In the Chengyun Hall of Prince Su's Mansion, the eunuch Zhenghua held his head high and waited for the thunder to fall. palladium
When Fang Zhenghua received this mission from the emperor, he knew that his trip would probably never come back.
After all, the emperor is famous for his diligence, and in recent months, the emperor's main job has been to curse people, and Fang Zhenghua has also noticed it. Now this imperial letter is probably the emperor's emotions that have not been vented yet and have nowhere to put them. .
Shaanxi's Chen Qiyu, Lian Guoshi, Hong Chengchou from the three sides, and Shanxi's Zhang Zongheng were all scolded. As the eunuch Bingbi ranked lowest in the list of ceremonial officials, Fang Zhenghua watched the emperor's thoughts in the Qianqing Palace every day. Mu thought, all he was thinking about was how to kill all these losers.
It is true that the emperor has grown up and no longer does the business of beheading generals in battle, so he just goes through them in his heart with the knife first.
The emperor even scolded Yang Jiamo. After the scolding, he discovered that Yang Jiamo had died for his country in Gansu. He was extremely ashamed and sad. He also performed Buddhist services in the palace to pay homage to the fallen soldiers and refugees. He cried so hard that he couldn't help himself.
Then there was this letter sent all the way to Liu Chengzong. There was no need to think about the content of the letter. There were definitely no curse words between the lines, but the lethality must be greater than the curse words.
Fang Zhenghua also tried to refuse this mission, but the emperor insisted that he deliver it in person, and there was nothing he could do. After all, the emperor had truly shown him the kindness of knowing and finding him. palladium
He was too young. He entered the palace at the age of seventeen during the Tianqi period. Because of his loyal and courageous temperament and his tall and burly appearance, he was highly valued by Gao Shiming, the then Superintendent of Ceremonies, and was selected as a servant of Kunning Palace. One of the pen eunuchs, in charge of Fusi, Beizhen, and was famous in the inner court.
The emperor had to repay his kindness. Even if the Marshal's Mansion was a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, he had to break through.
Of course, Fang Zheng had made sufficient preparations before arriving. He dismissed all the servants in the capital and wrote a suicide note.
There was nothing in the suicide note. He entered the palace because an earthquake occurred in his hometown in Shandong during the Tianqi years. The earthquake was not very destructive, but it wiped out his whole family. Naturally, there were no descendants after entering the palace. The content of the suicide note was nothing more than death. After he passed away, he donated his house in the capital to the Almshouse, donated his property to Luo Zeyuan, and had a tomb built for him.
In addition, he asked his old boss Gao Shiming to take him to see Cao Huachun, the admiral in charge of military affairs in the capital.
They are all eunuchs of the Bureau of Ceremonies, but they have different qualifications, different responsibilities, different powers, and naturally different statuses. The most important thing is that before this, Fang Zhenghua had a bad relationship with Cao Huachun.
To be precise, Fang Zhenghua didn't have a good relationship with most eunuchs, because even though he was a eunuch, he always held the concept that it was nonsense for eunuchs to serve as guard eunuchs. palladium
He told Chongzhen more than once that only extraordinary people can turn the world into peace. The emperor needs to find such people from the outer court. We in the inner court are just for the royal family to send orders and envoys, and they cannot take on big responsibilities - go out of town. In this place, if you can eat all day long and do nothing serious, then you are already the best guard eunuch in the world.
It would be strange to say such words without offending other eunuchs.
Could Chongzhen understand this great truth? There are a few serious people who are eunuchs. The threshold of this profession determines that there are no great talents in civil and military affairs.
There is a high probability that eunuchs will harm the place, but the things that eunuchs do to the place cannot be hidden in the court. At least Chongzhen could know what happened in the place.
But Cao Huachun was the one who came before. Not only did he come, but he also returned alive and became the eunuch who knew Liu Chengzong best in the Forbidden City.
