In the majestic and deserted Forbidden City, the ministers were walking outside the empty hall. The tense meeting ended. Even if the ministers were not named or scolded, they were somewhat traumatized and cautiously kept their distance from Yang Sichang. Only the Ministry of War Liu Yuliang, a former pavilion elder, came over and said a few words of comfort, and then he went east to Wenyuan Pavilion with the other two pavilion elders.
Yang Sichang walked heavily at the end, with only Zhao Guangpin, a staff doctor from the Ministry of War, accompanying him. Zhao Guangpin wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking worried.
Originally, Yang Sichang brought Zhao Guangpin with him because he wanted to discuss secretly with the emperor after the duel, and use Lu Xiangsheng's secret report to promote the opening of the market with Jiannu. However, the method adopted by the emperor made all Yang Sichang's preparations go away. After failing, both of them were naturally in a bad mood.
"My lord, please don't take it seriously. Your Majesty still values our Ministry of War, and he especially relies on you."
Yang Sichang sighed, "Yanqing, you'll see tomorrow. You can survive by reading my memorial. That's fine. I won't bite you if there are too many lice. I'm just worried about pacifying the thieves. If I don't eradicate them effectively before winter, I'm afraid." It’s another disaster in Mianchi, as big as a carriage.”
At this time, the two of them passed by a eunuch who was cleaning the cracks in the bricks on the ground. After leaving for a while, Zhao Guangpin whispered, "The villain also thinks that Zhang Thief will rebel when winter comes."
Yang Sichang tilted his head and looked behind him with his peripheral vision. When he saw that there was really no one around him, he said, "It's not Zhang Thief who is the fault of Zhang Thief."
Zhao Guangpin responded, "What you are worried about is that slaves will become invaders."
"In the second year of Chongzhen, he entered Jifu as a slave. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, he entered Xuanda University. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, he entered Xuanda University again. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, he entered Jifu again. Yanqing, can you tell the difference?"
"Except for the Xuanda period in the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, the period of establishing slaves in border areas was roughly two years."
Yang Sichang nodded, "It is a two-year period. The fifth year of Chongzhen was delayed by one year because of the Battle of Daling River. Last year, North Korea surrendered to the Dongjiang River and collapsed, and all surrounding restraints were eliminated. This year's invasion of slaves will be unprecedented. "At that time, all the available troops will be used by King Qin, and nets will be spread out from ten sides to kill seven or eight of them. How can Zhang Liu and other thieves not rebel again?"
"Your Majesty thinks that Jiannu will arrive this year. Your Majesty also understands that, but he can't say that."
Yang Sichang looked at the five Jinshui Bridges in front of him, "Everyone in the court knows what Shen Qi has learned. If you don't say that, it will be useless to open the market here. Tell Yanqing what I mean, if it is beneficial to the world, I will spare no effort to do so." It would have been possible to tell the story of one's life and death, but in the end it was a useless move. Now we just say it is a border market. It is impossible to say that, let alone discuss peace."
"In the eyes of Yanguan, when the market is opened, it means paying off the captives, and when negotiating peace, it means letting the thieves live. The court has no room for maneuver. It has not done anything good for twenty years, so it is like this."
Yang Sichang walked in silence for a while, and then said to Zhao Guang again, "The way to defend the border of our country is to maintain the army. As time goes by, we can't do it and it gradually accumulates. After the fall of Liaoyang, the people in charge don't know what to do. The only way is to increase the pay. Pay is increasing day by day, the army is getting weaker and the people are getting poorer. The bandits in the Central Plains are fundamentally shaken, and the difficulty of using troops lies entirely in this. At present, the available troops are only enough to deal with one side, and there is not enough preparation to suppress the bandits. I have made it clear to the emperor before. The harm caused by rogue bandits must be to suppress the bandits first and prepare the frontier. The net has been stretched from ten sides, but the suppression has turned into a fu. The strong soldiers gathered and only lost food and pay, but left hidden dangers in the heart of the heart. What can be done about it."
Zhao Guangpin looked around and then said worriedly, "I have already made a secret report that Jian Nu will enter the border this year. If we don't open the horse market, Jian Nu will come to the border to rob him. After all, he will still be a slave. Re-open In the horse market of Uiju, the exchange of goods with Jiannu is just a superficial one, and the negotiation for peace is not about peace but negotiation. It only needs to be postponed for one more year, and the net will be spread out from all sides to compete for all the merits. It will not be too late to gather the elite to fight against Jiannu. .”
The Yizhou he mentioned is just to the north of Jinzhou. The Chahar tribe involved in Lu Xiangsheng's secret report is at most the subordinate tribe of Jiannu. Yizhou can basically be regarded as the sphere of influence of Jiannu, that is, it directly opened a market with Jiannu.
