The Ming Dynasty follows what we call the lunar calendar in modern times. Although it was only February 18th, it was already equivalent to late March in later generations.
However, in a northwest frontier place like Xuanfu, although the weather has gradually warmed up, the late spring cold is very serious. It is far from the day of spring plowing, and occasionally some smoke from burning fields rises.
In fact, although burning wasteland is not strictly prohibited in this era, it is not common. After all, every household is equally poor. Even the wheat roots have been dug out and burned as firewood. How can they be left in the ground?
But there are also some weeds and wheat roots that cannot be cleaned up. Every year before spring, every household will go to the fields to clean up and burn these debris to facilitate farming after spring.
This custom has been passed down for thousands of years and has its own reasons. It can not only use grass ash to fertilize the fields, but also burn the remaining insect eggs in weeds and wheat roots to reduce pests and diseases in the next year's crops.
However, these principles involving agricultural science were not very clear to the ancients. They simply repeated them year after year based on the experience taught by their elders.
At noon on this day, Xie Sixin, a close aide of Hong Chengchou, Governor of Jiliao, served as his special envoy, together with Zhang Dou, the commander of the Ningqian army, Cao Bianjiao, the commander of the Shanhaiguan garrison, Zu Dabi, the commander of the Jinzhou garrison, and Liu Zhaoji, the commander of the Jizhen army. , arrived as promised.
Although none of them can compare with Zhang Cheng in terms of official rank, after all, they are guests from afar, and they also have the friendship of fighting the enemy side by side on the battlefield. Take Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Cao Bianjiao as an example, he and Zhang Cheng are already two Fighting slaves side by side.
Because he met Wu Dahan, a rude man, downstairs in Zhugeng, and delayed for some time, Yongningbo did not go to the Weiyuan camp to check the construction situation of the camp, but just went out of Nanguan with Zhang Chengfang, Liu Chengzu and others.
They took a brief look at the garbage collection and transportation situation here, and the commander-in-chief He Biao, deputy general Guo Yingxian, and staff generals Wu Zhizhong and Chen Zheng also came over.
After everyone gathered together, they rested in a pavilion not far from Nanguan and waited for the arrival of the "Jiliao Military Inspection Group".
At this time, the general Wu Zhizhong reminded Zhang Cheng whether he should tell the officials in the town about the arrival of Ji Liao. Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "Just call a few people during the dinner. Leave the matters here to Liu Guangwu." Just old brother."
He continued: "Jiang Futai has received the imperial edict and will go to Yanghe in the next few days to serve as the governor of Xuanda. Old Wu, prepare a generous gift for me, and then order Zhang Jintai to lead a team of feathers." Lin Jingqi will escort Governor Jiang to Yanghe for his appointment."
"yes."
At this time, a cloud of smoke and dust rose up in the east. The figures of several knights passed through the smoke and rushed here and stopped not far away. After a while, Zhang Chengfang came up to report: Wei Zhice was accompanying Xie Sixin and waiting for Ji Liao. The official is coming this way, and there is only less than two miles left.
…………
Among the people from Jiliao, only Xie Sixin had no official position or rank, but he was the leader of this team. Ning Qian, who should have been the leader according to his status and rank, was fully prepared, but Obviously occupying the position of deputy.
This is all due to the invisible force behind the suppression of Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao. Although Xie Sixin has no official or noble character, he is a close confidant of Hong Chengchou. Represents Hong Chengchou himself.
Xie Sixin was not only well-read and knowledgeable, but also had the ability to recognize people. When he first met Zhang Cheng in Liaodong, he felt that he would be successful in the future, and he intended to make friends with him at that time.
It was also under his enlightenment and persuasion that Wu Sangui devoted himself to making friends with Zhang Cheng. It can be said that Xie Sixin was both Wu Sangui's nobleman and Zhang Cheng's nobleman. He contributed to the alliance between Liaozhen and Xuanzhen .
However, Zhang Cheng is no longer the deputy commander-in-chief when he first aided the Liao Dynasty. He is now the superior lord of the Earl of Yongning, and being able to go out of the city to greet him is a supreme honor, which shows his friendship with everyone.
Not to mention the identities of Xie Sixin, Zhang Dou, Cao Bianjiao and others, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, came in person, and he also wanted to pay homage to Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning in the Ming Dynasty.
"The etiquette cannot be revoked!"
Zhang Cheng is now the Yongning Bo. Even the second-rank and first-rank ministers in the imperial court have to bow twice when they see him. Isn't it a big deal?
After the obeisance, Xie Sixin stepped forward and said, "I am here uninvited. I don't know if I will cause trouble to Uncle Yongning!"
Zhang Cheng said with a "haha" laugh: "You are all distinguished guests. On weekdays, I am afraid that I will not be able to invite you. Today, I am honored to come to my Xuan Mansion hand in hand with you. How can I have any trouble?"
