Liu Zhaoji's injuries have not yet recovered, but after nearly a month of recuperation, they have not affected his actions.
He was very satisfied with his transfer as the commander-in-chief of Jizhen. In order to express his gratitude to Zhang Cheng for speaking up for him in front of Governor Hong Chengchou, he even booked the most luxurious restaurant in Ningyuan City.
The upper and lower floors of this restaurant are full of military lords in elegant attire. Of course, Zhang Cheng and other generals, as well as the deputy, staff, generals and other generals of their respective battalions, are all on the second floor. Take a seat upstairs.
The owner of this restaurant learned that General Liu, the former commander-in-chief of Liaodong, was hosting a banquet for Uncle Yong Ning today. Naturally, he worked very hard and personally served everyone upstairs.
You should know that a restaurant like his in a border area has a lot of dealings with local officers at all levels, but at most they are only the generals of the army, and even higher up, the governor of Liaodong is the person with the best rank.
Even Governor Ji Liao may not be able to come to his restaurant for a few banquets, not to mention that today he is entertaining the super-ranked Uncle Yong Ning, so naturally he cannot help but work hard.
Moreover, as local Liao people in Liaodong, many of them have children and relatives serving in the Liaodong Army, and they have long heard of the deeds of Zhang Cheng and the Xuanfu Army.
If Zhang Cheng had not turned the tide in this Songjin War, especially if he led his army back to the important area of Xingta in time, I am afraid that the Qing army's captive cavalry would have been walking outside Ningyuan City at this moment, and Jinzhou and Songshan would have been slaves and thieves. all.
It can be said that in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, the reputation of "Uncle Yongning" Zhang Cheng is no less than that of Zu Dashou, completely surpassing Wu Sangui, the new commander-in-chief of Liaodong.
Zu Dashou had expected this, so he was not very surprised. Moreover, his health was deteriorating at the moment and he was too busy to take care of himself, so naturally he could not take care of these trivial matters.
After all, in Zu Dashou's view, no matter how high Zhang Cheng's reputation is, so what?
He will eventually leave Liaodong and lead his army back to Xuanfu Town, because that is his territory and his home, and the land of Liaodong will ultimately belong to the ancestral family and the Wu family.
Wu Sangui doesn't know these truths, but maybe it's because he is still young, and for some reason he just can't stand Zhang Cheng's growing reputation. Although he is reluctant in every way, he still has to pretend to be nonchalant in face of face.
When Zhang Cheng led his troops to leave the Xiaoling River, he went to see them off in person, showing a reluctant look.
It’s true that “life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills”!
…………
As the food and wine were delivered one after another, the banquet officially began.
Although Liu Zhaoji received some undeserved cold treatment because Hong Chengchou wanted to promote Wu Sangui in order to take the opportunity to rectify military affairs in Liaodong.
However, Liu Zhaoji must have been the chief military officer of Liaodong Town before, and he was still a local official who was favored by many generals and merchants in the formation. Even if he is now transferred to the chief military officer of Jizhen, he is still an unattainable existence in their eyes.
The situation of Liaodong Town and Xuanfu Town are basically the same. They are both rare solid military bases in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Liaodong is even worse than Xuanfu.
Xuanfu Town also has two places, Baoan Prefecture and Yanqing Prefecture, which are non-real military bases managed by the Chief Secretary of Shandong Province. However, the entire place in Liaodong Town is under the jurisdiction of the real military base, and not a single part of the land has a military base. Chief Envoy.
Therefore, in the vast land of Liaodong, the generals are the most important and the military sect is the most powerful. Everything here is controlled by the military attachés of the Liaodong Dusi.
Let me ask, under such a management system, all military households in Liaodong serve the military system. It can be said that the generals and generals in each town can decide their life and death with a single word.
The owner of this restaurant tried his best to please Liu Zhaoji with all his special skills. Of course, he did not intend to take advantage of this opportunity and cling to the high branch of Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng.
Seeing that he was very knowledgeable, Liu Zhaoji even dropped the word before the banquet started. If he wanted to, he could open a restaurant like this in Jizhen in the future, and he would definitely be there to support him.
In fact, this restaurant can be so prosperous and peaceful in Ningyuan City. How come there is no power behind it to stand up for it?
But no matter who is his backstage in Ningyuan City, these are not important.
The important thing is that if he really goes to Jizhen to open a branch in the city, he can only choose Liu Zhaoji as his backend. This is also the reason why Liu Zhaoji dragged him to Jizhen for development.
After the banquet started, Chen Jiugao gave full play to his communication skills. During the banquet, Chen Jiugao and Fu Yingchong cooperated tacitly, pushing the banquet to a climax.
As the saying goes, "People feel refreshed when happy events happen"!
Everyone at the banquet had received awards from the imperial court. Although the rewards they received were only a drop in the bucket compared to Zhang Cheng, they were all very self-aware and no one had any other thoughts about it.