.
This proposal was also included in a secret report. The emperor also asked Yang Sichang publicly in court, asking Yang Sichang to confirm that the Mongolians in Yizhou could refuse slaves for the Ming Dynasty.
Happy and dispersed.
Yang Sichang shook his head and said, "The world has been corrupted for a long time. No matter the court or the people, they can't take a breather. The peace negotiation has been delayed for a year, and this year has been a breath of anger. It is so difficult to survive."
"My lord, what you are saying is that the net was originally spread out on ten sides, but this breath of anger is right in front of you. Last year, the bandits suffered a disastrous defeat in Susong, and this year they were severely beaten by Zuo Liangyu. They are indeed at the end of their war effort. Seeing that I am surrounded by strong soldiers, they will be relieved."
In order to delay the attack, if this opportunity is passed, there will be endless troubles."
The two of them walked to the Jinshui Bridge. Yang Sichang felt that his steps were heavy. He stopped to take a few breaths and turned to look at the magnificent palace behind him. "There will be endless troubles. If we really fight, we should gather all our troops in Xuanda."
, Jizhen, in order to protect the slaves on the border. In this current situation, the thieves have ulterior motives. They can only suppress them with heavy troops, but they cannot leave. They need troops to prepare for the border and there are no soldiers to mobilize. This is nothing but pacification. Once the slaves are invaded,
, all the troops to guard against thieves were mobilized to serve the king, but two months were wasted on the way, and the slaves were just waiting for work. In the end, I am afraid that they will neither be diligent to the king nor guard against thieves, and will end up with nothing."
Zhao Guangpin lowered his voice and said, "Can you let Yu Yinggui and Dai Dongmin think of some ways to force Zhang and Liu to rebel, so that we can gather all the elite border troops to fight against Jiannu?"
"With the cunning of the two thieves Zhang and Liu, they will not easily revolt. Xiong Wencan is in Xiangyang. What methods can Yu Yinggui and Dai Dongmin come up with? Let them do their best and not fall into the hands of Xiong Wencan." Yang Sichang looked at the jade belt.
The flowing water in the river, after thinking for a long time, sighed and said, "I know it is like this but there is nothing I can do about it. It is just like this, what can I do about it?"
…
"The thief Zhang built a house and farmed in Baishazhou. The rice and beans in the county town have been forcibly bought by the thief. The people have no food for the next day. The eight thieves send dozens of soldiers to various sects every day. There are also soldiers and horses on various Jindu bridges to the east.
The garrison, which is called "Jie Thief", is actually a warning soldier, collecting money from the common people and merchants to enter the city. No common people dare to leave the city, and no merchants dare to enter. Beside the couches where the officials and people of the city are sleeping, if there is a hungry tiger sleeping soundly, they will be on tenterhooks all the time.
This is by no means a long-term solution, so please give the military gate a thunderous strike to restore peace to the people of Gucheng."
In the Xiangyang Inspection Division, Dai Dongmin listened solemnly, and everyone in the hall was pouring out his words. There were only a few people standing in the hall. This official office was originally used by the Inspection Division for business trips to inspect work, so the lobby was very small, but now
There is Xiong Wencan in Xiangyang Mansion. His level is too high, and all the good places have been given to him. When Dai Dongmin comes over, he can only make do with it here.
Pang Yu was also in the hall. He originally wanted to talk to Dai Dongmin about the true nature. Because the scope of the campaign to suppress the bandits was too large, the Ministry of War also kept pace with the times and adjusted the original true nature supply system.
Directly supplying military rations, deducting the items being shipped, and eliminating the need to transport them everywhere. However, it is limited to the conditions at this time. It is a big trouble to balance the accounts. Some items being shipped are not strictly assessed, and the local government has always been in arrears. It has been delayed for a long time.
If you get it, just throw it away. Now that it has been deducted from current grain, the local government actually has more expenditures, and the needs of the army often change. Overspending is normal, so the local government wants to deduct more discounts. It needs to be discussed with the superiors or households.
In internal disputes, a military salary will involve four or five related parties.
The support in places that are directly facing threats is slightly better. In other places, there are always disputes with the military. Tongcheng needs to support local officials and troops in Lu'an Prefecture and deliver military rations nearby. There are a lot of wranglings. Pang Yu has seen it before.
Xiong Wencan's three general soldiers, as well as the deputy general soldier Pang Yu, have traveled a lot, and are currently near Xiangyang. Everyone needs to divide a supplier. Xiong Wencan doesn't care about these small things, and usually the governor makes the division.
