Seven days have passed since the battleground of Yuxi River.

After Chen Xi led his troops deep into the grassland, the court could get very little information from Chen Xi's troops. It was basically known that Chen Xi led his troops into the hinterland of the grassland and showed signs of crossing the Yellow River north. In short, it was chasing the main force of the Dayan tribe led by Batumonk. As for how much to chase and where the Tatars were, these information were unknown to Yansui and even the entire Northwest War.

Then more official letters urging Yansui to submit the military information of Chen Xi's troops to Wang Qiong, which made Wang Qiong very embarrassed because he had no idea and had no way to talk about what to submit.

As for the advanced weapons used by Chen Xi and the results of the three battles of Yuxi River, he actually reported it.

Six of the fifty Gatling machine guns invested in this battle were damaged, so they simply stayed on the battlefield. Wang Qiong was so lucky that he quickly sent someone to transport them back.

Unfortunately, Wang Qiong couldn't understand how to use this thing at all. He basically knew nothing about guns and even if he asked craftsmen to study it, he could not come up with any results.

Because Chen Xi took away the bullets and spare barrels, Wang Qiong only got an empty rack. In addition, Chen Xi only asked the soldiers to bring their weapons and bedding, and then brought some basic food rations, not even the whole pot and stove. This gave Wang Qiong an illusion that Chen Xi might return to the army in one or two days, so after seven days, Wang Qiong still felt that Chen Xi could not cross the Yellow River north.

"It makes no sense."

When Wang Qiong faced Xie Qian's interrogation, the same was true for his expression. "Shangshu Chen didn't carry much supplies. He left some of the supplies on the north bank of the Yuxi River, and even the two eunuchs in the military inspectors did not follow the battle. The grassland was vast and boundless, how could he catch up with the Tatar Iron Cavalry?"

Wang Qiong didn't understand, and Xie Qian also didn't understand. The prime minister of the dynasty was also helpless.

Zhu Houzhao stayed in Zhangjiakou Fort for the time being. At this moment, the young emperor was also very eager to lead his troops into the grassland, but he was self-aware. He did not dare to send troops blindly when he did not understand the specific situation of Chenxi, so Zhangjiakou Fort has been urging Wang Qiong, Xie Qian and others to report the detailed information of Chenxi's troops.

This really made Xie Qian feel embarrassed, so he could only ask Wang Qiong for problems.

Xie Qian said: "Then Shen Zhihou did not send anyone back and tell him the details?"

In Xie Qian's opinion, Chen Xi is arbitrary now, and before that he seemed to deliberately conceal the plan to send troops. Even in the battle of Yuxihe River, Chen Xi was intentional in Xie Qian's opinion, but he was always just speculation and there was no evidence to prove this. It seemed that no one would know that Zhu Houzhao would not send troops to Yansui as planned to form an encirclement, and no one would expect that this would be the end.

Xie Qian alone suspected that all this was Chen Xi's "conspiracy", and even he could not convince himself.

Wang Qiong looked embarrassed: "Someone came back to report, but it was not because Chen Shangshu personally appointed Shangshu Chen to leave behind a group of people, and if they were injured, they would be surrendered to some Tatars, waiting for the subsequent troops to be accepted, or they might just come back by themselves. As we learned before, Shangshu Chen incorporated about two or three thousand men of Yongxie Bu's troops, and these people and horses also went to war with him."

"That's it!" Xie Qian seemed to suddenly understand something and said, "He has a guide on the grassland. Didn't he say that the Yongxibu tribe was defeated by the Dayan tribe? It seems that he wanted to use the remnants of the Yongxibu tribe to complete the pursuit of the Dayan tribe. My clan's will be different. He just feels so at ease to hand over his back to the Hulu? It's simply nonsense!"

As before, Xie Qian's thoughts about Chen Xi were narrow-minded. Wang Qiong was somewhat unacceptable in the past, but now he felt that what Xie Qian said was particularly reasonable, because what Chen Xi did was difficult to understand from a thick perspective, and it was completely unthinkable to understand why he pursued the Tatars so persistently.

Wang Qiong said: "Gei Master Xie, how can I report to Your Majesty?"

