Shandong, in Dongchang Mansion.
Under the introduction of Yang Peng, Zhang Zhou met Cao Bao, the commander of the local Pingshan Guards and the envoy of Qian Shixing. As his name suggests, Zhang Zhou’s first impression of this Cao Bao was that he was... Just like a idiot, he can't even speak fluently.
With a hereditary military position, it is difficult to get in touch with high-level civil servants outside the guards at the local level, and they are also very inexperienced in officialdom.
Yang Peng said, "The prefect of Dongchang Prefecture and the officials of the subordinate counties also want to see you, Duke Cai."
Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "No, I want to talk to Commander Cao." Let's talk about things properly and don't let others disturb you."
"Yes." Yang Peng glanced at Cao Bao with a smile, as if to say, you are lucky to have the illustrious Cai Guogong personally. Came to talk to you, it seems like you have a bright future.
Inner hall.
Zhang Zhou, Yang Peng, Cao Bao, as well as Liu Gui and Jia Laoshui brought over by Zhang Zhou met with Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao was watching the fun around a sand table. When he saw Zhang Zhou, he said excitedly, "Have we started?"
Zhang Zhou said, "Let me introduce you to the prince. This is Commander Pingshan Guard." I am here to serve Cao Bao."
"The villain Cao Bao meets the master"
In a hurry, he forgot who he was saluting and directly addressed the prince as "master".
"Isn't it possible to command Qianshi without being a commander?" Zhu Houzhao could also see that Cao Bao didn't look like he was good at leading troops.
Zhang Zhoudao said, "In the Ming Dynasty local guards, most of them are headed by commanders. The position of commander is not permanent. Prince, you just need to know that Commander Cao can mobilize troops according to orders."
"Oh." Zhu Houzhao said, "That's alright. There's nothing you need to do anyway. Does he know the situation?"
Zhang Zhou pointed at Yang Peng, meaning you can now Explained.
Yang Peng helped Cao Bao up and said with a smile, "Commander Cao, it's like this. The prince and Duke Cai have been threatened by evil spirits on their way north. As a local general, should you go out for this?" "One effort"
"Yes" Cao Bao replied.
Yang Peng smiled and said, "That's easy to handle. I heard that there are bandits in Gaotang in your Dongpingwei area. Please tell me about the situation."
"Ah, humble post , The villain is not incompetent in his work, but he has repeatedly conquered and suppressed the army, and the progress has not been smooth. Moreover, the adults of Dongchang Prefecture and others all think that the grass bandits are not worth mentioning. The soldiers once attacked the mountain tops of the thieves and returned without success."
It’s not that we are ineffective, it’s just that we can’t defeat them.
That’s about it.
Yang Peng said, "I asked you to tell me the situation. I didn't ask you how we suppressed it before. Do you still have to worry about how to send troops with Cai Guogong here?"
Cao Bao looked aggrieved. He looked at Zhang Zhou in confusion.
I was thinking, you, such a powerful figure in the court, passed by our Dongchang Mansion, and you actually came here to suppress several groups of bandits. Is it true that there is no place in the world that can completely suppress the bandits?
Cao Baodao: "The bandits in Dongchang Prefecture,Most of them came from Northern Zhili and other places, and many were runaway households raising horses. Those horse households that could no longer sustain themselves all fled away. They were good at riding and shooting with bows, and they often came and went like the wind. It will not go well if the people lead the troops to conquer many people. ”
“Yeah. ”
Zhang Zhou nodded, as if he was satisfied with Cao Bao’s answer.
The ability is average, but why did the bandit start and he knows the other party’s strengths? There is room for saving.
Zhang Zhou looked at Zhu Houzhao and said, "What do you think, Prince?"
Zhu Houzhao didn't bother to pay attention to that. He was going to take a practical class this time. He knew he was going to fight. He was almost too excited to sleep among the thieves on the ground in Shandong. If he could fulfill his wish of personally leading the troops, then this study tour would be a fruitful one.
"How to fight. "How to fight?" Zhu Houzhao only wanted to know when the fight would start.
Zhang Zhou said, "Commander Cao, as the new Minister of War, Cai Guogong, and in the name of Eunuch Yang, the admiral of the East Factory, I will mobilize five hundred of your elite troops. Are you willing to cooperate in the attack on the bandit mountaintop?"
"I accept my order in this humble position. ”
Cao Bao doesn’t need to care about Zhang Zhou’s current official position. He only needs to know that he can’t afford to offend anyone, whether it’s the prince, Zhang Zhou or Yang Peng.
As for the five hundred people, he can easily mobilize them.
