The Ming Dynasty has two capitals in the north and south, and like the city of Beijing, Nanjing also has six departments, there are garrison troops, and there are quite a few, and the standing army is more than 100,000 people. The main responsibilities of the Nanjing Military Department are to guard Nanjing, guard against Japanese troubles, Liangguang, Liangjiang and other places, and the responsibilities do not include the northwest.

Wen Tiren proposed to transfer the garrison of Nanjing into Shaanxi to quell the rebellion, and Emperor Chongzhen was still groaning, and Zhou Yanru and Xu Guangqi felt that it was inappropriate. Zhou Yanru arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that Nanjing has the important task of guarding the south, and he can't be transferred when he is idle. ”

Xu Guangqi echoed: "Your Majesty, the old minister seconded what Zhou Shoufu said. ”

Seeing this, Wen Tiren chuckled and said: "Elder Zhou Ge, Elder Xu Ge, I am just suggesting, whether you can mobilize the garrison in Nanjing or not, you have to listen to the emperor's wishes." After a pause, Wen Tiren explained again: "However, I remember that the south has always been peaceful in the past few years, there has been no war, and the garrison in Nanjing City is only to suppress local bandits on weekdays. ”

Zhou Yanru and Xu Guangqi frowned when they heard this, Wen Tiren's words, although they were explaining the situation of the Nanjing garrison to the emperor, undoubtedly induced Emperor Chongzhen to make the decision to transfer troops.

Emperor Chongzhen was quite moved, but after he ascended the throne, he had been paying attention to the state affairs in the north, and he paid less attention to the south. After thinking about it, Chongzhen waved his hand and said: "Transferring troops from Nanjing is a big matter, and Rong Zhen will think about it again." ”

Seeing this, the three cabinet ministers all surrendered their resignations.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he paced in the Heart Cultivation Palace. After walking two laps, Chongzhen was still undecided. asked Wang Chengen, the celebrant on the side.

"Cheng'en, you said that if I transferred the garrison of Nanjing to the northwest. Does it work? ”

Wang Chengen listened, but he was not busy answering. After looking up and thinking for a while, he said slowly: "Your Majesty, the old slave doesn't understand state affairs, and he is even less familiar with Nanjing. His Majesty asked the old slave for his opinion, and where could the old slave answer. ”

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "It's me who is confused, you have been following me, you have never even been to Nanjing, how to understand the situation in Nanjing." ”

Wang Chengen chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, although the old slave doesn't understand. But the old slave was thinking that there was a person who must know the situation in Nanjing very well, and the emperor might as well ask his opinion. ”

"Oh, who is it?" Emperor Chongzhen listened and asked with great interest.

Wang Chengen said: "Wei Guogong has been guarding Nanjing for generations, and Xu Hongji, the contemporary Wei Guogong, is also an old and serious person, loyal to the court, if the emperor can't make up his mind, why not ask Wei Guogong what he means?" ”

Wang Chengen's words immediately lit up Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. He smiled happily and said, "Yes, how did I forget this." ”

Emperor Chongzhen wrote a secret letter to Wei Guogong in Nanjing, and when he had dinner with Empress Zhou in the evening, he was worried about Wei Guogong's reply. was a little distracted, Empress Zhou cared about Emperor Chongzhen's appetite, so she asked a few words casually. Emperor Chongzhen said it in passing.

The next day, Empress Zhou invited Empress Yi'an Zhang Yan to visit the Imperial Garden together. During the break, Empress Zhou thought that Zhang Yan was the empress of the previous dynasty. How many people are familiar with the ministers of the court, so they asked casually: "By the way, sister-in-law, are you familiar with these people who are the princes of the court?" ”

Zhang Yan was sitting in the gazebo, fanning the wind gently, she was stunned when she heard the words, and said with a smile: "Sister has to ask, we have a lot of grandfathers in the Ming Dynasty, which one do you want to ask?" ”

"For example, Wei Guogong?"

Zhang Yan listened, pondered for a while, and said slowly: "Wei Guogong is the king of Zhongshan Xu Da, Hongwu was enthroned for three years, and has been passed on to the tenth generation, the contemporary Wei Guogong Xu Hongji is old and respectful, and has won the trust of Wanli Lord and the first emperor. Uh, what's the matter, my sister suddenly asked what these are doing? Isn't it that Wei Guogong did something that made the emperor unhappy? ”

Queen Zhou nodded slowly when she heard this, and when she saw Zhang Yan staring at her, she looked very nervous, and chuckled: "The imperial sister-in-law thinks too much." It was His Majesty who wanted to requisition the Nanjing garrison into the northwest to quell the rebellion, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he wanted to hear the opinion of Wei Guogong. ”

"Oh, I see." Zhang Yan muttered.

Empress Zhou chuckled and said, "Sister, you and I can just listen to these things in the court, but they can't be spread outside." ”

Zhang Yan said: "Sister, don't worry. ”

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, her expression gradually became solemn, she was very smart, thinking of Nanjing's transfer of troops to the northwest, she thought that most of the things were related to Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, and after separating from Empress Zhou, she asked the palace maid Ruyun of Ciqing Palace to try to bring a sentence to the Dongjiang Palace.