Xie Qian said angrily: "How else can I report? What should I say? Since Shen Zhihou has made a decision and insisted on fighting with the Hulu to the end, then let him go. Let us just tell the emperor what he did. Everything that he left to the emperor to decide on the rewards will be delayed for the time being. Then tell Your Majesty that the defense of the nine borders cannot be relaxed. Now is not a battle of will. This battle can be over now, so there is no need to make a meaningless dispute!"

Wang Qiong was very touched when he heard this, and it was like he was talking about it.

In any case, Wang Qiong did not support continuing to send troops. The grassland was so big that the Ming Dynasty did not intend to set up a city to build a province on the grassland, because the cost was too great. Therefore, even if the Tatars were destroyed, other tribes would still reproduction and become the overlord of the grassland.

This has been the order on the grassland since ancient times. When the Huns left, the Turks rose, the Turks were defeated, and the Khitans dominated. Then the Khitans were defeated by the Jurchens. Then they were Mongolians in the future. It was impossible for Chen Xi to break this iron rule alone.

What Shen Xi is doing now has very little significance, and even makes Wang Qiong feel that Chen Xi is doing it recklessly.

However, when thinking about Chen Xi's achievements, Wang Qiong had nothing to say.

Now whoever gets credit can gain the trust of the emperor and then control the situation, so Wang Qiong can only put away his complaints and do his job well.

As July begins, the weather gradually becomes cooler.

But for the soldiers of Zhangjiakou Fort, the weather was still hot, and their hearts were even hot. Everyone wanted to make achievements, especially when they knew that Chen Xi had won a battle and almost wiped out the Dayan Khan tribe, they were even hot. They wanted to follow Chen Xi's footsteps to send troops to the grassland, sweep away the remnants, and then seal the wolf's servants. This was the best time for them to show their ambitions.

Unfortunately, no subsequent news came from Chenxi's army, which caused discussions among the army, and many people secretly speculated where Chenxi marched.

Although Zhu Houzhao has not returned to his previous state of eating, drinking and having fun, he will never be too ill after his mind relaxes, and it will be like a mess. Zhu Houzhao has been in great spirits these days. After a period of rest and recuperation, his physical condition has been much better than before. He has the strength to go out for a walk, and even went to the army to meet officials such as Hu Lian.

But what he was most concerned about was Chen Xi's march movements. Unfortunately, no news came, which made him very upset.

Not only were the officials and generals in the army anxious, but the close servants around Zhu Houzhao, including favored ministers, such as Qian Ning, Xing, Lifei and others, were also inquiring about the news about Chen Xi. For them, this news could be exchanged for a lot of value, but until the fourth day of the July 19th, there was no more news. It probably just said that Chen Xi went deep into the grassland to pursue the remnants of Tatars. As for the results of the battle, no one could explain it clearly, and even the route of Chen Xi's march became a mystery.

"What's going on?"

Zhu Houzhao was very annoyed when she met Dai Yi and Gao Feng on the afternoon of the fourth day of the seventh month.

After Zhang Yuan was dismissed, Zhu Houzhao did not immediately arrange for the candidates for the Sili Supervisor to take charge of the seal. He only asked Dai Yi and Gao Feng to temporarily take over Zhang Yuan's position. In addition to helping Miao criticize, he also had to use seals. This means that Dai Yi and Gao Feng can finally fulfill their wishes, but the Sili Supervisor to use the image and become two people at the same time.

But the ability of the two can only be described as mediocrity, at least not much different from when Zhang Yuan was there. After all, Zhang Yuan's ability is not strong.

But there is also a problem, that is, the two of them are still not as efficient as a one-man show. Many things will be different, and it is difficult to decide for a while. Especially now when it comes to the war against the Tatars, there are many things that need to be decided immediately, and no sailing comments will be ignored.

Zhu Houzhao asked tightly, and it was difficult for the two to sing. The problem was that they did not find any effective information about the direction of Chenxi's march from the reports everywhere on the nine sides.

When the two knelt on the ground and didn't know what to say, Xing came out to help and said, "Your Majesty, maybe Mr. Shen is chasing you too quickly, so you don't have time to report to you?"

Zhu Houzhao said anxiously: "How is this possible? Mr. Chen is very sensible in his work. How could he not report the news? It was because the news was blocked by the Tatars, and there were some people in the court. Could it be that someone deliberately suppressed the news now? Is it the general in the army or the governor of the three sides? Or is it that Master Xie doesn't want me to know about Mr. Chen's situation?"

