Zhu Youtang immediately gave an order to call his two brothers-in-law, Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, to the palace.
After some instructions, the general idea was that the two brothers of the Zhang family should lead troops to Linqing Prefecture to assist Zhang Zhouping in banditry.
And they set off immediately, with a thousand cavalry in the capital camp and forty light cannons, plus cannonballs and yellow gunpowder... This was because Zhang Zhou was afraid that Zhang Zhou would not have enough firearms in this battle and could not directly defeat the enemy, so he asked the Zhang brothers to transport the firearms. .
"Your Majesty, will it delay important events if you let Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo go?" Li Rong felt that the emperor was too nervous.
Zhang Zhou sent a message from Dongchang Mansion and would immediately lead troops to suppress the bandits.
If the capital sends more troops, it will basically be too late.
Zhu Youtang said: "I just want to express my attitude, and also to prevent other young people from daring to take advantage of the situation. Even if I can't help, at least I can let Bingkuan focus on nothing else."
When Li Rong thought about it, the emperor was still thoughtful.
If there are other thieves who are afraid of being blamed by Zhang Zhou in the future and want to take advantage of the opportunity to form a partnership with Su Twenty-Eight and Zhong Twelve, then Zhang Zhou's less than a thousand soldiers and horses may not be enough.
"I will order the local authorities to fully cooperate with this anti-robbery operation. From the Chief Envoy, the local state government, to the health station and the inspection department, they must fully cooperate. If anyone fails to do his job well, I will remove him from his post! And directly Hand it over to justice!"
Zhu Youtang also moved violently.
"Old slave, I will draft the edict right now." Li Rong also hurriedly took action.
…
…
The Zhang brothers were anxious and led their troops to Shandong, and the news soon spread in the capital.
When the officials returned home from work that afternoon, they heard the outrageous news. Many people didn't even know what was happening in Shandong.
As soon as Zhong came out, he met Wang Shi, the newly appointed Minister of Justice. Wang Shi said: "Perhaps there are bandits on the river doing evil things, so your Majesty sent troops to protect the canal."
Zhong Zhong said: "The news from the Ministry of War?"
"No." Wang Shi said, "It is said that it was said by the Zhang family themselves, and it came from His Majesty's order. The prince has not returned to Beijing yet, and I don't know if it is related to the fact that the prince's return to Beijing has been blocked."
After all, neither of them worked in the yamen, so they knew too few details.
On the other side, Xie Qian got on the sedan chair after leaving the palace, but was blocked by Ma Wensheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Xie Qian got off the sedan again, frowned and said, "Brother Futu, you've really been bothering me a lot lately."
Ma Wensheng said: "I just learned the news from the Ministry of War. Zhang Bingkuan led the local soldiers to suppress the bandits. The reason was that there were bandits on the canal."
Xie Qian said: "It's already winter, and it's freezing everywhere. Do the river pirates have to choose this time to cause trouble? Don't they know that Zhang Bingkuan is going back to Beijing? Do they still have to touch his head?" "
Ma Wensheng hesitated, but still explained: "It is said that the prince is also among them."
"How did you know that?" Xie Qian was a little surprised.
Ma Wensheng did not evade the taboo and said: "The prince and Zhang Bingkuan went north together. Your Majesty was anxious to lead the troops south with Shouning Marquis and Jianchang Bo. He also issued an order to the local government to express the urgency of the matter. Perhaps Zhang Bingkuan wanted to use this as a training exercise. The prince may have something to do with the prince’s willfulness.”
Ma Wensheng knew the prince's character. This boy especially liked to cause trouble.
In Ma Wensheng's view, Zhang Zhou's plan to quell the robbers was probably to "coax the children." It was precisely because the prince liked this tone that Zhang Zhou would engage in such activities.
Xie Qian frowned and said: "If it is said that the crown prince's move south was not instigated by Zhang Bingkuan, but the crown prince did it without authorization, then what can we say this time? Zhang Bingkuan does not know the importance of the safety of the Ming Dynasty prince?"
Ma Wensheng said: "Leading the troops in person does not mean charging into battle."
Xie Qian said: "I understand. I will find a way to speak to His Majesty later. I always feel that Zhang Bingkuan is licking blood from the edge of a knife and is always doing many improper things. Ministers should protect the stability of the prince, but he doesn't seem to know how to do this. The impact it brings, taking desperate risks is just a yes!"
From the perspective of traditional civil servants, being a minister should put stability first.
If you don't make mistakes, you will have merit, or it can be said that "a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall."
But Zhang Zhou is different. He always likes to do things that others dare not do, and he always likes to play something big.
