The selection of soldiers for the expedition, the preparation of food and fodder, etc. were all handled by Zhou Yuji, and Zhang Mingwei did not need to worry about them.
However, he was not idle and was also preparing.
Although Zhang Mingwei has never fought in a war, due to the Internet in later generations, he writes about time travel history, and boys naturally like to watch film and television materials about wars, etc. Therefore, he must know some things to pay attention to when fighting.
The saying that before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first, this sentence is wrong in his opinion!
Because what goes first should not be food and grass, but information!
Although the army is marching, there will be inspections before and after the whole night, but that is just battlefield news and belongs to the tactical level. The intelligence Zhang Mingwei thinks of is the kind at a higher level, which belongs to the strategic level.
Zhang Mingwei had a busy day and selected twenty people from the many Jinyi guards.
There were files on these people on the desk. I picked up one and summoned one of them.
No, there was one in the lobby. As soon as he came in, he hurriedly greeted him and said, "My lord, Ma Wu!"
Zhang Mingwei held his information in his hand and said to him kindly: "I will go to Fangshan County soon. You should know this. Before that, I want you to go back first and inquire about the news about the county. News about those thieves. When my leader arrives, I hope you can provide some useful information. As long as you can do it, you will be an official member of the Jinyi Guard! Are you willing?"
Hearing this, how could Ma Wu be unwilling? Even if he didn't promise to become a formal member of the Jin Yiwei, he had no choice but to resolve this matter for his hometown.
At this time, Ma Wu was full of surprises, and he quickly received the order loudly: "My subordinates have no shirking responsibility and will do their best to investigate the news!"
Zhang Mingwei listened and nodded to Princess Kunxing sitting next to him.
So Zhu Aelao signaled Fei Zhen'e to take out some silver ingots from the box next to her and put them on the table.
They come in different sizes and are pleasing to the eye. Ma Wu saw it and was a little confused.
"There are a total of twenty taels of silver here, which is the activity fee for your mission." Zhang Mingwei pointed at the silver and said, "Use this silver well, remember, what I want is useful information, do you understand?"
Twenty taels of silver, calculated according to the purchasing power of later generations from the Wanli period, approximately one tael of silver is equivalent to 500 yuan in later generations, and twenty taels is ten thousand yuan.
Ma Wuchang had never seen so much money before. He was very surprised and quickly replied with a little excitement: "I understand, I will remember it!"
Then he went to the princess to sign and stamp. If he didn't know how to sign, he just pressed his fingerprints.
After Ma Wuyi left, Zhang Mingwei summoned other Jinyi guardsmen one after another. They were all from Fang County or from surrounding areas. Like Ma Wuyi, they were transferred from this refugee camp. After saying the same thing to them, he also gave each of them twenty taels and asked them to leave the capital and go back to inquire about the news.
There were three people who followed. They were not refugees, but old people from the original Jinyi Guards. However, they were somehow related to Fang County, so they were singled out by Zhang Mingwei. Everything else was the same, but the words were a little different, and there was no talk of becoming a full-time official. After all, they were originally Jin Yiwei.
Zhang Mingwei said to them: "During the Wanli period, the Jinyiwei spied on information about Japanese pirates, which was of great help in the fight against the Japanese. I hope you can continue to carry forward the responsibility of the Jinyiwei. If you do a good job, I will promote you according to the importance of the information. job."
After all twenty people were sent away and there were no outsiders left, the princess stuck out her tongue and said: "Now, there are four hundred taels missing!"
In the past, Zhu Yuluo had no concept of money. But after following Zhang Mingwei out of the palace, I finally got an idea. Four hundred taels is a lot of money. You can buy several nice houses in the capital.
Zhang Mingwei smiled after hearing this and said: "War is a waste of money! If four hundred taels of silver can be exchanged for a useful piece of news, it will definitely be worth it."
The task he assigned just now was only a short-term task, and it was also the first time he had arranged such a thing. If we want to arrange long-term lurking or more dangerous espionage missions in the future, we will have to arrange the family's money, and the money required for the activity may be even more.
Due to the money gained from the raids on Jin Yiwei's line, Emperor Chongzhen left all the money for Jin Yiwei's use. Otherwise, you have to find another way.
At this time, while they were talking, the news from Meridian Gate came over.
Zhu Yuyao didn't care about Wang Dehua and others, but she was still a little stunned when she heard that Zhou Bian was also killed with a stick. But she recalled what her husband had said, that she had witnessed Zhou Bian's rampage in the capital, and that he had gone to the palace to cause trouble. To be honest, she was just stunned for a moment.
However, she still had a little worry on her face, and said to Zhang Mingwei: "I'm a little worried about the queen, and I want to go back to the palace to see the queen."
"Go!" After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei said with a smile, "I will go to the Yongwei Camp to see the situation in the Yongwei Camp. The sooner the better for the expedition!"
Emperor Chongzhen has already killed chickens and monkeys in the court. Next, it is time for him to kill chickens and monkeys locally to rectify the Ming Dynasty. I hope this will be effective!
………………
Perhaps killing chickens and frightening monkeys is really effective. The next day, cabinet ministers Zhang Sizhi and Wei Zhaocheng unexpectedly came to the meeting at the same time. One said that he was old and frail and wanted to retire and return to his hometown, while the other said that he had a hidden illness. , I feel powerless to be an official and want to resign.
In addition to the two of them, there are also some from various yamen who, like them, do not want to be officials. Of course, the two of them have the highest official positions.
Regarding these, Emperor Chongzhen did not immediately approve it, but kept it in mind.
When Zhang Mingwei entered the palace to report to Emperor Chongzhen that the preparations for the expedition were complete, Emperor Chongzhen pointed at the memorials and said to Zhang Mingwei bitterly: "Sir, have you seen that after killing chickens and scaring monkeys, these things will become scary. I won't do that." Let them go and ask Wang Daban to investigate them and spit out everything they eat!"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei said to him: "Your Majesty, you are right to do this. How can there be such a cheap thing? If you are greedy for enough money, you will just slap your butt and want to leave? However, this matter cannot be done too obviously to let them know If there is no way out, I'm afraid I'll jump over the wall!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Sir, you don't have to worry about this. I am worried about you. You must pay attention to your own safety when you leave Beijing this time."
Having said this, he paused and then said: "Nothing can happen to me or my wife. Be careful in everything. It's better to be safe than take risks!"
Zhang Mingwei naturally agreed to this.
So, on March 15, the 15th year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yuji, the deputy general of the Yongwei camp, led a thousand soldiers, including 300 horsemen, and accompanied Zhang Mingwei, the refugee resettlement envoy in the capital and the commander of the Jinyiwei, Xingguo Gong, out of the capital to suppress the attack. A thief doing business.
Neither the Yongwei Camp nor the Jinyiwei were under the control of the Ministry of War or the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. They left as soon as they wanted, without any need to explain anything, and set off directly.
