""Historical Records: Biography of General Li" says that 'an army lost its leader, or lost its way'. General Li Guang a thousand years ago may have lost his way on the grassland and was finally captured. Gongsun He who was on the other side did the same after breaking into the grassland. I can’t find the main force of the Huns. My eldest brother always says that it’s useless for me to study, but in fact, all the ways to win are in books.”
As usual, Ma Sheng was walking with his brother and said, "Does the book tell you how to defeat the Beilu?"
"The most important thing is to find them!"
The commander-in-chief's order was given, and there was no surprise at all. Ma Rong served as the vanguard for this expedition and led 3,000 elite cavalry to set off five days ahead of the main force.
From the twelfth year of Hongzhi to the present, the border troops have become more and more proactive in their attacks, and their scale has become larger and larger. This is the impact of the Forbidden City changing its owner.
Zhou Shangwen came out to see Ma Rong off in person. The sound of armor clashing sounded extremely clear under the city gate. Three thousand people mounted their horses and waited outside the city. Ma Rong led three thousand households to kneel down on one knee to say goodbye to the general.
Behind Zhou Shangwen, Ma Yihuai was quite proud. With so many people in the army, his son was the most appreciated.
"The military song should be sung with the sword ring, and we swear to destroy the Hunu out of Yuguan! The Tatars are not destroyed for a day, and we can only go north, not south. I still remember that at the military academy, His Majesty said, Han Even if we defeat the Huns and the Turks in the Tang Dynasty, we, the Ming Dynasty, will not lose the face of the descendants of China! Ma Rong, you are a literate person and know the meaning of the imperial court's border strategy. I only hope that you will live up to the sacred mandate and show your strength. The style of my Ming army!"
"The last general takes command!"
Ma Rong is not old, and his face under the helmet is actually still immature, but he is now the commander of the army, and he must be responsible for these three thousand people.
And Ma Rong himself actually had hot blood.
People are afraid of reading and having faith. Once the concept is formed, they will not care about anything else.
Leading the troops across the Great Wall, Ma Rong was in high spirits.
He ran wildly for a while, and then slowed down. After half a day of driving, the scenery around him was completely different. The market and the city wall were nowhere to be seen, and all he could see in the distance was blue sky, white clouds and vast wilderness.
Seeing an uphill high ground, he rode up, followed by his eldest brother Ma Sheng and three thousand households.
】
The wind blew the mane on the horse's neck, and the five Han men rode on the horse and looked at the grassland in the distance.
"For thousands of years, countless heroes have passed by this place, and there are countless heroic deeds left in these places. Walking on this road, I can't help but think, if possible, I really want to see the powerful Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty. !”
Behind Ma Rong was an older general, sometimes called Uncle Hu. Uncle Hu had a big black mole on his cheek, the kind that could make a child cry. He replied: "Young General, you don't know something. When the general was young, he never thought that one day he would be able to cross the Great Wall. For example, this is the first time that the general has encountered one million taels of silver in his long life."
In the final analysis, war still requires money.
"That's what General Zhou said. Now that things are changing, in the future General Zhou will be awarded a title for his meritorious service, and we people can also get some glory."
Most of the things warriors talk about when they get together are fame and fortune.
But as Ma Rong looked into the distance, that was not what he was thinking.
He was recalling the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties. He had a sense of history, "The Ming Dynasty must be remembered by future generations!"
"The young general must be thinking about cleaning up the old mountains and rivers and facing the sky, right?"
"Yue Wumu died unjustly in Feng Boting. It was because he met Song Gaozong. We are not the same! If the civil servants hadn't stopped us, the emperor of tomorrow would have joined us on the stand!"
These people had more or less seen the emperor in the military academy, and they also knew something about the emperor.
Therefore, the military academy is really a good thing, allowing the generals on the field to have more contact with the emperor.
"Fight!" Ma Rong urged the horse forward.
But the flying generals of Dragon City are here, and they don't teach Hu Ma to cross the Yin Mountains!
He, Ma Rong, also wants to make Hu Ma unable to cross the Yinshan Mountains, so that future generations will envy them when they recall the Ming Dynasty!
…
…
To the northwest is the scenery beyond the Great Wall.
Yangzhou is full of small bridges and flowing water.
Zou Cheng rushed to the imperial envoy's camp. He came today to plead for mercy.
Because Gu Zuo had managed to win over people under the guise of helping some salt merchants solve the problem of Shou Zhi, but the key was that he didn't know what was going on now.
In the hall, Gu Zuo was sitting in a side seat. He turned to look at him and then looked away.
"Ambassador Zou, I haven't seen you for a few days. Why did you come to visit so early today?"
"The lower official is here to see the superior. I dare to ask the superior. Recently, a very few salt merchants have said some nonsense. The inferior official is afraid that they will mislead the superior, so I am here to remind you."
Gu Zuo's face was expressionless, "Thank you Ambassador Zou for your kindness."
At this point, he suddenly stopped, making Zou Cheng a little embarrassed.
But the matter was so important that he couldn't just turn around and leave at this time.
"...The envoy said that day that he would submit a memorial to the emperor. This matter..."
"Ambassador Zou wants to see what I have written?" Gu Zuo smiled playfully, "There is no problem at all in showing Ambassador Zou, as long as you are willing to jointly sign the letter with me. At that time, you must sign Zou Since I am an ambassador, I naturally want you to see what is written."
