It's not convenient to ask if outsiders are around.
After there were no outsiders in the back hall, before Zu Dashou could ask, Fang Yizao had already asked anxiously: "What military order did the governor send?"
"Let the general and Jin Guofeng exchange places for half a year!" Zu Dashou replied quickly, and then said a little puzzled, "But the military order did not mention the matter of farming!"
Fang Yizao was a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't know that Jianlu had sent troops, so he didn't care. After all, this change of defense was not a big deal.
What he was concerned about at this time was other things, so he said to Zu Dashou seriously: "He asked me to directly tell the matter about the farming."
At this point, he paused and said with an ugly expression: "He wants you to sort out the farm account books yourself and hand them over. Otherwise, if he takes action, he will have to recover the grain that has been corrupted over the years."
Upon hearing this, Zu Dacheng couldn't help but said angrily: "Could it be that he really doesn't take us seriously?"
After hearing this, Fang Yizao turned to look at him and understood what he was relying on!
In addition to Zu Dashou himself as the chief soldier of Jinzhou, Zu Dashou's second brother Da Bi and his younger brother Dalue were also in the rank of chief soldier. In addition, his third brother Dacheng and his cousin Damingguan worshiped as guerrilla generals, and his cousin's family members served as guards;
In addition, the nephews' heirs are Zerun, the eldest son Zepu, the second son Zechun, the third son Zeqing, the adopted son Kefa, the cousin's son Zehong, the cousin's son Zepei, the cousin's son Zeyuan, and the cousin's son Zeyuan. , Congzi Zesheng and others served as deputy generals and staff generals for many times;
Among the nephews who are younger or from other branches, such as Congzi Shixiang, Bangwu, Yunlong, Keyong, Bangjie, etc., they are guerrilla or other low-level military attachés. Three generations of the ancestral family's grandfather, nephews, and descendants from other branches make up the backbone of the officer corps, ranging from the general soldier to the deputy general, deputy general, and guerrilla. The Guan Ning Army can actually be called the ancestral family army.
Of course, many of them are now on Jianlu's side, having surrendered during the Battle of Daling River. But even so, the power of the ancestral army is still very huge.
However, Fang Yizao didn't have much confidence. Instead of following Zu Dacheng's words, he just pointed at the packages placed on the ground and said: "These are the family letters from the nephew of Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of the Suppression and Suppression. They were brought by the emperor upon his triumphant return. You guys Let’s take a look first!”
He had actually opened some and looked at them on the way here, so he was even more shocked and less confident.
Zu Dashou was overjoyed at first, because he heard that Wu Sangui was promoted to the chief soldier of the assistance and suppression force as he wished, which meant that there was another chief soldier in the Zu Family Army.
But soon, he heard that something was wrong, and asked: "The emperor returned victoriously? Then why didn't he return to Guan Ning?"
In order for Wu Sangui to make contributions without any accident, Wu Sangui was given elite servants as capital. Zu Dashou didn't have much of a cavalry army of 1,500, so he cared about this army very much.
Fang Yizao still didn't answer. He just pointed at the parcel and said, "Read it for yourself first! He also has a letter, which is on the top of the first parcel."
After he finished speaking, he brought the tea and drank it himself.
He rushed over quickly, and he was finally tired.
Zu Dashou knew something was wrong, so he stopped talking and quickly stepped over to get the first package. When he opened it, he found that it was full of letters. Apparently, almost 1,500 soldiers had written or had someone write letters home, and they were all included in these packages.
He didn't care about anything else and saw Wu Sangui's letter at a glance.
Zu Dashou naturally recognized Wu Sangui's notes and knew that Wu Sangui had written them himself, so he immediately started reading them.
Others present went to read other people's letters from home and opened them up.
As expected by Fang Yizao, when Zu Dashou and others looked at these family letters, their expressions became very ugly.
Seeing this, he sighed inwardly, which was not surprising!
Including Wu Sangui, the soldiers of the Guan Ning Army described their experiences in their letters. In and out of their words, they all revealed their admiration for the emperor's wisdom and prowess!
The ghostwritten letters may contain less content, but mostly talk about how safe and sound they are, what achievements they have made, and what rewards they have received.
And those who could write, including Wu Sangui, said many things in their letters.
Especially for Wu Sangui, although he doesn't know how things will develop in the future regarding Guan Ning, he can make some predictions. Therefore, he took the trouble to tell everything the emperor did along the way, including what he said and did.
