When Tian Xiu was talking to Chen Pu, Shang Cheng was also talking to others.

After leaving Linyuan Pavilion, he did not return to his county mansion in Chongyifang, the inner city. He had already received a warning from the imperial court that he was about to punish him in the afternoon, although the official punishment results had not yet come out, and there was no official text from the division handed over to him, but according to the usual practice, before the formal punishment came down, he could not move around, and could only stay at home and wait for the results to be "banned", commonly known as "grounding". Therefore, he is not sure to return to the county office now; It's easy to get in, but I don't know when I'll have to wait until I want to get out. After all, his title of Shangzhu State is there, even if the senior officials of the DPRK and China have reached a consensus on the punishment of him, and at the same time, the prime ministers who made this decision and he, the person who accepted the punishment, also have a certain tacit understanding with each other, but the punishment of a Shangzhu country is not a hasty matter after all, and the Prime Minister's Office must make a judgment and prepare in advance for the possible impact of this incident. Will the northbound faction, which has been licking its wounds for a long time, take this opportunity to make trouble? I heard that Yanshanwei colluded with the grassland tribes, will the scholars ask what is going on? If the Yanshan Guards were upset for Shang Cheng and the soldiers were clamoring, how should they be appeased? Also, to punish a Shangzhu country, at least the Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War must participate, and maybe the Criminal Department and Dali Temple will also be implicated. With so many big yamen gathered together, there are many people talking about each other, even if the topic is very clear, it is certain to pass the buck to each other. Everyone knows what this punishment is all about, and in order to prevent business from retaliating later, if it can be cleared up, it is better to clear it up; At the very least, you need to make a posture of last resort so that you can talk well when you meet in the future. Besides, now Han Yi, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, with the public support of the Ministry of Household Books** and Wu Ti, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, has made it clear that the carriage and horse will compete with Zhang Pu for the position of the left minister. Compared with Han Yi, Zhang Pu is the right Xiangguo, only half a step away from the position of the left Xiangguo, and he is recommended by the current Left Xiangguo Tang Xing, so he is born with a great advantage. However, Zhang Pu's political achievements since taking office have been lackluster, and the only thing he can do is a big victory in Blackwater City. But the Heishui victory was planned by Shang Yanshan, but Zhang Pu and Shang Yanshan looked at each other unpleasantly, so he would definitely not paste the gold leaf of the Heishui victory on his face. Therefore, in this phase competition, Zhang Pu's advantage is not obvious. Some officials of the Sixth Ministry even privately thought that in fact Zhang Pu was at a disadvantage. Just by relying on a telegram at the beginning of the year to "Tell the Matter of Nuclear Land and Acres" and to investigate the hidden households in the treacherous fields with great fanfare, Zhang Pu formed a grudge with an unknown number of officials and gentry. Today's officials and gentry, and how many are alone? Who can not have few relatives and friends, old friends, classmates, fellow villagers, and the same year...... Do the math, how many people did Zhang Pu offend this time? It can be said that there are enemies all over the world! If it weren't for the public support of the old prime minister, and his very resolute attitude and tough methods, it is estimated that he would have been driven away from the prime minister's mansion long ago. So this time to punish Shang Yanshan, things seem simple and clear, but who can assert that there is no other mystery in it? What if Yipu has secretly reconciled with Shang Yanshan? What if Han Yi and Shang Yanshan reach a tacit understanding? In case of...... In short, it was an eventful time, and when we encountered this intricate event, in the case of unclear situation, the most important thing is to protect ourselves. Even if you don't have the mind to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, you must show a clear attitude through the process of passing the buck to each other: what is it, please ......

Of course, Shang Cheng was not aware of the intricate changes in the imperial city. Since he went to the military headquarters in late July to attend the drill meeting, he has never entered the city again, and stays in Zhuangzi all day and night. He also doesn't care about the affairs of the left and the right. In his opinion, it doesn't matter who will be the left minister. No matter who he is, he can't be worse than Zhang Pu, right?

I have to say that among the prime ministers and deputy ministers he knows, Zhang Pu has the biggest opinion.

