"The prince is really working hard from afar, the whereabouts of the official are uncertain, and the father-in-law suffers, the cousin of the official, Zhang Bingbei, did not neglect the father-in-law when he was in Chongqing."

On the sixth day of August, in Nanzheng County, in the yamen of the prefect of Hanzhong, Zhu Shuren finally met with Wang Gonggong, the messenger of the proclamation, who had traveled for two months.

Wang Gonggong looks like he has lost a lot of weight compared to the last time he saw him in April, and it seems that the days of running back and forth between Beijing and Chongqing are really uncomfortable.

Basically, in the past four months, the prince and the people around him have spent more than two-thirds of the time on the road, trekking through mountains and rivers, changing cars and boats, and running around.

However, when he saw Zhu Shuren, the attitude of the prince was still polite, and he always accompanied him with a smiling face: "The national surname is polite, and the national surname is the pillar of the country, and his loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled." Being in such a high position, working tirelessly, and always appearing in the most dangerous places in state affairs, Your Majesty will definitely be moved when he knows about it. ”

Wang Gonggong spoke so politely, mainly because along the way, his diet and daily life were taken care of by Zhang Huangyan, although he was a little tired, his material enjoyment was not left behind.

What's more, every time he entered Sichuan to pass the decree, the gifts received by the carriage and horse Fei Linlin all added up to at least five figures of silver, and there were always tens of thousands of taels of silver, and some of the property was brought back by the prince to share the profits with other key eunuchs in Beijing.

After all, Zhu Shuren still counted on these people to help him delay time and say good things.

Although Chongzhen is already a dead man in his eyes, the more he can't go wrong at the last moment. In this way, he can maintain his image of loyalty until the last moment.

Compared with the huge harvest in the future, the silver on the scene at this time must not be saved. The Shen family has been the richest man in Suzhou for several generations, and others also know that you are rich, so the more you have to maintain the original rhythm of sending money, so that people will not suspect what you have predicted in advance.

As a result, the contact between the two sides has always been maintained in such a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

Zhu Shuren asked people to arrange some refreshments first, and entertained them well, while he himself asked people to arrange eucalyptus and halls, and after a while, he would formally go through the process first-

Chongzhen's decree to confer his new title and order him to temporarily supervise Sichuan has not been read out until this moment, so it must not be official.

……

After entertaining the prince with good tea and snacks, and privately sending some jewelry, the eucalyptus was also ready, and Zhu Shuren officially went through the process and received the will first.

When he heard that he was only promoted from Krupp to Marquis of Krupp, and did not directly swear to be a duke according to the Taimiao League three years ago, Zhu Shuren was also a little lost in his heart, but he quickly recovered.

And he didn't show any emotion on the surface, and he looked like "I'm already very satisfied with being a marquis".

Chongzhen's excuse is reasonable, he has already treated him as a dead man, and it is conceivable that the other party should be wary of him and make better use of him.

What's more, in the last 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, no one has been crowned a duke for merit, and the only ones who have been dukes have been handed down when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country and Zhu Di usurped the throne. Marquis first, so as not to be jealous of his colleagues in the world.

It is not a good thing for young people to suddenly occupy a high position, and they will be hated if they are not worthy of virtue.

Now that Chongzhen has become this wicked person, the people of the world also know that Zhu Shuren has done his best for the country, and his merits are also excellent, but he was still pressed down by the Taimiao oath and slowly rewarded, and the people of the world will sympathize with him.

In fact, the title of "temporarily" supervising Sichuan's military affairs is also quite valuable to him, and it can allow him to interfere in various internal affairs of Sichuan, as well as stay in Chongqing and other places for a long time, and there is no longer a nominal obstacle. If there is a thorn head, it will be much more convenient for him to clean it.

For those subordinates who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, the cohesion can also be further improved, so that no one doubts life and thinks that the Governor wants to engage in secession.

After Zhu Shuren expressed his gratitude to God, he chatted with the prince about his next plan without complaint.