…
…
To Xie Qian and Ma Wensheng, this was a bit unreasonable, but to Zhang Zhou, it was perfectly normal.
Who is Zhu Houzhao? To ordinary courtiers, he is just a child who has not grown up. His character has not yet been finalized. Others do not know what he will experience in the future... But Zhang Zhou is familiar with history and is teaching children this matter. It is an "open book test".
Moreover, Zhang Zhou didn't think it was very dangerous to take Zhu Houzhao to defeat two groups of bandits.
The army quickly passed through Boping, and then walked further towards Qingping, and arrived at the base camp of the first group of bandits, Zhong Twelve. Because they had to march without disturbing others, the team marched forward very quickly and did not alert the local officials.
The team was stationed first, and before nightfall, the Jin Yiwei were sent to investigate the specific situation on the mountain, find out where the mountain gate was, and then formulate a strategy.
Zhu Houzhao said excitedly: "We're going to fight tonight, right?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Prince, you don't want to go into battle in person, do you?"
"Otherwise?" Zhu Houzhao slapped his chest and said, "Give me a blunderbuss and I will aim there. I will never get a hundred steps closer to them."
Zhang Zhou pointed to the corner of the ground camp and said: "The prince should be prepared to stay here and wait to intercept the bandits who fled down the mountain. I will let the soldiers of Pingshan Guard rush up overnight and blow open their camp gate with mighty sky gunpowder. Then use the cavalry to rush in, and a divine cannon will be responsible for covering it. Prince, you will stay here, and you will also have a divine cannon. You will blast whoever comes, and you will still use the men and horses of the Pingshan Guard to arrest people."
"Where is Jin Yiwei?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
Zhang Zhou put down the baton in his hand and said: "The Jinyi Guards are responsible for protecting you."
"..."
Only then did Zhu Houzhao realize that he seemed to be a big burden on the battlefield.
Liu Jin on the side persuaded: "Your Highness, this is your first time to go into battle. There is no need to rush to the front. A good job is a job that can get credit. All the credit for captured prisoners is yours. This is what Master Zhang is doing." I’ll create opportunities for you.”
"Really?" When Zhu Houzhao heard this, it turned out that this was a good opportunity for me to receive the results of the victory.
This is a well-intentioned thing.
Zhang Zhou said: "Put on your armor, Eunuch Liu, you must raise your shield. If the prince has any shortcomings, we will not be able to reap the benefits."
"Yes, yes." Liu Jin smiled.
He once went to Pianguan to serve as a guard eunuch, but he still didn't get a good opportunity to make achievements.
Originally, it would be a serious crime to accompany the prince south this time. He didn't expect that he would have an opportunity to make military exploits before returning to the capital. He naturally knew that he would need to seize this opportunity carefully.
…
…
It is naturally very easy to attack a mountain with a thousand men and horses.
Moreover, Zhang Zhou found out early on that none of Zhong Twelve's main men were actually in the village. To put it bluntly, their main force was out preparing to ambush the caravan and plunder everywhere.
There are only women and children left in the mountains, as well as some old, weak, sick and disabled people.
In the Ming Dynasty, bandits were also a profession, and it was very common to drag their families with them. In addition, in order to develop, bandits were also very taboo about killing and wounding people. They wanted money but not lives. They will develop sequentially, but if they really want to fight hard, they still have certain strength.
Cao Bao personally led 200 cavalry to prepare, and then the vanguard went to the gate of the camp overnight, buried the yellow gunpowder, and ignited it with a fuse.
"boom!"
With a loud noise, the camp door was blown open.
Before the bandits inside could figure out the situation, the Ming Dynasty's cavalry launched an attack from the bottom of the mountain. The bandits' sentries halfway up the mountain discovered the clues, and it was too late to notify the mountain. Along the way, the Ming Dynasty's 200 cavalry smoothly charged towards the camp. go.
Bandits are also very experienced in escaping. In order to avoid being surrounded and suppressed by the government, they also have backup plans, the so-called cunning rabbit's three holes.
When they found out that officers and soldiers were coming to clean up, they quickly loaded their things into the car and fled down the mountain from the back. The paths in the forest were even opened by themselves, but they were already under Zhang Zhou's control. .
Soon the camp on the mountain was basically occupied by the cavalry, and the deserters of the bandits also entered the ambush circle set up by Zhu Houzhao himself...
…
…
"kill!"
Don't mention how excited Zhu Houzhao was.
From a distance, he just saw a bunch of dark figures moving in the woods, and Zhu Houzhao seemed to have been injected with blood.
Then the Ming Dynasty's ambush troops came out.
