Chapter 607: Standing still

The sky is bright and clear.

Zhu Youtang was walking on the way to Fengtian Palace, while Li Zhang was still reporting on what the prince had experienced outside the palace last night.

"First I went to listen to books and bet with others, and then I went to Shouning Hou Mansion to get money. How much did I get?" Zhu Youtang asked.

Li Zhang said, "I don't know the details, but it is said that Hou Ninghou gave him a wooden box first, which contained at least hundreds of taels of silver."

"Haha." Zhu You Hearing this, Zang couldn't help but laugh and said, "His brothers have always moved the money from the palace. Now it's time for them to provide the money themselves and send it to the palace. Haha."

He is responsible for sending money to his brother-in-law. , and the son moved it home from his brother-in-law.

It seems that his son is more capable than himself.

"Then he was in Shouninghou Mansion later?" Zhu Youtang continued to ask.

Li Zhang seemed very cautious and said, "His Royal Highness the Prince did not wander around in the Marquis Mansion, but immediately came out and went"

"Where have you gone? Could it be some unclean place?" When Zhu Youtang saw Li Zhang hesitating, he felt that something might be up to him.

Li Zhang hurriedly said, "The prince went to Jianchangbo's house, but was told that Jianchangbo was not at home. In fact, Jianchangbo had been at Shouninghou's house all the time. Maybe he didn't meet him. Then. The prince went to Uncle Chang Ning's house again."

Zhu Youtang originally thought it was a bit interesting that his son went to ask his brother-in-law for money.

Hearing that his son’s relatives were all leaving, he couldn’t help but frown and said, “This means he is going from house to house asking for money. Do any of the families have any opinions? Have they made a report today?”

Every son's family went to extort money from this family.

Li Zhang said, "I don't know yet."

"Then where did he stay?" Zhu Youtang looked at the sky, and then looked at the Fengtian Temple not far away. Don't leave in a hurry.

Listening to Li Zhang talking about his son seemed to interest him more than listening to ministers talking about court affairs in the court.

Li Zhang then said: "Later, the prince went to a storytelling place in the city and listened to the story for more than an hour. Then he disappeared. It was not until midnight that the Jin Yiwei was there. The inn found the whereabouts of the prince. During this period, I don’t know where the prince went. It’s useless for me.”

Zhu Youtang said angrily, “So many people are staring at him, but he can escape.” ”

Li Zhang did not dare to say anything.

Zhu Youtang said, "No, we can't let him out of the palace in the future. He is so naughty, and he still does it."

Zhu Youtang was also a little speechless about this.

The son may have discovered that someone was following him, but he was able to get away from him. He did not know where he went for at least two hours. This made the father very powerless. He thought he could easily control his son. , only now do I know that this is actually a demon king. No matter how awesome he is as an emperor, he still looks so incompetent in front of his son.

"Your Majesty"

Li Zhang saw Zhu Youtang standing there, silent and not moving forward, so he couldn't help but remind him.

ThisWe are going to court. Should we wait for the court meeting to end and then bring the prince back to take care of him?

"Go and call the prince back," Zhu Youtang said, "Tell him, this This is a shame for him. Let him prepare for punishment. If he escapes again, go right away."

Zhu Youtang seemed to feel it.

When a son leaves the palace, he does not necessarily just go to the streets to play. He may go to the northwest or Jizhou Town.

Why else would my son need money so much?

Isn’t he just collecting money?

“Slave, go ahead now.” Li Zhang hurriedly took the money Gone by fate.

The court meeting.

The court hall seemed lifeless without the presence of Zhang Zhou and Xie Qian. By the middle of the meeting, even Zhu Youtang couldn't help but think of Xie Qian.

Thinking that although Xie Qian is not very capable, he can make the atmosphere more cheerful by making jokes in the court. The emperor will also feel that maybe these old civil servants have some value, right? .

"Your Majesty, the fronts in the north are now stretched too far, and the supply of the household department is also stretched. If the war cannot be ended within five days, people should be sent to urge it, and the war cannot be continued. Otherwise, we will soon experience a cold winter, and we don’t know when it will snow."

Zhu Youtang listened for a while, closed his eyes to rest, and then stopped while waiting for the minister to report, and asked again, " Does Qin Tian Jian have anything to say?"

Fu Han, who was recently transferred back to the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, said, "Your Majesty, Qin Tian Jian cannot accurately predict the weather in the north."

Fu Han is considered a member of the traditional civil servant faction. He was previously considered to be the best candidate to succeed the Minister of Rites, but this time he was transferred back to the Ministry of Rites as Zuo Shilang, which is more like the last remaining dignity of the traditional civil servants.

