Outside, Songshan in Liaodong was defeated, and Hong Chengchou was martyred; In Annei, the official army of Zhuxian Town was defeated, and Zuo Liangyu was also killed by the Chuang army. In less than three months, the two major defeats that followed undoubtedly cast a thick layer of frost on the already shaky Ming court.

From the end of May to the beginning of June, the panicked Ming court began to urgently adjust the deployment of internal and external wars.

Externally, Emperor Chongzhen, who was forced by the situation, brewed an unprecedented charter to negotiate peace with the Qing State, and handed it over to Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, Xie Sheng, a university scholar, and others for specific arrangements; Internally, while discussing how to deal with Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue and other repeatedly defeated commanders, Hou Sui, who had been imprisoned for several years and known as the "all-round talent of civil and military affairs", was released from prison and reappointed as the head of the military department and the governor of military affairs in Shandong, Henan, Hubei and other places, and immediately went to Henan to fight the fire. and because of the incompetence of Gao Douguang, the governor of Fengyang, Ma Shiying, the former governor of Xuanfu, who had been dismissed for bribery, was promoted to replace him. In addition, the governor of Sichuan, Liao Daheng, was also dismissed from his post and reappointed Chen Shiqi, the deputy envoy of the Sichuan military garrison, as the governor.

Counting Sun Chuanting, who took office before, the officialdom of Shaanxi, Henan, and even Sichuan and Nanzhili have all moved, but only Huguang, which is also close to breaking into the army, has not been appointed or dismissed. There is only one reason, just like the attitude towards the fierce tiger army in the past, the imperial court is still waiting to see Zuo Mengeng's movements.

Zuo Mengeng is Zuo Liangyu's son, but he has no position in the army, but the rest of the Zuo family's army is still condensed around him, this situation is very delicate, the court does not move, it is afraid of stepping on thunder. After all, the violent style of the Zuojia Army has long spread all over the world, and if they are not properly handled, it is difficult to guarantee that a drastic change will not cause a catastrophe at a time when the country is in internal and external difficulties. Therefore, before the official edict was issued, the imperial court was very cautious to send someone to Huguang to step on the point first, but the destination of this person's trip was not Zuo Mengeng, but in Yunxiang Town, which was close to Zuo Menggeng.

In early June, two rows of fireworks rang out in unison, beating gongs and drums outside the city of Suizhou, and Zhao Dangshi led the civil and military to welcome the angels from Beijing.

The sedan chair slowly stopped, the direction of the sedan mouth was slightly oblique, and the two small lieutenants accompanying the side of the sedan gently lifted the sedan curtain left and right, and helped the people in the sedan car to come down. Zhao Dangshi stepped forward and saluted the white-faced bearded man in front of him in python clothes: "Zhao Dangshi, Yunxiang Town, participate in the prince!" "The other party is none other than the current eunuch Wang Chengen, the eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor Bingbi, and the eunuch Wang Zhixin, the commander of the ceremonial supervisor and the eunuch of the factory. Wang Chengen is a confidant of Emperor Chongzhen, and he is deeply trusted, and eunuchs such as Wang Zhixin, Wang Zhijun, Wang Dehua, and Li Zongzhou, who have been following him, have also ascended to heaven because of this, and their identities are prominent.

"Lord Zhao is exempt." Wang Zhixin was supervising Cao Yun in Fengyang Mansion before, and he was temporarily assigned to come to Huguang, covering his mouth and yawning when he spoke, it seemed that the bumps along the way were enough to choke.

"Dare to ask if the Eucharist has been in good health lately?"

"Ann."

"The saint is for the country and the people, and he works hard all night, which really makes me and other ministers ashamed of themselves, and we can only use this to spur ourselves to introspect from time to time, but I hope to be able to share the slightest worry for the saint is enough to comfort my life." Zhao Dangshi sighed, "I have such a holy and virtuous king, and it is just around the corner to cleanse the interior and clear the ugly atmosphere!" ”

"Lord Zhao's loyal heart, the miscellaneous family has listened here."