At the end of the letter, Wu Sangui concluded: "The emperor is wise and brave and loves the people like a son. He is deeply loved by the soldiers and the people. With such an emperor around, the rebellion in all parts of the Ming Dynasty will be put down by the emperor sooner or later. My nephew is now arrested by order. The rebel general Chai Shihua has promised the emperor that those who rebel against the Ming Dynasty will be killed no matter how far away they are..."
When Zu Dashou saw this, his face was already very ugly.
Unexpectedly, at the end, Wu Sangui even vaguely reminded his cousins who were on the Jianlu side that they had better escape back as soon as possible, or Zu Dashou should explain to the emperor that they were on the Jianlu side out of necessity. .
After reading it, Zu Dashou slapped the letter on the table and looked at the other letters in the package. As a result, Wu Sangui's letters were read by others in turn.
Anyway, these few of them looked at it, but eventually they became impatient and stopped looking. Their faces were very ugly, as if their parents were dead.
"Brother, these letters must not be sent out!" Zu Dacheng suddenly spoke and suggested to Zu Dashou, "Otherwise, it will shake the morale of the army!"
The so-called shaking the military morale actually means shaking the military morale of the ancestral army.
Zu Dashou naturally understood this. Just when he was about to nod, he saw Fang Yizao put down the tea cup and made a "pop" sound. It was obvious that he put it down a little hastily. He immediately said: "No, these letters are all In front of the angels, hand it over to the officer for delivery. If it is not sent, or the letters sent are changed, they will find out when they come back in the future. With so many people, there is no guarantee that no one will take this matter. Tell it. If you do this, it will become clear that I have ulterior motives and will make it difficult for me!"
When Zu Dashou heard this, he couldn't help but have second thoughts. He couldn't say in front of Fang Yizao, "I don't care if you die!"
After all, Fang Yizao was the governor of Liaodong, and he was regarded as a frontier official among civil servants. He was the highest-ranking civil servant who he had tried every means to win over. No matter what, he cannot be offended.
However, if he puts down these letters, he can imagine what kind of impact the emperor's prestige will have on the ancestral army!
This emperor is really, wasn't it good to be like that before? Why did you go on a personal expedition and do such a great job!
In the minds of people of this era, the emperor is the deep-rooted supreme being. If the emperor makes people hate him, it will reduce the emperor's influence on the people of this era. But the question is, what if the emperor is a good emperor? That will naturally have a huge advantage and can affect all soldiers and civilians!
Just as he was thinking about it, Zu Dale suddenly said: "Master Zhongcheng, why don't you give these packages to us if we are not in a crowded place outside. Then these packages accidentally caught fire and disappeared. In this case, Master Zhongcheng should not be alive." What's going on! Is this okay?"
When Zu Dashou heard this, he immediately thought it was a good idea. Even if someone asked later, it would not be difficult to blame anyone. After all, it’s just a letter from home, so how many people would care?
However, after hearing this, Fang Yizao sighed and said: "It's not a matter of whether to burn this package or not! It's about the Emperor's wisdom and martial prowess. So many people say that there can be no lies. In this way, in my opinion, , it’s better not to have any other thoughts!”
"Lord Zhongcheng, the general is just protecting himself!" Upon hearing this, Zu Dashou quickly explained, "It is Sun Chuanting who is arrogant and wants to bully us. If...if someone in the court can say something and transfer Sun Chuanting back, or……"
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Fang Yizao, who shook his head and said decisively: "Impossible! Along the way, I have figured it out. Sun Chuanting has received the Holy Favor, and there is no way he can touch it. . It’s best to keep your thoughts in mind in this regard. Otherwise, once the factory guards follow the clues and find out that you are trying to do something behind your back, the emperor may be furious. Is that okay?”
Upon hearing this question, Zu Dashou fell silent, and so did his brothers.
The back hall became very quiet, and the silence made the Zu brothers feel panicked. In fact, Fang Yizao was also panicking.
After a while, Fang Yizao suddenly sighed and said: "In Liaodong, it is impossible to be like Li Chengliang. The current emperor is far more sage than the Wanli Emperor, and it is absolutely impossible to be fooled again..."
What he said was that Li Chengliang was the dominant family in Liaodong, held the military power in Liaodong, and respected himself as a supporter of the bandits. He was almost the king of Liaodong.
While speaking, he saw Zu Dashou looking up at him, as if he wanted to say good things, so he stretched out his hand and shook it and said: "Listen to what I have to say. If we talk about the defeat of Jianlu before, it was probably the three governors who contributed. So this time, the emperor personally conquered the Hetao Tartars and the bandits in the pass so easily. I want to ask, if you send your ancestral family to go, can you put down so easily? Among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, which emperor can do this? Ability? Do you think that if Taizu Chengzu were on the throne, they could accommodate Li Chengliang, or your ancestral family?"
