"Your Majesty, I, Yan Yingyuan, kowtow to you!"

After Yan Yingyuan walked into the palace of Qianqing Palace, he knelt down and saluted.

Chongzhen nodded and asked Wang Chengen to hand the peace letter to Yan Yingyuan.

After reading it, Yan Yingyuan thought for a moment and said, "I think the bandits have no intention of taking Xuanfu and want to take this opportunity to defraud money."

"I think so too!" Chongzhen was slightly surprised by Yan Yingyuan's strategic vision.

You must know that Yan Yingyuan was still just a small Dianshi, not an important official in the court.

It is rare to have such a strategic vision.

"Then your majesty asked me to come here because...?"

"Hunting!" Chongzhen stood up.

"I am just a small official, without any soldiers or generals. I wonder who I can help Your Majesty hunt?"

"Jiannu!"

Yan Yingyuan's whole body trembled, and he was already excited and now he became even more agitated.

He was from Tongzhou, Zhili, and suffered from the looting by the Jiannu. He was in a low position and had no troops, so he was willing but unable to fight against the Jiannu.

Judging from the current situation, the emperor wants him to fight the Jiannu.

But then I thought again, something was wrong. How did the emperor know that the Jiannu were going to march south?

He didn't have time to think about it, so he said quickly: "I am willing to serve you!"

Chongzhen nodded and waved to Yan Yingyuan, leading him to the table.

There was a map on the table, and if you looked closely, it was a map of Northern Zhili in the Ming Dynasty.

The Northern Zhili Province of the Ming Dynasty started from Heishan in Zhending Prefecture in the west, ended at Shanhaiguan in Yongping Prefecture in the east, reached Dushibao in Xuanfu in the north, and Dagang in Daming Prefecture in the south.

As a map of the capital's important area, it is densely marked with mountains, rivers, cities, roads, passes, guard posts and even the situation of the garrison.

Chongzhen pointed to the lost Liaodong and the Ordos and Chahar tribes of the southern Mongolians who had surrendered to the Jiannu.

The location asked: "If you were Jiannu, where would you go south from in two months?"

As for the Khorchin tribe of Mongolia, since it did not border the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen chose to ignore it.

Yan Yingyuan was stunned and looked at the map carefully.

Although the court's plan is unclear, since it is a hunting expedition, they must be prepared to fight against the Jiannu.

After a moment, he replied: "The Jiannu invaded the pass many times and plundered. The places where they broke into the Great Wall were Xifengkou, Dushikou, Qingshanguan, Yanmenguan and nearby areas."

"The situation is different now. Yanmen Pass is in the hands of the bandits, and Qingshan Pass is too close to Shanhaiguan. The Jiannu will not take the initiative to seek a fight with Wu Sangui's Guanning Army! Therefore, I think it is better to enter the pass from Dushikou or Xifengkou as before!"

Chongzhen nodded without denying.

Then, he pointed to Xuanfu Town and said, "Dushikou is to the north of Xuanfu. If the Jiannu enter the pass from Dushikou again, they will definitely invade Xuanfu!"

"When the bandits attacked Xuanfu, the then governor Zhu Zhifeng committed suicide and died for his country. Now the bandits have retreated, and you have made contributions in defending the city this time, so... I have decided to appoint you as the governor of Xuanfu."

Yan Yingyuan did not agree immediately, but stared at the map in silence for a long time.

After a long while, he looked up at Chongzhen and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want me to be the bait?"

"Yes! According to my guess, the Jiannu will split into two groups when they go south this time! One group will go to Xuanfu, and the other group will attack the capital. As long as you defend Xuanfu to the death to contain the main force of the Jiannu and ensure that Xuanfu is not broken, I can fight the Jiannu in the capital with peace of mind. The people of the capital have already repelled more than 100,000 bandits, let alone tens of thousands of Jiannu."

Yan Yingyuan looked at Chongzhen in confusion: "What if the Jiannu didn't attack Xuanfu?"

