Zhang Zhou wants to take a concubine.
The new house always needs to be prepared and dressed up to be more festive. I don’t plan to invite anyone to drink, but it can’t be too shabby. On the morning of the wedding, Zhu Feng came to Zhang Zhou with a shy face. Send "congratulatory gifts".
"Zhijie, is it necessary?" Zhang Zhou glanced at Zhu Feng.
Zhu Feng looked a little shy and said, "Brother Zhang doesn't need it, but Madam probably also needs it, so just think of it as a dowry."
Zhang Zhou smiled.
It is a rare thing to say that an ex-husband gave a dowry to his ex-wife who had left the house.
However, thinking of Zhu Feng’s usual behavior, he didn’t care about him. It might not be a big deal to him, Zhang Zhou, but this could be considered a parting gift from Zhu Feng to Ning Tong.
Zhu Feng sat down and said, "Is there any wedding banquet today? I would like to drink a few drinks."
Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "I haven't prepared these. If you want to drink, you can always drink." All is fine, but the wedding banquet is unnecessary this time. You and I have known each other for so long, and we shouldn’t hide a lot of things. If you have anything to say, it’s still too late to say it.”
“I. There is nothing to say." Zhu Feng sighed, "Something is still troublesome. I don't know, Brother Zhang, but that person... came to the city again yesterday. I don't have the nerve to disturb you, but it's her business. It probably has something to do with you."
Zhang Zhou knew that Zhu Feng was talking about Mrs. Anbianhou, who was Chen Rui's daughter.
The only reason this woman came to Binhai City was to inherit Ping Jiangbo for her brother. After all, Chen Rui died on his way back to Beijing after the defeat, but he was better than Liu Jing. He was not Although he is guilty, it is not easy to let his heirs ascend the throne.
According to general principles, after the death of a person with a title, his heirs can take over the title in about a year. However, if something happens, the title cannot be taken for several years, or even interrupted. Things are also common.
Zhang Zhou said: "What do you mean by telling me this? Do you want me to help her?"
Zhu Feng thought for a while, shook his head and said: "I don't know about this either. What to do. I still have feelings for Tong'er, but I have no friendship at all."
Zhang Zhou frowned.
The concubine I am about to take in, but you say you have feelings for her, what do you mean? Not shy about it, right?
Remembering that Zhu Feng spoke so "uprightly", Zhang Zhou picked up the tea and said: "Drink some tea to wake up, I don't even know what you are talking about. Could it be that I was hungover last night?"
"Oh... I've been drinking a lot lately. Don't you have some errands to do?" Zhu Feng smiled shyly.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty is here now and may be summoned to you at any time. You still haven't avoided it. If something happens, don't ask me to help you. I will look into your wife's matter later." Look, no one said that he could not inherit the title of Prince Ping Jiang, but no one said that he could inherit it. There is a lot of room for change in this matter."
Zhu Feng asked: "If you help her, will you give it to me? Are you causing trouble?"
Zhang Zhou thought about it and realized it was nothing.
Although Chen Rui was a bit useless when he died and was often laughed at during his lifetime, he was considered to be a capable person anyway. Most of the honorable ministers had never been on the battlefield, but they laughed at Chen Rui's performance on the battlefield. Various performances.
At any rate, Chen Rui's military qualities were acceptable when he faced off against the Tatars outside the Fire Screen Division. This can only be said that Fire Screen was Chen Rui's nemesis.
......
......
Zhang Zhou did not do anything else that day, and Zhu Youtang did not even summon him.
It wasn’t until nightfall that Zhang Zhou arrived at the new house. The lanterns and colorful decorations were considered festive, but there were no people around. Only the servants in the yard were busy. Ning Tong, as Zhang Zhou had mentioned before, changed Wearing red clothes, he came out to greet Zhang Zhou in person.
Because it is a concubine, there are not so many cumbersome etiquette.
After Zhang Zhou and Ning Tong entered the new house, there was tea on the table.
Ning Tong personally poured tea for Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou said: "Why is there no wine?"
Ning Tong said: "If the master wants to drink, I will have someone prepare me."
"No need. "Okay." Zhang Zhou said, "It's okay if you have it, but I shouldn't have poured this tea, or... haha." Ning Tong entered the Zhang family as a concubine. She needed to pour tea for Jiang Pingyu, but now because she just wanted to stay in the outer house, these things were dispensed with.
Ning Tong was silent. It seemed that she also knew that she still had to listen to Zhang Zhou on how to enter the door. But she didn’t want to be a woman in a cage. She didn’t seem to want to end her sister-in-law’s life alone. The way, the only solution is to marry into the family, but not through.
