stubborn thief

In the Chengyun Hall of King Su's Mansion, the eunuch Zhenghua held his head high, waiting for the thunder to fall.

When Fang Zhenghua received this mission from the emperor, he knew that most of his trip would never return.

After all, the emperor is notoriously diligent, and in recent months, the emperor's main job is to curse people, and Fang Zhenghua has also noticed it. Now this imperial letter is mostly the emperor's emotions that have not been vented yet and have nowhere to rest .

Chen Qiyu from Shaanxi, Lian Guoshi, Hong Chengchou from Sanbian, and Zhang Zongheng from Shanxi were all scolded bloody. As the eunuch with a pen and a pen at the bottom of the list of ceremonial supervisors, Fang Zhenghua watched the emperor think about it every day in the Qianqing Palace. Mu Xiang, thinking about how to kill all these trash.

It is true that the emperor has grown up, and he no longer does the business of beheading generals in front of the battle. This is just to let them go through the knife in his heart first.

The emperor even scolded Yang Jiamo, only to find out that Yang Jiamo had died for his country in Gansu. He was extremely ashamed and sad.

Then there was this letter that was sent to Liu Chengzong from thousands of miles away. The content of the letter is not necessary to think about. The lines between the lines are definitely not swear words, but the lethality must be better than swear words.

Fang Zhenghua also tried to decline the mission, but the emperor insisted that he personally deliver it, and he had nothing to do, after all, the emperor had a real kindness to him.

He was too young. He entered the palace at the age of 17 during the reign of Emperor Tianqi. Because of his loyal and brave temperament, he was tall and burly. He was highly valued by Gao Shiming, the supervisor at the time, and was selected as a servant of Kunning Palace. Now he is the supervisor of the Rites. One of the eunuchs, in charge of Beizhen Fusi, famous for the inner court.

The emperor had to repay the kindness of his knowledge, even if the marshal's mansion was a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, he had to break into it.

Of course, Fang Zhenghua had made sufficient preparations before he came here. He dismissed all the servants in the capital's family and wrote a suicide note.

The suicide note has no content. He entered the palace because of an earthquake in his hometown in Shandong during the Tianqi period. The earthquake was not very destructive, but his whole family was wiped out. Naturally, there will be no descendants after entering the palace. The content of the suicide note is nothing more than death After that, donate the house of the capital to the Nursing Home, donate the property to the Louze Garden, and let someone build a tomb for him by the way.

In addition, he asked his old boss Gao Shiming to take him to meet Cao Huachun, the admiral of the military administration in Beijing.

They are all eunuchs of the Rites Supervisor, but they have different qualifications, different responsibilities, different powers, and naturally different status. The most important thing is that Fang Zhenghua had a bad relationship with Cao Huachun before this.

To be precise, Fang Zhenghua had a bad relationship with most of the eunuchs, because even though he was an eunuch, he had always held to the idea that it was a nonsense for eunuchs to be guarding eunuchs.

He told Chongzhen more than once that only extraordinary people can turn the world into a safe place. This kind of people needs to be found by the emperor from the outer court. The people in our inner court are only for the royal family to order and order, and they cannot take on big tasks——Leaving the town In the local area, if you can eat all day long without doing any business, then you are already the best guarding eunuch in the world.

It's strange not to offend the other eunuchs by saying such things.

Can Chongzhen not understand this kind of truth?There are a few decent people who work as eunuchs, and the threshold of this profession determines that there are no great talents in civil and military affairs.

The probability of eunuchs harming the locality is high, but the fact that eunuchs harming the locality cannot be hidden in the court, at least Chongzhen can know what happened in the locality.

But Cao Huachun was someone who came here. Not only did he come, but he also returned alive, becoming the eunuch who knew Liu Chengzong best in the Forbidden City.

Facing the request of the juniors, Cao Huachun gave Fang Zhenghua a lot of homework. In the whole eighty-page booklet, seven pages were recorded on the interpersonal relationship of the generals at all levels in the Marshal's Mansion, and there were [-] pages of precautions for the Marshal's Mansion. .

Among them, the case of Marshal Liu's domineering and domineering only occupies a small space of [-] pages, and the other page is Cao Huachun's own experience.

In Cao Huachun's description, Liu Chengzong is like a lazy mad dog. He doesn't know when this person will go crazy, but the Liu Chengzong he sees in front of him brings a strong sense of contrast to Fang Zhenghua.

He came all the way from the capital, not only brought an imperial letter to Liu Chengzong, but also brought encouragement to Zuo Liangyu in Guanzhong, Zhang Yingchang in Hexi, He Renlong, Yang Yanchang, Ren Quan'er and other generals along the way.

After crossing the pass and going west, I also witnessed the heavy army group stationed in Lanzhou by the Marshal's Mansion. The land was built by them like a large fortress group, with strong soldiers stationed everywhere. Every camp passing by was practicing day and night, as if they were Prepare for a new attack on Hexi.

