As Liu Cheng's secretary, Zhao Wende had naturally read the contents of the letter, and he sneered: "The morale of this dynasty is so corrupt, if it weren't for this, how could the Ming Dynasty be so good today?" My lord, how are you going to reply to them? ”

"Didn't they want to bring down Yang Sichang? Okay, I'm still worried about Yang Sichang on stage, I can't grasp this matter? You write back to Nahou Fangyu, that's it! Speaking of this, Liu Cheng lowered his voice and told Zhao Wende, and after a while, Zhao Wende smiled and said: "My lord is really good, I can't help that Hou Fangyu!" ”

"I can't say it's a good plan, but it's enough to deal with such children!" Liu Cheng sneered: "Jiansheng, I'm tired of you!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Wende owes a debt and retreats, Min Min walked over with his two sons, and said with a smile: "Ah Cheng, seeing that you are so happy, is there anything good?" ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng bent down and hugged his two sons, and said with a smile: "Minmin, thanks to this group of delusional people, it won't be long before we can move to Beijing, don't you think it's a good thing?" ”

Time is like flowing water, and in a blink of an eye, it is already March of Chongzhen's tenth year, although the wind is still like a knife outside the plug, and the ice is like iron, and Jingshi can already clearly feel the breath of spring. www.biquge.info The clothes of the pedestrians on the road are no longer bloated, and the branches of the locust trees beside the road are faintly showing a little young shoot. Those "well-informed" people in the Ming political arena are also sensitive to the fact that a great change is about to happen, as if it is like the water surging under the ice surface of the Taiye Pool.

Of course, Sun Chuanting was not one of these well-informed people, and he had been somewhat disheartened since his last envoy to comfort Mongolia. Originally, he was an extremely diligent person, and his envoy to the Ministry of Rites was a quiet place, and if there were no vassals to come to worship, it was common for him to have no affairs to deal with for ten days and a half months. However, Sun Chuanting either studied the military book every day, or practiced the martial arts of riding and archery, and the time was full. And after returning from the city of naturalization, he seemed to be a different person, and after going to the yamen every day to deal with official business, he would return to his apartment to sleep with his head down, or drink alcohol alone. Fortunately, his official position is not high, and the Ministry of Rites is a clean place, so the imperial historians did not impeach him.

On this morning, Sun Chuanting went around the yamen according to his usual habits, and after confirming that there was no official business, he returned home, and sent his servants to the wine shop at the end of the alley to sell two pots of wine, buy some snacks, and prepare to drink a few glasses at noon. Sun Chuanting drank a few glasses of wine, and then heard someone outside say loudly: "Is Brother Bai Gu here, is Brother Bai Gu at home?" ”

Sun Chuanting frowned, put down the wine glass and stood up, and asked in a deep voice, "Which one?" ”

"It's me, Wang Suixing!"

"Brother Xingxing!" Sun Chuanting was taken aback, and hurriedly opened the courtyard door: "Brother Suixing, when did you come to Jingshi, why didn't you notify me first?" ”

There is a scribe in his early forties standing outside the courtyard, but it is Sun Chuanting's friend Wang Qiaonian, this person is a jinshi in the second year of the Apocalypse, and most scholars and doctors in the late Ming Dynasty are different, Wang Qiaonian is self-motivated on weekdays, evil clothes and food, when he goes out as an official, he only brings two servants, and does not accept concubines for himself. boasting of both civil and military skills, Hugh Mu galloped and rode at a leisurely pace, learned to stab with a bow and knife, and tempered in the wind and dew in the bedroom. Sun and Wang belonged to the outliers in the extravagant and weak fashion of the late Ming Dynasty, so they became friends when they were officials in Beijing, and Wang Qiaonian was released as the prefect of Qingzhou in the second year of Chongzhen, and was promoted because of his excellent performance, and then resigned and returned to his hometown to mourn because of his father's death.

"I came to Beijing because of a big event!" Wang Qiaonian said with a smile, and then he found that Sun Chuanting had the smell of alcohol on his body, and said with a smile: "Brother Baigu, are there any friends?" ”

Sun Chuanting was stunned when he heard this, and immediately realized that Wang Qiaonian found the smell of wine on his body, and his face was slightly red: "No, I'll drink two glasses if I'm a little bored!" ”

"It's not like you!" Wang Qiaonian said with a smile: "Brother Bai Gu, I remember what you said at the beginning, a manly man should be determined to clarify the world, how can he immerse himself in the things in the cup?" ”

Hearing his friend say this, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and he forced a smile: "Brother Suixing said yes, but if you come today, it doesn't hurt to break the ring once!" With that, he grabbed Wang Qiaonian's right arm and walked into the house.