Except for Wu Zhizhong, everyone present had a friendship to fight the Tartars together. For example, Wei Zhice, Chen Zheng and Cao Bianjiao even joined hands to fight against the slaves twice. Naturally, there was no shortage of topics to talk about when we met today.
However, Bing Xian Zhang Dou was attracted by the scene in front of him. He observed it for a long time and then asked: "Uncle Yong Ning is really extraordinary. He just came to the town to take up his post and he acted like this. I really admire him."
He immediately asked further: "I just don't know what these people are busy with when they keep coming and going?"
Zhang Cheng smiled and said to He Biao beside him: "He Zhenfu, tell Zhang Bingxian what we are busy with."
Here, He Biao introduced Zhang Dou to the content of the town cleaning operation. On the other side, the generals were also greeting each other and chatting happily with each other. After all, they are all generals with similar temperaments and temperaments, and they are not on the front line at the moment. Above all, everyone is more relaxed and casual.
Not to mention Zhang Cheng and Xie Sixin, He Biao, Zhang Dou and other officers and generals, and even the accompanying generals and soldiers from Jiliao Town, were chatting with Zhang Chengfang and others behind.
Everyone's thoughts are much more complicated. When fighting against the Tartars in Liaodong last year, Zhang Cheng was only the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, but now he is the official commander-in-chief of Xuanzhen. He was also given the title of Uncle Yongning. He His status is far above everyone else.
However, the mood is complicated. After all, Zhang Cheng's status is different now, so it is better to make more friends. Everyone present today has a friendship with Zhang Cheng that was gained through bloody battles with slaves and thieves. This advantage is already Something many people don’t have anymore.
Wu Sangui's personal generals, Chinese Army Staff General Wu Guogui and Youying guerrilla Xia Longshan, were also in the team that visited Jiliao Town this time. However, compared with the generals such as Zu Dabi, Cao Bianjiao, and Liu Zhaoji, they were slightly outnumbered. A little smaller.
However, they were talking and laughing with Wei Zhice, Chen Zheng and others, and the conversation was very harmonious.
Seeing that everyone had seen each other, Zhang Cheng said to everyone: "Let's go to the city first. If we have any questions, we can continue chatting later at the reception banquet."
He then added: "I have sent someone to inform Governor Jiang. We can't keep Governor Jiang waiting for a long time."
Zhang Dou couldn't help but ask after hearing this: "But Jiang Fuchen was moved to the position of governor of Xuanda?"
"Exactly."
At that moment, everyone got on their horses again and rode slowly towards Nanguan behind Uncle Yongning.
…………
Yongningbo Zhang Cheng rode his horse at the front, while Xie Sixin and Zhang Dou followed him on his left and right, and the rest rode behind him and chatted while walking.
The veteran Guo Yingxian still looked careless and said loudly: "Xiao Shuai, since you have come to Xuanfu, you have to stay with me until I get drunk."
As the saying goes, "Heroes are more important than heroes"!
Although Guo Yingxian was a vulgar warrior, he still looked down upon those fake warriors who were greedy for money and timid. However, he admired a fierce general like Cao Bianjiao from the bottom of his heart.
Although he was still the deputy commander-in-chief, he didn't care about this. He turned around and said to Wu Guogui and Xia Longshan: "You two are not bad at all. You are not allowed to escape drinking this time."
"Escape or escape..."
Wu and Xia's performance in this Liaodong war was also very eye-catching. Although they were overshadowed by the Xuanzhen army and horses, their achievements were indeed not small, and everyone admired them.
Among the people, Zu Dabi was the only one with a serious look on his face. He scorned the city cleaning operation carried out by Zhang Cheng, but he was very concerned about the brave soldiers who kept appearing in the city.
Previously, their ancestral family was the only one in Liao Town, even in the entire Ming Dynasty. Whether it was fighting against slaves or exterminating bandits, their presence in the Liaodong Iron Cavalry was indispensable.
However, he never expected that the first hero who lifted the Jin siege suddenly turned into a soldier of the Xuanfu. Zhang Cheng appeared out of nowhere and took away the glory that should have belonged to their ancestral family. How could he be convinced?
This time, although he was entrusted by Wu Sangui, his nephew, the new generation leader of Liao Town and the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he came to Xuan Mansion to discuss specific matters of business cooperation and to purchase some of their sophisticated guns and cannons from Zhang Cheng.
But in Zu Dabi's heart, he was still very unconvinced by Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng. He whispered to Cao Bianjiao and Liu Zhaoji beside him: "Humph, you actually did something that was not there, and the city is so well controlled. What a mess!"
Cao Bianjiao just shook his head and did not answer, and Liu Zhaoji was not very concerned about these things. He whispered to Cao Bianjiao: "How Xuanzhen is doing is none of our business. The only thing I care about is that I don't know what Yongning Bo will do." Would you like to sell me the fine guns and cannons you are waiting for?"
