Chapter 208 No one can move
"Did he really say that?"
Xu Hongji sat motionless in his position and looked at Feng Kelie sitting beside him.
Feng Kelie nodded: "I dare not deceive the Duke."
Xu Hongji sighed and said: "The dynasty must be named Zhu, and it can only be named Zhu..."
Otherwise, the heirloom lords like you and me will eventually fall into the hands of others..."
"My lord, since Chen Cao has made his attitude clear, why don't we act first? If this matter leaks out and is known to the court, we will be implicated. It involves the serious crime of treason, and we are hereditary nobles. It is impossible to escape the step of killing one's body."
Feng Kelie's worry was not unreasonable. All the lords involved in King Ning's rebellion were unlucky, and several vassal princes were removed from their fiefdoms. These lords left over from the Taizu period, the court was eager to take action on them.
Xu Hongji pondered for a long time, then shook his head and waved: "Although Chen Cao has regained military power now, his Dingwu army can only fight 50,000 people. The overall strength of our Ming Dynasty is still sufficient, and he is not yet fully fledged. Plump, I think he won’t rebel at this point in time, so you can rest assured..."
"My lord, you are raising a tiger for trouble... That's what Li Chengliang thought back then..."
Xu Hongji was stunned for a moment by Feng Kelie's point, and then he sighed: "No wonder he repeatedly asked me if I was not sure. I didn't expect that he already knew that I was involved at that time... ugh...
Now the imperial court has named Chen Cao to take command. I took away thirteen million silver from him in Japan. Now I am on my way to the capital. People from Beizhen Fusi escorted me personally, and there were three guards. All colleagues...
The friendship between the Duke of Wei and him has come to an end. "
"As long as the master gives an order, I will go back and issue an order to quickly mobilize the Southern Zhili garrison troops and the Beijing camp troops to surround Chen Cao's residence. As long as his family members are in hand, I don't dare to make any mistakes. He can be captured without hesitation."
Xu Hongji fell silent, and after a long time, he quietly said: "You can't touch him..."
Feng Kelie said anxiously: "Master, you should think twice..."
"It's better to keep this secret in advance. It's good for you to know that Chen Cao has not made any big moves. Moreover, the imperial court suddenly ordered him to go north this time. There must be other things. Exposing him as having treasonous intentions at this time will definitely be counterproductive..."
..
"Wei Guogong doesn't dare to touch me now..."
Chen Cao was in his study, writing orders for Cao Jiang's navy to prepare.
"Master, if we do something so blatantly, if Duke Wei and others are really ordered to cut off their arms, it seems that there will be no benefit to us..."
Chen Cao stamped the transfer order with the seal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Dingwu Army, and then handed it to Zhao Xin: "Don't worry, I was just saying that the civil unrest in Shaanxi has now spread to Xi'an Mansion, and the Prince of Qin's Mansion has already A memorial asking for help, and now that the emperor had money in his hands, he mobilized the border troops from Yulin and Shanxi to go to Xi'an to suppress them;
Shanxi's defense line just happened to be empty..."
Xin Zhao lowered his head and said: "The people over there have accepted our request, and now they are one of their own."
"Well," Chen Cao stood up: "Wei Guogong will have a lot of news. He must know the combat effectiveness of the garrison in Nanjing. If he exposes my rebellion at this moment, the emperor will definitely believe it, but he must also consider the strength of Nanjing City. Whether the Beijing camp troops can defend the Wengcheng at Zhengyangmen is the key;
He knows very well the combat effectiveness of our Dingwu Army. Even the Japanese were beaten to the point of rolling around. Do you think the people in the Beijing camp can withstand our volleys? "
"You're lucky if you don't run two-thirds." Xin Zhao joked.
"That's the reason." Chen Cao nodded: "In addition, the business jointly managed by several of our nobles is in my hands. The annual income of the Duke of Wei is now more than eight million taels. Do you think he should suddenly give up this business?" Business, whether he can accept it;
This is not the point. The point is who asked me to take command again this time. "
"Wei Zhongxian..."
"Wrong..." Chen Cao looked at Zhao Xin with a serious face: "Believe me, it is definitely not Wei Zhongxian. Wu Chun did not continue to supervise the army and Dingwu Army. This can be seen clearly that he must have made the original decision for Wei Zhongxian. It is impossible for the emperor to know the combat effectiveness and situation of the armed forces;
So they will never let me take control of the Dingwu Army again. However, after the Dingwu Army changed its personnel, they are useless except for earning military expenses. They are still a big trouble. Disbandment on the spot is the only option;
To sum up, the people who put me in power must be civil servants. Their purpose was probably to cater to the emperor's wishes and to wear down the strength of the Dingwu Army in the First Battle of Liaodong. "
Chen Cao's analysis was very reasonable. After hearing this, Zhao Xin found it very useful, so he said: "Master, we went to Liaodong this time, what should we do here in Jinling?"
Chen Cao raised his head and looked at Zhao Xin: "Go and find Qi Xianzong..."
.
When Qi Xianzong, now the commander of the Nanjing Right Guards, came to Chen Cao's residence again, two full years had passed.
"The general will finally meet the father-in-law..."
"Xianzong, how about the Ming Dynasty?"
When Chen Cao arrived, he asked Qi Xianzong directly, because he and Zhao Xin were the only three people in the study at the moment.