Facing the request of the younger generation, Cao Huachun did a lot of homework for Fang Zhenghua. The eighty-page booklet included seven pages of interpersonal relationships between generals and officers at all levels in the Marshal's Mansion, and twelve pages of matters needing attention in the Marshal's Mansion. .
Among them, Marshal Liu's domineering examples only occupy a small space of 60 pages, and there is another page containing Cao Huachun's own experience. palladium
In Cao Huachun's description, Liu Chengzong was like a lazy mad dog. He had no idea when this man would go crazy, but the Liu Chengzong he saw in front of him gave Fang Zhenghua a strong sense of contrast.
He came all the way from the capital
, not only brought the imperial letter to Liu Chengzong, but also brought encouragement to Zuo Liangyu in Guanzhong, Zhang Yingchang, He Renlong, Yang Yanchang, Ren Quan'er and other generals in Hexi.
After crossing the pass and heading west, we also saw with our own eyes the Marshal's Mansion's heavy military group stationed in Lanzhou. They built this land like a large fortress complex, with strong soldiers and generals stationed everywhere. Every camp they passed was practicing day and night, as if they were in a state of war. Prepare for a new attack on Hexi.
The biggest feeling this army brought to Fang Zhenghua was not that it was a mighty military force, but that the finances of the Marshal's Mansion were really good.
Because first of all, when he was in the court, what he felt was that the court was short of money, the officers and soldiers were short of money, and everywhere was short of money; on the other hand, the impression of the rebels from the court was that they were extremely poor and had no food to eat. You can only rely on robbing.
However, what Fang Zhenghua saw was not the case. The army of the Marshal's Mansion and the Lintao Brigade stationed on the front line of Jikou looked in worse condition, and their mental outlook was no different from that of most officers and soldiers.
But near Lanzhou, the army belonging to Wang Wenxiu, the governor of Lanzhou, was not only well-fed, but also well-fed and well-equipped. palladium
Fang Zhenghua was tall and tall and had good martial arts skills. He had read several military books and liked to talk about military affairs when he was bragging to people in the palace. However, he had never led a soldier in a war. He knew in his heart that he could not be said to be a good soldier, but even he could see it. , the Marshal's Army has extremely strong potential in warfare.
Compared with this army, Liu Chengzong, who was sitting upright in Chengyun Hall, seemed not so special.
Even the Chengyun Hall looked shabby because it was occupied by Liu Chengzong. There were only six Yulin Cavalry wearing waist-length armor, four of them were holding hooks and sickles to protect them, and two of them stood on Liu Chengzong's left and right holding golden melons... The pomp is even worse than that of a general.
If I had to sum up my impression of Liu Chengzong, it might be that he was stable, so frighteningly stable. Looking at the imperial letter filled with unpleasant words, he only frowned at first, and then took it indifferently, not knowing what he was thinking.
After a while, he saw Liu Chengzong in the palace put down his royal letter and asked him, "Eunuch Fang, would you like to have a meal with us?"
Fang Zhenghua was dumbfounded. You, after reading Yu Xin, don't care about the good or the bad. You should have some reaction, right? That's it, after reading it, it's over without even saying a word?
Liu Chengzong did not think about the possibility that his invitation would be rejected, so he directly made a gesture to Yu Linqi who was standing by and asked them to prepare the official seat. palladium
Actually, it's funny to say that these Yulin Cavalry sent to him by his father, although they are close servants, are not actually responsible for protecting him with force. On the contrary, if an accident really happens, he may be required to protect the Yulin Cavalry.
As for the six valets around him, their fighting abilities are basically at the level of well-nourished recruits. For him, if they are all empty-handed, Yulin will be full of flaws wherever he goes. It takes one punch to defeat one, and six One, six punches.
It would be easier if they all had weapons, and it might be possible to kill six of them without six swords.
