When being escorted out of the prison by the jailers, Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes.

After being detained in a prison for a long time, Hong Chengchou almost had to adapt to the dark light. In the prison, he did not suffer any abuse from the jailers. After all, today's prison guards have also learned to be smarter. Those imperial officials who were imprisoned in the prison

, I don’t know when he will come back. If you accidentally offend these officials who are imprisoned in the prison, when these officials come back, it will be the moment when the jailer encounters a disaster.

Hong Chengchou was the former governor of the five provinces, and he was very famous in the court. He was once the court's trump card in the northwest and was well known to the whole court. This time he was thrown into prison because he suffered a failure in the battle to exterminate the bandits.

, Nowadays, when officials from the DPRK and China are fighting against rogue bandits, they have encountered too many failures and may come back at any time.

Sure enough, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Punishment personally went to the prison and escorted Hong Chengchou to the palace.

With a smile on his face, the jailer waited on Hong Chengchou carefully, speaking in a low voice along the way, for fear of causing Hong Chengchou's dissatisfaction. They knew that after receiving the emperor's interview, Hong Chengchou would definitely come back soon, and then it would be impossible for the jailers like them to do so.

Flattered.

There was not much expression on Hong Chengchou's face. Although the attitude of the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment seemed pretty good, who knew what outcome he would face. He had been detained in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment for several months, and the so-called joint trial of the three divisions had never been held.

To proceed, you must know that his predecessor, Xiong Wencan, the governor of the five provinces, was eventually abandoned. Moreover, none of the successive governors of the five provinces ended well.

After walking out of the prison, the jailer carefully removed the shackles.

Hong Chengchou looked at the jailer and smiled. He had never paid attention to these jailers before. After all, the status of the jailer was too low to deserve the attention of a frontier official. After being imprisoned in the prison for several months, Hong Chengchou suddenly felt that this

Everyone in the world actually has their own place. These jailers may seem inconspicuous, but if the people in trouble can get help from the jailers, they can survive the most difficult moments and survive.

The jailer had become a human spirit. When he saw the smile on Hong Chengchou's face, he immediately nodded and bowed in response.

Although the clothes were not clean, there were no blood stains, but the hair was a little disheveled.

Hong Chengchou didn't care. He didn't know what kind of ending he would have, so he didn't care about these details.

Seeing the door of the official residence of the Ministry of Justice, Hong Chengchou was a little surprised and couldn't help but look at the left minister of the Ministry of Justice and spoke.

"Why are you here at the Ministry of Justice? Didn't you say you were going to the palace..."

The left minister of the Ministry of Punishment looked at Hong Chengchou and smiled before speaking.

"Master Hong, it is definitely not appropriate to enter the palace like this. You should dress up properly."

Hong Chengchou nodded, stopped talking, and followed into the official residence of the Ministry of Justice.

Entering the reception room, the wooden barrel had been prepared a long time ago, and the hot water was also readily available. A change of clothes was placed not far from the wooden barrel. Hong Chengchou was not polite, took off his smelly clothes, and entered the wooden barrel.

, wash up well.

After putting on clean clothes, Hong Chengchou felt refreshed. In the past, this was a normal thing, but when he was imprisoned in the Penal Department Prison, he didn't even think about taking a bath. Even washing his face was a luxury.

After walking out of the reception room, the left minister of the Criminal Department was waiting outside the room.

Hong Chengchou looked at the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment and nodded.

"Master Hong's temperament is indeed extraordinary..."

Hong Chengchou smiled. After experiencing the hardships of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, he had seen things through. He would not particularly care about the attitude of the left minister of the punishment ministry, nor would he analyze the situation he was about to face based on the attitude of the left minister of the punishment ministry.

Outside the official residence of the Ministry of Justice, there were two sedan chairs. The left minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at Hong Chengchou and spoke again.

"Master Hong, I have been very tired for such a long time. It is better to take a sedan chair to the palace."

Hong Chengchou waved his hands calmly and looked at the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment to speak.

"I am a guilty person and would never dare to ride in a sedan chair. This is against etiquette. It is better to go there on foot..."

Walking out of the official residence of the Ministry of Justice, you will find Xuanwumen Street, and go straight to West Chang'an Street.

Entering Xijiangmi Lane from West Chang'an Street, when he saw the Jin Yiwei waiting in front, Hong Chengchou's face still had no expression, but his arms were swinging slightly.

The four Jinyi guards followed Hong Chengchou one after another, but the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment lagged behind.

Hong Chengchou was deeply impressed by the Jin Yiwei. It was the Jin Yiwei who escorted him back to the capital, and it was the Jin Yiwei who escorted him into the prison. The Jin Yiwei were merciless in the face of officials who made mistakes. Even though Hong Chengchou had a great reputation, he was escorted back to Hong Chengchou.

When they were in the capital, they also suffered unusual torture, and even if the tortured officials came back, it was unlikely that they would take revenge on the Jin Yiwei. After all, the Jin Yiwei had unusual responsibilities, and it was unlikely that the officials who had returned would plot against the Jin Yiwei.

So, when he saw Jin Yiwei again, although Hong Chengchou tried his best to stay calm, he still felt a little uncomfortable inside.

Seeing the Daming Gate, Hong Chengchou's eyes burst out with a gleam of light, which quickly disappeared.

Following the Jin Yiwei in front, I entered Daming Gate and soon saw Chengtian Gate as I walked forward.

