The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were all impassioned and loyal in the main hall, which moved Emperor Chongzhen, who did not know what was going on, to the point of being moved to tears.

Little did he know that this bunch of fatuous and decadent bureaucracies were clearly just putting on a big show for him.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, who honored the emperor, relatives and relatives, received a total of 210,000 taels of "huge money" from this "massive" donation.

When the Ministry of War mobilized troops to Liaodong, it received a reply from Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, and other towns in Liaodong, saying that the soldiers needed one million taels of silver to settle down.

At this time, Liaodong still had Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, Gao Di, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Changping, and Wu Sangui, the most powerful commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, from five towns.

The total military strength reached more than 80,000 men, among which Wu Sangui had the largest number of soldiers and horses, with 30,000 men and horses under his command, including 12,000 Ganguan Ning cavalry.

After receiving the edict from King Qin of the towns, only Tang Tong led his tent of 10,000 troops and set off from the capital.

The remaining towns each proposed a departure fee of 300,000 taels of silver.

The attitude of the soldiers and horses in various towns in Liaodong towards King Qin showed that the court's prestige was completely lost.

To the north of the capital, in the direction of Xuanfu, at this time, there was actually an elite force of 50,000 men.

The commanders of this army were Wang Jimo, the governor of Xuanda, and Cao Bianjiao, the admiral and commander-in-chief of the army.

But at this time, an army of 200,000 led by Li Zicheng had already surrounded Datong.

Zhou Yuji, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi, and Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Datong, could only hold on to the city and fell into a bitter battle.

Cao Bianjiao's generals, Youjie, Wang Ta, Zhang Meng, and Dai Maowu, led their troops to help many times, but they were all repulsed by Li Zicheng's men.

The four-pronged rescue effort not only failed to relieve the danger of Datong, but also cost tens of thousands of people.

Xuanfu Admiral and General Military Yamen.

Cao Bianjiao, who was worried about the war in Datong and the safety of the capital, unexpectedly met an "acquaintance".

"Little Cao Yang, meet your lord."

"Have you gone to the Xuan Mansion? I remember that you were under Yun Fei's tent, so you should serve as a personal soldier." Cao Yang is from a branch of the Cao family, and Cao Ming and Cao Gui are both from the Cao Bianjiao Yuan clan.

These people used to be the personal soldiers of Cao Bianjiao's uncle Cao Wenzhao, and later became the personal soldiers of Zhu Yunfei.

Therefore, Cao Bianjiao and Cao Yang were not familiar with each other. If Cao Yang had not reported his family status, Cao Bianjiao might not be able to remember him.

At such a critical moment, Cao Bianjiao was very happy to see an acquaintance.

"With your magnanimity, you seem to have done a good job." Cao Bianjiao glanced at Cao Yang and couldn't help but nod in appreciation.

"How is Yunfei doing now? Tell me quickly, what is this kid doing now? Has he responded to the imperial edict from King Qin?"

Denglai and Xuanfu are not only thousands of miles apart, but also several thousand miles apart. In this era of slow traffic and limited information.

The two rarely exchanged a few letters a year.

Cao Bianjiao's initial impression of Zhu Yunfei, his old cousin, was that of a dandy, a womanizer and a libertine.

It was not until Zhu Yunfei made great achievements in Liaodong and established himself in Denglai that Cao Bianjiao realized that this old cousin was worthy of the blood of their Cao family.

Cao Yang smiled honestly and respectfully answered Cao Bianjiao's question with his hands raised.

"Sir, my general has gathered 20,000 troops and led his army north to King Qin."

"This is the letter sent to you by my general. I asked you to take a look at it."

After hearing what Cao Yang said, Cao Bianjiao, who took the letter, couldn't help but admire it.

"This kid Yunfei seems to have really grown up."

Cao Bianjiao tore open the secret letter, read it once, frowned slightly, and then threw the letter in his hand into the stove.

"You go back and tell Yun Fei that our Cao family has been loyal for generations. As the commander-in-chief of Xuanda Admiral, my duty is to guard the north gate of the capital."

"When Xuanfu is here, I will be there; when Xuanfu is gone, I will be dead."

"Sir, do you want to listen to what my general said?" Cao Yang said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Needless to say, there are things that a real man should not do, but he must do something." Cao Bianjiao waved his hand and said proudly.

"Wrapped in horse leather, it is the honor of the children of my Cao family. Being able to live and die with the city is a well-deserved death. Even though I, Cao Bianjiao, died, I will have no regrets."

"I have only one thing to ask of you. My youngest son Cao De is only three years old now. Please help me take him away and tell Zhu Yunfei to take good care of him for me and leave a legacy to our Cao family."

"Don't worry, sir. I will escort the young master back to Shandong safely."

