Wu Sangui was shocked and looked at Chongzhen in disbelief. His words were just a polite remark, not a sincere confession of guilt.

"Your Majesty, I..." Wu Sangui was about to say something when he was interrupted by Chongzhen.

"Pingxibo Wu Sangui was late in coming to the rescue, so he deserves to be severely punished. Considering that he has made great efforts even though he has traveled thousands of miles to rescue the king, I have decided to fine Pingxibo one year's salary. What do you think?"

Wu Sangui was stunned at first, then he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"

How much is the annual salary? With the treatment of the Guanning Army, it can be made up by getting some empty salaries.

So he kowtowed to express his gratitude without hesitation.

The others looked at Chongzhen in confusion, not knowing what this Ming emperor was up to.

"If Pingxi Bo has nothing else to do, go home to see his family, and then lead his troops back to Shanhaiguan. Ningyuan has been abandoned, and Shanhaiguan cannot be lost again!" Chongzhen said solemnly.

Wu Sangui stood still, hesitated for a moment, and knelt down again: "Your Majesty, the court owed the Guanning Army nearly a year's salary. A few days ago, the Ministry of War said that the salary has been prepared and I need to come to the capital to get it myself. So I want to take the salary back to Shanhaiguan, and at the same time save the court the transportation costs..."

Li Banghua stamped his feet fiercely and said in a stern voice: "Wu Sangui, you are so bold that you actually demanded money in front of His Majesty!"

Minister of Finance Fan Jingwen also said: "Lord Wu, there is no need to discuss the issue of military pay here. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of War have not said they will not give it. We can discuss it after the court session. You are asking for military pay in front of His Majesty, which is suspected of forcing him to pay. It is disrespectful."

For a time, there were constant voices of condemnation in the court.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Wang Chengen shouted, "Silence!" at the signal of Chongzhen.

Everyone looked at Chongzhen.

Chongzhen smiled and said, "You have wrongly blamed Pingxibo! He asked for military pay in order to stabilize the morale of the army. Moreover, before the bandits besieged the city, I asked Li Gelao to issue an official document promising that the military pay had been prepared and that Pingxibo could come to Beijing to collect it."

"Now that I'm here, I must fulfill my promise! Lord Li, prepare the money and let Pingxi Bo take it back."

Li Banghua had a dark face and reluctantly bowed to accept the order.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wu Sangui was no longer as cautious and careful as before. He accepted the order and expressed his gratitude with a happy smile on his face.

After discussing the issue of military pay, Li Banghua told Wu Sangui the adjustment plan for the garrisons in various places.

Wu Sangui didn't care about anything else but the whereabouts of Wang Yongji and Guan Ning's 6,000 cavalrymen. Those were his direct troops!

"The 6,000 Guanning troops lost nearly a thousand in this battle. Li Xingzhong led 700 Guanning cavalry and 8,000 surrendered soldiers to garrison in Liangxiang. The remaining 4,500 Guanning cavalry and Wang Yongji were stationed in Jizhou."

Wu Sangui was very dissatisfied after hearing this arrangement. The Guanning Cavalry was the elite force he had built with great expense, and the court was making this arrangement in an attempt to gradually sideline him.

No, we can't just let it go.

"Your Majesty, although Shanhaiguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack, in order to deter the Jiannu from entering the pass again, I plan to wait for the right time to go out and fight the Jiannu in the field. So I want to deploy more cavalry at Shanhaiguan in case of emergency."

The faces of these people in the court were very ugly. Wu Sangui's current behavior was not just about having troops to support himself, but could be said to be giving orders to the court!

Outrageous, too outrageous!

Chongzhen did not show any dissatisfaction on his face. He nodded in agreement and said, "Pingxi Bo is indeed an ambitious man! Yes, if the Guanning Army is allowed to stay inside the pass, it will be equivalent to destroying its own military strength over time. How about this, withdraw a thousand cavalry from Wang Yongji and have them return to Shanhaiguan with you to garrison."

What?

Li Banghua stared at Chongzhen with wide eyes, thinking that he was possessed by Zhu Qizhen.

Wang Yongji finally got 6,000 cavalry from Wu Sangui, which was an opportunity to weaken Wu Sangui's Guanning Army. But Your Majesty not only did not seize the opportunity, but sent back 1,000 cavalry to Wu Sangui.

What's the reason for this?

He was about to open his mouth to stop him, but he heard Wu Sangui's voice: "I accept the order!"

It's over...

Li Banghua shook his head helplessly and sighed endlessly.

After discussing for a while, Wu Sangui bowed and left.

Looking at Wu Sangui's back, the ministers present all had murderous looks in their eyes, wishing they could kill him on the spot.

Pretending to be loyal to the king, he commanded the court...

Each one of them could wipe out his entire clan!

Chongzhen had a blank expression on his face, but he was sneering in his heart.

Wu Sangui was a little smart, but not smart enough, otherwise he would not have fallen into the trap.

This plan was so simple, so simple that Wu Sangui was caught off guard!

"The rest of you may withdraw. The cabinet will stay and discuss with me the strategies for governing the country and benefiting the people!"

......

Qianmen Street in Beijing.

"The new newspaper has been published. Have you all read it?" A group of students from the Imperial College stood in the sun, talking about it.

"Don't mention it! Before, you could buy a newspaper for two cents! Now, if you go too late, you can't even get a free newspaper!"

"Hmm? Why did Brother Li use the word 'rob'?"

"It's more than just robbery, it's simply banditry! After hearing that newspapers are free, the old men and women in the capital got up earlier and earlier. They specifically targeted the boy selling newspapers, surrounded him in groups of three or five, and robbed him when he was not prepared."

"After grabbing it, either take it home to paste on the wall, or sell it at a low price to someone who wants to see it! It's totally unreasonable!"

(Wallpaper has existed since the Tang and Song dynasties.)

The other students became furious after hearing this, but they quickly calmed down after considering the old men and women's ability to curse.

"Who reads the newspaper? Come out and speak up."

Soon, a middle-aged man stood up, holding the newspaper and reading out the contents word by word.

After the reading, the scene was quiet for a while. A student from the Imperial College asked in disbelief, "So... the salary at the Research Institute and the Manufacturing Bureau is better than being an official?"

The middle-aged man stared at the newspaper and read it again, then nodded and said, "If the news in the newspaper is true, then what you said is right!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the students went wild.

Why do they study so hard at midnight?

Isn't it just to stand out and enjoy privileges!

After becoming an official, there is no need for corvée labor, land taxes are reduced, the size of the house is not restricted, and one can ride a horse or a sedan chair.

But civilians can’t do that at all!

Now, craftsmen can not only take part in the imperial examinations, but can even join research institutes and manufacturing bureaus, which gives them a higher status than farmers.

From the lower nine classes, he suddenly became the upper nine classes.

"What level are those craftsmen? Why can they be exempted from corvée labor? Does Your Majesty know about this?"

"What do you think? This newspaper comes from the inner court!"

"No, go and argue with His Majesty!"

"Yes, go and reason with His Majesty!"

The students stood up one after another and gathered in the direction of the imperial city.

Although there were many students gathered, the common people did not react much after watching it. After all, it was none of their business so they just kept out of it.

Only the craftsmen in the capital, especially the old craftsmen, straightened their backs at the same time after reading the newspaper.

Look towards the direction of the imperial city with deep eyes!