"Thank you father-in-law for your kind words in front of Your Majesty, Your Majesty can be so impartial and rewarding, and the father-in-law can speak smoothly, and it is inseparable from opening the Holy Hearing.

The official has received such a deep favor from the country, and he promised to solve Sun Kewang within three months, but this really has to be counted from now on, before August, the official doesn't know what His Majesty means, so those times are uncountable, just by the end of November, the official will definitely give His Majesty some new progress. ”

After Zhu Shuren spread out and said this, the prince was also relieved, he was also worried that Zhu Shuren was not satisfied, so he prepared a lot of rhetoric, but now it seems that it is not too necessary.

But those words that helped the emperor win people's hearts, since they are all prepared, they have to be said after all, otherwise they are not prepared in vain. The prince also pointed out with a pleasant face:

"The surname of the country is so loyal, it is really a model in the world, in fact, His Majesty's trust in the surname of the country, that is the crown of the world, the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty, it is difficult for a second person to be so reused by His Majesty. It's just that the surname of the country is too young, you are only twenty-four years old this year, right? But whoever is over thirty years old, no one is jealous of Duke Feng. After all, Huo Qubing was twenty-four years old back then, and he was just a champion.

Even so, His Majesty said in private, after solving Sun Kewang, or if Sun Kewang is not easy to solve, then lead the troops back to the north and besiege the thieves. ”

The example of the prince is actually not appropriate. Huo Qu was twenty-four years old, that was because people only lived to be twenty-four years old, and there were no dukes in the Han Dynasty, and the liehou was the highest.

But Zhu Shuren didn't care about the other party's statement, he just accepted it completely, and showed a happy expression to show that he would definitely work hard.

Then, he described his military plan in a vague manner, especially for "why in the two months of June and July before the imperial envoys came, he delayed the pursuit of Sun Kewang, but he himself came to Hanzhong and devoted his attention to the northern front."

After all, if you don't explain this problem, Chongzhen may still be suspicious if the communication is not smooth after going back. Each communication between the two sides is disconnected for at least three months, and it is not easy to go back and forth once. Zhu Shuren can think of preventive injections in advance, of course, he must get enough.

"The reason why this official did not personally take advantage of the victory in June and July to pursue the poor is because the summer in Yunnan and Guizhou is too hot, and many soldiers suffer from diseases.

The official also sent scouts to investigate, where Sun Kewang passed, the casualties of the stubborn thieves in Shaanxi were not counted, and many old thieves died of the epidemic every day because of the unsuitable climate. Therefore, in the past two months, the results of not chasing have been better than those of the past days. Now that it is August, the autumn is cooling, and it is just right to continue the pursuit to the south, and it will be successful in three months.

And on the Hanzhong side, it was really important before, although the thieves did not have the courage to enter Sichuan, but they still had some courage to seize Hanzhong. In the worst case, he also counted on taking Baoji and Dasanguan.

After blocking the mountain danger in this way, the thieves will have the opportunity to enter Hanzhong from time to time, and even further south into Sichuan, but the officials and soldiers of the imperial court will fall into the dilemma of passively defending everywhere.

That's why the official personally came here to supervise the defense, and urged the restoration of people's livelihood and the acceleration of the collection of military rations, thinking that it would be a long-term plan. I estimate that in this autumn, the thieves will definitely try to storm Baoji County and Dasanguan at any cost, because once it is winter, with the danger of the Qinling Mountains and the heavy snow sealing the mountain, he will have no chance.

The northern winter is cold and freezing, which is conducive to the use of troops in spring and summer and not conducive to autumn and winter. The summer heat in the south is conducive to the use of troops in autumn and winter but not to spring and summer. Last year, if His Majesty had allowed this official to pursue Zhang Xianzhong in the autumn and winter, in fact, Zhang Wei and Sun Kewang would have been wiped out long ago.

It's a pity that last autumn and winter, it was wasted on holding on to the thieves and rescuing Kaifeng, so that this year's coming to Sichuan to fight the thieves was actually not long in the season suitable for using soldiers, so it was not immediately solved.

