On Zhang Zhou's way out of the palace, Zhang Heling followed him with a smile. He was no longer as contemptuous and arrogant as before, and he was very flattering to Zhang Zhou.
"Marquis Shouning, I don't feel comfortable with you talking to me like this."
Zhang Zhou almost wanted to say, please recover and speak to me in the same domineering tone as before, so that I can feel at ease when I cheat you.
You've changed your face like this, I'm embarrassed to be cheating on you.
Zhang Heling said: "Mr. Zhang, you are too polite. I just keep talking as usual. As long as you can support me more in the future... should we go to Xuanfu together?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhou had told Queen Zhang about this before, "Your Majesty has prepared to transfer the first batch of our Yanwu Hall students to the Xuan Mansion. Before, we were setting off cannons around the capital. You all Now that we have learned it, the next step is to mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers from Jiubian, and we will learn from them together. If nothing happens, we will go out of the fortress, hunt and fire some artillery. If the Tatars dare to come, we will bombard them back!"
"Interesting, interesting." Zhang Heling felt that this was very suitable for him.
You can earn credit, and it sounds so relaxed and comfortable, as if there is no danger to your life.
Zhang Zhou said: "Aren't you afraid of hard work?"
"Don't be afraid. Even my second brother can resist him. What do I have to fear? Mr. Zhang, if there is going to be a war, do you think you should give me an official position like chief military officer? I also want to gain military honors." Zhang Heling begged again with a stern look on his face.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It's rare that Hou Ning, you have the heart to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. How can I not satisfy you? Then I will definitely give you a position that is both stable and capable of meritorious service. It is best to be the first in the army. It will be a glorious position." Return in triumph and let everyone in the government and the public know what you are capable of."
"Haha...Okay, okay!"
Zhang Heling looked excited, as if he already felt that the credit would come to him tomorrow.
Zhang Zhou also frowned secretly in his heart when he saw Zhang Heling almost dancing.
Does this guy have no self-awareness at all?
It's easy and not dangerous, and it also allows you to achieve outstanding achievements... I don't believe this kind of nonsense myself, how can you believe it so easily?
"Do you believe it?" Zhang Zhou is really a real person, and he also wants to ask the people who were deceived for their thoughts.
It's like selling Zhang Heling, and you have to ask Zhang Heling how he felt after being sold.
Zhang Heling said with a smile: "Of course I believe it. What kind of birdman is Zhu Zhijie? He can do it, why can't I? Besides, Zhu Zhijie didn't go with Mr. Zhang, he just listened to Mr. Zhang's advice. If I have the chance, Fighting together in front of my husband...that’s what my mother and sister said.”
"hehe."
Zhang Zhou wanted to say.
Sure enough, children who are pampered at home are easily deceived by female elders in the family.
"Okay, okay, Shouning Hou, let's make great achievements together." Zhang Zhou smiled.
"Definitely, definitely." Zhang Heling also agreed.
The two seemed to have never been so closely related, as if they were comrades in the same trench.
…
…
The Ministry of War Yamen.
Li Dongyang, on behalf of the cabinet, came to discuss with Ma Wensheng about sending troops to the Xuanfu. It was also because the emperor sent Dai Yi to inform the cabinet to inform Zhang Zhou about his preparations to train troops in the Xuanfu.
Li Dongyang also wanted to ask Ma Wensheng for his opinion on this matter.
"Zhang Bingkuan actually said he was going to practice artillery? Fighting instead of training?" Ma Wensheng also frowned when he heard the news.
No matter how you look at it, Zhang Zhou doesn’t seem to be serious about sending troops. Since he wants to send troops to the grassland, the 10,000 troops and horses proposed by Zhang Zhou are far from enough. However, Zhang Zhou’s people are in Xuanfu, which is close to the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. The granary is easily overwhelmed by Zhang Zhou.
Li Dongyang said: "The cabinet doesn't quite understand what he means. Logically speaking, the matter of going to war should be kept strictly confidential in advance, but at present, it seems that he intends to publicize the matter. His true intention is to fight with the Tatars People fight to the death on the grassland?"
Ma Wensheng thought for a moment and shook his head.
"I have been in the military for many years and have never seen such a way of using troops. However, the strategies and methods of running the army he used in the two battles at Pianguan and Ningyuan are unprecedented."
What Ma Wensheng means is that although I don’t know what he is going to do, it looks like he is pretty awesome at it.
Li Dongyang asked: "Your Majesty originally intended to give ten days for the Ministry of War and the imperial court to plan together, but now he has stopped planning and allowed him to do whatever he wants?"
Ma Wensheng heard it immediately. Now that the cabinet knew that it would not be easy to oppose this matter, it was prepared to let the Ministry of War take the lead.
