"Shuzi, it's too much to deceive others! It's too much to deceive others! I must report the truth to the Holy Master..."
Outside the Zuojun camp, Xiong Wencan, the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of War and the right deputy imperial envoy, was driven out by Zuo Liangyu's soldiers without any scruples after waiting for two hours. Even Zuo Liangyu's shadow could not be seen.
Not seen!
Xiong Wencan was born in Luzhou, Sichuan. He was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli Dynasty. He was in his early forties this year. Since Yang Sichang, the chief minister of the cabinet, returned to his hometown to be his father, Ding You, he was transferred from the post of Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to Minister of the Ministry of War, stepping into the Ming Dynasty.
The center of power, and the second-grade purple and gold python robe he wears was also given by Emperor Chongzhen himself as a sign of honor!
At this time, Xiong Wencan came all the way from the capital to urge Zuo Liangyu to send troops, so as to facilitate the encirclement of Zuo Liangyu's tribe, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five northwest provinces, and Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, against the militia.
Unlike Hong Chengchou, who took the lead in the battle, Xiong Wencan had a rather gentle attitude toward the refugee army and advocated focusing on appeasement. One of his favorite concubines was from the same hometown as the "Eight Great Kings" Zhang Xianzhong. When he first took office in the capital, Zhang Xianzhong had already entrusted him with
He gave a great gift!
At this time, Xiong Wencan was at the peak of his life, with great power in his hands and high spirits. He was just about to launch his big plan, preparing to recruit and surrender Zhang Xianzhong, the 'thief', and achieve such unparalleled feats. Unexpectedly, outside of Xiangcheng,
How could the arrogant Xiong Wencan accept such a cold reception from Zuo Liangyu?
"My soldier, my soldier, please move slowly!" In the camp, Supervisor Liu Yuanbin hurriedly chased him out.
Unlike the reckless Xiong Wencan, Liu Yuanbin has been supervising the army in the Central Plains for many years, and has an indescribable tacit understanding with Zuo Liangyu and other powerful generals. Seeing Xiong Wencan getting angry, he had to come out to be the peacemaker.
!
"My soldier, why should I be so angry? Commander Zuo is busy with military affairs and has so many brothers to take care of. It's not easy for him!" Liu Yuanbin defended Zuo Liangyu with a smile.
Xiong Wencan glanced at Liu Yuanbin suspiciously. For eunuchs, Xiong Wencan, as a civil servant, had a sense of contempt in his bones. Hearing him say this, Xiong Wencan felt even more disgusted. What does "busy military affairs mean?" I have worked so hard from
When the capital came rushing to the capital, he said that military affairs were busy and he wanted to send me away?
"Father, there is no need to say anything! I have my own thoughts on this matter! I will definitely tell the truth to the Holy Majesty! Raising thieves is a danger, and supporting soldiers is self-respecting! Hum, let the man named Zuo explain to the Holy Majesty!" Xiong Wencan didn't even bother to agree.
Liu Yuanbin was entangled, got on his horse, and headed straight for Luoyang City under the protection of more than a dozen personal soldiers and retinues!
Watching his retreating back, Liu Yuanbin spat disdainfully, "Bah! What the hell! Do you really think you are a person? Humph, let's ride on the donkey and read the songbook, we'll see!"
…………
Capital, Forbidden City, Imperial Study.
In June, there were two consecutive light rains near Gyeonggi Province. Officials wrote letters in agreement, thinking that this was auspicious sign from heaven and a sign of good luck!
But Emperor Chongzhen was not so optimistic. He frowned, carefully read every memorial, and gave instructions carefully, not daring to be careless!
From the time he ascended the throne at the age of sixteen to now, he is still under thirty this year, but his temples are already covered with white silk. Even the dragon robe on his body has a few obvious patches, except for a pair of cloth
His bloodshot eyes were sharp and decisive, and there was no trace of the excitement that a young man should have in him.
At this time, it was almost midnight, equivalent to twelve o'clock in later generations, but Emperor Chongzhen had no intention of taking a rest. He held a memorial in his hand, frowned, and wrote something on the blank paper beside him from time to time.
Wang Chengen, who was waiting next to him, couldn't stand it anymore. He whispered a few words in the ear of a young eunuch, who quickly ran out.
After a while, the little eunuch came in carrying a bowl of bird's nest porridge and several plates of pickles.
Wang Chengen waved his hand to him, carried the meals himself, walked carefully to Emperor Chongzhen, and said distressedly: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, please eat something and have a good rest!"
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned. He turned around and saw Wang Chengen, his best friend who had grown up with him since childhood. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Sister, if you are tired, go down and rest first! It's still early, I'm going to
All these trivial matters have been taken care of!"
Wang Chengen fell to his knees with a plop and said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please eat something first! If you are so hungry, slave, slave, how can you explain to the queen and the old prince?
!”
After saying this, Wang Chengen kowtowed desperately, with blood dripping from his forehead.
Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly stood up and helped him up, smiling and saying: "Daban, why are you like this! I will eat, I will just eat!"
Wang Chengen was the father of Emperor Chongzhen. Guangzong Zhu Changluo personally selected him as his companion. He was very close to Emperor Chongzhen. If all the officials and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were not worthy of his trust, then Wang Chengen was the only one worthy of his trust.
Man! Later, everything that happened on Meishan also proved this point.
Wang Chengen saw Emperor Chongzhen pick up the bird's nest porridge and drink it all in one go, and then he showed a smile. He quickly got up and shouted to the little eunuch waiting outside the door: "Quickly, go tell the imperial chef to stir-fry some hot food."
