"What about Yingtian and Fengyang?" Emperor Chongzhen then asked.

Yang Sichang did not answer directly, he analyzed: "Yingtian and Fengyang are important places, and the pro-people officials here should not move without permission. Weichen knows what the emperor thinks, and Weichen also knows that Yu Shilang is rare. But now it is difficult to arrange the official position of Yu Shilang, so dare to guess: The emperor is worried about this matter! ”

"Exactly!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "Aiqing is saying what I am worried about. ”

"Yu Shilang is a person who has built a strong team from scratch, which is impossible; Personally leading the troops to dare to fight, it can not be said that they are not brave; Thinking of the emperor's difficulties and retreating from himself cannot be described as disloyal; It is not unwise to know the party and avoid it. But he has lived in the place for a long time, he doesn't know how to plan the temple, and he is at a loss when he suddenly rises to a high position, and the emperor should promote his strengths and avoid his shortcomings! ”

These words immediately aroused the interest of Emperor Chongzhen, and he immediately straightened forward and asked eagerly, "Yang Aiqing speak quickly!" ”

"What's short? The foundation is too shallow, and its merit is not obvious. Yu Shilang has been in the officialdom for more than ten years, and six of them have been a local magistrate, except for his Shangguan in Henan, he has no friends in the officialdom. And in just three or four years, he was suddenly promoted from a county to a minister, to be honest, many of the courtiers only know their names but do not know their people, so how can they be in awe and obey orders? Uploading and issuing will definitely be discounted, and it can't do things as expected, which is a big mistake. ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded again and again, signaling Yang Sichang to continue.

"And Yu Shilang's merits, it is rumored that the government and the opposition are nothing more than the killing of more than 500 Tartars by King Qin this time, and most of the other merits are unknown to outsiders, and it is difficult to convince the public. But the emperor and Weichen knew very well why Yu Shilang was in trouble. Under the condition of no pay and no soldiers, he trained a strong army of more than 10,000 people, and fought repeatedly and remained undefeated. Count the ministers of the government and the opposition, and no one is out of the right. Yu Shilang is really an outstanding minister in the court. ”

Therefore, Director Yu Shilang is training troops in local battles, such as Yingtian and Fengyang. It is difficult to promote its strengths if it is vacant, but it is not beautiful. It's like a tiger in a cage, which is a pity. ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately asked, "Could it be that Yang Aiqing wants me to use Yu Aiqing?" How can they be used if they are left to work? ”

"Yes! Weichen is optimistic about Yu Shilang and wants to make the emperor use it. Yang Sichang said with a smile, "According to Weichen's view, the current Nanjing Military Department is the place where it is good. Because Yu Shilang's troops have stayed in Beijing, it is difficult for him to go out of Beijing with his bare hands, and he needs to give him a strong army. And Nanjing has two general soldiers, Huang and Liu. It is also in need of Wenchen to lead the army. In the future, there is no need for Nanjing to guard Lu Gonggong for emergency, as the so-called people make the best use of it. ”

"Also, the director of the Xiangyang Xiong Inspector is just appeased, and the military affairs are beyond his ability. In case of loss in the war, Yu Shilang will also make up for it in Nanjing. Don't let the situation get out of hand. ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt quite comfortable. There was a feeling of a sudden opening. He asked with a smile: "What Yang Aiqing said: Is it of great use to Yu Aiqing?" But not in a hurry? ”

"The Emperor Shengming!" Yang Sichang immediately saluted.

"Yes...... But ......" Emperor Chongzhen frowned again, spit out a few words, and subconsciously looked at the curtain behind him.

Wang Chengen, who was behind Emperor Chongzhen, was quite familiar with Emperor Chongzhen's habitual movements. Behind the curtain is waiting for Hanlin to record the "Living Note", so the current Chongzhen Emperor must have something unspeakable to say.

So Wang Chengen rolled his eyes, and immediately asked Emperor Chongzhen's embarrassing words: "I'm afraid that Yu Shilang doesn't know the hard work of the emperor's grandfather." I have a grudge! ”

"Presumptuous! How can you talk about my humerus behind my back? Emperor Chongzhen immediately scolded loudly.

Wang Chengen shrank his head, anyway, he also completed his mission, and he was scolded by Emperor Chongzhen for a few words, as long as Emperor Chongzhen knew it. And Yang Sichang also understands Emperor Chongzhen's small methods. As if he hadn't heard the scolding, he replied unhurriedly: "Tomorrow, Weichen will personally visit Yu Shilang, and he will let Yu Shilang understand the emperor's good intentions." ”

Hearing that Yang Sichang personally promised to be this villain, Emperor Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief, the matter could be solved, and his reputation could be guaranteed, which made Emperor Chongzhen quite satisfied. And today's matter is finally settled.

Emperor Chongzhen and Yang Sichang's ideas are indeed good, and their opinions seem to be unified. But in fact, in the arrangement of Yu Zilian, the two are very different. Emperor Chongzhen wanted to use Yu Zilian as a substitute for Xiong Wencan, the governor of the five provinces, and Yang Sichang wanted to use Yu Zilian as Xiong Wencan's tinker. Although on the surface, there is no difference between the two, in fact, Yu Zilian's status in the future will be a world of difference. In the final analysis, Yang Sichang didn't want Yu Zilian to take over as the governor of the five provinces.

As for Yu Zilian's departure to Nanjing, can he successfully master the two Ming armies of the general army Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo? Are Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Nanjing, and the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department willing to give the power in their hands to Yu Zilian? That's even more of a problem.