The general meaning is that I am your temporary foreign home. You can come when you want. When you don't come, I am free to do what I want to do.
After drinking the tea, Zhang Zhou put down the tea cup.
Ning Tong looked at the red candle beside her and felt a little lost. She probably did not expect to come to Zhang Zhou in such a way.
"It's getting late, it's time for me to go to bed." Ning Tong said.
Zhang Zhou looked at the sky. In fact, it was just getting dark. It was late, which was just an excuse.
But he still stood up with a smile on his face.
There were red candles in front of him, and the whole room was full of red and festive symbols. Although he was bringing in a concubine, Zhang Zhou did not have the temperament of a dandy young master who opens his mouth for food and clothing, and he did not deliberately It’s hard for Ning Tong.
For him, some things still need to be done by himself.
……
……
The next morning, before dawn, Zhang Zhou had already left Ning Tong’s residence.
Ning Tong’s temperament seems to have changed greatly. She is no longer so stubborn and strong. She can also show her docile side. She even helped Zhang Zhou put on his boots, but Zhang Zhou signaled her. Let her get the hat.
ZhangAfter Zhou came out, he went straight to the palace.
About half an hour ago in the second half of the night, he, the Minister of War, received the latest battle report from the northwest. He learned that the troops sent by Wang Qiong to Ningxia for reinforcements had been intercepted by the Tatars, and Yansui Thousands of troops and horses could only retreat temporarily. The first dispatch of troops failed, which meant that they could only rely on reinforcements from Ningxia to drive the Tatars away.
Originally, both groups of soldiers and horses were in trouble, but now only one group is left. It seems that they can only watch the Tatars continue to act recklessly in Ningxia.
“I’ve met the Duke.”
Mu Bin and Wei Bin greeted him at the entrance of the palace.
When Zhang Zhou entered, a drizzle began to fall. The spring rain was still relatively cool, so the sun would rise later.
Zhang Zhou entered the palace and waited in the small hall outside for a long time before Zhu Youtang came out.
Looking at Zhu Youtang’s springy face, Zhang Zhou knew that Zhu Youtang probably didn’t sleep well yesterday. After all, Concubine Xian had just arrived. Zhang Zhou wanted to give some advice, but after thinking about it, Forget it, it is not easy for a king like Zhu Youtang, who lacks love in his life, to enjoy some tenderness of family affection.
"Bingkuan, sit down." Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand to indicate.
Zhang Zhou waited for Zhu Youtang to sit down before sitting down.
Zhu Youtang said: "Ningxia's battle reports have been coming here these two days. Yansui's troops were blocked. It is said that they were beaten back by Tatar artillery. I don't understand. Have the Tatars mastered the secret of the powerful cannon and cast enough artillery?"
Zhang Zhou shook his head and said: "I have also seen the battle report, and I did not expect this to be the case with the cannons in the hands of the Tatars. , mostly the basic artillery of the past, with a range of only one or two hundred paces, and heavy and easy to explode. But just because the Tatars have artillery, our frontier soldiers will be wary of attacking, so that they cannot Move forward."
This is to remind Zhu Youtang that it is not the powerful artillery of the Tatars, but the urine of the Ming border troops.
In the past, the Ming army was often unable to retreat due to the use of native artillery against the Tatars' crossbows and cavalry. Later, it was the improvement of artillery and firecrackers that resulted in a strong suppression of weapons on the battlefield. The Ming army Only then did they dare to attack. Even so, Zhu Hui and others still flinched.
Now the Tatars have also kept pace with the times and replaced them with native cannons. Even though they are far less powerful than the Ming Dynasty's powerful cannons, they still make the Ming Dynasty's border troops fearful of the enemy.
Zhu Youtang asked: "Are the Ming soldiers so courageous?"
Zhang Zhou saw Zhu Youtang's angry look, and it was actually difficult for Zhang Zhou to explain to Zhu Youtang. .
When it comes to fighting, it all depends on why you fight. The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's frontier army are professional soldiers, but their salaries are very poor. Let alone ordinary soldiers, it is easy to become a general. If you can't support yourself, there's no way out even if you want to take bribes and bend the law.
It is said that military merit can be exchanged for some living security, but because of the backwardness of the Ming Dynasty security system, theyIt is easy to fail to implement military achievements.
Even after Zhang Zhou became Minister of War, the situation improved greatly. The soldiers' fear of war had been greatly reduced, and even military support had been improved. However, Zhang Zhou was too heavily hijacked by traditional civil servants. , Zhang Zhou was completely suppressed by others in terms of allocation from the Ministry of Household Affairs. As a result, Zhang Zhou often had to raise the battlefield expenses himself.
