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The staff member who broke into the lobby was named Zhang Su, and this person was a veteran of the Trilateral Governor's Office, not only assisted the current Trilateral Governor Wang Zheng, but also assisted the previous Trilateral Governor Liang Fuchen.

After Zhao Junchen presided over the military administration of Shaanxi and Gansu, most of the staff of the Governor's Mansion were marginalized, and could only deal with some inconsequential matters, all important affairs were taken over by a few staff members brought by Zhao Junchen from the capital, but only Zhang Su was still reused, not only was he not marginalized, but he even became one of the core members of Zhao Junchen's staff team, second only to Niu Fude and Su Xiqing, even Zhao Junchen often asked him for advice.

Zhang Su will be reused by the successive rulers of Shaanxi and Gansu, and naturally has some irreplaceable advantages.

First of all, Zhang Su was very familiar with the military and political affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu, and knew everything big and small; Secondly, Zhang Su has always adhered to an impartial position, only loyal to the successive governors of the three sides, and never participated in factional disputes; Finally, Zhang Su's personality is calm and sophisticated, and he is meticulous and meticulous when handling affairs, which can make the successive governors of the three sides worry a lot.

For Zhang Su, an old qualified staff, all the civil and military officials in the lobby are familiar with him, and they have dealt with him to a greater or lesser extent, and they also know that this person has always been calm and introverted, and he trusts him a lot.

However, Zhang Su, who has always been calm and introverted, is now so panicked, then something big must have happened!

During this period of time, with the advent of the war, everyone was nervous, and now after seeing Zhang Su's performance again, their expressions have changed greatly, and they subconsciously think of some worst cases, and most of them are a little flustered.

Zheng Jiadong couldn't excuse Qi Bin for a while, and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zhang, what is it that makes you so flustered?" But what has happened to the border war? ”

Zhou Bo asked urgently, "What happened?" Mr. Zhang, say it! ”

He Zhang also hurriedly asked: "Could it be that Longnan City was broken by the Mongols?" ”

Just when everyone was in chaos, a trace of inexplicable brilliance flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes.

Then, Zhao Junchen's face was slightly cold, and he slapped the table and said, "Silence! It's just a little bit of a mess, what kind of system does it become? ”

With Zhao Junchen's reprimand, everyone present finally calmed down a little.

At the same time, Zhang Su was also a little calmer, and was about to open his mouth to report something to Zhao Junchen, but after he saw the civil and military officials in the lobby, he hesitated again.

Then, Zhang Su asked Zhao Junchen for instructions: "Lord Qincha, the student has received a piece of information, this matter is quite sensitive, and it is not appropriate for too many people to know, can you hold back and let the student report it alone?" ”

Zhang Su's performance just now has aroused everyone's curiosity, and everyone can't wait to know the news that Zhang Su received, but Zhang Su is now suggesting that Zhao Junchen retreat and report to Zhao Junchen alone from everyone, which makes everyone a little dissatisfied.

After Zhao Junchen glanced around at everyone, he took in all the changes in their expressions, and said slowly: "All the adults present are the pillars of Shaanxi and Gansu, I trust them as my own siblings, no matter what I do, I don't need to hide them from them...... What's more, if it's really a big thing, you can't hide it from them in the end, so you might as well say it in public. ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's decision, everyone was grateful, but Zhang Su hesitated again.

In the end, Zhang Su gritted his teeth and said: "Lord Qincha, the student has just received the news, the imperial court has now learned of the changes in this year's border defense, and is to appoint the elder Liang Fuchen as the full power of the Lord Qincha, come to the Huamachi camp to preside over the overall situation of the Shaanxi-Gansu border defense, according to the will of the imperial court, when the old Liang Ge arrives at the Huamachi camp, Lord Qincha You will only be responsible for disaster relief, and you can no longer meddle in local government affairs and border defense matters......"

As Zhang Su's words fell, the faces of the civil and military officials in the hall changed again, and their expressions were different.