From the time they first met, he and Zhang Pu had conflicts. He was bent on pinching the Tu Zhi people to death, but Zhang Pu was always thinking about teaching Nan Zhaoguo a lesson, and the ideas of the two people were completely at odds with each other, and there was almost no room for coordination. And that's not all. The most angry thing about teaching businessmen is that Zhang Pu is not authentic! He was busy fighting the Tu people in Yanshan, but Zhang Pu made secret moves to poke the black hand one after another in the capital, and Guo Biao's life on the grassland was unknown, so he began to worry about sharing the spoils and picking peaches. First of all, he got himself to the capital to be idle, and then he sent Zhuxu to Governor Yanshan, and then transferred Sun Zhongshan to Jiazhou, and sent Guo Biao to Longxi. Left is just a technique of division and disintegration. What Zhang Pu and they want is just to take advantage of the fact that the Yanshan Department has not really risen, and first transfer a few core characters separately, and the people who remain will have less backbone, so they will naturally fall apart......

But that's not what Zhang Pu hates the most.

The reason why Zhang Pu is hateful is that he is clamoring for the southern expedition, and he is supporting Xiao Jian to conquer the southern edict!

When Shang Cheng returned to Beijing, he already had a plan, if it really reached the point where he had to fight the Southern Zhao, on the premise of retaining his personal opinion, he would definitely obey the dispatch and command of the imperial court. In any case, even if he has any opinions and opinions on Zhang Pu, he will not disobey the orders of the imperial court. He eats Da Zhao's grain and is Da Zhao's soldier, so he naturally has to obey Da Zhao's orders! The court taught him to kick the Nanzhao, and he must have muttered a few words when he complained; But while complaining, he will not hesitate to pack his backpack and embark on the road to Jiazhou. However, when he came to the capital, what was waiting for him in the capital? Yes, Zhang Pu did want him to participate in the Southern Expedition; And I said it to him in person more than once or twice. However, the purpose of Zhang Pu's talk to him on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office was not to hope that he would preside over the southern expedition, but to make him participate in the planning and command of the war in the southwest as Xiao Jian's deputy......

To be honest, the first time he heard Zhang Pu make this suggestion, he couldn't believe his ears. Teach him to assist Xiao Jian in his expedition to Nanzhao? Could it be that the lessons of the Northern Expedition to the Grassland in the 19th year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty were not profound enough? There are no two commanders in the sky and no two commanders in the army, don't Zhang Pu and the prime ministers and deputy ministers know? An important reason why Xiao Jian and Yang Du disagreed on military affairs was that they lost so badly and lost so hard. Yang Du advocated a quick victory, Xiao Jian hoped to advance steadily, neither of them could convince anyone, and the result was that they were not fast when they should be fast, so that they missed the fighter, and when they should be slow, they were not slow, resulting in the battle lines not being able to connect with each other, and finally caused a big disaster. Yin Jian is not far away, why did Zhang Pu make the same mistake in a blink of an eye? Moreover, since he led the troops, he has almost always commanded the battle alone, how to fight the battle, when it is fought, and to what extent it needs to be fought, all these things are all up to him alone, and he has never cooperated with others. Whether he can partner with others or not, he doesn't know the bottom of his own heart, how can Zhang Pu think that he can stir food in a manger with Xiao Jian? Maybe Zhang Pu thinks that because Xiao Jian promoted him, he will definitely listen to Xiao Jian's words? How is this possible. Xiao Jian does have the grace of knowing and promoting him, and he has always been grateful for this kindness. At the same time, as a junior in the army, he has always respected the old general. But whether it is gratitude or respect, it is a personal friendship; How can personal friendship be compared with military affairs? Therefore, even if he went to Jiazhou to assist Xiao Jian, it would be impossible to be a smiling Maitreya. Based on his understanding of himself, it is estimated that he will soon have a quarrel with Xiao Jian, and then they will be in the same situation, and when the trouble is inexorable, it can only be resolved by the imperial court. And the final outcome can be known without thinking about it, it must be that he gets out of the bed.

This is what Zhang Pu hates. obviously doesn't understand military affairs, and likes to jump out and point fingers and command blindly! You say, this guy really can't find something to do, so he can't hold this "Da Yu Mo" to do research?

