Ping An Biography

As a government-level administrative office, there are many government agencies in Xuzhou City centered on the government office. When the King of Han occupied the city, he took the government office as the center and began to take over the military administration here. The Chinese military camp was naturally located in the government office.Zhang Ning wanted to see the King of Han, so he walked towards Fuqian Street.When he first entered the city, he saw officials of all sizes in Xuzhou surrender, and he didn’t know whether the King of Han would replace them. However, Zhang Ning questioned the talent reserve in his army. At least he couldn’t replace low-level officials and officials. People rule this place, and it may be the same when the King of Han comes.

The general who was on duty outside Xiao Qiang's government office had seen Zhang Ning and knew that he was a literati with the King of Han, so he didn't feel embarrassed.Zhang Ning stepped forward and said: "I want to see the prince, please let me know. If you can't be summoned, please tell Zhu Butang, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, that my friend Zhang Ping'an wants to see him. He should be in the army of the King of Han."

When the general heard that he was a good friend of Shang Shu, he had a very good attitude and rushed in to report.

It turned out to be very smooth, and the person who went in came out after a while and told him to enter the yamen and meet the prince in the lobby.Zhang Ning then asked his followers to wait outside, and walked straight around Xiao Qiang. After being questioned several times, he finally came to the front of the hall, and was allowed to enter after reporting.

I saw the king of Han sitting on the public seat "hanging in the bright mirror", not only many civil and military officials lined up on both sides, but also a group of officials bent over and respectful. One look at the appearance of this group of people, you can tell that they are Xuzhou officials who have surrendered .In this situation, it is really dealing with the issue of Xuzhou's jurisdiction.

Zhang Ning stepped forward and said: "Craftsman Zhang Ning kowtows to the prince."

Zhu Gaoxu asked directly: "Do you have something to say when you come in?"

Hearing these words, Zhu Gaoxu guessed that Zhang Ning was here to speak up. He guessed that the suggestion he made in Le'an City was very useful to him. Today, Zhang Ning can easily come in to participate in government affairs.

Zhang Ning cupped his hands and said, "While the Caomin was walking around Xuzhou City today, I suddenly remembered Taizong's precepts on the northern expedition to Mongolia. Does your lord want to hear a few words from the Caomin?"

As soon as the civil and military officials were displeased, they knew that Zhang Ning was not a good thing when he came to talk. He directly brought out Taizong's oppressive words. Should he kneel and listen or continue to stand?Kneeling to a man with no official record?Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was still sitting, everyone remained silent.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Father made five Northern Expeditions, there are too many precepts, which one do you want to recite?"

Zhang Ning paced a few sentences, and said slowly: "Mencius said, in 500 years, there must be a king. According to the history, from Song Taizu to the present, when the number of 500 years, the world is determined to be one. The sage ruled the world, the four seas The inner and outer are all children, so everyone treats everyone equally. Don’t bully the widow, don’t bully the weak, and the common people share the peaceful country. The virtue of the heavens is to be born to be great, the king follows the sky, and love is the foundation..."

Everyone was stunned, many civil servants didn't remember that Emperor Yongle had such an exhortation, the sentences in it seemed to have been heard before, it should not be in an article, but there was nothing wrong with the words, so no one spoke.

On the contrary, many young officials were moved by Zhang Ning's chant. A passionate and majestic phrase that conformed to the mainstream values ​​made the officials excited and proud.The Ming Dynasty was very upright, and the scholar class who had been influenced by reading could not get rid of a faint emotion.

Zhang Ning paused, bowed and said: "Taizong practiced the kingly way, and the grassroots remembered it, and realized two kingly ways: don't bully the weak, and love others. Why don't the prince follow suit?"

At this time, an official of Zhang Ning who was not used to it scolded: "Bold, do you dare to say that the prince does not love people?"

Zhang Ning replied: "The lord wants to follow the kingly way, how do you restrain your subordinates? I have seen with my own eyes in the city that the soldiers acted recklessly, raped, raped and plundered all kinds of crimes. Where do the soldiers below want to put the lord's reputation? "

Zhu Heng on the side looked worried, gave Zhang Ning a wink, stood up and said: "Zhang Ping'an doesn't mean to say that the prince made a mistake, but just entered Xuzhou City for the first time, and his subordinates were in chaos for a while."

In this chapter, you will fight with your hands)”

One of the generals said disapprovingly: "The land is not just talking about it, it is built with real knives and guns! The soldiers won the battle, but instead shouted at them, who would give up their lives to charge into battle in the future? The younger generation doesn't know how to fight at all. All the wolves and tigers are fierce, and there will be battles to be fought in the future, so they can't weaken their spirit. What's the use of those grassroots people at the ends of snakes and rats? Today's prince When you come, you will follow the prince, and when the soldiers and horses of the ministers of Ming Dynasty come, you will follow the ministers, heh heh!"

"If you do this, you are like a bandit. How can a hero come and go?" Zhang Ning looked directly at the general.

The general said: "If you grab something, you will be killed. What hope do the soldiers have for attacking the city?"

Zhang Ning shook his head and sighed, and said: "If there is a punishment, there must be a reward. You have robbed people's hearts blatantly. Why don't you recruit people with insight to govern the place and maintain order, and then collect taxes? What's more, how can soldiers only fight for profit? The prince should train The honor of the soldiers."

