"Your Majesty, is there something wrong?"
Wang Shoulin was a little worried when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang frowning.
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, then looked at Gu Yanwu and said, "Gu Qing, what do you think of this matter?"
When Gu Yanwu saw Zhu Yuanzhang addressing him as "Qing", he was slightly stunned and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, when I first heard about this matter, I had no idea at the moment. Please forgive me!"
Zhu Yuanzhang originally meant to test, but seeing that Gu Yanwu was calm and steady, and indeed a man of financial management, he nodded secretly in his heart, and then said: "It was expected that Zhang Huangyan and Yan Yingyuan would join forces to defeat Bai Wang, and there is nothing wrong with it."
"It's just that we are a little strange. Since the two thieves Zhang and Li have formed an alliance, why did Bai Wang not wait for Zhang Xianzhong's troops but acted alone?"
Wang Shoulin heard this and asked, "Could it be that Du and Shen held back Zhang Xianzhong's troops, and Bai Wang was rushed by Li Zicheng, so he attacked Wuchang alone?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Bai Wang was defeated in Wuchang before. If he wants to relieve Xi'an now, he should build up a great momentum. It would be more advantageous to encircle rather than attack. He will never attack the city rashly."
"Furthermore, Bai Wang is also a battle-hardened man. No matter how covert Zhang Huangyan's actions are, it is impossible to completely hide them from his detection. Moreover, Zhang Huangyan only has more than 3,000 men under his command. Even if Bai Wang loses power for a moment, he should not retreat so quickly. ....."
When Wang Shoulin heard Zhu Yuanzhang's story, he also felt that something was wrong and said worriedly: "Your Majesty, will the general inform Ping Nanbo?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Wuchang is more than a thousand miles away from here, so how can we get there in time?"
"Besides, Zhang Huangyan has a lot of ideas. We can see it. He should have seen it more clearly at the scene, and we don't need to comment on it."
"You only need to urge Li Ruolian to rush to Wuchang, pay attention to the trends in various places, and pass the news to us in a timely manner."
When Wang Shoulin heard this, he realized that Zhu Yuanzhang had already seen through his mind. He hurriedly knelt down and apologized: "Your Majesty, I was just confused. Please forgive me!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang signaled him to stand up, he said in a deep voice: "The situation is urgent now. Just do what we tell you as soon as possible!"
Wang Shoulin nodded and was about to retreat when a guard in golden clothes came in to report that Shi Kefa and Huang Zhicheng were outside asking for a meeting.
Zhu Yuanzhang heard the report and knew that Huang Zhicheng should have come for Ye Fangheng's business.
After he asked Wang Shoulin to stand aside, he asked people to bring Shi Kefa in.
When Shi and Huang saw Gu Yanwu, they couldn't help but look surprised, and then they hurriedly saluted.
After Zhu Yuanzhang motioned them to sit down, he asked them their purpose of coming.
Unexpectedly, Shi Kefa ignored him and refused to talk about Ye Fangheng.
Later, Huang Zhicheng couldn't help but speak up and plead for Ye Fangheng, but Shi Kefa did not support him, and occasionally looked at Gu Yanwu with apologetic eyes.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he knew that Shi Kefa did not agree with this matter. His temperament as a peacemaker and Huang Zhicheng's teacher-student relationship should be the reason why he came with Huang Zhicheng.
Of course, it is not ruled out that Shi Kefa originally supported Huang Zhicheng, but changed his mind temporarily because of Gu Yanwu's presence.
Thinking of this, he felt that Shi Kefa was indeed no longer suitable to stay in the position of Minister of War in Nanjing, because Jiangnan was now full of crises and war could break out at any time.
With Shi Kefa's versatile and considerate temperament, he might be a good official to reconcile the officialdom, but he was not suitable for commanding the military.
Because the battlefield is changing rapidly and fighter opportunities are fleeting, if Shi Kefa accidentally causes trouble, his loyalty will be betrayed.
It's just that Shi Kefa's current official position is not low, and he seems to be a leading figure in the south. Without a suitable placement, it may be counterproductive.