Rushing into the dense forest and capturing the bandits who dragged his family with him one by one, Zhu Houzhao's mission was obviously to guard the back mountain, but he could no longer care about anything else and had to ride a horse to "kill the enemy" himself.
In the end, it was Yang Peng who "plucked" him off his horse.
"What are you doing?" Zhu Houzhao yelled at Yang Peng.
The light from the torches came.
Zhang Zhou came over from not far away and gave him a white look. Zhu Houzhao instantly became honest.
Zhang Zhou said: "The prince has forgotten how to formulate a strategy? If a commander does not even follow the strategy, when he is in danger, your rash actions will bring about the destruction of the entire battle! Do you think fighting on the battlefield is a brave fight? Can you win by being ruthless?"
"I know! It's so long-winded." Zhu Houzhao was in high spirits and naturally felt unhappy after being scolded by Zhang Zhou.
Liu Jin ran back from a short distance and said excitedly: "We've caught them. More than thirty people have been caught..."
"Only more than thirty?" Zhu Houzhao was very dissatisfied with the number.
When Liu Jin saw Zhang Zhouzai, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, especially when he saw Zhang Zhou's stern eyes.
Yang Peng scolded: "Eunuch Liu, Master Zhang clearly asked you to hold up a shield for the prince here to protect the prince. Where are you?"
"My slave... was ordered to go and suppress the bandits." Liu Jin had no choice but to carry Zhu Houzhao out.
Zhu Houzhao said: "I asked him to go. I can't go there myself, why not let the people around me go?"
Just as he was talking, the people who collected the nets from all walks of life also came back.
Zhang Zhou said: "It's good that nothing happened. Let's clean up the mess and return to camp!"
…
…
Zhang Zhou personally "escorted" Zhu Houzhao back to the camp this time.
Summarizing the results of the battle, Yang Peng said happily: "The stronghold was defeated in one fell swoop. Four bandits were killed, forty-five men were captured, and seventy-two women and children were captured. The aunts, concubines, and concubines of the Zhong Twelve family were captured. My daughter and my mother, but it is said that they have a stronghold in the north of Linqing Prefecture, so we can only send troops to the specific location."
Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "It doesn't have to be more than thirty. It would be too embarrassing to arrest only thirty people after so much effort."
Zhang Zhou said: "Winning is the most important thing. How many prisoners are killed or injured is not the important point. After tonight, we will definitely alert the enemy. If we want to defeat Su 28 again, it will not be easy. We can leave for the north and return to the capital!"
"What?" Zhu Houzhao asked in surprise, "No more fighting? Sir, you didn't deliberately stop midway just because I wanted to go into battle to kill the enemy today, right?"
Zhang Zhou asked: "Prince, do you know what strategic intention is?"
Zhu Houzhao blinked and asked, "What is strategic intention?"
Zhang Zhoudao: "The strategic intention of this battle is to capture Zhong Twelve's stronghold, catch them off guard, and let Zhong Twelve know that the officers and soldiers are now clearing them out, so that they can restrain themselves. This is for us to pass through Linqing Prefecture and let the canal Caravans and travelers can pass smoothly."
Zhu Houzhao said: "No, I think our strategic intention should be to maintain the stability of the Ming Dynasty."
Yang Peng said hurriedly: "Your Highness, that is not your mission, that is the local official's. You and Master Zhang have more important things to do. How can you be here with a few local thieves?" Are they messing around? Besides, your safety, from a big perspective, is much more important than killing a few thieves."
"But I haven't fought enough!" Zhu Houzhao looked aggrieved, "Sir, let's fight one more time and catch Zhong Twelve at least! Otherwise, I will return to the capital. If I think about it in the future, there will be no three." Don’t even think about it if it’s five years old.”
Zhang Zhou said: "Now we should move from darkness to light. If there is still a fight along the way, then fight. Otherwise, just stay calm."
"gentlemen……"
"Not negotiable!" Zhang Zhou said sternly.
It seems that apart from Zhu Youtang, only Mr. Zhang Zhou can talk to the prince so unceremoniously.
…
…
Zhang Zhouping's robbery battle was a direct attack on the opponent's lair. It was based on the intelligence work being done well and the ability to march secretly without leaving any trace.
After the battle, the bandits on both sides of the canal immediately withdrew.
The government even sent out officials to protect the river along the way. With the support of the government, the caravans and travelers detained in Linqing Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture finally had the confidence to continue their journey by boat.
"alright!"
After Li Zhaoxian learned the good news, he quickly came back to inform his wife and sister.
But only his wife was there, but his sister was not.
