Chapter 9 Brother Haihan
Qian Qianyi chuckled when he heard this and said confidently, "The Minister of Personnel has already recommended you and me to join the cabinet. I expect that we will be able to work together in the cabinet soon."

Cheng Jiming was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately said: "Brother Youqian has entered the cabinet to manage state affairs. Sooner or later, he will give our Ming Dynasty a clear rule!"

"Same here!" Qian Qianyi stroked his beard proudly.

…………

The next morning, outside You'anmen.

Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen outside the carriage, "My dear companion, have all the food that I asked you to arrange for the imperial kitchen to be prepared been prepared?"

Wang Chengen lowered his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared it."

"What are they?" Chongzhen asked.

Wang Chengen replied: "Six Jiangnan snacks, eight cold dishes, eight hot dishes, and two jars of aged fine wine. I guarantee that the shopkeeper has never seen them before!"

Chongzhen nodded and warned: "When you meet Wang An later, don't be rude as before!"

"I'll make a note of that!" Wang Cheng'en agreed, then hesitated and said, "Wang An is just a commoner. Your Majesty, if you come to visit him in person, it might damage the dignity of the royal family."

Chongzhen shook his head and sighed, "If I can find a way to save the country, what does the illusory prestige mean?"

"Besides, you were there yesterday, Otomo. That little genius doctor actually had a plan that was perfect. He predicted the new policy, the westward migration of Lin Danhan, and the invasion of Xuanda. This can be said to be a divine method!"

"And the court officials are either incompetent or only care about fighting each other. No one takes my country seriously! They are not as insightful as a common doctor. It is a waste of rice for the court to support these people!"

Faced with Chongzhen's anger, Wang Chengen dared not speak.

Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of Wang's Herbal Medicine Shop again.

Chongzhen got off the car and warned: "Don't reveal my identity."

Wang Chengen and the guards all bowed in response, and Wang Chengen went forward and knocked on the door.

After a long while, Wang An's impatient voice came from behind the door, "That bastard came to disturb my sweet dreams so early in the morning!"

Wang Chengen looked back at Chongzhen, and seeing that Chongzhen was a little embarrassed, he quickly lowered his head and pretended not to see it.

After a moment, the plank door made a light "click" sound, and a door panel was removed, revealing Wang An's sleepy face.

Seeing that it was Chongzhen standing at the door, Wang An snorted coldly and turned away.

Chongzhen felt even more embarrassed, knowing that he had angered the other party by leaving without saying goodbye last night. However, Wang An did not close the door again. Apparently, he was not yet ready to refuse his "cousin" entry, so he walked into the shop.

Wang An heard the footsteps behind him, and sat down at the Eight Immortals Table and snorted, "Oh, you still remember to come back? I thought our broken temple couldn't accommodate a great god like you, and we would never have the chance to meet again."

Chongzhen touched his nose awkwardly and winked at Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen hurriedly asked the guards to open the food boxes they brought and take out the imperial meal prepared by the imperial kitchen in the palace.

Chongzhen also explained: "We brought a lot of people yesterday, and they were all exhausted from the journey, so we took them to find an inn to stay first."

Seeing Wang An's lack of reaction and indifference, Chongzhen gritted his teeth and said, "I left without saying goodbye. I hope you will forgive me, brother!"

Wang Chengen's hand holding the plate couldn't help but tremble, and he seriously suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.

What did Chongzhen call the owner of the herbal medicine shop just now? Brother!

If the Emperor Tianqi, whose body is still warm, knew this, I wonder what he would think. Wang An's face finally looked better. Yesterday, his cousin had called him shopkeeper. Although it was a bit rude to leave without saying goodbye, today he finally knew the hierarchy and made progress.

Wang An then turned around and said unhappily, "Didn't I tell you to sleep here? Why do you want to find another inn? That's being too polite."

Seeing Wang An's tone improve, Chongzhen pointed to the guards behind him and said, "There are too many people, I'm afraid it will cause trouble for you, brother."

Wang An nodded. Although there were several rooms in his backyard, except for his bedroom and kitchen, they were all filled with goods and could not accommodate so many people.

It was reasonable for Chongzhen to find another place to live.

only……

Wang An was still a little indignant and said, "You should have said something. We spent five taels of silver on the banquet we booked last night, and the leftovers are still in the kitchen... What a waste!"

Chongzhen winked at Wang Chengen again, and Wang Chengen understood and took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it in front of Wang An.

Chongzhen smiled and said, "I am sorry for the expense, brother. This small gift is not enough to show my respect."

Wang An's eyes lit up when he saw the large silver ingot of about thirty taels on the table. In those days, the yamen runners in Shuntian Prefecture only earned six taels of silver a year for their wages and food. This ingot of silver was enough to cover a yamen runner's wages for five years.

Wow, my cousin is so generous!

Wang An's expression softened, and he took Chongzhen to sit down and said earnestly, "Just come, why bring any gifts?"

Chongzhen chuckled and said nothing, just pointing at the dishes on the table and saying, "Brother, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Here are... a few dishes I ordered."

Wang Chengen was quite perceptive and immediately set out the dishes and poured wine for the two of them.

Wang An didn't want to drink so early in the morning, but Chongzhen insisted on persuading him by saying something like "they met again after a long separation".

Wang An's alcohol tolerance was average, but after drinking several glasses of good wine, he started to talk more.

Chongzhen saw that it was almost done, so he exchanged glances with Wang Chengen and said, "Yesterday I wanted to write a letter to my father to tell him what you said, asking him to stay away from Xuanda, but I was afraid that my father would not believe it..."

"Why don't you tell me in detail, brother, why did Lin Danhan want to attack Xuanda? If a war breaks out, do you have any countermeasures, whether to fight or defend?"

It can be said that Chongzhen's question was extremely unreasonable. If there was any connection between persuading Uncle Wang An not to go to Xuan Da and why Lin Danhan attacked Xuan Da, then Chongzhen's question of how to deal with it was completely off topic.

However, Wang An was drunk at the time and did not notice the unreasonableness of his words.

With a red face, he chuckled, "You didn't give him the promised reward, and you killed his son-in-law. You're going to be angry!"

Chongzhen had already received news that Lieutenant General Datong had shot Guiying to death, and he guessed that the final war might have been caused by this incident.

It was just an introduction, and he asked, "Is there any room for maneuver, such as the court making up the city reward and punishing the person who killed Guiying?"

Wang An shook his head, patted Chongzhen on the shoulder and said, "Of course I have. My Great Ming does not want to make powerful enemies again. Isn't it the same for Lin Danhan?"

Chongzhen's eyes lit up when he heard this, that's right!

After summoning all the ministers yesterday and finding no solution, Chongzhen urgently reviewed the memorials on Ligdan Khan's movements at the border in recent years, and he had a general understanding of it.

In short, Lindan Khan's westward migration was mainly due to the fact that the left wing of Mongolia was divided and lured away by the Later Jin Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)