In the duty room of the Minister of War in the backyard of the Yamen of the Ministry of War, after Zhang Cheng listened to Chen Xinjia's heartfelt words, he knew in his heart that no matter what he said at this moment, he could not change the court's decision to fight quickly.
He stood up, cupped his fists and saluted: "Zhang Cheng is certainly aware of the difficulties in the court. Please rest assured. General Mo will return to camp immediately. He will march to Liaodong tomorrow morning. He will follow Governor Hong's orders and quickly relieve the siege of Jinzhou."
Chen Xinjia was very satisfied with Zhang Cheng's performance. He nodded and said slowly: "Although Hong Chengchou is the governor of Ji Liao, you cannot rely on him to handle everything this time you enter Liao. He has always advocated prudence and may be timid. heart of.
When you encounter problems, you should discuss them with the supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, or you can report them directly to me. You must bear in mind the great grace of God, and you must not be selfish and ignore the laws of Heaven's grace. "
"Please rest assured, my soldier, Zhang Cheng has memorized everything!"
Zhang Cheng answered with a firm look on his face. Seeing that Chen Xinjia was in a good mood at the moment, he boldly clasped his fists and said, "I'm here, Zhang Cheng has something else, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."
Chen Xinjia looked suspicious when he heard this. He didn't know what Zhang Cheng was going to ask for, but he said slowly: "What's the matter with you? But there's no harm in talking about it!"
Zhang Cheng clasped his fists and said: "The thieves in Chuangxian have suffered repeated defeats and rises. Although Ding and Fu, two important supervisors, have always known soldiers, the thieves are also cunning and fierce. And our Ming Dynasty troops have all headed to Liaodong and the mainland." If there are not enough available troops, it will be difficult for the general to suppress the situation.
I specifically request our soldiers to recommend to Your Majesty that Sun Chuanting be released from prison in due course, and to kill the thief to serve his own purpose and atone for his sins. "
Seeing that Chen Xinjia was deep in thought after hearing this, he hurriedly stood up and knelt down and said: "I am only thinking about the emperor and my Ming Dynasty, and there is absolutely no selfish intention in it.
Although Sun Chuanting had many shortcomings, he still had great prestige in Shaanxi, and he was more knowledgeable about military affairs than other ministers in the court. In the past, he wiped out the intruders in the battle of Tongguanyuan, and in the later period, he was driven by the army of Governor Qin. With the power to retreat the captives and cavalry, he is actually the best candidate to preside over the suppression campaign. "
Chen Xinjia was silent for a long time before he said, "Get up."
After Zhang Cheng stood up and sat back in his chair, he continued: "Sun Chuanting is indeed a good general. He always goes to the front line in every battle and has the courage to take on the responsibility. He is indeed the first choice to supervise and suppress the bandits. However, he does not know how to advance or retreat, and he disobeys the Holy One. Why shouldn't.
I will look for an opportunity to make a case for him in front of Your Majesty, but whether he succeeds or not depends on his personal destiny! "
Zhang Cheng knew that it was useless to talk more, and that was all he could do. He originally wanted to intercede for Sun Chuanting in front of Chongzhen, but he was screwed up by himself.
But now that I think about it, that's fine. After all, I don't know if Chongzhen still hates Sun Chuanting at this moment. If he talks about it rashly, he might get burned. If he asks Chen Xinjia to help him talk about it, no matter what the result is, he is finally Tried my best.
At the same time, he also secretly decided that he would no longer care about other people's affairs in the future, and would only focus on managing his own power. The king's mind is unpredictable. Before he has absolute strength, he must be careful.
Seeing that Chen Xinjia had no other orders, Zhang Cheng resigned and left on the pretext of returning to camp to reorganize the army.
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"Commander, Yu Shi and other gentlemen are waiting for you in Tongchun Tower. Shall we go there now?"
Outside the yamen of the Ministry of War, Zhang Chengfang reminded him softly, but he saw Zhang Cheng taking the reins of the horse and getting on the horse, saying in a deep voice: "Let's go out of the city and go back to the camp."