Zhao Dangshi smiled again and again, and entered the city with a group of people embracing the king's heart. It was just past noon, and the evening banquet was still in full swing, so I invited Wang Zhixin to drink tea and rest in the elegant room of the other courtyard.

Wang Zhixin's purpose in coming to Suizhou was Zuo Mengeng, so he chatted with Zhao Dangshi for a few words, and then went straight to the point.

"Where is Zuo Menggeng's army stationed now?" Wang Zhixin's slender fingers caressed the small but delicate incense burner on the side, and asked slowly.

"Since the unfortunate death of Zuo Shuai, the original subordinates have successively gathered under Zuo Mengeng, and now they are stationed in the inspection department of Pingli City, southwest of Yingshan County, with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses." Zhao Dangshi replied.

As early as late May, Zuo Mengeng, who learned of Zuo Liangyu's bad news, began to shrink his forces in an all-round way, and Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku and other battalions turned back halfway and returned to Hezhi Temple. Zuo Mengeng then moved his anger at Qian Zhongxuan, raised troops and transferred to Changling Gang, and immediately marched on the Pingli City Inspection Division where Qian Zhongxuan was stationed. The emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, there are still 10,000 people under Zuo Mengeng's hands, Qian Zhongxuan did not dare to be a tough enemy, hurriedly led the army to retreat, and hid back in Anlu County, Zuo Mengeng then occupied the Pingli City Inspection Division.

"Alas, grandpa misses Zuo Mengeng, I heard that I haven't eaten or drunk for several days and nights." Wang Zhixin frowned slightly, with a little pity and a little sadness, "Zuo Mengeng is proud of the soldiers, there are many of them, without Zuo Liangyu's constraints, grandpa is worried that his army will lose the country's grace." "The palace people call the emperor, "long live" and "grandpa" are idiomatic expressions.

Zhao Dangshi said: "The saint is too worried, Zuo Mengeng and Qian Zhongxuan have been at odds recently, Zhao is mediating in the middle, and Zuo Mengeng's army has been stopped in the Pingli City Inspection Department for more than half a month, just waiting for the court documents." ”

"What documents are you waiting for the imperial court?"

"Sealed papers." Zhao Dangshi said, "Zuo Mengeng has no official position, and the army has no reputation if he follows him, he has no ambition to serve the country, but he can't move." ”

"What does he want?"

"I don't want anything else, I just hope to inherit my father's position."

Wang Zhixin shook his head and said: "Zuo Mengeng is young and has no military achievements, it is impossible to be a reinforcement commander. Lord Zhao, the news from the imperial court is that Liu Chao is proposed to be appointed as the commander in chief, and I want to decide the matter sooner or later, so I will tell you in advance. ”

Liu Chao is now over 60 years old, and Wang Sanshan, the governor of Henan at any time during the Apocalypse, suppressed the rebellion of Lu'an, and was later implicated and dismissed because of the defeat and death of Wang Sanshan's soldiers, and has been idle at home in Henan since then. A few years ago, Henan thieves started, he recruited villagers to defend themselves, regained attention, this year opened up the joint, and once again got the opportunity to get ahead.

Zhao Dangshi arched his hand and said: "Zuo Mengeng is self-aware, and he doesn't dare to hope for the post of the commander-in-chief, as long as he can inherit his father's guard officer level and peace thief general, he will be grateful to Dade." ”

"The Wei inherited the inherent custom, and he didn't need to worry about it, but this thief general ......"

Zhao Dangshi said at this time: "Father-in-law, no matter what, Zuo Mengeng has tens of thousands of soldiers in a hundred battles, wouldn't it be a pity that so many people don't use them to fight thieves?" With the seal of a thief general, he can go back and forth to suppress thieves and serve the country again. But if there is no seal of the thief general, Zhao is really worried, worried...... "Speaking of this, he didn't go on, and smiled at Wang Zhixin."