Cao Bianjiao rode his horse slowly and said softly: "Uncle Yongning is a man who values friendship and loyalty. Otherwise, with his dignity as an earl, he would not go out of the city to greet us..."
He pondered for a moment and then said: "I just don't know if Uncle Yong Ning still has any extra guns and cannons, let alone how much they are worth? It would be best if you allow me to borrow some on credit first!"
At this time, Zu Dabi said: "Humph, who doesn't love money? As long as he is willing to give up the money, how can he not sell it to us?"
He turned to look at Cao and Liu, and said: "Now I'm just afraid that when he sees that we are eager to buy, he will raise the price and defraud us of our money!"
After listening to Zu Dabi's words, Cao Bianjiao was noncommittal, but Liu Zhaoji had a look of disbelief on his face.
At the end of the Liao War, he had already expressed his feelings to Uncle Yongning. He was half a member of the Yongyi Army. What's more, based on his observation, Uncle Yongning and Zhang Cheng were not the kind of people who were greedy for money and unjust.
…………
The group of people soon arrived in front of Zhenshuo Mansion. When they saw Zhang Cheng opening the ceremony for them, they all looked very excited, feeling grateful for Uncle Yong Ning's kindness in their hearts.
Xuanzhen Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lin Dengyou, General Liu Guangwu, guerrilla Li Jianming and others were already waiting at Zhenshuo Mansion. At this moment, they all greeted each other outside the Yimen. The atmosphere at the scene was very lively.
Zhang Chengcai stood up and dismounted, and Cao Jinwang, who was transferred to Zhencheng with him to join the army in Zhenshuo Mansion, immediately came forward to report that Governor Jiang was busy with many affairs and would not arrive until later.
Zhu Mintai, the grain supervisor in the household department, and Du Chunwen, the criminal manager in the criminal department, also said that they had finished their official duties and rushed over to attend the banquet.
After hearing this, Uncle Yongning just smiled, turned around and said to Xie Sixin, Zhang Dou and others: "Mr. Xie, Zhang Bingxian, brothers, please come into the house and have a rest. You must not be drunk today!"
Seeing Zhang Cheng's sincere words and expression, Cao Bianjiao, Liu Zhaoji and others felt warm in their hearts. Even Zu Dabi felt comfortable. Although General Zhang was promoted to count, he did not forget his old friendship!
Liu Zhaoji knew that although he was now the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, he did not have as deep a backing as Zu Dabi, Cao Bianjiao, etc. He could only try his best to get closer to Zhang Cheng.
Then he said in a flattering tone: "Uncle Yong Ning, today is different from the past, but he treats us with such courtesy. We are really impressed by this magnanimity."
On the way here, he didn't get many opportunities to talk to Zhang Cheng. When he got the chance, he hurriedly expressed his stance. Everyone just followed him to express their gratitude.
Surrounded by everyone, Zhang Cheng took the lead to step into the Yimen. Since Jiang Yuxu, the new governor of Xuanda, Zhu Mintai, the governor of grains, and Du Chunwen, the lieutenant, he also had to change into formal clothes. It was nice to meet him, so he went straight in.
Here, He Biao, Wei Zhice, Wang Yuanjing, Liu Minshen and other officers and generals accompanied the guests from Ji Liao. Before they entered the main hall of the front hall, Wei Zhice sent Deputy General Lin Dengyou, General Liu Guangwu, guerrilla Li Jianming and others. They were introduced to Xie Sixin.
After a while, Zhu Mintai and Du Chunwen arrived one after another. They both sat down on the left side and chatted with Xie Sixin, Zhang Dou and others. After a while, the new Governor of Xuanda, Jiang Yuxu, arrived belatedly.
Everyone in the hall stood up and bowed to him in order. Jiang Yuxu was very polite to Xie Sixin and Zhang Dou. Even the generals such as Zu Dabi, Cao Bianjiao, Liu Zhaoji, etc. also expressed their greetings.
Not long after Jiang Yuxu sat down on the first big chair on the left, he saw Zhang Chengfang, a lieutenant officer of Uncle Yongning, coming in from the back door and shouted to everyone: "Uncle Yongning is here!"
After hearing this, all the officials in the hall immediately stood up and left their seats. Governor Jiang Yuxu was the only one who was stunned for a moment, but soon after he came to his senses, he stood up together with everyone else.
Zu Dabi, the commander-in-chief of the Jinzhou garrison, looked up at the python robe and jade belt Zhang Cheng was wearing. He saw the five-clawed dragon pattern shining brightly on the python robe, which was so distinguished and glorious that he couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart.
He immediately thought of his late brother, who was the head of the generals of Liaodong, but could not receive this honor until his death. However, Zhang Cheng could receive such honor at such a young age.
"Is he really a star from the sky and descended to earth?"
(End of chapter)
