Chapter 66: Participating in the Shogunate (for Brother Meng)
On May 24, the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, in the official office of the general on Shangbei Road in Dushikou Fort City.
Zhang Cheng was sitting firmly at the head of the main hall of the central hall, and the generals were sitting on both sides. Wei Zhice, He Biao, Chen Zhong, Chen Zheng, Zhang Guangda, Wu Zhizhong, Chen Dakuan, Cui Shijie, Tong Shoushan, Wang Tieren, Zhou Zhouping, Feng Yuanshan and other generals were all gathered together.
The commander of Kai Pingwei, Jin Xinpeng, the chief seal officer, Yan Qingrong, the commander and secretary, Yan Qingrong, the secretary, Liu Zhi, the governor, and Cao Jinwang, the experienced secretary, were also invited to sit in the hall.
Only Xue Liangqing, the commander of the Kaiping Guards, took sick leave and reported to the general office in the future. Zhang Cheng just laughed it off, saying that he was of no concern to a young man.
Jin Xinpeng, the commander-in-chief, heard that Xue Liangqing had received official documents from the Ministry of War at Dushikou. He became very unhappy. He even vomited blood at home the next day and often cursed Zhang Cheng and himself as sinister villains.
Just when he entered the door, Yan Qingrong whispered to him: "Your Majesty, Commander, I heard that Xue Qianshu was vomiting blood at home. It seems that he is quite dissatisfied with the reward from the Ministry of War!"
"Hmph, short-sighted and short-sighted, what can people like earthworms do?"
…………
Zhang Cheng looked at the people in the hall and was filled with emotion. It was in July of the eleventh year of Chongzhen that he first became acquainted with this world. Today, he has really taken the first step and barely gained a firm foothold.
Who do you want to thank?
The first one is naturally Zhang Yan, his uncle who loves and protects him wholeheartedly. He entrusted him with all the wealth he had accumulated after working hard all his life. This is the first great favor.
Secondly, perhaps it was Lu Xiangsheng, who also loved me very much and had high expectations for him, but after all, their relationship was short-lived, and besides, I really didn’t agree with his idea of being foolishly loyal.
No matter what, you must first let yourself live. Only by living can you show your ideals, realize your ambitions, enjoy the joy of life, sit in the arms of beautiful women, and enjoy the joy of life.
Looking at the generals present, perhaps the second thing to be grateful for is the people who follow him, such as Chen Zhong, Chen Zheng, Zhang Guangda and other generals who have experienced life and death with him, and people like Wei Zhice who are close to him.
Or people like Jin Xinpeng and Yan Qingrong, whether they are forced by themselves or take refuge on their own initiative, as long as they have a strong army and a bright future, they will eventually be tied to themselves and cannot be separated.
Zhang Cheng knew very well that in this chaotic situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, if he wanted to make a difference, he could not rest on his laurels, just like that sentence:
The enemy of your enemy is your friend. Only by uniting all the forces that can be united can you continue to strengthen yourself!
He further understands that everything in the world is easy to destroy, hard to build, easy to divide, hard to unite, easy to cut off, but hard to dare to absorb. To survive in troubled times, you must tolerate everything and make everything available to you, in order to achieve success.
It is hard to find natural talents, and even more rare in troubled times. Instead of going to the trouble of cultivating talents yourself, although their loyalty is more guaranteed, time does not allow for it.
The shortcut now is to absorb as many people as possible from all parties so that they can do their best. In the future, you can slowly replace them with the people you have trained.
Zhang Cheng coughed, and when he saw that everyone was paying attention, he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, everything about Kaipingwei and the North Road has been decided, and the start is very good. This is only possible thanks to the hard work of everyone here.
Today's results.
I am even more commended and affirmed by the present Holy One, and I have given you all high rewards. I will be going to Beijing in the next few days to thank you, and some things need to be finalized today. I thought that from now on, I would set some rules for the north, so as not to hinder our efforts today.
Pay in running water.