Zhang Cheng naturally became the center and focus of today's banquet. Fortunately, he has always been a good drinker and his alcohol capacity is amazing. However, even so, he only drank a large bowl with several general soldiers at the beginning.
Then, when the deputy generals, staff generals, guerrillas and other generals from each town came to toast again, he would only take a small sip for each of them, just to express his gratitude.
After all, "a good man cannot stand in large numbers." How could Zhang Cheng, who has experienced drinking, not understand this truth? If everyone cheers with him, he will be drunk in a short time.
Therefore, although he accepted everyone who came, he did not drink all the drinks. However, Zhang Cheng gave good words and praise to every general who came to toast, which made everyone feel happy.
In Zhang Cheng's opinion, these people at today's banquet are all heroes who killed slaves for the country in Liaodong, and they should get the respect they deserve.
What's more, now he is "Uncle Yongning", the general of Zhenshuo who is in charge of Xuanfu. However, it is still hard to say what the future will be like. Now that he takes this opportunity to form more good relationships with the Liaodong Army in Ji Town, it will definitely be inevitable. Incorrect.
Especially for the two close generals in the Beijing camp, Chen Jiugao and Fu Yingchong, he seemed even more enthusiastic.
Upstairs, Zhang Cheng and several general soldiers exchanged glasses of wine. There were several great communicators such as Wang Pu, Chen Jiugao, and Fu Yingchong. The atmosphere was naturally warm and harmonious.
The same is true downstairs. The generals of the various battalions in Xuanfu Town have also become the targets of everyone's competition, and they have also received instructions from Zhang Cheng to make as many military generals as possible in each town for future needs.
Although Zhang Cheng has become an earl, he does not have the arrogance of the nobles of this era.
After all, before traveling to this apocalyptic world, he was also a person who had experienced society. Naturally, he knew the ways of the world and knew that the higher he was in a high position, the more he should be courteous to the virtuous and corporal.
"Everyone, I think we won't be able to enjoy ourselves tonight. Liu Shuai's injury has not fully recovered yet, so it's not advisable to drink too much. Why don't you keep this in mind and see you in the future? How about you all come to my Xuan Mansion to get together?" Zhang Cheng Taking advantage of the wine, he extended an invitation to everyone present.
Chen Jiugao became interested as soon as he heard this. He said to everyone: "I am definitely going to the Xuan Mansion. How can we not go to Uncle Yongning's Mansion and get close to him?"
His words caused a burst of laughter from everyone, and then they heard him say: "But Xuanfu is a long way away after all. Since we are going there, we have to make a good plan. If we don't stay in the capital, let's get together first. Let’s get together. What do you think?”
Fu Yingchong and Wang Pu naturally cheered loudly. One of them was returning to the capital, and the other had to pass through the capital when returning to Datong. How could they not support this proposal?
But Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, was indispensable. He only cared about one thing, that is, when he went to Shanxi Town to take up his post, he happened to be with Zhang Cheng along the way, which could enhance his friendship with him.
Therefore, he naturally had no objection to Chen Jiugao's proposal, but he just nodded and smiled, not as excited as Wang Pu.
However, Zuo Guangxian had a look of embarrassment on his face. This time he was appointed as the chief training officer of the Liaodong regiment. Although he was appointed as the chief training officer of the Liaodong regiment, he did have much greater power than his original appointment as the chief officer of the Chinese Association's branch training.
But the station was not in Jizhen, but moved to Tashan in Liaodong. Therefore, he was unable to participate in the gathering in Beijing proposed by Chen Jiugao, and he felt a little unbearable.
In fact, when Zhang Cheng led the Xuanfu army to Liaodong for the first time, Zuo Guangxian, Liu Zhaoji and others were ordinary and did not take the young deputy general of Xuanfu in their eyes.
Even though Zhang Cheng had performed outstandingly before in the Battle of King Qin, in the eyes of veterans like them, it was just that he had better luck.
But after the Battle of Songjin, their understanding of Zhang Cheng has greatly changed, and they even admire him a little.
First of all, they were shocked by the combat power of the Xuanfu Army. It was not only the well-equipped equipment and sufficient guns and cannons, but also the spirit of the Xuanfu Army, the courage to fight head-on with the slaves and thieves without retreating. Qi.
Secondly, they admired Zhang Cheng's conduct as a person. He was unlike some generals who were arrogant when they were strong. Especially in war, they only cared about their own side and never considered the safety of others.
Zhang Cheng was like a clean slate among military generals in the late Ming Dynasty. He had the bravery of the great and small caos, the air of never bullying his colleagues, and the loyalty of always caring for his colleagues.
Especially during military discussions, Zhang Cheng can always look at the big picture and take the overall situation into consideration, rather than caring about everyone's interests.
