The meeting, which originally lasted only half an hour, actually extended to nearly an hour after questions and answers. It was not until Wang Dehua came over to remind him softly that there were arrangements later that Chongzhen realized that so much time had passed.
At this time, his mood was very high. Yang Sichang had just proposed the strategy of suppressing the bandits, and now a "knowledgeable" person came from the sky. It seemed that the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty was God's will!
The key is that this person not only "knows Kun", but from the conversation just now, it can be seen that this person is clear-cut and thoughtful, and is a truly practical and capable person!
Such people will be of great use when it comes time to suppress Kun!
Thinking of this, he said: "I already know what you are talking about. I will give you an explanation."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
"You know the relationship well, and it is really unfair to be in the position of inspector." The emperor thought for a while, "The imperial court has a decree and chooses talents in an eclectic way, but it is a pity that you are not filial and honest..."
If one comes from a juren background, promotion will be easy. Sun Yuanhua came from a juren background and became governor of Denglai a few years ago.
"The humble minister is always incompetent." Qian Taichong was ecstatic. It seemed that the emperor not only wanted to make decisions for him, but also promoted him.
"Step back..." the emperor said, and suddenly remembered something, "Where are you now?"
"Weichen's original residence is the Fujian Guild Hall in the capital."
"Still go back there to live, and don't leave the capital unless you have the will."
This meant that there was a decree behind it. Qian Taichong was excited and frightened, knelt down, kowtowed, and withdrew.
When he came out of the palace, the escort of the Jinyiwei officer was very polite and sent him back to the Fujian Guild Hall in a small sedan chair. The steward of the Guild Hall was worried since he was taken away, for fear that he would be found out in the trial.
"The incident was brought to the guild hall. At this moment, I saw the officials sending the person back in a sedan chair, and I felt relieved.
Before leaving, the official school asked him to "take good care of Mr. Qian." The steward hurriedly agreed. Seeing that all the officials had left, the steward could not restrain his curiosity and asked about what happened in the past few days.
Qian Taichong was full of joy and originally wanted to talk it out, but when he thought about the matter involving the emperor, he should be cautious in his words. If it reached the emperor's ears, his "frivolous" remarks would not be able to escape.
Immediately he said: "I came to the capital to do something, and now I have a clue."
He came to the capital for business and has been here for more than half a year. He leaves early and comes back late every day. He has not seen a few smiling faces in the past few months.
The manager suddenly realized it and said, "Congratulations, congratulations, I think you will find a way now! Things will be easy to handle if there is a way!" After speaking, he lowered his voice and asked, "Are you not a big boss in the court?"
"Exactly! Exactly!" Qian Taichong was filled with uncontrollable joy, "I accept your auspicious words!"
Qian Taichong was in high spirits during happy events. Seeing that it was still early, he asked the steward to order some food and drinks so that he could sort out his thoughts while drinking.
The steward was very capable. After a while, a waiter brought food and wine with a food basket. Because it was served by one person, there were only four plates of side dishes, two plates of rice and a plate of "rolls".
At this moment, snowflakes were falling outside the window, and heavy snow fell in the capital. Qian Taichong simply opened the window, enjoying the snow and drinking. It was the first time in the past few years that he felt so comfortable. Not only because he had gained the emperor's attention, but also because the emperor had
In order to deal with the Kun thief.
In the final analysis, the current predicament of the Zheng family is caused by the Kun thief. As long as the momentum of the Kun thief wanes, the currently divided branches of the Zheng family will naturally compete overseas instead of fighting in Zhangzhou Bay.
During today's call, the emperor was very interested in the Kun thief. He asked a lot about the Kun thief. Qian Taichong discovered that although the Kun thief had fallen into two provinces and was far more powerful than the Kun thief, the emperor was not interested in the Kun thief.
But very little is known.
That's right, he thought, not to mention the emperor who sits at the top, Fujian, which is now a "frontline" province, has long been full of Kun cargo. Kun ships can be seen loading cargo on the docks in the Zhangquan area -
―Although they are all nominally merchants from the Ming Dynasty.
However, most of the officials and gentry knew nothing about the Kun thieves. At most, they only knew clichés such as strong ships, powerful guns, and sophisticated equipment.
As long as the imperial court is determined to suppress it, it may not be possible to send out a large army to conquer the south to eliminate the Kun thieves. It is not difficult to kill his arrogance. After all, the Ming Dynasty is a behemoth, how can it be compared to the Kun thieves?
When the wine was full, Qian Taichong had vague visions of himself as a meritorious minister, going to the court to congratulate him, being rewarded by the emperor, and returning to his hometown to honor his ancestors...
Suddenly there was a gentle knocking on the door. Qian Taichong thought it was the manager and said: "The door is not bolted, just come in by yourself."
There was only a "squeak" sound, and the doors were opened. It was not the steward who came in, but a strange young man.
He lives in a guild hall because he wants it to be quiet, unlike a hotel where people come and go and people come and go.
Qian Taichong was a little drunk, and after a while he asked: "Who is sir?"
The young man smiled slightly and said, "We don't know each other."
"Since we don't know each other, why did Weiye come to visit?"
"Although we are strangers, we have people who share the same hatred and hatred."
