"That's nature, that's nature!" Hearing Liu Cheng's relief, Li Dongguo was overjoyed when he heard this, he hurriedly stood up and said: "My lord, please rest assured, the teacher under me is the scholar of the Ministry of Rites and the scholar of Dongge University, Mr. Wen Changqing Wen (Wen Tiren, Changqing is his word), I will immediately repair a book and send it to Jingshi, there must be no problem!" ”

"Then let me take it!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "Leave the matter of recovering Pingyang to Du Shoubei, he is my general, he is skilled in military affairs, there must be no problem!" ”

Li Dongguo thought that Liu Cheng would personally lead the troops, but he couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard that Liu Cheng just let Du Ruhu lead the troops, but after thinking about it, he hoped that Du Ruhu would send troops from the beginning anyway, and he felt a lot better, and hurriedly thanked Liu Cheng. Liu Cheng went out to recruit Du Ruhu, told Li Dongguo about the situation, and finally said to Du Ruhu: "Pingyang Mansion is an important town in southern Jinnan, and it has the benefits of Hedong Salt Pond, so you must not fall into the hands of thieves. ”

Du Ruhu couldn't help but feel a little strange when he listened to Liu Cheng's instructions, but he had a steady personality, and many things were hidden in his heart and never revealed, so he simply bowed to Liu Cheng and responded: "Yes, sir!" ”

Li Dongguo ran all the way, and he was already extremely tired, and since he had achieved his goal, he told Liu Cheng to retire and rest. Seeing that the outsiders had already left, Du Ruhu stepped forward and asked, "My lord, why don't you personally lead the troops?" ”

Liu Cheng looked Du Ruhu up and down, and said with a smile: "What, don't you think you can't do it?" “

"How could that be?" Du Ruhu said with a smile: "After getting the military order of the adult, he recruited soldiers and stepped up training, it has been three or four months, and the armor and food are sufficient, although it is not as good as the tiger and wolf army led by the lord in Ningxia, but there is no problem in fighting the thieves." It's just that this battle is a little strange, and I don't know how to fight? ”

"Ruhu is really an old adult!" Liu Cheng smiled and patted the other party's shoulder. This Du Ruhu is really a person who has been a general, and he has already seen that the key to this matter is not to win the thief, but to the subtle thoughts between the upper-level officials of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces.

"I'll just talk about it, I'm reluctant to go to Beijing this time, Ningxia has just taken it down, all kinds of troubles one after another, this juncture to go to Beijing, at least two or three months round trip. Anything that happens in the middle is all in vain. Can you not go? Besides, I am the chief soldier of Ningxia, not the chief soldier of Yansui, and there is no military order from the imperial court to take you to Shanxi to fight thieves, isn't this waiting for the old man Yushi to take off my hat? So I asked you to lead the troops to pick up this messenger, and I hurried to Beijing to finish my mission, let's do our own thing, no one should delay! ”

"Then why didn't you just refuse this guy?" Du Ruhu asked puzzled.

"Huh!" Liu Cheng didn't answer Du Ruhu's question, and asked instead: "Ruhu, why do you think I was promoted so quickly in just two or three years?" ”

"Naturally, adults use soldiers like gods. Miracles! ”

"Wrong!" Liu Cheng patted the railing on the side: "You guess again." ”

Du Ruhu thought for a while and replied: "Then, that is the time of the adult, and everything is going well!" ”

"Hey!" Liu Cheng sighed: "Like a tiger." It seems that you are not as good as me in this ability to be an official, so I am idle today, so I will tell you the truth of being an official. "Speaking of which. Liu Cheng wiped the railing with his sleeve casually, and then sat on it: "Whether it's meritorious service, it's luck." In the final analysis, there has to be one thing to do, that is, there are people on top, and this is the most important thing! “

"Someone's up there?" Du Ruhu was stunned when he heard this, he was an old man who started with Liu Cheng, knowing that he claimed to have grown up in the temple, and he didn't even come to join the clan when he became the chief soldier, and he didn't even come to join the people, and he didn't have any young brothers and masters from those imperial examinations, just like the monkey that jumped out of the stone, where is there any person above? It's just that he has always had a steady temperament, and he didn't dare to conflict with Liu Cheng's language, so he just habitually nodded yes.