Feng Suqin, the eldest lady of the Xu Mansion in the Dongjiang Annex, got a note from the palace, with only a few words on it: Your Majesty wants to transfer Nanjing soldiers and horses into the northwest. Feng Suqin's conjecture coincided with Zhang Yan in the palace, she suddenly felt that the matter was very important, and on the one hand, she ordered the Tsing Yi Wei in Beijing to inquire about the news, and on the other hand, she ordered Pegasus to bring the news back to Shaanxi.

In the yamen of the governor of Shaanxi, Xu Liang was chatting with a middle-aged man in the inner courtyard of the yamen.

"General Cao is still used to living in the governor's yamen?" Xu Liang asked.

"It's okay, I can eat and sleep soundly." Cao Wenzhao said lukewarmly, "If you can walk around Chang'an City again, it will be even more perfect." ”

As Xu Liang instructed, the people of the governor's yamen did not restrict Cao Wenzhao's freedom in the governor's yamen, but if Cao Wenzhao wanted to leave the governor's yamen, there was no order from Xu Liang, which was absolutely impossible.

Xu Liang didn't seem to pay attention to the sarcasm in Cao Wenzhao's tone, and said as he walked: "General Cao, don't misunderstand, this official left you in the yamen, not to be unfavorable to you, but purely for the sake of General Cao's body." ”

"General Ben can recuperate after returning to Guyuan!" Cao Wenzhao said coldly, "Xu Liang, how long do you plan to put me under house arrest?" ”

Xu Liang paused, and was thinking about how to answer him, when he suddenly saw a Tsing Yi guard hurriedly walk in, present a secret letter, and said, "My lord, Jingshi is in a hurry." ”

Xu Liang waved his hand and waved the Tsing Yi guard back, and then did not shy away from Cao Wenzhao. I opened the secret letter on the spot and unfolded it to look at it. His expression changed for a while.

"What, what's the bad news?" Cao Wenzhao sneered.

Xu Liang glanced at him. simply threw the secret letter to Cao Wenzhao, "You want to know so much, you might as well take a look for yourself." ”

Cao Wenzhao took the letter, and he was not polite at all, and read it in front of Xu Liang, and after reading the secret letter, Cao Wenzhao looked up to the sky and laughed: "How is it, Lord Xu?" The emperor wanted to transfer troops from Nanjing to the northwest to quell the chaos, but your conspiracy failed again. Isn't it particularly disappointing right now? Particularly sad? ”

Xu Liang looked at Cao Wenzhao, shook his head and said with a smile: "General Cao, you don't need to provoke me!" Hmph, Emperor Chongzhen wants to call in Nanjing's soldiers, and those officials in Nanjing are all vegetarians? Wait, those officials in Nanjing will let Emperor Chongzhen touch his nose. ”

Cao Wenzhao said in disbelief: "Chongzhen is the real emperor, no matter how bold the people of Nanjing are, they don't dare to disobey the holy decree, right?" ”

Xu Liang put his hands behind his back and walked a few steps comfortably. Then he said in a quiet tone: "General Cao, although the holy decree is supreme, even if Emperor Chongzhen gives the holy decree, the officials in Nanjing have a reason to delay. Hum. When I really wait for Nanjing to send troops, I don't know when I will have to wait, let alone it. And the official is calculating here. ”

After several years of observation, Xu Liang also generally understood the pattern of the Ming Dynasty. Although the six departments of Nanjing were all officials who had lost power or been exiled, they were under the same circumstances. In fact, the Nanjing Sixth Department is far more united than the officials of the Beijing Sixth Department. Over the past hundred years, Nanjing has actually formed an intricate interest group, and the Beijing court's control of Nanjing is not as strong as imagined.

Xu Liang decided to find something to do for the garrison in Nanjing, so he wrote a letter to Ge Qiao, the chief treasurer of Tongtianxia Logistics in Jiangxi, asking him to act according to the plan and find a reason for the officials in Nanjing to refuse to send troops.

Emperor Chongzhen sent a letter to Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, to inquire about the transfer of troops, and the Duke of Wei was worthy of being a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and the reply was a few days earlier than expected.

In his reply, Wei Guogong explained to Emperor Chongzhen the significance of Nanjing's military garrison: to guard the south and guard against Japanese troubles! In the letter, Wei Guogong did not directly answer whether Chongzhen could transfer the garrison army in Nanjing, but said that the south had been peaceful and prosperous in recent years, and the Nanjing garrison was preparing for Yunyun.

Emperor Chongzhen was very happy, and immediately called several cabinet elders into the Yangxin Hall to discuss the transfer of troops from Nanjing.

Seeing that this major matter was about to be decided, the military situation that was immediately reported from the Nanjing Military Department made Emperor Chongzhen hesitate again.

A few days ago, several Japanese bandits were discovered along the coast of Fujian, and two county towns were attacked by the Japanese bandits, and nearly 1,000 people were killed and wounded by the city defense army. At the same time, Jinyiwei Nanjing Qianhu reported that the Hakka people in southern Gannan once again showed signs of instability, and in Longnan, Dingnan and other places, there were a large number of bandits attacking and disturbing the county.