"If we just allocate 10,000 soldiers and horses, in the name of artillery drills, and move the defense focus in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty to the Xuan Mansion, it is not impossible!" Ma Wensheng said, "The current situation seems to be a partial pass with a defective city gate. , and there is no fear of Tatar invasion for the time being, and the Xuanfu Chen Bing can also stabilize the capital. I can't think of any reason to oppose it."
Ma Wensheng doesn't care whether Zhang Zhou did the right thing now. He will not take the initiative to oppose Zhang Zhou when he has not encountered any setbacks in the army.
Just like the reason why it is difficult for the cabinet to object now.
Zhang Zhou was victorious day after day, and anyone who played the opposite tune and looked for loopholes would not appear to be a great person or group of people. Instead, he would be viewed as a clown by the emperor.
Ma Wensheng asked: "How many troops from the Beijing camp are you prepared to mobilize?"
"Three thousand."
Li Dongyang didn't cover up either.
Dai Yi had previously informed the cabinet and what he said was very detailed.
The number of people transferred to each place in Jiubian is proportional. It does not mean that any town will have a chance if it wants to transfer a few more people.
Even the cabinet knows that if the towns of Jiubian are allowed to choose the troops they will transfer to Xuanfu for exercises, each town will have to allocate them in excess of the proportion, for no other reason... The reason is that now that the artillery is so impressive, who are the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty border army? Don’t want to have a class breakthrough?
Going to Xuan Mansion to practice troops, and following Zhang Zhou to practice artillery, no matter how you look at it, it is a first-come-first-served opportunity. Just like the first batch of students in the Yanwu Hall, those nobles who have their eyes on the top are all grabbing it. Going to be a student?
Li Dongyang said: "If there is no objection from the Ministry of War, or if the government goes to court tomorrow, His Majesty will arrange it. By then... it will be difficult to object."
Ma Wensheng asked: "Previously, Mr. Liu Ge said that it might be a good choice for Zhang Bingkuan to go to the northwest. Didn't he tell you?"
Li Dongyang frowned.
Seeing that the "Da Ming Huidian" was about to be completed, according to the agreement between the emperor and his ministers, Zhang Zhou would soon be promoted to a bachelor's degree scholar. At this juncture, it was actually a good thing for Zhang Zhou to go to the northwest to lead the army.
Ma Wensheng sighed: "It depends on what kind of official position your Majesty will give him. Now that I think about it, it would be better for him to serve as an honored minister of the Governor's Mansion than to stay in Hanyuan or Liubu..."
Li Dongyang continued to be silent.
Zhang Zhou now holds the military title of "Commander and Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Mansion" and the civilian title of "Mr. Zhong of the Qing Li Division of the Ministry of War Arsenal". If Zhang Zhou is allowed to go to the Xuanfu to manage the army, he will at least be given the title of Xuanfu. At that time, the official position of the governor of the Xuanfu was just like Wang Qiong, who directly added the title of Youqiandu Yushi to the official position of Langzhong, but it seems that the emperor was not limited to letting Zhang Zhou be the governor of the Xuanfu.
The governor of Xuanfu in the Ming Dynasty was more responsible for managing military pay in the past.
The emperor may have wanted Zhang Zhou to be the Trilateral President, or to declare the Great President.
It depends on how the emperor coordinates the relationship between Zhang Zhou and Qin Hong.
…
…
The next day, Zhang Zhou did not go to the Fengtian Palace.
Zhu Youtang was in court and directly announced to the public the matter of artillery demonstration in Xuan Mansion proposed by Zhang Zhou.
When Zhu Youtang explained that this time he was just going to the battlefield for military exercises, and that he would pull out 200 artillery pieces from the barrier without any problems, and then come back after firing the cannons, and use battle instead of training, the group of officials at the scene also looked at each other.
Zhang Zhou's proposal...can't be called bold. In their opinion, it is simply unreasonable.
Zhang Mao came out and said: "With the power of Shenwei's long-range artillery and heavy artillery, the Tatar tribes will not dare to approach easily when they are not sure that the target is their own. This is to prevent them from becoming the targets of the Ming Dynasty's new artillery. At that time, I am afraid that it will be declared For hundreds of miles around the mansion, you can’t even see a Tatar herdsman!”
"Hahaha……"
Wu Xun present was overjoyed.
The civil servants were disgraced.
The court once again became a scene of confrontation between civil servants and Wu Xun. Wu Xun suddenly felt that his back was hardened because Ming Dynasty was about to take the initiative, and relying on the two hundred cannons that had been cast in advance, Ming Dynasty Wu Xun could regain its glory. .