What he meant by this was that the current emperor's ability was comparable to that of Taizu Chengzu. Zu Dashou heard this. In fact, he was very impressed by the emperor's triumphant victory so easily, and even made the Guan Ning army sent out, including his own nephew, admire the emperor very much. He knew that he was no longer qualified to fight against the imperial court.
The rise of Zu Dashou and "Zu Family Generals" can actually be traced back to the era of Zu Dashou's father, Zu Chengxun. Zu Chengxun joined Li Chengliang's "Liao Army" and experienced the experience of being promoted from a small flag to a military attaché of the Guards Command and then to the deputy commander-in-chief, which also opened up the future of the Zu family.
Zu Dashou inherited his father's military status and appointed Ningyuan to command Qianshi. After the wild boar Pinurhaci rebelled, Zu Dashou was highly regarded because of his identity as a "Liao man". Under the policy of "defending the Liao land with Liao people", the role of the Zu family and its generals who had lived in Ningyuan for generations was greatly affected by the previous few years. He is expected to be the governor or supervisor of Liaodong, and is known as the "ancestral general" whose clan party is very strong.
As for this ancestral general, Zu Dashou, the commander of the senior military attachés of the Ming Dynasty Guard, was the highest commander; the generals in western Liaoning formed a kinship network, and quasi-blood relationships such as "adopted son" and "family Ding" were formed within the ancestral surname. A military interest group formed.
For example, Zu Dashou married his sister to Wu Xiang of Zhonghousuo; while Zu Dashou's nephews Pei Guozhen, Hu Hongxian, and Xia Guoxiang married into the Wu Sangui family. It must be emphasized that Pei Guozhen and Hu Hongxian were both senior hereditary military attaches from the Ningyuan Guard.
It was through various relationships that the Zu Family Army, the actual nickname of Guan Ning Army, was formed.
Although Zu Dashou could recognize the reality, how could he let go of his many years of hard work and want to give up and become a well-behaved military general of the Ming Dynasty?
Seeing Zu Dashou struggling, Fang Yizao suddenly raised his voice a little and his tone became firm: "If you insist on having your own way, I would rather surrender to the emperor. Even if there is no hope of further advancement in the official career, I will not accompany you." The road goes dark!"
The reason why he said this was because he was dragged into the water by Zu Dashou. Not only did he receive a lot of benefits from Zu Dashou, but his son and Wu Sangui also became brothers with different surnames, and Zu Dashou tied him to his ancestral army.
However, the first thing is that Wu Sangui was obviously on the side of the emperor. More importantly, since the emperor had previously allowed officials and eunuchs to surrender, there were things that could exempt them from crime, such as Gao Qiqian; if he had to, he If you surrender, you should be able to do the same!
The combination of these two reasons made him feel that this road might still be a way to survive. Of course, it would be best if Zu Dashou could listen to his advice.
As soon as he said these words, he immediately shocked the ancestral brothers present. Some people were surprised, some were angry, but everyone was staring at him.
Zu Dashou was no exception. He didn't expect Fang Yizao to be so afraid. It was a bit beyond his expectation.
Before he could speak, Fang Yizao said earnestly: "Actually, the worst step for the imperial court is that you defect to Jianlu. But the question is, can you take Shanhaiguan? If you can't take Shanhaiguan, , the three battalions under the Royal Horse Supervisor will definitely come to attack you, can you stop them?"
"Even if you take a step back, even if you take Shanhaiguan, with three battalions of strong troops, there will only be more Hongyi artillery in the pass than here. When the time comes, the imperial court attacks Shanhaiguan, do you think you can hold it?"
"Furthermore, if you surrender to the Jianlu, you will still be controlled by the slave chief. Do you think the slave chief really allows your ancestral family's power to not be controlled by him? In this case, why do you need to seek refuge with the barbarians? How about bringing shame to our ancestors?”
Fang Yizao said so much in one breath that he had already finished what needed to be said. He stood up and was about to leave: "I will take these packages with you. You should think carefully about the next step." Let's go, I believe it is very important to you! I will only wait for three days. If I don't get your reply after three days, or if you still insist on going your own way, then I will go back to Shanhaiguan."
The meaning is very clear, he wants to go back and surrender, and will no longer join forces with Zu Dashou and others.
After finishing speaking, he did not hesitate and strode to the door, ready to call out to his personal guards.
Some of the Zu family members in the lobby looked decadent, and some stared at Fang Yizao's back with fierce eyes. It was obvious that they had different thoughts. Finally, they turned their attention to Zu Dashou. , let him make up his mind quickly.