Then the army found a place to contact them. While Dai Dongmin was still in Xiangyang, Pang Yu came to implement the matter today.
Among the four main forces of Mr. Xiong, Zhang Renxue is the commander-in-chief of Henan. Although he is nominally directly led by Xiong Wencan, it is just to get more money. Currently, Huguang is relatively calm. The larger bandits have all gone to Henan. The governor of Henan keeps asking for help.
Xiong Wencan planned to ask Zhang Renxue to return to Henan to suppress the bandits, but it seemed that he had returned to the previous pattern of unclear ownership.
Chen Hongfan didn't have any impressive achievements. Lord Xiong hadn't arranged a specific place yet, he was just staying in Xiangyang temporarily, so Zuo Liangyu was the only one who came with him today.
Dai Dongmin used to be a military supervisor and fought many battles with Zuo Liangyu. Pang Yu also had contact with Zuo Liangyu. I am afraid that no civil servant would like him. He had already thought about his negotiation style before coming here, which was to straighten out his subordinates.
Li, Dai Dongmin is indeed not partial, and the grain areas are roughly equal.
But the total was still a little short, and Dai Dongmin wanted Gucheng to also provide some. It happened that Ruan Zhidian, the magistrate of Gucheng, was in Xiangyang on an official mission. When he was summoned, he didn't talk about money and food, so he spent a long time pouring out the bitter water.
At present, there are no officers and soldiers in Gucheng west of the Han River. The Eight Bandits' sentry horses are everywhere. After arriving at Gucheng from Xiying, they blocked all bridges and ferries.
All the people in Gucheng fled. The surrounding trade routes were cut off, and even ships were unwilling to cross the Gucheng River. All industries in the county were in ruins, and the fields were uncultivated. Ruan Zhidian lay on the ground and cried with sincerity. Now
Even Dai Dongmin felt that it was a bit unrealistic to ask Ruan Zhidian to supply the original material. Even if Ruan Zhidian was extremely capable in gathering the food, it would not be able to transport it out of Gucheng, and he would probably help the Eight Thieves instead.
"Ruan Zhixian, please get up first. You will save me the trouble. I will take care of the serious matters separately. The valley city is in turmoil. It is important for you to go back to the city and stabilize the people."
Ruan Zhidian lay on the ground for another moment, then stood up unwillingly and stood aside sobbing.
Dai Dongmin turned to Pang Yu and Zuo Liangyu and said, "Shuai Zuo and General Pang are stationed here to assist the people of Xiangyang in the suppression campaign. According to the imperial system, I will try my best to raise funds and there will be no shortage of troops."
Will."
"Zuo Mou trusts Dai Junmen, but the county magistrate is right. I know the Eight Thieves best, so it would be better to find a way to eliminate him earlier."
Dai Dongmin smiled bitterly and nodded at Zuo Liangyu, but said nothing.
Seeing this, Zuo Liangyu casually raised his hand to Dai Dongmin, "It saves me. If there is nothing else, Zuo will leave first. If Dai Junmen wants to use troops, you can bring a letter."
Pang Yu basically reached an agreement today, so he left with Zuo Liangyu. When the two of them came out of the lobby, Ruan Zhidian also came out. He rushed to Pang Yu and said hurriedly, "Please General Pang save Gucheng."
common people.”
Zuo Liangyu looked at him strangely, and Pang Yu quickly explained, "This is an old acquaintance of Xiaguan. Ruan Zhixian is from Anqing."
Zuo Liangyu chuckled and said, "You are in serious trouble, Ruan Zhixian. I want to save my life, so I just beg you, a village party member."
After he said that, he walked away. Pang Yu turned around and pulled Ruan Zhidian out of the door. Ruan Zhidian's nose was red and his face was full of sorrow and anger.
This Ruan Zhidian is indeed Pang Yu's hometown party member, and he is also Ruan Dacheng's distant cousin. Pang Yu is also strange in his heart. He and Ruan Dacheng seem to be particularly destined.
Visit the Ruan family relatives.
Ruan Zhidian's great-grandfather was Ruan Peng, who was the biological brother of Ruan Dacheng's great-grandfather, so they were distant cousins. Ruan Zhidian was in Huaining during the civil unrest in Tongcheng and had no dealings with Pang Yu. After Pang Yu was promoted to garrison
At first, he and Pi Yingju had a fierce fight, and he met many gentry in Anqing, including Ruan Zhidian. Because of their relationship with Ruan Dacheng, they got to know each other better, but that was the limit. Now we are more than a thousand miles away from Anqing.
When I met acquaintances again, the relationship immediately became much closer.