Because I didn't know the specific news about Chen Xi, not only did the leading ministers be suspicious, but even Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but think too much.

Now Xing didn't know how to speak for the two eunuchs who were eunuchs who were in the Silijian.

Zhu Houzhao sat there, her face dark and looked very angry, but he didn't get any more angry with Dai Yi and Gao Feng. It took him a long time to raise his head:

"Mr. Chen has achieved such great achievements, so it is logical that he should come back and wait for the reward, but he led his troops to pursue him in order to continue to expand the results of the war, which shows that he is responsible to the Ming Dynasty. Although it is not yet time to discuss the rewards, I am going to give Mr. Chen a reward first and grant Mr. Chen the Marquis of Pingbei!"

Xing was surprised. Although he remembered that Concubine Li told him that he must stand on a fair standpoint when speaking and doing things in front of the emperor, he still quickly advised him:

"Your Majesty, let's discuss this matter later. Civil officials cannot grant titles. The system says, 'Any title cannot be granted without the country's military merits, and no title cannot be granted without special orders'. How can it be done?"

In Xing's opinion, civil officials just keep them for dirty and tiring work. Even if they are famous, they can only give their descendants a small official title.

This is different from military generals. The Ming Dynasty values ​​civil and over military generals, but in principle, military generals can obtain military merits and be granted titles. As for civil officials, they are only qualified to be granted titles during the dynasty during the dynasty, and these people can only follow the titles of military generals.

Zhu Houzhao said, "Why are there so many rules? I just say it's okay. I'm already polite if I don't give Mr. Chen a title to be a prince. I can continue to discuss the matter of being a marquis for the time being. In fact, with Mr. Chen's merits, it's okay to have a higher title and a title. What do you think?"

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to ask Xing, but asked Dai Yi and Gao Feng directly. In his opinion, these two people are decision makers, and their knowledge and ability help him. As for Xing, they are the ones who are not listening in front of him.

Dai Yi said: "Everyone obeys His Majesty's orders."

Even though Dai Yi has a seniority but relatively average ability, he does not have much opinion. Since Xiao Jing was in power, he is a vocal worm who can agree. Later, Liu Jin and Zhang Yuan skipped him one after another, and now he has become even more aggressive and only be timid.

Now Zhu Houzhao asked what he was asking, but he had no effect and had no effect on the role and insight of a Sili Supervisor in charge of the fluorescent monitor.

Then Zhu Houzhao asked the Sili Supervisor to arrange the matter of conferring titles to Chen Xi.

This matter is not something that Zhu Houzhao can make the decision alone. The determination of military merits requires determination by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Governor's Office of the Five Army and other yamen, and even after court discussions, it is finally decided. But in Zhu Houzhao's opinion, these cumbersome steps can be omitted, and his words can represent the will of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Because Zhu Houzhao did not mention the candidate for the Sili Supervisor, Xing was anxious as time went by.

After meeting Zhu Houzhao, he couldn't wait to see Concubine Li. He seemed to be telling him the latest situation in detail, but in fact he was going to ask Concubine Li about when he would be in power.

Concubine Li was watching flowers and birds in the back garden.

For Concubine Li, when entering the leopard room and becoming Zhu Houzhao's woman, what she usually has to do is different from the knitted embroidery and belt children before. She needs to be sublimated in her ideological realm. Not only should the flowers, birds, fish and insects be familiar with it, but she also needs to strengthen her dance and drama cultivation, study flower arrangement, tea ceremony and piano skills, and even calm down and read some books to enrich her knowledge.

If you cannot travel thousands of miles, you can only break ten thousand books.

After Xing said the news that Zhu Houzhao was about to be named a marquis of Chen Xi, Concubine Li smiled and said, "Who is this? Lord Shen's merits are probably the first since the Ming Dynasty's Jingnan. It may not be possible in the next few decades or even hundreds of years. Your Majesty must not be named a marquis of him, even if he is named a marquis, it is reasonable in theory. The court expected that there were not many oppositions."

Xing said: "Empress, I don't think that Lord Shen is not deserved, but I think that Your Majesty now seems like I don't know what to say."

