This question was actually asked on behalf of Huang Taiji, so Huang Taiji was also full of curiosity.
"To be honest, I and Sun Chuanting are both Jinshi in the same discipline. We also worked together to wipe out the bandits who passed through the pass."
Hong Chengchou said softly.
This is indeed the case. In the 44th year of Wanli, in the Bingchen imperial examination, he passed the second-class and fourteenth place, while Sun Chuanting only ranked thirty-first in the third class.
Therefore, he stayed in the capital from the beginning, while Sun Chuanting was granted the title of magistrate of the county.
Later, the gap widened step by step. As early as the fourth year of Chongzhen, he served as the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi. It was not until last year, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, that Sun Chuanting took up this position.
In the imperial examination, one step is wrong and one step is wrong.
What is even more shocking is that Sun Chuanting has now become the pillar of the Great Ming Dynasty, while he, the pillar of his predecessor, has become a prisoner without any official position.
When he heard the word Jinshi, Fan Wencheng's eyes darkened and he felt a little uncomfortable.
At first, he was just a scholar.
"Sun Chuanting, among the Jinshi in the same discipline, has a rather upright character. He never breaks the law and enforces the law very strictly. Because of this, he served as the governor of Shaanxi and had no choice but to clear the military settlements, which offended many gentry."
Hong Chengchou lamented: "The officialdom is turbid, and it is extremely rare for Sun Chuanting to be able to maintain himself."
As he spoke, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but tell an interesting story.
When Sun Chuanting was appointed magistrate of the county, his father died when his wife died, so they got married and lived in a cottage. The newlywed wife lived with her mother.
However, a gangster put on mourning clothes and entered his fiancée's room at night (in ancient times, the couple did not meet before the wedding, so the fiancee did not know her husband's true appearance). When his mother found out, she scolded her son for being unfilial.
As a result, the son kept watch at night and discovered the gangster's arrival. He took off his clothes and belt and was unable to catch up with him, so he ran away.
The fiancée had no choice but to hang herself, the filial son also hanged himself, and the old mother had to take her mourning clothes and complain.
Sun Chuanting directly summoned all the tailors in the city to find out the gangster, and found out that he was the son of a Beijing official, and he was attached to the eunuch party and was quite powerful.
But he was still unafraid and personally escorted people to invigilate the examination. Since the death penalty required review by the Ministry of Punishments, to avoid accidents, he directly used the punishment. With the words "the thief escaped from prison", he directly let people die in prison.
This was also the reason why he had troubles with his officialdom in his later period, and had to resign and stay at home.
Because he was very concerned about the Ming court, Huang Taiji was also very interested in Sun Chuanting's affairs. He listened carefully and couldn't help but sigh:
"He is truly a great talent. There are so many talents in the Ming Dynasty."
"There are many talents, but Mingting doesn't know how to use them."
Fan Wencheng couldn't help but laugh and said: "In the past sixteen years, eighteen chief ministers have been replaced. Orders have been changed at night, which will cause endless troubles. However, the Holy Lord of our country is in charge, and if everyone uses their talents, he will surely dominate the world."
"Hahahaha!" Huang Taiji laughed, and he accepted the flattery unceremoniously.
"Mr. Hong, please continue."
Hong Chengchou held up his hand and continued: "He is also upright in nature and decisive in the use of troops. This time the Ming court forces him, he will definitely obey, and he will also take the whole army to complete the battle, thus satisfying the court."
"However, I know a lot about the intruders. They have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of elite old thieves. As long as they don't go head-to-head and waste away little by little, they will definitely not be able to support them just with the money and food of the Ming Dynasty."
"You mean, Sun Chuanting will be defeated because of lack of money and food?"
Huang Taiji was stunned, quite strange at this conclusion.
Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "The land of Henan is thousands of miles away. It is extremely difficult to obtain food. It is really not a good battlefield."
