After leaving the palace, Zhao Congfu sent Shang Yi to Guanyi and told Shang Yi the whole ins and outs of what happened this time.
It turned out that Zhou Yanru had just arrived in Tongzhou when he learned that Jinyiwei's secret message had been sent to Beijing. He naturally knew that the matter was serious, so although he was still in Tongzhou, he immediately sent an official document back to the court, saying that he had not received any information from Shandong in Tongzhou. The report of the war, and the Qing army marching to Hebei showed solemn appearance, neat ranks, and no appearance of a major defeat.
Zhou Yanru's party members who stayed in Beijing also wrote to the court, saying that Zeng Hualong was imprisoned in order to invite rewards; he faked military exploits and strongly demanded that Zeng Hualong be punished. Chongzhen was originally half-convinced about Denglai's victory. Many people said it, so they couldn't help but believe it, so in a fit of anger, they immediately ordered Zeng Hualong and Shang Yi to be imprisoned. At the same time, they cursed Luo Yangxing, saying that he didn't know how to hire people, and Jingran dared to lie about the war.
Luo Yangxing also knew that the matter was urgent. This time, he failed to overthrow Zhou Yanru. Instead, he got himself involved. But at this point, he could no longer turn back and had no choice but to make a desperate move. Therefore, he insisted that Shen Yang and others must definitely defeat Zhou Yanru. He would not lie, and insisted that after Shen Yang and others returned to Beijing, he would be willing to confront the emperor. If it could be proven that it was fake military exploits, he would be willing to take the blame.
After hearing what he said, Chongzhen calmed down a little. He felt that what Luo Yangxing said was reasonable, and his daughter was also with Jin Yiwei. Now Chongzhen couldn't figure out who was telling the truth, but his daughter's words could always be believed. So Luo Yangxing was ordered to immediately bring Shen Yang and others back, but Shang Yi and Zeng Hualong, who were in prison, would not be interrogated for the time being.
Of course, for Chongzhen, it was normal for a minister to be thrown into jail for a few days or even months or years because of suspicion. As long as they were released and their official positions were restored, It was a great kindness to them. Even high-profile ministers like Hou Xun and Sun Chuanting had received such treatment.
But now that Shang Yi's matter has been clarified, Zhou Yanru kept it very secretive, because those who attacked Zeng Hualong were all Zhou Yanru's party members, but Zhou Yanru himself was in Tongzhou, so Yanran could stay out of the matter. In addition to blaming Zhou Yanru for the untrue news, Chongzhen had no doubts about Zhou Yanru's arrival. After that, Zhou Yanru sent back two reports of victory in a row, both reporting great victories and over a thousand beheadings. Chongzhen also had great hopes for Zhou Yanru, and he would be able to achieve greater military exploits while he was in charge. Therefore, the current evidence alone is not enough to overthrow Zhou Yanru.
Of course Shang Yi knew that Zhou Yanru's victory was the real false report of military exploits. In another time and space, this was the main reason for Zhou Yanru's failure.
At this time, Shang Yi asked again: "Who are the gangsters who attacked you? Are there any other clues?"
Zhao Congfu shook his head, took out three bronze medals from his arms, handed them to Shang Yi, and said: "We collected a total of eighty-two corpses, but apart from this, there are no other discoveries?"
Shang Yi took a look and saw that the three bronze medals were the size of a palm and as thick as one finger. On one side, there was a coiled dragon engraved, and on the other side, there were different three characters "wind", "tiger" and "earth" engraved. The dragon pattern has one claw on two sides and two claws on one side. I couldn't help but ask, "Is it the Xuanhuang Cult?"
Zhao Congfu was a little surprised that Shang Yi also knew about the Xuanhuang Sect, because the Xuanhuang Sect was also a relatively secretive sect in the world, but there were not many files and information about them collected in Jinyiwei. So he asked: "Shang
Does the general also know about the Xuanhuang Cult?"
Shang Yi nodded and told Zhao Congfu about his several contacts with the Xuanhuang Sect, but concealed the fact that the Xuanhuang Sect tried to accept him. Then he said: "It seems that Zhou Yanru and the Xuanhuang Sect have something to do with each other."
What collusion?
Zhao Congfu gave a bitter smile and said: "Now we can only confirm that those who attacked us are people from the Xuanhuang Sect, but there is no real evidence to prove whether Zhou Yanru and the Xuanhuang Sect colluded. If we want to win over Zhou Yanru, there is no real evidence
It's not possible to prove everything. But we will use scriptures to make pictures of all the eighty-two people and interrogate them around the capital to see if we can find any clues. But does General Shang have any good ideas?"
Shang Yi thought to himself that I am not Sherlock Holmes, nor Poirot, nor even Kindaichi. Is there any good way I can come up with? And now, it doesn’t matter to me whether I can overthrow Zhou Yanru or not. The important thing is to hurry up.
Leave Beijing and return to Shandong to take office. After returning to Shandong, no one can do anything to themselves.
However, when Zhao Congfu asked, he had to answer, and by defeating Zhou Yanru, he could also breathe a sigh of relief. Anyway, Jin Yiwei was there to take the lead, so he didn't have to worry too much. Of course, according to Jin Yiwei's current method, it is obviously not possible, Beijing
There are millions of people in the city and outside the city. Looking for only 82 people is not like finding a needle in a haystack. It can only rely on luck.
