Wei Bao was worried that Nurhachi would attack at any time, and it was even likely that he had gathered a large army around Ningyuan City!

If Nurhachi attacks Ningyuan City at this time, the credit will either be taken away by Yuan Chonghuan, or Ningyuan City will be broken by Jiannu because of the mutiny of the soldiers, neither of which is what Wei Bao wants to see.

Once Jiannu takes Ningyuan City, the land outside the pass will be cut in half, the Guanningjin defense line will no longer exist, the strategic depth outside the pass will disappear, and there will be too few things to do.

The emperor and his courtiers would even take the opportunity to put the blame on themselves!

Wei Bao knew how enthusiastic those ministers were about him just now, and how vicious these people would be when he was unlucky.

Wei Bao is used to seeing officialdom turn his face and not recognize people.

At the age of sixteen, he has been promoted to a second-class member, how many people are jealous, and how many people are red-eyed?

Wei Bao doesn't need to think about it, there must be no one who is not jealous, and there is no one who is not red-eyed.

Therefore, Wei Bao seems to be smooth sailing now, but in fact, it is full of crises, and there is no room for mistakes.

This time it was the holy decree issued by Zhu Youxiao, so the efficiency of the palace was very high, and when Wei Bao arrived at the mansion, the holy decree and the objects rewarded by the emperor also arrived.

Zhu Youxiao is indeed very generous this time, 3,000 acres of fertile land and 10,000 taels of silver, which is equivalent to a reward of more than 20,000 taels of silver.

What's more, the best fertile land, in Beizhili, is not easy to buy with silver.

The eunuch who came to convey the holy decree was not trivial, it was Wei Bao's private uncle Wang Tiqian.

The chubby Wang Tiqian was still expressionless as before, and it was difficult for outsiders to see the change in expression from the face of the prince.

However, Wei Bao, who has already trained a certain amount of eyesight in officialdom, still feels that Wang Tiqian is much happier today than in the past.

Wang Tiqian read out the holy decree, and Wei Bao took a group of family members to receive the decree and thank him.

Wei Bao knelt on the ground and respectfully accepted the holy decree.

"Lord Wei, get up quickly." Wang Tiqian said with a smile: "Congratulations to Lord Wei for being only sixteen years old, he is already a member of the second grade, which is rare in ancient times." ”

Wei Bao hurriedly humbled a few words and made a gesture of invitation: "Would you like to invite the prince to the hall for a cup of tea?" ”

Then he said to Lin Wenbiao: "Greeting several fathers-in-law." ”

Wang Tiqian and Lin Wenbiao both knew that Lord Wei had something to say, and wanted to say a few words alone with Wang Tiqian.

"It's okay, you and the people in Lord Wei's mansion will clearly point out the things that Your Majesty has rewarded, especially the 10,000 taels of silver, and the amount cannot be the slightest difference." Wang Tiqian commanded.

Several eunuchs agreed even loudly, and they all secretly wondered, who else dared to embezzle the silver rewarded by His Majesty.

Wei Bao smiled: "You don't need to order anything, please invite a few fathers-in-law to drink tea, rest your feet, and let my people express their gratitude." ”

A group of eunuchs of all sizes were very happy, knowing that Lord Wei had always been generous, and Lord Wei said this, everyone could get at least ten taels of silver, maybe even fifteen taels of silver, and it was not impossible to have twenty taels of silver.

Several eunuchs thanked each other.

As soon as Wang Tiqian entered the hall, he saw that there was no one, so he praised him: "Xiaobao, this time you are beautiful, you were promoted to the governor of Zheng Erpin at the age of sixteen, and you are still the governor of real power. ”

"It doesn't matter, it's a destiny." Wei Bao said disapprerovingly: "Didn't uncle see it? Your Majesty and Wei Zhongxian are already very protective of me. ”

Wang Tiqian nodded, "You can see this, it's very good, you really can't take it lightly, but as long as you can do things, don't care too much." ”

"It's not easy to go to Liaodong to pacify the army this time, the last time the disarmament was not a mutiny, this time it was a mutiny." Wei Bao said with a bitter face.

Although in front of Wang Tiqian, Wei Bao didn't dare to be careless, half of this was said to Wang Tiqian, and half was acting, so that Wang Tiqian could go back and learn from Zhu Youxiao.

