Last night, almost all the officials of the Third Division of Shandong stayed up all night.

In accordance with the will of the imperial court, with Xu Huizu as the leader, a general headquarters for the suppression of bandits was set up, and the garrisons in Shandong and Hebei were commanded in a unified manner, and the White Lotus Sect was exterminated within a time limit of three months, that is, before April. Among them, Xu Huizu is the commander-in-chief, Guo Jian is the deputy commander-in-chief, Tie Xuan is the chief supervisor, Xu Kai is the chief of the general staff, and Tie Xuan also serves as the political envoy of Shandong.

As for the officials in Shandong, the punishment of the imperial court has also been announced, Liu Sui, the capital secretary of Shandong, was demoted to a servant, and all the former Tongzhi and the servant were transferred to the headquarters of the suppression of bandits, and the position of the capital division was taken over by the loyal martyr Marquis Geng Xuan; Li Yuchi, the political envoy of Shandong, was demoted to participate in politics, and the original political participation was also transferred to the bandit suppression headquarters and was dispatched by Tie Xuan; As for Liang Shangkuan, the envoy of the Imperial Procuratorate, he was dismissed on the spot, and his position was taken over by the Imperial Emperor Jingqing; Other officials, big and small, have also been demoted or dismissed.

At first glance, it seems better to be demoted than dismissed, but it's not. In the Ming Dynasty, dismissal generally represents two meanings, one is not enough ability, and the other is bad luck, if it is considered that the ability is not enough, then it is difficult to be used again; But if it's considered bad luck, there will always be a day when it will be activated, and often the original job will be activated. Because no matter how big the chaos is, there will always be a day when it will subside, such as this time the White Lotus Sect rebellion, it looks like a huge momentum, the court is shocked, but the bandit will always subside, at that time, there will definitely be people who feel that the punishment for you is too heavy, as long as you have a way and an opportunity, then it is very likely that you will be reactivated by the court and play your spare heat in a new position.

But demotion, on the other hand, is quite difficult to get back up the ranks. This not only requires the selection of officials step by step, but also needs to have good political achievements, and you also need someone to help you speak; What's worse is that the former subordinates have become your superiors, and you want to be promoted, but you have to slap them, even if you are psychologically passable, your subordinates may not be as you wish, you don't need him to target you too much, as long as he snubs you, you have no political achievements, then there is no possibility of reinstatement.

Imagine that the imperial court wants to use a criminal official, if he has been idle at home in the past few years, then it can be said that he has learned a lesson, studied behind closed doors, cultivated himself all day long, and looked forward to serving the court again day and night, as long as someone said that someone believed it, then there would be a chance; But if he is demoted, then it is natural to ask about his performance in the past few years, if his boss (former subordinate) says that this person complains all day long, does not feel at ease with his own work, and does not get along well with his colleagues, then it can basically be said that there is no hope of promotion; Moreover, over-promotion of officials is a taboo in officialdom, and the fact that former subordinates have become superiors is also something that many people hate.

Therefore, for the officials of the Ming Dynasty, they are more afraid of demotion than dismissal.

Therefore, after receiving the holy decree, after a short period of emotional downturn, the enthusiasm of the officials in Shandong has been unprecedentedly raised, and they all hope to make meritorious contributions and take the lead in quelling the chaos, so that some people can be reinstated from their posts, and some people can even go to the next level. Therefore, they actively collected information, actively sought to meet their superiors, and actively contributed their wisdom, while the military actively engaged in war and was inseparable from the rebels.

……

There were not many people who were qualified to participate in the military conference, mainly from the military, including commander-in-chief Xu Huizu, chief of supervision envoy Tie Xuan, chief of staff Xu Kai, commander of the Second Guards Army Cao Yushu, and the new Shandong Metropolitan Secretary Geng Zhen and Liu Sui, as well as Li Yuchi, the political envoy of the political envoy Zuo, Jing Qing, the envoy of the investigation department, and two thousand households of the Investigation Department, and the deputy commander-in-chief Guo Jian did not participate because of military reasons.

At the meeting, Liu Sui first spoke, and he introduced the situation in Shandong:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the stronghold of the White Lotus Sect is the stone unloading shed outside Qingzhou City, located in the southwest of Qingzhou City for more than fifty miles, composed of several interconnected hills, the terrain is dangerous, overlooking the mountain from the mountain, it is unobstructed, and it is difficult to attack."

"After hearing the report, the last general ordered the garrison near Qingzhou to enter and suppress, but most of the garrisons near Qingzhou were transferred to North Korea, and the garrison near Jinan was unable to mobilize to ensure the smooth flow of the canal and the safety of the flank of the holy car near Kaifeng."

"Moreover, the last general has already written to the imperial court to transfer back part of the guards who attacked Korea, and the emperor has agreed. However, it will take at least two months to issue the military order to the return of the army, in order to ensure the safety of Qingzhou City during this time, the last general has ordered the commander of Qingzhou Wei to make Gao Feng pay attention to the movements of the bandits, but he did not expect that a month ago, the bandits suddenly launched and caused a catastrophe. ”

"The whole thing started when King Qi's guards were lured out of the city......"