"Furthermore, the Ming court does not have many reinforcements, let alone much food. If I were a traitor, I would surround and kill Sun Chuanting's 100,000 Qin army with superior force. Besides, they are newly trained soldiers. How many days can they last?"
"This is a clear plan!" Fan Wencheng shouted softly.
"That's right!" Hong Chengchou shook his head and said, "But Sun Chuanting has to do it for you."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Huang Taiji immediately knew what it meant and said, "Emperor Chongzhen can't wait any longer."
"In the Battle of Songjin, everyone outside the pass was devastated. He wants to take advantage of us to recuperate and end the civil strife as soon as possible to resist our invasion."
As he said that, his face turned red, as if a mouthful of blood was about to come out. Fan Wencheng quickly took out a handkerchief to catch it, and then quickly handed it to the waiter beside him: "Take it and burn it."
Soon, some black smoke ignited on the side.
Huang Taiji breathed a sigh of relief, sat down and sneered: "Emperor Chongzhen is a very eager and mean person. He wishes he could get results right away, but he doesn't know how it can be so easy to do things by man."
"Sun Chuanting had been guarding Guanzhong for more than a year. Of course he had doubts and forced him to send troops."
"According to Mr. Hong's words, Sun Chuanting will most likely be defeated, and there may be big changes within the pass."
"What about us?" Fan Wencheng couldn't help but ask.
"Just wait and see what happens!" Huang Taiji said calmly: "As for Wu Sangui, send more people to Wu Sangui, even if it means he can be crowned king."
"Yes!" Fan Wencheng responded.
Hong Chengchou watched from the side, smiling bitterly in his heart.
This pair of monarchs and ministers have thoroughly studied the entire Ming Dynasty and have countless spies. How can the Ming Dynasty win?
…
Under the pressure of the supervisor Su Jing, the gentry inside and outside Xi'an, and the imperial court, Sun Chuanting swore an oath at the Guandi Temple in Xi'an on August 1 and decided to lead 100,000 Qin troops eastward out of Tongguan.
According to Sun Chuanting's plan, Zuo Liangyu was the left army, Sichuan Army Qin Yiming was the right army, and he was the center army, attacking Li Zicheng from three sides.
A hundred thousand troops, vast and vast, stretching for hundreds of miles, as far as the eye can see.
As the head of the craftsman camp and chief medical officer, Zhu Yixi came last. Even after some words, he was left in Tongguan to guard Tongguan together with General Li Jizu.
In this battle, Zhu Yixi's role was minimal, so he was in no hurry to act.
After a trip to Jinxian Temple and taking care of their children's affection, the aloof and long-legged Miaoxian couldn't help showing a bit of dignity. She gritted her teeth and said, be careful, and ran back with a blushing face.
After that, Zhu Yixi returned home, which was the courtyard of his own Jinyiwei Qianhu residence.
On the side, Zhu Mou, Zhu Meng, Zhu Jing, and three others were there.
"Has the tunnel been dug?"
Zhu Yixi looked at the dark tunnel and couldn't help but wonder.
"Sect Master, we have planned to dig together from outside the city and inside the city. We will be able to connect them in about three or four days."
Zhu Mou said softly.
"The main reason is that our place is slow. There are two thousand people outside the city, and we only have a hundred people."
"I can stay for a few more days."
Zhu Yixi nodded and said: "I must understand it in the next few days."
This tunnel is a great opportunity for counterattack in the future.
And it is hidden in the underground prison of Qianhusuo. It is extremely confidential and no one can think of it.
"Big head!"
"Sect Master!" Zhu Meng responded hurriedly.
"Five days after I leave, I will lead the army to Tongguan in the name of transporting baggage."
With that said, Zhu Yixi took out a token, which was a customs clearance token and a fake letter, just in case.
After taking a look here, Zhu Yixi murmured: "I hope it won't be needed."
It's a pity that if he takes a Ming Dynasty through time, he will be able to predict things like a god.
