"It turns out they are Mr. Zhou Ge's family. I wonder why you stopped me?"
Fu Zonglong was very polite when he heard that he was a servant from Ge's hometown.
A servant from Zhou Yanru's family said: "Our master asked me to bring a message to Fu Futai. It is a good thing that Fu Futai returns to the capital this time. Don't worry."
"I understand." Fu Zonglong nodded.
He knew in his heart that this was Zhou Yanru's advice to him, and he should remember this feeling.
A servant in Zhou Yanru's family said, "I won't delay Fu Futai's entry into the palace. I will leave."
After saying that, he got into the crowd and walked away a little bit.
Fu Zonglong felt a lot more at ease when he looked at the servants leaving.
Since the visitor told him that this trip to the capital was a good thing, he finally didn't have to worry about returning home after being disgraced like Sun Chengzong.
As a dignified cabinet minister, there is no need to lie to him as a foreign official.
"Let's go to the Imperial City." Fu Zonglong greeted his entourage and rode into Zhengyang Gate.
As a foreign official, Fu Zonglong went to Beijing with the order and was quickly taken to the Qianqing Palace in Chongzhen where government affairs were handled.
"Your Majesty, Fu Zonglong, governor of Shuntian, comes to see your majesty." When Fu Zonglong saw Chongzhen, he immediately stepped forward and bowed.
Although he has always been a foreign official, this is not the first time he has met Chongzhen.
When he took up his post as governor of Shuntian, he met Chongzhen in advance according to the rules before going to Zunhua to take up his post.
"Fu Aiqing, there's no need to be polite, get up quickly." Chongzhen was very cordial when he saw Fu Zonglong this time.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Fu Zonglong thanked him, he stood up straight.
Chongzhen looked Fu Zonglong up and down. He had good features, a loyal face, and strong eyes.
"What does Fu Aiqing think of the tiger thieves who invaded Shandong?" After looking at him, Chongzhen asked him about Shandong.
As the governor of Shuntian, Fu Zonglong had naturally heard about things in Shandong. After thinking for a while, he said: "Shandong is related to water transportation. I believe that Shandong must not suffer any loss."
"Fu Aiqing thinks there is any way to deal with the tiger thieves in Shandong and restore stability to Shandong? Without affecting water transportation?" Chongzhen continued to ask.
Fu Zonglong did not answer immediately, but looked thoughtful. After thinking for a long time, he said: "The tiger bandit invaded Shandong for two reasons. One is to cut off the grassland and plunge the capital into a food shortage. The other is to invade the second government. As long as the tiger bandits are known, These two goals of the thieves, we, the Ming Dynasty, will make corresponding countermeasures around these two points, which will naturally solve Shandong's dilemma."
"How did Fu Aiqing guess that the tiger thief came to the second mansion?" Chongzhen looked puzzled.
He had always thought that the Tiger-Character Banner invaded Shandong to cut off water transportation, disrupt the capital, and then capture the capital in one fell swoop to dominate the world. He never thought that the Tiger-Character Banner invaded Shandong to seize the Second Mansion.
Fu Zonglong said: "When Governor Sun was still the Governor of Jiliao, he wrote to me and mentioned that Lushun was invaded by tiger thieves. Lushun and Denglai are across the sea from each other. I boldly guessed that the tiger thieves It is very likely that the purpose is to seize the second mansion of Denglai, obtain an outlet to the sea, and open up a passage between the bandits and soldiers occupying Lushun."
"That's it." Chongzhen felt that he had been taught a lesson.
No one in the court had told him this before, and he had never thought about the connection with Lushun. He had always believed that the tiger bandits attacked Shandong to besiege the capital.
Fu Zonglong continued: "Xiao He succeeds or fails. Although Lushun in Ming Dynasty is occupied by tiger thieves, if the tiger thieves occupy Lushun, they will face the slave thieves in Liaodong. The slave chief Taiji will definitely not let the tiger thieves stay easily." In Lushun, both sides must fight for Lushun."
"You mean that the tiger thieves attacked Shandong just to capture Denglai Second Mansion so that they could find a way out for the tiger thieves in Lushun?" Chongzhen asked Fu Zonglong.
Fu Zonglong nodded and said: "This possibility cannot be ruled out, and once the tiger bandits take Shandong, they can continuously transport troops and food to Lushun through Denglai Erfu, just like what I did to the Ming army in Lushun before the Ming Dynasty. The same thing."
"Then can we use the hands of the slave thief to deal with the tiger thief?" Chongzhen asked.
There were reminders of pay everywhere, but the court had no money or food to pay them. Except for the Ming army in Liaodong, which was in a better situation, the Ming army in other places often owed pay, and many owed pay for half a year or more than a year.
These memorials to promote payment made Chongzhen one head and two heads high.
It's not that he doesn't want to solve it, it's just that he really can't afford so much money.
When he heard the dog-eat-dog fight between the Tiger Character Banner and the slave thieves, his first thought was that these two enemies of Ming Dynasty would fight each other so that Ming Dynasty could save some money and food in the army.
The corner of Fu Zonglong's mouth twitched, feeling that Chongzhen's thoughts were too beautiful, so he had to explain: "Even if the tiger bandits really fight with the slave bandits, they will only be in Lushun and Jinzhou, but this does not prevent the tiger bandits from invading Shandong, and even some It may lead to the tiger thieves becoming more aggressive on the Shandong issue and speeding up the capture of Denglai's second mansion."
Chongzhen looked disappointed when he heard this.
Ming Dynasty lost an opportunity to be a fisherman, but he still had to worry about solving the problem of money and food in the army.
"It's a pity. I really thought I could use the hands of slave thieves to weaken the tiger thieves." Chongzhen couldn't hide his disappointment and asked immediately, "If I let you go to Shandong, how are you going to do it?"
Fu Zonglong was stunned.
He quickly realized that Chongzhen wanted Cong Zunhua to go to Shandong this time.
Thinking of this, his face turned bitter.
Shandong is now a fire pit, just like the position of governor of Jiliao after Yuan Chonghuan was killed. It will burn your butt to sit on it. The situation in Shandong is even worse than that of Jiliao.
When he takes office in Jiliao, he can stabilize the situation in Jiliao as long as he can deal with the arrogant and powerful generals in Liaodong.
The situation in Shandong is different. When you arrive in Shandong, you have to deal with tiger thieves. If the tiger thieves were so easy to deal with, Ming Dynasty would not have lost three provinces in succession and could never do anything to the other side.
Moreover, sitting bandits are much more difficult to deal with than roving bandits, especially sitting bandits like the Tiger Thieves who affect the three provinces. Without concentrating all the power of the Ming Dynasty, it will be difficult to completely solve them.
Before Fu Zonglong could refuse, Chongzhen said: "I am going to let you take charge of Shandong's military affairs and quell the tigers and thieves in Shandong."
】
In charge of military affairs, as a civil servant Fu Zonglong, it was naturally impossible for him to become the commander-in-chief, so the only option left was the governor of Shandong.
Although there is no governor in Shandong, the situation in Shandong is special and it is not impossible to temporarily appoint a governor.
Fu Zonglong hesitated.
On one side, he was the governor, and on the other side, he had offended Chongzhen and could not even be the governor of Shuntian.
The position of governor made him very excited.
If he had suppressed the rebellion in Sichuan as a governor back then, he might have a chance to join the cabinet now.
The current position of governor of Shandong is an opportunity for him.
