Chapter 159 Counterattack

Heavy rain is like a note.

Yongchangwei (now Yongchang County, Gansu), Yan Minwang looked up at the sky at the tent, his face darker than the dark clouds hanging overhead.

It has been raining for more than 20 days. It was a common practice in this era not to fight on rainy days. It's not a superstition, it's really impossible to attack - the bow and crossbow are completely useless, and in such a rainstorm, even the strongest crossbow can't fly twenty paces away, and the lethality is zero. When it rains, both bows and crossbows are useless: bowstrings lose their elasticity and are scrapped, bows and crossbows will expand, and when they dry again, they will shrink, and when they rise and shrink, they can only be used as firewood. Iron armor rusts when it rains, and precious life-saving objects turn into garbage in the blink of an eye. Moreover, the thick layer of padding inside has added more than a dozen catties of weight after being drenched in the rain. Most of the Tibetan soldiers have no armor, but the wide robes absorb more water, and it is difficult to walk, how to fight?

What's more, the water in front of the Shuimochuan River is soaring, and even if the rain stops, it will take at least seven or eight days when the water recedes.

Zhang Hu had already run to the vicinity of Shandanwei (now Shandan County, Gansu), and it seemed that he could not catch up. However, in the past month or so, Yan Minwang has more than 600 levels of beheadings in his hands after digging new graves and catching the escaped thieves, and the thieves have already run to the northern boundary of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division, and he has chased the entire Lintao Mansion for a long distance, and has gone deeper into the Shaanxi Xingdu Division more than half, which is enough to be reasonable.

Shaanxi Xingdu Division, listening to the name, you know that this is an administrative region with military significance, full of fortresses and stockades. It stands to reason that a few thousand outlaws and thieves should be easily solved by themselves - don't forget, set up the Shaanxi Xingdu Division, and imagine that the enemy is more than 100,000 prisoners in the north at every turn! I didn't expect it, let alone solve it, I can't even block it! Okay, it's okay if you can't block it, it's okay to delay a bit, it's good, every fortress, every stockade, there are only some old guys who can't move on the road, and they are taken down by Zhang Hu without much effort, and those walled camps are all used by Zhang thieves to deal with themselves, even dead and wounded, and they catch up with the little two hundred brothers in vain! And he has already gone deep into the hinterland of Shaanxi Xingdusi, but he has not received the support of a soldier or a grain of grain in Gansu Town, what are we trying to do? So Commander Yan decided not to chase and returned to Taozhouwei.

Capital.

The Son of Heaven, who has recovered a little, is listening to the report of the Ministry of War: Taozhou Wei sent 5,500 soldiers - there will be food and salary to receive when the troops are dispatched, and there are reimbursement flowers for various items such as pensions, you are reimbursed, what do the uncles eat? So the first time it was reported, the document was sent back by the Ministry of War. There is a cheap share, Taozhou Wei naturally said thank you too late, after the collusion, the number of troops more than doubled. This is still the dead-eyed Taozhou Wei does not dare to be too outrageous, for most of the other military towns, it is normal to report 20,000 or 30,000 troops - the beheading skill is 613 levels, and after the inquest, 559 levels meet the acceptance standards of the imperial court, "it is indeed the head of a strong thief"......

Dragon's Heart!

Beheading accounts for one percent of the number of reported soldiers is a first-class merit, although compared with the number of all the soldiers registered in Taozhouwei, more than 600 levels are less than a first-level merit, but each battalion checkpoint must always leave enough garrison soldiers to not move, but more than 5,000 troops go out to fight. More than 5,000 people handed over nearly 600 heads, this, there are more than 10-level skills, no, 20-level skills - because it is a guest army, it must be doubled!

"Reward! Reward! I can't treat the soldiers badly! "It's been a long time since the Son of Heaven has been so happy.

"Long live the Kickstart! The minister has something to say. "It is Qiao Nanxing who stood up for the matter, "Taozhou Wei was sneaked by thieves first, and chasing down the bandits is his internal affair to make up for his crimes!" I thought that a little praise was enough to show the grace of heaven! ”

Hearing this, the Son of Heaven "chuckled" in his heart: there are people who have jumped out to make trouble again!