Wang Tiqian smiled and said: "Okay, there is no need to say this in front of me, your difficulties, I will naturally tell Your Majesty if I have the opportunity." It's not easy to know you. By the way, where do you want to be in those 3,000 acres of fertile land? I can help you figure it out. ”

Wei Bao didn't care much about the good land, but after listening to Wang Tiqian's reminder, he came to some spirits, "If the three thousand acres of good land are put together, it will be a big manor, is the good land not tight, if there is a big manor in the suburbs of Beijing, it is conducive to my people and horses, and it is also conducive to the storage of goods, it is still very good, I don't know if there is a suitable location in Tongzhou?" ”

The reason why Wei Bao asked this is because he knows that there are too many dignitaries and nobles, and the old Zhu family will basically have a few more relatives for a while, and the emperor will not find a bunch of women, if there are women, there will be women's families, and some fields will be rewarded to go out, in addition, there are meritorious ministers, favored ministers and eunuchs, all of whom will be given good land, so Wei Bao will ask this.

Wang Tiqian said: "Tongzhou definitely doesn't have such a large piece of fertile land, but if you don't want good land, you just want a big place, you can allocate more mountainous land to come in, and it's not a problem to get tens of thousands of acres of land, anyway, your Lord Wei is now popular, no one dares to say anything, this matter is on me." ”

"Well, thank you uncle, it's better to stay close to the traffic arteries." Wei Bao added. and Wang Tiqian, Wei Bao doesn't have to be polite, the silver paid to Wang Tiqian every year is at least two or three hundred thousand taels, if it is used to buy fields, tens of thousands of acres can be bought.

Wang Tiqian thought for a while and said: "This matter is not difficult, I have a lot of acres of land given by His Majesty in Tongzhou, and many eunuchs in the palace also have acres, I can think of a way to let people exchange land with you, how much do you want?" ”

"The more the merrier, it's better to be all together, and they can all hold the main traffic routes, and you can station some people." Wei Bao said bluntly: "In this era, there is no one in hand, and you can't find a helper if something happens." Raising two or three thousand families in the suburbs of Beijing, at least you don't have to be afraid of many people. ”

Wang Tiqian nodded: "It's not difficult, I'll help you do this, is 20,000 mu enough?" ”

"That's enough, thank you uncle, how much silver?" Wei Bao hurriedly asked.

"What kind of silver? You give me so much silver every year, and this thing of doing acres of land is just a gift from me! Wang Tiqian said: "I have no heirs, as long as you are good, I will be happy." ”

When Wei Bao heard this, he couldn't help but be a little moved, and he didn't know if Wang Tiqian was telling the truth, so he said sincerely: "Where can I let my uncle break the bank, I will immediately let people raise silver, is 20,000 taels of silver enough?" ”

"No, you kid." Wang Tiqian excused himself.

Just when Wei Bao and Wang Tiqian were talking, Wu Xuexia came to report the matter.

In order to show that he and Wang Tiqian were indistinguishable from each other, Wei Bao did not avoid it, and said directly to Wu Xuexia: "If there is anything, just say it directly." ”

"Grandpa Guo is here, he looks very angry, and he is about to see the lord." Wu Xuexia said.

Wei Bao sweated, the British prince came, and he still seemed to be very angry? What is he angry about?

"Where's the U.S. dollar?" Wei Bao asked.

"Meiyuan is already accompanying Grandpa Guo." Wu Xuexia said.

Wei Bao nodded and looked at Wang Tiqian embarrassedly.

Wang Tiqian said with a smile: "Grandpa Guo is here, I guess I don't want the lord to go to Liaodong, I'm afraid this errand will be too difficult, okay, sir, you are busy, the old slave will retire." ”

Wei Bao also thought of it immediately, it was estimated that he was guessed by Wang Tiqian, his father-in-law was very protective, and he didn't want to see himself wronged at all, probably because he was afraid that he would suffer a loss when he went to Liaodong to pacify the army, and he was afraid that he would not be able to complete the task.

"I guess yes, okay, then I won't keep the princess." Even in front of Wu Xuexia, Wei Bao was no longer commensurate with Wang Tiqian's uncle and nephew, and was very cautious: "The 20,000 taels of silver, I will immediately ask people to raise it." ”

"I said no, the lord mentioned the silver again, I'm not happy." Wang Tiqian said with a straight face, "I won't be polite, you will listen to me this time." ”

Wei Bao was so moved that he could only nod his head again and again.

Wei Bao didn't say anything more, knowing that the eunuchs were actually more face-saving than normal men, and what they said, they didn't like others not to do it, and they would feel faceless.

