"Explain?" Sun Chuanting frowned and said, "How do you explain, do you let the old man go door to door to explain to them?" ”

"Of course not." Wang Pu shook his head and said, "We have to find an opportunity to invite all the officials above the third grade in Nanjing City and the heroes and relatives together, and then promise them in person that they will never implement the new policy in Zhejiang and the two provinces!" Only in this way can we recover the impact and truly gain a firm foothold in Nanjing. ”

"Easy to say." Sun Chuanting said, "Where can I find such an opportunity?" ”

"Wait." Wang Pu said, "Opportunities will always come." ”

■■■

Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu didn't wait too long, and the opportunity came soon.

In September of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the White Lotus Sect rebelled again in Chuzhou, the battle of Wuli Bridge, the three thousand Jianyang guards sent by Shi Kefa to conquer and suppress were all wiped out, and then the White Lotus thieves captured Chuzhou again, Zhizhou Yan Shi was killed, and the White Lotus thieves were greatly inspired, and 100,000 thieves rushed straight to Puzikou, and put on a posture of crossing the river to attack Nanjing.

When the news came, the big and small officials and the heroes and heroes in Nanjing City immediately panicked.

At the critical juncture, they finally remembered Wang Pu and the elite soldiers stationed outside Nanjing.

The next day, more than 200 people, including Zhu Tongyi, the king of Jian'an, Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei, Zhao Zhilong, the Bo of Xincheng, Liu Kongzhao, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, and Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and others took the lead, plus more than 200 officials and gentry of all sizes in Nanjing came to Wang Pu's camp.

There were also hundreds of jars of Shaoxing old wine and hundreds of fat pigs.

It's really too much to say, Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu have been rushing outside Nanjing with a large army for three full days, but no one has handed over the official documents to them, and the two have not been able to take office, not to mention their own business, and the two can only nest in a temporary tent until now.

So many officials and Xun Qi Haoqiang came to visit the camp at the same time, and they couldn't sit down in the big tent, so Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu invited everyone to the temporary school field, because there were not enough chairs, except for Jian'an Wang Zhu Tong and other Xun Qi and the three grades and above, the rest of the sesame petty officials and Shilin gentry could only stand.

After listening to everyone's secret explanation, Wang Pu sneered in his heart.

These guys are not afraid of him Wang Pu and the more than 10,000 elite soldiers under him, but they are scared like this by tens of thousands of white lotus thieves, this is a typical nest, but now is not the time to settle accounts with these guys, and now you have to rely on their support, as for the future, there is opportunity and time.

Jian'an Wang Zhu Tongyi finally summed up everyone's meaning: In a word, as long as Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu can repel the invasion of the White Lotus demon, the matter of implementing the new policy will be easy to discuss.

Sun Chuanting smiled slightly, got up and said: "Lord Wang, all the princes, grandfathers and uncles, as well as all the Nanjing colleagues present, I don't know where you heard that the old man is going to implement the new policy in Zhejiang and the two provinces?" Did the official letter sent by the Ministry of Officials to Nanjing say this? ”

"How?" Zhu Tongxuan was stunned and said, "Doesn't Sun Butang plan to implement the new policy in Zhejiang and direct provinces?" ”

"Of course not!" Sun Chuanting said loudly, "The old man came to Nanjing to train for the Ming Dynasty, not to implement any new policies, the old man can pat his chest and assure everyone that as long as the old man is still in the governorship of Zhejiang, he will never implement a new policy in the two provinces of Zhejiang!" ”

"Huh?"

"What?"

"What does that mean?"

Zhu Tongxuan was stunned for a moment, and said with relief: "It's been a long time, and everyone who dares to love has misunderstood Sun Butang?" Oh yes, it was really rude a few days ago, and this king would like to apologize to Sun Butang and General Wang on behalf of all the relatives and officials in Nanjing. ”

Zhu Tong was also single, and he gave up his face on the spot to apologize to Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu.

"You can't blame the prince and you." Sun Chuanting said indifferently, "If you want to blame, you can only blame those people with ulterior motives, they are trying to provoke the relationship between the headquarters and the entire Jiangnan officialdom, they are trying to force the headquarters to a dead end, they are deliberately obstructing the headquarters to train troops in Nanjing, and to put it more seriously, they are trying to force the Ming Dynasty to a dead end!" ”

Many of the Nanjing officials present changed their faces in an instant.

The news that Sun Chuanting was going to implement a new policy in Zhejiang and Zhejiang provinces was first transmitted from Beijing, but there was no official document, just a private rumor.

The Nanjing prosecutor in charge of the criminal case hurriedly made a list and said: "The lower officials will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly to see who is spreading rumors and causing trouble." ”

"Okay, we'll talk about that later." He Xiongxiang, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites and the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, got up and said, "The top priority is to hurry up and hand over the official documents with Sun Butang and General Wang, and the military department must also seize the time to settle General Wang's army. ”

Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and Gao Hongtu, the secretary of the Nanjing Household Department, hurriedly got up and answered yes.

