In the Qianqing Palace, Chen Yue saw Chongzhen again after many days, still so thin, and his face was still haggard.

After saluting, what Chen Yue didn't expect was that Chongzhen actually asked people to give him a seat.

"How can Weichen dare to sit down in front of His Majesty." Chen Yue said in panic.

In front of the emperor, unless you are over eighty years old, you are not qualified to sit even if you are a cabinet scholar.

"Let you sit down, what so much nonsense!" Chongzhen glared at Chen Yue and reprimanded.

Han Zan Zhou, who personally moved Jindun for Chen Yue, glanced at Chen Yue enviously, and in the entire city of Nanjing, Chen Yue in front of him made Chongzhen speak so casually. This means that Chen Yue is different in Chongzhen's heart.

So Chen Yue sat down steadily, and the old man gave him a seat, which he still had to give face.

"Your Majesty, your gray hair has grown again." After looking at Chongzhen seriously, Chen Yue said suddenly.

"yes, I'm getting older." Chongzhen touched the strands of hair hanging from his sideburns and laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Your Majesty's diligence, except for Emperor Taizu Gao, there is no one among emperors since ancient times! However, please take care of your health. Chen Yue complimented and persuaded him.

Chongzhen's diligence chased Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Emperor, but in Chen Yue's view, not everything has to be done personally, the emperor can grasp the overall situation, and the specific affairs should be handed over to the ministers.

"Hahaha, you kid has learned to pat on the back too!" Chongzhen pointed at Chen Yue and scolded with a smile.

After laughing, Chongzhen restrained his smile and said, "You can annihilate the 100,000 Manchu Tartar army in one fell swoop and return to Nanjing in time, you have done a good job, very good!" ”

"Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing and the protection of the first emperors of the Ming Dynasty, the ministers can get away with some small contributions...... Chen Yue hurriedly said humbly.

"Don't talk nonsense, it's your credit that is yours, what kind of nonsense is the blessing of my Hongfu ancestors, if I have Hongfu, will I be driven from Beijing to Nanjing by thieves?" Chongzhen waved his hand and stopped Chen Yue's sycophants, "In front of me, what do you have to say, don't worry about these vain heads." ”

"Hehe" Chen Yue smiled awkwardly. In fact, Chen Yue was still very grateful to Chongzhen in his heart, at least the form was already so critical, Chongzhen did not give an order to urge Chen Yue to launch an attack on the Qing soldiers and fight a quick victory.

And in history, how many times because of Chongzhen's impatience, the Ming army was defeated and overturned, such as the Qin army led by Sun Chuanting.

It can be seen that after experiencing great calamities, Chongzhen has matured a lot.

"Your Majesty, the minister wants to plead with you! The minister ordered the embankment of Hongze Lake to be dug up, and a flood washed away 100,000 Qing troops, but it also made the southeast of Hongze Lake a Ze country, millions of wheat fields were not harvested, and hundreds of people were displaced, which was the sin of Weichen. ”

Chen Yue knelt down and pleaded guilty, the victory was certainly worth rejoicing, but thinking about the countless souls who died because of this, the guilt in Chen Yue's heart was indescribable.

"Alas!" Chongzhen sighed, got down from the dragon chair, and personally helped Chen Yue up.

"Aiqing can blame herself, it can be seen that she is a pure and kind person, and I am very relieved. However, Aiqing did this for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and for the hundreds of millions of people, what is the crime?

If it is guilty, it is all my sin, and it is my incompetence that has caused the country to fall into such a situation. ”

was touched by Chen Yue, Chongzhen couldn't help but think of the hard work of the emperor for more than ten years since he ascended the throne. Before ascending the throne, although there was a rebellion by Jin Jiannu, it was just a disease of scabies.

But since the accession to the throne, the situation of the Ming Dynasty has deteriorated, first Shaanxi thieves have risen everywhere, wandering in the mountains and rivers and lakes of the south of the river, and then Jiannu took the opportunity to become bigger and captured the entire land of Liaodong. Under the attack of Jiannu and thieves, the imperial army was exhausted to cope with the defeat, and finally fell into the current situation.

