More than two days later, before the deadline set by Zhao Junchen, Xuan Ye finally led his army to the vicinity of Qinghe Fort.
Looking at the tall and thick walls of Qinghe Fort from a distance, Xuan Ye's expression was extremely gloomy.
Just a few hours ago, Qian Tong sent a fast horse messenger to report to Xuan Ye the negotiation process between him and Wu Yingxiong.
In short, although Wu Yingxiong was willing to negotiate a truce with the Jianzhou Jurchens, he could not promise any benefits to the Jianzhou Jurchens because Wu Yingxiong was now subject to the fierce public sentiment of the entire army and had no room for compromise.
In this way, if Xuan Ye still wants to bargain, he can only choose to negotiate with Zhao Junchen. He cannot use Wu Yingxiong to force Zhao Junchen to raise the price. He loses the initiative during the negotiation and is naturally in a bad mood.
Xuan Ye's mood became even worse when he thought about the fact that he had been in contact with Zhao Junchen for several times, openly or covertly, but had never gained any advantage.
Xuan Ye is a big shot. When he is unhappy, he will naturally find someone to vent his anger to!
So, after Xuan Ye carefully observed the defense layout of Qinghe Fort in the distance, he suddenly raised his hand and called out: "Where is Yue Le?"
The next moment, a Jianzhou Jurchen veteran with a capable image rushed to Xuan Ye's side on horseback and said in a loud voice: "Please give me your instructions, Khan!"
Xuan Ye raised his whip and pointed at Qinghe Fort in the distance, and said in a cold voice: "I order you to lead your troops to attack Qinghe Fort immediately! I also know that this kind of military fort is extremely difficult to break, so I don't force it.
You must break Qinghe Fort, but you must cause the Qinghe Fort defenders to suffer heavy casualties, and let the blood of the Han people spill all over the walls of Qinghe Fort!... I haven’t seen Zhao Junchen for a long time. I want to say hello to him, but I also want to let him
Understand, you should remain in awe in front of this Khan!"
After hearing Xuan Ye's instructions, Yue Le was full of confidence. After receiving the order loudly, he turned around and loudly issued orders to prepare for the attack on the city.
There are only 3,000 guards under Xuan Ye, and together with the remnant Jurchen army in Jianzhou near Qinghe Fort, there are less than 5,000 soldiers and horses. However, the 3,000 guards under Xuanye are all the most elite "Baya La"
, can be said to be the strongest army in the contemporary Far East. The Liaodong Cavalry and the Guanning Cavalry did not dare to attack directly. When fighting with the ordinary Ming army, they could defeat one against ten, so Yue Le did not feel what Xuan Ye wanted at all.
Any difficulties with the assigned tasks.
At the same time, Xuan Ye was still staring closely at Qinghe Fort in the distance, his anger still lingering in his heart, but there was also a trace of doubt.
In Xuan Ye's view, Zhao Junchen is undoubtedly a smart man. He must understand the principle of leaving room for behavior and doing things. He should have heard the old saying that "everything that is too much will lead to disaster" and wants to take advantage of all the benefits in the world.
, you are destined to be the enemy of everyone in the world!
But Zhao Junchen's recent actions are not at all like what a smart person should do.
It seems that all the mechanisms have been calculated, so that everyone suffers and suffers, and only he gets all the benefits. After eating the meat, he does not even leave any bones and dregs for others. But this kind of greedy approach will definitely make countless enemies. It is simply
You are shortsighted and digging your own grave!
"Zhao Junchen's no-room approach would be fine if it was only aimed at Jianzhou Jurchens. After all, we are clearly divided between the enemy and ourselves. But when he faced the Shanhaiguan Wu family and Liaodong Town, he also left no room for anything and did everything he could...
…Isn’t he worried that he will make enemies everywhere and arouse public anger? It’s as if his situation is already precarious, so he drinks poison to quench his thirst like this…”
Thinking of this, Xuan Ye frowned, feeling that he had overlooked some important factors.
*
In fact, not only Xuan Ye was deeply confused by Zhao Junchen's recent short-sighted behavior, but Linghu Guang was also puzzled.
Just as Xuan Ye led his troops to the vicinity of Qinghe Fort, Zhao Junchen also found a reason to summon Linghu Guang in front of him and boasted proudly to Linghu Guang.
"...This trip to Liaodong, this pavilion has gained a lot. It not only promoted the reform of Liao's salary, stopped the Wu family's ambition in Shanhaiguan, but also moved an entire Jinshan Mountain from Jinzhou Camp!...
…After we reach an armistice agreement with Xuan Ye, we can still monopolize the credit for quelling the border troubles, but neither the Wu family in Shanhaiguan nor Liaodong Town will reap any benefits!"
When he was bragging, Zhao Junchen seemed to have a casual demeanor, but the complacency in his eyebrows could not be concealed no matter what, just like a successful villain who was pretending to be reserved.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Linghu Guang was secretly despised, but also couldn't help but feel admiration.
In the past two months, Zhao Junchen has indeed accomplished many major events in Liaodong.
