"I'm not arrogant, the pace of history will prove it!" Zhong Nan responded: "What's more, in the Korean War, firearms have proven their importance, as long as we don't give the Mongolian cavalry room to charge, they will definitely be defeated by the guns of the Ming army!" ”

Shi Xing wanted to refute, but Emperor Wanli, who had not spoken for a long time, spoke: "I think what Zhong Aiqing said makes sense, how many years ago did the Mongolian cavalry be majestic, and now my Ming soldiers are strong and strong, do you still need to be afraid of war!" ”

The meaning in Zhu Yijun's words is obviously inclined to the side of the main battle, not to mention that Zhong Nan has always been called "Zhong Aiqing", rather than his official position, how can everyone not hear the meaning of support in this, plus everyone in the cabinet has become the main battle faction, Shi Xing will naturally not be bored anymore.

Nowadays, the court has lost the strong ministers like Zhang Juzheng, whether it is the cabinet or the six ministries, they will pay more attention to the emperor's opinions, if the ministers and the emperor have different ideas, Shen Shixing will act as a "peacemaker" and reconcile with each other on both sides, so as not to affect the normal operation of the state apparatus. Seeing that the emperor had made up his mind, several old men got up from their seats and respectfully echoed: "The emperor is sage! ”

Zhong Nan saw that the emperor had made a final decision, and his heart finally settled down, he didn't want to come to the "civil fort" again. I believe that Zhu Yijun also remembers this period of history vividly, so the emperor set the tone of the main battle early this time, and as for the specific steps and arrangements for the follow-up, it is necessary to plan according to the movements of the Mongols.

After the meeting, everyone received the task, originally Zhong Nan was going to return to Jizhou the next day, but the emperor read in Zhong Nan after a long journey, just rushed from Jizhou to Beijing, and the distance between the two places is close, so he specially approved his three-day vacation, and he can rest and rest in Beijing.

Zhong Nan did not shirk the emperor's kindness, and he made an appointment with Shi Xing and Song Yingchang for dinner two days after the Ming Dynasty, so he planned to stay in Beijing for three days, and before he left Jizhou, the military affairs had been arranged, so he was worried that it would have any impact.

Zhong Nan was the last to leave the imperial study, because his official position was the lowest, and according to etiquette, of course, the high official position should be allowed to go first. It's just that he didn't expect to meet Shen Shixing at the gate of Bauhinia City, and most of the old man's appearance was waiting for him here, Zhong Nan didn't dare to hold it up, and quickly stepped forward to say hello. Shen Shixing nodded in response, and after chatting for two sentences, the old man stepped into the topic, "The deputy chief soldier of the Holy Chartered Zhong will rest in Beijing for three days, I don't know if you have any arrangements?" ”

"Looking back at Lord Fu, I have an appointment with Shi Shangshu and Song Shilang of the Ministry of War."

"They move fast," Shen Shixing smiled, "It seems that Deputy Chief Zhong is already a celebrity in the Beijing Division right now, and the old man wants to invite you to line up!" ”

"Let Shousuke-sama see it smile, the last general is just a martial artist, where can he be considered a celebrity." After all, the other party is the first assistant of the court, although he is not as powerful as Zhang Juzhengshi, but he can also be regarded as the number one figure in the court today, Zhong Nan thought about his itinerary, and said to the old man: "Originally, the last general should have visited Lord Shoufu first, but I was not familiar with the master of Beijing and couldn't recognize the door of the adult's house, so I delayed it." Since I just happened to meet an adult today, 'it's better to hit the sun than to break the sun', if it's convenient, I will want to go to the adult's house at the end of today to recognize the door. ”

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say!" Shen Shixing stroked his beard and smiled, "Then the old man will be waiting for the big driver tonight!" ”

"How dare you, I'm going to bother adults tonight!"

Then the two agreed on a specific time and happily parted, Zhong Nan returned to the inn where he stayed, thinking about the future. Today, Nurhachi is still growing in strength in the poor mountains and rivers of the northeast, and he doesn't know how to attract the attention of the emperor and his ministers; The Second Great War with the Japanese Kingdom will not take place in a few years, and I don't know what the process and outcome will be; As for the war that was about to start with the Mongols, it seemed that there was no such thing in his original memory, and he didn't know what the outcome would be......

The inn where Zhong Nan lived was specially prepared for officials from all over the world who came to Beijing on business, and the little guy who served here was certainly no stranger to the staff of the Shoufu family. In the evening, the innkeeper led a man to Zhong Nan's room, saying that the housekeeper of Lord Shoufu's house was looking for him. So Zhong Nan changed his clothes, picked up a little more, and followed the housekeeper who came to pick him up and went out.

When he arrived at the gate of Deshen Mansion, Zhong Nan was surprised that Lord Shoufu actually greeted him at the door in advance, which made Zhong Nan a little panicked - he didn't know the purpose of Shen Shixing tonight, and he always felt a little "sheep in the tiger's mouth".