Cao Baodao said, “But it’s better to say hello to Dongchang Mansion, so as not to”
“Lest I be impeached later. Someone is arbitrarily deploying troops in the local area." Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "I can still bear this matter. You go back and order all the troops, and you will follow me to send troops to Gaotang tomorrow. "
"Yes. "Cao Bao respectfully accepted the order.
Yang Peng sent Cao Bao away first.
After Yang Peng came back, he also sorted out and reported the current surrounding situation. "Master Zhang, except for Pingshan Guards, There are 500 soldiers who can be mobilized, and there are more than 400 Jinyiwei who can go together. There are less than a thousand people in total, and there are many muskets, but there are only two Shenwei cannons. Do you think it is enough? There are no Shenwei cannons stationed on the ground in Shandong, but there are some old cannons from the past. ”
“That’s enough. "Zhu Houzhao answered for Zhang Zhou, "Is it necessary to have cannons in a war? He rushed in on horseback. Haha, just thinking about it makes my blood boil. "
Ordinary children will be scared to death when it comes to killing enemies on the battlefield, or at least they should worry about their own lives.
But Zhu Houzhao has a strange feeling about him. He has an adventurous spirit, as if he does not take his own life as his fate, but takes pride in killing the enemy bravely.
This boy already has a full spirit of adventure, plus he was killed by Zhang Zhou in his childhood. Those martial arts "poisons" seemed to be even more serious, and they clamored to be Huo Qubing all day long.
Zhang Zhou said, "Prince, you have to understand the purpose of our trip."
Zhu Houzhao asked curiously, "Isn't the purpose to wipe out all the bandits?"
Yang Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, there are bandits everywhere. Even in a peaceful year, there will still be cases where the fallen grassroots turn into bandits." oftenMany of them are working in the mountains. Only when they can no longer survive, they will take desperate measures. When the government goes to conquer, it is often difficult to distinguish whether they are bandits or civilians. "
"Oh, then come in line. Anyway, I don't want to return to the capital. "Zhu Houzhao heard this.
This is a good feeling.
There are bandits everywhere, so I will just follow Mr. Zhang to suppress bandits everywhere, thinking that I rarely come back to the capital to see Seeing his father's bitter face
Zhang Zhou said angrily, "Prince, we want to deal with the thieves in Qingping and Gaotang, not because they disturb the people's livelihood, or because they have nothing to do with us. , just because they may have been bribed by King Ning to rob and kill us secretly, so we took the initiative."
"A bunch of bandits, real and fake, dare to attack us. "
Zhu Houzhao curled his lips, not quite believing it yet.
Zhang Zhou said, "The prince had better believe it, and let your majesty believe it. Otherwise, your majesty will know that I am taking the prince to suppress the bandits without your majesty. If I take action, the ministers will chatter about it endlessly."
"Come on, I know. If the ministers target me, I will be locked up in the palace to study and I won't be able to go anywhere. And you will be held accountable. Let’s not talk about the old things. Mr. Zhang, let’s talk about fighting the bandits, I’m impatient.”
Zhu Houzhao now just wants to comfort Zhang Zhou, at least let Zhang Zhou, while fighting the bandits, You must bring him with you.
As for this group of bandits, although he didn't know how many there were, he expected them to be much weaker than the Tatars. He just happened to train with these bandits first. Practice.
When Zhu Houzhao went out, he was still excited and said to himself, "If I lead the troops to defeat the bandits, it will be a service to the court. Who dares to let them know that I am young and incompetent?" I will also fight the war."
When Yang Peng saw the prince's excitement, he was actually very worried.
Zhang Zhou was going to fight local bandits, so he could I understand. After all, Zhang Zhou is the Minister of the Ministry of War. On his way back to Beijing, he killed the bandits whose base was very close to the canal and who often disturbed the canal and the surrounding official roads. It was a good thing for the people.
But it must be done. Yang Peng felt that it was a bit mysterious to take the prince with him.
"Master Zhang, do you think this will put the prince in danger? Or you can ask your majesty to wait until your majesty gives the order before leaving. Late. ”
What Yang Peng means is that it is better for us to wait for the emperor’s decree first and suppress the bandits according to the decree than for you to make your own decisions.
It doesn’t matter whether you suppress it or not. Just take the prince with you.
