Chapter 259 Su Song Base Camp
Even Zhang Shihuang, who was on the united front, chose the latter. Zhang Cai now seemed a bit lonely. Chen Cao saw this and comforted him: "Zhang Cai, you are not a spiritual official..."
Zhang Cai was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly got angry. This sentence was clearly mocking his inability to judge the situation, but he was also a Confucian-educated person after all, and was deeply favored by the emperor. How could he betray his master and abandon his emperor so easily, being treated like this by Chen Cao? As soon as he said it, he didn't want to compromise even more, and would rather die.
However, Chen Cao made it clear that he was provoking him. When he saw his expression changing several times, he said: "Zhao Xin, stop it. Since Master Zhang Cai is unwilling to cooperate, then they will forget it together. Okay, I My father has something important to do, please discuss it for a while."
Originally, Chen Cao agreed to send someone to protect him, but now he flatly refused and pointed the finger directly at Zhang Cai. Even Zhang Shihuang was unhappy.
"Master Zhang, you want to protect your official status, but we just want to protect our family. Since you keep saying that you will be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, what should we do? We are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty. How about you? Or an official of the governor's Yamen..."
"That is, have you forgotten your duty to appease the local people?"
Facing the accusations from everyone, Zhang Cai was trembling with anger. The group of people initially followed him and chose to resist, but in the end they actually turned the spear against him.
"you..."
.
The "landlord fighting" incident in Suzhou lasted for three days. All the wealthy and wealthy households who actively cooperated were protected. In the end, even tough people like Zhang Cai and others had to choose to bow their heads. Reputation was important to them, but it was gone. How much is life and reputation worth?
In the governor's office, Chen Cao was looking through the account books of the past few days, while Huang Chunyao sat aside and sorted out the clues.
Xin Zhao stepped into the lobby and said loudly: "Master, there is news from Old Tang that the entire territory of Suzhou has been taken..."
"good..."
Chen Cao raised his head and looked at Huang Chunyao: "Go in person and bring people with you. You must act according to Suzhou's side."
Huang Chunyao put down the account book in his hand: "The students will leave now."
Suzhou's gains were not small. The total military expenses for the army alone increased to more than 40 million taels, not counting the previous income. However, Chen Cao did not intend to eat the money alone.
He planned to use the money as capital to first open a special railway line between Suzhou and Shanghai after equalizing land, and he also wanted to use the money as a reserve fund for currency reform.
For this reason, Chen Cao transferred Xia Yunyi and a group of people to Suzhou a few days ago. Chen Cao planned to use the land of Suzhou and Songfu as his base camp to control Xu Tu's entire empire.
"By the way, sir, Zhang Pu collapsed. He has been talking nonsense every night since yesterday. Is it time?"
When Chen Cao saw Zhang Pu again, the guy had already taken a bath. He accidentally knocked over the toilet in the dark room and was covered in his own feces and urine. He then spent three days in endless darkness. I can’t even remember the time when it was taken out.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
You heard me right, this was indeed Zhang Pu's cry. This righteous young man initially sought happiness with the intention of being loyal to his country, but in the end he was worse than dead.
Chen Cao was annoyed by his crying, so he threatened to keep him in jail for three days if he cried again. This frightened Zhang Pu and he suddenly became as obedient as a child.
Seeing this, Chen Cao smiled and said: "Zhang Pu, even though you want to die, in the darkness, can you clearly see the development of current events?"
Zhang Pu was stunned and did not speak. Chen Cao continued: "Everyone in the world thinks that I, Chen Cao, am a rebellious traitor, but if you go to Songjiang Mansion and ask the people at the bottom, and then look at their lives, you will see what they are like. statement;
What I, Chen Cao, want is for the world to be harmonious, where the people live and work in peace and contentment, and are rich and self-sufficient. I have exempted them from taxes and given them equal land, so that they can be content with everything they produce. What do you think the people will choose?
As the leader of Fushe, it's not that I don't dare to kill you, but I feel that if I kill you, it won't be a waste of your reputation as the leader of Fushe. What's more, there are so many literati in the world. How can I kill you all? Everyone?
Don’t think that the one who conquers the world is worried about not having anyone to serve as an official. Emperor Taizu once said that the Ming Dynasty lacked everything but officials. Even under torture, corrupt officials were still rampant. You Say, is there a problem with the system or with people's hearts? "
Zhang Pu had been imprisoned for three days, and his spirit had already collapsed. When Chen Cao asked him so kindly, he felt that the surroundings were very quiet, as if the teacher was asking about his lessons: "It's just forced by life..."
"It's a good life," Chen Cao said with a smile, "but the salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty is still not high. Under this situation, corrupt officials are rampant. Don't say you, Zhang Pu, have never been greedy for money. Accepting bribes is childish." Bar?"
Seeing Zhang Pu's blushing face but not answering, Chen Cao didn't care: "Everything must be relaxed and moderate. Now that the Ming Dynasty has become so corrupt, it is a time when everything is waiting for improvement. The opportunity is right in front of you, and I don't have much time." Since I am wasting it on you, I will only ask you if you are willing to do something for me. If you are not willing, I will let you die as a benevolent person, and Zhang Cai will naturally take over the reinstatement of society."