After sending Wang Tiqian away, Wei Bao immediately asked everyone to speed up their preparations, leave Beijing within two hours, and then go to see his father-in-law Zhang Weixian.

Zhang Weixian was angry at this time and said to Zhang Meiyuan: "Don't stop me, I'm going to stop Wei Bao!" Is this decree so easy to take, bastard? The Liaodong Army mutinied, and to pacify the army at this time is tantamount to looking for death! If you bring a lot of soldiers and horses, it is easy to get fired, and if you bring fewer people, it is easy to be caught and killed by the rebels. It's not pleasing to kill the rebels, and being killed by the rebels is not looking for death? ”

"Father, don't worry, the husband will naturally have arrangements, besides, we have controlled the 50,000 army in Shanhaiguan, and we are completely controlled by the husband." Zhang Meiyuan said.

"Shanhaiguan is not Wu Xiang is the chief soldier? Although Wu Xiang is also Xiaobao's father-in-law, where can the father-in-law be reliable? In the event of a major event, even the biological father and son may not be reliable! Zhang Weixian said anxiously: "The military matter, you are still too young to watch too child's play." There is no trivial matter in the military, in this cold and cold place outside the border, anything can happen, those Liaodong troops can eat people when they are hungry, and they are no different from wild beasts. ”

Wei Bao happened to hear it outside the door, and he was speechless, thinking how dark his heart was, father and son were unreliable, do you still doubt Zhang Meiyuan and your son Zhang Zhiji?

Also, the Liaodong Army is like a beast, and in the eyes of your Guannei people, the Liaodong Border Army is like that?

It's no wonder that the people outside the gate are incompatible with the people inside the gate, they can't get used to each other, and they can't be integrated.

At this time, Wei Bao suddenly felt a little sympathetic to the rebels of Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui, first of all, they were basically forced to surrender when they had no choice and could not do Jiannu.

Second, the people inside the Guanguan relied on the border army outside the Guanguan to fight wars, but they regarded the border army outside the Guanxi as no one else, and now it seems that it has been a long time.

Zhang Zhiji also followed Zhang Weixian, saw the strange expression of his brother-in-law Wei Bao, and knew that Wei Bao was not used to listening to his father's words, so he laughed softly: "Okay, you don't need to be like an old man, he likes to talk to death." ”

Zhang Zhiji is still a relatively gentle person, knowing that Wei Bao must be from Liaoxi, and he didn't like his father to say that the Liaodong Border Army, Liaoxi Liaodong, broke bones and tendons, in fact, in the eyes of Guannei, Liaoxi belongs to the same outside the Guan.

Wei Bao smiled slightly, said that it was okay, entered the hall, and saluted Lord Yuezhang first: "Lord Old Taishan has arrived." ”

As soon as Zhang Weixian saw Wei Bao coming in, he immediately walked over to Wei Bao: "Xiaobao, you came just in time, are you asking people to pack up their things and prepare to go to Liaodong?" ”

Wei Bao smiled and nodded: "Lord Taishan, I have already received the holy decree!" Of course I have to go, and the decree has made me leave today, and I will leave now. ”

"You can still laugh." Zhang Weixian looked at Wei Bao, he was speechless, if this was his own son, Zhang Weixian would definitely have a slap in the face.

Wei Bao retracted his smile and blinked.

"Little treasure! Don't take it seriously! Isn't that clear what I just said? Whether you kill the Liaodong Army or the Liaodong Army kills you, it will not do you any good, a thing that is not beneficial, what do you provoke to do in the upper body? Come, you will follow me into the palace now, I will fight for the old face, and let Your Majesty take back his life! Dare to love me, there is no one left? Let my son-in-law go for everything, is my son-in-law the only one who can be an errand in Daming? Zhang Weixian said indignantly, as if he was very aggrieved.

Wei Bao was pulled by Zhang Weixian's arm and walked out, "Lord Taishan, don't worry, listen to me first, okay?" ”

"Don't listen, don't listen! I don't listen to anything! You can't go this time, it's a dead end! Zhang Weixian said.

Wei Bao finally pulled Zhang Weixian and couldn't go anymore, and said, "Lord Taishan, am I so stupid?" I will neither lead troops to kill the Liaodong border army, nor will I run to Liaodong to let them kill me, I am in Shanhaiguan, I have tens of thousands of people under my command, hundreds of generals, what is the use of asking so many people? Do you still need me to go out in person? As soon as I sent some people over to exert pressure, these border troops had to compromise, and let the generals of the Liaodong border army meet me at Shanhaiguan and appease me a little, and it was done, which was very easy. Besides, the holy decree has already been received, you always sell your old face to contradict Your Majesty, right? ”

Zhang Weixian was persuaded by Wei Bao at once, thinking about it, it must be bad to always contradict the emperor, in fact, Zhang Weixian is also a very sleek person, especially to the royal family, he has always been very loyal, and he has come forward several times for Wei Bao.