Civil officials just looked down on military generals, did not want to fulfill the benefits given to them, and did not want to ensure their survival.
Under this premise, who is willing to risk his life on the battlefield?
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, do you think we should send another group of troops to take charge of the northwest battle, just like I sent Zhu Hui or Zhang Mao before. Although I transferred people from the capital, or It's too late, but if we don't make preparations, I'm afraid the situation in the northwest will become more embarrassing."
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Uncle Xinjian has already sent out three thousand elite troops from the imperial court. Qingqi went to Ningxia to kill."
"I have seen it, but I don't understand why this passerby was sent out so late and did not go to Yansui..."
Zhu Youtang frowned slightly.
In this war, he did not think that Wang Shouren did a very good job. Instead, he felt that Wang Shouren was slacking off on military affairs and even missed the opportunity to fight. This was just because Wang Shouren was promoted by Zhang Zhouyi and he had not done so before. Having achieved good results, he can be regarded as Zhu Youtang's "direct descendant", so Zhu Youtang did not immediately attack Wang Shouren.
Zhang Zhou said: "The Tatars are very mobile. There are very few soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty who can compete with them in speed, and even fewer have to fight with them in a chase. Now they can To achieve this, actually... there are people like this under Uncle Xin Xin's command."
Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "I seem to have remembered that the Ministry of War transferred Ma Yi as the commander-in-chief to Huama. Chi Qu just values the marching speed of his cavalry."
"Yes." Zhang Zhou said, "If such a group of people can kill the Tatars silently, then they are Tatars. Assembling superior troops and horses will not have any advantage in front of our Ming cavalry. Moreover, if such a group of troops is equipped with enough fire blunderbuss, it can break up the Tatar formation and provide space for the rest of the less mobile Chinese. The army rushed forward to lay the groundwork."
Zhu Youtang sighed: "I understand that relying on artillery will only be more effective if we stick to it. The Tatars are not willing to fight now. We are fighting head-on."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Tatars are not willing to fight with us. For now, the only way is to let us catch up and compete with them. They can't escape. Under this premise, they want to fight to the death in an encounter, so that the advantage of artillery can be reflected," Zhang Zhou said.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "What you said made me look forward to it."
Zhang Zhou said: "However, I am also responsible for the changes in the situation in the northwest."
Zhu Youtang quickly waved his hand and said: "You are the Minister of the Ministry of War.You are nominally responsible for everything, but how can you be blamed for those trivial things? This time I didn’t expect that even Wang Qiong’s elite soldiers and horses would not be able to kill them. Maybe I was too optimistic before. ”
Originally, Zhu Youtang might have thought that as long as the Ming army killed them, the Tatars would flee.
This time he realized that not all Ming soldiers were Elites, when faced with a stalemate on the battlefield, their military qualities are still as unbearable as ever.
Zhang Zhou said: "Although the Tatars have been invading the border for a long time, Ningxia is still on guard. It was considered sufficient. It was the spring famine season, and the Tatars could not plunder much. So far, there was no news of people being robbed, but they had lost some livestock and goods. "
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Tell them in advance that the Tatars come from Huamachi. If the Ningxia local government cannot respond and gather the people into the fortress, then They really deserved to die. "
Zhang Zhou said: "The military order sent to Xuanfu will arrive in the next two days. I believe that the people from Xuanfu will also enter the grassland in these two days. ”
“Yeah. Zhu Youtang said, "It's a pity that I'm not in the northwest, otherwise I would have wanted to lead the army myself." well! I may be leaving for Beijing in the next few days! Speaking of which, the results of the National Examination are about to be released! ”
Zhang Zhou nodded.
After all, he is not an examiner, and this year’s Jinshi actually has little to do with him.
Zhu You Zang said: "After we go back, the court meetings and other things will resume. Bingkuan, don't stay here anymore. Go back with me. "
"I accept the decree. ”
Originally, Zhang Zhou stayed in Binhai City to supervise the construction of the railway and preside over the military affairs of Liaodong.
Because of the sudden invasion of the Tatars, Zhu Youtang was absent for many times. Only when Zhang Zhou is here can Zhu Youtang be confident.
Even if Zhang Zhou still wants to stay and continue to develop this emerging port city, he has to agree to it. Youtang returned to Beijing together
Because Zhang Zhou also knew that if he lingered in Binhai City and did not return, and it was the time of war in the northwest, others would criticize him as the Minister of War, and would give him a lot of money. The internal troubles in the imperial court have been serious recently, which makes us more motivated and updates faster. Thank you for your help.