“……”

"Now, the White Lotus Sect bandits have captured Qingzhou, Anqiu, Shouguang many county seats, before the arrival of Commander-in-Chief Xu, their main target was Jinan Mansion, and they had divided their troops to attack the two cities of Le'an and Laiwu, and our army fought back and killed countless bandits. Now the army of Jinan is gathered, and the bandit army has also retreated to the east, they are mainly concentrated in the area east of Qingzhou, occupying seven cities, and the number of people is estimated to be more than 50,000! ”

"Fifty thousand? So much? ”

As soon as Liu Sui's words fell, both the officials in Shandong and the newly transferred officials were a little surprised, and couldn't help but whisper.

"Be quiet, be quiet," General Xu Kai patted the table lightly and frowned: "General Liu, what is the situation east of Qingzhou now?" Is there still a formed guard army? ”

"There is this, mainly Laizhou Wei and Aoshanwei, as well as Changyi and other places are holding on, while Dengzhou, Weihai and other Wei are intact, but they have the responsibility to resist the Japanese, and they will not dare to mobilize, because now the relationship between the Japanese and my Ming Dynasty is tense, and there are often sporadic Japanese invaders who come to harass."

"Well, that official understands, the White Lotus Sect bandits are concentrated in the area east of Qingzhou, Laizhou and the west of the Aoshan line, and there are about 50,000 people, so what is their combat effectiveness?"

"The White Lotus Sect bandits are not afraid of death, and they have obtained a large number of armor and supplies from Qingzhou, so their combat effectiveness is not weak, but they lack combat experience and have no siege equipment, and I heard that they are not harmonious internally, so they are all rabble, so there is nothing to fear!"

"Discord?"

"Well, according to the information of the Investigation Division, this is indeed the case."

Xu Kai was stunned for a moment, and looked around at the crowd: "Are the people from the Investigation Department here?" ”

"Qianhu Hongqin, the Inferior Investigation Division, see the commander-in-chief, the chief inspector, and all the adults!"

Under everyone's annotation, a middle-aged man with a thin figure and a full beard stood up, saluted everyone first, and then walked to the map, and said: "According to accurate information, this White Lotus Sect rebellion is related to the chaos of Tian Jiucheng and Gao Fuxing in Shaanxi County in the early years of Jianwen, because in this turmoil, Tian Yu'er, the saint daughter of the White Lotus Sect, is the daughter of Tian Jiucheng, Tian Jiucheng once usurped the throne and claimed the title of emperor, and Feng Tian Yu'er is the princess of the dragon and phoenix. In addition, according to rumors, Tian Jiucheng also has a younger son, named Tian Wanjia, who is also among the bandits of the White Lotus Sect. ”

"But," Cao Yushu was stunned for a moment, and said, "Didn't you say that Tian Jiucheng was a monk?" How can there be daughters and sons? ”

"Hehe, General Cao doesn't know, this Tian Jiucheng is a flower monk, not only has sons and daughters, but also many young and beautiful female apprentices, and the woman who seduced King Qi is one of them."

"Hong Qianhu, can you confirm this?" Xu Huizu said suddenly: "This matter is very important, and it must not be faked!" ”

"The humble post dares to be sure, because when the Marquis of Xiping suppressed Tian Jiucheng's rebellion, the humble post was in the local Baihu, and he saw Tian Jiucheng with his own eyes, and the subordinates of the humble position, someone has seen Tian Yuer and Tian Wanjia, two days ago, the humble post sent him over to identify, according to his report, Tian Yuer is indeed among them, but he has not seen Tian Wanjia."

"Moreover, many people who hold military power in the White Lotus Sect army have Shaanxi accents, they are the main force of the bandit army when they captured Qingzhou City, and most of them now hold military power."

"Oh, this official understands," Tie Xuan stroked his beard and smiled, "Is it that Tian Yu'er and these people have a discord with the local White Lotus Sect?" ”

"My lord Mingjian, it's true, it is said that this Tian Yuer came to Shandong four years ago, and there are many dead soldiers arranged by his father, as if to make the Shandong White Lotus Sect rebel and contain the imperial court's military strength, it may be opposed by the local White Lotus Sect, and it was not successful, but Tian Yuer became the saint of the White Lotus Sect and held a lot of power."

"This time the White Lotus Sect uprising, part of it started in Cangzhou, part of it started in Qingzhou, but the White Lotus Sect in Cangzhou not only has a small number, but also has little momentum, and the main participants are poor farmers on both sides of the canal; In addition, the bandit army in Shouguang, Jimo, Anqiu and other places is also organized by the local White Lotus Sect, and they are at odds with the White Lotus Sect bandit army near Qingzhou. If they can work together and attack Le'an Prefecture with all their might, I'm afraid that Le'an has already been lost! ”

Everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn to Liu Sui, Liu Sui's face was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded and said: "That's true, the main ones who attack Le'an are the bandits from Shouguang and other places, and their purpose is to make peace with the bandit army going south in Cangzhou." ”

"In addition, there is another reason why the Jinan Army cannot advance eastward, that is, the Cangzhou bandit army is moving south, and they are distributed on the front line of Dezhou and Leling to confront our army."

"But there are not many of them, and their equipment is extremely poor, if it weren't for the cold, the last general would have wiped them all out a long time ago!"