Li Zhaoxian asked in surprise: "Madam, where has my little sister gone?"
Xu said: "Someone from Cai Guogong's palace came to invite me earlier, and they have already gone to the prefect's Yamen."
"ah?"
Li Zhaoxian was surprised.
"Did your husband say hello to the magistrate's office before?" Mrs. Xu was also curious as to why the local government came to the inn.
Li Zhaoxian sighed: "I was afraid that my father would be worried, so I wanted to ask the local government to send him a letter. Who would have thought... But it's okay. My sister has always admired Lin Shangshu's daughter and called her Mr. Female. I guess it was because of this. See you there."
…
…
As Li Zhaoxian expected, it was Lin Yi who invited Li Jue there.
Zhang Zhou led his troops to quell the bandits. It was impossible for Lin Yi and the others to go together, so Zhang Zhou left people in Dongchang Mansion. The prefecture's Yamen of Dongchang Mansion was responsible for supplying food, etc. Jin Yiwei and the guards around Zhang Zhou Responsible for security.
When the prefect of Dongchang Prefecture learned that Li Zhaoxian's brother and sister were also in Dongchang Prefecture, and the female family members around Zhang Zhou knew about it, Lin Yi also thought of inviting Li Jue over.
In fact, when Li Wei was in Nanjing, Lin Yi knew that she was there, but she couldn't find the opportunity to invite her at that time, and she didn't know where Lin Yi lived specifically.
"Mr. Female."
In the courtyard, Li Jue was very happy to see Lin Yi sitting in the pavilion. Three steps turned into two steps and she ran forward with a bright smile on her face like a little girl.
Lin Yi stood up and saluted Li Jue.
In terms of status, Lin Yi is not higher than Li Ju, and Lin Yi has always felt inferior because he is a commoner.
After sitting down, Lin Yi took the initiative to explain the purpose of the invitation: "There are some things that I must explain clearly to Miss Li. The previous words were not intended for you to read, but were written by my family."
Lin Yi smiled and said: "Young lady is so good at studying, why should you worry about being known?"
"I... my academic skills are very average. That poem was not written by me, but by my husband..." Lin Yi felt that it was necessary to clarify it once and for all. ,
"Yeah?"
Li Jue didn't feel that surprised.
After all, Zhang Zhou's reputation in the literary world is so high that even his own brother has become Zhang Zhou's fanboy and directly calls him "sir". Zhang Zhou is now equivalent to half of the world's scholars in the literary world.
But she still shook her head, "How could those beautiful words be written by a man?"
"I don't know either." Lin Yi looked confused when he mentioned this.
She also couldn't understand how Zhang Zhou could not only thrive in the officialdom, but also create a reputation in the literary world, and write poems that moved her heart.
Li Wei grinned, showing a pair of shallow smiles, and said: "I am relieved to know that the female gentleman is not angry with me. I have always been worried that the female gentleman will not see me again in the future."
Lin Yi glanced at Li Ju.
I thought to myself, they are all girls of the same age, but her birthday is a few months older. She looks like an innocent little girl. How come she feels like a harem? No wonder the master often says this to me. Is it because I have too many worries?
"I'm not angry with anyone..."
Lin Yi even wanted to say, I was afraid that you would look down on me.
You are the most beloved daughter of the bachelor, and I am just an inconspicuous concubine of the Lin family. After I get married, I will only be a concubine, and you will definitely be the legitimate wife of some big family in the future.
It's because I don't dare to face you that I don't want to see you.
Just as he was talking, Wang Mingshan's maid came in safely and said: "Young madam, someone just came back with a message saying that the master won the battle, and we will leave for the north tomorrow!"
"Yeah." Lin Yi said, "I'll go back and clean up right now."
Li Wei asked: "Can I leave? Did Mr. Zhang win the battle?"
Lin Yi asked curiously: "Why does Miss Li call her husband sir?"
"We all call him that now." Li Wei pursed his lips and said with a smile, "It's also because Brother She often calls him that, so I just followed suit. Brother She also respects Mr. Zhang very much. Female sir, there is no one to protect us along the way. I Can I go back to the capital with you?"
"This... I'm afraid this is inappropriate." Lin Yi quickly wanted to dispel Li Jue's idea.
Li Jue said: "We don't need to go together. As long as the ship is closer, if we encounter bandits, you have officers and soldiers who can protect us. Is this okay?"
"Then...then I'll ask our wife to ask the officials...I don't know if it's okay...I...I can't guarantee it."
Lin Yi seemed very unsure.
Compared with Li Jue's liveliness and playfulness, she seems very reserved and can't let go.
(End of chapter)