Everyone must remember that the strength of the North Road depends on food. If the food is sufficient, the soldiers will have peace of mind, and then they will have fighting spirit and be able to guard the peace of the North Road."
Everyone said "yes".
Zhang Cheng continued: "Right now, we are not just in charge of Dushikou, but we have to look at the overall situation. There are more than ten large forts and dozens of small forts under the jurisdiction of Shangbei Road. We need to overlook the overall situation from a high position and make overall plans.
construction.
Commander Jin, as the chief seal officer of the Kaiping Guard, should sit in charge of the Wei Division and be in charge of the overall situation. When the general is not on the North Road, the Guard Division should be headed by Commander Jin, and you should also obey the military orders of the Wei Division."
The expression on the commander Jin Xinpeng's face was very complicated. It turned out that although he was just a clerk, the general in charge, Liu Guangwu, rarely took care of anything. Almost all the affairs of Kaipingwei were handled by himself.
Now, although I have taken a step forward and been promoted to commander, and became the palm seal officer as I wished, I still feel like I am being shunned by Zhang Cheng.
"Sir Jin, among all the duties of the Guard, the field work, military inspections, camp operations, and garrison matters are particularly important. You must pay special attention to them, and you must not neglect them."
A glimmer of light flashed in Jin Xinpeng's eyes, and he responded hurriedly: "General, please be at ease, I must be careful, and I will never miss the important matter of the general."
Zhang Cheng nodded with satisfaction and continued: "Comrade Zhang Guodong, the commander, is away on business and has not yet taken up his post. The commander-in-chief Xue Liangqing is also suffering from a serious illness and cannot go to the Health Department to see his duties. The general has allowed him to recuperate at home.
In this case, Yan Qingrong and Wu Zhizhong will have to work hard."
The old people who followed Zhang Cheng to Shangbei Road had no expressions, as if this was a reasonable thing, but Jin Xinpeng, Yan Qingrong and other old people in Dushikou were all frightened.
Everyone knew clearly that Xue Liangqing was depressed when he saw everyone being promoted, and was filled with resentment and anger. He reported to Zhang Cheng that he was ill and could not pay attention to matters, and he was also testing Zhang Cheng.
But I didn't expect that Zhang Cheng would be so straightforward and directly grant the leave. It seemed that he would also remove all the affairs that Xue Liangqing was originally in charge of and completely make him a sinecure.
However, Zhang Cheng's next words shocked them even more: "I am grateful for your kindness today, and I am determined to vigorously rectify everything on the North Road and build a strong force as soon as possible so that I can fight for the country and honor the Sacred Heart.
In order to plan for major events in the future, I have decided to establish a shogunate, and I sincerely invite all of you here to work with me to accomplish great things. I wonder what your thoughts are?"
Before Chen Zheng, Wei Zhice and others could express their stance, Jin Xinpeng, the commander of the Kaiping Guards, was like a bolt of lightning, flying and kneeling in front of Zhang Cheng's seat, and said loudly: "Jin Xinpeng is willing to follow the general, join the shogunate, be driven by the general, and serve as a dog and horse for the general."
Power!"
Then, Chen Zheng, Wei Zhice and other old people left their seats and walked to the hall and knelt down to express their willingness to join the shogunate and follow them to the death.
Yan Qingrong, the commander, had no choice but to stand up and kneel down to express his position. Although he could not understand the behavior of the former officers and generals in the guard station, he did not really want to follow Zhang Cheng, but under the current situation, he could not refuse.
He knelt on the ground and glanced at Jin Xinpeng, who was kneeling in front of him, and cursed in his heart: An old fox who changes course when the wind blows!
Zhang Cheng saw everyone kneeling on the ground. Although Jin Xinpeng was the first to express his stance, he was a little surprised, but he can set an example. Regardless of whether he is sincere or not, it is always good for now.
He then said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please get up."
After everyone sat back in their chairs, Zhang Cheng added: "The general plans to set up counselors in the General's Office to handle administrative affairs, military affairs, baggage, town and military affairs, etc., to assist the general in taking charge of many local and military affairs.