Zhang Pu also has a hateful place, which is also related to the Southern Expedition. Xiao Jian was able to retreat peacefully in a few years, but Zhang Pu pushed him to the battlefield alive. If there is a change in the war in the southwest, the prestige of General Xiao will be truly over. Shang Cheng was very skeptical, if there was such a day, the old general might ...... Alas, I hope not.

But Shang Cheng was really worried about the development of the war in the southwest.

In addition to worries about the war, there are also worries about Xiao Jian, and there are also worries about other things......

He usually doesn't have much to do, he likes to think wildly. While carefully studying the history of the war, he found a very interesting thing. After the founding of the Great Zhao Dynasty, he fought many wars with many large and small countries around him. Among them, there are victories and defeats, and there are undefeated and confused battles, so I will not repeat them carefully. However, in the large-scale military conflict with the Turks, Da Zhao has never achieved any achievements to boast of. Several successive defeats during the period of Taizong and Gaozong not only seriously depleted the national strength, but also dealt a heavy blow to the confidence of the government and the opposition in the war. With the change in operational thinking, the selection criteria for generals in the army were also adjusted at the same time. When the solid defensive tactics were gradually perfected, offensive generals like the founding general Wang Hao would no longer be useful, and instead of them, there were batches of commanders who were good at relying on the tall city walls for defensive operations, and the best of them were the steady generals represented by Xiao Jian and Yan Gu, who could both attack and defend. This situation continued until around the time of the accession of the Eastern Yuan Emperor. After decades of recuperation, Dazhao has been greatly developed, with the prosperity of the economy and the peak of national strength, the call to launch a war against the Turks in order to seek shame and revenge has naturally become the unanimous desire of the government and the opposition, and the northern expedition in the 19th year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty took place under this social background. However, although Da Zhao already had the national strength to launch a large-scale foreign war, he seriously lacked backbone generals who could dispatch and command foreign wars. Needless to say, the result is unexpected, although the loss is unexpected, if you think about it carefully, it is also reasonable. Here, it is impossible not to mention Yang Du. Yang Du, the Duke of the Auxiliary Kingdom, is a very rare offensive general among the senior generals in the active service of Da Zhao, looking at his battle examples, all of them are as fast as the wind and plundering like fire, and his use of troops is also evaluated as "the momentum is like a mountain collapse". A dragon suddenly appeared in a group of sitting tigers, and this matter is worth scrutinizing and playing. Shang Cheng felt that the development and rise of Yang Du should be a precursor to a change in the guiding ideology of Dazhao's military strategy, and it was also a test of the great change in strategic thinking. It can be said that the person who made this temptation, or that group of people, may not understand what they are doing, but they did discover Yang Du, a senior general of Dazhao, who is different. These people consciously or unconsciously conform to the pace of the times, gradually adjust the strategic guiding ideology of the entire country, and at the same time adjust the criteria for selecting generals. After the battlefield test of the 19th year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, the Great Zhao court has realized that the kind of generals who are more than stable and enterprising are not suitable for today's national strength needs, and the kind of purely offensive generals are also unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities, and what is most needed at present is a senior commander who has both strategic vision and tactical standards and is extremely aggressive. There is no doubt that there are many such people, but the most representative of them is naturally Shang Yanshan. This is also the fundamental reason why he can stand out from so many middle-level generals. It's not that he does a better job than others, but that he happens to be in that key position of attention, so he walked into the field of vision of the imperial court......

He made this judgment with very conclusive evidence. In the past, the promotion of officers was usually every three years and every five years, and everyone followed the usual practice and slowly moved up. However, in the past two or three years, some officers with experience and experience in foreign operations have been significantly more likely to be promoted and promoted than others. Especially in Yanshanwei, this situation is even more obvious. He won't say it himself; For example, Wen Mu is a big step in a year, and in less than two years, he has gone from the seventh rank to the fifth grade, which is only a little bit short of the rank of the fourth rank general; Like Shao Chuan, in the past, an illiterate officer like him basically had no possibility of being promoted to a five-rank general, even if he made great contributions, he could be awarded the title of Founding Marquis or even the Founding Prince, but the title was stuck in the rank. This time, Shao Chuan broke the city of Heishui, not only was he knighted as the founding marquis, but also stepped into the rank of general of the fifth grade, which means rewarding merit, and at the same time, it is also about a signal released by the imperial court: literacy is still an important assessment criterion for promotion in the army, but if someone has made enough meritorious service, then the standard for promotion can also be relaxed......