Zhu Gaoxu had always been noncommittal about the debate, but at this moment he couldn't help asking curiously.

Zhang Ning replied: "The officials in the court do not do justice, and the prince is the teacher of justice. The soldiers uphold the righteousness of the world, protect the people, be respected by the world, and go out with a bright face. This is honor."

Zhu Gaoxi raised his hand to stop other people who wanted to speak, and said, "Forget it, you don't have to argue. Zhang Ping'an's words are reasonable, and the army is governed by strict laws and clear rewards and punishments. Restrain the subordinates and issue the list to calm the people, so you can take it as soon as possible." Come out with an article."

When the surrendering magistrates in Xuzhou heard this, they all quietly looked at Zhang Ning with gratitude on their faces.Right now they really don't have much right to speak. It's a good thing to have a counselor under the King of Han's tent help Xuzhou scholar-bureaucrats talk to the people.

Zhang Ning succeeded in speaking again.After Zhu Heng came out of the Chinese army, he arranged a residence for him. It seemed that the king of Han would only leave after resting in Xuzhou for a few days.

When the two met for dinner at night, Zhang Ning asked casually, "Does Brother Zhu agree with my remarks today?"

Zhu Heng smiled and said: "Isn't that obvious? Mencius has long discussed that 'the one who pretends to be benevolent with strength is the king, and the one who acts benevolent with virtue is the king'. The king's way is better than hegemony, and it is still practical today."

He said so, but Zhang Ning, an outsider, was required to speak up for such a basic matter as issuing a list to Anmin and restraining his subordinates, which is really incomprehensible.Zhang Ning reckoned that Zhu Heng had offended someone in Le'an and was unwilling to stand up.

At this time, Zhu Heng said again: "The prince has something to say today, and he wants to let Ping An work under the tent, what do you think... Of course, the old man didn't say that you have other matters about the sage."

Zhang Ning shook his head without even thinking about it, he was a little disappointed with Hanwang anyway.Maybe his martial power is not bad, but the skill of the imperial court is a bit different from the Zhu Zhanji Zhang Ning has seen. The contradictions among the people under the King of Han are gradually deepening, and he has no way to deal with it.

He wanted to leave a long time ago, but he was thinking about the Zhang family who were arrested in Nanjing. When Hanwang soldiers captured Nanjing, maybe they could be rescued and run away together.

... In a few days, Zhang Ning heard the news from Zhu Heng that the governors and commanders in Huai'an, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Anqing and other places who had made friends with the King of Han defected and took refuge in Nanjing. The soldiers can be adjusted, and the situation has become difficult to stop the advance of the King of Han's troops going south.Originally, the commander-in-chief and Ping Jiangbo Chen Xuan received the imperial decree in Huai'an to stop him, but he was controlled by his subordinates at home and could not transfer troops.

The King of Han actively strengthened his strength, and sent secret envoys to contact generals in Tianjin, Qingzhou, Cangzhou, and Shanxi. Those who had agreed to respond to the King of Han's rebellion before persuaded them to lead troops south to meet the agreement.More people were sent to Nanjing, mainly to persuade them to surrender.

Zhang Ning also stopped going to the Chinese army to discuss matters. The last time he saw those innocent people being victimized, he couldn't bear it, so he stopped asking about the affairs of the King of Han's army.

They lived with Zhu Heng in a requisitioned house, and one day the guard at the gate came in to report that there was a man outside named Zhao Erhu who had brought a piece of engraved jade to see Mr.Zhang Ning suddenly remembered, and hurriedly went out to pick him up with Lao Xu himself.

Although he had only met him once, Zhang Ning had a good impression of Zhao Erhu. He looked tall and strong, and he had served in the navy in his resume. He was a useful talent.But even if he is kind to him, is this person willing to rebel?This is a problem, Zhang Ning intends to win over first and then wait for the aftermath.

When he arrived at the gate, he saw that Zhao Erhu was carrying a parcel on his back and wearing clean clothes. When he met him, he immediately knelt down and called him "Benefactor".Zhang Ning hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, he stood up, took out the piece of jade from his arms, and handed it back.Zhang Ning thought that he was not a literary friend, and it was not appropriate to give him jade, so he accepted it.

At this time, Zhao Erhu said: "Since the benefactor has taken him in, I will follow around to take care of the horses, and I can also act as a nurse in the house."

"It's Qu Cai, let's go in and talk." Zhang Ning said.As he was walking, he glanced at Lao Xu who was following behind, and thought that Zhao Erhu and Lao Xu were not the same kind of people.Old Xu has always been a criminal who roams the rivers and lakes and has nowhere to go. Of course, he will not suspect his status as a criminal official, let alone commit rebellion; Corrupt?

That day when he saved the Zhao family on the road, Zhang Ning just liked his talent and casually wooed him, but he didn't want this person to defect to him without knowing his status.

When the three of them entered the house and sat down, Er Hu said, "I'm used to running on the sea, but I can't stay still when I go home to forge iron, and I have to be angry with those gangsters. It's better to come out and rush. Engong can't talk. I don’t know what kind of business we do because we have a lot of friends and customs.”

Zhang Ning pondered for a long time after listening to this question.