These things are all extraordinary, none of them are easy, and can even be said to be almost impossible to achieve, but Zhao Junchen did it!
Considering that Zhao Junchen had no foundation in Liaodong, he just relied on his superior vision and methods to turn decay into magic and the impossible into reality, which is naturally admirable.
However, just like Xuan Ye, Linghu Guang also believed that Zhao Junchen was too ruthless in doing things. He monopolized all the benefits but left no profit or water for others. This approach simply forced the whole world to become his enemy.
In Linghu Guang's view, Zhao Junchen had completely deviated from the correct direction of conducting business in the officialdom because of his greed and short-sightedness. Under such circumstances, the more sophisticated the means and the more significant the results, the more self-destructive he was!
Therefore, Linghu Guang couldn't figure out for a while whether he admired Zhao Junchen more or despised Zhao Junchen more now.
But on the surface, Linghu Guang's face was full of admiration. He almost wanted to pay homage. He nodded repeatedly and said: "It's more than just a fruitful harvest? It's simply fruitful! Great achievements! Take Liao's salary reform as an example, which directly solved the problems that troubled the imperial court.
A chronic disease of the central nervous system that has lasted for a hundred years. How great an achievement is this? I wouldn’t even dare to think about it on others!
It is said that strong dragons cannot overwhelm local snakes, but from the humble point of view, after all, those so-called 'strong dragons' are either just fake dragons, or they are not strong enough! Real strong dragons like you, Zhao Gechen, cannot be easily defeated by Liaodong Town.
Local cowards like the Wu family in Shanhaiguan have surrendered one after another? What seems impossible to others is, however, very easy for you, the cabinet minister!"
Zhao Junchen's expression was very useful, but he still pretended to be reserved, and said slowly: "I wiped out the Mongolian coalition forces on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, and assisted the court to regain the Hetao, but in the end, your Majesty only conferred one title on me.
Uncle Xincheng, on the other hand, Liang Fuchen was granted the title of Marquis. To be honest, I was a little unconvinced at the time...
And this time, if we can successfully persuade the Jurchens in Jianzhou to withdraw their troops and cease the war, and add to the achievements of stabilizing Liaodong, Your Majesty should grant this cabinet a title no matter what! It is a pity that I am too junior and too young, otherwise the head of the cabinet will
You can also look forward to the positions of the auxiliary and secondary auxiliaries!"
Linghu Guang nodded again and continued to compliment: "More than just a title of marquis? With all your achievements, even a title of hereditary Duke is not too much! As for the order of the cabinet... Even if you can't be the first assistant, the second assistant is
Well deserved!"
After hearing this, Zhao Junchen finally couldn't bear it any longer and burst out laughing on the spot, becoming even more complacent.
However, from the corner of Zhao Junchen's eyes, he looked at Linghu Guang, who kept smiling in front of him, and felt cold deep in his heart.
*
At this moment, Zhao Junchen has completely figured out the details of Linghu Guang and the truth behind Linghu Guang's initiative to serve him!
After leaving Jinzhou Camp, under Zhao Junchen's prompting, Jiang Quan once again investigated Linghu Guang's situation in detail, and spent a lot of money to bribe Linghu Guang's cronies.
Perhaps Linghu Guang thought that Zhao Junchen had completely trusted him now, so he slightly reduced his precautions, and finally Jiang Quan discovered something unusual.
In short, there is a suspicious person named "Mr. Feng" hidden next to Linghu Guang.
In front of this "Mr. Feng", Linghu Guang has always had a humble attitude and obeyed orders. He was obviously taking orders from others.
Judging from various signs, this "Mr. Feng" is most likely from the inner court!
After investigating this information, Jiang Quan couldn't help but feel horrified and quickly reported the details to Zhao Junchen.
Zhao Junchen had expected it, but after discovering the truth, he still couldn't help but be secretly shocked.
Obviously, Linghu Guang's declaration of surrender was a test arranged by Emperor Deqing! He just wanted to test whether Zhao Junchen had any ambition to covet military power!
Of course, Zhao Junchen understood the principle of not taking all the benefits, not doing things to perfection, and everyone carrying the sedan chair. He originally did not want to monopolize all the benefits, which would arouse the hostility and embarrassment of all forces.
But when he discovered Linghuguang's true mission, he knew that Emperor Deqing had been watching him closely. He could only choose this short-sighted and greedy approach, deliberately making enemies everywhere, and then through Linghuguang and that person.
"Mr. Feng" reported all these things to Emperor Deqing, making Emperor Deqing think that he was not a problem at all, in exchange for Emperor Deqing's peace of mind!
Zhao Junchen deliberately mentioned in front of Linghu Guang that he hoped to be granted a title of marquis. In fact, he wanted Emperor Deqing to know that his asking price was not high and his ambitions were not high.
At the same time, Emperor Deqing's temptation also gave Zhao Junchen a sense of precarious crisis.
Zhao Junchen is already a very popular minister at a young age and has long been tolerated by Emperor Deqing. Therefore, regardless of whether there is this trial or not, and whether Zhao Junchen covets military power and has hidden ambitions, Emperor Deqing will sooner or later
Take action to eliminate Zhao Junchen's ruling and opposition forces and deprive Zhao Junchen of all his powers.
