Ping An Biography

The weather is fine, and the Yangtze River in August seems to be very quiet.Zhou Mengxiong took off the bamboo hat on his head, hung it on his back, and looked up at the sky. The sky was blue without a single cloud.The view into the distance is excellent, the flat land is clear and the air is clear, and the river is like a huge jade belt in the beautiful Liaoyuan, which is very beautiful.The towers of Wuchang City and the houses near the city can be seen in a panoramic view, and even the towns and villages on the other side of the river are vaguely visible.There are dots of sails of different sizes floating on the big river, and there are egrets flying over the water, adding a touch of humanity and poetry to the scenery.

This is Zhou Mengxiong's first visit to Wuchang in recent years. Although Emperor Jianwen moved to the Chu Palace and the Xiangwang Group Center also moved here, he has many correspondences with Wuchang, but he has been leading troops in the south of Huguang, so he never came in person. take a trip.

Zhou Mengxiong looked travel-stained, wearing dusty linen clothes, his length was barely knee-high for riding a horse, and there were many stubbles on his clothes, which swayed like reed flowers when the river wind blew.There was only one accompanying person, also in his 40s, named Liu Mazi, who did have some pockmarks on his face.Two people and two horses, for a cabinet minister, the itinerary is really too crude.

He bent down, grabbed a handful of sand on the ground, held it in front of his face and sniffed it, there was a faint fishy smell.Then let go of your hand, and the sand slipped from your fingers and fell in the wind.

Liu Mazi watched him finish a series of trivial things, and didn't dare to interrupt him with a word, thinking that the general had some deep meaning.But at this time Zhou Mengxiong looked around, pointing to some bamboo and wooden houses not far away: "There is a fishing village, I said why the sand seems to have a fishy smell... let's go, enter the city."

Zhou Mengxiong and the other two entered Wuchang City, and first found Wuchang's garrison Chen Gai in the official office at the south gate.

When the round-faced man Chen Gai came out, he still had an expression of disbelief on his face. He didn't rush to meet him until he recognized Zhou Mengxiong with his own eyes: "General Zhen Guo, General Zhou, you arrived in Wuchang so soon...how can you dress like this?"

Zhou Mengxiong returned the salute casually with his fists clasped, and said calmly, "It's just a short walk, less cumbersome and less troublesome, which saves the world." He didn't seem too impressed by Chen Gai's compliment for General Zhen Guo.This title is against the rules of the Ming Dynasty, but the Jianwen Emperor's regime was established not long ago, and many things have not formed a routine, so a casual title from above is considered a recognition of his reputation.

"Please sit inside." Chen Gai hurriedly said, "Have you seen the prince?"

Zhou Mengxiong smiled and said, "When I first entered the city, General Chen was the first person I visited."

Chen Gai rubbed his head: "Then we have to change the occasion for handing over the seal letter, so it's better if you take a look at what's going on here first."

"No rush, no rush, I'm not in a hurry to seize General Chen's military power." Zhou Mengxiong joked.Chen Gai also let out a "haha" laugh.

Chen Gai then called a green-robed civil official and asked him to get the file, bluntly saying: "I don't read much, and I have too many troubles and I write in words. Some things really don't make sense. Fortunately, Zhu Butang sent me A group of people came to help, I just ask them if I want to know."

Zhou Mengxiong smiled and said: "I'm like you. We fiddled with knives, guns and sticks on horseback, but the pen tube didn't go smoothly, so we didn't read the files... Hey, isn't there a camp on the east side of the school ground outside Beicheng? I'm there I saw a general, and I heard people call him a commander, he should be the commander of that camp, what's his name?"

Liu Mazi on the side looked sideways slightly, because he had been following Zhou Mengxiong all the time, and he really couldn't remember a time when he had seen the general, let alone heard someone calling for a commander, so it seemed to be Zhou Mengxiong's casual lie.But Mazi Liu was Zhou Mengxiong's confidant, so of course he would not tear down the stage in public, and it was not convenient for Liu Mazi to say anything at this time; just now General Chen didn't pay him any attention at the ceremony, thinking that he was just a servant or something.

"That barracks is called the East Village of the School Field." Chen Gai turned around and shouted, "Come here, go to the East Village of the School Field and call the person in charge, so that General Zhou can interrogate him!"

"Wait!" Zhou Mengxiong stopped, "What do you want him to do? When I meet this old man, I just ask casually. It's nothing else. General Chen doesn't know his name?"

Chen Gai said: "I can't remember it at the moment. You know that there are probably [-] soldiers inside and outside Wuchang City. Most of them are recruits. There are more than [-] camps stationed far and near. I have seen them all. But some of them are not familiar yet, how can I remember all of them?"

"That's true." Zhou Mengxiong nodded.At this time, he didn't want to stay any longer, and immediately said that he would go around the neighborhood.Chen Gai hurriedly said: "I will accompany General Zhou to inspect the battalions."

Zhou Mengxiong waved his hand: "No, no, now General Chen is still on guard and on duty. But I haven't taken office yet, so I can take advantage of this to walk around."

Chen Gai asked him to say that he was ready for a welcome banquet, but he was also politely declined, so he had to be sent out of the gate.

The two of them went to the street again, still keeping a low profile and not attracting much attention.Zhou Mengxiong sighed: "Chen Gai is indeed not competent."

Liu Mazi said: "Just now, my lord said that I met the commander of the Dongzhai in the school field to test Chen Gai? He doesn't even know his name, so he must have done a bad job. The general will know that there are more than 2 people in the Lizhou camp, and the lord is Even the brigade team knows everything, not only can they be called by name, but also their temperament and temper."

Zhou Mengxiong said: "I have known Chen Gai for not a day or two (one of the first batch of armed leaders who followed Zhang Ning to attack Shimen County). Come on, I can't even remember my name, it's really a bit of a muddle."

Liu Mazi agreed, "Yes."

Zhou Mengxiong turned around and said, "Liu Mazi, you must understand that no matter what you do, you must let everyone under your command do their own thing well, let them know what they can and can't do, and the severity of punishment for mistakes. You must know it in your heart. Many soldiers are illiterate, but they know it in their hearts."

Liu Mazi didn't say much, and said, "Yes."

Zhou Mengxiong recalled what happened to Chen Gai just now, and sighed slightly: "Middle and lower generals are the ones who directly lead the troops. These people can't manage well, how can they control the soldiers?"

Liu Mazi said: "Fortunately, the lord knows people. There is no rush to call the lord back. The matter will be settled naturally."

Zhou Mengxiong's face was heavy, and he pondered: "These new army camps have stuffed in many people from Monk Yao's village (the former Zhuque army), and it's hard for me to hold them. I should keep the useless ones or not. To change or not to change?"

This question was beyond Liu Mazi's ability to answer, so he didn't respond.

The conversation between the two of them was silent, and they walked all the way in silence.In fact, Zhou Mengxiong has long privately felt that the Yao family is too powerful, which is not a good thing for the entire regime, and has brought about unstable factors, especially in the army, which is almost pervasive. There is no shortage of people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.