Just when he dealt with it casually and took the opportunity to think deeply, he found that Huang Zhicheng had attacked Gu Yanwu sarcastically.
When Gu Yanwu heard the words, he immediately refuted them one by one.
At this time, Jin Yiwei came in again to report that Chen Zilong and Xia Wanchun were outside asking for a meeting.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to split the Jiangnan officialdom, he had previously thought about whether to send someone to spread the news about Xia Wanchun's arrival. Unexpectedly, they came by themselves now, and he was secretly happy in his heart.
, and asked Jin Yiwei to bring them in.
After Chen and Xia saluted, Xia Wanchun took the initiative to talk about the arrest and interrogation of Ye Fangheng, and there were many provocative words against Huang Zhicheng in his words.
Huang Zhicheng was a narrow-minded person, and when he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang did not express his position when he attacked Gu Yanwu before, he thought that Zhu Yuanzhang had regrets and immediately fought back vigorously.
Although Xia Wanchun was young, his mind was very flexible. After catching a few mistakes in Huang Zhicheng's words, he immediately pursued and beat Huang Zhicheng, making Huang Zhicheng very embarrassed.
Shi Kefa seemed to think that Xia Wanchun was a little too much, so he politely tried to persuade him, but unexpectedly, Chen Zilong was also provoked.
On the contrary, Gu Yanwu remained silent and did not participate in the debate anymore.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he was not angry but happy.
While he was silently watching, a burst of anger suddenly emerged in his heart, and then the scene of officials arguing with each other when Chongzhen was sitting in court appeared in his mind.
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, and then he suppressed the discomfort in his heart, and at the same time he felt a little more uneasy.
At this time, Jin Yiwei came in again to report that Lu Zhenfei and Shen Tingyang were outside asking for a meeting.
Zhu Yuanzhang had made up his mind at this moment, and was about to let the matter go so that he could take the opportunity to rectify Jiangnan, so he let them in.
Lu and Shen came here for mediation. When they came in, they saw that the atmosphere was tense, so they tried to dissuade them.
However, Huang Zhicheng was angered by Xia Wanchun and did not understand their intentions. Instead, he thought that Shen Tingyang was deliberately favoring Xia Wanchun and attacked him as well.
Shen Tingyang was already dissatisfied with Huang Zhicheng, but he only tolerated it for Shi Kefa's sake.
At this moment, seeing Huang Zhicheng accusing him in front of the emperor, he was furious and immediately retorted, forgetting the original intention of coming here.
For a time, the study room was very lively.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the people in front of him, and the discomfort in his heart became even stronger.
He endured it for a while, and when he felt that the heat was enough, he shouted loudly: "Where is Wang Shoulin?"
When Wang Shoulin heard this, he immediately responded loudly: "The end is here!"
As Zhu Yuanzhang and Wang Shoulin exchanged questions and answers, the study suddenly became quiet.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at everyone coldly and said in a deep voice: "Huang Zhicheng and Xia Wanchun acted inappropriately in front of the emperor and dragged them out. They will be punished with twenty sticks. You will execute them yourself!"
After Wang Shoulin agreed loudly, he walked out of the study, carrying one person in each hand, like a chicken.
When Shi Kefa and others saw this, they remembered that Chongzhen's temperament had changed drastically, and they couldn't help but show panic on their faces.
At this time, the sound of cracking sticks could be heard outside the house.
Soon afterwards, Huang Zhicheng's wailing was heard.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound, a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes.
After a while, Wang Shoulin walked in with Xia and Huang.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that although Xia and Huang were both limping, their behaviors were completely different.
Although Xia Wanchun's movements were inconvenient, his steps were very firm, and his eyes had a strong fighting spirit.
Not only did Huang Zhicheng move slowly, his face was full of regret and fear, and there was also a hint of resentment in his eyes.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he loudly said: "Although Huang Zhicheng is inappropriate in the imperial court, he can argue with reason and is not afraid of power. He can be a censor!"
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said this, everyone present was shocked.
After Huang Zhicheng was surprised, he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down to thank him.
But before he got up, he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's voice again: "Xia Wanchun is brave and resourceful, and forgets his own interests. He can be the governor of Jiangnan!"