The dishes are served for the Holy Spirit!"
But at this moment, there was a crisp sound behind him, and the small bowl that originally held the bird's nest porridge had been smashed to pieces by Emperor Chongzhen. "What is he going to do? He still has this emperor in his eyes! You beast, I'm going to kill him."
The nine tribes!”
Wang Chengen was horrified and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
Emperor Chongzhen angrily threw the two memorials aside and said, "Come on, see for yourself! What's the point of raising such a domineering person if I spend so much money and food on him?"
Wang Chengen quickly picked up the memorial and browsed it quickly.
One of them was sent by Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five northwest provinces. The main message was that he hoped that the emperor would urge Zuo Liangyu, who was entrenched in the Central Plains, to quickly send troops to encircle most of the militia and eliminate the banditry in the Central Plains at once!
The other was sent by Xiong Wencan, Secretary of the Ministry of War, eight hundred miles away. It was full of articles impeaching Zuo Liangyu for being arrogant and domineering and not obeying the court's instructions, so that Li Chuang fled westward and most of the refugee troops poured into the hinterland of southern Henan.
, seriously threatening the security of Nanyang City.
Xiong Wencan was really rude, and all the charges were forcedly placed on Zuo Liangyu.
Wang Chengen couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. He had heard about Zuo Liangyu's domineering behavior for a long time. In the past, everyone could at least get along with it in terms of face. To be so blatant and not give Xiong Wencan face, he really didn't expect that calmly
After a moment, Wang Chengen carefully probed: "Your Majesty, is there something in this that we don't know about? Maybe Zuo Liangyu didn't do it deliberately?"
"Huh! I'm really blind!" Emperor Chongzhen snorted coldly. Only in front of Wang Cheng'en would he reveal his true temperament. However, in just a moment, Emperor Chongzhen himself calmed down and pointed at the two memorials.
, said to Wang Cheng'en: "Big companion, in your opinion, among these two people, who is real and who is fake?"
Wang Chengen was stunned, but his mind was spinning rapidly. He was the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who held a high position, and was no stranger to these things. However, out of instinctive considerations, he was not interested in Xiong Wencan's recruitment strategy.
Not optimistic, in the 7th and 8th years of Chongzhen's reign, the refugee army used false surrender twice to deceive the official army and the inevitable encirclement and suppression!
"Your Majesty, I think it may be that Lord Xiong is too impatient! Zhongyuan is the place where the Fourth War was fought. In the past few years, Zuo Liangyu has actually contributed a lot! If we are impatient, we will be unjustly accused.
If Zuo Liangyu raises an army to rebel, this matter will be..."
Although Wang Chengen did not finish his words, his meaning was obviously biased towards Zuo Liangyu.
Emperor Chongzhen was startled. Apparently, Wang Chengen's words touched the biggest taboo in his heart!
Zuo Liangyu has 100,000 troops. If he really raises an army to rebel, will his already shaky country be able to continue to sit down?
However, due to Yang Sichang's praise, Emperor Chongzhen had an inexplicable trust in Xiong Wencan. If Xiong Wencan succeeded in recruiting and surrendering as Xiong Wencan said, then he would transfer these bandits to Liaodong and fight fire with fire. Then he would be able to revive the Ming Dynasty.
Isn’t it just around the corner?
After pondering for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen was still unable to make a decision, and his heart was wavering!
Wang Chengen couldn't help but feel anxious. Although the person in front of him was the emperor, he had watched him grow up since childhood and knew his temper best. He couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty, if you want the best of both worlds,
It’s not impossible! It’s just…”
"Big companion, do you have any good ideas?"
Before Wang Chenen finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up, and he grasped Wang Chengen's hand tightly as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.
Wang Chengen couldn't help but smile bitterly, and had to explain patiently: "Your Majesty, we can first strictly order Zuo Liangyu to send troops to protect Nanyang City and fight some battles with those bandits! If we can beat them to pain, why are we still worrying about recruiting them to surrender?"
"Wonderful, wonderful! The eldest companion is really my son's wife!" Emperor Chongzhen laughed loudly, picked up the cinnabar red pen, and eagerly commented on the memorial.
Only Wang Chengen could not help but shake his head gently and smile bitterly.
…………
It was approaching evening, and a heavy layer of fog had drifted in the sky. Visibility was very low, and I couldn't see even my fingers.
Outside Nanyang City, an army lit up the torches and marched slowly. It was Liu Ruyi's headquarters who was escorting the grain and supplies.
Although Jin Shenghuan sent several more waves of messengers to urge him, to be on the safe side, Liu Ruyi did not rush to send troops. Instead, he rested on the spot for a few days and quietly approached the north gate of Nanyang City despite today's hazy weather.
Liu Ruyi was also a little unsure about the upcoming war. Eighty percent of Zuo Liangyu had given up on Nanyang City. How could he and Jin Shenghuan, with more than 10,000 troops, resist these nearly 100,000 refugees who were like wolves and tigers?
Where is the army?
"Is this Mr. Liu Qian below the city? He is Jin Shenghuan!" Jin Shenghuan on the city wall had already become impatient with the waiting and shouted loudly.
"That's right! Mr. Jin, please open the city gate!" Liu Ruyi responded loudly without having time to think.
After a moment, there was a muffled "creak" sound, and the city gate about ten meters high opened, and Liu Ruyi and his group of more than a thousand people slowly drove into this ancient city!