Qi Xianzong was sitting on the stool. When he heard this, he was stunned for first, and then asked: "Do you have any ideas?"
"Your Qi family is full of loyalty. Your ancestor died unjustly. The Qi family's army was also deeply wronged by Wang Bao. They used their utmost strength during the Korean War..."
Qi Xianzong clasped his fists: "Master, the Qi family has done what they should do to the court."
"Do you think the Ming Dynasty can be saved?"
Qi Xianzong stared at Chen Cao closely and remained silent until he saw Chen Cao's eyes were firm and unusual, and then he clasped his fists again: "My father only sent one of his clan brothers to participate."
"Okay..." Chen Cao nodded with satisfaction.
"Master, if you have anything to do, just ask me..."
"After I leave, you must do your best to protect this place and the Workshop Academy..."
Qi Xianzong took a deep breath and let it out slowly: "Don't worry, sir, there are only my brothers and me in the Qi family..."
"Well..." Chen Cao nodded again: "How is the training going?"
"All military training is in accordance with the Dingwu Army's establishment, and you can change your uniform at any time."
Qi Xianzong also looked serious.
Chen Cao then looked at Zhao Xin: "Transfer orders to the workshop to replace all Nanjing right guards with firearms. In addition, let Ning Guoxing send a battalion of artillery to go there and bring enough artillery."
"It's the father-in-law..."
After finishing speaking, Chen Cao looked at Qi Xianzong, then clasped his fists: "Leave it to you..."
Qi Xianzong stood up and bowed: "Don't worry, sir..."
After Qi Xianzong left, Zhao Xin looked at Chen Cao and said, "Master, are you sure?"
Chen Cao shook his head: "The Qi family are loyal people after all, so we have to take precautions. Go and find the commander of Xiaoling Guard."
.
After Liu Yucheng became the commander of the Xiaoling Guard, he felt that there was no money to be made in the entire Xiaoling Guard. Because of the sufficient military expenditures in Datong, as a staff general at that time, he could reap a lot of benefits from following the commander-in-chief.
If he hadn't been exposed by Jin Yiwei, he would probably still be living a prosperous life now.
"I heard that Commander Liu contributed all his family wealth to keep this official position. The cost of living in Jinling is high. I wonder if Commander Liu's salary for one year is enough for his family's expenses?"
Liu Yucheng, who was in his forties, was acting submissive in front of Chen Cao, a young man in his twenties. The main reason was because the young man in front of him was a prince.
"Thank you so much, Duke Liang, for your kindness. Life in Xiaoling Guard is pretty good."
Chen Cao threw a document to him, and then said: "The annual military pay of the Xiaoling Guard is 7,362 taels, plus 630 dan of military rations. However, the Xiaoling Guard can only be fully staffed with 4,000 taels." With one hundred and twenty people reduced to seven and eight, you, Commander Liu, will only earn more than three thousand taels of silver in a year..."
Plop...
Liu Yucheng was sitting very well. When he heard this, he knelt down in front of Chen Cao, threw himself into the garlic, and cried: "My lord, please forgive me... I have no choice but to do this because I am a humble official..."
"What are you doing?" Chen Cao frowned: "I'm just telling the truth. I didn't say I wanted the Jin Yiwei to arrest you. What are you afraid of?"
Zhao Xin, who was wearing a crimson flying fish robe on the side, stepped forward with a smile and personally helped Liu Yucheng up: "Commander Liu, don't be afraid, I never said I wanted to arrest you."
Not yet?
A commander in charge of the Jinyi Guards personally helps people, but he himself is not allowed to shed a layer of skin?
Liu Yucheng almost peed: "Master Guo, please stop joking with Beizi. Beizi has only stolen tens of thousands of money in the past two years. Beizi is willing to donate all of it. I hope Duke Guo will be kind..."
Chen Cao shook his head somewhat dissatisfied, and then said: "Commander Liu, I want to ask you, when you were a general in Datong, you were greedy for military expenditures, or was it not good to be greedy?"
The people in Jinling knew about Liu Yucheng's dismissal and transfer. Now that it has become what it is now, they simply don't hide it: "It's so corrupt, mainly because there are so many border troops, and the frontier troops are supplemented by guard troops." The original strength of 5,600 soldiers can be increased to more than 10,000. When reporting military expenses, you can report more. If the court does not give enough cash, there will always be enough food;
We people eat some leftovers from the general soldiers, and it is still feasible to exchange grain for money. "
"Yes," Chen Cao nodded: "You are telling the truth. How much of Xiaolingwei's military field do you occupy?"
Liu Yucheng said tremblingly: "It's not much, and the Duke of the country also knows that most of the commanders of this guard station are hereditary officers, especially in the southern Zhili area. If the former commander hadn't been accused of smuggling arms, this Xiaoling The officers entrusted by the Wei commander have not yet fallen into the hands of Beizhong, excluding the land occupied by his predecessor, Beizhong has occupied less than 300 acres of land."
Chen Cao nodded thoughtfully: "You also told the truth, I will believe you for once."
"Thank you, Mr. Guo, thank you, Mr. Guo..."
Liu Yucheng hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed a few times, then raised his head and said, "The Duke of Guo won't just ask a humble official about these things this time, will he?"
"Oh..." Chen Cao looked at Xin Zhao interestingly: "Look, corrupt officials have this consciousness. How come you, a person from the military, have learned all the behavior of those useless civil servants in the court? ?”