When Zuo Liangyu was reinforcing the general army, because of the overlapping functions, the general of the thief could only be regarded as an honor for him. But Zuo Mengeng couldn't win the position of reinforcing the general army, and the remaining Ping Thief General was very important to him. When he became a thief general, he had a reason to transfer with his soldiers and horses.

Of course, Wang Zhixin knew the meaning behind Zhao Dangshi's silence, and his heart was awe-inspiring. His father-in-law, Wang Chengen, once instructed him that the local civil and military forces are insatiable, and they love it the most. As a royal angel, they must hold it, even if it is a penny, they must try their best to find it, so as to show the authority of the court. This statement was originally reasonable, but now the situation is different, Zuo Mengeng's tens of thousands of troops are not a small number, and the general of the thief is just a temporary dispatch, and it is insignificant to give it, but if it arouses Zuo Mengeng's anger, leads the troops to make chaos or even surrenders to the thief, then the gains outweigh the losses, and he can't afford this responsibility.

"This is negotiable." Wang Zhixin coughed lightly to hide the nervousness in his heart, "Did Zuo Mengeng say anything else?" ”

"There is another point, Zhao seems to be a reasonable request."

"Tell me about it." Wang Zhixin slowly felt that the Zhao Dangshi in front of him seemed to be of the same heart as Zuo Mengeng.

"Zuo Mengeng begged for the army to be paid by Wuchang Mansion."

"Wuchang Mansion?" Wang Xin was shocked, "What is the truth of this?" ”

Zhao Dangshi said seriously: "When Zuo Shuai was here, his troops were based in Henan, and it was not wrong to suppress thieves and raise an army, and he was able to fight with thieves and so on. Now that Zuo Shuai has died, his basic location in Xuzhou, Henan Province and other places have been thieves, but Zuo Mengeng still has more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, not a few, if there is no suitable place to station, I am afraid that the army will be discouraged. ”

"Why do you want Wuchang Mansion, can't you do it elsewhere?"

Zhao Dangshi responded: "There are three advantages to choosing Wuchang Mansion. First, Wuchang Mansion is the closest to the current Zuo Mengeng army station, and the itinerary is the most convenient; Second, Wuchang Mansion is the place where Chu Fu is stationed, and Zuo Mengeng is stationed, which can be used to protect Fu Ya; Third, thieves are rampant in the southeast of Chu, especially the thieves come and go, and Zuo Menggeng's army just happened to suppress them. ”

Wang Zhixin said again: "The miscellaneous family heard that Chu Zhenqian Zhongxuan was around Wuchang Mansion, and Zuo Mengeng went, what will he do?" ”

Zhao Dangshi replied: "Qian Zhong was selected as the general soldier of Huguang, and it is not reasonable to stay in Jiangbei for a long time. "When the Huguang General Army of the Ming Dynasty was first established, it was stationed in Huguang and Guizhou provinces, only because the junction of the two provinces was full of Tusi barbarians and was prone to riots, so it was stationed in Changde Mansion, which was close to Guizhou. After the Banzhou Rebellion was pacified, the Guizhou General Army was set up in Guizhou, and the Huguang General Army even had a long-term vacancy. It can be seen that at least before Chongzhen, even if there was the setting of the Huguang General Army, the focus of its authority was also in the south of the Yangtze River rather than the north of the Jiangbei, and it was not until the Apocalypse that the Huguang General Army was reinstated.

Wang Zhixin frowned and said: "But when Zhengde was enshrined in Changde Mansion, didn't the Huguang General Army Garrison move to Wuchang Mansion?" "Rong Wang Zhu Youshu is the thirteenth son of Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshenshu, and the imperial court was afraid that the army would disturb the palace when he was in Changde Mansion, so he changed the station of the Huguang General Army to Wuchang Mansion. Wang Zhixin was in charge of printing the books instructed by the emperor in the Si Li Supervision and Economic Factory, and he had read a lot of books, and his knowledge was far higher than that of ordinary eunuchs.