"The minister seconded the proposal." It was Gu Yiyi who helped, "The merits and demerits are offset, and it is not appropriate to be too arrogant and indulgent." The Tang Dynasty feudal town Yin Jian is not far away, and the chaos of the five dynasties is vivid, and the ministers are begging for the saint to be clear. ”

The smile froze on the face of the Son of Heaven, and he thought to himself: Can't you guys stop a little? It was indeed an oversight for the thieves to sneak in. However, with so many barbarian tribes and thousands of miles of snow-capped mountains, who can block them everywhere? After discovering the thief, he immediately pursued him for a long time, and reported so many beheadings at once, could it be that he only ended up with a merit and a demerit? Why, those people in Shaanxi Province and Henan Province stared at them and said nonsense, and insisted that the thief fell from the sky and suddenly appeared from the crack in the ground, and he just didn't admit it before he could reward his merits?

However, if you think about it, you can't pierce the window paper even in the court - in that case, these people will definitely simply tear the dough and sprinkle it like a shrew, and the court meeting will become a street meeting. The Son of Heaven sighed secretly, and was about to open his mouth to defend a few words, when he stood up again.

"Long live the Minister. If you have great merit but not reward, you will not only trap Your Majesty in meanness and injustice, but also leave endless disasters! ”

Hearing this, the Son of Heaven perked up and looked down, and a young and strange official came out of class to play. Chao Wat covered his face, but looking down from the high position of the Holy Son of Heaven, the upper half of his face was very delicate.

I only listened to this young official's eloquent words: "When the minister heard that King Xiang 'made people meritorious to be knighted, he was sealed, and he couldn't bear it', which eventually caused a catastrophe." It is clearly written in the history books, Huaiyin Marquis Han Xin summed up Xiang Yu's failure, the most important thing is the unfair reward and punishment, the seal in his hand to grind off the edges and corners and reluctant to reward the hero, and finally lost the country, this is called a lesson from the past! Such a great achievement is not rewarded, and the ministers are really puzzled, where is this book of sages read! ”

"Good scolding!" The Son of Heaven praised heartily in his heart, and turned his face to Li Shizhong behind him slightly.

This is a signal of inquiry. Li Shizhong, who had already had a tacit understanding, took two steps forward and whispered in the ear of the Son of Heaven: "Guanglu Temple, Ma Quan." Then gently stepped back again. Li Shizhong still didn't have any expression on his face, but his heart was already full of joy: Well done!

This praise in Gonggong Li's heart is not only for Ma Quan, but also for himself. In the past, those mouthballs had nothing to do, although there would also be people from other factions who stood up to refute it, but in most cases, there was no deep grudge, and no one wanted to make a mortal enmity with those endless bastards. But this group of guys who don't talk about Wood are always unreasonable and unreasonable, and they are always getting more and more arrogant. Well, ponies have an unbreakable hatred with you for eight lifetimes, and they're also full of money - well, people read better than you! It's a fitting way to clean you up! Soon after Xiaoma returned to the Hanlin Academy, Gonggong Li operated him to Guanglu Temple, which was in charge of sacrifices, court meetings, banquets, wine and food, and this trick can be described as killing two birds with one stone: on the one hand, it avoided the embarrassment of Xiaoma's classmates in the old unit, and on the other hand, don't look at the low official position of the temple from Liupin, but he can participate in the court meeting in a grand manner! No, we don't need to give any hints, Pony-san has already taken the initiative to stand up and fire!

Qiao and Gu, who were suddenly robbed of white, and were almost pointed at their noses and scolded the book to the dog's stomach, were all stunned, and were about to perform the stunt of scolding the street, when they saw that it was a pony who stood up, especially his two dignified ice picks that could kill people pierced straight into the cracks of the bones, they were all shocked, and they couldn't help swallowing the words back from their mouths. The signature tactics of these so-called Qingliu are to hold high the banner of "righteousness" and preemptively stand on the moral high ground to unscrupulously criticize everything, so that it will be difficult for you to fight back, and at best you can only cover up for self-protection - as long as you fight back, you will inevitably touch the banner of "righteousness", and you will fall into a Jedi from which you will never recover! And the pony is a well-known "victim", if you are ashamed to run away, it is the best, and you can continue to claim to be a moral gentleman as if nothing happened, but this guy runs back regardless of shame (and I don't know who is really shameless), and if he breaks the jar and shakes off all the things that many people have done as a party...... There is no moral high ground to take advantage of, and it is also a blink of an eye to be ruined! Who dares to talk nonsense again?