Li Ru'an, Niu Fude and others are all confidants of Zhao Junchen, so they are naturally a little shocked and a little indignant, thinking that the imperial court's approach is distrustful and suppressive of Zhao Junchen, and it has also disrupted Zhao Junchen's various plans.

Zhou Bo, Wu Qifan, He Zhang and others have a relatively neutral position, most of them have a somewhat complicated expression, they all admire Liang Fuchen's ability and conduct very much, and also think that Liang Fuchen's qualifications, experience, and prestige are much higher than Zhao Junchen, and they are undoubtedly the most suitable candidates to preside over the overall military and political situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, but at the same time, they have also witnessed Zhao Junchen's various achievements in recent days, and faintly feel that Liang Fuchen may not perform better than Zhao Junchen, and maybe it will break the current good situation.

As for Zheng Jiadong, Qi Bin and others, they all looked happy - compared to Zhao Junchen, they undoubtedly trusted Liang Fuchen more! It is believed that Liang Fuchen's presiding over the overall situation of border defense is the best choice for public and private affairs.

On the other side, Zhao Junchen took in the changes in everyone's expressions, and said in a slightly surprised voice: "Your Majesty sent Liang Ge Lao here?" That's a good thing! Liang Gelao's experience, prestige, and means are undoubtedly the best candidates to preside over the overall situation of border defense! …… I won't hide it from you, although I have reluctantly taken over the military and political affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu during this period of time, I have always been walking on thin ice, and I feel a great responsibility, for fear that I will make any wrong decisions, and now that Liang Ge Lao personally presides over the overall situation, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief! ”

Then, Zhao Junchen's tone became more and more brisk, and he turned his head to Wu Qifan and instructed: "Governor Wu, you immediately send someone to inform Governor Zhang, and ask him to arrange all kinds of matters to welcome Zhou Ge Lao; Niu Fude, you immediately start preparing for the handover, and when Liang Ge Lao arrives at the Huamachi camp, you will hand over all the military and political affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu to Liang Ge Lao as soon as possible; In addition, they will send people to inform the local government to announce the news that Liang Ge Lao has come to Huamachi Camp to preside over the overall situation, and I believe that the soldiers and civilians of Shaanxi and Gansu will definitely be in good spirits after learning this news......

Just when Zhao Junchen seemed to be "impatient" to unload the burden on his shoulders, Zhang Su looked embarrassed and said, "Lord Qincha, I'm afraid there is no way to welcome Zhou Ge Elder now!" ”

Zhao Junchen frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" Why can't you welcome Zhou Ge Lao? ”

Zhang Su said in a bitter voice: "The students can learn in advance that Elder Liang Ge came to Huamachi Camp to preside over the overall situation, it is, because the Governor's Mansion has just received a blackmail letter from horse bandits!" ”

On the side, hearing Zhang Su's statement, Li Ruan was slightly stunned at first, and then asked in a joking tone: "The horse bandit's blackmail letter?" What do you mean? Could it be that Zhou Ge was kidnapped by horse bandits on the road? And that gang of horse bandits also took Zhou Ge Lao as a hostage and extorted money from our Governor's Mansion? ”

Speaking of the back, Li Ruan couldn't help laughing, obviously he himself didn't believe in this inference.

Even if ordinary horse bandits feed on bear's heart and leopard gall all day long, I am afraid they will not dare to kidnap a cabinet elder and the imperial court! Even if the horse bandits really lost their minds and intended to kidnap Liang Fuchen, but the guards under Liang Fuchen's command are all soldiers of a hundred battles, and ordinary horse bandits, no matter how many they are, they will definitely not be able to succeed! Taking 10,000 steps back, even if there is really a horse bandit who kidnapped Liang Fuchen by mistake, I am afraid that he will never dare to extort silver taels from the Governor's Palace, this kind of practice will only attract endless pursuit and killing by the imperial court!