Now, a question arises one by one, alternating between the old and the new! The new strategic guiding ideology of active offensive will inevitably replace the old strategic thinking of active defense, and Xiao Jian, as the representative figures of the two ideologies, will inevitably have a certain conflict. In fact, the contradiction between the two of them has appeared very early; This point, whether he or Xiao Jian, must admit it! It was Xiao Jian who promoted him, and it was Xiao Jian who reused him, but after retreating from the grassland, Xiao Jian never took care of him again, and even when he first returned to Beijing, he made a special trip to visit the old general; But the Wing Kingdom Mansion didn't let him in. This may be because Xiao Jian did not want to repay his kindness; But it is more likely that because the military ideas that the two people represent are incompatible, so the last two people have no chance to communicate face-to-face at all! There is no doubt that the war in the southwest will inevitably be the last time Xiao Jian commands a military operation on the ground, and if there is another slip-up, it will certainly be a devastating blow to him personally, but as far as the strategic thinking of active defense is concerned, can it be said that it is the last swan song of this old military thinking? If the old one loses, and the war continues, then who will take over the command? The answer is self-explanatory. This answer is unquestionable, and it cannot be changed! It will be a fierce clash of old and new, and at the same time a brutal clash of old and new! It may not necessarily trigger a fierce internal struggle, but it will inevitably be accompanied by a large amount of lives and blood of those Great Zhao soldiers who fought on the battlefield in the southwest one by one......

He hated Zhang Pu, and he hated this place. Xiao Jian originally had the opportunity to retreat peacefully and steadily, but as a result, the war in the southwest was together, and now it is very likely that he will lose all his honor and glory, and he will be ruined! And he is very likely to have to step on Xiao Jian's old body and walk to Jiazhou. This point, whether for him or for Xiao Jian, is extremely cruel!

He sat in the hall of the post station outside the city, and could not calm down for a long time. Until the guard on duty knocked on the door and said that Shangguan Rui had sent someone to send a few things.

When he was eating, he once asked for a cursive calligraphy of Chang Xiu by name, and when he left, he was in a hurry and forgot to bring it, and now Shangguan Rui sent someone to send it.

The calligraphy is a trivial matter, and the guards accept it. But there was another thing that Shangguan Rui sent, and the guards couldn't deal with it.

Another gift from Shangguan Rui was a slender lady. Shangguan Rui's magical powers are really vast, it's already midnight, and he can actually get the contract documents of the slender lady from the teaching workshop in the West Garden, even with the receipt of the cancellation of the music registration and the official document of the household registration of the place where the teaching workshop is notified, as well as the deed of the two maids around the slender lady, all of which are handed over to Shang Cheng. He even prepared all kinds of things for the slender lady, but told Shang Cheng that these were all hand-held items for the slender lady.

Shang Cheng casually flipped through the roster of the slender lady's "belongings", and couldn't cry or laugh when he boarded it. The slender lady is a woman in the teaching workshop who is in the music book, and there is actually a true calligraphy of the calligrapher Yu Shinan in the early Tang Dynasty, who is willing to believe it?

Shang Cheng didn't want the slender lady to stay. But he also knew that if he really let the slender lady leave, Shangguan Rui would not let this woman go, and it was estimated that this woman would be frightened first. Forget it, for the sake of Yu Shi's authentic writings, let her stay. At least this woman speaks in a nice voice, doesn't she?

He asked a question curiously: "You have a good voice, why do you want to do things in a restaurant and not sing big books or books?" If you were singing, you would have saved up all your redemption money, right? ”

"When the slave was a child, he was drugged, his voice was broken, and he couldn't sing high notes." The slender lady said in a thin voice.

Shang Cheng was speechless for a moment......