"This son of General Zuo is not simple, he is really amazing."
Cao Wenheng held a wine glass in one hand and walked among the people. His voice was high enough for everyone to hear.
After attracting everyone's attention, Cao Wenheng told the whole story.
"When I was in the capital, I saw the memorial of Liu Yuanqing's guerrilla attack in Nanpi. A month ago, Liu's troops were ordered to go north to attack the rebels in Qingxian County. Unexpectedly, they encountered an army of rebels on the way."
Jifu is on the edge of Shandong. The previous civil unrest made everyone in Shandong feel in danger, fearing that the thieves would come over.
Hearing Cao Wenheng talk about this battle, everyone pricked up their ears and were particularly concerned.
I just didn't expect that Zuo Mengeng would be involved.
Even Zuo Liangyu didn't know, and his expression became solemn.
"Originally, when an army encounters rebels, they are ten times the enemy, and even in wild battles they can win without defeat."
Everyone here still agrees with this.
Shandong is a place with not much else but a lot of chaos. After a few years, there would be a wave of rebellion.
Therefore, everyone knows the comparison of the combat effectiveness between the official army and the rebels.
"But the rebels were so treacherous that they actually hid the cavalry behind the officers and soldiers."
This time, everyone really changed their color.
Except for Jiubian, not many of the Ming army had cavalry. In the Jifu Plain, when infantry encounters cavalry, it is really a disaster.
"When the rebel cavalry charged, Liu Yuanqing thought that the battle would be defeated and was prepared to die for his country."
Amid the sighs and sighs of others, Zuo Mengeng tried his best not to laugh.
That guy Liu Yuanqing died for his country.
Don't look at the fact that he later died fighting against the Donglu in Linqing. That was because Linqing was heavily surrounded and had nowhere to escape.
And the people who can call the shots in Linqing are Zhang Zhenxiu, Zhang Zongmeng and others.
As a commander-in-chief, he should not have any strange thoughts other than obeying orders.
Therefore, when Zhang Zhenxiu and others would rather die than surrender, Liu Yuanqing had no chance of surviving.
Besides, his eldest brother Liu Zeqing is still here.
If he surrenders and rebels, and Liu Zeqing and the Liu family are full of people, will he have a good ending?
It can be said that Liu Yuanqing's ending was just helpless, not that he had any lofty thoughts of loyalty and righteousness at all.
In the battle of Jifu, it can be said that if Zuo Menggeng hadn't suddenly emerged and the army was defeated, this guy would have definitely run faster than anyone else.
Cao Wenheng is still telling.
"At the critical moment, a heroic young man appeared. He killed the bandits and their cavalry, and the army was able to turn the danger into safety, thus defeating the bandits. Everyone, do you know who this heroic boy is?"
We are all not fools, how could we not know?
For a moment, Zuo Mengeng became the center of attention.
Especially the red shopkeepers were staring at him closely, wanting to see what was so strange about this heroic young man who broke out thieves.
Liu Yuanqing's memorial is of course large and general, and it is impossible to go into too much detail.
Now that the person involved was present, how could Cao Wenheng not ask.
"My dear nephew, can you tell us what happened during this battle?"
Zuo Mengeng was calm and didn't have any embarrassment.
Be famous as early as possible, especially in this era, personal reputation is very useful.
Especially for someone like him who wants to rebel deep down, he can't do it without fame.
No matter how hard it is, those heroes must bow their heads and worship him as soon as they hear his reputation, in order to be considered a success.
"Speaking of which, that battle was a coincidence."
Zuo Mengeng started from the beginning, encountering bandits under Qingxian County, breaking out of the siege and fighting, then pretending to be bandits, waiting for opportunities to strangle the cavalry, and helping Liu Yuanqing retake Nanpi County.
Every time he said something, the crowd's exclamations became louder.
After he finished speaking, everyone was intoxicated, which was more enjoyable than listening to a storytelling session.
Especially Zuo Mengeng's actions, which include both heroic fighting and strategic planning, are as exciting as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Liu Yiyuan looked at Zuo Mengeng blankly. Suddenly, all his competitiveness faded away.
He originally thought that he and Zuo Mengeng would become better at the same time. Even if he was easily defeated by Zuo Mengeng this time, he felt that he would be able to catch up after going back to study hard and practice hard.
But after hearing Zuo Mengeng's performance, he realized that his original opponent had now far surpassed him.
There seems to be no shame in being a little brother to such a person.
Hou Xun put his hands on his hands and laughed.
"Kunshan, your son is a natural-born general. In time, he will become famous all over the world."
Zuo Liangyuxun thanked him, but his perspective was different from others.
"How did you fight during the breakout?"
As soon as he heard this, Zuo Mengeng knew that generals who had been on the battlefield were different from others.
"Father, I know that there is no trickery in this battle. The child led Zuo Rong and Zuo Hua to fight out forcefully."
Zuo Liangyu looked solemn and asked, "Tell me about the battle."
Zuo Mengeng didn't dare to hide anything, so he told everything.
Zuo Liangyu finally laughed.
"Well, not bad, it looks a bit like it."
But others were stunned.