This fellow Anqing man had both good and bad luck. Emperor Chongzhen always felt that the officials who passed the imperial examination were not working hard, so he was determined to break the pattern of employment based on qualifications. Chen Qixin was a typical example. He became the censor of the six subjects monopolized by civil servants in the military examination, and even let Zhang Ren learn
When this Jinshi became a military attache, it was a break from official conventions. However, there were too few exceptions, and they were not enough to meet the emperor's needs, so a new department was opened to allow trustworthy people to recommend talented people from among the people, and then appoint them under special circumstances. Official positions were often
The gift is not small.
Jiang Chen was run by Zhang Pu, and he was appointed to the Ministry of Revenue from Bai Shen. Ruan Zhidian also joined the Xianliang Zhengke Branch, which was recommended by Liu Ruozai, and Bai Shen directly became the magistrate of Gucheng County. This is the good part. Luck.
The bad thing is that just when he was about to take office, Zhang Xianzhong arrived in Gucheng first, leaving no chance for Ruan Magistrate to compare money and food.
Ruan Zhixian must have regrets in his heart. The people can still run away, but he can't leave now even if he wants to. There is a time bomb next to the city. The situation is the same as that of Zhu Jiaxian last year. At least Zhu Jiaxian can still expect the officers and soldiers outside the city.
Ruan Zhidian didn't even have hope for rescue.
He could only cry to the governor, hoping that Dai Dongmin would lead the troops to kill Zhang thief, but Dai Dongmin was powerless. Pang Yu, a fellow who could fight, was his life-saving straw.
"General Pang clearly knows that the eight thieves have cut off the Jindu Bridge in the east of the river. There is no soldier in the west of the river. The city of Gucheng is on the anvil. The wealth and lives of tens of thousands of people in the city are here. The official's heart..." Ruan Zhidian
Wiping tears, "Ever since I was beaten as a virtuous and virtuous person, Fang Zhengke, all I wanted to do was live up to the divine grace and benefit the people. Who would have thought that it would be like this when he arrived? People in the county were panicked, and the bandits were the most wanted to kill."
There are so many people in the yamen that no one dares to go on duty in the yamen, not to mention the scribes, swords and pens, and even the sweepers and cooks, no one applies."
Pang Yu also had a headache, not because the Eight Thieves were difficult to defeat. Xiong Wencan was worried that the camp was too close to cause trouble, so each camp was not allowed to cross the river. Gucheng has almost become the private land of Xiying, but the officials and people of Gucheng cannot leave, saying it is a chopping block.
The meat on the plate is very tender.
"Brother Ruan, don't be too worried. The eight thieves are waiting to be recruited right now. He must not dare to attack you. Brother Ruan can recruit social soldiers first to be prepared. I will send someone to give you advice on how to defend the city. I have a battalion of strong soldiers here.
Therefore, I will closely monitor the eight thieves. If there is any trouble, I will definitely come to the rescue. The eight thieves are definitely no match for me."
Pang Yu was very confident when he said this. The current combat power of the Eight Thieves is really not high. The difficulty lies in their high mobility. On the battlefield, even some reliable officers and soldiers can defeat him.
But Ruan Zhidian didn't seem to be infected by this confidence. He looked at Pang Yu with red eyes, "Gucheng is not as good as Tongcheng. Even the city gate is in the hands of thieves. How can we defend the city? Anqing has the best soldiers in the world.
, thieves are certainly no match for them, but there is still a distance of 140 miles from Gucheng to Xiangyang, and there is the Han River. If something happens, how can we come to rescue in time? On behalf of the people of Gucheng, I would like to ask the general to garrison troops in Gucheng, even if it is in Hexi.
.”
"This... Lord Xiong has a strict order. Is there any way for Ruan Zhixian County to allow me to cross the river and garrison troops?"
Ruan Zhidian was stunned for a long time and shook his head numbly. Pang Yu could not think of anything to say to persuade him. Zhang Xianzhong had obviously considered carefully when choosing Gucheng. There were both barriers and escape routes here. The Zan Painting Department had come up with two backup plans.
, the most difficult thing among them is not how to attack the bandits, but how to overcome the natural chasm of Han River. When it is really implemented, I am afraid it will be too late as Ruan Zhidian said.
Ruan Zhidian seemed to be discouraged suddenly. He looked up at Pang Yu and whispered, "I have been thinking about becoming an official all my life, and finally I have been granted the land of a county by the Holy Grace. Whoever expects it will encounter bandits as soon as he arrives.
It is your duty to defend your homeland. Since this is your fate, what can you do about it?"
After saying this, he cupped his hands, turned around lonely and mounted his horse in front of the door, and headed out of the city.