Zu Dashou was directly entrusted with the important task after Chang Yu exchanged Azige from the Tatars. He was in charge of military affairs in Ningyuan. This move was a dangerous move for the imperial court. Not only did the cabinet ministers feel that it was too much, not to mention suspicious. Emperor Chongzhen became the emperor, and there was a lot of opposition at that time.
But in the end Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and agreed. This mainly depended on his trust in Chang Yu and Chang Yu's arrangements.
But of course he would not trust Zu Dashou because of his urine, so Wu Mengming sent a large number of Jinyi guards out of the border to Ningyuan to keep an eye on Zu Dashou. If he made any unusual move, he would be caught and killed.
At the same time, he did not forget to secretly appease the people who supported Wu Sangui. The way of the emperor is about balance, and they cannot be of the same mind. If they get along too well, if the ancestor's birthday is about to decline again, then Ningyuan will not be able to resist. That's why Wu Mengming had a secret meeting with Wu Sangui's close friend Fang Guangchen and happened to bump into the princess of the Jin Palace.
And Zu Dashou is also an interesting person. He and Emperor Chongzhen had a long-standing rift. When Emperor Chongzhen killed Yuan Chonghuan, he scared him so much that he ran back to Jinzhou and refused to leave the military camp. He was afraid of being arrested by Dongchang Fanzi and Jinyiwei. It has been fourteen years since then, and the monarch and his subjects have never seen each other again, and they have become pen pals.
During this period, Emperor Chongzhen was both hated and moved by him, while Zu Dashou was afraid of and loyal to Emperor Chongzhen. His loyalty could be seen just by sticking to Jinzhou. It must be said that the relationship between the two was quite abnormal.
Later, Zu Dashou surrendered, and Chongzhen's reaction was much smaller than when he learned that Hong Chengchou had surrendered. As Chang Yu said, Zu Dashou tried his best, and he was the only surrendered general who could be forgiven.
This time after Chang Yu replaced him, he still did not go to Beijing to meet the saint, and Emperor Chongzhen did not issue an order to summon him. The two still maintained the original weird relationship, one was still suspicious, and the other was still silent. Keep your head down and do the work.
It cannot be said that Zu Dashou was silent. During Chang Yu's southern expedition, he made many mistakes, but he never mentioned himself, even if he made a sentence to defend his surrender or thanked the emperor for not forgetting him and using him again. Something like that.
Not a word!
I want money and food when I come up, and my appetite is not small!
Emperor Chongzhen knew the importance of border defense, and Ningyuan, as an isolated city outside the pass, was a top priority, so he gritted his teeth and allocated 200,000 taels of silver to him, because Tashan Fort was to be rebuilt there, and the Tatars in Jinzhou would never turn a blind eye. Watching him start work, so even if the Tatars cannot launch a large-scale war at this time, small conflicts are inevitable.
Money can still be squeezed, but what about food?
The imperial court was starving. How many people were starving to death every day in the capital. How could there be any food? But this guy asked for one hundred thousand dan with just one mouthful... Chongzhen became very angry when he thought of this.
But Zu Dashou didn't care whether he was angry or not, and kept urging him. This time, he asked the people from Jinyiwei to send an urgent report. Chongzhen finally lost his temper after a lot of cursing, so he thought of Chang Yu. Maybe he was the only one who could solve it. Regarding this matter, let's see if we can divide some of Liu Zeqing's family assets stolen from Jinan and transport them outside the customs, or other methods.
It is said that those who are capable work hard, and the little eunuch can not only fight, make money, but also steal grain. Unknowingly, Emperor Chongzhen has already formed a sense of dependence on him, and Chang Yu lived up to his expectations and became a royal minister. .
But Chang Yu couldn't figure out for a while why Zu Dashou was in such a hurry to collect food and grass. He checked the inventory when he was in Ningyuan and found that the food and grass reserves were quite sufficient. After all, Wu Sangui's business has been good in the past few years and the Ningyuan war at the beginning of the year also brought little money from the Tatars. I got a lot of loot, and I think I should be able to survive for half a year if I save some food.
But then he thought about it and understood.
The land in the small town outside Ningyuan Pass was barren and the harvest was only enough to make ends meet. However, due to the war at the beginning of spring, spring plowing was delayed and the harvest was lost for a whole season, leaving the people without food. Although the military rations in stock in the city were enough to last for several months, they were far from enough to save tens of thousands of people. .
However, it is impossible for Zu Dashou to use all the food to relieve the people. With his temperament, he killed people to use as food for the army. He will definitely use it first for his soldiers and horses. However, because it requires a lot of labor to build Tashan Fort now, the people who have nothing to eat Naturally, they don't know how to do it, and the reason for urging them so urgently is not that they are at the end of their rope. Chang Yu estimates that Ningyuan's grain reserves can feed the entire city's population for at least two months.
It's because it's going to snow over there, and there will be heavy snowfall soon, and the mountains and roads will be closed, and even food may not be able to be transported there by then. Zu Dashou is taking precautions.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and even though it feels like early winter in the Gyeonggi area in later generations, it is already winter outside the customs and snow is common in some mountainous areas. What's more, the Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age at this time, and winter came early and was very cold!
But now that food is in short supply everywhere, where can he get it?
Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted to allocate some from Jinan Liu Zeqing, but Chang Yu denied it. It was military rations for the Western Expedition, and not a single particle could be touched.
The Wang brothers in Yangzhou were also raising food at this time, but compared with the serious famine situation in the capital outside the customs, they really couldn't allocate more food.
