Jingming

Chapter 268 Who Doesn't Want Credit?

The inside and outside of Hengyang City, which had been bustling all night, calmed down.

No one is made of iron, and the imperial army also needs to take a break. Even imagined that the round of attacks from the east or north of the city has not come yet.

Before the cannon fire started, Pu Zitong really fell asleep, and his soldiers did not call him.

Yan Chunsheng was thinking: Wasn't last night a good time?
He obviously fired a few shots and transmitted the signal with his voice.

The night is so chaotic, as long as the East Master comes, Si Cong's subordinates who have sneaked into Hengyang City disguised as bandits and other Jinyiwei Huguang walkers will suddenly erupt, throwing the east of the city into chaos.

Cai Jia went to the palace to protect Queen Rui's mother and son, and then he took people to capture Pu Zitong alive, and opened the east gate of the city. Can Hengyang City still be broken?

Things didn't develop according to his imagination, so Yan Chunsheng had no choice but to wait.

In the camp east of the Xiangshui River, Ma Yong had already met Gu Shilong.

The new governor of Huguang, Yao Yan, who had just arrived in Huguang and came here, was also there. He had stayed in the northwest frontier town. At this time, he said with certainty: "Pu Zitong is no better than Tang Peiyu. Seeing that Zhan Huabi voted for him from Changde, he knew this conspiracy. Pu Zitong is the more resolute person. Judging from his preparations in Hengyang, the soldiers under his command are not comparable to Changshawei. Even if Pu Zitong dies, the Hengyang defenders will not necessarily collapse. It succeeded, but it also killed the lives of Prince Rui's mother and son."

Gu Shilong frowned: "What does Dutai mean, to continue to exhaust the enemy army, first break down its morale?"

"There must be chaos in the city first, so that Jinyiwei's internal response can make great achievements in one fell swoop."

"However, Commander Luo sent a message, and Yan Chunsheng sent the news in code words. He is already the commander of the right army of the rebel army, and the guard of the east of the city."

Yao Mao shook his head: "There are no less than five thousand enemy troops in Hengyang City who are very determined to rebel, and they are even more brave. How many people can Yan Chunsheng trust? If we just get rid of him, it will be difficult. Tang Peiyu first and then Dan Zhaonian, you can't bet on Pu Zitong's stupidity!"

He immediately bowed to Gu Shilong: "Gu Hou, the governor is not trying to point fingers, but even if the rebels in the city are to be driven to the junction of Jiangxi and Fujian in the future, so many rebels should not be released at once. First, we have to wait for the south to fall first. Zhucheng, strong walls and clearing the country, reduce the losses caused by the rebels fleeing and looting along the way; secondly, are the generals and soldiers of the army now coming here for nothing, and there is no battle merit to be gained, and the credit for this battle should be attributed to the Jinyiwei and the Beijing camp's selection of front?"

Gu Shilong really understood now.

It can only be said that people like Yao Mao think about different things, not just the battle itself.

He thought about the Huguang Zhuwei he had brought.

The battle in Changsha was mainly due to the selection of forwards from the Shenji Battalion and Jin Yiwei.

The attack on Mount Heng was also the result of Jin Yiwei's instigation against Tang Peiyu, making his backstab the key to breaking Hengshan City.Although the imperial army has meritorious service, it is really not enough.

Ke Hengyang, if the Fifth Army Battalion and Guangxi soldiers took Guiyang Prefecture again, Luo An rebelled, but Zhaonian took the south of Shuikou Mountain encirclement, Yan Chunsheng saved Prince Rui's mother and son, and opened the city gate. How much credit can be given to so many troops that have been dispatched?
The problems after the war are the more headaches for the court, and whether civil servants or military officials, wouldn't they have more fear of such a powerful Jin Yiwei?

The final direction will not change, but the imperial army must also have enough military exploits.