Seeing Li Ru'an's statement, Qi Bin, He Zhang, Zhou Bo and others all glared at him, thinking that Li Ruan's statement was an insult to Liang Fuchen, but they also didn't expect that Liang Fuchen would be kidnapped by horse bandits, and thought that Zhang Su was afraid that there was another mystery when he received the horse bandits' extortion letter.

But at this moment, Zhang Su's expression became more and more frightened and bitter, and said: "Li Jianjun's guess is correct...... Zhou Ge old him...... It was indeed kidnapped by horse bandits! ”

When the words fell, the whole house was shocked!

Qi Bin was Liang Fuchen's confidant, and couldn't help but exclaim: "How is it possible! What horse bandits dare to kidnap Liang Ge Lao! Liang Ge Lao's guards were originally the elite of the border army, couldn't they protect Liang Ge Lao thoroughly? ”

Zhang Su smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's true!" Today, a messenger from Zizhou County in northern Shaanxi Province came to Huamachi Camp to deliver an official document, he was arrested by horse bandits on the way, and asked him to send a letter of extortion to the governor's palace...... At the same time, he also sent the holy decree and seal on Liang Ge's body......"

After speaking, Zhang Su took out three things, which were a letter, a yellow silk holy decree, and a fist-sized seal.

Niu Fude hurriedly handed over these three things to Zhao Junchen.

At this time, Zhao Junchen's expression had become extremely serious, first took the seal and carefully identified it, then unfolded the holy decree to examine it carefully, and then read the letter carefully.

During this period, Zhao Junchen's brows became tighter and tighter, his expression became more and more serious, and there was a faint hint of anger, and the civil and military officials in the hall were staring at Zhao Junchen tightly, all looking nervous.

In the end, Zhao Junchen took a long breath, handed these three things to Niu Fude's hands again, and ordered: "Niu Fude, give these three things to all the adults to identify and check!" ”

Then, all the civil and military people in the lobby didn't care about etiquette, and they got up and gathered around Niu Fude one after another, checking these three things one after another.

In the end, all of them were pale!

The holy decree is written by Emperor Deqing himself, the content is the will of appointing Liang Fuchen as the plenipotentiary minister, and the seal is Liang Fuchen's token as an auxiliary minister of the cabinet, as for the letter, it is a blackmail letter from the horse bandits!

In the letter, the horse bandits asked the Governor's Office for 100,000 taels of gold, and asked the Governor's Office to send it to a barren mountain in Zizhou County, northern Shaanxi within half a month, and then wait until the horse bandits received the gold safely, and then let Liang Fuchen and his entourage go, otherwise they would "tear up the ticket"!

After careful distinction, everyone found that the holy decree and seal were not faked, which means that Liang Fuchen was really kidnapped by horse bandits!

Suddenly, everyone was panicked like Zhang Su before!

The plenipotentiary of the imperial court was actually kidnapped by horse bandits under their rule, and this incident must have shocked the government and the opposition! At that time, not only will the entire court be disgraced, but the careers of these people will also be affected!

The nature of this matter is even more serious than the loss of the city and land!

For a while, everyone had no idea, and they all subconsciously looked at Zhao Junchen, hoping that Zhao Junchen could make a decision.

Wu Qifan said in a trembling voice: "Lord Qincha, Elder Liang Ge was really kidnapped by horse bandits...... You, what do you think we should do now? ”

Qi Bin's expression was full of eagerness and worry, and he urgently asked Zhao Junchen for his life: "Lord Qincha, please give an order to let the lowly lead the troops to northern Shaanxi to rescue Liang Ge Lao!" ”

After Zhao Junchen pondered for a long time with a serious expression, he raised his head and slowly glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "First of all, everyone must keep their mouths shut about Liang Ge being kidnapped by horse bandits!" Once the news of Liang Gelao's kidnapping spreads, it will not only shake the morale of the army, but also damage the prestige of the imperial court, and the careers of you and me will also be affected! ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's statement, most of the people present nodded in deep agreement.