If Your Majesty can allow this official to dispatch on his own, if he insists on using troops against the north in spring and summer, and only in the south in autumn and winter, why worry about not being able to quell the thieves in the most economical way of national funds and troops! ”

Zhu Shuren was full of enthusiasm, no matter whether the prince had thought of so many points, he first put his strategic plan in detail.

After all, the prince doesn't know much about military affairs, and it is impossible to expect him to personally ask these technical questions. In this case, it is necessary for professional people to take the initiative to check and fill in the gaps before the leaders and the people who communicate are aware of the problem.

Even if you didn't expect it, you didn't ask, Zhu Shuren still had to answer. After they go back, Chongzhen will not send someone until at least three months later.

In those three months, they will naturally encounter these problems, they will think, they will want to ask, and when the time comes, they will recall:, it turns out that these questions that were not asked at the beginning, three months ago, the surname of the country had already expected that they would be destined to encounter and ask questions in the future, so they rushed to answer them first while you didn't ask.

Then, Zhu Shuren's reputation in the Beijing court can be maintained very well, and it will be maintained until the end.

The prince listened very carefully, and finally thought that it was really like this.

The south is hot and the north is cold, this is the universal common sense that any person with a normal IQ knows, Sun Kewang escaped to Yungui, then he had to fight in the tropical rainforest climate area, and he could only use troops in autumn and winter, which could not be more reasonable.

And Li Zicheng now looks arrogant, and he doesn't know if Li Zicheng has made any new moves on the northern front in the past month and a half since the prince entered Sichuan.

But with common sense, once it is winter, Li Zicheng will definitely not have any big moves towards the north, right? Isn't he afraid that his subordinates will freeze to death in large numbers? Nowadays, the weather is colder than normal every year! (People at that time already knew that the weather was getting colder, but they didn't know the term "Xiaoice")

The prince smoothed out all the cause and effect thinking, and couldn't help but say with admiration: "It turns out that the surname of the country has long thought so clearly, after our family returns to Beijing, we must report to Your Majesty in detail, and we will not let the surname of the country be wronged."

However, you just said that Li Zicheng is likely to attack Hanzhong this autumn, is this reliable? ”

Zhu Shuren: "Of course! In fact, as early as July, about half a month ago, the scouts sent by Cao Junmen had already detected that after the thieves completely occupied the surrounding areas of Xi'an, they divided their troops to occupy all parts of Guanzhong and approached Baoji County.

This official has already ordered people to pass through the Chencang Ancient Road to the front line of Baoji County and Dasanguan, and transported two batches of military rations. By the end of October and the beginning of November, after the corn harvest was brought up, the people would be able to have more comfort and barely eat half full.

In recent years, because of the drought and cold, rice consumes too much water, so they almost don't plant anymore, they all grow wheat.

However, wheat still consumes more water than corn, and now it is planted with corn, even if it is planted at the end of summer, it does not have to survive the winter to harvest like wheat, so there is less local grain to spare, and there is no risk of starvation. With enough military rations to support Baoji County and Dasanguan, even if the city is besieged by thieves for several months, it is not afraid.

Now the thieves have besieged Baoji County for more than ten days, and they have also been frustrated for seven or eight days under the Dasan Pass, and the official will give them a blow in the next few days! At least half a year of peace in Hanzhong, so that the thieves dare not move south!

After the thieves killed Governor Sun, his main force in the land of Heluo should have shrunk back to Guanzhong, right? If this official goes north from Xiangyang, Huguang, even if he can make great efforts to cross Funiu Mountain from Yangcheng Road and recover Luoyang, but in the end, if he wants to recover Guanzhong, he must face the danger of Tongguan.

Therefore, it is better to show weakness and lure the enemy at this Chencang Pass, before the Great Dispersion Pass, annihilate the living forces that have consumed several times to break into the army, take their soldiers to be tired and depressed, and then lead the army to kill out of the Chencang Pass, and directly recover the pass!