Zou Cheng has a headache.
How about living a good life?
Why do you have to bother with it?
"Shang Chao, please forgive me for speaking frankly, why do you have to do this? Is it the holy will of the superior to do this? Or does it have other intentions?"
Gu Zuo narrowed his eyes, "As a minister, I am asked if I have any ulterior motives when reporting on my duties. Have I, an official of the Ming Dynasty, reached this level now?"
Zou Cheng also felt angry in his heart after being rebuffed like this.
No matter what you say, it won't work.
"We are officials in the same dynasty, why do we always reject people thousands of miles away when we are superiors?!"
"That's wrong. I want Ambassador Zou to come with me, but you don't want to."
Zou Cheng: "..."
He clenched his fists, lowered his eyebrows, and there was some anger in his eyes. It seemed that the imperial envoy insisted on taking his life.
However, he turned to sneer. If he reported the matter of occupying and buying a nest to the emperor, then he would offend all the nobles of the court and the father-in-law in the palace.
In any case, his name cannot be signed.
Since Gu Zuofei was going to die, there was nothing he could do.
"In this case, I can only take my leave."
"I won't send it."
Seeing Gu Zuo's attitude, Zou Cheng became even more angry.
"snort!"
Before leaving, he even shook his sleeves.
Gu Zuo blinked his eyes and sighed to himself, this is someone who knows how to be an official.
In fact, it was originally the case. If someone was not an official, how could he become a high-ranking official like the Salt Envoy of the Huaihe River?
Zou Cheng did this on purpose.
Because he knew the consequences of his next memorial.
And if you don't get along with him, the salt patrol censor, you just want to please the nobles and ministers who are going to be offended by him.
What kind of storm will be caused will naturally have nothing to do with him.
In other words, Zou Cheng would never sign this name.
Not only can’t I sign,
After Zou Cheng returned, he immediately summoned his staff to discuss the situation.
"Gu Liqing is deeply trusted by the Holy Emperor and has become so arrogant. Now he insists on reporting various matters related to the Salt Law to the Emperor. What do you think I should do?"
In the past, the salt patrol censors would not cause this trouble. The so-called salt patrol was to ask for a sum of money when the treasury encountered difficulties. The more times they did it, the more they understood it.
Anyway, each family can contribute a little and collect some money to send these people away.
If the person who comes has great face, give more, and if the person comes has less face, give less.
In the end, everyone got along well and made friends with each other.
"Isn't there someone in the court, Zou Shi? The Salt Law is of great importance. Just because we can't stop it doesn't mean that people in the capital can't stop it. And even if we can't stop it, we must inform the matter in advance and always keep it in mind. It will definitely not be good in our own hands."
Zou Cheng nodded thoughtfully, "I have met the Chief Situ a few times. Although I am not particularly familiar with him, it is okay to write a letter. Gu Liqing was promoted by the Chief Situ alone, so he must take care of this matter. .”
"However, I heard that Gu Liqing is not a person who can be persuaded."
Zou Cheng said with a hint of sinisterness, "That is his business. If he ignores Da Situ's promotion, such an ungrateful person will be despised by everyone. When he is despised by everyone, Your Majesty will not be able to use him even if he wants to. Naturally, the Salt Law incident will not cause any trouble."
It seems to Zou Cheng that this is indeed a solution.
So he told one of his staff, "Old He, you will be the one to write this matter. Write it as soon as possible. It is best to send it out today. This Gu Liqing is also very fast."
"Okay, don't worry, Commander Zou, it won't take long to write an article."
Zou Cheng nodded and asked, "Are there any other ways?"
"Can you... forget it."
"Tsk. Just tell me if you have anything to say. What do you do to your mother-in-law and mother-in-law?"
The staff gave him a lesson and did not dare not to say it, but they were probably more sensitive, so they moved closer and lowered their voices, "According to their duties, except for the ministers promoted by His Majesty himself, His Majesty does not trust the other civil servants in the outer court very much. As for the people promoted by His Majesty, Zou Shi can't say anything. Even if he does, no one will offend Gu Zuo. So of course I have to write a letter to Da Situ, but it will be of no use."
"Hiss." Zou Cheng took a breath, "Then what do you mean..."
"You can go to the inner ministers. Firstly, Gu Liqing's memorial will offend the inner ministers, because he wants to report it in front of His Majesty. Of course, the inner ministers will not sit still and wait for death. Secondly, the inner ministers value profit over justice. As long as they have enough money, they can do anything. . Third, only they would make His Majesty... doubt Gu Liqing."
Zou Cheng's eyes narrowed. He had been exhausted for the past few days, and only after hearing this did he feel a little hopeful.
This method is really feasible if you think about it carefully. As a salt officer, you still know a lot of eunuchs in the palace.
"Then, what crime should be charged on him?"
"The specific charges are not important. What is important is how to let His Majesty know about it. Your Majesty felt that it was necessary to reveal the matter seemingly unintentionally. The charges... Your Majesty has always hated corruption, and even the officials in Beijing who came to patrol salt would be contaminated. Some, if Gu Liqing and Tan Moyinliang from patrolling the salt were united, and they informed His Majesty unexpectedly, wouldn't His Majesty not have doubts in his heart? Once this happens, no matter what he says, His Majesty won't believe it."
"This is a great plan!"
