Hearing Chongzhen’s words, Han Kuang, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but pause slightly.
He had thought that the emperor would not only promote Chen Ran, but also grant him other rewards.
After all, Chen Ran had not only cracked down on the Jin spies in the capital, but also killed Zhao Jingzhong, and by the way, retrieved more than one hundred Jin heads.
But he didn't expect that Chongzhen had only promoted Chen Ran to the position of the thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command!
Thinking about it, Han Kuang couldn't help but feel a trace of disappointment in his eyes.
Chen Ran, however, remained expressionless:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
Chen Ran had already guessed what Chongzhen would do.
Therefore, he was not surprised that he had only been appointed as the actual thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command.
The problem was simple.
Han Kuang was both his success and his failure!
Who was Han Kuang?
He was a Donglin faction!
At this time, the eunuchs and the Donglin faction had all fallen from power, and the Donglin faction quickly grew in strength. Half of the officials in the court were from the Donglin faction!
Han Kuang was the one that the Donglin faction had put forward.
Chongzhen had just overthrown Wei Zhongxian, and he would soon be wary of the Donglin faction in the court.
When he was dealing with Wei Zhongxian, Chongzhen could naturally cooperate seamlessly with the Donglin faction, and even appoint Han Kuang as the head of the cabinet to contain the eunuchs!
But after getting rid of Wei Zhongxian, Chongzhen would naturally be wary of the growing influence of the Donglin faction in the court!
Chongzhen was always suspicious, and seeing Han Kuang's praise for Chen Ran, and that he had directly suggested that Chen Ran become the acting thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command during the arrest of Zhao Jingzhong, he naturally suspected that Chen Ran was Han Kuang's man!
The fact that he was able to promote Chen Ran to the acting thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command was because of the fact that Chen Ran had killed over a hundred Jin people!
For an emperor who was willing to kill even his confidant Lu Wen Zhao and his former love Bei Zhai Miao Xuan to ascend to the throne, Chen Ran had never had high expectations for him.
Now that he had become the official thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command, it was enough!
At this time, the Minister of War, Tian Hong Yu, laughed and said:
"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have been working hard to govern the country, first eliminating the evil of the eunuchs, and then you have encountered such a young hero as Chen Qian Hu, who can gallop thousands of miles to kill the traitor Zhao Jingzhong, and capture over a hundred Jin heads. This is truly a sign of the revival of the Ming Dynasty!"
Tian Hong Yu was the father of Chongzhen's concubine Tian Gui Fei. Due to his daughter's influence, he was appointed as a Minister of War, but in fact, he had no real talent or skill, and he was only concerned with flattering the emperor.
Now that he saw Chongzhen was happy, he immediately started flattering him.
With Tian Guo Zhang leading the way, a group of officials immediately started showering him with flattery.
"Your Majesty is truly a gifted genius, it is the fortune of the Ming Dynasty to have you!"
"The revival of the Ming Dynasty is just around the corner, Your Majesty is destined to be the Guang Wu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"
"The Ming Dynasty has such a young and wise emperor like you, which is why there are young heroes like Chen Qian Hu. This is truly a sign of good fortune for the Ming Dynasty..."
A group of officials flattered him with all sorts of words. Although Chen Ran was filled with disdain, he remained expressionless.
However, Chongzhen was quite happy to hear it.
As the saying goes, a thousand arrows can pierce through armor, but flattery can't.
Even the most wise emperor would be happy to hear a chorus of praise from his officials at this time!
Seeing Chongzhen's happiness, Tian Hong Yu quickly said:
"I have seen that Your Majesty has been working hard day and night, and you have lost weight in recent days. It shows that Your Majesty is concerned about the country and the people, and you are very tired. Every time I see that Your Majesty has lost more weight, my heart feels sad..."
As he spoke, Tian Hong Yu's eyes started to tear up.
Standing below, Chen Ran couldn't help but sigh.
This Minister Tian is a really good actor!
Unfortunately, no one is awarding prizes here, otherwise, if someone announced loudly:
I now announce that the Best Actor award goes to Chongzhen’s father-in-law,
It would be quite funny!
Tian Hong Yu wiped his eyes and said:
"I feel sorry for Your Majesty's hard work, and I always want to share the burden of the country. I happened to find some interesting things in the south, which might be able to relieve Your Majesty's boredom.”
"Oh?"
Chongzhen was intrigued.
"What kind of things are they?"