Before Zhong Nan waited for the sedan chair to stop, he greeted Shen Shixing first, and the two entered the house hand in hand after greeting each other. Dinner from the style of the dishes can be seen that the host has put a lot of thought, Shoufu Lord knew that Zhong Nan's hometown is in the Sichuan and Shu area, and specially went to the Sichuan restaurant in Beijing to invite the chef, and the other dishes are also based on spicy taste.

Most family dinners don't talk about business at the wine table, and this time it's the same, the two of them talk about innocuous topics at the banquet. After being full of wine and food, Lord Shoufu invited Zhong Nan to the living room, and after the servant poured the tea and left, Shen Shixing cut to the chase.

"Deputy General Zhong has been leading troops to fight outside, I don't know how much I know about the affairs of the imperial court?"

"As the lord said, the last general has been in the army in recent years, and with his low official position, he knows very little about the affairs of the Jingshi Imperial Court."

Zhong Nan is not lying, he does not know much about the people and things in the current court, as for the history in the original time and space, he estimates that it is very likely to match the current reality, and it is really not sloppy to say that "I know very little". Shen Shixing saw that his expression did not seem to be fake, stroked his gray beard, and said after a moment of silence.

"My Ming Dynasty has been more than 200 years since the founding of Taizu, and it has been 22 years since the Holy Emperor ascended the throne. It's just that since the death of the former first assistant Zhang Juzheng, the court has had a lot of influence, and many capable officials have been dismissed. Later, the turmoil of the liquidation was slowly calmed down, but no one had the talent of Lord Zhang to make the Holy Lord accept the ministers' reasonable advice with pleasure and convincingness. ”

"Now the eldest son of the emperor is twelve years old, and King Fu is also eight years old, but the Holy Lord has not yet canonized the eldest son of the emperor as the crown prince. Taizu has a motto that 'there is a grandson, and there is no grandson to grow', and I have also written many times, but the saint always delays. Since ancient times, the crown prince has been known as the 'national capital', and now there are many words in the court, and early determination is also conducive to the stability of the court situation. ”

"I see that the Holy Lord has a lot of trust in you, and I hope that Deputy General Zhong can persuade him more in front of the Holy Lord, so that the eldest son of the emperor and the blessed king can establish their respective identities as soon as possible, which is also my obligation as a courtier!"

It was only at this time that Nan understood the purpose of Shen Shixing inviting him to dinner tonight, to put it bluntly, he saw that he was now a saint, and hoped to speak for the eldest son of the emperor in the matter of establishing a prince. Zhong Nan knew that he had no foundation in the imperial court, and he was a border general, although he was temporarily valued by Emperor Wanli, he was not suitable to take sides on this issue. It's just that Shen Shixing told him the matter so bluntly, it wouldn't be good if he refused in person, so he had to be sloppy.

"Lord Shoufu, you also think too highly of me, the last general is a martial artist, where can you have the ability to say that the saint is moving. What's more, I will return to Jizhou in the next day, and I will be busy with matters related to the battle with the Mongols in the future, and I don't know when I will return to Beijing next time, maybe Lord Shoufu and other adults have already solved the problem before this. ”

Who knew that Shen Shixing didn't expect Zhong Nan to help much in the matter of establishing the prince, but he saw that he was quite favored by Zhu Yijun, so he casually mentioned this matter.

What Lord Shoufu really wanted to talk about tonight was the matter of the Mongols going south, and it happened that Zhong Nan mentioned this, so he continued to talk about it, "Is Deputy General Zhong really so sure that the Mongols will invade the south? ”

"Nine times out of ten, it's just the difference between morning and night."

"Alas, what an eventful time!" Shen Shixing sighed, and then he asked about some border armaments, and the two discussed the prospects and various situations of the Mongol battle.

The next day was an appointment with Shangshu Shixing of the Ministry of War, and because the two had just had a verbal battle in the emperor's imperial study, the meal was a little tasteless. Fortunately, Shi Shangshu is old and refined, and Zhong Nan is not the kind of stunned youth, and the two will not break up unhappily.

On the third day, the appointment was made with Song Yingchang, a waiter in the Ministry of War, and Zhong Nan admired this hot-blooded vice minister of national defense. After three rounds of drinking, Song Shilang joked: "Actually, I have already crossed paths with Deputy Chief Zhong. ”

Zhong Nan was puzzled, when did he deal with Song Shilang? Song Yingchang smiled at first and said nothing, and then gave a hint before Zhong Nan remembered.

That was a few years ago, when it was still at the end of the war to aid Korea, the Japanese army had withdrawn from Pyongyang, and the army of the Ming Dynasty was required to reorganize and return to the dynasty. At that time, the general Li Rusong was still in North Korea, and Song Yingchang, as the strategic envoy of the war to aid Korea, met with these generals who had made military achievements.

The two recalled the bits and pieces of the war to aid Korea, and clinked glasses and drank from time to time, as if they had forgotten the New Year. The meal took nearly two hours to end, and if Song Shilang's family hadn't come out to stop it, he would definitely have drunk a tincture.

The three-day period was fleeting, and Zhong Nan once again embarked on the road to leave Beijing, but it must have been difficult to return to Jizhou, but now he is full of confidence.

Mongols, let your horses come!