Zhu Youtang said, "We can't be sure whether it will snow or not, and we don't even know what impact it will have on the war after it snows. So what's the point of delaying the war for a few more days? But the war still needs to be rushed now." Sending people from here to the front line to urge them, it will take eight or nine days anyway, do you think it still makes sense? Or do you think it makes sense to stop now?"

Zhu Youtang doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all. .

Winning or losing is indifferent to the emperor.

Leaving aside the fact that all sides are sending troops and each side is blooming, even if one side really loses, he does not feel that it is a loss of military power of the Ming Dynasty.

Having won too many times before, the emperor seemed to be indifferent to the victory in front of him.

Even the ministers will feel that the emperor's attention to the battlefield has dropped a lot this time.

"Cough cough"

Zhu Youtang coughed twice and said, "I have been ill recently, and I may not have time to pay attention to some things. I may have to miss the day tomorrow. Dear gentlemen, If there's something going on at home, just tell me. If there's nothing going on, just leave the court."

The minister felt very unwilling.

You were in good condition throughout this court meeting. You just coughed a little at the end and said,I am ill

Pretending to be ill and leaving the court, this is not like pretending.

"Your Majesty, I believe that matters in the north should be stopped in moderation." Liu Jian hurriedly came out to express his position.

The war cannot expand without limit, otherwise it will be the expansion of Zhang Zhou’s power. The longer it is delayed, the longer Zhang Zhou will have military power. Every place in the Ming Dynasty must coordinate for it. The right to speak will also be maintained to the maximum state.

Zhu Youtang said, "Enough is enough, it's easy to say. Do Tatars understand the principle of enough is enough? Mr. Liu Ge, I understand what you mean. You don't have to say it, and I won't point it out. Just For now, if there is no new battle report tomorrow, I will send someone to press it the day after tomorrow."

Liu Jian was speechless after hearing this.

Your Majesty, you yourself know that it takes about ten days to get the news to the front line to call for a halt. This may not include the time it takes to reach a general like Wang Shouren who is deeply alone.

But you obviously didn’t take calling for a truce seriously, otherwise why would you be so unhurried?

Zhu Youtang seemed too lazy to argue with Liu Jian and others. , stood up and walked out.

"Your Majesty" and what Yan Guan wants to say.

Li Zhang glared at Yan Guan fiercely, with the intention of intimidating him.

This trick works pretty well.

Because the harmonious relationship between the emperor and Yan Guan has deteriorated since Li Zhang became the owner of Dongchang Factory, Li Zhang is now taking the blame for the emperor. Everyone thinks that he, Li Zhang, is a traitor. The ministers and ministers all felt that Li Zhang had ruined the harmonious relationship between the emperor and his ministers.

The wind is howling and the sky is filled with sand.

The army led by Zhang Mao finally passed Yansui, organized more than 26,000 troops and horses, and was still marching towards Ningxia, but at this time Zhang Mao was already miserable.

The soldiers seemed to be feeling the torment of the biting cold wind. Each soldier did not have much fighting spirit. Every day, soldiers were unable to continue to move forward independently due to injuries and other problems, and the carriages carrying sick and injured patients became more and more difficult. It's getting crowded.

After finally staying up until dark that day, Zhang Mao was already thinking that he would be able to reach the ground in Ningxia in two days.

But it was Zhang Rui who brought news that made Zhang Mao very unhappy.

"Father, the bandit army in Ningxia seems to have withdrawn. There may be fighting in the grassland. It is expected that Uncle Xinjian led the troops into the grassland, and Wang Zhongcheng from the three sides killed the generals from the Hetao area, or It’s time to join forces with Xin Xin Bo’s troops.”

Zhang Mao’s already tired heart became even more vicissitudes of life at this time.

But it seems that there is no greater sadness than heartbreak. He has been able to deal with the bad news in front of him calmly, and even "enjoyed" it.

"Haha, it's true." When Zhang Mao smiled, there was a bit of desolation in his expression.

Zhang Rui said, "Father, it is probably impossible to march like this now. How about I lead a group of people and use the cavalry to march into the Ningxia border first, fight out of Huamachi, and block the Tatars on their way back." , Father, please mobilize the troops."

Zhang Mao said coldly, "Son, no matter how hard you try, it's useless. You are not Zhang Bingkuan's, he will not help you."

"Father"< /p>

"Stop talking," Zhang Mao said, "As a father, I can only imagine that the next Zhu Dongyang will be me. My father's half-life prominence will be the result of his indulgence and acquiescence to Zhang Bingkuan, and he will suffer the most." The cost. No matter how much you save your life or how much you help my Zhang family, in the end, you just bury yourself." Zhang Rui heard the disappointment in his father's words and said hurriedly, "Father, go all the way. The soldiers and horses marched on different routes, and we have done nothing wrong. Your Majesty will not pursue it."