Zhang Zhou said, "Strategicly, we must not miss the opportunity. Even the thieves have not expected that we will take the initiative. Isn't this a good opportunity? How about the situation of the thieves?" "
"Two groups of people, one named Zhong Twelve and the other named Su Nianba. As Commander Cao said, they are both from the Northern Zhili area. They have been living in the two places for many years. Once they If troops are dispatched to annihilate the local area, they will move toIn other state capitals, and even across provincial borders, the suppression of bandits in various places failed to coordinate, so that they have been roaming around for many years and have not been quelled. Now there are more and more of them, with at least two or three people in a group. "Hundreds, due to their strength, local governments generally want to leave this kind of conquest to the next one."
The number of enemies is increasing, and local governments may not be able to defeat them, or they may not be able to defeat them during the conquest. There will be big losses in the process, which will affect political performance.
Either leave the matter to the next generation, or send people to drive away the bandits and let them go elsewhere to cause harm. This is probably the current Ming Dynasty. Bandits were raging in the area, which would lead to a large-scale Liu Liu Liu Qi uprising a few years later.
Yang Peng continued, "According to the clues given by Master Zhang, I found that not only was King Ning following Jiang. Bandits from Jiangxi and other places had contacts, and even bandits from the Central Plains were recruited and bribed by him, but under what name it was unclear. However, it is currently said that Zhong Twelve and Su Twenty-eight have carried out kidnappings on the canal many times. Now it is in Linqing Prefecture in the north and Dongchang Prefecture in the south. Except for ships with government backgrounds that dare to travel, the rest of the merchant ships and Many civilian ships have been stranded. "
Zhang Zhou asked with a smile, "Their target is me. "
Yang Peng said, "Maybe there is a prince. Or, they don't have the guts to do this at all, and they just put on a show. Maybe King Ning gave them a lot of benefits to let them do this. We also have to be careful about the assassins sent by King Ning. How many people are there and what kind of assassins are there? The strength is not clear at all. ”
Zhang Zhou looked very calm and said, “Then think of it as getting rid of harm for the people. Otherwise, what should I do if I watch the thieves wreaking havoc in the local area and blocking the operation of the canal? As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, when something happens You can't back down, plus this has educational significance for the prince. Eunuch Yang, I heard that you will be a royal eunuch after you return to the court. Don’t you want to make contributions and accumulate prestige for this?”
When Yang Peng heard this, he smiled and said, “Of course I want to, but I'm just afraid."
"I'm here, so work hard. "Zhang Zhou gave Yang Peng some encouragement.
In an instant, Yang Peng seemed to have ascended.
The feeling of being appreciated by the most capable minister of the Ming Dynasty is really great. It seems that meritorious deeds are easily accessible.
As found by Dongchang, the canal of the Ming Dynasty was ravaged by two groups of bandits from Linqingzhou to Dongchang Fucheng in Shandong. Ordinary ships and business travelers without strong backgrounds and escorts would not dare to pass by casually, so many people and goods were detained at both ends.
Even many business travelers returning to the capital after attending the Nanjing Cultural Conference. , were also blocked on this line, and they had been waiting for news that the road would be clear.
Among them were brothers Li Zhaoxian and Li Jue.
Li Zhaoxian left Dongchang Fucheng early that morning. He went out to inquire about information. What he wanted to inquire about was the land route that detoured from Damingfu and Handan to the north. But when he came back, he met several classmates. After talking in detail, he found out that the land route was not peaceful now, so he returned to the inn. Shi Ye was extremely unhappy.
“No chance. "Li ZhaoxianAfter sitting down, facing my wife and sister, I drank water first.
Li Jue asked, "Brother, are you saying that you can't go to the west? Then go to the east. We have been out for so long, and it is almost winter now. I miss home."
Little girls don’t have the courage to read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles like Li Zhaoxian. Especially when the journey is not going well, they will want to live in the comfortable and comfortable life circle in the capital.
Li Zhaoxian said, "I also heard news that Duke Lai has become Duke of Cai and has gone to Dongchang Mansion with the prince."
"Really" Li Wei asked, "What about the female gentleman?"
"Then I don't know. How can the whereabouts of Mr. Zhang's family members be easily known to outsiders? But I guess it shouldn't be too far away. Everyone is outside now." It is said that these damned bandits have really fallen into the hands of Mr. Zhang. Even though they knew Mr. Zhang’s reputation in running the army, they dared to prevent Mr. Zhang from escorting the prince north. I estimate that the bandits will be wiped out in a few days.”
Li Zhaoxian mentioned Zhang Zhou with a sense of admiration.
No way.
In the academic world, Zhang Zhou has established a reputation as a master of literati in the world with his mind-based studies. Although this reputation is not yet recognized by the mainstream academic circles, it is probably equivalent to an Internet celebrity and is not respected by mainstream celebrities.