He could only be asked to wait a moment and send him a batch of sweet potatoes in two or three months. Chang Yu had this plan, but Emperor Chongzhen felt that firstly, whether Ningyuan could last that long, and secondly, that there was not enough food. Will dialing make Zu Dashou think wildly? What if...? Thirdly, transportation was inconvenient due to heavy snowfall at that time.
For a moment, the monarch and his ministers frowned and were speechless, sitting with their crooked necks halfway up the mountain, deep in thought. Chang Yu raised his head and looked at the large locust tree with lush branches, and thought to himself, how can a locust tree be planted in the majestic city? Doesn't it mean there are ghosts in the city...
Gaudi!
While I was thinking wildly, an idea flashed in my mind.
Gao Di was stationed in Shanhaiguan, which was the real gate of the Ming Dynasty. Ningyuan was only a bridgehead outside the country, but at this time, Shanhaiguan was a bit useless.
It's called the gate of the country, but in fact it's Ningyuan City who is doing its best to resist the pressure.
Shanhaiguan is actually hiding in the back and enjoying itself.
But it is a national gate after all, and the imperial court attaches great importance to Shanhaiguan. It has priority in the allocation of food and salary. Moreover, the land in the pass is fertile and the army has farming. In addition to self-reliance, the imperial court will also allocate food and grass. Although there are occasional cuts in salary, there has never been a shortage of food.
So what Chang Yu meant was to first transfer the reserves from Shanhaiguan to Ningyuan, and then slowly squeeze out and transfer the grain to Shanhaiguan in installments. However, after hearing this suggestion, Emperor Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "Gao Di may not be willing!"
"After an imperial edict, does he still dare to resist it?" Chang Yu didn't believe that now the warlord still dared to resist the edict and disobey the order.
Wu Mengming next to him sighed: "Eunuch Chang, Gao Di doesn't have the guts to openly resist the decree, but these days, whoever has some food in his hand will give it to others. If you don't believe it, if you give the edict here, Gao Di will cry poverty over there. If you don't have enough food and grass in your hands, if you send someone to check him out, he will hide himself."
"He doesn't have enough money to send the Jin Yiwei to investigate. If he doesn't have enough money, he will be punished by reporting his private pockets or taking advantage of his salary. If he has enough money, he has nothing to say!" Chang Yu snorted coldly. Emperor Chongzhen and Wu Mengming looked at each other: "The means are too much. Toughening or irritating those soldiers and triggering a mutiny will not be a good outcome."
The frontier army has always been the most prone to mutiny, and this kind of thing must be guarded against. However, Chang Yu couldn't care too much about the current situation. He snorted: "Mutiny, hey, if Gao Di had the guts, he would rebel. Just look at the thousands of people at Shanhaiguan to see if I can kill all his men and send troops to guard the pass again!"
"Okay, since you said it, I'll leave this matter to you." Emperor Chongzhen clapped his hands and said, "Each of these border generals is more difficult to deal with, but I believe they will all give you some favor. No one is more suitable than you for this matter." .
Chang Yu, uh... Damn, I was plotted!
This old fox was waiting for me here.
Seeing the successful smiles of Emperor Chongzhen and Wu Mengming, Chang Yu couldn't help but sigh: "Okay, I went there myself. I can't blame others. I'll go tomorrow."
"It's not urgent." Emperor Chongzhen was happy after solving a problem. He patted Chang Yu on the shoulder and said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day after tomorrow. It's not too late to go after the reunion dinner. And...are you planning to go before the festival or during the festival?" Later, I moved to a new house."
"Uh... let's just schedule it on the Mid-Autumn Festival," Chang Yu said casually. Emperor Chongzhen said, "That's not good. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family will have a reunion dinner. How can your guests come to congratulate you?" .
Chang Yu smiled: "Your Majesty, I have something that I am confused about and I would like to ask clearly. If colleagues or friends send gifts when I move house, does it count as bribery? Will the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate give me a copy?"
Emperor Chongzhen laughed: "You are young and don't understand the world. No wonder you can ask such a question. These gifts and bribes are completely different. Gifts are humane etiquette, while accepting bribes is an illegal and disorderly act of using money to do things. There is a big difference between the two. ".
"Yes, yes, favors and courtesy are not considered bribes," Wu Mengming next to him also said quickly.
Chang Yu said: "In this case, I don't want to deny my friends face. I am afraid of being scolded by those censors..."
Emperor Chongzhen rolled his eyes: "Are you still afraid of being scolded?"
"Afraid, afraid." Chang Yu shrugged and sighed, and looked at Wu Mengming again: "Master Wu, are we friends?"
Uh... Wu Mengming glanced at Emperor Chongzhen and said cautiously: "At least he is a colleague."
"That being the case, I hope Mr. Wu will come to my humble abode to make the house shine when I move to another house, so I don't want to send any gifts..." Chang Yu said, and Wu Mengming grinned widely: "It's not a good idea to go empty-handed."
"That's right, then just pay in cash." Chang Yu seemed to be smiling, but Wu Mengming was stunned: "This..."
"Why do you really want to show up empty-handed without caring about human kindness and etiquette?"
"How is that possible? Eunuch Chang will be satisfied by then." Wu Mengming said quickly. Emperor Chongzhen laughed loudly, pointed at Chang Yu and said with a smile: "Slippery, you can't suffer a little loss, do you want to ask for some gifts from me?" .
"Your Majesty, please give it to me." Chang Yu chuckled, and Emperor Chongzhen climbed up the mountain with his hands behind his back: "You have made great achievements in quelling the chaos in the south, and you are happy to move into a new house. Let me think about what gift to give you."
