Wei Zhongxian lowered his hands in front of him and said with a respectful expression: "Shandong Wenxiang Sect rebelled, Xu Hongru proclaimed himself the pseudo-Zhongxing Fulie Emperor, and the situation was more serious than Datong's tiger-character flag. Although the tiger-character flag was said to support soldiers as bandits, it was not raised high. To rebel against the banner, I thought that I could recruit the Anhu banner. Once successful, the imperial court could use all its strength to deal with the Wenxiang Sect in Shandong."
"Absolutely not." Han Xu said, "Tiger Character Banner is secretly raising private soldiers. If Wang Xunjian hadn't discovered it and reported it to the court, I'm afraid they are still secretly gathering strength at this moment. What they do is a very big plan. Your Majesty, you must be on guard!"
Emperor Tianqi nodded slightly.
Wei Zhongxian, who was standing on the side, said at this time: "Your Majesty, I think this tiger-character flag has no objection, and the purpose of raising private soldiers is to deal with the Mongols in the north. I have heard people say that this tiger-character flag is related to the The Mongols do some business with each other, and the private soldiers are also to protect the safety of their own caravans."
"This makes it even more impossible to leave this tiger-character flag behind." Han Xu said in a deep voice, "If you dare to collude with the Mongols, those who dare to collude with the tiger-character flag should be arrested and punished on the spot to serve as a warning to others."
Wei Zhongxian turned around, looked at Han Xu, and said: "Master Han, please don't forget that two generals have been defeated by the Tiger Flag. Now in the northwest area, except for Yulin, I am afraid there are no troops to go to Datong to suppress the Tiger Flag." Flag, not to mention that the Wenxiang Sect in Shandong has raised its rebel flag and captured several prefectures and counties around Yuncheng, and may cut off water transportation at any time. It can be said that the situation is serious, far from being comparable to Datong's Tiger Flag."
"This..." Han Xu choked.
Wei Zhongxian ignored him and bowed to Emperor Tianqi again, saying: "Your Majesty, although Datong's tiger-character flag was disobedient, it did not raise the flag of rebellion. Datong is still under the rule of the imperial court. This all shows that The proprietor of the Tiger Flag, Liu Heng, doesn’t have much objection, so it’s better to recruit him so that the court can have more troops at its disposal.”
"What Daban said is not unreasonable." Emperor Tianqi somewhat agreed with Wei Zhongxian's proposal.
The imperial court was no longer able to send troops to Datong to quell the chaos, so recruiting peace became the best option.
"Your Majesty, although the tiger-character flag did not blatantly raise the rebel flag, every move he made was an act of rebellion against the bandits. If we recruit them, we might endanger the tigers." Han Xu persuaded Emperor Tianqi.
Emperor Tianqi waved his hand and said: "Han Aiqing is worrying too much. After the Wenxiang Sect in Shandong is solved, the court can clean up the Tiger Flag at any time. Things have to be prioritized. The top priority is to calm down the chaos in Shandong first."
Shandong is located in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and Yuncheng is close to the canal. Its location is far more important than Datong. The balance in his heart unconsciously shifted to solve the rebellion in Shandong first.
"Your Majesty, the tiger-character flag cannot be left behind!" Han Xu continued to persuade, hoping that Emperor Tianqi could change his mind.
Emperor Tianqi picked up the bowl and took a sip of tea, then put it aside and said: "Okay, I have made up my mind to wave Datong's tiger-character flag, and the court will do its best to quell the Wenxiang Sect rebellion in Shandong."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Wei Zhongxian said respectfully.
Emperor Tianqi looked at the two pavilion elders in front of him and said: "Two beloved ministers, please go back and prepare. Datong's tiger-character flag must be comforted. Nothing can go wrong before Shandong Wenxiang Sect is resolved."
"I obey the decree." Ye Xiang bowed and said.
Although Han Xu on the side did not agree with the tiger-character flag, it was obvious that Ye Xianggao, the chief minister, did not object, so he reluctantly agreed: "I obey the order."