After all, the Great Dispersion Pass is in my hands, and it is easy to enter the pass, and the only way to do it is to raise food, so it is not possible to fight a decisive battle with the Chuang army in the pass on a large scale. ”

Zhu Shuren analyzed the reason very clearly: if Tongguan was not lost, then it would be desirable for the official army to go directly from Xiangyang to Nanyang to Luoyang, and finally enter Xi'an.

If you don't go to Luoyang, you can go directly from Nanyang to Wuguan Road to Qindi. But there is also a problem, that is, the old way of Wuguan is now also controlled by Li Zicheng.

Even if the location of the specific ancient place name of "Wuguan" is controlled by Zuo Liangyu, but the Wuguan Road is so long, as long as the northwest entrance is close to Xi'an, the Guluo Pass in Lantian County, which is close to Xi'an, is in the hands of Li Zicheng, it will still be very troublesome to sneak attack, and it is necessary to attack the pass at the level of "Qin's Four Stops".

And the "scattered pass" in the four stops of Qin, including the entire Chencang Valley Road, plus the Baoji County seat in the north of the valley mouth to guard Weibin, is now completely in the hands of Zhu Shuren.

With such a favorable geographical situation, there is no reason to give up the easy and difficult, so he has to attack Li Zicheng from Huguang instead of going north out of Sichuan to fight Li Zicheng, right?

Analyzing the truth so clearly, even if Chongzhen wants Zhu Shuren to make more efforts to deal with Li Zicheng in the future, Zhu Shuren can pat his chest and say very hard:

Your Majesty, you asked me to deal with Li Zicheng, am I dealing with it! We just have our own ideas on specific tactical deployment, but the general direction is correct, and we have always been dealing with Li Zicheng! There is no negativity.

After Zhu Shuren finished speaking, Wang Gonggong also thoroughly understood his train of thought, and Zhu Shuren finally made up one or two sentences of vaccination:

"Alas, there is no perfect strategy in the world, in fact, my way of thinking about breaking through, there is also a hidden danger, that is, there is a shortage of food in Guanzhong, thousands of miles of red land, once our army breaks through the thieves here, the thieves abandon Guanzhong and continue to flow in other directions, our army is afraid that they will not be able to catch up.

Transporting grain from Sichuan to Guanzhong and then chasing all the way east, this grain and grass must not be supplied, so when the time comes, the imperial army can only fight away the thieves in Guanzhong, and then have to collect troops and return to the south, return to Sichuan, go to Xiangyang along the Han River, and then go north from Jingxiang, so as to ensure the grain route.

But in this way, it may be delayed for several months, after all, it is not easy to dispatch hundreds of thousands of troops for thousands of miles?

In fact, this official has also thought of another more secure way in his heart, which can prevent the erosion of thieves, but it is necessary to suffer the people of Shaanxi - if we go north from Jingxiang, collect Heluo first, and then knock on Tongguan. Even if Tongguan can't be attacked, it doesn't matter, just block Qin Zhisi with a small number of troops, so that the thieves can't escape!

In this way, the imperial court will not give Shaanxi ten years of tax exemption, and it will not toss the government there, and within three years, the thieves will inevitably kill each other, and the thieves will eat each other's corpses, and the number of people will be reduced by more than half-

However, His Majesty is resolute, far from being comparable to those who are weak, he always insists that the Son of Heaven guards the country, and swears not to retreat half a step. He is unwilling to agree to 'temporarily see the people of Shaanxi fend for themselves', this idea is just empty talk, let's use the strategy that the official said at the beginning. ”

Zhu Shuren's words also finally cleared his suspicion from the legal theory: we haven't given Chongzhen a way to live, and even at the last moment, we showed Chongzhen the way, but Chongzhen himself is too principled, likes to be martyred, and does not retreat, so there is no way.

Your Majesty is heroic, and he would rather die than give in, and his ministers admire him!