golden scales

1

The eighth day of August in the 16th year of Chongzhen.

Zhu Cihong received the emperor's summoning order in the East Palace, packed up his things, asked Yao Tao to bring various reports that might need to be submitted to the imperial court, and went to the Forbidden City with a guard of honor.

Chongzhen likes to summon civil and military ministers to discuss state affairs on the platform.

This is not a system at all, but Emperor Wanli didn't like to go to court, so he summoned the ministers at the Yuntai Gate behind the Jianji Hall.After Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he inherited this tradition, but Yuntai somehow evolved into a platform, which was recorded in the official book.

In fact, Zhu Cihong quite liked the form of the Yumen to listen to the government. Although it was a bit cold in winter, there was no need for a group of people to suffocate in the building, and the air flow was comfortable, which made people clearer.

On the way to the platform, Zhu Cihong met another civil servant attending the meeting, Zhang Fengxiang, Minister of the Ministry of War.He didn't know much about foreign ministers, especially the ministers and ministers of the Ministry of War, who were often dismissed from office and imprisoned because of a defeat. Those who were lucky could save their lives, and those who were unlucky would be beheaded directly and bear the responsibility for the defeat.

From the first year of Chongzhen to the present, in less than 17 years, the Minister of War has changed 13 people [Note 1].Among them, Zhang Fengyi, the Shangshu of the Ministry of War from the fifth to ninth year of Chongzhen, served as a soldier for five years.

In this kind of high-consumption and high-flow position, Zhu Cihong really has no interest in interacting with them.

Zhang Fengxiang originally wanted to avoid the crown prince's guard of honor, but thinking of the rumors in Beijing that the prince is young and wise, mature and dignified, capable of handling important events, he couldn't help but feel lucky, and went forward to sign up as an official, saluted like a ceremonial, and paid his respects East Palace.

This kind of behavior beyond etiquette naturally made Zhu Cihuang a little puzzled, and he couldn't just leave without knowing it, and immediately asked: "Is there anything wrong with the center?" The Ministry of War is called the center.Zhu Cihong didn't address him by name, title or official position, but asked about "center" in general, which means don't waste time if it's not about the ministry.

Therefore, etiquette is like a dictionary of the underworld. How can any commoner know the elegance implied in the various titles such as Bingbing, Zhongshu, Shuchen, Shangshu...?

Zhang Fengxiang understood it immediately, but at this moment he had no choice but to bite the bullet and stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, I must be discussing the matter of Governor Qin leaving the customs today."

Zhu Cihong didn't expect that the servant didn't come up to flatter him. He was a little surprised, but his expression improved a lot: "Does Zhang Shilang have any good ideas?"

"How dare you!" Zhang Fengxiang flinched slightly, and said again: "Your Highness probably doesn't know yet, the imperial court sent four or five angels to Shaanxi to urge Governor Qin to leave the customs."

Zhu Cihong nodded, indicating that he knew it.Even if this matter is not reported in the residence, it will appear in the pond newspaper.Now that he has so many people under his command to help him collect information, and Xu Dun, a pretentious madman, helps him integrate these scattered information, how could he not know about such a big move by the court.

"Your Highness, Governor Qin must not leave the customs!" Zhang Fengxiang suppressed his vocal cords, trembling slightly.He didn't know whether his explanation could make the prince understand, so he searched his brains for actions and words, and said sincerely: "Your Highness, Qin Bing is the only remaining elite soldier in the world. The emperor only has this family property, how can he move lightly?"

Zhu Cihong nodded: "The Governor of Qin sits in Xi'an and governs Shaanxi. As long as he trains his troops and garrisons, he will be able to fight against the intruders in time. Even if he just sticks to it, once the intruders head east, their retreat will be unstable. Contain the army of intruders, and prevent the northern and southern capitals from receiving troops."