Taking a sip of tea, Emperor Chongzhen then asked, "Yang Aiqing!" Is Huguang fully prepared? ”

Yang Sichang immediately bowed down and reported: "The Ministry of War has issued a document: The Gansu General Soldier Chai Shihua Department and the Ningyuan General Army Zu Dabi Department have gone south from the capital to Huguang, Shaanxi Governor Zheng Chongjian led the Shaanxi army out of Tongguan to Xiangyang and Yunyang, and Sichuan Governor Fu Zonglong led the Sichuan army into Yunyang, plus the Huguang army of Governor Xiong, has surrounded and suppressed Gucheng and Fangxian on all sides. This time, they went to the Nanyang General Li Lu Department and the Runing General Wu Shigong Department, striving to strike a thunderous blow and decide the affairs of the people and thieves in one battle. ”

With the transfer of a large number of the main forces of the Ming army in the interior to Qinwang in the north, in addition to the small peasant armies in various parts of the Central Plains still operating around, the two main forces of the peasant army, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who had been appeased, were also ready to move.

The local officials in charge of Gucheng and Fangxian constantly reported the situation of the two armies with ill intentions, saying that "Zhang Xianzhong entered Gucheng and repeatedly refused to listen to the dispatch, and he will wait for the people's fields to mature, divide their summer and autumn grain, and if he is not satisfied, he will raise swords again"; "Luo Rucai falsely claimed that he had not allowed the troops to farm the land, so he ploughed with a knife, and if he was slightly dissatisfied, he would start up again and take risks."

Therefore, Yang Sichang, who has always been the backbone of the main battle faction and holds the strategy of "fighting outside the country must first secure the interior," proposed: Take the opportunity to mobilize a large army to strike first and completely wipe out the main force of the peasant army of Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were stationed in Gucheng and Fang County.

Emperor Chongzhen was originally bent on appeasement, and he did not have any opinion on conducting such a large-scale military operation, but he also felt that he could not be at ease until the great trouble was eliminated, so Zuihou also agreed to Yang Sichang's jihua.

In fact, the Jihua of the imperial court this time is very reasonable. Because King Li Zicheng grew up in the deep mountains and old forests, and he has not appeared in the outside world for a long time, the imperial court thought that Li Zicheng might have died and no longer posed a threat. And now, as long as Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai are completely eliminated, the three giants of the peasant army will be completely wiped out, and the rebellion of the people and thieves in the pass will also be extinguished in one fell swoop.

If the war goes well, the imperial court will save a lot of food and wages, and will also send a large number of main forces of the Ming army to Liaodong to fight against the peasant army, and then under the leadership of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, all the elites of the Ming Dynasty will be concentrated and the Manchu Qing in Liaodong will be pacified with one drum.

"Runing Wu Changjing?" Hearing Wu Shigong's name, Emperor Chongzhen was a little surprised, "Hasn't Wu Changjing been asked by Inspector Hong to go to fight the Tartars outside the pass?" ”

When Wu Shigong killed Qiu Lei, the chief soldier of Shandong, the court was in an uproar, which was simply a naked challenge to the authority of the imperial court. But when the ministers discussed what crime should Wu Shigong be punished? But the court has not been able to make up its mind.

It stands to reason that killing an official of the imperial court without permission is a capital crime. In the Ming Dynasty, even the collusion of ordinary people was only the right of the emperor, let alone the order of officials, so the power of life and death would never be touched by a military attaché.

However, Wu Shigong had just made a monstrous military exploit, causing tens of thousands of casualties to foreign enemy troops, which was only a few times in the 300-year history of the Ming Dynasty, so Wu Shigong's merits and demerits could be completely offset. So what reward should the imperial court give to Wu Shigong?

At this time, Hong Chengchou, who had just taken over as the governor of Jiliao, solved this problem for the imperial court. Because Hong Chengchou knew the combat effectiveness of Wu Shigong's Runing Army very well, he also wanted to transfer the Runing Army to Shaanxi to encircle and suppress the peasant army, but this idea was not realized for various reasons. And this time Hong Chengchou wants to mobilize the elite of the Ming army to fight in Liaodong, of course he will not let go of the Runing Army, which has just established meritorious service in the battle with the Qing army.

So the imperial court agreed to Hong Chengchou's request, and Emperor Chongzhen also approved the transfer order of the military department. But now Emperor Chongzhen heard that the Runing army was going to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the peasant army, which made him quite surprised.

Although General Wu and Li General Soldiers made great contributions in the river, their casualties were not small, and they were returning to Runing and Nanyang to reorganize the army. And now the imperial court is also concentrating on the officials and soldiers around the thieves to suppress the bandits, and with these two strong teams joining, it also adds three points of certainty. As soon as this battle is over, the general army of Wu will be transferred to Liaodong. Although General Wu was a moral man, his army was still very strong. After the end of these two wars, the imperial court will reward the meritorious deeds afterwards. And the Runing battalion of General Wu was also worried. Yang Sichang replied.

Yang Sichang's meaning is very clear. At that time, the reason why the imperial court wanted to transfer Wu Shigong's Runing army to Liaodong was that it hoped that the Runing army could continue to consume strength with the Qing army. And now there is an opportunity for the Runing Army and the Peasant Army to consume their strength, and it is much better to consume twice than to consume once.

"Good!" Emperor Chongzhen was really satisfied with Yang Sichang's arrangement.

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen's face showed tiredness, and he had some intention of ending the conversation, Yang Sichang hurriedly reported Sun Chuanting's matter: "Your Majesty! Governor Sun played the beggar bones again, saying that he was deaf and difficult to serve as the governor of Baoding, and he was afraid that he was still afraid that the Liaodong Tartars would enter the customs again in his defense line! Emperor! How should I reply to this proposal? (To be continued......)