Yao Mao finally said something that Gu Shilong agreed with quite a bit in his heart: "Gu Hou, since you know that His Majesty intends to train soldiers, you need to understand that without going through bloody battles, whether it is Huguang soldiers or Guangxi soldiers, there will be no soldiers in the future." You can’t be called a soldier capable of fighting. In the future, the border between Jiangxi and Fujian will be suppressed and practiced, but it will not be your turn to make achievements this time.”

Gu Shilong nodded: "The governor's words are reasonable, I understand."

After that, he looked at Ma Yong: "Brother Ma came from a long way, and I hope that the Guangdong Navy will make new achievements. Next, I will divide up six thousand troops to capture the Yin of the water in the north of the city, and approach Hengyang City!"

Ma Yong's eyes flashed: "The last general takes orders!"

……

The battle of Hengyang entered a new stage after nightfall, and Pu Zitong really ushered in the main attack from the west and north of the city.

And it was a real bloody battle.

Yan Chunsheng had no choice but to stand still, because it had been agreed in advance that he would wait for the army to approach from which direction he would send the signal.

Before, he had already sent a signal in the east of the city.

But now, the imperial army mainly launched attacks from the north and west of the city.

Time has entered November. On this day, when Cai Jia came over, he said to him: "Gu Hou has captured the northern bank of the city and confronted the defenders of the northern city. Now we have to pull out the nail of Shitouzui first. Someone with a loud voice came to the battle He insulted Pu Zitong before, saying that the remnants of the Pu clan ordered An Wu's family to assassinate him on the canal outside Linqing City, but failed. His Majesty has ordered all the Pu clans to be wiped out. real."

He lowered his voice and said: "Brother Yan, will Pu Zitong get angry and get rid of Prince Rui's mother and son directly?"

Didn't they put in so much effort just to protect Prince Rui's mother and son?
At the beginning of Pu Zitong's incident, Cai Jia and other six Jinyiwei lurking in Hengyang City were neither able to protect them and take them away, nor did they receive such an order.

In this big game of chess played by His Majesty, maybe Prince Rui was the bait in the first place, how could he catch someone who dared to plot rebellion with the bright and heavy protection?
Cai Jia and the others didn't know the extent of Pu Zitong's arrogance, nor did they have the guts to speculate on the emperor's vicious intentions.

But he knew that their task now was to rescue Prince Rui's mother and son.

In that way, the reason why Pu Zitong and others so-called "beg for rebellion against heaven" will no longer exist.If he still doesn't surrender, it means that he himself wants to usurp the throne, or is willing to become a bandit.

Now that Pu Zitong made an incident, all the other members of the Pu family outside the nine clans jumped out to assassinate him. Is this because the Pu family is loyal to Zhu Ming's orthodoxy, or do they hold a grudge against the Taizu who killed the Quanzhou Pu family for more than a hundred years?

If Pu Zitong simply killed Prince Rui's mother and son, then the mission of Yan Chunsheng and Cai Jia would have failed.

Yan Chunsheng shook his head: "No! Pu Zitong's prestige is not enough, Prince Rui is the key for the rebels to persevere and wait for changes, we just have to wait."

Before that, the second brother He Quan'an had analyzed a lot with him.

This is not a chaotic world where the hearts of the people are scattered. The current rebellion is nothing more than watching His Majesty implement the new law, which makes the gentry feel unwilling, and encounters a severe drought.

But if the rebellion is to be successful, Zhu Ming's legacy is still there, and the hearts of the world have not been lost.

Even if Pu Zitong died, as long as there were still people who refused to surrender, he had to keep Prince Rui.

Yan Chunsheng decided to wait, Hengyang has become an isolated city, with his own internal response, it is not difficult to break the city, so the will of the imperial army is much stronger than Pu Zitong imagined.

He wanted to stick to it and wait for other changes in Daming. Commander Luo also said that Pu Zitong was thinking too much.

What is His Majesty's southern tour for?
In the west of the city, Zhu Qi deeply agreed with Yao Mao's opinion.

He needs credit.

He is not reconciled to letting him bombard with such low efficiency in the west of the city.