But if he is empty-handed and Yulinqiu has a weapon, he will have no choice but to run away. The same is true for the guard's ability to protect the bodyguard. How can someone in the Marshal's Mansion reach him wearing armor and holding a weapon?
Therefore, relatively speaking, it is actually good for the Yulinqiu to have these Yulinqi from the Children's Camp as valets. They are all educated, and the people who work around him, not to mention the senior generals of the Marshal's Mansion, are at least Huben. A junior officer in a battalion can learn a lot.
On the other hand, you can also do something around him without wasting money and food like in a children's camp. When do people not learn? As long as you have learned the basics of culture and have the same level of effort, you can learn martial arts faster than those without culture.
The young Yu Linqi in the palace was moved upon hearing the sound, and quickly started to arrange a banquet hall in the palace. The architectural layout of the Ming Dynasty did not have a special banquet hall, and it was usually arranged in the main hall when needed. palladium
Yu Linqi had been educated by Yang Dingrui in etiquette. In the past, when he was not studying in Xincheng, he often helped Liu Xiangyu and entertained the families of the generals of the Marshal's Mansion, so he was very comfortable with such tasks as decorating the banquet hall.
Because the Marshal's Mansion was so big and there was a demand for banquets, the Baigong Bureau specially made a batch of furnishings for the banquet and sent them to Prince Su's Mansion before Liu Chengzong arrived in Lanzhou.
Soon, a simple banquet for two
The hall is arranged in the Chengyun Hall, with a total of two sets of public seats.
The public seat is also the seat in the banquet. The furnishings are very simple, including four pieces: floor, screen, koan and seat.
The ground is the base. When conditions are unavailable, tapestries, carpets or even felts can be used. When conditions permit, a low table slightly higher than the ground can be used.
The screen is a simple landscape painting, placed behind the seats; the koan is a long case for handling official business, and a red moiré brocade table surround is hung; the seats are simple armchairs, and the tables and chairs are not made of precious wood, but are all ordinary of elm.
The tableware on the koan is a little more exquisite. The bowls, plates, cups and cups are all made of plain-glazed Xining kiln porcelain. This was the kiln factory established after the Marshal's Palace entered Qinghai. It was originally used to house the kiln workers from the Han Dynasty Palace. They are all the craftsmanship of Yaozhou Kiln. palladium
While Yu Linqi was decorating the banquet hall, Liu Chengzong sat in the hall without saying a word, thinking about the letter written by the emperor.
In this letter, Liu Chengzong could see Chongzhen's anger through the paper, but the emperor did not mention a word about what happened in Gansu. All his anger came from the city reward outside Xuan Dakou and the death of Yang Jiamo.
He was angry that Liu Chengzong gave the city reward to the three Khans of Mobei.
Apparently, things outside the border were so critical that Chongzhen turned a blind eye to Gansu, which was farther away. He sent eunuchs to deliver messages all the way, scolding Liu Shishi, and frantically venting his panic.
Liu Chengzong's feelings about this letter were a bit complicated. On the one hand, he felt that he should be angered, but on the other hand, could he be blamed for what happened outside the Xuan University?
Whoever is your problem should be solved by you. Xuanda Bianwai in Shanxi Province has nothing to do with me. Can the problem be solved by scolding me?
If the emperor scolded him about Gansu, he might become really angry. palladium
But the emperor scolding him about Xuanda couldn't break Liu Chengzong's defense at all, it could only make him feel confused.
Another thing mentioned in the letter was the death of Yang Jiamo. Liu Shizi also felt very sorry for this. Not only did you, Chongzhen, offer sacrifices to the monks in the palace, I also offered sacrifices to the fallen soldiers outside Gaotai City.
Therefore, Liu Shizi was not angry at all about the letter. He just stood up from the palace and sat opposite Fang Zhenghua. Then he raised his hand to signal Fang Zhenghua to sit down and asked, "Xuan Dabianwai, is there a fight?"