Concubine Li said: "You think that what Your Majesty did is not discussed with the people around you. The most important thing is that even the Sili Supervisor has not decided to seal the seal. Eunuch Dai and Eunuch Gao stole the authority of the Sili Supervisor, and neither of them listened to you. Is this what it means, right?"

Xing thought for a while, and finally nodded with a bitter face.

Concubine Li sighed: "We must pay attention to doing things step by step. Has Zhang Yuan left Zhangjiakou Fort?"

"not yet."

Xing replied, "Your Majesty's imperial edict has been issued, but he seems to want to find an opportunity to meet the saint, so he has been stranded in Zhangjiakou Fort. At the same time, because there are martial law around Zhangjiakou Fort, he dare not leave, for fear of being kidnapped after going out. He has done a lot of harm to people before, but now he is very cautious. He doesn't leave his private house every day and sends people to move around."

Concubine Li nodded slightly: "That's it. Zhang Yuan feels that he still has the capital to make a comeback, because His Majesty has not completely lost trust in him. He stayed in Zhangjiakou. He did the right move. Now you don't do anything. Watching him in Zhangjiakou Castle, you even find an opportunity to let him meet His Majesty."

Xing asked in surprise: "Empress, what is the purpose of doing this? I am really a pig's brain and don't understand the tricks. You have to give me some tips."

Concubine Li turned around and had a gentle smile on her face, which looked harmless. But in fact, her insidiousness and cunning made Xing feel scared from the bottom of her heart because the other party's ability was the most scheming and strategic woman Xing had ever seen, and she was much more powerful than Concubine Hua.

Concubine Li said: "What is Zhang Yuan's dependence? You haven't thought about it before?"

"There are people under his command!" Xing seemed to be thinking and said, "He cultivated his party members in the military towns of Jiubian. Except for the three sides, the two general systems of Xuanda and the governor Hu of Xuanfu, it seemed that the rest of them were cursing him, and there were also a group of hawks who obeyed him."

"What else?"

Concubine Li didn't point out everything, as if she was doing an assessment and let Xing say it herself.

After thinking a little, Xing continued, "He has money, and he can handle some money. He told me before that as long as he could take him to the Secretariat, he would give me 10,000 taels of silver for less than a year as the chief supervisor of the rituals. He had accumulated a lot of money. This person was not inferior to Liu Jin in terms of greed!"

Concubine Li swayed slightly: "You didn't put the problem to the point. Why could he stay in Zhangjiakou Fort? What is it? Can't you understand?"

Xing spent a lot of effort and did not figure out the result. Finally, she looked at Concubine Li and begged: "I am stupid. I need to remind you not to make things difficult for me. I am stupid. You don't know, otherwise why would you be treated like an ancestor?"

Concubine Li looked a little unhappy and asked, "As longtime father-in-law said this, if you have a brain, you don't have to cooperate with me and call the wind and rain in front of His Majesty?"

"I don't mean that. What I want to say is," Xing wanted to explain to himself, but when he spoke, he found that the words were too exhausted, because what he said before was simply the fact. If it weren't for his lack of wisdom and strategy, he might not have cooperated with Concubine Li.

Concubine Li said angrily: "The more he is, the more he knows the importance of cultivating power in the court. Look at Shen Zhihou, although he seems to have offended Mr. Xie and has a deep grudge against the Chinese officials in the court, do you think he will take the initiative to offend people? No matter how reluctant he is, he also succumbs to Mr. Xie and others on some issues, and acts according to the wishes of these people. He is only stubborn in his opinion when going to war, because this is related to his personal interests. Also, do you know that Shen Zhihou has been going privately with Zhang Yuan before?"

"ah?"

Xing was reminded by Concubine Li, suddenly woke up, and clarified her mind, and hurriedly said, "I remembered this when Master Shen defeated Liu Jin, it seemed that it was a blood letter submitted by Eunuch Zhang. However, this matter was too secret, and outsiders didn't know how Lord Shen got together with Eunuch Zhang."