In Daming, the credit is mainly for the leader, the enemy general, the capture of the battle, and the breaking of the city.

Although there are not many soldiers brought in at the moment, Guangxi soldiers want credit, and Jiuxi guards also want credit.

In the north of the city, Gu Shilong witnessed the red eyes of the generals of the other guards because of the rebellion of Huguang Sanwei.Some of them were worried about the troubles brought about by the imperial court's next liquidation of Huguangwei, and some wanted to seize this opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

No matter which one it is, you need credit, or avoid disaster, or climb up.

And in the south of the city, Luo An has already figured it out.

He said to Dan Zhaonian: "You rebelled and then surrendered, and your final destination in the future will be my Jinyiwei."

After finishing speaking, he looked at He Quan'an: "You have done enough, next, just wait for them to make meritorious deeds, and we will catch up with this flock of sheep."

Although Luo An dared to rush to the front line in this counter-insurgency, he also saw the dragon and the crouching tiger hidden in the Jinyiwei.

After returning to Beijing this time, he was going to resign bravely.

Luo An was aware of his strengths, Jin Yiwei made such a great contribution, he would not block the way of so many dragons and tigers, it would not be good for the emperor to continue to control this mighty force.

Everyone wants to climb up, Wang Zuo thought, He Quanan thought, and Yan Chunsheng thought the same.

Countering the rebellion, what a great contribution.Everyone can get a little, so His Majesty will have more loyal ministers.

Now, Zhu Houcong is approaching Huai'an.

This is the territory of Nanzhili. Just like in Shandong, the vast majority of officials above the fourth rank in Nanzhili have been ordered to come to Huai'an to welcome them.

However, Guo Xun, the defender of Nanjing, and Song Liangchen, the co-defender, are not used.

Zhang Jin, the eunuch guarding Nanjing, was not there either. He was in Jiading, at the home of Gong Hong, who had become an official of the Ministry of Industry.

Gong Hong accepted the order, knelt on the ground and looked up at Zhang Jin.

Now, the seal of the former supervisor of ceremonies represents the emperor.

After the decree is announced, it is to interrogate the emperor.

"I ask you, in the Hedao Yamen for more than three years, how much have you been greedy? I want to investigate the water and water conservancy in the world, why did you resign in a hurry?"

Gong Hong is already 74, and his beard and hair are all white.

In the past three years since he became an official, he has become more and more ruddy.

At this time, his face was still ruddy, and he was not flustered or pale because of the harshness of the emperor's question and the murderous intent contained in these two questions.

"I am ashamed, I can only build these two rivers like this." Gong Hong replied slowly, "I have successively served as the magistrate of Yanzhou, the right governor of Zhejiang, the left governor of Huguang, and the prime minister of Hedao. .The minister invites you to become an official, just because you have reached the age of seventy, and it is not suitable for the old to take office."

Zhang Jin had dealt with Gong Hong before. After all, during the Zhengde period, Zhang Jin had already worked in the Supervisor of Rites, and Gong Hong was a senior official.

Now the emperor specially sent him to question him, and Gong Hong answered with a clear conscience.

"The magistrate of Huizhou is your favorite student in Huguang. Song Liangchen went to Huizhou, and that person is Ding Sijuan. Did you, Gong Hong, write that letter because you killed your grandson Gong Shimei?"

Gong Hong still had a calm expression on his face: "The child is rebellious and ignorant of world affairs. His majesty's thunderous anger is his own fault. The prefect of Chu asked the minister for advice, and the minister just took his life as an official's income, and just expressed his own opinion."

Zhang Jin nodded: "Our family will report Gong Shangshu's answer in full."

Gong Hong got up silently and accepted the order.

Zhang Jin said: "Let's invite Gong Shangshu to leave for Huai'an. Your Majesty will call for questions after returning to Huai'an from Fengyang and Sizhou."

Gong Hong looked at the doctor of the Nanjing Ministry of Criminal Justice he brought, and after handing over the will to his son, he said to Zhang Jin: "Eunuch Zhang, please."