Tian Hong Yu quickly replied:
"They are some exquisite and ingenious items from the south. They are currently on their way and will arrive in the capital in a few days!"
Chongzhen just nodded after hearing this.
But Chen Ran, who was standing below, had other thoughts in his mind.
Exquisite and ingenious items from the south?
In my opinion, this exquisite and ingenious item is a living person!
Chen Ran had read some historical books before he came to this world and knew that Chen Yuan Yuan had been a "south horse" before marrying Wu San Gui.
Yangzhou has always been a place where women are bought and raised. They are taught piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, songs, and even plays and lyrics from a young age, for the purpose of entertaining wealthy officials.
Historical records state that Tian Hong Yu had someone select a peerless beauty named Chen Yuan Yuan from the south. He wanted to present her to Chongzhen, first to please the emperor, and second to help his daughter Tian Gui Fei compete for the emperor's favor.
However, Chongzhen later gifted Chen Yuan Yuan to Wu San Gui in order to win over him.
It seemed that Tian Hong Yu had just brought Chen Yuan Yuan from the south and was about to present her to Chongzhen?
Thinking about it, a smile appeared on Chen Ran's face.
So what if she is the emperor's woman!
As long as I want her, I'll find a way to get her!
Just right, Chongzhen is too stingy. I'll add fuel to the fire and let him quickly transfer me out of the capital!
...
After receiving his reward from the emperor and changing into a thousand-household commander's uniform, Chen Ran rode back to the Northern Garrison Command.
The uniforms of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards were mainly in three colors: black for the flag officers of the Imperial Guards, silver white for the hundred-household commanders, and a deep red color called "Yu Zhu" for the thousand-household commanders, also known as the "Flying Fish Robe" with embroidered fish designs.
Now that Chen Ran was the actual thousand-household commander of the Northern Garrison Command, he was wearing a "Flying Fish Robe" with a deep red color called "Yu Zhu".
In fact, there was another type of uniform in the Imperial Guards, which was a red and yellow combination with a dragon embroidered on it.
But that uniform was not for just the Imperial Guards, it could reach the level of leading the East Factory and other spy organizations, at least the level of the factory director.
Zhao Jingzhong could wear this type of uniform, but since he also served as the eunuch in the palace, he usually wore eunuch clothes!
Upon returning to the Northern Garrison Command, the Imperial Guards saw Chen Ran and their faces were full of envy and awe.
This Chen Ran, a few days ago, was still a flag officer. In a few days, he was promoted to a hundred-household commander, and then he was suddenly appointed as the acting thousand-household commander by the head of the cabinet.
Then he captured several Jin spies, led nearly a hundred义军 to kill Zhao Jingzhong, and captured over a hundred Jin heads!
His luck and ability were just too strong!
Although they were envious, they all bowed and saluted:
"Greetings to the Thousand-Household Commander!"
Shen Lian, Lu Jian Xing, and Jin Yi Chuan were the closest to Chen Ran. Seeing Chen Ran in the thousand-household commander's uniform, they were also very happy, but they did not bow.
In the Ming Dynasty's official circles, subordinates did not have to kneel before their superiors. Only those who had never burned incense before Chen Ran would kneel.
Shen Lian and the others were Chen Ran's brothers, so they would not perform such a gesture!
Chen Ran smiled at them and then waved his hand at the Imperial Guards kneeling below:
"We are all colleagues, no need to be polite, all of you get up!"
The Imperial Guards then stood up. The hundred-household commander Fang, who had found nothing at Zhao Jingzhong's secret residence, quickly walked over:
"Thousand-Household Commander, the former Left Thousand-Household Commander has been imprisoned. I have compiled all the crimes he committed during his tenure and compiled them into a book. I am just waiting for the Thousand-Household Commander to submit it to the court!"
This hundred-household commander Fang, as soon as the Left Thousand-Household Commander fell from power, compiled his crimes and handed them over to his new superior, it was truly a seamless turn!
"The affairs of the Left Thousand-Household Commander will be decided by the Ministry of Justice, no need to rush. You can hand over the list of crimes to me, and I will report it to the court later!"
Chen Ran nodded and said indifferently:
"However, I want to investigate the Luo Jiao and the Wen Xiang Jiao in the Ming Dynasty recently. You can collect all the materials in the Garrison Command and give them to me!"
Fang and the others were stunned:
"Wen Xiang Jiao?"