Zhu Youtang said: "Dear gentlemen, there are some things that I don't want to hide. In fact, Zhang Qing's family also has a purpose for performing artillery exercises in Xuanfu, which is to use the power of the artillery exercises to destroy the iron ore mine northeast of Zhangjiakou Fort. , were captured, and used to mine iron ore and cast cannons on the spot."
"ah?"
This time, not only the civil servants were in an uproar, but even Wu Xun didn't expect it.
To fire empty cannons, actually to cast more cannons?
Zeng Jian, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I have never heard that there are iron mines near Zhangjiakou."
Zhu Youtang said angrily: "Bingkuan knows astronomy from the top and geography from the bottom. He said there are iron ore over there. Is it just to please others?"
When the emperor said this, the scene immediately exploded.
Many ministers were filled with indignation, feeling that the emperor was favoring a traitor and listening to slander.
Wu Xun, on the other hand, was talking in surprise. This Zhang Shijiao was indeed an extraordinary person. He used his artillery skills to rob the iron mine? The emperor gave him the right to mine iron ore. How could he blatantly use his power for personal gain? He also said that he would let the emperor know, and the emperor would inform the ministers...
How else can we say that people can realize the major they have learned?
If at some point we can also know astronomy from above and Feng Shui from below, and directly find out where the mineral veins are, wouldn’t it mean that we are... developed?
"Quiet!" Zhu Youtang said sternly.
The civil servants at the scene stopped their private discussions.
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan is determined to cast cannons for the imperial court and improve firearms, so as to establish the Ming Dynasty's position in the northwest. I am going to use him to take charge of the military affairs of Xuanfu, Datong, Pianguan and other departments, and by the way, let him He takes charge of the three defenses of Zijing, Daoma and Juyong Nei. Based on Xuanfu, he can send troops to the grassland at any time. I wonder if you have any objections?"
All the civil servants looked ashen.
Sure enough, he wanted to promote Zhang Zhou to a civil servant in charge of the northwest army and give him the post of Xuanda General Secretary. Even the three inner passes were handed over to Zhang Zhou.
By doing this, the emperor was simply "appointing a traitor."
Zhang Mao said: "Although Zhang Zhou has never set foot in the northwest and has no experience in leading an army, with his military management methods, the Ming Dynasty has won successive victories. Even Weininghou and other unparalleled generals have praised him. Your Majesty, this is This move can be said to be a thousand-year foundation for the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. The veteran seconded the proposal."
so disgusting!
The ministers present almost wanted to rush out and scold Zhang Mao.
You, old man Zhang, are getting jealous now. Knowing that Zhang Zhou is going to the northwest as a civil servant and that your status as a martial artist cannot be threatened for the time being, you might as well just ignore it and blindly stand by the emperor's side, even bragging about the emperor's reputation. Rainbow fart.
Do you want face?
Zhu Youtang seemed to have known for a long time that his proposal would be supported by Wu Xun, and asked Liu Jian on the side: "Mr. Liu Ge, what do you think?"
Liu Jian couldn't say that he didn't want to object now. Even if he wanted to object... he couldn't.
Wang Yue died, saying that transferring Qin Hong to the northwest would stabilize people's hearts, but could it really be done?
No matter how awesome Qin Hong was, he was still several ranks behind Wang Yue. In the Northwest Army, it was generally believed that Zhang Zhou was several ranks higher than Wang Yue.
Who has ever seen a coach who can win a decisive victory thousands of miles away, who can even know in advance where the enemy will attack, and who can make calculations?
No matter how awesome Wang Yue is, he is still just a human being, while Zhang Zhou is closer to...a half-immortal.
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, I wonder if Qin Hong has just been transferred to Pianguan..."
"I am going to use my general control over the military affairs of Yansui and other places to send him to Yansui and other places south of the Hetao to take precautions in case Bingkuan is preparing to send troops, and the Tatars take the opportunity to do something on the three sides and other places. Nuisance." Zhu Youtang said.
When the emperor made this proposal known, even those picky civil servants felt that the emperor's idea was simply ahead of his time.
In the past, wasn't the biggest problem in suppressing fraud in Northwest China the lack of coordination among all parties?
Now, Zhang Zhou, a master of artillery, is there to intimidate people in the east, and Qin Hong, an engineering madman in the west, is responsible for the defense... This combination of young and old simply complements each other's advantages and can be said to complement each other.
Liu Jian asked again: "I wonder what position Zhang Zhou will take?"
Zhu Youtang said: "I don't want to promote him to a high position prematurely. In my opinion, his previous official position and subordinates will remain unchanged. For the time being, he will be the right minister of the Ministry of War and the right deputy of the capital censor, the prime minister, and other military affairs officials." , if his trip to the northwest is successful, I will increase the reward at my discretion. If not, he will return to his original position after returning to the capital. No promotion, no demotion."
