I saw Wang Shu sitting cross-legged at the gate of the British Duke's Mansion, reading a book. Firstly, Wang Shu was already old and the family members did not dare to catch him. Secondly, they were afraid of Wang Shu's identity, so they had to keep persuading him with kind words. .
"Master, if you can't do it, just go back first. Sitting on the ground can easily catch cold. You can come to the house after my master comes back."
Wang Shu turned his head to the side, holding the book in his hand and continuing to read, ignoring the gatekeepers.
The few boys looked at each other, exchanged a few winks, and then stepped forward and said softly: "Sir, you are also an official of the imperial court, and it is unreasonable to sit on the door of someone else's house. You have a lot of money. Just listen. I would like to advise you to go home and rest first, my master will inform you as soon as possible when he comes back."
"Get out, get out! Don't bother me reading anymore. I can't spare you! I will leave whenever your master comes back. If he doesn't come back for a day, I will wait for him for a day. If he doesn't come back for a month, I will wait for him here. One month." Wang Shu shouted with eyes wide open.
Seeing this, several young men had no choice but to run back to the house to report to the British Duke Zhang Mao. At this moment, Zhang Mao was leisurely feeding fish by a pond in the back garden of the house. The boys truthfully reported the reasons for what happened just outside the door. Zhang Mao squinted his eyes and smiled: "Brother Zongguan's temper is still the same as before. You don't need to pay attention to him. He has been sitting for a long time and will naturally lose his patience." Will go back."
In Zhang Mao's opinion, Wang Shu is now older and less energetic than before. As long as he ignores him, Wang Shu will go back by himself when he is tired. But what the British duke didn't know was that Wang Shu lived longer than him. Wang Shu served in the five dynasties of Yingzong, Daizong, Xianzong, Xiaozong, and Wuzong, and had a career at home and abroad for more than 40 years. He served nineteen terms as an official and lived to be ninety-three years old. Even in modern times, he is considered to be an elderly person.
In the first year of Hongzhi, Wang Shu was in great health! In this way, Wang Shu sat at the door of the British Duke's mansion for a whole day. In the evening, Zhang Mao was even more surprised when he learned that Wang Shu was still waiting for him. He had a double chin. Isn't this man very capable? Even though I was born as a martial artist, even if I had to sit at the door for a whole day, my back would be sore and I would be unable to sit still, but this old man of ours actually did it at the age of seventy! The British Duke Zhang Mao knew that he had to see him today no matter what. Otherwise, this man's character would never give up until he saw him. If he made any mistakes, Zhu Youtang would not be able to blame him. Absolutely unaffordable.
Zhang Mao quickly put on his clothes and took a few clever boys who had not appeared in front of Wang Shu during the day. He quietly went out from the side door and made a big circle to the main entrance.
"That's Wang Zongguan in front of you, brother Zongguan?"
Wang Shu was closing his eyes and concentrating when he heard someone asking him to turn around and saw the British Duke Zhang Mao leading a few young men striding towards him.
"The British Lord has been having fun these days. Don't blame me for sitting at the door of your mansion. I have been looking for you for several days and you are not here. I have no choice but to make this move." Wang Shu said coldly.
Zhang Mao smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Zongguan, why am I going to play here? His Majesty recently ordered me to preside over the disarmament of the Beijing camp. Many of the soldiers in our camp are from Zhili. I recently went to the outskirts of Beijing for overt and covert inspections to prepare for the disarmament. Finish the aftermath work for the soldiers. Hey, brother Zong Guan, please come in, let’s go inside to discuss.”
Wang Shu followed Zhang Mao into the mansion and asked as he walked: "Does the British prince have any clues about the disarmament of the Beijing camp recently?"
Zhang Mao was silent for a moment and said: "Brother Zong Guan, the disarmament of the Beijing camp is not that simple. It is intricately connected. Some of the soldiers are veterans. If they are dismissed rashly, it will appear that the court is ungrateful and ungrateful, and it will chill their hearts. Some of the soldiers are veterans. Because of the frequent wars during the Chenghua period, many were disabled and wounded, and they had no families. If they were laid off, they would not be able to survive. Some of them were domestic slaves of nobles and royal family members. Some people are even more difficult to move, and it’s difficult to implement them at every turn!”
After entering the lobby, the two negotiated with each other, and Zhang Mao immediately sat down. The issues he just mentioned are indeed difficult disarmament issues. Seeing that Wang Shu was silent and thinking hard, Zhang Mao knew that his goal was half achieved, so he quickly called for people to serve tea to Wang Shu.
Wang Zongguan, just think about it. If you can't think of it, it's time to leave.
After a long time, Wang Shu picked up the jujube tea, took a sip, and said lightly: "Did you take the Beijing camp roster back to your house?"
"Yes, I took it back first for easy reference."
Wang Shu twisted his fingers, thought for a while and said: "What you just mentioned is indeed the difficulty of disarmament. After all, there are still almost ten days before the end of the month. Please give me the roster first, and I will make the disarmament personnel as soon as possible. The specific list of them, as for their specific aftermath work, we have to ask His Majesty for instructions."
"Brother Zong Guan, why don't you wait until the aftermath is dealt with before announcing the disarmament list?"