Li Zicheng was in Hunan at that time, and he wanted to occupy the land of Huguang granary.Zhang Xianzhong ran one step faster, occupied Wuchang first, and took Huguang into his pocket.From this point of view, Li Zicheng seems to have won Henan and occupied the land of the Central Plains, but he also put himself in the place of the Fourth World War.

Zuo Liangyu stationed troops in Hanshang, Sun Chuanting was stationed in Xi'an, and King Qin's soldiers from Shandong and other places would also gather in Henan.It seems that Li Zicheng can fight Nanjing when he goes south, and Yanjing when he goes north, but in fact he can't go anywhere.Once the army moves, there is a danger that the old battalion will be taken away and the food road will be cut off.

And in this game of chess, the most important thing is Shaanxi!

The folk customs in Shaanxi are tough, and it has always been the frontier of the Ming Dynasty to resist the Mongolian Tatars. The fortresses are densely packed, easy to defend and difficult to attack.As long as Sun Chuanting has a firm foothold in Shaanxi, he can attack Henan by leaving Tongguan in the east, and enter Bashu by retreating from Hanzhong in the west.It is a good place to attack and defend.

Such an important chess piece is now facing heavy pressure from the court, and is forced to go out to fight without solid supplies.If they win, of course they can wipe out the trespasser Li Zicheng.If he loses, Da Ming won't even have the last chance to come back.

"This matter..." Zhu Cihong shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's already too late."

"Too late?" Zhang Fengxiang asked suspiciously: "If the imperial court is willing to delay life and recover the angel, it will only take two days..."

"On the first day of the eighth lunar month, Governor Qin has already sworn in as a teacher and left the customs." Zhu Cihong asked back: "The minister is in the center, don't you know?"

Zhang Fengxiang's face flushed immediately, and he said cowardly: "What should I do? What should I do?"

Zhu Cihong forced a smile: "You can let them stop fighting in Luoyang, don't be aggressive, and wait for the imperial court to send reinforcements, and the battle will be completed."

"Where are there any soldiers in the imperial court?" Zhang Fengxiang's distressed face suddenly bloomed, and he looked at the prince and said, "Your Highness means...just that there are reinforcements?"

"No, there are really reinforcements." Zhu Cihong was amused by him, and said with a smile: "I mean, you can personally conquer."

Zhang Fengxiang was silent.

The imperial conquest of Daming has become a joke since Cheng and Xuan.

Emperor Yingzong's imperial conquest was in person, and there was a change of civil fort.The Wala people surrounded Yanjing City and demanded to sign an alliance under the city.Fortunately, it was the ministers of the Ming Dynasty who would rather establish a new emperor than sign a covenant of humiliating power and humiliating the country, which made the Oirats return without success.

Later, Emperor Wuzong personally conquered King Ning to rebel, but he didn't even see the rebels. The governor of southern Jiangxi, Wang Shouren, had bound King Ning Zhu Chenhao to offer prisoners.

After Wu Zong, the emperor of Ming Dynasty has never seen battle formation for the sixth life.

Moreover, the Beijing camp at that time was still a gathering of elite soldiers from all over the world, so there was no problem protecting the emperor's safety.In today's Beijing camp, it is a problem to gather thousands of young people to come out.Who dares to let the emperor personally conquer?Even if the emperor himself proposed to conscript himself, the ministers had to show their loyalty immediately, implore the emperor to put the country first, and let the ministers act on their behalf.

Zhu Cihong pointed out the way to break the game at this moment, obviously implying Zhang Fengxiang that the East Palace intends to go to war.

Liu Ruoyu followed Zhu Cihong, his expression turned pale upon hearing the words.He has long known that the prince's heart is not in one city or one palace, but in the whole world.If the prince is really released, with the foundation of the Donggong guard camp, it will take less than a year and a half for the prince to have a strong army of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people.

After all, Zhang Fengxiang didn't dare to answer, and silently bowed and stepped aside.In his capacity, speaking on the issue of personal enlistment is really too unreasonable.Although the discussion of the emperor's personal conquest is also suggested in the six departments, it is not the mainstream. They are all young and radical new officials who can't make any big waves, and they can't affect the situation by standing in the past.