Concubine Li sneered: "This is Zhang Yuan's dependence to the end. Zhang Yuan's biggest reliance is actually Shen Zhihou. It seems that his Majesty has promoted him, but Shen Zhihou has been providing him with resources behind his back. Even when Zhang Yuan was in trouble, he had contact with Shen Zhihou. However, after Zhang Yuan rose, he forgot who gave him his identity and status, and he was so unfair and acted arbitrarily. Therefore, Shen Zhihou no longer used him. Zhang Yuan even wanted to play with some conspiracy to kill Shen Zhihou. The final result was that Zhang Yuan killed himself!"

Xing Ting Quan was very frightened and asked tentatively: "What the Empress mean is that Eunuch Zhang is waiting for Lord Shen to come back, and she wants to rely on Lord Shen to support him to get back to power?"

Concubine Li's tone became lighter again, and she said slowly: "Of course, Shen Zhihou helped him and let him take the lead. This time, the loss of power was entirely because of the result of harming Shen Zhihou. To put it bluntly, he was plotted by Shen Zhihou. He did these things, but Shen Zhihou had expected, otherwise he would not have used the dangerous chess that would survive in a desperate situation. Zhang Yuan would think that maybe Shen Zhihou would forgive him again. As long as he promised to completely obey Shen Zhihou's instructions in the future, do you think that Shen Zhihou has the help of the Sili Supervisor and the civil servant power he represented? "

Xing was stunned after listening to Concubine Li's analysis.

While he felt that Concubine Li had a clear mind and saw all the enemy's trump cards clearly, he felt that Zhang Yuan's backhand was too terrible. If his enemy was just Zhang Yuan, he could still be trusted by Concubine Li or Zhu Houzhao, but if the opponent became a united between Chen Xi and Zhang Yuan, he would not even have a chance.

Because of Xing's rise, perhaps Chen Xi would be the first person to deal with after receiving Zhang Yuan's support.

Xing hurriedly said, "Empress, you must not let this happen. I am loyal to you, and I have done a lot of things for Lord Shen before. How could Lord Shen trust Zhang Yuan, an old man? He does not follow principles at all when doing things. How can such a shameless person who is greedy and money will continue to sit in the seat of the Sili Supervisor?"

Concubine Li's face was full of smiles, and her eyes did not fall on Xing, but turned her head to look at the Persian cat being held by the maid.

Because Concubine Li is very good at controlling her subordinates, she doesn't even need to avoid the people around her when talking, as if everyone can use it for her and become her helper if necessary.

Concubine Li smiled and said, "You will tell me these words of loyalty in vain. The person who can control the court in the future is not me, but Shen Zhihou. Perhaps at that time, I will also have to look at his face and act like Shen Zhihou is too powerful. To say unpleasant words, if he has the intention to rebel, it will not be so easy for Your Majesty to be resigned. Therefore, those who can restrain Shen Zhihou in the future are not anyone in the court, nor are they the father-in-law or the seal of the ritual supervisor, etc., only the one who can restrain Shen Zhihou in the future is not anyone in the court, nor are they the father-in-law or the seal of the ritual supervisor, etc., but only the one who is used to block the master."

Xing said anxiously: "Empress, I understand what you said. Now I want to know how to make Lord Shen give up his support for Zhang Yuan."

Concubine Li took the cat from the maid, held it in her arms, and gently stroked it, "Has Shen Zhihou returned to the court? It's not that I haven't come back, what are you worried about? Your Majesty did not arrange for someone to take over as the Secret Supervisor's seal, but because he has not found a suitable candidate for the time being. Perhaps Your Majesty also needs to refer to the merits of the eunuchs of the military supervisor, such as Zhang Yong, Ma Yongcheng and others, or Your Majesty wants to hear Shen Zhihou's opinions, or simply because Your Majesty is too lazy to make a decision? Haha, there are many possibilities, but one thing you use is clearly, that is, don't fight. As long as you can make Shen Zhihou feel that you are a usable person, your status in the future will not be low."

Xing seemed helpless, but also very annoyed, and said, "That means that the person who will dominate the court in the future will only be Lord Shen, not slaves, or you, Empress?"

Concubine Li put down the cat and let it run out by itself, and waved her hand to let the maid go back.

Concubine Li stared at Xing's eyes and said solemnly: "We can all gain power, so what is the purpose of Shen Zhihou doing all this? But don't worry, he is a foreign minister, and he can't control the affairs in the palace and the leopard room, so someone must help him. As for you, or Eunuch Zhang, it depends on who you can do it!"
Chapter completed!