Zhang Chengfang was quite surprised. He didn't know what had happened, but he didn't go to the banquet at Tongchun House that he had arranged in advance. Because he was afraid that Zhang Cheng would be busy in the palace and forget about it, he rode on his horse and reminded him softly: "Commander, sir, Censor Yu and the other gentlemen who made an appointment yesterday will give a toast to the commander-in-chief."
Zhang Chengce said calmly on the horse: "Send someone to send a message to Wang Zhaozheng. I am busy with military affairs and will not go to the banquet."
Zhang Chengfang couldn't help but be stunned. He couldn't understand what was agreed upon, so why would he not go if he didn't want to go? However, he didn't dare to ask more questions, so he had to ask a person behind him to ride a horse and go to Tongchun Tower to deliver the message.
After Zhang Cheng established the Tiger Guard, Lin Fangping's military affairs gradually increased, so he concentrated on taking care of the affairs of the Tiger Guard camp, and brought his two adopted sons, Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai, with him for training, while more than 30 people from the Tongzi Camp All the soldiers also became his personal retinue.
At this time, Zhang Cheng asked again: "Has the gift that Madam brought for Taiyue been sent to Ji's Mansion?"
Zhang Chengfang replied: "Zhang Jintai sent it personally. The gifts given to the Wu Mansion by the Madam were also sent to the Mansion."
Zhang Cheng led his troops to the capital yesterday and stationed themselves beside the main campus outside Desheng Gate. It was originally planned that after entering the palace today, Yu Shangyou, Yuan Pengnian and other officials in the capital would toast him in Tongchun Tower.
However, the disgraceful incident that occurred when he met his Majesty in the palace was a wake-up call for him, making him realize the risks that he had not noticed before, and he changed his behavior since then.
For example, if Emperor Shicai behaves inappropriately in front of him, if Emperor Chongzhen gets angry and sends himself to prison like Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chuanting, then the good situation he has worked so hard to manage will be ruined.
Only then did he understand that even if there was a powerful army stationed outside the capital, no matter how great the military achievements were, what would it matter?
If Emperor Chongzhen was so furious that he really captured himself in the Heavenly Prison, would the army outside the city really dare to attack the capital and rob the Heavenly Prison?
The reason why they dared to rob the official prison in the town was because they were stationed on the North Road. For example, when Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chuanting were sent to prison, there were old generals stationed outside the capital, but there was no one who dared to attack the capital. ?
If they don't dare, then how dare the soldiers under their command?
Zhang Cheng secretly thought that if he was still in the army, they might obey his military orders and attack the capital. However, if he was not in the army, they would probably retreat for their own sake or be frightened by the imperial authority.
It wasn't until he rode his horse out of Deshengmen that Zhang Cheng finally felt at peace. He reined in his horse and stopped outside the city. Looking back at the towering city wall and the majestic Deshengmen tower, he sighed: "It's so majestic, like a tiger's den." Average!"
He turned around and ordered Zhang Chengfang: "Send someone to ask Niu Sheng and Liu Jinhai to meet me in the camp."
After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he raised his whip and urged his horse to go straight to the camp next to the university field.
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Lin Fangping had already been waiting in front of the camp gate. When he saw Zhang Cheng and others galloping back, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet them and said, "Commander, the princes and lords in the palace have been waiting for a long time in the Chinese army."
Zhang Cheng got off his horse, handed the reins to a soldier, and asked, "Which prince?"
"Eunuch Wang Cheng'en, the admiral of Dongchang." Lin Fangping replied.
Zhang Cheng was shocked when he heard this. He didn't know why Wang Chengen came here. He quickly grabbed the reins of the horse, got on the horse and asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"
"The prince only said that it was the emperor's oral order, and the general doesn't know what it is!" Lin Fangping replied.
Zhang Cheng also knew that he would get nothing out of the question, so he whipped his mount and ran towards the central army.