This army brought Fang Zhenghua the greatest feeling, not because the soldiers are mighty, but because the finances of the Marshal's Mansion are really good.

Because first of all, when he was in the court, he felt that the court was short of money, the officers and soldiers were short of money, and everywhere was short of money; on the other hand, the impression of the rebels at the court was that they were too poor to eat Only by robbing.

However, what Fang Zhenghua saw was not the case. The army of the Marshal's Mansion, the Lintao Brigade stationed at the front line of the mouth, seemed to be in a worse condition, and their mental outlook was no different from most of the officers and soldiers.

But near Lanzhou, the army belonging to Wang Wenxiu, the governor of Lanzhou, not only had enough food, but also had good food and very good equipment.

Fang Zhenghua is tall and burly, good at martial arts, has read several military books, and likes to talk about military affairs when he brags with others in the palace, but he has never led soldiers to fight, and he knows in his heart that he can't talk about military knowledge, but even he can see it , The marshal's army has great potential in war.

Compared with this army, Liu Chengzong, who was sitting upright in the Chengyun Hall, seemed not so special.

Even this Hall of Carrying Carrying Horses looks crude because it was occupied by Liu Chengzong. There are only six Habayashi cavalry in full waist armor, four of them hold hooks and sickle spears in the hall to protect them, and two stand beside Liu Chengzong with pumpkins in their hands... The ostentation is not even as good as a general.

If you must let the summary have an impression of Liu Chengzong, it may be stable, and it is frighteningly stable. Looking at the imperial letter full of ugly words, he frowned at first, and then took it lightly, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a long while, he saw Liu Chengzong put down the imperial letter in the hall and asked him: "Eunuch Fang, let's have a meal together?"

Fang Zhenghua is dumbfounded. After reading Yuxin, regardless of the good or the bad, you should have some reactions, right?That's it, it's over after reading it, and you don't even say a word?

Liu Chengzong didn't think about the possibility that his invitation would be rejected, so he directly gestured to Habayashi who was standing beside him, asking them to prepare the seat.

In fact, it is funny to say that the Habayashi cavalry that his father sent him, although they are close servants, are not responsible for protecting him with force. On the contrary, if something unexpected happens, he may be required to protect the habayashi cavalry.

As far as the six servants around him are concerned, their fighting abilities are basically at the level of well-nourished recruits. For him, if they are all empty-handed, Habayashi's whole body will be full of flaws when he goes there. One is six punches.

If they all take weapons, it will be easier, and it may be possible to overturn six without six knives.

But if he is empty-handed, and Habayashi is holding a weapon, he can only run, and the guard ability of the servant is the same. How can it be possible for someone to wear armor and hold a weapon to touch him in the majestic Marshal's Mansion?
Therefore, relatively speaking, it is actually good for the Habayashi riders who are from the children's battalion to serve as close servants. They are all educated, and those who work around him, not to mention the senior generals of the Marshal's Mansion, are at least Huben A junior officer in a battalion can learn a lot.

On the other hand, you can also do something by his side, so that you don't waste money and food like in the children's camp. When does a person not study?As long as you have learned the culture and have a foundation, with the same level of effort, you can learn martial arts faster than people without culture.

The young Habayashi in the hall moved upon hearing the sound, and quickly set about arranging the banquet hall in the hall. The architectural layout of the Ming Dynasty did not have a special banquet hall, and it was usually arranged in the main hall when needed.

Yu Linqi has been educated by Yang Dingrui in terms of etiquette, and he used to help Liu Xiangyu when he was not studying in Xincheng, entertaining the family members of the generals of the Marshal's Mansion, so he is very good at setting up banquet halls.

Because the Marshal's Mansion is too big and there is a need for banquets, Baigong Bureau specially made a batch of decorations for banquets, and sent them to Su Wang's Mansion before Liu Chengzong arrived in Lanzhou.

Soon, a simple two-person banquet hall was set up in the Chengyun Hall, with two sets of public seats in total.

The public seat is the seat in the banquet. The furnishings are very simple, including four pieces: the horizon, the screen, the public case, and the seat.

The ground level is the base. Tapestries, carpets or even felts can be used when there are no conditions, and short tables slightly higher than the ground can be used if conditions permit.

The screen is a simple landscape painting, placed behind the seat; the koan is a long case for handling official business, with a red moire brocade table surround; of elm.

The tableware on the public case is a bit more exquisite. The bowls, plates and cups are all made of plain glazed Xining kiln porcelain. This is a kiln factory established after the Marshal’s Mansion entered Qinghai. They are all crafts of Yaozhou Kiln.

During the time when Yu Linqi was arranging the banquet hall, Liu Chengzong sat in the hall without saying a word, thinking about the letter from the emperor.

In this letter, Liu Chengzong could see Chongzhen's anger through the paper, but the emperor didn't mention anything about what happened in Gansu. All his anger came from the city reward outside Xuandakou and the death of Yang Jiamo.

Annoyed that Liu Chengzong gave the city to Mobei Sanhan.

