After listening to Chongzhen's explanation, Fan Jingwen was dumbfounded.

The reason why Chongzhen didn’t understand antiques was not because he had never seen the real thing, but because he had never seen fakes.

Once you have seen so many genuine products, it is easy to distinguish fakes.

Fan Jingwen picked up the teacup in his hand with some disbelief, the more he looked at it, the more he felt something was wrong.

When suspicion arises, the crime is already established.

The more Fan Jingwen thought about it, the angrier he became, and he wished he could just smash the thing to pieces.

But if I really break it, I would be reluctant to do so. After all, I spent fifty taels of silver to buy this set of tea set to show off.

Looking at the anxious and annoyed Fan Jingwen, Chongzhen laughed and said, "Minister Fan, please don't hold your temper, or you will get sick from anger."

"How about this," Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen, "When you return to the palace, bring Minister Fan a few sets of porcelain and imperial items as a gift for my visit this time."

"Your Majesty, you must not do that." Fan Jingwen quickly stood up and bowed.

Chongzhen waved his hands and said, "Minister Fan, please don't refuse. As the Minister of Rites and Works, your family is so poor. This really embarrasses me."

"I will have the craftsmen from the palace come to your house for a few days and make you some nice furniture."

Fan Jingwen's eyes suddenly filled with tears.

He enjoyed the treatment that even Li Banghua didn't enjoy.

Amid the gratitude of the Fan family, Chongzhen sat for nearly an hour before leaving.

If you don't leave now, it will be time for dinner.

He was accompanied by thousands of guards. If all of them had dinner at Fan's house, they would eat Fan Jingwen to death.

In order not to cause trouble for the future prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen decided to return to the palace for dinner.

The imperial carriage set off and slowly walked towards the imperial city.

It was a little chilly in the capital in the evening. The plague had long disappeared and the capital had regained its former prosperity.

Under the policy of tax exemption for two consecutive years, the people were not only able to eat enough, but also saved some spare money and surplus food.

This wave of natural disasters has finally passed.

When the people on the roadside saw Chongzhen's carriage, they all stepped aside and knelt down spontaneously to salute.

In fact, it is very simple to win people's hearts. Just give them a full meal when they are hungry, and they will be very grateful.

Chongzhen not only did it, but also did it very well.

Under the influence of his reputation, the guards also gained the love of the people.

"Sir, do you want some buns? Take some, it's free!" an old man on the roadside said loudly, pointing at the buns on the steamer.

An old woman selling vegetables asked a guard loudly, "Are you married, young man? My niece is very pretty. When you are free, come and find me. I will help you find a matchmaker."

The guards didn't dare to reply and could only stay in the team and remain serious.

"Make way, make way, don't block His Majesty's carriage. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!" The guard who was walking in front and responsible for clearing the way reminded loudly.

Amid the people's cheers of "Long live the emperor", the royal carriage returned to the imperial city.

As soon as he stepped into the palace gate of the Qianqing Palace, a young eunuch ran in in a panic: "Your Majesty, Jingzhoutang News."

Jingzhou!

After hearing this place name, Chongzhen suddenly became a little nervous.

He slowly stretched out his right hand to take the newspaper, opened the envelope and read it carefully.

Then he put the letter on the dragon desk and looked towards the bright place outside the hall. Then he felt his throat dry and couldn't help swallowing twice.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Chengen didn't dare to ask more and could only call out softly from the side.

Chongzhen took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily: "Qin Liangyu is going to have a decisive battle with Li Chuang and Xian thieves."

"General Qin will definitely fight a decisive battle with the two bandits when he is sure of victory. Your Majesty, please rest assured." Wang Chengen began to persuade.

Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "How can there be so many sure victories in the world? We can only say that everything depends on human effort."

"Qin Liangyu is running out of food and grass, so she has to start the war hastily. She said in the letter that there is not much chance of winning, and victory or defeat depends entirely on God's will!"

Wang Chengen suddenly became nervous.

If Qin Liangyu was defeated, the situation of suppressing bandits in the entire south would be bleak.

He thought about it and suggested, "Your Majesty, why don't you transfer Huang Degong to the south? He has many years of experience in suppressing bandits."

"No..." Chongzhen shook his head gently: "It's too late! Qin Liangyu said in the letter that the decisive battle would take place in the next few days. By the time Huang Degong arrives in Huguang, the opportunity will be gone."

"And Huang Degong cannot leave and must stay near the capital. I will be deploying troops in the spring of next year, and Huang Degong will be of great use."

After hearing the word "use troops", Wang Chengen quickly shut his mouth and said no more.

As the sun set in the west, the sky over the capital city fell into darkness.

There was a strong wind outside.

The autumn wind in late August is getting colder.

It can even be described as the autumn wind is bleak, the weather is cold, the grass and trees are shaking, and the dew turns to frost.

In the darkness, the capital began to fall asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, a barely visible crescent moon rose from the east.

With a clang sound.

The night watchman struck the gong in his hand and said, "August 29, 5am, go to bed early and get up early, take care of yourself!"

Crunch!

The harsh sound woke up the soldiers sleeping on the city wall.

They hurriedly picked up their weapons and looked outside, only to see that it was pitch black below and they could not see anything.

When I turned around, I saw several torches being lit.

The flames illuminated the area near the city gate tower.

"Come over and give me a hand!" a small leader ordered.

"Okay." The soldiers who had just woken up ran to the little leader and turned the capstan with them.

Crunch!

As the winch turned, the gate at the south gate of Chengtian Prefecture slowly rose.

Then the city gates were opened and the drawbridge was lowered.

A team of more than 10,000 people quickly rushed out of the city and began to line up outside the city.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!