Just like Zuo Guangxian and Liu Zhaoji, they had nothing to do with Zhang Cheng before. Even when they were in Ningyuan, they were not very close to Zhang Cheng and could not be compared with Wu Sangui.
However, Zhang Cheng did not regard them as outsiders. He helped Zuo Guangxian design the Wudaoling defense line, saved Liu Zhaoji's life in front of the battle line, and also helped him save the grain store on Bijia Mountain.
From their point of view, they naturally felt that Zhang Cheng was different from other generals, especially when they compared Wu Sangui with him. This situation became even more obvious.
As the nephew of Zu Dashou, the leader of the Liaodong generals, Wu Sangui was naturally deeply affected by his consciousness. Even in Wu Sangui's heart, he still had the ambition to serve the country, show his ambitions, and become famous in the world.
But more often than not, the first thing he has to consider is the self-interest of the Zu and Wu families. Naturally, he will try his best to suppress and exclude the generals who are not from the Zu and Wu families, while he will try his best to support the generals of his own family.
Just like Zuo Guangxian and Liu Zhaoji, they were the targets of exclusion from the Zu and Wu families before.
At this time, facing Chen Jiugao's kind invitation, Zuo Guangxian could only politely refuse with great embarrassment. Faced with this situation, Zhang Cheng naturally spoke up for Zuo Guangxian.
Just listen to Zhang Cheng say: "Commander Zuo need not blame himself. Now the slave bandits have not retreated, and the danger in Jinzhou has not been completely lifted. A strong general like Commander Zuo cannot leave the flooded areas lightly.
However, looking at the situation in Liaodong, it is inevitable that the slave traitors will be defeated. In this battle, not only our division suffered heavy casualties, but also the slave traitors have been severely injured. I understand that they will not start another war in the near future.
However, the rogue bandits in Henan Province are becoming more and more rampant. The governor Zhong Lun was ordered to suppress the bandits, but he was also defeated in Xiangcheng. Previously, I heard from Wang Gonggong and Fang Gonggong that the rogue bandits were driving south and had great potential to attack Nanyang. .
As for Nanyang, it was the land granted by the king of the Tang Dynasty. There were many royal relatives and nobles. It was also the main road from the capital to Huguang, Yunnan and Sichuan. The post road was connected with the water wharf. It has been known as "Southern Ship and North Horse" since ancient times.
There are many merchants from Shan, Shaan, Jiang, and Zhejiang in the city. We have sufficient financial resources and grain. The city is high and the walls are thick. It cannot be broken in a short time. If the slaves and thieves besiege the city for a long time, there is no way that we can still meet in Henan Province to suppress the thieves.
Commander Zuo, why should you regret it for a moment? "
Zuo Guangxian naturally knew what Zhang Cheng said, and he was just trying to reassure him. Even if the bandits in Henan Province were raging and difficult to control, there were slaves and thieves in Liaodong who were always watching, so how could they be recruited into Henan Province to help suppress the bandits?
But even though this is the truth, he can't say it clearly. After all, "seeing through but not telling off" is the way to deal with things in life. He has been in the military for a long time and is no longer a young boy. He still understands this truth. of.
At that moment, Zuo Guangxian said to Zhang Cheng: "Uncle Yongning is a generous and righteous person, and he is actually a role model for our military generals in the Ming Dynasty. Guangxian sincerely admires Uncle Yongning, but it is a pity that we have not known each other for a short time, and the friendship is even shorter, and I am really unwilling to accept it."
As he spoke, he stood up, held the wine bowl high in front of his chest, and said loudly: "Guang Xian was also a member of the Xuanfu, he served as a guard at Shenjing Fort, and he has some connections with Uncle Yongning.
Today, I will be brave first and then offer a bowl of wine to Uncle Yongning. In the future, if my uncle has something to do, I will not frown at all. He will definitely handle it properly. "
Seeing him like this, Zhang Cheng naturally couldn't refuse him. Fortunately, he deliberately controlled it today and was able to drink again. He even stood up like him, holding the bowl in his hand, and said: "Commander Zuo is like this, how can I refuse?" ?”
As he spoke, he moved the wine bowl forward slightly and shouted: "Do it!"
After drinking, everyone sat down again. Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, was also ordinary. He told Zhang Cheng that although he had been transferred to the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, the governor-general only ordered the army to withdraw in batches, but he did not have any troops to aid the Liao Dynasty in Jizhen. This command does not exist.
Zhang Cheng knew what he meant as soon as he heard it, and immediately comforted him and said: "Liu Shuai doesn't need to worry about this. I have to stay in the capital for some time when I return to the capital to thank you. If the time comes, Liu Shuai will also lead his troops." After returning to Ji Town, you can come to Beijing to get together."
Everyone feasted until it got dark and the moon hung in the sky. Then they reluctantly dispersed one after another and went back to their places to rest.