If His Royal Highness raised the question, I am afraid that this question will be different.

Seeing that Zhang Fengxiang didn't speak, Zhu Cihong just smiled and didn't mind, and went to the platform with a guard of honor.

……

Xiangyang Grand Marshal's Mansion.

Li Zicheng had a thick, black, straight long beard, and was wearing a blue homespun dress.If he is not sitting in a high position, he is no different from an ordinary soldier.People in the world rumored that he called himself King Xinshun, but in fact it was just a rumor, and even people from later generations like Zhu Cihong had been deceived.In fact, he is not now the king, but he has proclaimed himself "Fengtian Advocating Justice, Marshal of Civil and Military Affairs".

Sitting in front of Li Zicheng were three middle-aged scribes, who were the three masterminds under Li Zicheng's command.Sitting on the left is Niu Jinxing who has followed Li Zicheng for three years.

The name Niu Jinxing may seem rude, but he is a rare scholar in the camp.He was elected in the seventh year of Apocalypse, and joined Li Zicheng in the 13th year of Chongzhen. He persuaded Li Zicheng to "reduce the punishment and kill, relieve the hungry, and win the hearts of the people."

The middle-aged counselor sitting on Li Zicheng's right hand was called Song Xiance. He was originally a quack fortune teller. Because of his accurate fortune-telling, he had won the trust of Li Zicheng. He would ask him for divination before every battle.This man is also quite intelligent, and he often persuades Li Zicheng to adopt his own advice through God's will.

In contrast, the counselor sitting opposite Li Zicheng was a fresh face.This man had three long beards, his face was like a crown of jade, and his Confucian shirt was clean and well-washed.He is a scholar from Jingxiang, his surname is Gu and his name is Junen.Although the time to follow Li Zicheng is still short, he is regarded by Li Zicheng as a figure like Zhuge Kongming.

Today, Li Zicheng convened the three major conspirators to discuss what to do, and he naturally got a conclusive news: Qin Du Sun Chuanting vowed to go east!

"I must have listened to Mr. Gu's words, and have already transferred the army to Henan to defend against the Qin soldiers. Otherwise, I will be caught off guard by that old thief Sun Chuanting this time." Li Zicheng looked at Gu Junen and sighed.

Gu Junen said humbly: "It is the marshal who is blessed by heaven. The students never expected that Sun Chuanting could not hold back and sent troops in a hurry."

After Li Zicheng occupied Xiangyang, he originally had ambitions for Huguang, but Zhang Xianzhong occupied Wuchang first.He had no choice but to cut off Luo Rucai and the fifth battalion of Ge and Zuo, and integrate his own government and military orders before considering how to develop.

At that time, Niu Jinxing Jianyan went straight to Yanjing, seized the unification, and proclaimed himself emperor.However, Song Xiance thought that Nanjing should be attacked first, and the tax land in the south of the Yangtze River should be taken, and then go north after cultivating and growing.Gu Junen believes that going north is too radical, and going south is too conservative. The root of the present lies in Shaanxi.Only by taking the land of Guanzhong and Sanqin first can the worries of going north and south be eliminated.

"Mr. Gu said that the imperial court would definitely urge old thief Sun out of Tongguan. He still didn't believe it, but now he is convinced!" Li Zicheng stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "Since he has come out, let's beat him hard and put him to death." He's completely convinced, and he'll make a detour when he sees him in the future!"

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance became supporting roles, unwilling to speak.

Gu Junen smiled slightly: "Marshal Rong Bing, the students have a strategy that can cut off that old thief Sun Chuanting's life."

"Oh! Tell me, sir!" Li Zicheng looked expectant.

Gu Junen shook his sleeves lightly, his eyes swept over the faces of Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, but he remained silent. (To be continued.)