In Nanjing in April, the grass grows and the warbler flies, the flowers are like brocade, the painting boat on the Qinhuai River is everywhere, the piano sings and dances, and it is still romantic. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

For the people of Nanjing, they have not experienced war for hundreds of years, and they are used to the days of peace, and war seems to be far, far away for them.

But for the important ministers in the court, they who understand the situation know that the days of the Ming Dynasty are numbered.

Ma Shiying, the first assistant of the cabinet, was anxious every day, and the Duoduo army north of the Yangtze River was approaching step by step, and was already approaching Xuyi and was about to hit Nanjing.

To the west, Zuo Liangyu's army of more than 200,000 people went down the river, and Huang Degong and that Ningbo general soldier Ren Siqi alone could stop Zuo Liangyu?

In the palace, Emperor Hongguang issued another holy decree, asking to choose some more beauties for him.

All of this was pressed on Ma Shiying, and he was overwhelmed by a thousand things. At this time, the Donglin Party led by Qian Qianyi was still making trouble, and they played this impeachment and that every day.

Ma Shiying felt that this position of first assistant was like a hot potato, and he hated to throw it away. But it's just thinking about it, after a lot of hard work and intrigues, the position of first assistant that was easily obtained, one person is above 10,000 people, and he is reluctant to resign.

"Motosuke, great joy, Motosuke!" As soon as the door curtain was lifted, Ruan Dacheng, the secretary of the military department, ran in with a smile on his face.

"Brother Ji, you are also an important minister of the court, why are you so flustered and unorthodox?" Ma Shiying scolded with a smile. Ruan Dacheng has been ostracized by the Donglin Party because of his attachment to Wei Zhongxian in the Chongzhen Dynasty, and it was Ma Shiying who recommended him to be an official in the Hongguang Dynasty, and he has always been the first cadre under Ma Shiying.

"Yuanfu, I'm really happy," Ruan Dacheng gasped and said with a smile, "Ren Siqi, the general soldier of Ningbo, reported that he defeated Zuo Liangyu's 50,000 troops in Tongling on April 11, and captured Zuo Liangyu's subordinate general Li Guoying. ”

"Really?" Ma Shiying stood up all of a sudden and snatched the battle report from Ruan Dacheng's hand. The Nanking court was now under attack from both sides in the northwest, and if it could solve the west, it would be able to deal with the enemy from the north.

"That's not all, according to Ren Siqi's report, from the interrogation of the captive, I learned that Zuo Liangyu had died of illness in Jiujiang!"

"It's really good news, Ningnanhou is dead, and the left army is no longer worried. Hahaha......" Ma Shiying laughed.

"Congratulations Motosuke. With this victory, the crisis in the west has been resolved. Ruan Dacheng said respectfully. Because the banner of Zuo Liangyu's army is the Qingjun side, that is, to eliminate Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng and others, if the left army really hits Nanjing, Ma Shiying and the others will not be lucky, so Ma Shiying is very happy to hear Ren Siqi's victory over Li Guoying.

"This Ningbo general soldier is really a strong general, not bad, Brother Ji, how do you say the reward should be?" Ma Shiying said with a smile. Ruan Dacheng is the secretary of the military department and is responsible for managing military affairs, so it is natural to refer to his opinions.

"Well, the Ningbo General Soldier has made a great contribution, yes, a good reward. But after all, he is too young, only twenty years old, and he has just been promoted to the chief soldier, so he should not be rewarded with more gold and silver. Ruan Dacheng tentatively said to Ma Shiying.

"Well, it's not appropriate, now is the time for the court to employ people, if the reward is too thin, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of the soldiers." Ma Shiying shook his head.

"Yuanfu Shengming, but Ren Siqi is already a chief soldier, and he has climbed to the top of the generals, so just reward him with the title and give him the title of earl." Since Ma Shiying wanted to reward Ren Siqi generously, Ruan Dacheng naturally would not disobey Ma Shiying's intentions, and simply proposed to be knighted.

You must know that in Daming, the title is rare. Wang Yangming quelled the rebellion of King Ning and was awarded the title of earl. It is the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty that you cannot be knighted without military merits, even if you are a first-class scholar, it is impossible to get a knighthood.

Like the beginning of the Hongguang Dynasty, Liu Zeqing, Liu Liangzuo, Gao Jie and others, they were able to be awarded the title of earl with their merits. Ren Siqi only won a battle, so he was knighted, and this reward is not ungenerous.

The title of the Ming Dynasty is the third rank of the Duke and the Marquis, but even the lowest earl is also superb, ranking above the university scholars. Moreover, you can only be a university scholar for one lifetime, while a knighthood can be hereditary and can be passed down from generation to generation.

"Okay, just make him an earl. Let's call him a sulp. At this moment, Ma Shiying's mood was very happy, and this big victory made his anxious mood much better all of a sudden.

"Also, Motosuke. In addition to the success paperwork, the Ningbo General Army also had a twist and turn, and wanted to be transferred out of Wuhu and return to Nanjing. Ruan Dacheng said again.

"Why don't you wipe out the left army in one fell swoop, Zuo Liangyu is dead, it's a good time to eliminate the left army!" Hearing this, Ma Shiying frowned.

"The general soldier of Ningbo said that the left army is no longer a concern, and now the trouble of the Ming Dynasty is not in the left army, but in Yangzhou!" Ruan Dacheng explained the reason for Ren Siqi's excerpt.

"Brother Jizhi, what do you think?" After pondering for a while, Ma Shiying looked at Ruan Dacheng.

"The Ningbo General Soldier is right, but the Left Army is no longer worried. However, although we have won a great victory, the strength of the left army still has 200,000 people, and the combined strength of the Ningbo general army and the Marquis of Jingnan is less than half of theirs, and it is not so easy to destroy the left army.

However, after a great defeat, the left army must not be able to continue to advance eastward, and the Marquis of Jingnan alone is enough to block them in the west of Tongling. So the army of the Ningbo General Army can be withdrawn.

And the younger brother thinks that we in Nanjing seem to need troops more! ”

Ruan Dacheng's words made Ma Shiying suddenly realize, since the Ningbo General Soldier is so brave, why not transfer him back to Nanjing, he has such a brave general as an Olympic aid, wouldn't the position of this first assistant be more stable!

At present, there are more than 30,000 troops in Nanjing, and more than 20,000 reinforcements from Yunnan and Guizhou. However, most of the troops are in the hands of Xungui, and as a cabinet scholar, he can't control other armies except for the hundreds of palace guards led by his son Ma Luan, which makes Ma Shiying extremely uneasy.

Because it is an era of turmoil, those Donglin Party members are suspicious, and the attitude of the nobles led by Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong is extremely ambiguous, which makes Ma Shiying very insecure.

"Okay, give the order, let the Ningbo General Army return to Nanjing!" Ma Shiying said categorically.

Just when Ma Shiying ordered the Daishan army to return to Nanjing, Ren Siqi's army was already on its way back to the division.

Although he has not yet received an order from the imperial court, in peacetime, there is no difference between returning to the army without an order and rebelling. But when is it? There are not many days left in the Southern Ming court, and Ren Siqi naturally doesn't care about the attitude of the court anymore.

What about returning to the teacher without an order? Does the imperial court dare to punish itself?

A large number of warships were captured from Li Guoying, although some were left to Huang Degong, but the ships of the Daishan army were still very rich. Nearly 40,000 troops all took boats, went down the river, and returned to Nanjing from Tongling in two days. (To be continued.) )