Then, Zhao Junchen said: "Secondly, everyone should not act rashly, although the horse bandits let us send 100,000 taels of gold to Zizhou County, but the horse bandits' lair may not be there, and Liang Ge Lao may not be there, once we go to northern Shaanxi to investigate with great fanfare, it is easy to arouse the vigilance of the horse bandits, and maybe it will also endanger the lives of Liang Ge Lao, if too many people are sent, it will also affect the border layout;

Again, the top priority at the moment is to rescue Liang Ge Lao safely! Su Xiqing, you immediately prepare 100,000 taels of gold and send it to Zizhou County according to the conditions of the horse bandits! But we need to make some secret marks on the gold, so that we can track down the traces of this gang of horse bandits afterwards!

In the end, we can't just let go of this group of daring bandits! Hong Gaogong, you immediately dispatch the experienced Jinyi guards to northern Shaanxi to investigate the news, but you must hide your identity, and don't make any moves, to prevent the grass from startling the snakes, as long as you can find out the details of this gang of horse bandits, wait until we ensure the safety of Liang Gelao, and then wipe them out! ”

Seeing that Zhao Junchen issued a series of orders so decisively, and it was exhaustive and without omission, everyone in the lobby was a little relieved, and they couldn't find a better way for a while, so they got up one after another to receive the order!

Among the crowd, only Qi Bin had some objections, thinking that Zhao Junchen's method was too negative.

However, before Qi Bin could raise an objection, Zhao Junchen had already turned his gaze to him and said, "Qi Bin, I know that you and Liang Ge Lao have a deep relationship and are like father and son, but do you dare to guarantee that your fanfare to lead the troops to northern Shaanxi to investigate will not endanger Liang Ge Lao's life?" In addition, the war in Longnan is about to begin, what if the timing of the war is delayed? If you think my method is wrong, can you find a better way? ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's questioning, Qi Bin opened his mouth, but in the end he had nothing to say, so he had to acquiesce to Zhao Junchen's method.

*

After everyone left the lobby of the Governor's Mansion with heavy thoughts, Zhao Junchen looked at Qi Bin's back, a trace of hesitation flashed between his expressions, and finally he didn't say anything.

Originally, Zhao Junchen wanted to have a deep talk with Qi Bin and try to resolve the misunderstanding between the two sides.

But after seeing Qi Bin's performance today, Zhao Junchen knew that Qi Bin was very wary of himself, and it was not something that could be solved by a deep conversation, and it was obviously impossible for Qi Bin to turn his back on Liang Fuchen and turn to Zhao Junchen, so Zhao Junchen didn't want to waste his energy, as long as Qi Bin was willing to obey orders in the future.

What's more, because of Liang Fuchen's matter, now is not the best time for the two sides to talk deeply.

As for the specific reason why Qi Bin suddenly guarded against Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen planned to inquire about the Zhao family disciples he had planted in Qi Bin's new army - Zhao Junchen faintly felt that maybe the problem was with these Zhao family children.

After making a decision in his heart, Zhao Junchen slowly leaned on the back of the chair and closed his eyes to recuperate, his expression was unhappy and carefree, but there was a faint hint of self-deprecation.

The kidnapping of Liang Fuchen was arranged by Zhao Junchen, and now this horse bandit's extortion letter is naturally also arranged by Zhao Junchen!

After all, the news that the imperial court arranged for Liang Fuchen to come to Shaanxi and Gansu to preside over the overall situation will not be hidden for long, and sooner or later it will reach Huamachi Camp, if the civil and military officials of Huamachi Camp receive the news, but they do not see Liang Fuchen appear for a long time, it will inevitably be troublesome at that time, and then wait until Liang Fuchen's kidnapping is exposed, Zhao Junchen will profit the most during this period, and he will inevitably be suspected by many people.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen arranged this ransom letter, so that the news of Liang Fuchen's kidnapping was exposed in advance!