The Nanjing Military Department has urgently mobilized troops and horses to the coastal areas of Fujian and southern Jiangxi to stabilize the situation!

Emperor Chongzhen frowned, discussed again with the three ministers, and finally realized that compared with the chaos in the northwest, the stability of Nanjing was more important. If the northwest is in chaos, only the northwest will suffer, but if the south is in chaos, more than eighty percent of the court's tax revenue will be lost, and the court's economy will plummet.

When Emperor Chongzhen was worried about the affairs of the south, the governor of Shanxi followed closely behind! Just when Emperor Chongzhen ordered the Nanjing Military Department to make every effort to prevent the Japanese and Gannan, and Jinyiwei closely reconnoitred the south, the governor of Shanxi played the court: Li Dusi, the leader of the Northwest People's Army, led an army of 50,000 to cross the Shaanxi border, invaded Shanxi, and conquered three county towns one after another.

In the palace of nourishing the heart, Emperor Chongzhen watched the cabinet ministers and the military department Shangshu circulate the notes of the governor of Shanxi one by one, and then sighed helplessly: "The house is broken and it rains overnight, and the boat leaks and encounters a head wind, and bad things happen one after another!" Ladies and gentlemen, the People's Army invaded Shanxi, how do you think it would be better to deal with it? ”

Several ministers of the DPRK and China looked at each other, but no one had any intention of replying. Chongzhen frowned, his eyes fell on Zhou Yanru, there was no way, who made Zhou Yanru the first assistant of the court.

Zhou Shoufu's brows were twisted together, and he arched his hand with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that the crisis in Shanxi is actually a continuation of the chaos in Shaanxi, and as long as the affairs of Shaanxi are dealt with, it is possible for the court to free up its strength to solve the affairs of Shanxi." After a pause, Zhou Yanru arched his hand and said: "Now it has been proved that Nanjing's garrison forces cannot be used, and the only way to solve the chaos in the northwest is the method mentioned in the compromise of the trilateral governor Hong Chengchou." ”

Chongzhen frowned, looked at the others, and asked in a deep voice, "What about you?" ”

The other ministers were silent, bowing their heads and standing.

Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a deep sense of frustration! He understood what Zhou Yanru meant, but he really didn't want to use Hong Chengchou's method, so he followed Xu Liang's wishes.

What is Chongzhen? It is the Supreme of the Ninety-Five, the true son of heaven, and the master of the Ming Dynasty! The Ming Dynasty went up and down, and everything inside and outside should be decided by Chongzhen. However, the incident in Shaanxi made Chongzhen taste the shame of being persecuted!

A young courtier actually persecuted the emperor!

Chongzhen panicked in his heart, looked at Zhou Yanru expectantly, and asked, "Zhou Aiqing, is there no other way?" ”

Zhou Yanru said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, you are in a hurry to follow the power, and everything is important to the Jiangshan Sheji of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Seeing this, the other ministers also chimed in.

Seeing this, Chongzhen sat back in the wide dragon chair as if all his strength had been drained, and said to Wang Chengen, the celebrant on the side, with a dejected expression: "Proposed purpose: move Shaanxi to investigate the affairs of He Zhun as the political envoy of Shaanxi Zuobu, Ding Shiyou as the prefect of Hanzhong, Lu Chengyuan of Guyuan Zhizhou as the prefect of Gongchang, Feng Luo Baiguan as the governor of Shaanxi Yamen Taxation Division, Tietou as the commander of the patrol department, and Wang Qinian, the young secretary of Guanglu Temple in Nanjing, as the ...... of Shaanxi to participate in politics."

After Emperor Chongzhen finished talking about the appointment of a series of officials mentioned by Hong Chengchou in the recital, he waved his hand helplessly, signaling everyone in the Heart Cultivation Hall to go out, and Chongzhen wanted to be quiet.

As soon as the text of the officials reached Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, set up a guard of honor and rushed to Chang'an City.

Different from the previous treatment, this time Governor Hong entered the city, and Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, led the officials of the three divisions of Shaanxi to welcome him outside the city of Chang'an, and politely welcomed Governor Hong into the governor's yamen.

After a group of high-ranking officials in Shaanxi accompanied Hong Chengchou to sit down in the governor's yamen, Hong Chengchou didn't even save polite words, and asked directly to Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi: "Guozhong, what the official promised you, the official has already done." Now it's time for you to deliver on your promises. ”

Xu Liang's originally smiling face couldn't help but stiffen, smiled awkwardly, and said to Hong Chengchou: "Why did the Governor say it so directly? It's rare for the Governor to come to Chang'an, and those of us here today only talk about Fengyue, not about state affairs......"

"The Governor doesn't have that idleness." Hong Chengchou didn't give Xu Liang face at all, looked directly at Xu Liang, and asked, "What about Cao Wenzhao, the deputy chief soldier of Shaanxi?" Guozhong, what did you do to him? (To be continued.) )