Entering Chengtianmen is like truly entering the Forbidden City.

At the entrance of Chengtianmen, two eunuchs were waiting.

A Jin Yiwei stepped forward, whispered a few words to the eunuch, then turned back and waved to the other Jin Yiwei.

When Hong Chengchou walked to the front of Chengtian Gate, the four Jinyi guards turned around and left at the same time without saying hello to Hong Chengchou.

The left minister of the Ministry of Justice was still following behind.

The eunuch looked at Hong Chengchou and nodded.

"Master Hong, follow our family to meet the emperor..."

The moment he entered Chengtian Gate, Hong Chengchou suddenly became a little excited. Even though he was calm, he understood that entering the palace to meet the emperor was definitely not a bad thing. If he was going to be executed or abandoned, he would never receive such treatment. How could it be possible?

There are eunuchs waiting at Chengtianmen, so it is unlikely that they can enter Chengtianmen.

...

Arriving at the door of the side hall, Hong Chengchou closed his eyes unconsciously.

He didn't want to see anyone coming out of the side hall, or anyone entering the side hall. These people were familiar to Hong Chengchou before. When he saw these people under such circumstances, Hong Chengchou didn't know how to deal with them.

"Master Hong, the emperor allows you to come in..."

Hong Chengchou opened his eyes and saw the eunuch standing in front of him. He quickly clasped his fists and said thank you to the eunuch.

Entering the side hall, Hong Chengchou did not raise his head and knelt down.

"The guilty minister pays homage to the emperor..."

It was very quiet in the side hall. Hong Chengchou was kneeling on the ground with his head lowered, not looking around or at the emperor on the imperial chariot.

"Hong Aiqing, please get back on your feet..."

When Zhu Youjian's voice came, Hong Chengchou's body began to tremble. This was an uncontrollable tremor. He was called Aiqing by the emperor, which showed that Hong Chengchou had truly made a comeback.

"The guilty minister dare not, the guilty minister is guilty, the guilty minister is willing to accept any punishment from the emperor..."

"Hong Aiqing, you have suffered. As the governor of the five provinces, you failed in the battle to suppress the bandits. According to the regulations of the imperial court, I must punish you. You have been in prison for several months, but I still miss you..."

Hong Chengchou did not raise his head and was still prostrate on the ground.

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister failed to defeat the bandits, but suffered a disastrous defeat. The guilty minister should accept the punishment of the emperor and the court. No matter how the emperor and the court punish him, the guilty minister is willing to..."

Hong Chengchou's voice was choked with sobs. Just as he finished speaking, the emperor's voice came again.

"Hong Aiqing, you don't need to think so much. It is the time for the imperial court to appoint people. I have already issued an edict to appoint you as the right deputy censor of the Supervisory Council, governor of seven provinces, and the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. You will be in charge of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Sichuan.

, the soldiers and horses of Huguang, Zhejiang and Shandong are fully responsible for the extermination of the bandits. I give you the Shangfang Sword, so you can do it easily..."

Hong Chengchou finally raised his head and looked at the emperor on the chariot.

It was impossible for Hong Chengchou to clearly see the emperor on the royal chariot, but with his peripheral vision he saw the people on the left and right. Zhang Sizhi, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Chen Xinjia, the minister of war, were on the left and right. Several cabinet ministers were also familiar to him.

Hong Chengchou didn't pay attention to everyone's eyes.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the Emperor for his kindness. I will work hard to repay the favor of the Emperor and the court..."

...

After walking out of the side hall, Hong Chengchou and Chen Xinjia walked side by side and headed towards the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of War is just outside Chengtian Gate. After leaving Chengtian Gate, it is only about 200 meters away and you arrive at the Ministry of War.

Entering the official residence, Chen Xinjia closed the door.

"Master Hong, I am entrusted by the imperial court to inform you of the current situation..."

Hong Chengchou heard a hint of jealousy in Chen Xinjia's tone, but he didn't care at all.

The imperial court had only established governors of five provinces before, and had never established governors of seven provinces. This time the emperor and the imperial court included Zhejiang and Shandong, and specifically established governors of seven provinces. Even if Chen Xinjia did not specifically introduce the situation, Hong Chengchou understood that the situation was certain.

It's gotten even worse.

"Mr. Hong, according to the memorial written by Shaanxi, the former governor of the five provinces, Mr. Sun Chuanting, was defeated and died. He led more than 100,000 troops to fight deep into Henan, and almost the entire army was wiped out. The rogue Li Zicheng has begun to attack Xi'an Fucheng, and at the same time divided his troops into

In Shanxi, prepare to attack Taiyuan Fucheng..."

Hong Chengchou looked at the map on the desk and his expression changed slightly.

The deterioration of the situation has exceeded Hong Chengchou's imagination.

"The rogue bandit Zhang Xianzhong is entrenched in Wuchang Fucheng. The rogue bandits under his command have entered Jiangxi Province and other places, and his vanguard has entered Huguang..."

Hong Chengchou couldn't stand listening anymore.

"Master Chen, what other troops can the imperial court mobilize..."

Chen Xinjia looked at Hong Chengchou and spoke expressionlessly.

"Lord Hong, the troops you can mobilize include the garrison troops from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Huguang, Sichuan and Zhejiang, as well as the army led by Mr. Zhang Siwei, the Minister of War in Nanjing, who will cooperate with you.

.”
Chapter completed!