His son looked worried, but Gong Hong went out with Zhang Jin calmly.

Zhang Jin kept looking at him, and then said as he walked: "Gong Shangshu, the Commander of Shandong Capital has confessed in front of His Majesty, and pays 3000 taels of silver to the Hedao Yamen every year."

Gong Hong stood in front of the carriage brought by Zhang Jin and smiled slightly: "Eunuch Zhang is loyal, I know. I am guilty and innocent, and the Secretary will find out, and His Majesty will understand."

After finishing speaking, he bowed his hands and walked into the carriage with the support of the old servant.

The carriage was going west through the streets and alleys of Jiading City. The common people only knew that the owner of Qiuxia Garden and the high official of Jiading City had been invited away again. They wondered if he was going to be an official again?

But the more important figures all knew that the person who came was the seal of the former Si Li Jian, and people from the Nanjing Ministry of Criminal Justice also came together.

From the Chenghua period to the 16th year of Zhengde, he did not become a real minister and did not enter the Taiwan cabinet before he became an official. However, Gong Hong served as an official in many places, and there may be more old students.

He is not a Qingliu who was born in the Imperial Academy and has been promoted in Beijing.

He is like the governor of the river he served in, he is a turbid current that cannot be more turbid.

Years and life experience have left Gong Hong's face, not only seeing through the world in his eyes, but also calm and breezy in his expression.

At this time, Zhu Houcong had just arrived in Huai'an Fucheng.

Huai'an Mansion is located at the intersection of the Yellow River, Huaihe River, and canals, and its throat property is stronger than that of Linqing.

On its northwest side, there are the Yellow River and the canal that are almost parallel and meet at Qingjiangpu in the northwest of the city.To the east is the Huaihe River, which flows into the sea after entering the water of the Yellow River.On the southwest side is Hongze Lake next to the Mausoleum of Zhu Jiazu in Sizhou Daming.

Due to the unique terrain, Huai'an City was built with huge manpower, material and financial resources.The old city, the new city, and the Jiacheng together constitute Huai'an City, which is firm and tall, easy to defend and difficult to attack.In Huai'an Mansion, there are two guards of Huai'an and Dahe, as well as a large number of soldiers.

The Governor's Water Transportation Department is here, and the Cao Army is also centered here.

In addition, there is also Huai'an warehouse, which is only slightly inferior to Linqing warehouse and Xuzhou warehouse. It ships 150 million shi of grain from Jiangxi, Huguang, Zhejiang and other places every year.

There is the Qingjiang Du Shipyard, the largest in the Ming Dynasty, with a factory area stretching for more than [-] miles, and managing nearly [-] craftsmen and merchants.

Naturally, there is Huai'an Chaoguan.

But the population of Huai'an is far less than that of Linqing City.

Because there is no room to live in the city, and outside the city... there are often floods.

Zhu Houcong did not enter the city.

The escorting army was stationed at the south of Qingjiangpu, next to Hanhuai Weir across the river.

Next to it is the vast Hongze Lake.

Across the lake, to the west of Hongze Lake is the Mausoleum of the Daming Ancestor located in the north of Sizhou City.

Zhu Houcong stood on the Hanhuai Weir, and Li Wei explained beside him: "It is said that the Hanhuai Weir was built by Chen Deng, the prefect of Guangling County in the late Han Dynasty. Grain is stored in the fields, and the Huaihe Weir is constantly being built."

He knew what the emperor was still concerned about, so he said solemnly: "The Yellow River has taken the Huaihe River into the sea for many years, and the sediment has been continuously silting up. This Hongze Lake has been suspended high, and the defense of the Huaihe Weir is the most important thing. If this weir is lost, Huaiyang If not, the canal will be cut off!"

Zhu Houcong nodded: "No one dares to joke here, I know. Go back, Jiang Mian and the others are here too."

Yes, although there are many floods, no one dares to make fun of this place.

Because not far away is the ancestral mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty.

Who is responsible for flooding the ancestral mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty?

(End of this chapter)