Even if he was given a temporary transfer, he would be given an additional official position after Zhang Zhou came back.
Sounds reasonable.
But what the emperor said, "If you have merit, you will be rewarded as appropriate" will make the ministers think that if Zhang Zhouzhen makes some achievements in the northwest, he may not just be a meritorious right minister of the Ministry of War, but may be directly appointed as the Ministry of War. Shangshu.
In the first year after entering the imperial court, he was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War. Even if it was just a false position, it sounded... very scary.
Many people are looking at Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian and others, hoping that they will come out to oppose.
After all, from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, no matter what achievements Zhang Zhou made, he should not be qualified to lead the military affairs in the northwest with the title of right minister of the Ministry of War in just three months after entering the court.
But no one like Liu Jian came out to object, and even the six ministers were silent. They all seemed to feel that... Zhang Zhou was not an ordinary civil servant, so he could not ask for the official rules of ordinary civil servants... just like before. No civil servant can "know astronomy from above and geography from below", and can directly predict the good or bad luck of the country so accurately.
Li Guang is good at martial arts, and gods can't stop him.
Regardless of being good at martial arts, he was actually the number one scholar... and his relationship with the emperor and the prince was so close...
"Since none of the ministers have any objections, without further ado, I will ask Bingkuan to set off for Xuanfu in these two days. In addition to the three thousand troops from the Beijing camp, artillery castings, craftsmen, etc. will also be moved to Xuanfu. In the land of the government, mining matters are also coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and others..."
The emperor just said.
The imperial court used manpower and material resources to help Bingkuan open the mine. After the mine was opened, 80% of the output would belong to Zhang Zhou himself.
Only 20% is left...to pay our wages.
Xu Guandao, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, said: "Your Majesty, if the imperial court deploys manpower to coordinate mining, should the mines and kilns be taken back to the imperial court?"
Zhu Youtang became angry when he heard this and asked sternly: "Do you want me to break my promise? Or do you think it is natural for Bingkuan to serve the court?"
Xu Guan was choked and speechless, and could only retreat to the East Banner in despair.
Zhu Youtang said: "In addition to Duke Baoguo, there are also Hou Ninghou and others who will accompany Zhang Zhou to the Xuan Mansion. As for what soldiers and generals will be dispatched by the Dudu Mansion, I will make a decision as appropriate and all the honorable ministers will return to the mansion. Wait for dispatch. Don’t delay when setting off, so as not to miss important events!”
"According to the order!"
Wu Xun became restless.
Although nominally, it is still relying on the former first-term students of the Yanwu Hall to follow Zhang Zhoutong, but other honorable ministers will also be dispatched.
It seems that the emperor has high hopes for this expedition. Whoever goes with Zhang Zhou is likely to leave a mark in the history of the Ming army. Who doesn't want to follow him and make contributions?
It seems that the martial arts of the Ming Dynasty have never been so united as they are today, rushing to fight when there is a war... Even the ministers who were born in relatives of the governor's house and were waiting to die were the same...
Wenchen was thinking.
This world is really magical.
…
…
After the court meeting ended, the edict was also sent out of the palace.
Both the government and the public were in an uproar.
There were also many discussions among the subjects. In the streets and alleys of the capital, when they learned that the imperial court was going to send Zhang Zhou to lead 10,000 troops to Xuan Mansion to prepare for the war against the Tatars, and especially to go out to the fortress with great fanfare to practice cannons and complete sacrifices to heaven and other activities, what they thought of The thing is... Daming is finally going to be awesome!
Everyone seems to be proud of being a subject of the Ming Dynasty.
However, the edict did not say that Zhang Zhou went to the northwest to mine. The emperor was mainly concerned about Zhang Zhou's reputation.
It would not be good if the people among the people thought that Zhang Zhou was going to "compete with the people for profit." As long as the ministers knew it well.
Zhang Zhou received the imperial edict from Dai Yi personally at his residence.
He also changed his identity and became the general secretary of the Ming Dynasty, and he was now the right minister of the Ministry of War in vain.
"Mr. Zhang, congratulations." Xiao Jing smiled and handed over his hands, just to give Zhang Zhou some gifts to curry favor with Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou sighed: "The greater the official position, the greater the responsibility. I am not joking about going to the northwest. People have merit if they have no fault, and I have fault if I have no merit."
"No... not that exaggerated." Xiao Jing smiled bitterly.
He wanted to say, even if you go to the northwest, even if you go around, your majesty wants to find credit for you, but you can't find it?
Go with peace of mind, no matter your merits or demerits, you will definitely be promoted to a higher position when you come back.
(End of chapter)