There are four advantages to this approach;

First of all, Liang Fuchen's kidnapping by horse bandits will make Liang Fuchen's prestige completely lost! During this period, if Zhao Junchen can properly handle this matter and make some breakthroughs in the border war, he can further establish his position, so that between an increase and a decrease, Liang Fuchen, even if he is a plenipotentiary minister of the imperial court, will not be able to challenge Zhao Junchen's leadership position on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu in the future!

Secondly, after Liang Fuchen was kidnapped by horse bandits, not only Liang Fuchen's prestige was ruined, but also the local civil and military officials in Shaanxi and Gansu would also be implicated, only Zhao Junchen temporarily took over the overall military and political situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the responsibility he needed to bear was not great.

Again, after exposing Liang Fuchen's kidnapping in advance, Zhao Junchen can accurately arrange Liang Fuchen's "rescue" time, so that Liang Fuchen can arrive at Huamachi Camp when the overall situation is about to be determined, so that Zhao Junchen can not only successfully complete his various plans, but also let Liang Fuchen bear some responsibilities with himself;

In the end, after Liang Fuchen's kidnapping was exposed in advance, Zhao Junchen could also take the opportunity to get the power to investigate the case in the early stage.

The plan has been carried out so far, everything is going well, and several of Zhao Junchen's goals have been successfully achieved.

But Zhao Junchen couldn't be happy anyway.

After all, such a means is simply too despicable.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, everyone in the world accused Li Hongzhang of nepotism, and Li Hongzhang once defended to Ding Ruchang: "They all say that I, Li Hongzhang, reuse my cronies, but I want to ask, I don't have to trust anyone, do you want me to use a person I don't even recognize?" How do I know if someone I don't know can take on the task? Say that I cultivate private power and cronyism, joke! If you don't appoint people, Lao Tzu can't do it? If I have to make my subordinates disobedient and oppose me everywhere, then it is not called cultivating private forces? ”

In his previous life, after Zhao Junchen heard these words, he also thought it was true.

But now, Zhao Junchen knows that Li Hongzhang's words are all sophistry!

Zhao Junchen's current approach is quite similar to Li Hongzhang's, which is also cronyism and suppression of dissidents when the overall situation is in crisis.

Liang Fuchen, Qi Bin, He Zhang and others are all capable generals with noble character, but just because they are not of the same mind as Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen does not dare to reuse them, but repeatedly plots to squeeze out, and even does not compromise means for this, even if it is temporarily reused, it also leaves many tricks to cross the river and tear down the bridge.

In the end, it's all out of selfishness.

Of course, Zhao Junchen's various methods are all carefully designed and do not affect the overall situation of border defense, and they can be regarded as "taking into account both public and private interests".

In the depths of his heart, Zhao Junchen admires Liang Fuchen, He Zhang, Qi Bin and others very much.

For his despicable practices, Zhao Junchen does not regret it.

But I couldn't be happy.

*

In the next few days, under Zhao Junchen's gag order, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention Liang Fuchen's affairs again, but just handed over all this matter to Zhao Junchen to deal with, and fully cooperated with Zhao Junchen's Longnan layout.

Zhao Junchen didn't care about other things during this time, just focused on the war in Longnan, constantly deploying troops and dispatching generals, and coordinating the overall situation.

After another three days, seeing that both the new army of soldiers and Qi Bin's new army had recovered their physical morale, Zhao Junchen finally made a decision and prepared to personally lead the troops to Haiyuan City on the border between Ningxia and Gansu, and also moved all the command teams of the Huamachi battalion over!

Haiyuan City is relatively close to the battle situation in Longnan, and you can get the detailed news of the changes in the battle situation in the shortest possible time, and after Zhao Junchen arrives there, he can also personally command the battle!

And at the same time that Zhao Junchen led his troops to Haiyuan City, the war in Longnan gradually entered the most intense and difficult period!

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