Wang Qiaonian came into the room, only to see a few cold dishes on the table, a tin wine jug, a cup, and half a cup of residual wine in the cup, obviously Sun Chuanting had been drinking for a while, and his brows were slightly furrowed. He thought about it for a while, and decided not to persuade his friend first, but to talk about another thing first. He sat down with a smile: "Brother Bai Gu, do you know what I came to Jingshi for this time?" ”

Sun Chuanting took a new wine glass, put it in front of his friend, and said with a smile while pouring wine for him: "It must be that the three-year period has ended, and it is a matter of reinstating to become an official, right?" ”

"Brother Bai Gu said he was laughing!" Wang Qiaonian said with a smile: "When I was mourning in my hometown in the past two years, I listened to Mr. Shi Zhai's lectures, and I had the ambition to retreat to Linquan, and my fame has faded, how could I come to Beijing for these teachers?" ”

"What's that for?"

"Write to all the scholars, and ask the Holy Son of Heaven to enable the famous ministers to supervise the towns and pacify the eastern captives as soon as possible!"

"What?" Sun Chuanting was stunned when he heard this: "Brother Chuanxing, such a military event, how can there be a reason for the scholars to write and say things?" Aren't you fooling around? ”

"Brother Bai Gu, don't worry, listen to me!" Wang Qiaonian said with a smile: "Since the end of Wanli, the Donglu has rebelled, and my Ming Dynasty has no peace. The reason for this is that the superintendent is not in harmony, and the inconsistency between the upper and lower levels is the first sin. I don't know if I'm right? ”

"Hmmm! But what does this have to do with what is said in the book? ”

"Then let me ask another question, now that the internal troubles of my Ming Dynasty have been eliminated, the new funeral of the chieftain and the new tax are imposed, is it a good time to crusade against the Eastern Captives?"

"This-" Sun Chuanting frowned, he had already guessed seven or eight points at this time, indeed as Wang Qiaonian said, in a sense, Chongzhen's ten-year strategic situation can be said to be more favorable to the Ming Dynasty than when Nurhachi had just died and Huang Taiji had just succeeded to the throne. After Li Zicheng asked for recruitment, the war in the mainland had basically subsided; The ruling class of the Later Jin Dynasty was newly defeated and killed each other; After Liu Cheng completed the detour, Da Ming had actually surrounded Houjin from three directions. However, from another point of view, the improvement of the strategic situation is based on the squeezing of the peasants, and this situation cannot be sustained for a long time.

"So we thought that the imperial court should set up a heavy minister, supervise the army of Xuanda and Guanning towns, fight quickly, pacify the Dongyu as soon as possible, stop the new tax and rest the people! Brother Shiratani, what do you think? ”

"We?" Sun Chuanting savored his friend's words, obviously this matter was not as simple as Wang Qiaonian said, otherwise why did he come here at this time? There must be a group behind him that is planning all this, and it is inappropriate to make a rash statement or refuse by himself. Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting smiled: "It sounds reasonable, but is there already a candidate?" ”

"If you talk about military affairs, how can I be as good as Brother Baigu, I came here this time to ask Brother Tai!"

"To tell the truth, there is really no very suitable candidate among the ministers of the DPRK and China, if you insist on picking, I am afraid that there is only Lu Jiutai (Lu Xiangsheng), but he is more than brave, and the strategy is still insufficient!"

Wang Qiaonian suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Baigu, how is Lu Boqi, the governor of Xuanda?" ”

"Lubqi?" Sun Chuanting lost his voice, and his heart suddenly flashed the rows of iron horses, cold cannons, and Liu Zhentai who always seemed to be wearing a mask, thinking of this, he subconsciously shook his head: "Why choose him?" ”

"Merit! Although Lu Jiutai also has a lot of victories, he can basically fight thieves, but Lord Lu is different, from thieves to Tartars, and Dongyu, there is no shortage of everything, and the weight is much heavier than Lu Jiutai! What's more, Liu Chengnai under his command is a famous general in the world, and the two have a deep friendship and complement each other, and they will definitely be able to pacify the Dongyu! ”

The more Wang Qiaonian spoke, the more energetic he became, but Sun Chuanting was silent. Unlike other Beijing officials and scholars, he had seen with his own eyes the huge resources that Liu Cheng possessed: countless herds of cattle and horses on the grassland, thousands of fierce knights, mountains of armor and firearms, and the most terrifying thing was that all of this was under Liu Cheng's orders alone, and even the imperial court had nothing to do with him. At that time, after he learned of Ezhe's violent death, he immediately wrote to the imperial court, demanding that the matter be investigated to the end, and that it must be clarified. But the book went unheard of, as if he had never written it. After this incident, Sun Chuanting already understood that the imperial court actually had nothing to do with Liu Cheng, and the military books and strategies he had read before were worthless in front of this man.