"Your Majesty." Wang Qing saw that the momentum was not right, and wanted to come out and play a round first, "Each has its own reason for this matter, and the minister thinks that it is better to think about it in the long run." ”

"Ahem," Ma Quan signaled to the official of Honglu Temple who was in charge of picketing the court, and after getting permission, he first bowed respectfully to the Holy Son of Heaven, took a few steps back, and walked a little farther away, "Ahem, I'm phew!" He coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and smacked heavily on the ground. The voice was so loud that not only the Son of Heaven, but even the officials standing at the end of the squad could be heard clearly. Everyone knows that Ma Sicheng is playing on the topic, but no one can find fault with it. The court will clearly stipulate that in case of phlegm cough, three emergencies and other situations, the relevant officials can temporarily leave the shift to solve the problem after the declaration is approved, and it is not considered a loss of honor in front of the monarch after the matter is over, Ma Quan is clearly playing a side ball to express his disdain - this is still the king, if there is no saint of heaven present, I am afraid that this spit will not be directly spat on the face of Lord Wang! However, as long as the Son of Heaven does not have a seizure, others have nothing to say - and the Son of Heaven, a smile flashed at the corner of his mouth, and it was too late to be happy, how could he be dissatisfied?

After Wang Qingyuan finished speaking, he didn't wait for the Son of Heaven to express his position, but he waited for a "bah", neither advancing nor retreating, and his face was red and white for a while, and he froze on the spot.

"Long live the kick-starter." Ma Quan, who deliberately stepped on small steps with an interval of only an inch - this is called "tendency", which means extreme respect - and returned to the court after a long time spoke, "The minister heard that 'empty talk misleads the country, and hard work prospers the country'." It is obviously a great military exploit, and there is a dignified ancestral system, but some people have a conscience to obstruct it in every way, and the minister does not know what his intentions are! On behalf of the Holy Son of Heaven, he inspected the world to eliminate evil, and recommended talents for the country to select talents, which is the responsibility of the imperial history. Unexpectedly, the person he recommended was defeated in a battle, and he could not be retracted, and he was ashamed to still make a lot of nonsense, and the ministers knew that the ancients knew that the ancients were "thicker than the city wall". Commander Yan's reward for his merits is the result of Lu Guangyu's collapse, and the minister dares to ask if it is true? The recommender is negligent, the general is lost, the crime is not punished, the merit is not rewarded, and the monk barks (pronounced 'silver', the dog barks), although the minister knows a little about the meaning of the corpse vegetarian meal, but he does not know where his conscience is! ”

Wang Qingyuan was dumbfounded: Ma Quan scolded right! Regardless of Yan Minwang's reward or punishment, the root cause was Lu Guangyu's defeat, which led to Zhang Thief's northward jump, but Lu Guangyu was recommended by the imperial history of his own Imperial Procuratorate! Not only did the gang not help a few of his comrades, but he put himself in, and was also asked where Tianliang was - why does this big move look so familiar? Which ancient man said that the skin is thicker than the city wall, which book wrote it, why can't you remember it at all for a while?

"Alright, alright." The Son of Heaven concluded with a smile, "I have heard all the opinions of all Aiqing. Ma Aiqing is reasonable, 'The major affairs of the country are to worship Nairong'. Since you have made a meritorious service, you should be rewarded. The Ministry of Communications will discuss it from the ......"