At this point, Qian Taichong was half awake from the wine, and he immediately realized that this person was not a random intruder, but had come prepared. Unconsciously, he became wary and said, "Student, I don't know what you mean..."
"Mr. Qian, you have been in the capital for eight months, so I don't need to say more about why you are here. Today, Yufangxuan has summoned the right person. Mr. Qian's ambition has been fulfilled. I am very happy and congratulated."
At this time, the wine Qian Taichong drank turned into cold sweat, which instantly broke out from his back. The initial feeling of drunkenness completely dissipated. He said sharply: "Who are you?!" After saying this, he wanted to touch it.
The sword behind.
"Mr. Qian, don't panic." The young man said with a smile, "I don't mean any harm by coming here. I just have some things that I want to discuss with you sir."
Qian Taichong's mind was spinning very fast. He had just confronted the emperor today, and he knew this person in the evening. He was obviously not an ordinary person. Maybe he was a member of the factory guard, or a middle-ranking official?
"What does this have to do with you?"
"Sir, you are well versed in Kun's sentiments. The imperial court's use of troops will be of great use in the future. But have you ever thought about what the military strength was like when the king and governor attacked the Kun thieves?"
"The military is strong."
"Would Kun Thief be as prosperous as he is today?"
"Far worse than today."
"In that case. When the imperial court uses troops, why do you think you won't make the same mistake as the king's governor?"
This question goes straight to Qian Taichong's heart. He has fought against the Kun thief and stayed in Lingao for two years. Of course he knows that today is no better than it used to be. Compared with a few years ago, the Kun thief is stronger.
At that time, in a mere county, there were thousands of infantry without even armor, and they wiped out more than 20,000 elite Guangdong officers and soldiers. Now they have invaded Guangdong and Guangxi, reaching Tianjin Wei in the north and Guangzhou Prefecture in the south. The sea is flying everywhere
Carrying the flag of the thief, the black smoke billowing fleet seemed to be in an uninhabited land.
Even if the imperial court can mobilize a hundred thousand troops, what can it do?
Thinking of this, he immediately fell down and the fine wine and food in front of him became boring.
He hesitated, raised his head in confusion, and asked: "Sir, what is the purpose of saying this?"
Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, and he said in a trembling voice: "Could it be, could it be, could you be Kun... a thief!"
At this moment, the panic of fleeing when Chengmai was defeated, the fear of being captured, the humiliation of being taken to Lingao for hard labor, and the shock of seeing the power of the thief... all came to the surface!
Probably seeing the fear in Qian Taichong's eyes, the visitor sighed slightly and said: "I am not a thief, sir, please relax. I have come here today to give you a few honest words."
"Yes, yes, please enlighten me."
"Sir, this hospitality..."
Only then did Qian Taichong come to his senses and said quickly: "Sit down, please sit down. I'll forgive you."
The young man just sat down. His behavior was very calm. Seeing that Qian Taichong was still a little distracted, he smiled and said: "Sir, don't be suspicious. I am at odds with the thief Kun. I just know that you have the intention of fighting against me, so I came to talk."
.”
Only then did Qian Taichong regain his composure, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "Sir, your arrival is so sudden..."
"There are many thieves and spies in the capital, so I have no choice but to do this." The young scholar whispered, "There are no outsiders here, so I can talk to you in secret."
"I don't know what your name is..."
"My surname is Le," the young man said. "Of course, it's a pseudonym."
Such frankness made Qian Taichong startled. He only heard the other party continue: "I and Kun Ze are old acquaintances. Kun Ze hates him to the core. It has to be like this."
Qian Taichong immediately expressed his understanding and asked again about the purpose of his visit.
"Sir, I summoned the emperor today and told a lot of inside stories about the thief. I think you also understand what the emperor means."
"Yes, the emperor seems to have the intention to attack Kun." Qian Taichong said, "Kun's thieves have now become a serious problem for the imperial court, but the princes of the imperial court are still ignorant and have not seen the overall situation clearly!"
"Sir, what you said is right. But this move to attack Kun must never be done!"
Qian Taichong was puzzled: "Even if it is a serious problem, why can't it be done? The Kun thieves are entrenched in Guangdong and Guangxi, and they have collected all the money, food and population of the two Guangxi areas. As time goes by, their power will become stronger. If the court blindly tolerates it, won't the Kun thieves be unstoppable in the future..."
"Sir, what you said is right. It's just that the imperial army was killed after ten attacks! How much food, men, and horses does the imperial court have now, so that it can withstand such a setback? Once the elite is lost, and the rogue bandits reappear, where will the imperial court go to raise money and food?
Training troops and horses again?”
Qian Taichong was at a loss for words. Based on his experience and knowledge, he could not say that the imperial court would definitely win. However, he was still very resistant to the inevitable defeat of the officers and soldiers. He hesitated and said, "Isn't that the case?"
Think about it again, from the time Wang Zunde defeated Chengmai to the present day, fires have been lit everywhere and smoke is rising in all directions. Not counting the small bandits and mobs, but the bandits in the Central Plains, the chieftains in the southwest, and Jianzhou outside the pass. They are fighting almost every day.
How many elite soldiers can be left? If we are defeated in Guangdong and all the elite troops drawn from various places are lost, you can imagine the next situation.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but froze, and murmured: "Cutting down the beard is a defeat, and defending is also a defeat. What should we do?"