Obviously, things outside the border were so urgent that Chongzhen turned a blind eye to Gansu, which was farther away, and hurriedly sent eunuchs to send letters from thousands of miles away, scolding Liu Shizi and venting his panic.

Liu Chengzong's feelings about this letter are a bit complicated. On the one hand, he feels that he should be irritated, but on the other hand, can he be blamed for things outside Xuanda's borders?
Whoever is your problem, you can solve the problem. Shanxi's Xuanda border has nothing to do with me. Can you solve the problem by scolding me?

If the emperor scolded him about the Gansu incident, he might become really annoyed.

But the emperor scolded him about Xuan Da's matter, it couldn't break Liu Chengzong's defense at all, it could only make him feel confused.

And the other thing mentioned in the letter, Yang Jiamo's death in battle, Liu Shizi also felt very sorry about it. Not only did you sacrifice to the monks and Taoists in the palace, but I also sacrificed to the fallen soldiers outside Gaotai City.

So Liu Shizi was not angry at this letter at all. He just got up from the hall and sat opposite Fang Zhenghua. Then he raised his hand to signal Fang Zhenghua to sit down, and asked, "Xuan Da Bianwai, is there a fight?"

Fang Zhenghua, who had just taken off his big hat and sat down, instinctively said, just about to explain, but found that what he did was wrong, so he simply compared his mouth.

How should I put this matter, the eunuch himself is a person who works for the royal family, he is too used to this kind of atmosphere where others give orders and he answers.

Liu Chengzong also noticed this, chuckled, took the milk wine from the servant, poured a bowl and said: "Anyone can do the letter delivery. The emperor's supervisor, the eunuch Bingbi, came here because you know Many, I ask you to answer, say what you can say, and don’t say what you can’t——There’s nothing you can’t say about things outside the mouth.”

Fang Zhenghua thought this is the truth, but what if you join forces with Donglu?Shaking his head, he said, "We were only sent by the emperor to deliver a letter, and we didn't have the opportunity to report the military situation. I'm afraid we have nothing to say to the marshal."

"There's a lot to say. Donglu once sent envoys to me, and I sent them back, but I'm very interested in their army. If it wasn't too far away, I would be more happy to fight them than to fight Yang Jiamo. Tell me, who are the people who invaded the border this year, how many troops are there in the Eight Banners; and Khalkha in Mobei, did the imperial court reward them with the city?"

"Eight Banners?"

Fang Zhenghua was still moved by Liu Chengzong's words. Anyway, he didn't talk about these things. After a while, Liu Chengzong would find out about them himself, so he answered, but he said that I don't know what you are talking about: "According to the prisoners, This time the Eastern Captives dispatched troops, each cow and deer dispatched [-] cavalry and eight guards, based on this calculation, the number of troops dispatched was eight or nine thousand."

Liu Chengzong frowned and said, "Only this few people?"

Eighty-nine thousand people are a very powerful army, but these troops are scattered in the vast Monan, like two handfuls of sand in the sea, and they cannot be revealed at all.

This kind of force also didn't match the force he had imagined for the invaders from the late Jin Dynasty. If he wanted to fight Xuanda, he didn't have [-] troops. How could Huang Taiji dare to wander outside Shanxi?
But after a while, Fang Zhenghua answered his doubts: "This time the border invaders, Donglu joined forces with Monan Chahan and Aohan tribes, a total of 12, most of them were Liao people, and there were wives and children who didn't count. There are [-] to [-] elite soldiers, resting three to four hundred miles away from the border, and then split into two routes to approach the border."

Liu Chengzong suddenly realized that this number is relatively reliable, so he nodded to Fang Zhenghua and continued, and he listened to him: "There are [-] people who entered the Xuanfu, led by Wang Shixuan, Huang Shiying, Liu Pengcao."

Wang Shixuan is from Yulin, and he surrendered at the time of Jisi's change; Huang Shiying, Liu Pengcao, and Liu Chengzong don't know who they are, but most of them are surrendered generals.

"There are [-] people going west to Datong, led by Ma Dengyun, Bao Chengxian, Kong Youde, Geng Lao Er and Shang Lao Si."

Liu Chengzong was a little dumbfounded. Now, from now on, the co-author Jin Guo will be fought by the Han army?

He hurriedly asked, "Did the three tribes of Khalkha not send troops?"

"It's done. The Mobei Tartars sent [-] troops with refugees. When they went outside the border, they didn't dare to meet the Eastern captives. They plundered Fengzhou Beach, turned around and crossed the Yellow River. They ran to the Ordos station outside Yulin. If Yulin Town asks for a city reward, the emperor might as well not give the marshal a city reward."

When Fang Zhenghua brought up this matter, he was narrow-minded, took a long breath, and raised three fingers to put on the public case: "At first, the Eastern Captives united with the Monan Tartars, and Kouxuan's Datong Township, now they are well, and Yulin and Ningxia will not be at peace either."

good evening!