"Ruhu, I know you, even if I say in front of you that the sun comes out of the west, I'm afraid you will answer 'What the adults say is very true'!" Liu Cheng shook his head and said with a smile: "Do you remember when I just joined the official army, what was the first errand?"

"If I'm not mistaken, I went to the thief army and persuaded the thief leader called 'Two-Faced Light' to surrender to the court!"

"Ruhu, you have a good memory!" Liu Cheng praised: "Why did you say that Lord Yang didn't send someone else, but chose me?" “

"This, I remember that this matter was a message from my nephew of Guoying, and it happened to be the head of your lord, presumably Lord Yang chose you, my lord!"

"Then you're thinking badly!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "To achieve the position of the governor of the three sides, which one does not have seven or eight tricks in one heart, how can such an important matter be easy?" There are two advantages to Lord Yang's selection of me, I am raised by him, if this matter is done, he will promote me, and there will be many capable talents on hand in the future; If it doesn't work, I'm a halfway monk, and I won't feel sorry if I die. ”

"What the Lord said is true, but you have made great contributions, and it is also the right thing for Lord Yang to promote you, so you can't count it as someone above, right?"

"Really?" Liu Cheng's face showed a sneer: "Ruhu, you have also been in the army for generations, meritorious service is not rewarded, and there are few things that go unpunished?" Willing to talk about meritorious deeds is already Lord Yang's affection! ”

Listening to Liu Cheng's words, Du Ruhu couldn't speak for a while, and Liu Cheng continued to talk to himself: "Later, I went to Dunzhou to clean up the military camp, crusade against the thieves, and rescue Ningxia, all of which were inseparable from the mention of Lord Yang, Lord Hong, and Lord Lu, 'Since ancient times, there have been no powerful ministers, and generals can make contributions to outsiders!'" Can you conquer and cherish your soldiers, can you compare to King Wumu? “

"What your lord says is very true!" If Fang Cai Du Ruhu was still a little unconvinced, he was already convinced at this time, and he naturally knew that the King of Wumu that Liu Cheng said was not the King of Wumu of the Ming Dynasty, but the famous general Yue Fei and Yue Pengju of the Southern Song Dynasty. At this time, it was said in the folk workshop that Yue had already spread widely, and Yue Fei had also risen step by step from King Wumu and King E in the Song Dynasty, from Yue Fei Zhongwen, Yue Fei Baoyi, and Song Taizu, to the Ming Shenzong period, he was simply named the "Three Realms Jing Demon Emperor", and he had been promoted to a god. Although Du Ruhu admired his boss Liu Cheng's art of war very much, he did not think that Liu Cheng could compare with Yue Fei, who had been deified.

"Now that I have become the chief soldier and is in charge of Ningxia's military affairs, you should also know that if it weren't for my partner, it was Lord Lu. I'm afraid a lot of things didn't go so smoothly either. Martial artists to do my position, has no way to enter, this world is like the mountaineering, not to advance is to retreat, if there is no Austrian aid in the court, I am afraid that the road in the future will be very difficult to walk! ”

"Then my lord, this is to marry this Lord Li?"

"Well, in his early forties, he did the Hedong Salt Imperial History, and his future is limitless, and there are a lot of peers and masters behind him, so he can't let go of the opportunity to take this line!" Liu Cheng said this. Suddenly lowered his voice: "But you have to remember clearly, the factory pontoon bridge here in Chaoyi is my foundation, there is only you here, there is only a lone army here, if something happens, it will take ten days and half a month to transfer troops from Ningxia, you must be cautious, don't fold the old book in." ”

"Don't worry, sir, since you have paid the truth, I will naturally act cautiously!" Du Ruhu smiled: "Thieves have never stuck to one place. I am slowly advancing from the official road with great fanfare, and the thieves will naturally abandon the city after hearing about it, but I am afraid that I can take down Pingyang Mansion without even fighting! ”

"Good! If you are like a tiger, I will rest assured that you can do things! Liu Cheng said with a smile, and he waved his hand to beckon Hao Shaoqi on the side. He commanded: "Wave the flag, you go at once, Thomas and Yu He, please come!" “

"Yes, sir!" Hao Shaoqi answered, then turned and left. Liu Cheng said to Du Ruhu: "Except for this matter. I have one more thing to tell you, you must keep your mouth shut, and you must not tell any third party! ”