After retiring from the court, the Son of Heaven could no longer suppress his excitement, and laughed, and Li Shizhong and the others were also sincerely happy. After listening to Gonggong Li tell the story of Ma Quan locally, the Son of Heaven praised: "You have done a good job in this matter." Gonggong Li was even happier, so he took the opportunity to speak again: "The old slave thinks that such a knowledgeable and daring to speak direct minister is some, some, well, the old slave is bold and a little condescending, right?" ”

"Well, it is. Go back and let him enter the palace and serve me as an attendant*. You look at the arrangement of the official positions of the outer court, you don't have to be too scrupulous in terms of rank, it doesn't hurt to jump a few levels, Wei Wu can be a meritocracy, when employing people, the court should make the best use of its talents. ”

"Yes." Li Shizhong already had an idea of the future location of Tsushima, and the road to realization would be barrier-free. Moreover, he even won a jackpot with him - the Son of Heaven was originally an errand of the Hanlin Academy, and the grade was low, but the title of "Emperor Master" is not only a supreme honor, but also has great potential: which book to choose, how to interpret, and how to guide the thoughts of the Son of Heaven are all in the mastery of the reader/speaker! There is a lot to be done in this article - what is the controversial topic in the court, if the Holy Son of Heaven can hear similar cases in the subsequent sutra feasts...... The Holy Judgment can be imagined!

"By the way, go back and ask Ma Aiqing, which book wrote the sentence 'The ancients have thicker skin than the city wall'. I have never read such an interesting book, and I want to read it when I have time. ”

"Yes." Li Shizhong lowered his hand and agreed.

Hearing the double appointment of "Son of Heaven Attendant" and "Tongzheng Si Zuo Tongzheng", Ma Quan knelt down with a "poof", and sincerely kowtowed to Li Shizhong: "The grace of father-in-law's recreation, the kindness of his parents, Ma Quan will not forget it." Ma Quan is willing to recognize his father-in-law as his father-in-law, and in the next life, he will repay him! A few heartfelt tears fell on the floor tiles.

"Good, good! Our family will recognize you. Don't forget the grace of the Son of Heaven, which is to fight for our family! Li Shizhong rubbed his hands happily and was overjoyed, "By the way, the saint asked you which book the allusion to 'being more cheeky than the city wall' came from, and the saint thought it was interesting to read." ”

"Huh? My father-in-law is above, I made it up temporarily! Ma Quan was stupefied.

"Huh?" Li Shizhong was also stunned when he heard this, and then laughed, "Hahahaha, in the end, you are a scholar, staring at this nonsense, but there is really you." Hahahaha. ”

"Father-in-law, help." Ma Quan can't be ridiculous - the crime of bullying the king is much more serious than the dereliction of honor in front of the king, and this reason is not difficult to understand.

"It's okay, it's okay. Hahahaha, the saint will feel relieved when he hears this. Haha, rest assured, you're okay for your father! You can do it, hahahaha! ”

* Reading and speaking.

Lectures, readings, and lectures were important ways for ancient monarchs to receive education, and courtiers entered the forbidden school to teach Confucian classics or statecraft in front of the emperor or crown prince. The monarchs and ministers explained the scriptures and discussed political affairs with each other, which not only provided an opportunity for Confucian ministers to get close to the emperor and exert political influence, but also enabled the emperors and princes living in the Nine Profound Palaces to receive Confucian education on a regular basis and improve their character and learning.

Strictly speaking, the attendants are more focused on the Son of Heaven himself, and the objects of the lectures are not only the Son of Heaven, but also the crown prince and so on. Tianshun two years customized, every morning after the retreat, the crown prince out of the cabinet to ascend, no need for guards and other officials, only to read the lecturer on duty. After speaking, the scrivener waited for the prince to write. Whoever reads, after three days, warms up, and recites proficiently. On the day of the book, no new book will be awarded. All writing must be 100 words in spring, summer and autumn, and five crosses in winter. All the New Year's holidays, wind, rain and snow, cold and summer, can be suspended.

The attendants and lecturers were mainly selected from the Hanlin Academy, and some were appointed as scholars and important ministers of the court. However, in order to limit the power of the crown prince of the East Palace and avoid collusion with the ministers to let his father "retire early", these official ranks are very low: the bachelor of the waiter and the bachelor of the waiter are all from the fifth grade; Reading and speaking are only the six products - this is also the characteristic of the Ming Dynasty's "low position and weight, small system big".