Ping An Biography

Winter has come, Yangzhou has not yet snowed, but the rain is colder than snow.

A felt car was parked on the bank of the Beicheng River, and the light rain fell on the roof and formed a waterline, dripping along the front of the car.Behind the bamboo curtain, there is a face full of vicissitudes of time.He was staring blankly at the river surface, the ripples formed by the raindrops, and the water vapor that looked like fog but not fog.Zhang Fu shouldn't be surprised by the mist in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Although he came to Yangzhou from Beijing with the emperor, the earliest capital of the Ming Dynasty was Nanjing. He lived through five dynasties, and he was very familiar with Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The inside of the carriage is dry and warm, only the fingers feel slightly cool; but the rain on the road outside does not feel so good.Yangzhou can barely be counted as a southern region, but the cold winter is really not covered.Different from the dry and cold in the north, the winter here is humid, and the chill can penetrate the bones through the water vapor, especially when standing in the rain soaked.

There was a group of people standing in the rain on the slate road, the raindrops made a tinkling sound on the armor and helmets, and the clothes under the iron leaves were already soaked.The iron brims of the helmets were pressed down very low, and all of them looked solemn, their faces were pale, their lips were blue with cold, but they didn't move a bit, standing like statues.The fingers holding the weapon were as stiff as iron.

Even if he was a soldier, he would never dare to open an umbrella if he was exposed to the rain in front of the British public.In fact, this is not suffering, but a kind of honor. Being able to stand guard for the British government, and the soldiers can show iron discipline in front of his old man, is itself a good thing that cannot be asked for. [

At this time, a military general clasped his fists beside the felt car and said, "My lord, Hou Tongzhi has arrived."

After a while, a man wearing a coarse gray robe ran straight over from the middle of the sentry post on horseback. He got off his horse and held up an oiled paper umbrella. He walked to the side of the carriage and said: "Let the Duke wait on the road, my officer." I am so ashamed that I have something important to report."

"En." Zhang Fu nodded slightly.

The man dressed in a coarse cloth robe said: "Both Hu Shilang and Marquis Wuyang have returned, and they went all the way to Yangzhou. As soon as they arrived at the north gate, an eunuch from the Rites Supervisor and Jin Yiwei were already waiting there; they paid The sword and seal of Marquis Wuyang were directly tied. The generals of Marquis Wuyang seemed to be disobedient and asked the eunuch to take the edict, but the eunuch said angrily, "You also know that he is a marquis and a hero. If we don't win the emperor Who dares to tie you up without authorization? Those people dare not stop after hearing..."

"This Xue Lu...what else would he do? It would be nice to die on the battlefield!" Zhang Fu sighed.

"Coarse Cloth Robe" was stunned for a moment, and continued: "No one cares about Hu Shilang. But as soon as he arrived outside the camp, people from the Ministry of War came out, and he was not allowed to go to the palace, let alone see the emperor. People from the Ministry of War Ask Hu Shilang to hand over the seal of the Ministry of War, and let him go back to his residence and not go anywhere, waiting for the three justices to question him.

The lower official had his own opinion. Although what happened in Huguang was serious, as the governor, Hu Wei might be fine.First, to ask him about the crime is the Three Judiciaries, and the Ministry of War has come forward. Civil officials are in charge of civil affairs. If it is not an extraordinary situation, they will not be too ruthless; unlike Xue Hou, who was directly taken by Jin Yiwei.Second, I heard that not long after Hu Guang arrived in Huguang, he questioned Xue Lu's combat strategy and sent a message to the Ministry of War in advance; it's just that he has no prestige in the army and may not be able to restrain Xue Lu, so that it has no effect, but In this way, his guilt cannot be compared in the same breath.Thirdly, when the Ministry of War sent Hu Wei to Huguang, he was accused of being incompetent in military affairs. Now that something happened, it is not easy to punish him to death. "

Zhang Fu was noncommittal.But he also had to agree with others, especially about Hu Wei.And even though Hu Wei was a civil servant, it belonged to Zhang Fu, and Zhang Fu didn't want him to take the blame.

The old minister Zhang Fu knew Hu Wei well: as soon as the Yongle Dynasty ended, he would lose his backer.But the big event this time suddenly made Zhang Fu discover a strange result: a civil servant, a member of the court, could neither rely on the courtiers nor be on the same side as the military officials, but he was able to do nothing after the big storm, which has to be said to be capable.

After Zhang Fulue thought about it, he said, "Get on your horse and follow me to see Duke Yang."

"Yes, Prince."

There are at least three senior officials with the surname Yang who can be respected as public in the court alone, but the Duke Yang that Zhang Fu wants to meet refers to Yang Rong.

Zhang Fu, as a meritorious official, usually has a sense of avoiding suspicion with the courtiers, otherwise, what do you want to do both internally and externally?But now he feels that it is time to discuss with the courtiers and let the cabinet help to make a decision, and there should be no further delay.Among the civil servants, Yang Rong was the one that Zhang Fu took a fancy to.In the 16th year of Yongle, Yang Rong served as the chief assistant of the cabinet. After that, he made many plans for the frontier defense military, so that he had more contacts with the generals and received property gifts from the generals.Zhang Fu also had some contacts with him during the Yongle period. Over the years, the friendship between the two is actually not shallow.