The six departments of the Ming Dynasty are headed by the Ministry of Rites, He Xiongxiang is also a scholar and a secretary, as if he is the leading boss of Nanjing officialdom, He Xiongxiang spoke, Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu certainly did not dare to slack off.

Wang Pu suddenly got up and said, "I have a proposal for my humble position, I don't know if I should talk about it or not?" ”

Zhu Tong, the king of Jian'an, responded: "General Wang has something to say, just say it. ”

Although Wang Pu has been engaged to Princess Changping, but after all, the two have not officially completed their marriage, Zhang Zi'an, Wei Daben and others will respect him as a concubine in order to please Wang Pu, and of course it is impossible for royal relatives like Jian'an Wang Zhu Tongyi to call him a concubine in order to please Wang Pu.

Wang Pu said: "The White Lotus Demon is the best at creating rumors, demagoguery, as far as the humble knows, there have been rumors in Nanjing City at the moment, people are panicking, the people in the market dare not go to the street in the daytime, the shops and shops are closed very early, it will definitely not work like this, I am afraid that before the White Lotus thieves come to the door, Nanjing City has already been chaotic." ”

"yes, that's true." Zhu Tongxuan said worriedly, "Nanjing City is in chaos now, does General Wang have a way to save the situation?" ”

"It's not that hard to calm people's hearts." Wang Pu smiled and said, "I plan to hold a military parade ceremony, so that the people of the whole city can come to watch, as long as the people witness the military might of our army, they will naturally not be afraid of the White Lotus demon, and then Nanjing City will naturally return to the previous order." ”

"Okay." Zhu Tong struck the festival and said, "This proposal is good, and this king should also see such a military parade." ”

The parade was thus decided, and the time was the afternoon of the next day, and the location was outside the Taiping Gate.

In the afternoon of the same day, Shi Kefa assigned the Yanziji facing the river on three sides and the south bank of the river to Wang Pu's army as a station, Wang Pu's admiral Xingyuan was also located in Yanziji, and Sun Chuanting's Zhezhi Governor Xingyuan was located in the thousand-step corridor in the imperial city, just next to the Yamen of the Six Ministries, opposite to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

The officials of Ying Tianfu showed rare efficiency, and in the afternoon they put up notices in the city of Nanjing, and the people in the city soon learned that Wang Pu was going to parade outside the Taiping Gate, and the people of Wang Pu were no strangers to the city of Nanjing, and they almost all remembered the heroic appearance of Wang Pu when he paraded through the streets with the chief of Jiannu in October last year.

In the afternoon of the next day, there were thousands of empty alleys in Nanjing, and there were crowds of people outside the Taiping Gate.

On the temporary parade platform, Sun Chuanting was in a handsome position, Wang Pu was standing tall in armor, and behind the two, Zhu Tongxuan, the king of Jian'an, Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei, He Xiongxiang, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu and other honorable Qi Haoqiang and officials of the six ministries were present, and more sesame petty officials below the third grade could only stand behind.

Immediately behind the parade platform is a specially demarcated viewing area, 4,000 spear battalion officers and soldiers built a human wall, isolating the parade area and the viewing area, the people of Nanjing who flocked to the parade can only look at each other through the human wall, fortunately, there are several small hills in the viewing area, and the people can climb the mountain to watch the parade ceremony condescendingly.

For the people of this era, the military parade is a novelty, but for Wang Pu, it is by no means a novelty.

As a person of the future, Wang Pu is well aware of the benefits that military parades can bring.

The reason why Wang Pu wanted to hold a military parade was for this reason, he not only wanted to show the military prestige to the people of Nanjing, but also to improve the negative image of the Ming officials and army in the minds of the people.

Wang Pu must change this situation through his own efforts, otherwise, it will be difficult for him to get the full support of the gentry and the people, if there is no support from the gentry and the people, Wang Pu will not be able to train into elite soldiers.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, Zhao Xin hurriedly stepped onto the parade platform, came to Wang Pu and put his legs together, and at the same time hit his chest with his right fist and shouted: "Your Excellency General, the parade ceremony is ready, please instruct." ”

As early as when the Lei Gongshan battalion was training, Wang Pu had used his memory and imagination to formulate a set of infantry rules for the firearms battalion under his command, which included etiquette and passwords when subordinates met superiors, as well as various subjects such as marching, running, stepping and marching.

Later, the expanded spear battalion and baggage battalion were also trained according to this set of infantry classics, Wang Pu was only thinking about not letting these fierce wild men idle, so as not to cause trouble, and at the same time to make this army look like that, but he didn't expect that it would really come in handy today, and it could be regarded as an unintentional willow.

After Zhao Xin's report was completed, Wang Pu hummed softly and shouted loudly: "Begin." ”

"Yes!" Zhao Xin turned back in place with a standard and beautiful face, and shouted loudly to the school field, "Military parade...... Begin! ”

The ten soldiers under the solemn parade platform raised the muskets in their hands in unison, and the muzzles of the guns were turned upwards and pulled the triggers one after another, only to hear the sound of "boom, boom, boom" A burst of gunfire, Zhu Tongyun and the others sitting on the parade platform suddenly changed their faces, although these people were all nobles and nobles, but they had never entered the army, and suddenly they were shocked when they saw this battle.