Cao Yang bowed and worshiped.

He did not expect that Cao Bianjiao would be as Zhu Yunfei expected.

He was determined to live and die with the Xuanfu.

This time when Cao Yang went north, he naturally followed Zhu Yunfei's orders and came to persuade Cao Bianjiao to lead his army back to the capital.

He carried out military remonstrances with him and persuaded the emperor to send the prince to Nanjing first.

Although he knew that Cao Bianjiao would never agree to his plan.

However, Zhu Yunfei still sent Cao Yang to the Xuan Mansion to do his best.

Zhu Yunfei is doing something, but he wants to be clear in his heart.

Sending Cao Yang to see Cao Bianjiao means doing your best and obeying destiny.

Early the next morning, Cao Yang left Xuan Mansion with Cao De, Cao Bianjiao's youngest son.

Soon after, Li Zicheng's army captured Datong and reached the gates of Xuanfu City.

Cao Bianjiao led 100,000 soldiers and civilians in the city to resist for a month. Finally, he ran out of ammunition and food and died on the city wall...

The Forbidden City of the Capital.

Because the troops in various towns in Liaodong needed one million taels for military expenses, the imperial court only received 210,000 taels from donations.

At this time, because before the imperial court, in order to arrange the defenses of Shanxi and Baoding, the Ministry of Household Affairs had already emptied their wealth.

Now the total amount of money in the Hubu treasury is less than 300,000 taels.

The soldiers and horses in Liaodong had no money and could not move out, and all the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty were helpless.

Do they really have no money? The answer is obviously no.

You must know that Zhou Kui, the patriarch of the country and the biological father of Queen Zhou, did not forget to be greedy and amass money at this time.

Empress Zhou, who was considerate of her father and husband, learned that the DPRK had donated money to raise military expenses, so she gave Zhou Kui 15,000 qian taels in cash and asked him to collect 20,000 taels of silver as a donation.

As a result, the king's father-in-law, the emperor's good father-in-law, not only lost a dime, but also embezzled three thousand taels of silver, and only donated 12,000 taels of silver.

Ironically, the money in the family of the head of state actually amounted to as much as one million taels.

The noisy donation to raise military pay finally came to nothing.

On the fifth day after the fall of Baoding Prefecture, news came from Zhuozhou on the outskirts of the capital that ant bandit outposts appeared outside Zhuozhou City.

"Wei Zaode, tell me what to do next?"

In the main hall of Yangxin Hall, Emperor Chongzhen had already become an ant on a hot pot.

Wei Zaode, the Chief Assistant, Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Li Yuzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Zhengzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, all stood below with low eyebrows and were silent.

At this time, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, Jiang Dejing, had already resigned due to the siege of Baoding half a month ago.

"Zhang Jinyan, you are the Minister of War, tell me how to defend next?"

"When will King Qin's troops from various places arrive?"

Seeing that Wei Zaode remained silent, Chongzhen gritted his teeth and glared at him, but he had no choice but to do anything.

When things have reached this point, even if he pulls Wei Zao out and chops him, it will not help.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent." Zhang Jinyan felt ashamed. Although he and Wei Zaode were now colluding, he still had some feelings for the Ming Dynasty in his heart.

"Incompetent, incompetent, what use do I need from you?"

Chongzhen, who could no longer hold back his anger, slapped the case and shouted.

"I am not the king of a subjugated country, you are all ministers of a subjugated country."

Just as there was chaos in the court hall, there was a rush of footsteps outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, General Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, led by 10,000 reinforcements, is on the way to King Qin. He said that he will arrive in the capital in three days."

Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the capital camp, and Wang Huamin, the eunuch under the command, hurried from the top of the city and delivered the military report just sent by Tang Tong into the palace.

"Okay, okay! Tang Tong is really a loyal minister." Chongzhen raised his hand and straightened the Kowloon crown on his head, with a look of relief on his face.

When they heard that Tang Tong and his troops were coming, Li Jiantai, Fang Yuegong and Fan Jingwen, the great scholars in the palace, also looked happy.

Just when everyone was about to speak, a eunuch broke in again outside the palace.

Yes, the eunuch who came in this time broke in all the way and forgot to even report.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, Zhang Guoyuan, the warden of Yongding Gate, sent someone to deliver an urgent report." The eunuch who broke into the hall was Wang Chengen's godson, Zhang Yunhan, who had a good relationship with Zhu Yunfei.

"Slave dog, who asked you to break in and drag you out..." Seeing that his normally sensible godson was so reckless, Wang Chengen's expression changed and he quickly scolded him.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty's servant is guilty. I need an urgent report." Zhang Yunhan was shocked, and he knelt down and shouted.
Chapter completed!