At this time, people in power in the imperial court, civil and military, the small Beicheng area of ​​Qipuzhou was crowded with people, and Zhang Fu didn't bother to avoid it, so he simply brought the guards to visit Yang Rong openly.

The strategy of marching into Wuchang was clearly mentioned by Zhang Fu in front of the emperor at least a month ago, but it was not implemented immediately, and it has not even been made clear until now.This cannot be blamed on Zhu Zhanji. In general, Zhu Zhanji can make a decisive decision immediately, but when it involves hundreds of thousands of troops, the emperor's consideration must be to try to reach an agreement within the court, so that there will be little resistance to implementation, so Zhang Fu thought. Ask Yang Rong to persuade other ministers to support him.Changing the direction of the army is not a simple matter, and it is mainly related to a series of joints such as money and food scheduling.

Everyone has arrived at the gate, and Yang Rong, of course, is not willing to shut the door to the dignified Englishman, so he went to the gate to greet him openly.But when Zhang Fu was invited into the living room, Yang Rong found a group of diners and staff to accompany him, deliberately pretending that there was no "secret meeting with the general in charge".

The Xuande Dynasty is no different from the Yongle Dynasty. At that time, what kind of person was the Emperor Yongle, and the army was firmly in his hands. At that time, the civil and military people in that era were not even worthy of lifting shoes, so Yang Rong was not worried about interacting with the generals. However, Emperor Xuande has just ascended the throne for two or three years, and there are veterans of three dynasties and even five dynasties under him. Everyone must know some rules, and they all understand.

Zhang Fu exchanged some pleasantries, without being too wordy, he said directly: "The old man's visit to disturb the door this time is actually to change the strategy of the army."

Yang Rong immediately said: "Britain's general intention is to turn to Wuchang? This matter seems to have been mentioned before, but there is some controversy. It stands to reason that the Beijing camp has already acquired the entire Huaidong Huaixi, and the situation is under control. Go south to the Yangtze River It is only a matter of time. Besides, we have been fighting across the river for so long. If we suddenly want to change direction, there are at least two problems: first, all previous efforts will be wasted; What if he takes back the Jianghuai Plain?"[

"The best place to attack from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is Caishidu. The Beijing camp has prepared several battles at Caishidu, but they just can't win; because the King of Han also loved the importance of Caishidu, and the army set up defenses there. Plans can be implemented. The old man mentioned the change of strategy in front of the emperor a month ago because of this reason: the loss of the Jianghuai River in the southeast is a big disadvantage. In the long run, any negligence will directly attack the heart, but it is urgent." Zhang Fu said, "However, transferring to Wuchang may not be achieved overnight. If the situation is not good, you will have to attack the city many times. Therefore, the old man only mentioned a word at the beginning, and did not force it, but today is different..."

Yang Rong said sternly, "British Duke is referring to the new defeat in Huguang?"

Zhang Fu nodded and replied: "Exactly. The old man knows Xue Lu well. He is not a completely useless person, but he was defeated by more than [-] (including the garrison in places that did not participate in the war and the difference in the book) in Huguang to [-]." The hand of Yu rebels. The Yuanshui battle was on flat ground, Duke Yang has to think about it, how can one defeat ten? If we continue to underestimate the enemy, we fear that Huguang will lead to serious troubles."

Yang Rong has also asked about this matter many times recently, and when he heard Zhang Fu say the same thing, he couldn't help but pay more attention to it, and couldn't help standing up and pacing back and forth.

He muttered to himself: "Marquis Wuyang is newly defeated, and Huguang is empty. Will the rebels take advantage of the situation and occupy Wuchang and Jingzhou... If they arrive at the Yangtze River so soon, the plan is not small!"

Zhang Fu deliberately emphasized his tone: "Those people are the remnants of Jianwen. What is the reason for raising troops not to rebel and spy on the world? If they have great ambitions, they must spy on the Yangtze River; if they are ambitious, how can they defeat 10,000+ officers and troops?"

Yang Rong thought for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "I will try my best to make this happen."

Zhang Fu said worriedly: "It must be done as soon as possible, the most important thing is to convince Yang Shaobao (Shi Qi), this matter is half done."

Yang Rong thought: If he transfers troops to Wuchang, he will not only have the situation of going down the river to "force" the king of Han, but also will adjust his strategy to the remnants of Huguang Jianwen; that is to deal with the "false" King Zhu Wenbiao of Hunan.Zhu Wenbiao's original name was Zhang Ning, and this person really has some background in the officialdom: he almost became Yang Shiqi's son-in-law at first, which may have been just a small circle of chatter at the beginning; , The past with Yang Shiqi also spread.

If Yang Shiqi resolutely opposes marching to Wuchang, it will be beneficial to Zhang Ning, and the joints in the middle cannot be said.The mouth grows on other people, so it's hard to keep someone talking nonsense.It stands to reason that Yang Shiqi will definitely avoid suspicion; even if Yang Shiqi Yu Gong does not approve of the Wuchang strategy, he will definitely have some sense of propriety and will not be too opposed.

Thinking of this, Yang Rong said sternly with an attitude almost patting his chest: "Don't worry, Mr. Ying, the old man will never be ambiguous in front of major events, and I will leave Yang Shaobao to me."

Novel Network