Wang Qiaonian was not a fool, seeing Sun Chuanting so silent, he understood that the other party did not agree with his candidate, so he asked in a low voice: "Brother Baigu, do you think it is inappropriate?" ”

"Brother Suixing, I think it's better to think twice about this matter!" Sun Chuanting said in a low voice: "Lu Boqi and Liu Boqi have a deep relationship, on the other hand, Liu Cheng and Lu Boqi also have a good relationship!" Let Lord Lu supervise the two towns of Xuanda and Guanning, which is equivalent to letting Liu Cheng supervise the soldiers and horses of these two towns, do you think it is appropriate? ”

Wang Qiaonian was stunned for a moment and fell into deep thought.

Just like the snowball rolling down from the ice peak, Wang Qiaonian said that he wrote and recommended Lu Boqi to supervise the second town of Xuanda Guanning, and the crusade against Dongyu began to run. At first, it was only circulated among the officials of the Beijing Division, then among the scholars, and finally even among the market. Since the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty has been defeated in every battle against the Eastern Prisoners, not only losing the land of Liaodong, but even the Jingshi has been defeated twice, which has never happened since the defeat of Tumubao. From top to bottom, the Ming Dynasty had such a thought - to pacify the Dongyu as soon as possible and restore the good days of the peaceful years.

Military Aircraft Division.

"Bastard, misguided and mediocre!" Yang Sichang angrily threw a piece of music on the ground, and he even stepped on it twice to vent the anger in his chest.

"Sir!" Chen Xinjia was taken aback by Yang Sichang's abrupt action, and hurriedly snatched Song Shu out from under Yang Sichang's feet, this is for the Son of Heaven to see, if Chongzhen sees footprints on it, this is a terrible sin.

"What are you robbing! Where is there a human heart to write such a bastard thing! Yang Sichang angrily snatched another copy from several cases and threw it on the ground, and stepped on it fiercely: "Please use Lu Boqi to supervise the two towns of Xuanda and Guanning?" What is the difference between this and handing over these two towns to Liu Cheng? Don't they know at whose hands Ezhe died? If Liu Cheng turned the horse's head, what would they use to resist? With their moral articles? ”

"Sir, these people must be appeased!"

"It's weird!" Yang Sichang sneered: "Look at these people, they are all from Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian. What does it have to do with them if they are not settled, what they care about is to get me out of this position as soon as possible. Lu Boqi led the two towns to fight the Dongyu, and won the battle against Lu Boqi and made great achievements in the world, so he naturally wanted to join the cabinet as the first assistant and drive me down; If I lose, I am a scholar of the military department, and I will step down. Anyway, Lu Boqi is not even a jinshi, and he can't sit in the position of first assistant for a few days, as long as he can drive me Yang Wenqiao away, don't block their career, how much is the world worth in the Ming Dynasty? ”

"This-" Chen Xinjia heard this, his forehead was already full of beads of sweat, as Yang Sichang said, the force hidden behind it is a sure deal, anyway, in the end, Yang Sichang has to get out, so they have a chance to take advantage of it. This method is very ingenious, but it is a little more damaged.

"So, what should we do?"

"Of course I can't agree!" Yang Sichang walked to the bookcase, picked up a pre-cut note, wrote on it with a red pen, and sandwiched it in the note after writing: "Anyway, my Yang Wenqiao's reputation can't be bad, I don't want to fight for this life, and I can't destroy the world of the Ming Dynasty in the hands of these guys." ”

Looking at Yang Sichang's firm eyes, Chen Xinjia couldn't help but admire. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there was a very strange phenomenon in the central politics, that is, the supervisory power overrode the administrative power, that is, the officials of the imperial history and the officials of the imperial rank, who were not of high rank, could have influence far higher than their rank, and the result was low administrative efficiency. As we all know, the main purpose of the emperors in ancient China was to check and balance the power of the emperor so as not to threaten the position of the monarch. But the Ming Dynasty has not had a prime minister since Zhu Yuanzhang, and the subsequent Shoufu is actually just a senior adviser to the Son of Heaven. The last minister of the Ming Dynasty who dared to be hard like Yang Sichang was Zhang Juzheng!