Chongzhen shook his head slightly and said with certainty: "Don't worry, I have a way!"

Seeing Chongzhen speak so absolutely, Yan Yingyuan suddenly felt the pressure coming.

Xuanfu!

It was not a city, but a region of cities.

There are Wanquan Left Guard, Wanquan Right Guard, Huaian Guard, Longmen Guard...

A month ago, it was one of the nine important towns in the Ming Dynasty, with a strategic location and strong military force.

He was not mentally prepared for what Xuanfu had become now.

Don't even know how to retake it!

In an instant, Yan Yingyuan understood something.

A month ago, His Majesty summoned him to the capital from afar just to prepare for today.

Recalling the emperor's kindness when he first entered the palace, Yan Yingyuan no longer hesitated and knelt down and kowtowed: "I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said to the man behind him, "Wang Chengen, why don't you read the imperial edict?"

Wang Chengen walked out from behind the screen, opened the imperial edict and read it aloud.

"According to the will of Heaven, the Emperor has decreed it." (Zhaoyue is usually used to announce to the world, while Zhiyue is for individuals)

This is the imperial edict from the Chenghua period that I took in the museum. It’s guaranteed to be authentic!

"During the period when the bandits besieged the city, Jiangyin Dianshi Yan Yingyuan killed the bandits and served the country, and he made many outstanding achievements, which won my heart."

"The former governor of Xuanfu committed suicide and died for his country. Now, Yan Yingyuan is promoted to the position of governor of Xuanfu and assistant minister of the Ministry of War. He is to lead 5,000 troops to recapture Xuanfu. I decree this!"

"Governor Yan, please accept the order!" Wang Chengen closed the imperial edict and handed it to Yan Yingyuan.

Yan Yingyuan was completely stunned after receiving the imperial edict.

Five thousand men to recapture Xuanfu? Fight against Jiannu?

At first he thought he had heard wrongly.

After receiving the imperial edict and taking a closer look, I was completely dumbfounded.

With 5,000 people, it is hard to say whether they can successfully recapture Xuanfu, let alone fight against the Jiannu.

Although Li Zicheng withdrew his troops, it does not mean that all of them retreated.

Especially those local soldiers, they would never follow Li Zicheng, and it is still unknown whether these people will rebel against the Ming court again.

Even if he surrenders, he still has to be careful.

Five thousand people are simply not enough!

Chongzhen saw Yan Yingyuan's doubts and said: "Five thousand men are indeed not enough, but the court is short of manpower, so I can only give you these for the time being. You should first recapture the nearest Yanqing Prefecture, and then ask me for troops according to the situation."

Yan Yingyuan could only accept the order and express his gratitude.

Just as he turned to leave, Wang Chengen handed him a token and said, "You risked your life to recapture Xuanfu. His Majesty is worried and wants all the Jinyiwei in Xuanfu to be under your control."

"This is the commander's token. The Jinyiwei will see this token as if they have seen the commander!"

Without waiting for Yan Yingyuan to thank him, Wang Chengen took out a book from his arms and said, "This is the list of the Jinyiwei in Xuanfu, and the Jinyiwei codewords are attached. Lord Yan must remember it in mind."

"Oh, by the way, my memory is getting worse!" Wang Chengen slapped his forehead, picked up a thick envelope from the table behind him, and continued: "This is the new policy of the court. When Lord Yan arrives in Xuanfu, he can implement the policy according to the contents of the envelope."

Yan Yingyuan was confused by the continuous flow of items. He hurriedly packed up his things and knelt on the ground to salute Chongzhen solemnly: "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your grace on this trip."

Chongzhen nodded and said, "You only have forty days! New policies can help you win over the people, and creating terror can also help you win over the people. The specific methods are all in the letter! The court will not give you much money on the surface, but I will use caravans to transport money, food, artillery, gunpowder and grenades for you."

"I will deliver everything that can defend the city to you!"

"Xuanfu depends on you!"