But Zhang Zhou, an internet celebrity in the academic world, has more fans, and there are many people who are willing to be "bewitched" by him. As for the traditional Confucianism factions, they are all fading away
Originally Zhang Zhou gained great prestige among both the government and the public because of his military management and celestial intelligence.
Zhang Zhou's reputation in official circles also promoted the accumulation and fermentation of his reputation among the people.
Li Zhaoxian’s wife He asked, “Then we still have to wait here.”
“Let’s wait and see.” Li Zhaoxian said, “It’s already winter now. In about half a month, the rivers on the ground in Shandong may freeze. This is a critical season for transporting goods from the north to the south. Even if Mr. Zhang does not take action at this time, the local government should not sit idly by. ”
Li Jue said, "Can we go out for a walk now?"
Li Zhaoxian shook his head and said, "It's too chaotic outside, so don't go out. It will be fine in a few days."
In When Zhang Zhou and Zhu Houzhao set off with the Jin Yiwei and local officers and soldiers.
In the capital, Zhu Youtang also learned that bandits appeared on the ground in Shandong and even intended to rob and kill Zhang Zhou and Zhu Houzhao.
There is no real evidence whether this group of thieves is related to Prince Ning, but Zhang Zhou now likes to "make use of the topic". Even if it is not the case, Zhang Zhou also likes to blame the Ning Fan faction. Come on, Ning Fan is so big that he has been deprived of his bodyguards. Everyone in the world knows that Ning Fan is unwilling to stay in a small place like Jiangxi.
You want to impeach me, or even assassinate me, but you are not allowed to use the public opinion of Dongchang to blame you
"Bang"
< p>Zhu Youtang slapped Dongchang's report on the table.Li Rong, who came to deliver the message, said cautiously, "Calling the time, Cai Guogong and his entourage should have arrived at Dongchang Mansion. Cai Guogong has not reported the local situation yet, but based on the reports from Linqing Prefecture in the past ten days, it is said that it is This group of bandits also appeared suddenly, seemingly with the purpose of blocking water transportation, and they even asked the imperial court to send troops to quell the bandits."
Zhu Youtang said, "There are several bandits in the area who want me to send them. If the army can't encircle and suppress them, does it mean that the local officials can't even do this?"
Li Rong said, "Your Majesty, most of the local bandits are roaming around to do evil. If there are soldiers and horses attacking in one place, most of them will move to other places. They will even hide when the weather is tight, and places like Luxi are mostly mountainous and there are many places that are inaccessible. If they don't show up, it will be difficult to find their traces."
Zhu Youtang said angrily." Is there no problem finding their traces now? The water transportation has been blocked. After the autumn grain collection, the capital and warehouses have been fully deployed. If we don’t send troops at this time, when will we wait?"
Correct As he said this, a young eunuch shouted loudly at the door, "Commander of the Jin Yiwei, please see me."
Zhu Youtang said, "Let him in."
Then the commander of the Jin Yiwei, Mou Bin, appeared in the Qianqing Palace. Inside.
"I see your Majesty." Mou Bin quickly saluted.
"What's the matter?" Zhu Youtang said with a straight face.
As soon as Mou Bin saw it, he knew that the emperor had been angry before. Mou Bin said, "Dongchang sent a message on Pegasus to report to Cai Guogong that he would mobilize 500 soldiers of the Pingshan Guard and cooperate with the Jinyi Guard to exterminate the local bandits."
< p>"Look"Zhu Youtang seemed very relieved and said, "Bingkuan never has to worry about me when doing things. When he sees danger, he will naturally come forward. This is what makes him different from others." I never have to worry about it."
Zhu Youtang praised Zhang Zhou first, and then thought of a question: "Where is the prince?"
Mou Bin said, "Prince. In the formation."
"This"
After Zhu Youtang finished boasting, he thought that it would be a bit dangerous to let his son go to defeat the thieves.
Li Rong hurriedly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Since Lai Guogong went to quell the robbers in person, how could he not go with the prince and leave him somewhere? On the contrary, it would make the prince "You are in a dangerous place."
Zhu Youtang said with relief, "That's right. The prince is too naughty. He doesn't have Bingkuan, or he can't even see that the more dangerous the place is, the more he likes to get into it and doesn't know him." Where did you get this temperament from me?”
Originally, he wanted to say that he is very different from me.
But when I think about my life goal, I want to level the grassland with Bingkuan and conquer it myself.
Suddenly I felt that my son was my biological son, and that father and son were definitely of the same blood.
It’s just that my personality was suppressed too much before and I didn’t have the chance to express it. In other words, Bingkuan never showed up and I didn’t have the chance to express it. Please remember to bookmark, the latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft