The man who came to Han Xu's house with Zhao Nanxing and Yang Lian was none other than Wang Wenyan, one of the Donglin Party's think tanks.
The Donglin Party was able to drive away the Qi Party and the Chu Party, and Wang Wenyan was indispensable.
Although he was only a minor official, he was highly valued in the Donglin Party. He had close relationships with many bigwigs of the Donglin Party, and even served as a secretary next to the chief assistant Ye Xianggao.
Several people sat down separately.
As the master and a cabinet minister, Han Xu sat on the main seat alone. Zhao Nanxing had a lower official position, but had a high reputation within the Donglin Party, so he sat on Han Xu's right hand side.
Yang Lian was much inferior to the two of them, and could only take the lead among them and sit with Wang Wenyan.
"I wonder what Brother Yu Chen is so anxious to find us for?" Zhao Nanxing was the first to speak.
Yang Lian also said: "When I received the news from Mr. Ge's family, I was talking to Mr. Zhao about today's affairs. Mr. Wang happened to be there, so we came over together."
Yang Lian, whose status was inferior to the two of them, briefly explained to Han Xu the reason why the three of them came together.
After hearing this, Han Xu understood why Wang Wenyan also came with him.
"I came uninvited and bothered you." Wang Wenyan stood up and apologized.
Han Xu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Wang, yes, I welcome you so much that I can't even talk about disturbing you."
He didn't mean to dislike Wang Wenyan. It would be best if Wang Wenyan could come with him. After all, many matters of the Donglin Party were planned by Wang Wenyan. Although he was the elder of the cabinet, he also respected Wang Wenyan.
Wang Wenyan saluted Han Xu again before sitting back in his seat.
Han Xu pushed the envelope forward on the table, sent it to Zhao Nanxing, and said, "Look at this first. This letter was sent by Yang Guozhu, the deputy general of Datong."
Zhao Nanxing picked up the letter and took out the letter paper inside, put it in front of his eyes and read it.
After reading it, he first handed the letter to Yang Lian, and then said to Han Xu: "Brother Yu Chen, what do you think of the content of this letter?"
"I don't believe what is written above." Han Xu shook his head slightly, and then said, "If what happened above really happened, it would be impossible for Datong to be so quiet. There was no movement from the local governor or the commander-in-chief. .”
Hearing this statement, Zhao Nanxing nodded and said: "Brother Yuchen and I thought the same. There may be some merchants in the border areas secretly communicating with Mongolia and reselling our Ming Dynasty's goods. But when it comes to building forts on the grasslands, , this kind of thing is so much like nonsense that it’s hard for people to believe it.”
Before the rise of Hou Jin, the Mongols had always been the main enemy of the Ming Dynasty, and from the middle to late period, the Ming Dynasty had always been on the defensive side and had no ability to go deep into the grasslands.
At this time, Yang Lian also read the content of the letter, his face sank, and he said: "This Yang Guozhu, I think he is most likely not hiding the fact that he has changed from the commander-in-chief of a town to the deputy commander-in-chief. Mr. Ge can Give this letter to the official, and he will ask the censor to impeach him tomorrow morning."
Although the deputy censor of Zuodu has a low official position, he is responsible for supervising impeachment. He can impeach the censor below and dismiss him from office based on hearsay. Now that there is such evidence, it will be easier to deal with Yang Guozhu.
"Forget it, Yang Guozhu is a capable general in the court after all. It is not a good thing to remove him at this time." Han Xu said to Yang Lian.
After the Jin Dynasty, the importance of generals became more and more prominent. In the past, if Yang Guozhu dared to write such a letter, as the cabinet minister, he would have dismissed Yang Guozhu long ago.
"Since Mr. Ge said so, forget it this time, but you can put this letter away first." Yang Lian said.
As the deputy censor of Zuodu, I am accustomed to holding such a handle firmly in my hands.
Zhao Nanxing said: "Yang Guozhu can be considered a general. Otherwise, the late emperor would not have arranged for him to sit in the position of commander-in-chief of Datong. Unfortunately, the layout is still a bit small."
"What kind of pattern can a military general have? He can only dare to fight and fight hard." Yang Lian said with a smile.
For an orthodox civil servant like him, he has always held the concept that if civil servants don't love wealth and military generals will risk their lives, why bother to bring peace to the world?
"I feel that although what Mr. Yang said is exaggerated, it may not be without purpose." Wang Wenyan finally said after reading the letter.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he disagreed with the three people present, which made all three people look at him.
Just listen to him continue to say: "I have heard about the tiger-character flag. Later, it was through Wei Wei that I had a chance to be recruited and became a general in Datong. Such a person may not have the Ming Dynasty in his heart, but more It’s about thinking about yourself.”
"Mr. Wang, do you mean that Liu Heng is really likely to go to the grassland to build a fort?" Han Xu frowned.
The grassland has always been the grassland of the Mongols. It’s not that the Ming Dynasty doesn’t want to occupy it, but it’s just that it can’t do it. Now there is still chaos in Liaodong after the Jin Dynasty. As the elder, what he hopes most is that there will be no problems between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols. Otherwise, there will be no problem in the Ming Dynasty. There are no extra troops being sent to border towns like Datong and Xuanfu.
With so many people in the Ming Dynasty, there is no shortage of troops. What is lacking is the money to support the troops. Liaodong alone has almost made it difficult for the Hubu to sustain itself. If Datong and Xuanfu are again troubled by the Northern Captives, the Hubu will not be able to survive at all. Silver raises more soldiers and horses.
"Maybe there is, maybe not, but I think there should be, but as the letter said, the fort built by the Tiger Flag has almost reached Qingcheng, so I don't think it is possible." Wang Wenyan shook his head subconsciously and said immediately, "Tiger Character Banner is just a business. If it has money, it may have it, but no matter how much money the business has, it can't deal with the Mongolian cavalry."
Han Xu nodded and said: "Mr. Wang is right, but the Tiger Flag has really built a fortress on the grassland, which is likely to destroy the stability of the border area for many years."
"If the Tiger Character Banner really builds the fortress, I think Liu Heng should be captured. He must not be allowed to anger the Tumut Mongols at this time." Yang Lian said.
Zhao Nanxing said: "Brother Yuchen, what do you think? Should we discuss it with the chief minister to see how to solve this tiger-character flag?"
"Masters, don't worry, I'll finish my words later." Wang Wenyan interrupted.
Han Xu looked at Wang Wenyan and said, "If Mr. Wang has anything to say, just say it. If the matter of the Tiger Flag is really as Mr. Wang said, it is very likely that the Mongols will invade the border again, and we will destroy the Ming Dynasty and Datong Xuanfu." Completely rotten."
"Mr. Ge, you are worrying too much." Wang Wenyan smiled.
Han Xu frowned and asked in confusion: "What does Mr. Wang mean?"
"I feel that what is written in the letter is not a cause for concern." Wang Wenyan said, "It is definitely impossible to build a fort when the weather is cold and the ground is freezing. Therefore, if the Tiger Character Banner really built a fort on the grassland, it would have been at least half a year ago. But after such a long time, has Mr. Ge ever received a memorial from the Xuanfu of Datong about the Mongolian invaders?"
Han Xu shook his head.
There is indeed no memorial about the Mongolian invasion in the border towns of Datong and Xuanfu.
