Emperor Chongzhen felt itchy because of what he said. After finally waiting for him to finish speaking, he urged him again: "Who is it? Tell me quickly!"
Seeing him like this, Zhang Mingwei smiled and replied: "Zuo Maodi!"
In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, Zuomaodi ranked second in Shandong's provincial examination and won the Jinshi title the following year. Then he served as the magistrate of Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province, which he held for eight years.
In the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was finally promoted to the Ministry of Household Affairs. He wrote a letter stating that the current situation had four disadvantages: the people were poor, the army was weak, ministers were shirk-taking, and the national economy was wasted.
From the 14th year of Chongzhen to the present, Zuo Maodi went out to the capital to supervise the canal transportation. Chi said in the road: "I arrived at Linqing from Jinghai. I saw three people died of hunger, three died of epidemics, and four were thieves. Twenty meters of stone and silver Forty taels, if a person dies, he will eat it. But the Holy Ming will remember you."
It has to be said that Emperor Chongzhen certainly knew about such talents. Therefore, when he heard it, he suddenly realized it and immediately said with his hands: "It turns out to be him, yes, yes!"
After praising him, Emperor Chongzhen's expression suddenly changed, and he said a little puzzled: "Why are all such talented people in one place?"
The reason why he said this was that he remembered that the courageous, knowledgeable and visionary Du Yinxi, the prospective chief assistant recommended by Zhang Mingwei before, was also serving in a local position.
Zhang Mingwei heard this, this is not simple, bad money just drives out good money. Above the court, the most important place is the struggle for power. When most officials are those with bad money, they will not tolerate the existence of good money, and being squeezed out of the capital is already a good result.
After a brief explanation, Emperor Chongzhen immediately understood the reason, and said bitterly: "Sir, please recommend more real talents to me, so that I can wipe out all the people in the court who are eating corpses!"
Hearing this, Zhang Mingwei smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, he is very famous. I will definitely remember that I can recommend it to your Majesty immediately. But after all, we are separated by more than four hundred years, and I didn't know that I would have such a time travel. That’s why some people and some things only come to mind when you encounter them.”
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen knew that this was the truth, but he was still unwilling to accept it, so he said expectantly: "How about you think about it again, sir? No matter what, I can think of another one!"
This eagerness for talents made Zhang Mingwei a little helpless. It seemed that he had to satisfy Emperor Chongzhen's requirements.
So, he pondered for a while, suddenly remembered something, and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, at the beginning of the third year of Chongzhen's reign, it was not the Jianlu invaders who invaded, but Changli County Magistrate Zuo Yingxuan defended the city for seven days, forcing the Jianlu to retreat. .This talent can be used!"
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a while, and there was such a thing. But should this be chosen by the left?
After thinking for a long time, he suddenly remembered and said regretfully, "He was later impeached by the traitor Zhou Yanru. I believed it to be true and banished him to Fenzhou Prefecture."
At this time, he had already recognized what kind of person Zhou Yanru was, and naturally knew that the person recommended by his husband and impeached by Zhou Yanru would definitely be good. Therefore, he regretted that he had mistakenly listened to the traitor's words.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen immediately issued an order to the servant at the door, summoning Zuo Maodi to enter the capital immediately. Zuo Yingxuan was reinstated and went to Beijing immediately.
After arranging this matter, Emperor Chongzhen was a little afraid to ask.
Because if you ask once, it proves that he was blind once...
Emperor Chongzhen quickly started another topic and asked Zhang Mingwei with concern: "Those people in the Jinyi Guard have been dealt with, so there are no experienced hands available. I wonder what you are going to do, sir?"
Hearing this, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but smile and said: "Your Majesty, do you still remember that Zhou Wenzhen who came to assassinate me? I asked them to perform meritorious service, find out information for me, and keep an eye on the key people. They want to be pardoned, I will definitely try my best. Jinyiwei is still in the process of rectification, and it will really be useless for a while."
"Oh!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, and then asked again, "All the proceeds from the confiscation of the Jinyiwei family will be used for the reconstruction of Jinyiwei. I wonder how long it can last? What are your thoughts on the training of new recruits, sir?"
"The specific figures are still being calculated, and there are some fixed assets, such as shops and properties, which are still being verified. But it is estimated that they must be equivalent to 150,000 taels!"
When Zhang Mingwei answered this, his face straightened, and he took the initiative to say to Emperor Chongzhen: "I came to see Your Majesty today. There is another matter that I want to discuss with Your Majesty about the training of the new Jinyi Guards."
"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but become interested immediately after hearing this, and asked quickly, "Sir, if you have any ideas, just tell me!"
After Zhang Mingwei heard this, he immediately said to him: "I have asked Zhou Yuji many times about the army of this era. According to his estimate, no matter how fast it is, it will probably take two or three years to train an elite army. Around. At this time, we definitely don’t have it!”
At this point, seeing that Emperor Chongzhen wanted to speak, he took the lead and said: "Not to mention that around October, the Jianlu will once again enter the pass on a large scale to plunder, and even Li Zicheng's group of bandits will also cause trouble in the Central Plains. A large number of imperial officers and soldiers were eliminated one after another, and the situation changed, making this year a turning point for thieves to actively attack. If I remember correctly, the third attack on the city will be opened in May!"
Emperor Chongzhen felt heavy again after hearing what he said. There were signs of national subjugation everywhere! In the court, there are prisoners, thieves and so on. I and my husband tried their best to save her, but can she be saved?
Thinking like this, he sighed and asked Zhang Mingwei: "What do you mean, sir?"
Zhang Mingwei saw that Emperor Chongzhen's will was a little depressed, so he smiled slightly and said: "Didn't I ask Your Majesty to summon Ma Xianglin's White Army to Beijing? In this way, he will not die in Xiangyang at the end of this year. In addition, The Brave Guard Battalion, these are elite troops loyal to His Majesty. Maybe they are not much different from other elite armies of this era, or even weaker, such as against Jianlu. But coupled with my Jin Yiwei, they can Further enhance their strength..."
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a little confused, and immediately asked: "But, what Mr. just said, didn't he say that it will take at least two or three years for the new Jinyiwei army to become an elite division?"
Zhang Mingwei smiled after hearing this and said: "Yes, but I don't want to train the new Jin Yiwei army into an army like the Yongwei Battalion and the Baigan Army, but use the Jin Yiwei to make up for the shortcomings of field armies like them!"
"In addition..." Zhang Mingwei said this, pointed to his own head and said, "My advantage is that I have more than four hundred years of experience here. Making use of this experience is my specialty!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was immediately enlightened and said quickly, "Sir, do you have any ideas that can immediately enhance the strength of the Yongwei Battalion?"