Emperor Tianqi turned his head and said to Wei Zhongxian: "Daban, you are the admiral of Dongchang. You also proposed the recruitment of the Tiger Flag. It is up to you to arrange for someone to go to Datong."
"Yes, the servants will all obey the orders of the Emperor." Wei Zhongxian agreed, and then said, "Your Majesty, what position should be given to Liu Heng, the proprietor of the Tiger Flag?"
Emperor Tianqi thought for a while and said: "That Liu Heng is just a businessman. If it weren't for the incident of Wenxiang Sect in Shandong, I would not have recruited him. Let's give him a guard position and stay in Lingqiu. "
Wei Zhongxian did not agree immediately, but showed hesitation.
Emperor Tianqi, who was sitting on the Dragon Collapse, noticed it and asked, "What? What do you think?"
Wei Zhongxian leaned forward and said: "Your Majesty, I feel that the defense of Lingqiu is not enough. As far as I know, there are at least seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses in the Tiger Character Banner. He may not be willing to be given only one guard."
"What would a mere businessman not want to do if he could become an official? If he really disagrees, the court can send an army to annihilate them at any time." Han Xu said suddenly.
Wei Zhongxian turned around and looked at Han Xu, and said in a calm tone: "If this tiger-shaped flag can be destroyed, the general soldiers of Datong and the generals of Xuanfu will not lose their troops. So far, they have nothing to do with each other."
"You..." Han Xu glared at Wei Zhongxian.
Wei Zhongxian ignored him, withdrew his gaze and looked at Emperor Tianqi respectfully.
Emperor Tianqi thought for a while and said: "Since the Tiger Character Banner has so many soldiers and horses, it is indeed a bit low to give him a garrison position. Well, if this Liu Heng is willing to lead troops to Liaodong, I can promise him a deputy general , but if he wants to stay in Datong, he can only be given a position as a guerrilla general or a commanding officer at most, and he cannot keep all the troops and horses in his hands. Some of them must be broken up, and at most some of the elites can be retained."
"Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely take care of the matter of recruiting the Tiger Flag." Wei Zhongxian saluted Emperor Tianqi.
Emperor Tianqi nodded and said, "Big Brother, hurry up and take care of the recruitment matter!"
"My slave obeys the order." Wei Zhongxian agreed respectfully.
With the solution to the Datong Tiger Flag, the imperial court only needs to concentrate on dealing with the Wenxiang Sect in Shandong. This made Emperor Tianqi feel a lot more relaxed, and then said to the two pavilion elders in front of him: "Two beloved ministers, too. Go back and send troops to Shandong as soon as possible to solve the Wenxiang Sect's rebellion."
"I excuse myself."
Ye Xianggao and Han Xu bowed and retreated from the hall.
After exiting the Huangji Hall, Han Xu walked a few steps and walked side by side with Ye Xianggao until they were far away from the Huangji Hall. He said, "Why didn't the chief minister object to Wei Wei's proposal before?"
"Master Han, are you talking about recruiting the tiger flag?" Ye Xianggao said as he walked.
Han Xu said: "Although the Tiger-Character Banner does not hold up the anti-flag like the Wenxiang Sect, their harm to the Ming Dynasty is not small. In the palace before, the chief assistant should not support the Tiger-Character Banner to recruit peace."
Ye Xianggao suddenly stopped, and Han Xu, who was walking side by side, had to stop together.
"How does Lord Han want to deal with the Tiger Flag in the northwest?" Ye Xianggao looked sideways at Han Xu.
"Of course we sent troops to Datong to destroy the Tiger Flag." Han Xu said matter-of-factly.
Ye Xianggao snorted and said: "The soldiers and horses of Datong were defeated by the Tiger-Character Banner. Now the Xuanfu soldiers and horses have also been defeated by the Tiger-Character Banner. There are no more troops to send to the northwest. Even if there are still, they are not enough to wipe out this army." If you forcefully send troops under the tiger-shaped flag, you will only lose troops and generals, and the gain will not be worth the loss."
Hearing this, Han Xu frowned.