Fang Zhenghua, who had just taken off his hat and sat down, instinctively responded. Just as he was about to explain, he realized that what he was doing was wrong and simply stopped talking.
How should I put this? The eunuch himself is a person who works for the royal family. He is too accustomed to this kind of atmosphere where others give orders and he answers.
Liu Chengzong also noticed this, chuckled lightly, took the milk wine from the nearby waiter, poured a bowl and said, "Anyone can handle the matter of delivering letters. The emperor's chief minister of etiquette, eunuch Bingbi, came here just because you know Many, I ask you to answer, say what you can say, and don't say what you can't say - there is nothing that cannot be said outside the mouth."
Fang Zhenghua thought this was true, but what if you allied with the Donglu forces? He shook his head and said: "We only received the emperor's mission to deliver a message, and we did not have the opportunity to report the military situation. I'm afraid there is nothing we can say to the marshal." Palladium
"There is a lot I can say. Donglu once sent me an envoy, but I sent him back. However, I am very interested in their army. If they are not too far away, I would be more willing to fight with them than with Yang Jiamo. , tell me, who are the people on the border this year, what is the strength of the Eight Banners, and Khalkha in Mobei, did the imperial court reward them with the city?"
"Eight Flags?"
Fang Zhenghua was still persuaded by Liu Chengzong. Anyway, he didn't say these things. After a while, Liu Chengzong himself could inquire about it, so he answered, but he said I don't know what the Eight Banners you are talking about: "According to what the prisoner said, Donglu sent out troops this time, and each Niulu sent twenty cavalry and eight guards. Based on this calculation, the number of troops sent was eight to nine thousand."
Liu Chengzong frowned and said, "Is this the number of people?"
Eight or nine thousand men are a very powerful military force, but if these forces are spread over the vast desert, it is like two handfuls of sand thrown into the sea, and they will not show up at all.
This kind of force was not in line with the force he imagined for the invasion of the Later Jin Dynasty. If he wanted to attack Xuanda, without 50,000 troops, how could Huang Taiji dare to wander outside Shanxi?
But after a while, Fang Zhenghua answered his question.
Doubt: "This time, the troops of Donglu, Monan, Han, and Aohan invaded the border area. There were 120,000 soldiers in total. Most of them were Liao people. They also had wives and children. After taking care of their horses, there were some elite soldiers. Sixty to seventy thousand, rest three to four hundred miles away from the border, and then divide into two groups to approach the border." Palladium
Liu Chengzong suddenly realized that this number was relatively reliable, so he nodded and motioned to Fang Zhenghua to continue, and listened to what he said: "There are 80,000 people entering the Xuan Mansion, led by Wang Shixuan, Huang Shiying, and Liu Pengcao."
Wang Shixuan was from Yulin, and he was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief. He surrendered during the Jisi Rebellion. Huang Shiying and Liu Pengcao, Liu Chengzong didn't know who they were, but they were probably surrendered generals.
"There are 40,000 people heading west to Datong, led by Ma Dengyun, Bao Chengxian, Kong Youde, Geng Lao Er and Shang Lao Si."
Liu Chengzong was a little dumbfounded. From now on, all the Han troops will be fighting in the Jin Kingdom?
He quickly asked: "The three Khalkha tribes didn't send troops?"
"It was announced. The Mobei rebels coerced the refugees and sent 100,000 troops. They did not dare to fight with the Donglu when they reached the border. They plundered Fengzhou Beach and crossed the Yellow River. They ran to the Ordos resident herdsman outside Yulin and took the imperial edict. If you ask for a reward from Yulin Town, the Emperor might as well not give the marshal a reward."
Fang Zhenghua became narrow-minded when he mentioned this matter. He took a long breath and raised three fingers on the public case: "Originally, the Donglu Alliance united with the Monan Army and the Kou Xuan Mansion in Datong Town. Now that things are better, there is no peace in Yulin and Ningxia. "palladium