But Zhao Dangshi still has a back hand, stroked his palm and smiled: "My father-in-law is knowledgeable and admirable. Then he said, "But it is because there is King Rong in Changde Mansion that Qian Da needs to go to Changde Mansion." ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"My father-in-law supervised Caoyun in Fengyang Mansion, and he should have heard of the situation where thieves on both sides of the river are rampant today. According to Zhao's military report, the thief has captured Luzhou and other places, and has a plan to take advantage of the river to make trouble. There are lessons from the past of the Blessed Domain and the Tang Domain, how can the screen protection of the Rong Domain of Changde Mansion be great? ”

This sentence made Wang Zhixin shudder, thinking carefully about Zhang Xianzhong's behavior of rushing thousands of miles to attack Xiangyang Mansion a few years ago, the safety of the Rong Fan really can't help but worry.

"The general army of Huguang is the general soldier of the town guard, and his job is to protect the territory, so let Lord Qian go to Changde Mansion and be reasonable. The general of the thief is focused on the expedition, and he needs to take the initiative to attack, Wuchang Mansion is located at the throat of the pass, and it is close to Anlu, just to prevent thieves and suppress thieves, so this arrangement is very suitable. Zhao Dangshi said, raising his mouth and smiling, "If you really let Zuo Mengeng's army go to the south of the river, it must not be a scene that the imperial court wants to see, right?" He added, "What's more, Zuo Mengeng is in the north and Lord Qian is in the south, which just controls the defense of the river on both sides, and restricts the sacrifice of thieves and other deaths to the east of Wuchang Mansion, which is greatly beneficial to the overall situation." ”

Zhao Dangshi's words once again reached the heart of the king, making him speechless for a long time. Zhao Dangshi accepted it when he saw it, said a few jokes, and hinted between the lines that he had prepared a generous gift for Wang Zhixin, and the atmosphere was lively again.

Wang Zhixin picked up the teacup with his left hand, held the lid of the cup in his right hand and leaked a small feng, and blew lightly into the cup and said, "Zuo Mengeng's affairs are all negotiable." The miscellaneous family is just a messenger, and the ideas of Lord Zhao and Zuo Mengeng will be brought back to Beijing, and they are still waiting for their grandfather to decide. ”

Zhao Dangshi was relieved and said with a smile: "I'm tired of my father-in-law." ”

"Don't bother, the county master is suppressing thieves in Chu, the saint heard about it, he can't bear it, and he also let the miscellaneous family come to condole." Wang Zhixin suddenly changed his name, said lightly, and secretly glanced at Zhao Dangshi's reaction.

When Zhao Dangshi heard this, he didn't say a word, he immediately knelt down, raised his hand in the northeast direction, and shouted long live in his mouth - the information revealed by Wang Zhixin is too important.

"Lord Zhao, get up, the saint already knows about your marriage with the lord of Huaqing, and he is amazed, and he praises the match made in heaven." A smile appeared on Wang Zhixin's pale face, "The Holy Lord is going to give a reward of 100,000 yuan in silver to Lord Zhao and the county lord to congratulate the wedding, and it will be transferred over in the near future." ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded and got up, sat back on his seat, and said in a loud voice: "I am ashamed of Zhao!" ”

Wang Zhixin showed a hint of an intriguing smile at this time: "Lord Zhao, you don't know, the Holy Lord has mentioned your name more and more times in the past few months, and it has been mentioned in the court and in the library, hehe, the three words 'Zhao Dangshi' are now in the limelight in Beijing." Then he said, "Lord Zhao, there are not many people who can get the Sacred Heart, you have to take advantage of it." As long as you work hard to relieve the worries and difficulties of the monarchy, and pay homage to the prince in the future, there will be no less. As he spoke, he touched his smooth chin, which had no beard.

Zhao Dangshi swallowed his mouth and nodded yes, but he felt cold behind his back.