In order to improve the security army's ability to manage civil affairs, Zhang Chu and Zhu Jishi formulated methods for the appointment and use of relevant officials. www.biquge.info Zhu Jishi also recommended Chen Zhong to Zhang Chu, ready to reuse it, but he didn't expect Zhang Chu and Chen Zhong to meet but they were not very satisfied, Chen Zhong did complete the work very well, but it was not that he completed it very well, it was his officials who completed it very well, and it was done very well under the premise of overdrawing the enthusiasm of his subordinates. What Zhang Chu saw from Chen Zhong was a big private word, this private word was not for wealth but for power, and he could do whatever it took to get greater power. In the future, if there is no room for growth, it is likely to turn to wealth, Zhang Chu does not want the officialdom of the security army to form such an atmosphere, so let Zhu Jishi investigate it again, and don't make a hasty decision.

Faced with the problem of a lack of officials, Zhang Chu decided to hold a large-scale examination to recruit officials after the New Year.

In order to do a good job in this examination, Zhang Chu ordered that from now on, the "Zhongyang Daily" should begin to carry out public opinion propaganda, publicize the content and question types of the examination, and shift the focus of people's study to the practical knowledge taught in the security military school. This will be a big shock to traditional readers.

At the same time as the security forces were conducting a large-scale propaganda examination, Zhang Chu secretly launched a new round of arms expansion.

Zhang Chu understood that once the news of the recruitment of officials by the security army reached the imperial court, that is, when he and Chongzhen turned their faces, Chongzhen would not tolerate Zhang Chu's behavior of placing officials privately. Zhang Chu knew that this day would not be too far away.

At this time, Zhang Chu sent a detailed work to the Houjin side to send back the news, the Houjin people had a change, and Huang Taiji had ordered all tribes to train soldiers to prepare for robbery operations in the spring of next year. The tribes were all excited when they received the order, looking forward to another big harvest like plundering the Jingshi. After analyzing the intelligence of various aspects, Zhang Chu's staff officers analyzed that the Jin people were very likely to launch an attack next spring, and the target should be the Datong and Xuanhua areas in Shanxi.

Since the target of the Houjin attack was not in his sphere of influence, Zhang Chu decided to inform Emperor Chongzhen of the news that the Houjin was about to enter the Kou. I hope he will be prepared so that the people will suffer less.

Zhang Chu's judgment was correct, and Huang Taiji in the northeast was really preparing for war. Zhang Chu's series of attacks made the Later Jin lose control of the Dongjiang River, Lushun and Daling River, although the nobles of the Later Jin Dynasty were a little surprised by the defeat to the Ming army, but they did not think it was a big deal, the Later Jin people only valued the population and property in the war, occupied a place and robbed things, and the city or something lost its meaning to them, so they were not interested in retaking these places that had been looted.

Huang Taiji saw a longer term than others, and he was very shocked by the battle of the Ming army, and from the various confusing information that came back, Huang Taiji knew that the troops of the Jin people who had defeated them several times had a common name: the Security Army. The security forces used a large number of firearms, causing huge casualties to the Houjin people in the attack and defense of the city. Huang Taiji couldn't think of a good way to deal with the security army for a while, he just naturally thought that the enemy's firearms were powerful, and I could also use firearms, so he stepped up to urge the craftsmen of Houjin to increase the production of firearms. At the beginning of spring, more firearms based on redcoat cannons should be manufactured in preparation for the attack on the city.

The information provided by Zhang Chu was passed on to Luo Yangxing through Guo Zhiyi, a thousand households of Jinyi Wei, and finally went to Emperor Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen fell into a strange circle after discussing it with his ministers. If the enemy wants to attack, he must defend, and if he defends, he will increase his troops, and he will need money to increase his troops, but Emperor Chongzhen is short of money, and then the ministers will look back and doubt the authenticity of this information. Anyway, if there is no money, this soldier should not be increased. The emperor and the ministers had an idea in their hearts, Datong and Xuanhua had always been the military towns of the Ming Dynasty, and there were heavy troops stationed, and if the Houjin came to attack and defend the city, it should not be a problem, and the people outside the city were not considered by them.

In addition, the ministers have a reluctant meaning in their hearts, this information is provided by Jinyiwei, can Jinyiwei's words be believed, the ministers are already very unhappy with the emperor's recent increase in trust in Jinyiwei, if such important information Jinyiwei can get it, then Jinyiwei's power is still aimed at strengthening, so the ministers choose not to believe that this information is true.

The matter of Datong and Xuanhua passed in this way. However, Emperor Chongzhen still has some things to be happy about, this joy is still thanks to Zhang Chu, this year Zhang Chu took more than one million taels of silver from Emperor Chongzhen to take action one after another, recovered Lushun and other areas, and gained a foothold in the Daling River, which greatly reduced the pressure on the Liaodong defense line of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Chongzhen felt that the money was not spent in vain every time.

After being happy, Emperor Chongzhen moved his mind again and decided to transfer some troops from outside the customs to Shanxi to exterminate the thieves.

From the psychology of Emperor Chongzhen, he always believed that the thieves in Shanxi and other places were his henchmen, and they were the forces that could threaten the Ming Dynasty, and the Houjin outside the gate was just a gang of robbers, who ran away after grabbing things, and would not come to seize the Zhu family. Therefore, the policy of the imperial court was to concentrate on suppressing thieves as soon as there was a chance to breathe.

The iron cavalry outside the pass joined the Shanxi battlefield, and the pressure on the rebels increased greatly. Many rebels tried their best to flee from Shanxi and Henan to avoid the advance of the official army. Li Zicheng had no way to leave easily due to the huge team, and at the same time he was reluctant to occupy the territory that he had managed to occupy, and in terms of quantity alone, there were still more rebels under Li Zicheng than the official army, and he felt that if these people were trained well, they should be able to defeat the official army.

Li Zicheng wants to expand the army naturally inseparable from Zhang Chu, the two sides have formed a stable supply and demand relationship in recent years, Li Zicheng pays, Zhang Chu provides weapons and armor, and sometimes also provides some food. Zhang Chu's reputation as a fan of wealth has been spreading among the rebels for a long time, and everyone knows that no matter who has enough money, they can buy sophisticated knives and guns and other cold weapons from Zhang Chu. Zhang Chu also took special care of Li Zicheng and sold Li Zicheng many old-style artillery pieces that had been eliminated by the security army, which greatly increased the combat effectiveness of Li Zicheng's team, and many county towns were broken by their artillery.

Li Zicheng, who had tasted the sweetness, also wanted to have a force that used more powerful firearms, so this time he specially sent his nephew Li to meet Zhang Chu to discuss the purchase of this batch of weapons, he hoped to buy better artillery and some muskets from Zhang Chu, so that he would be more sure when attacking the city.

And Li Guo and Zhang Chu have known each other for a long time, and it can be seen that Zhang Chu still appreciates Li Guo very much, and the two have some friendship. Maybe Zhang Chu agreed to sell better weapons on Li Guo's face. (To be continued.) )