Wang Shu shook his head and refused: "This matter cannot be solved entirely by the imperial court. They have to find a solution themselves. Post the list first so that they can prepare for a rainy day. For those who are really in special difficulties, the imperial court can subsidize silver coins. Please help again. I think your Majesty intends to promote this disarmament plan nationwide, and the capital is just a trial point."
Zhang Mao didn't know what to say when he saw this, so he ordered someone to take out the roster and hand it to Wang Shu. After all, Zhu Youtang appointed Wang Shu as his deputy, and he basically had to obey Wang Shu with full authority on the matter of disarmament.
Wang Shu roughly flipped through the roster and stood up to say goodbye: "It's getting late. The British Lord should go to bed early. I will go to the capital camp with me tomorrow morning. If nothing else happens, the specific list of disarmament will be announced tomorrow morning.
As soon as Wang Shu finished speaking, Zhang Mao's mind was buzzing.
Early the next morning, Wang Shu hurried straight to the capital camp. Passing by the British Duke's Mansion, he knocked on the door and shouted for a while. After confirming that Zhang Mao was awake, he walked away with peace of mind.
The soldiers all gathered together at the Beijing camp, because Wang Shu's arrival today may determine their final destination for the rest of their lives.
Seeing Wang Shu coming into the school alone, Tian Ru smiled darkly and said, "Song Jun, look at how dare this old man walk in alone."
Song Jun glanced at the words, patted his chest and said: "Looking at the old man, he seems to be confident. It's okay to beat him half to death in the chaos."
When Wang Shu entered the school grounds, suddenly there were several thunderbolts in the air, a cold wind blew, and soon it started to rain lightly.
There was still some distance from the entrance of the school ground to the general platform. This short stretch of road was already blocked by soldiers from the Beijing camp, and they all glared at Wang Shu fiercely. An ordinary person might retreat when seeing this scene, but he is not an ordinary person. After so many years of ups and downs in officialdom, I have never encountered any difficulties or setbacks.
Wang Shu patted the mud splashed on his body and walked straight towards the general platform without any fear in front of everyone. Every time Wang Shu took a step, someone immediately blocked the way back, and the soldiers' screams and curses kept coming to his ears.
On the way, a man with a scarred face suddenly jumped out and blocked the road and asked: "Sir Wang, let me ask you, are you coming to the school grounds today to disarmament?"
"Exactly" Wang Shu answered neatly.
The scar-faced man asked again: "Your Majesty's sudden decree is due to the slander from you and other treacherous villains."
"The Emperor is sage and decisive. Disarmament is your Majesty's will, but it is also the wish of our ministers."
Another person shouted: "The crowd is very angry today. Aren't you afraid that we will beat you to death?"
Wang Shu replied: "I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and you are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. How can you be at war with each other?"
Wang Shu took a step, and the soldiers blocking the road in front of him took a step back. Wang Shu finally climbed up to the commander's platform, looked around and shouted: "Fellow soldiers, I can understand your thoughts. I have been fighting for the Ming Dynasty for half my life. Old I know you don't want to be demobilized and returned to work. To be honest, the country doesn't want to either. But the country needs progress and development! Replacing the old with the new is the general trend. Aren't you the ones who replaced the veterans who retired? Aren't you the same? Did you personally take over the military flag, armor and sword from their hands?
Let’s stand here today and talk from the bottom of our hearts. Let me ask you, do you still have the energy to get on your horse, pick up your saber, and fight the enemy? Sometimes we have to admit that we are indeed old! A few years ago, I was not convinced by my old age, thinking that I could still work hard for a few more years. The weather was bad today, it rained a little. To be honest, I was walking a little hastily on the way here, and I even fell down. A few years ago, let alone this kind of bumpy road, I could still walk as fast as I could even on the difficult road, even if I subdued a fierce horse, it was no problem!
Each generation has its own mission. You have fulfilled your mission as a soldier very well. You are worthy of being the warriors of Ming Dynasty! Now it's time for you to go back to your hometown and have a good rest. Why not hand over this military heritage to young people? "
Most of the soldiers gathered in the school grounds today were tricked by Tian Ru, Song Jun and others who fanned the flames. They did not have much resistance to the upcoming imperial disarmament order. They also know that they have basically lost their combat effectiveness in the past few years. They have been satisfied with being able to earn white-collar military pay for so many years. Do they really want the court to support them for the rest of their lives?
At this moment, hearing Wang Shu's sincere speech on the stage, some soldiers had regrets and walked out of the school grounds silently. Tian Ru knew that if Wang Shu was allowed to continue talking like this, he might be able to sway the entire army. He immediately shouted: "Brothers, don't be deceived by their few words. We have devoted most of our lives to the country, and now we are old and unable to support ourselves, but they want to cross the river and demolish the bridge. They want us to be homeless and starve to death in the wild!" "
After hearing Tian Ru's speech, Song Jun immediately led the comrades who had been deployed in advance and shouted: "The disarmament of the capital is definitely not His Majesty's will. Everything is caused by their treacherous villains. Brothers, follow me and beat the villains!"
Hearing this, the domestic slaves who had obtained the royal family's intimate orders in advance immediately swarmed up and rushed towards Wang Shu on the stage.