"You are wrong. If Your Majesty wants to pursue it, will you tell me that you did not try your best? That's because he didn't try his best. Otherwise, why would Zhu Dongyang go so far as to confiscate his family? No matter how hard he works as a father, he can't satisfy His Majesty." Zhang Mao said.

Zhang Rui said, "So, father, please give me an order. If you are willing to lead the troops, we should march into the grassland first."

Zhang Mao said angrily, "Why are you so stupid? You lead the troops? If you send troops rashly, you are disobeying the emperor's order. If you are defeated, our Zhang family will be completely destroyed. Now I still have reasons. I can reduce my rank and salary, or be transferred to work elsewhere. But if you are defeated, we The Zhang family is completely finished."

Zhang Rui was speechless for a moment.

"Okay, follow the normal march. We must go to Ningxia the day after tomorrow. Then we will clean up the mess and listen to the success of other people. We will just watch the excitement from the side. I seem to understand the original sentence, what? Called Feng Tangyi, Lao Li Guang is difficult to seal, that's probably what happened."

Zhang Rui met Zhang Mao, and was also infected by his father's frustration, feeling extremely unhappy in his heart.

When he returned to the camp, Ma Yi came to see him.

"Young Master, why are you doing this?" Ma Yi didn't quite understand why Zhang Rui was so high-spirited before, but turned his face like this.

Zhang Rui said, "Ping Lupp, it seems that I have no chance to make contributions. My father did not allow me to lead troops out of the customs. He only said that everything must go according to plan."

Ma Yi seemed He didn't quite understand and said, "That's what the Lord said, but people from all walks of life are sending troops. If we follow the plan step by step, wouldn't we fall behind others? Now we have all the artillery and muskets, all the people and horses, and there is no shortage of food and grass. It would be a pity if we don't leave the customs. We will soon reach Huamachi, which is connected to the rear of the Tatars. If we send troops from there, we will get twice the result with half the effort."

Zhang Rui said helplessly, "If that's the case. If you think it's appropriate to send troops, you can mention it to my father."

Ma Yi was also extremely anxious.

Ma Yi was finally transferred back to the northwest this time. She thought she could continue to make great achievements and have a good future by following Wang Shouren.

As a result, Wang Shouren sent him to follow Zhang Mao, which made him feel that he was left out. Later, he learned that Wang Shouren personally led troops into the grassland

If he did not behave well with Zhang Mao, , he felt that his political future would be bleak.

"Young Master, do you think we can send troops together?" Ma Yi said tentatively.

"You mean"

"Yes, we can send troops on our own according to the situation. Anyway, we will go to Huamachi immediately. With your prestige in the army, I will What's the problem with moving my six thousand soldiers and horses out of the pass?"

Ma Yi is also a ruthless person.

If Zhang Mao doesn’t agree to mobilize troops, then we will act on our own.

Zhang Rui said, "Ping Lupp, you are disobeying the military order."

"When will you disobey the military order? I will lead the troops here. I am cooperating with the British. When will I tell you? If you don't dare to listen to the British Duke's orders, just pretend that I didn't say that my six thousand soldiers and horses came out of the grassland, and you can still achieve something." Ma Yi is ignoring it now.

When Zhang Rui heard this, he felt that it seemed reasonable.

Ma Yi was the commander-in-chief of Datong after all. He was transferred under Wang Shouren's military order. This actually had nothing to do with the imperial court. For this reason, some people accused Wang Shouren of transferring troops without authorization.

At most, Ma Yi cooperated with Zhang Mao, not to listen to Zhang Mao.

Ma Yi continued, "If the young master is really in trouble, you can go out with the general's men and horses, so that we can advance and retreat together."

"This"< /p>

Zhang Rui seemed to be tempted too.

Since Zhang Mao is timid and even a little self-pitying, he wants to mention his father, but his father will not listen, so why should I follow him?

Let’s talk about his father’s goal , even if he marched to Ningxia and then lived without any fault, it would be a meritorious service. He also knew that doing so would be held accountable by the court. Why should I be hanged on the same rope with him? My son cannot have his own opinions

"Wait."

Zhang Rui still called Ma Yi, "I'm here, I'm here."

Ma Yi stepped forward and held Zhang Rui's hand. "Young Master, I have always thought you are heroic and courageous. We cannot be like your father and remain complacent and not make progress."

When Zhang Rui heard this, although Smiling bitterly, he still nodded and said, "Then I'll pack up and go with you." Please remember to bookmark this chapter when it's over, the latest and fastest website for free reading without anti-theft