen's reward arrived in Wang Cheng's hands only a day later.
At this moment, Wang Cheng looked at the imperial edict in his hand and slammed his fist on the table."Chongzhen, that bastard, he's making things difficult for me at this time. He actually made the other loyal soldiers accept the territory I took and eat what I took in. He even wants me to spit it out? Dream on.”
Without territory, his plan to open up wasteland would be directly affected, affecting his expansion.
The end of the Ming Dynasty was the Little Ice Age. Due to the harsh climate, food production was rapidly shrinking. Therefore, he had to maintain a large territory and increase food production.
Moreover, the Jurchen in the north had not made any moves, but Wang Cheng would not forget about them. He had been waiting for an opportunity to destroy these guys in one fell swoop.
The combined strength of the Mongolian and Jurchen forces was about a million, and this was his current enemy.
However, without food, would he starve to death?
"If you force me, I will turn this Big Ming upside down. I will kill him until the sky turns dark.”
All the officials frowned at the same time.
At this moment, a soldier quickly ran over and reported to Wang Cheng in the hall,"My lord, Zuo Liangyu's vanguard has been discovered in Hanzhong Prefecture.”
"Kill them all. Whoever dared to enter the territory of the seven provinces would die.”
As he spoke, Wang Cheng said to Ran Min,"
"This time, don't let anyone go.”
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