"Really? You are only in Shanhaiguan, not Liaodong? Zhang Weixian asked.

"Can that be fake?" Wei Bao smiled: "You always think I'm not afraid of death?" I'm definitely more scared than you. It's my own life, after all. ”

Zhang Zhiji also smiled: "Dad, Xiaobao is right, Xiaobao is such a smart person, can he do things that are at a loss?" In my opinion, this is a good thing, Xiaobao has not yet hit the road, His Majesty has already given the official position of the second grade, Xiaobao is only sixteen years old, and he is already a member of the second grade, isn't it enough? ”

Zhang Weixian was a little shaken when he heard his son say the same.

"Dad, what the eldest brother said is right, I will advance and retreat with my husband, I will watch my husband, and I will never let my husband be in danger." Zhang Meiyuan also said.

Hearing his daughter say the same, Zhang Weixian could only say: "Okay, Meiyuan, you must look at Xiaobao, you must not let Xiaobao go out of the customs, it is in Shanhaiguan, Shanhaiguan is Xiaobao's territory, it should be fine, it is too dangerous outside the customs." In the middle of winter, the ice and snow outside the pass, the big and small Ling rivers are frozen, Jiannu's iron cavalry can kill at any time, not only the rebels are in danger, Jiannu is more dangerous, our Ming soldiers and horses, out of the city, is the live target of Jiannu. ”

Wei Bao heard Zhang Weixian say this, and secretly praised the old man for still having military ideas, which was good.

"Dad, don't worry, I'm definitely not going out." Yan Tiannan's heart was warm: "Dad, you are too good to me, I know it." ”

Yan Tiannan is generally called Lord Taishan, and rarely called Dad, this Dad is very affectionate and sincere.

Zhang Weixian patted Wei Bao's shoulder, nodded and said: "Okay, you are a smart person, you need to plan well, before you do anything, think more about Meiyuan, you are a family person, and there are things, but don't treat them as child's play." We are people with foundations, we are not afraid of making mistakes, even if we make a big mistake, at most we will go home to play for a few days, and after a while, we will be reinstated, and if we lose our lives, we can't get them back, you know? ”

"Yes, yes." Wei Bao smiled perfunctorily.

finally said that he had left his father-in-law, and after saying goodbye to his eldest brother, Lord Wei immediately took people to set off.

The news that Lord Wei was about to go to Liaodong to take office soon spread throughout the capital through various channels.

Wei Bao's subordinates, in the same year, Jinshi Liu Ruozai and Yu Huang, basically the officials of the capital were dispatched, and tens of thousands of people spontaneously ran to the gate of the capital to see off Lord Wei, and told Lord Wei to take care of himself in Liaodong and pay more attention to his own safety.

After Wei Bao greeted everyone, they all agreed and left the capital before nightfall.

Wei Bao and his family, as well as the beautiful secretaries of the president's secretariat, there are hundreds of sedan chairs and dozens of carriages.

The carriages were not filled with gold, silver and jewelry, but several carts were given by the emperor with 100,000 taels of silver, which were used to appease the officers and soldiers.

The rest were ordnance that had been brought out.

Wei Bao is not for that bit of ordnance, Wei Bao is mainly for iron riding bronze.

I'm afraid that there are so many iron and bronze weapons in Beizhili, that is, the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War, Wei Bao receives these iron and bronze tools from the Ministry of War every month, and then takes them back to the arsenal in Weijiazhuang, Liaoxi to make materials.

Since Wei Bao was in the capital, it was much easier to obtain materials than before.

In addition to the President's Secretariat, Wei Bao is surrounded by the General Administration of Statistics, some directly subordinate agencies, and people from the President's Staff, in addition to the President's Guard, which has a total of about 800 people.

Because of the hurry, Wei Bao did not let him rest, and the army marched quickly, and arrived at the boundary of western Liaoning at dawn the next day.

Of course, this has to do with the fact that the cars are equipped with leather tires.

The road from the capital to Shanhaiguan has also been repaired by Wei Bao, although it is not a cement road, it is also very good, so the speed of the journey is fast.

Wei Bao does all these things in the name of donations.

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