But what solution could he come up with? He only knew that Zhou Yanru was deposed by Chongzhen after being accused by Luo Yangxing of falsely reporting military exploits, and was forced to commit suicide. Shang Yi suddenly felt something in his heart, and he had a solution, so he immediately said to Zhao Congfu:
"Zhao Zhenfu, do you think the good news Zhou Yanru sent back to the court is true?"
Zhao Congfu was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly realized that his eyes had been limited to the capital, but he forgot that the real breakthrough was actually in Tongzhou. They knew how much Zhou Yanru weighed, and he could defeat the Qin army.
That was a fairy tale. If we were to catch evidence that Zhou Yanru falsely reported his military exploits, it would not be difficult to get Zhou Yanru in one fell swoop. So he quickly said to Shang Yi: "Good idea, thank you General Shang." After that,
After that, he also left in a hurry.
Watching Zhao Congfu leave in a hurry, Shang Yi didn't know what it was like. The party struggle was particularly fierce during the Chongzhen Dynasty. The life and death of Yuan Chonghuan, Lu Xiangsheng and others were more or less related to the party struggle. But at this time, Ming Ming
The empire of the dynasty was in danger, but the ministers didn't seem to realize it, and they were still fighting among themselves. This time, whether it was Luo Yangxing or Zhou Yanru, what they fought and cared about
In fact, it was all about their own interests, not the interests of the country. However, the national power of the Ming Dynasty was consumed in these struggles, and it became uncontrollable.
But Shang Yi then thought about it, if they want to fight, let them continue to fight. It has nothing to do with him. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty only has less than a year left to live, so he should seize the last time and continue to fight. He
Just do your own thing well.
Now it seems that I am a general and commander of the capital. With my identity and status established, I can legitimately start to expand my power. Because my identity was not determined before, and what happened after entering Beijing Shang Yi never had time to think about these things in the future. Now it's time to plan them out.
A year later, Li Zicheng and the Qing army will invade Beijing one after another, and the Ming Dynasty will be officially destroyed. Moreover, the Qing army will not only enter the pass for plunder, but also permanently occupy China and establish a dynasty. The most they can do is More than a year to develop.
Although on the current basis, within one year, I can train a good army. But I am following the path of a modern army. Although the combat effectiveness of the army is very high, it requires extremely high logistics supply. It needs a stable and abundant rear support, but Shandong itself is not an economically developed area, and after being robbed by the Qing army twice in a row, the social production of farmers has also been greatly damaged. Within five or six years It will not be able to recover at all. Therefore, it is difficult to support the huge expenditure of one's own army. It may be possible to withstand the Qing army's attack for one or two years, but it will definitely not be consumed by the long-term confrontation with the Qing army. A musket without bullets is more valuable than a gun. A fire stick isn't much better.
Therefore, the most ideal result is to establish a base area in the Yangtze River Basin. The economy here is relatively developed, and social production has not been greatly damaged. It has huge potential. It would be better if it is along the coast, and overseas trade can also be developed. In this way, It can pay for the long-term battle between itself and the Qing army. More importantly, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Nanming court established in Nanjing can still last for another year, which can also buy itself a lot of preparation time. That is After the fall of the Southern Ming Dynasty, there were Tang, Gui, Lu and other regimes that could contain the strength of a Qing army, and they could fish in troubled waters, which was much better than clinging to Shandong.
But now that he is only a garrison general in Shandong, how can he establish his own base in the Yangtze River Basin? Shang Yi has no clue now, so he can only take one step at a time and wait for the opportunity.
At this time, Ye Yaoyao came out of the inner room and saw Shang Yi sitting in a daze. She couldn't help but said, "Mr. Sir, what are you thinking about?"
Shang Yi was startled, and suddenly remembered that Ye Yaoyao would also go into the palace tomorrow to see Queen Zhou and Princess Kunxing, so she should be prepared. So he told Ye Yaoyao.
After hearing this, Ye Yaoyao was shocked because she knew that Zhou Wei was actually Princess Kunxing, and said: "If you want to meet the Queen and the Princess, what clothes should you wear, and what etiquette should you do when you meet them? I don’t know anything about it?”
Shang Yi felt embarrassed after hearing this. This was really a problem. There were indeed too many etiquettes in this era and were too troublesome.
At this moment, Duan Peng suddenly came in and reported that a group of eunuchs and maids had arrived and wanted to see Shang Yi.
Shang Yi didn't know what was going on, so he hurriedly went out to greet him. When they arrived at the gate of the palace, the leader was Eunuch Liu whom he had met in the palace. Behind him were the young eunuchs and more than a dozen maids. Shang Yi hurriedly stepped forward. He saluted and said: "My father-in-law is here, I don't know what to teach him."
Eunuch Liu smiled and said: "We are here on the order of the Queen. Isn't General Shang's wife going to meet the Queen tomorrow? Your Majesty is afraid that you will rush to Beijing and not be prepared in time, so she specially came to send some clothes to Madam. There are several nuns in the palace who will teach Mrs. Shang how to perform the ceremony when she meets the empress tomorrow."
After hearing this, Shang Yi hurriedly said: "Thank you, father-in-law, for taking the trouble." Then he invited them in and asked Duan Peng to get the money.