After about half a meal. Hao Shaoqi led Thomas and Yu He to come, Yu He pointed to Thomas and said to Du Ruhu: "Ruhu, Mr. Thomas is my guest, during the time I went to Beijing, he was here with you, no matter whether it was marching or fighting, don't avoid him, what requirements he has, try to meet them, understand?" ”

"Yes, sir!" Du Ruhu looked at Thomas's face curiously, but he wisely remained silent. Liu Cheng turned to Thomas and asked, "Mr. Thomas, you have already visited my arsenal in Chaoyi and experimented with my weapons, do you have any suggestions?" ”

Thomas bowed respectfully to Liu Cheng, his head almost touching his navel, and he replied in Chinese with a thick accent: "My lord, I have visited your arsenal, and frankly speaking, the scale of your factory is amazing, and the craftsmanship of the craftsmen is also very good, even His Majesty the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the scale of the arsenal he owns may not be able to surpass yours." Unfortunately, there are a few shortcomings in your factory that greatly affect the power of the weapons you create. ”

"Excellent! Mr. Thomas, you have shown your worth, speak up and you will find that I am a generous man! ”

"I have no doubt about that, Lord Governor!" Thomas perked up when he heard this, and he cleared his throat: "First of all, your army lacks strong artillery, frankly speaking, your soldiers use good arquebuses, a good shooter can easily shoot the enemy at a distance of fifty yards, and if you use a platoon gun, you can shoot at the enemy from a hundred yards away. But your artillery is very bad, your artillery is nothing more than a clumsy imitation of firearms that were obsolete centuries ago, the range is even inferior to that of the arquebus, and it is impossible to aim at all, there is no crosshair, no lugs, no gun mounts, and it is impossible to maneuver quickly on the battlefield and shoot in the right position; Secondly, the gunpowder used by your soldiers is still in powder form, which makes them easily damp, and it can also cause sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal to separate and have to be re-stirred, which has a great impact on the power of the firearms used by your soldiers. “

"Very good, Mr. Yu!" Liu Cheng said to Yu He on the side: "The people and property that this Mr. Thomas needs must be satisfied!" Also, don't leak it out! ”

"Yes, sir!" He owes the body.

"Mr. Thomas, my subordinate is about to attack a city occupied by thieves, you can go with him and find out about the situation of my Ming army!"

"It's my pleasure!" Thomas hurriedly bowed deeply to Du Ruhu, Du Ruhu arched his hand and returned the salute, he was quite disdainful of this high-nosed and deep-eyed Yiren Fangcai boasting about his own firearms, in his opinion, the bird guns and rockets equipped in his army are rare in the world, this Yiren is mostly lying to scare the public, but seeing that Liu Cheng attaches so much importance to it, it is not good to be straightforward.

"Mr. Thomas, what kind of country do you think the Ming is?" Liu Cheng asked suddenly.

"Your Excellency, your country is the most prosperous and rich country I have ever seen, with a large population, and the land is well cultivated, especially your textile factory, which is simply a source of wealth, and I dare say that even the wealth of the Medici family cannot be compared with you!" If Thomas was still a little hypocritical before, then the final praise for Liu Cheng's wealth was absolutely sincere. From Europe after the great geographical discoveries and the Renaissance, Thomas's greed for wealth far exceeded that of the Ming Chinese who were still under the feudal ethics and morality, in most stages of human society, textiles accounted for the lion's share of commodity trade, the earliest capitalist city-states in Europe almost all started around textile trade, sheep breeding, wool, dyeing, alum (necessary medicines for printing and dyeing), Spain, Low Countries, Britain, Florence and other industries developed around this industry. And in Liu Cheng's hydraulic textile factory, he saw rolls of woolen wool gushing out of the production line like flowing water, and in his eyes, it seemed that gold was gushing out from the factory gate.

"Really? But let me tell you, what you see is only one of the poorer of the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and in addition, the Ming Dynasty has countless vassal states, colonies, and dependent areas. Although you come from a place where there are many countries, these countries together do not have the vast, populous, and wealthy land. Mr. Thomas, do you know what I mean? ”

Almost instantly, Thomas understood what Liu Chengwei had never said, and he bowed deeply: "Your Excellency, I will definitely be your faithful servant!" ”

"Very well, you will also get something from me that you can't imagine in return!" (To be continued.) )