Li Yan is a legend.
He was once a thief, and because of his resourcefulness and strategizing, he was appointed as a member of the bandit staff. He was famous among the thief army because of his strict military discipline, but his reputation became famous after Taiyuan surrendered and attached itself to Dongchang.
First, he rushed thousands of miles to help outside the pass, surprised the Ming army with a surprise attack, and surrounded the Qing army from behind at the critical moment. In one fell swoop, he defeated the Qing army. From then on, Li Yan's name became famous in both the government and the public.
Later, Chang Yu re-employed him, and Baoding Mansion gave him absolute command. Li Yan refused to accept the trust and fought several bloody battles with the bandit army in Baoding Mansion. He overcame the arrogance of the bandit army and finally disintegrated their attempt to go north. At this time, Li Yan truly became a leader of the army. The Ming army has gained a firm foothold!
You know, as a rebel general, you will be looked down upon by everyone in the Ming army. Miaozheng Miaohong will not look down on you from the bottom of his heart. Even if you have military merits, even if you are summoned by the emperor to give him a military name, so what? .
In other people's eyes, it's just the court trying to appease you. If you decline, you will have to sacrifice your life.
If you want to convince these big bosses to be careless, you have to show your real skills, otherwise they will still look down on you even when there are many people carrying the sedan for you.
Li Yan was lucky. He met a good Bole. Chang Yu gave him two opportunities, one was the Baoding defense battle, and the other was the southward pursuit battle.
Li Yan has real abilities. He firmly grasped these two opportunities and shined brilliantly. It can be said that almost every battle has his advice and personal command.
Therefore, it only took him a few months to convince a group of generals, and they all respected Li Yan.
Among the generals in the army, few could compare to him in terms of strategy, and in terms of bloodiness and courage, he was as good as any of them. During the Xianghe blockade, he would rather die than take a step back, and his entire army was almost annihilated.
Coupled with his relationship with Chang Yu, it can be said that Li Yan is definitely a legend and a well-known figure in the northern army system.
Even if he is only a fourth-grade military general, which one of the generals with the rank of general in the hall is not a second-grade boss (the chief military officer in the Ming Dynasty has no rank, but the deputy general (that is, the deputy general) is the second grade after the chief soldier) However, no one dared to make trouble in front of him. This was also because Li Yan was in charge of military discipline during the march, and the generals also had a subconscious fear of him.
Having said all that, even the seven generals in the hall had to give face to Li Yan, and Gao Jie and Huang Degong, who were about to get angry just now, had to hold back their anger for the time being.
"The weather is hot and you are a bit angry." Li Yan smiled and sat down as he smiled at everyone. He knew what Chang Yu was thinking. He knew that many people were at odds with each other, but he still gathered these people together.
Everyone in the hall is the commander-in-chief of one side. They hold military power and have connections and backers in the court. Now that the war has just ended, all the forces in the court are ready to make moves. They are all taking the opportunity to make some trouble or taking advantage of the fact that there are many people before the military parade. Get some benefits for yourself.
But Chang Yu arranged all of them here, which seemed appropriate but also concentrated surveillance. In this way, they would not dare to act rashly, and the situation inside the court would be calmer.
Furthermore, knowing that several people have quarrels and grudges with each other, so gathering together will prevent them from being quiet and have no time to do other things. They can both restrain each other and get along with each other. Why not do more in one fell swoop?
"Whether we are chasing thieves for thousands of miles or chasing Tatars for thousands of miles, we are all following orders, and the outcome of victory or defeat is determined by fate. There is no need to argue about this. Li Yan gently fiddled with the tea. We are all in the little governor The Lord's subordinates listen to orders. Have you ever seen him favor one over others, and how have you ever treated us badly? Don't be arrogant and impetuous. We will see the difference in a few days."
Everyone understood what he said, and the anger in their hearts gradually subsided. After all, the military parade is about rewards based on merit. Maybe the smaller share depends on the higher the official promotion. The so-called promotion and wealth, the promotion is at the front, so you should get more supplies. That’s even more exciting.
"What General Li said is absolutely true. The Factory Supervisor has always been a bowl of water. He has already decided in his mind who will get how much he has done. We will find out in a few days. There is no need to lose your identity in this quarrel." "As he spoke, he glanced at Huang Degong, obviously sarcastic at him.
Huang Degong was about to yell and curse, but was pulled by Zhou Yuji. Liu Zeqing continued: "Maybe we took advantage before, but now hey, we know how easy it is to take advantage of the little governor!"
"Why, you took advantage and acted like a good boy!" Huang Degong snorted. Liu Zeqing smiled bitterly and shook his head, signaling Liu Liangzuo to continue.
"We have reached an agreement with the young governor. We will be self-sufficient for three years. The court will not release food and salary. If any of you still feel that we are taking advantage, how about we exchange it?"
