The meeting, which originally lasted only half an hour, actually extended to nearly an hour after questions and answers. It was not until Wang Dehua came over to remind him softly that there were arrangements later that Chongzhen realized that so much time had passed.
At this time, his mood was very high. Yang Sichang had just proposed the strategy of suppressing the bandits, and now a "knowledgeable" person came from the sky. It seemed that the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty was God's will!
The key is that this person not only "knows Kun", but from the conversation just now, it can be seen that this person is clear and thoughtful, and is a truly practical and capable talent!
Such people will be of great use when it comes time to suppress Kun!
Thinking of this, he said: "I already know what you are talking about. I will give you an explanation."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
"You know the relationship well, and you are really undermining your talents by holding the position of school inspector." The emperor thought for a while, "The imperial court has a decree and chooses talents in an eclectic way. It's a pity that you are not filial and honest..."
If the person is born, promotion will be easy. Sun Yuanhua was born in Juren and became the governor of Denglai a few years ago.
"The humble minister is always incompetent." Qian Taichong was ecstatic. It seemed that the emperor not only wanted to make decisions for him, but also promoted him.
"Step back..." the emperor said, and suddenly remembered something, "Where are you now?"
"Weichen originally lived in the Fujian Guild Hall of the capital."
"Still go back there to live. Don't leave the capital without orders."
This meant that there was a decree behind it. Qian Taichong was excited and frightened, knelt down, kowtowed, and withdrew.
When he came out of the palace, the Jinyiwei official school who escorted him was very polite and sent him back to the Fujian Guild Hall in a small sedan chair. The steward of the guild hall had been anxious since he was arrested, fearing that something "shouldn't be done" would be discovered during the trial and he would be taken to the guild hall. At this moment, I saw the officials sending people back in sedan chairs, and I felt relieved.
Before leaving the official school, he was told to "take good care of Mr. Qian". The steward agreed in a hurry. Seeing that all the officials from the school were gone, the manager could not restrain his curiosity and asked about what had happened in the past few days.
Qian Taichong was full of joy and originally wanted to talk it out, but considering that the matter involved the emperor, he should still be cautious in his words. If it reaches the emperor's ears, his "frivolous" remarks will not escape.
Immediately he said: "I came to the capital to do something, and now I have a clue."
He came to the capital for business and has been here for more than half a year. He leaves early and comes back late every day. He has not seen a few smiling faces in the past few months.
The manager suddenly understood and said, "Congratulations, congratulations, I think you will find a way out now! Things will be easy to handle if there is a way out!" After speaking, he lowered his voice and asked, "Are you not a big boss in the court?"
"Exactly! Exactly!" Qian Taichong was filled with uncontrollable joy, "I accept your auspicious words!"
Qian Taichong was in high spirits during happy events. Seeing that it was still early, he asked the steward to order some food and drinks so that he could sort out his thoughts while drinking.
The manager was very capable, and after a while, a waiter brought food and wine with a food basket. Because it is served by one person, there are only four plates of side dishes, two plates of rice and one plate of "rolls".
At this moment, snowflakes were falling outside the window, and heavy snow fell in the capital again. Qian Taichong simply opened the window and drank while enjoying the snow. This was the first time in the past few years that he felt so comfortable. Not only because he gained the emperor's attention, but also because the emperor had the intention to deal with the Kun thieves.
In the final analysis, the current predicament of the Zheng family is caused by the Kun thief. As long as the momentum of the Kun thief wanes, the currently divided branches of the Zheng family will naturally compete overseas instead of fighting in Zhangzhou Bay.
Today's call, the emperor is very interested in Kun Thief. I asked a lot about the Kun thief. Qian Taichong discovered that although the Kun thieves had fallen into two provinces and were far more powerful than the Kun thieves, the emperor knew very little about the Kun thieves.
Yes, he thought, not to mention the emperor who sat at the top, Fujian, which is now the "frontline" province, has long been full of goods. You can see Kun ships loading goods on the docks in Zhangquan area - although they are nominally merchants from the Ming Dynasty.
But most of the officials and gentry knew nothing about the Kun thieves. At most, they only know the clichés of strong ships, powerful guns, and exquisite tools.
As long as the imperial court is determined to suppress the enemy, it may not be possible to send out a large army to the south to eliminate the Kun thieves. It is not difficult to kill his arrogance. After all, the Ming Dynasty was a behemoth, how could it be compared to a mere thieves?
When the wine was full, Qian Taichong had vague visions of himself as a meritorious official, going to the court to congratulate him, being rewarded by the emperor, and returning to his hometown to honor his ancestors...
Suddenly there was a gentle knocking on the door. Qian Taichong thought it was the manager and said: "The door is not bolted, just come in by yourself."
There was only a "squeak" sound, and the doors were opened. It was not the steward who came in, but a strange young man.
He lives in a guild hall because he wants peace and quiet, unlike a hotel where people come and go and people come and go.
Qian Taichong was a little drunk and asked after a while: "Who is sir?"
The young man smiled slightly and said, "We don't know each other."
"Since we don't know each other, why did Weiye come to visit?"
"Although we are strangers, we have people who share the same hatred and hatred."
Having said this, Qian Taichong woke up halfway from his drink, and immediately realized that this person was not a random intruder, but came prepared. Unconsciously, he became wary and said: "The student doesn't know what the teacher means..."