The last sentence touched Zhang Pu. Although he and Zhang Cai had a good relationship, in this kind of life and death, how could they value love and righteousness? They could only choose to live. Moreover, after being imprisoned for three days, he suddenly felt like After choosing the wrong direction at the beginning, he handed over to Chen Cao: "I wonder what Duke Liang wants me to do?"
"I know your reputation for restoring society, and I also know your Zhang Pu's ability to manipulate public opinion, so I have established a new Daming Daily, which is similar to the imperial newspaper. It publishes all current affairs. This editor-in-chief, I I think it must be you."
"Daming Daily?"
...
While Chen Cao was taking over Songjiang, the offensive of King Fu Zhu Changxun's "Jingnan Army" to the west was also in full swing. The vassal kings in Kaifeng and Guide chose to sit on the sidelines.
King Fu's army arrived in Bozhou north of Fengyang within seven days. On the day of arrival, they eliminated the Wuping Guards stationed in Bozhou and surrendered tens of thousands of troops and horses. The number of troops raised increased sharply from the two guards at the beginning. To 70,000 people, inspection and guard troops from various places were recruited along the way, and some local officials with ulterior motives also brought a large number of strong soldiers to join them. By the time King Fu's army arrived in Mengcheng, the number of troops had reached 100,000. There are 40,000 soldiers.
The military report from the Zhongdu Remaining Department was delivered to the capital within a few days. It is not known how angry Emperor Chongzhen was, but the news from the inner palace was that he fainted several times.
"There are about 50,000 guards in the left-behind department in Zhongdu. Zhang Gaoping, the vanguard commander of King Fu, has personally led 30,000 people to Huaiyuan. In the south, there is one guard of the left-behind department stationed in Xiacai Town, Shouzhou. If Zhang Gaoping's army breaks through Huaiyuan, Fengyang has no danger to defend."
In the governor's office, Chen Cao convened a rare emergency meeting. The topic was King Fu's movements and King Fu's request to lead his troops north.
Xing Shenyan had just arrived in Suzhou from Shanghai and had the opportunity to attend this meeting. He pinched his beard and thought for a while before speaking first: "There are also Yingchuan Guards in the central and southwest, and Feixiong and Yingwu Guards in the southeast. The left-behind department can mobilize the troops There are still at least 30,000 horses, so King Fu will not dare to stay under Huaiyuan City for a long time. He may be worried about Nanjing."
Huang Chunyao returned to Suzhou City after handling the matters along the coast of Suzhou. After listening to Xing Shenyan's words, he nodded: "Master Xing's words make sense. Nanjing will rescue Fengyang and the march will take up to six days. If Wei Guogong reacts quickly and mobilizes Nanzhili If the Beijing camp rushes over, King Fu's army is likely to be blocked in place;
In addition, the imperial court will definitely not sit back and watch King Fu's rebels. It will definitely mobilize heavy troops from Daming Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, Daning Dusi and other places to go south to Kaifeng Luoyang, cutting off King Fu's escape route. If this continues, if King Fu cannot conquer Nanjing , the situation is critical..."
Chen Cao listened to everyone analyze it one by one, and then quite agreed with what they said. If the Dingwu army attacked the Weisuo army, it would definitely win, but the victory rate of the Weisuo soldiers against the Weisuo soldiers was really unknown. .
"Have all the firearms shipped to King Fu been delivered?"
Faced with Chen Cao's inquiry, Huang Chunyao, who secretly handled the matter, nodded: "The students followed the instructions and the foreign trade group's caravan transported a large number of artillery and matchlock guns. Prince Fu must have accepted them."
"My lord, in order to prevent Nanjing's army from encircling and suppressing it, the students still suggest that our army should exert pressure from the east. If the opportunity is right, we can also take advantage of the situation to capture Changzhou Prefecture..."
Xu Fuyuan was also rarely able to make suggestions. In the past, Huang Chunyao had deep trust in Chen Cao. Naturally, the few of them who had been won over by Huang Chunyao did not want to be at a disadvantage.
Suzhou Prefecture is separated from Wuxi County, the nearest Changzhou Prefecture, by Hushu Pass and Wangting Pass. It took at most one day for the Dingwu Army to rush to Wuxi County.
Xu Fuyuan's suggestion was very feasible and suited Chen Cao's wishes. However, Chen Cao had no intention of occupying Changzhou Mansion first. After all, it would not take a day or two to digest the huge Suzhou Mansion.
"Well, this suggestion is very pertinent. The pressure of my army on the territory of Changzhou Prefecture will definitely alert Nanjing. Qi Boyu is determined not to stand by and watch the fall of Suzhou. I am also more inclined to deterrence, but I still have to do it. Caution."
Huang Chunyao saw Chen Cao's thoughts, and said: "My lord, after capturing Wuxi, station the army in the Gaoqiao area, and then let the navy fleet go west to capture Jingjiang Island. In this case, there will be chaos in Nanjing. After careful consideration, the number of troops sent to Fengyang may be greatly reduced. If Qi Boyu is timid and fearful, he may still hold back and put the preservation of Nanjing first."
Chen Cao clapped his hands and felt that this plan was a good move. Although Xu Hongji was very courageous, according to the stubbornness of the nobles who were in charge of the Nanjing Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, preserving Nanjing was the first priority. Sending troops westward to support Fengyang might really become a Just an empty talk.
"Okay, pass on the order and order the first division of the armed forces to set off immediately to attack Wuxi County."