There have been many times when Chongzhen has asked himself if all this is his fault. He desperately dealt with the government and wanted to do things well, but it got worse and worse every time.

Fortunately, there was a Chen Yue, which gave him a chance to make a comeback.

"I remember all the merits of Aiqing in my heart, if there is no Aiqing, I would not be where I am today." Chongzhen waved his hand to stop Chen Yue's speech, and continued: "The contribution you have made this time is very great, even if you are a duke, it is not too much.

But today, I won't reward you, and when I completely repel the Mantar, I will reward you for your deeds. ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen doesn't need any reward, the official title you gave to the minister is high enough." Chen Yue hurriedly said, there is no difference between the duke and the marquis in Chen Yue's heart. If you want to reward your merits, just give me your daughter, Chen Yue said secretly.

"Merit will be rewarded, otherwise wouldn't it be said that the world is mean and unkind!" Chongzhen looked at Chen Yue with blazing eyes, "I promise you that as long as you can completely expel the Manchu Tartars, recover Beijing, and restore my Ming Dynasty, I will crown you king!" ”

"Ahh Chen Yue's mouth opened wide and he couldn't close it for a long time. Chongzhen's words were beyond his expectations.

"What? Don't you believe me? Chongzhen asked dissatisfiedly.

"No, it's not that the minister doesn't believe it, it's that the minister doesn't dare." Chen Yue opened his mouth and stammered, not knowing what to say.

If you are not surnamed Liu, you can't be crowned king, this is a rule since the Han Dynasty, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da was able to be crowned king, and it was a posthumous gift after his death.

Chongzhen now made a promise to be crowned king in order to recover Beijing and drive away the Mantars, but even if he dared to seal Chen Yue, he did not dare to accept it. Which of the kings with different surnames have a good end?

"I know what you think, it's just that I'm worried that you'll be suspicious and won't end well. Also, when the Han Dynasty was founded, Han Xin, Peng Yue, Yingbu and other kings with different surnames were successively eradicated by Empress Lu, but I can assure you that I have no Empress Lu in the Ming Dynasty, and I am not a mean and unkind person.

As long as you can be loyal to the Ming Dynasty and do not have different intentions, I guarantee that our monarchs and ministers will have a beginning and an end, and your Chen family will be the king for generations, and you will rest with the Ming Dynasty! ”

Chongzhen's words were full of expectations for Chen Yue, but they had a different meaning in Chen Yue's ears.

Loyal to the Ming Dynasty and not dissent, this is Chongzhen's expectation of himself, and it is also a knock on himself. What he did still made Chongzhen dissatisfied.

is also, he is in charge of the land of several mansions, has tens of thousands of troops independent of the Ming Dynasty system, and also controls the Four Seas Commercial Bank and the Four Seas Salt with independent economic resources. In essence, the Pingnan Army has become an independent warlord.

Chongzhen now believes in his loyalty, but he is worried that the Pingnan military system will one day continue to grow without the control of the imperial court, which will endanger the throne of the Zhu family. That's why Chongzhen beat himself, hoping that he could take the initiative to hand over financial resources such as the Four Seas Commercial Bank and the Salt Bank, and put the army into the military department system.

Chen Yue didn't think that Chongzhen was suspicious of himself, but sincerely hoped that the monarch and the ministers would start and end well. This is also the reason why Chongzhen said it to Mingli.

Of course, Chen Yue himself did not have the ambition to be the king and emperor, and everything he did was to drive away the Manchu Tartars and not plunge China into three hundred years of darkness.

If one day he drives away the Mantars, Chen Yue would prefer to be a rich idler and live a carefree life, rather than being tired and like a dog like Chongzhen.

Since the monarch and the minister have made it clear, there will be no need for endless suspicions in the future, Chongzhen's approach today is quite similar to Chen Yue's appetite.

"It's enough that the minister is tired enough to be in charge of the army, and the Four Seas Commercial Bank and the Salt Account are not able to take care of it at all, so please take it back to the household department." Chen Yue was also single, and said directly.