Emperor Deqing still keeps Zhao Junchen, just because Zhao Junchen is still useful!
But Emperor Deqing still arranged this test, which seemed to be unnecessary.
This superfluous approach means two possibilities!
Or maybe Emperor Deqing just wanted to find a good reason to convince himself to make up his mind to remove Zhao Junchen as soon as possible!
Or maybe Emperor Deqing just wanted to find conclusive evidence to get all parties in the government and the opposition to support him in killing Zhao Junchen!
But no matter which possibility it is, it can explain one thing, that is - Emperor Deqing has begun to make preparations to deal with Zhao Junchen!
Emperor Deqing was always very happy with great achievements. A person with this kind of character is naturally not good at holding back, nor does he understand the principle of preparing for attacks and not using them. Once he holds a hammer in his hand, he will definitely look for nails to hit twice.
Before the layout is completed, Emperor Deqing may be able to tolerate it, but if he is allowed to complete the entire layout and have complete control, he will inevitably be unable to help but attack Zhao Junchen!
This also means that there is not much time left for Zhao Junchen!
Zhao Junchen originally thought that Emperor Deqing would continue to tolerate him for at least three to five years, because he could still do two things for Emperor Deqing, one was to organize a fleet to go to sea to search for immortals, and the other was to manage the treasury to quell the food shortage.
.
But if you think about it carefully, whether it is to go to sea to find immortals or to quell the food shortage, Zhao Junchen has already pointed out the direction of the plan and has set up the basic framework. It can be completely handed over to others to take over. Even if the effect is worse, it will not be the same.
There is no progress at all, so Zhao Junchen may not be indispensable.
After thinking of this, Zhao Junchen suddenly felt a sense of imminent crisis.
With Emperor Deqing's political skills, it did not take long to prepare a plan to deal with Zhao Junchen, so Zhao Junchen could not have another three to five years to slowly accumulate strength.
It is precisely because of this sense of crisis that Zhao Junchen always leaves no room when doing things recently, eager to monopolize all the benefits, just to accumulate various capital as soon as possible, not only to appease Emperor Deqing's suspicion, but also to
He wanted Emperor Deqing to be wary, delay Emperor Deqing's opportunity to strike, and at the same time give himself more strength to resist.
All in all, Zhao Junchen's recent performances were deliberately performed for Ling Huguang and the "Mr. Feng" behind him.
And Zhao Junchen's approach was quite effective.
Ever since Zhao Junchen deliberately showed his greedy and short-sighted side, Feng Huan, the eunuch hiding next to Linghu Guang, has been unhappy and even a little anxious, thinking that Zhao Junchen's behavior is not conducive to his future.
By sowing discord in front of Emperor Deqing, he could not take advantage of the opportunity to overthrow Zhao Junchen and avenge the old grudge between Zhao Junchen and him.
Therefore, Eunuch Feng has urged Linghu Guang many times in the past few days, asking Linghu Guang to wait for an opportunity to remind Zhao Junchen that there is room for action and that he must not monopolize all the benefits and become the enemy of the whole world.
Zhao Junchen thought about it and wished he could personally go into battle to make suggestions for Zhao Junchen.
But now, after Zhao Junchen's laughter subsided, Linghu Guang hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but remind him: "But... I'm sorry for my humble position, but minister, aren't you worried that you are monopolizing too many benefits?"
, and then cause public resentment among all forces in Liaodong? You must know that whether it is Liaodong Town, Shanhaiguan Wu Family, or Jianzhou Jurchen, they are not easy to manipulate, and they will not be willing to be driven and used by you.
Now he must be embarrassed by your methods...especially the governor of Jiliao Wu Yingxiong. How can he be willing to see the cooked duck intercepted by your minister? Maybe he will become angry and become an enemy of you again.
A mortal enemy with no room for change..."
Hearing Linghu Guang's "well-intentioned" reminder, Zhao Junchen was arrogant and sneered: "General Linghu, you stayed in Liaodong for too long, so your vision is limited to Liaodong, and you pay too much attention to the Wu family in Shanhaiguan and Liaodong Town.
These forces! In the final analysis, Liaodong Town is a remote place with poor mountains and rivers. There is not much oil and water to draw from, and there is no benefit worthy of my long-term consideration. After I return to the capital, I am afraid that I will never come back in this life.
, so what if we completely offended the Shanhaiguan Wu family and Liaodong Town? Will they be able to lead troops to attack the capital in the future to retaliate against me? Why should we deliberately leave room for them? "
Seeing Zhao Junchen's arrogant attitude, Linghu Guang became more and more contemptuous of Zhao Junchen's short-sightedness, but he did not dare to persuade him any more.
At this moment, Jiang Quan suddenly pushed in the door and reported with a serious expression: "Informing Minister Zhao, Xuan Ye has led 3,000 Jianzhou Jurchen elites to the vicinity of Qinghe Fort... But I see that the Jianzhou Jurchens are very aggressive.
However, it doesn’t look like I want to negotiate peace with you, but that I want to attack the city!”