Especially Liu Zongzhou, who couldn't help but ask: "Only one fight? I see how brave my nephew is, I'm afraid he can pass five levels and kill six generals."
Zhang Zongmeng also joked: "I read in the book that military generals fight fiercely, all with great martial arts skills. There are all kinds of unique tricks, such as dragging the knife, hiding in the stirrup, turning the carbine, etc., has my nephew ever used the general?"
This is the literati of Ming Dynasty.
In their eyes, fighting seems so cool.
I guess it would be more appropriate to see the feather fan, turban, and oar being turned into ashes while talking and laughing.
Zuo Mengeng smiled helplessly and explained carefully.
"Uncle, I don't know. Life and death on the battlefield can happen in an instant, and there is no room for too many tricks. People are next to each other, people are crowded, and there is no room to move. Uncle, please think about it, if you hold a spear, you can play with a carbine. The two cavalry are at full speed. When hedging, I am afraid that the opponent has already rushed far away before the spear is turned back. Moreover, there are people in front and behind, and the spear is turned around like this. I am afraid that the enemy will not kill a few, but my own party will suffer. seedling."
He just gestured casually, and everyone immediately understood what was going on.
When I suddenly realized this, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. Only then did I realize that I had misunderstood the battlefield.
Zhang Zongmeng's face turned red and he was filled with emotion.
"This is just what you see on paper. If my nephew, a man in the battlefield, hadn't told me in detail, we would all have been deceived by that Huhai Sanren."
The Huhai Sanren was Luo Guanzhong. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the influence of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was already considerable.
A banquet named Liu Zongzhou and Hou Xun took the lead, but Zuo Mengeng stole the show.
That night, Hou Xun and Liu Zongzhou all moved into Zuofu.
It can be seen from this that Zuo Liangyu definitely has a high status in the eyes of the boss.
He only felt that he was a military commander, so when he saw civil servants, he could not help but lie low and act cowardly.
But based on his righteousness in protecting Zhou Chaorui's incense, everyone in Donglin could not help but appreciate his kindness.
Hou Xun and Liu Zongzhou moved into the Zuofu Villa. Because Liu Zongzhou's old servant contracted a cold on the road, Zuo Liangyu specially asked Zuo Menggeng to serve him personally.
The prosperity faded away, the tea in the quiet room was fragrant, but the expressions of Hou Xun and Liu Zongzhou were no longer as cheerful as they were during the day.
"I'm afraid that returning to Beijing this time may not be as expected. To remember the Grand Duke, I need to make more preparations."
Liu Zongzhou was a good scholar but a bit slow about politics. Hearing this, he asked, "What news did Ruogu hear?"
An angry look appeared on Hou Xun's face.
"How dignified is the Prime Minister of the country with golden chopsticks!"
After he explained it in detail, Liu Zongzhou knew what happened.
It turned out that after Chongzhen ascended the throne, while cleaning up the eunuch party, he also had to form his own administrative team.
The most important among them are naturally the cabinet ministers.
How to select cabinet ministers has long been established in Ming Dynasty. Important ministers from various ministries recommended them, and Chongzhen only had to select the ones with the highest support rates.
No, Chongzhen was just having fun.
Draw lots.
Because the ministers recommended ten people, he wrote the names of the ten people on the lots, put them in gold bottles, and drew lots to decide who would enter the cabinet.
It seems fair, but the election of cabinet ministers, which is related to national affairs, is so random. How can there be any prestige at all?
It has to be said that this incident was the beginning of the ever-changing revolving door of Chongzhen court.
Liu Zongzhou was upright and furious.
"Isn't this reasonable? The national government is in dire straits, and it's time to do your best. How can the ministers and ministers be treated so carelessly, how can they command the ministers and assist the king?"
Hou Xun sighed.
"That's it. Liu Qingyue (Liu Hongxun) first entered the cabinet, and before his ambitions were fully realized, he was repeatedly impeached and the government was delayed. This is an ominous sign."
Liu Zongzhou was worried.
"Qian Zhiwen (Qian Longxi) doesn't care?"
Hou Xun was even more angry.
"Does he care? He is worried about how to face Han Xiangyun (Han Xu)."
Liu Zongzhou sighed and looked downcast.
"Why is this so important? We are all fellow Donglin people, and Han Xiangyun is a senior sage. Why can't we work together?"
Hou Xun's face was sarcastic.
"After all, Han Xiangyun and Qian Zhiwen are both mature and prudent people, so I'm not worried. But now that Qian Muzhai (Qian Qianyi) is about to return to the court, he and Zhou Yizhai (Zhou Yanru) are afraid of another dispute. It’s embarrassing.”
Liu Zongzhou rarely lost his composure and punched the table hard.
"Hey, I miss you Dong Lin. A few years ago, we worked together to fight against the eunuchs. How come time has changed and circumstances have changed, why are we so anxious to fight against each other!"
Hou Xun also sighed. The two of them were not at all happy to return to the court according to the imperial edict and have the power in their hands.
Regarding these, Zuo Mengeng saw clearly and said something unexpectedly.
"What else can you do? It's easy to live in adversity, but it's hard to live in wealth."