As soon as the gunfire stopped, the first phalanx of infantry to be paraded walked in unison from the colorful shed on the left side of the parade platform.

This infantry phalanx consisted of 375 veterans, 25 men in each row, 15 rows in front and back, the veterans wore uniform uniforms, shiny riding boots on their feet, leaned on their left shoulder with their left hand holding a gun, and swung their right arm back and forth.

For this parade, Wang Pu prepared ten infantry phalanxes, and almost all the soldiers of the firearms battalion were dispatched.

Everyone's eyes fell on the infantry phalanx.

In the rustling footsteps, the infantry phalanx slowly approached, and when Kankan was about to pass in front of the parade platform, the general who was walking in the front of the infantry phalanx suddenly drew his waist knife and pointed obliquely at Changtian, and roared sharply: "To the right...... See! ”

The veterans who marched in unison looked to the right side at the same time, and three hundred and seventy-five pairs of murderous eyes looked at the parade platform in unison, and the officials on the parade platform gasped one after another, and Zhu Tong, the king of Jian'an, almost got up in shock, and a timid household secretary was even more frightened and sat on the stage.

The general in front of the phalanx retracted his waist knife in Shadi, erected his chest, and shouted again: "One ...... Two! ”

"Smack!"

In the two rhythmic crashes, the three hundred and seventy-five veterans simultaneously held the body of the gun with their right hand, then the butt with their left hand, and swung their arms vigorously, and the muskets that had been loaded with bayonets were raised diagonally in front of their chests at the same time, and the three hundred and seventy-five bright bayonets suddenly converged into a forest of fifteen rows of knives.

Under the slanting sun, the blade reflected a cold brilliance, almost confusing the eyes of all the officials and people watching the ceremony.

Almost at the same time, the veterans changed their steps to the right steps, and 375 pairs of shiny riding boots kicked the official road paved with bluestone slabs, and suddenly there was a uniform "shell" sound, and in the deafening sound of "shell shell", 375 veterans strode in a neat line from the parade platform.

"Defend Nanjing!"

"The city is here!"

"Defend Nanjing!"

"The city is dead, the people are dead!"

The leading general roared every two steps, and three hundred and seventy-five veterans responded with a bang.

The people crowded on the hill to watch the ceremony were in an uproar, followed by a landslide and a tsunami of cheers, and almost all of them got carried away and cheered, jumping and screaming wildly, and some even fell to their knees in excitement, crying with their hands in the sky......

"Good!" Zhu Tong, the king of Jian'an, stood up, raised his arms and shouted, "This is the master of the king of my Ming Dynasty!" ”

The officials of the honors and relatives behind Zhu Tongyun also got up one after another, and the parade platform suddenly resounded with overwhelming praise, and it was obvious that through this parade, Wang Pu's army brought a great shock to the officials and gentry in Nanjing, at least it caused a great impact on their visual nerves.

Before that, such a majestic army did not say that it had ever been seen, or that it had never heard of it!

It's not that there is no army in the city of Nanjing, but if you compare the garrison army of Nanjing City with Wang Pu's army, it can't be regarded as an army at all, and the garrison army in Nanjing can only be regarded as a group of miscellaneous soldiers, at least on the surface!

The Nanjing Guards Army gave people the impression that military discipline was corrupt and the soldiers had no fighting spirit, but what Wang Pujun showed in front of people was a neat phalanx, neat steps, bright bayonets, murderous eyes, and loud and incendiary slogans! It is easy for people to believe that Wang Pu's army is an elite army that can fight well, and it is an invincible army of kings in the world!

After the infantry parade performance, Wang Pu performed a salvo of muskets and the bombardment of Hongyi cannons to the officials and gentry of Nanjing, and the sound of the ground shaking when the Hongyi cannons were fired, as well as the huge fire and smoke rising after the cannonballs hit the ground, left a deep impression on people.

At this point, no one is worried that the White Lotus Demon will come to attack Nanjing City.

With such an invincible army of kings and sharp cannons to defend Nanjing, how could they cross the Yangtze River with the rabble of the White Lotus Sect?

For a long time after that, the officials and gentry of Nanjing talked about Wang Pu and his army, and even the girls on the Qinhuai River had to mention this unprecedented military parade when they held a box party, and Wang Pu and his army were once again the focus of attention.

It can be said that Wang Pu's purpose in holding this military parade was completely achieved, and this military parade not only eliminated the negative impact of the "New Deal turmoil" and greatly improved the image of Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu in the hearts of Nanjing officials, but also spread the reputation of this army throughout the south of the Yangtze River.

This is undoubtedly a quite successful propaganda for the upcoming recruitment work, and when the time comes, Wang Pu only needs to post the recruitment notice to all the prefectures and counties of Zhejiang and the two provinces, and the hot-blooded men of the entire Jiangnan will gather in Nanjing and enthusiastically join the army!

However, a successful military parade could not solve all the problems, and Wang Pu still lacked food and silver.

(To be continued)