"Mr. Qian, you have been in the capital for eight months, so I don't need to say more about why you came. Today, Yufangxuan has summoned the right person. Mr. Qian's ambition has been fulfilled. I am very happy and congratulated."
At this time, the wine Qian Taichong drank turned into cold sweat, which instantly broke out from his back, and the original feeling of being tipsy completely dissipated. He said sharply: "Who are you?!" After saying this, he wanted to touch the sword on his back.
"Mr. Qian, don't panic." The young man said with a smile, "I don't mean any harm by coming here. I just have some things that I want to discuss with you sir."
Qian Taichong's mind was spinning very fast. He had just summoned the emperor today, and he knew this person in the evening. He was obviously not an ordinary person. Maybe he was a member of the factory guard, or a middle-ranking official?
"What does this have to do with you?"
"Sir, you are well aware of Kun's sentiments, and the imperial court's use of troops will be of great use in the future. But have you ever thought about how the army's strength was when the king and governor defeated the Kun thieves?"
"The military is strong."
"Would Kun Thief be as prosperous as he is today?"
"Not as good as today."
"That being the case. When the imperial court uses troops, why do you think you won't make the same mistake as the king's governor?"
This question goes straight to Qian Taichong's heart. As someone who had fought against the Kun bandits and stayed in Lingao for two years, he certainly knew that things were no better than before. Compared to a few years ago, Kun Thief is more powerful.
At that time, in a mere county, there were thousands of infantrymen without even armor, and more than 20,000 elite Guangdong officers and soldiers were wiped out. Now they have occupied Guangdong and Guangxi, reaching as far as Tianjin Wei in the north and Guangzhou Prefecture in the south. The flags of the bandits are flying everywhere on the sea, and the black smoke billowing fleet seems to be in an uninhabited land.
Even if the imperial court can mobilize a hundred thousand troops, what can it do?
Thinking of this, he suddenly fell down and the fine wine and food in front of him became boring.
He hesitated, raised his head in confusion, and asked, "Sir, what's the purpose of saying this?"
Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, and he said in a trembling voice: "Could it be, could it be, could you be Kun... a thief!"
At this moment, the panic of escaping when Chengmai was defeated, the fear of being captured, the humiliation of being taken to Lingao for hard labor, the shock of seeing the powerful thief... all came to the surface!
Probably seeing the fear in Qian Taichong's eyes, the visitor sighed slightly and said: "I am not a thief, sir, please relax. I have come here today to give you a few words of sincerity."
"Yes, yes, please enlighten me."
"Sir, this hospitality..."
Only then did Qian Taichong come to his senses and said quickly: "Sit down, please sit down. Please forgive me."
The young man took his seat and his behavior was very calm. Seeing that Qian Taichong was still a little distracted, he smiled and said, "Sir, don't be suspicious. I am at odds with the Kun thieves. I only came to talk to you because I knew that you had the intention of antagonizing Kun."
Only then did Qian Taichong regain his composure, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "Sir, your arrival is so sudden..."
"There are many thieves and spies in the capital, so I have no choice but to do this." The young scholar whispered, "There are no outsiders here, so I can talk to you in secret."
"I don't know what your name is..."
"My surname is Le," the young man said. "Of course, it's a pseudonym."
Such frankness made Qian Taichong startled, and he only heard the other party continue: "I and Kun Ze are old acquaintances. Kun Ze hates him to the core. It has to be like this."
Qian Taichong immediately expressed his understanding and asked again about his purpose.
"Sir, I summoned the emperor today and told a lot of inside stories about the Kun thief. I think he also understands what the emperor means."
"Yes, the emperor seems to have the intention to attack Kun." Qian Taichong said, "Kun's thieves have now become a serious problem for the imperial court, but the princes of the imperial court are still ignorant and have not seen the overall situation clearly!"
"Sir, what you said is right. It's just that this move to attack Kun must never be done!"
Qian Taichong was puzzled: "Even if it is a serious problem, why can't it be done? The Kun thieves are entrenched in Guangdong and Guangxi, and they have collected all the money, food and population of the two Guangxi areas. As time goes by, their power will become stronger. If the court blindly tolerates it, won't the Kun thieves be unstoppable in the future..."
"Sir, what you said is right. It's just that the government and the army have been killed for ten times! How much food and men and horses does the court have now, so that it can withstand such a setback? Once the elite is lost, the rogue bandits will rise again, where will the court raise money and food? Training your troops and horses again?”
Qian Taichong was at a loss for words. Based on his experience and knowledge, he could not say that the imperial court would definitely win. But psychologically, I still resist the inevitable defeat of the officers and soldiers. He hesitated and said: "Isn't that the case?"
Thinking about it again, the court has been here since Wang Zunde's defeat in Chengmai. Fires were lit everywhere and smoke was rising in all directions. Not counting the small bandits and mobs, only the bandits in the Central Plains, the chieftains in the southwest, and Jianzhou outside the Pass were at war almost every day. How many elite soldiers were left? If they are defeated in Guangdong and all the elites drawn from various places are lost, you can imagine the next situation.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but froze, and murmured: "Cutting down the sword is a defeat, and defending is also a defeat. What should we do?"