As soon as Liu Liangzuo said this, everyone was surprised, even Li Yan was surprised, and secretly sighed in his heart, the little eunuch's methods were far more powerful than he thought.
In the imperial city, Chang Yu exited the Qianqing Palace and took a long breath. He was about to leave the palace and return to the Yamen, but he was stopped by someone. He turned out to be the palace maid Linglong.
Chang Yu was about to say hello to this little rich woman when he saw Linglong hurriedly walking towards Cining Palace in the west with her head lowered. He knew that she was looking for him to whisper to avoid being heard, so he walked over there slowly as if nothing had happened. .
Cining Palace was the residence of the noble concubines of the former dynasty, as well as several of Emperor Chongzhen's sisters-in-law. Few people come here on weekdays, so it is very secluded.
"Eunuch Chang, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been grounded." There was no one in the corner, Linglong grabbed Chang Yu and was very anxious.
Chang Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He thought something had happened to his secret residence Huang Mansion, so he asked, "Is this the emperor's will?"
"No, it's the Queen." Linglong told the story about Queen Zhou going to Duanben Palace to scold the prince early in the morning. Chang Yu said, "This is a good thing."
"A good thing? If the prince goes out, why don't you be upset? Your Highness asked you to find you and rescue him no matter what..." Linglong was anxious, Chang Yu chuckled: "Save him out? How can I hear that? He seems to have been kidnapped. Can the Queen tell me how much ransom will be paid before letting him go?"
"Eunuch Chang, you are still in the mood to joke at this moment, you have to think of a way!" Linglong scratched her ears anxiously.
Seeing him like this, Chang Yu stopped laughing and said, "It's okay to just let the prince be quiet for two days. He has been in and out frequently in the past few days and his mind has been unstable. This is not a good thing for him in adolescence."
puberty? Linglong was confused.
Chang Yu did not explain, but suddenly asked: "Do you know who the Crown Princess is?"
"The Crown Princess Ning is the daughter of Ning Hong," Linglong thought for a moment and said, but she didn't know what her name was.
Chang Yu exclaimed: "The prince's marriage should be coming soon!"
Ah, Linglong became even more anxious: "Eunuch Chang, this is what His Royal Highness is most afraid of. He said that the current national crisis is at the forefront and he doesn't want to get married at all due to the injustice among the rebels and thieves..."
Chang Yu's head immediately got big. Zhu Cihong and Zhu Yasuo were really brothers and sisters, and they were extremely repulsive about early marriage. Princess Kunxing begged him in vain and finally ruined the marriage. Could it be that she would help Zhu Cihong do it again? , if Emperor Chongzhen knew about it, he would be so angry that he would be killed.
"I will talk to His Highness the Crown Prince about this when I have time. You go back and tell him first. You will be satisfied in a few days."
"Then please leave it to Eunuch Chang." Linglong breathed a sigh of relief immediately. He knew that once Chang Yu agreed, he would have his own way. He looked around and cupped Chang Yu's hands, then hurriedly wanted to leave, but he shrank his head again when he looked around. return.
Chang Yu saw her expression changed drastically and asked in a low voice, "Who is nearby?"
"Queen," Linglong put her finger to her lips, signaling Chang Yu to be silent.
Chang Yu quietly looked around and saw several people strolling not far away. Among them was the graceful figure of Queen Zhou, and there was a little boy beside her.
"That is His Royal Highness Prince Yong, born to Concubine Tian. After Concubine Tian passed away, she was raised and taught by the Queen herself. A loving mother and a filial son are highly praised by the Emperor..." Linglong whispered beside her.
A loving mother and a filial son? Chang Yu chuckled.
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and wherever there are rivers and lakes, there are disputes. The disputes in the emperor's harem are even worse. Anyone who has watched the palace battle drama knows how fierce it is.
But to be honest, in the Chongzhen Dynasty, the harem disputes were really ordinary. This largely depended on the environment at the time. The family and country were in turmoil, and Chongzhen did not have much energy to indulge in women. There were few beauties in the harem, except for Zhou. The queens are Concubine Yuan and Concubine Tian, and there are two other unknown concubines.
Queen Zhou has a strict and generous temperament, and does not do anything bad. Concubine Yuan is humble. Only Concubine Tian is doting and spoiling, but she is not particularly excessive. Therefore, the harem is calm, and there is no fight over the establishment of the heir. Concubine Yuan is a The daughter had no children. Although Tian Guifei had several children, most of them died young. Only the Yongwang Zhu Cixiang remained. Moreover, Tian Guifei had died of illness and no one could compete with Zhu Cixiang. (Emperor Chongzhen had seven sons, but he only has three sons at present. The rest all died in infancy. The crown prince Zhu Cixiang They are only fifteen years old, and the other two are still half-grown brats)
Perhaps what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to see most was not a kind mother and a filial son, but what Empress Zhou wanted to see most was a kind father and a filial son.
