national surname chiming

Chapter 304
Chongzhen's latest reward for Zhu Shuren was sent from the capital at the end of the middle of March.

The one who passed the decree was still the prince who went to supervise the army before. The journey back to Beijing will take longer than the previous one. It will take about late April to arrive in Chongqing, and it will take more than a month to walk.

The reason why it took so long is that on the one hand, there is no need to rush to pass the decree, and you can leave more easily.

The second reason is that the [-]-mile Yangtze River from Jiangling to Chongqing on the return journey is upstream, and the speed of the boat will be much slower. This section of the river alone will take five or six days longer than when it is downstream.

Come three times, Chongzhen also realized that it is very troublesome to pass the decree to Sichuan once, so he has to get more things done by the way every time, so he also added a clause in his decree, so that when the prince went south, he would first go to Wuchang on the way. Pick up the send-off personnel from Prince Lu's Mansion, as well as Chongzhen's cousin, Zhu Yuchan, the little princess.

Taking advantage of this appointment as the governor, he directly bestowed a marriage on Zhu Shuren, and ended this errand, saving troubles later.

Wang Gonggong himself didn't need to go to Hefei to find King Lu. Chongzhen would naturally let Wang Chengen send two other eunuchs to travel southward on the Grand Canal, to Hefei and Nanjing respectively.

On the way to Hefei, it was natural to inform Uncle Lu Wang in Chongzhen, so that everyone in Lu Wang's mansion could prepare in advance to send the little princess off.

On the way to Nanjing, of course, I went to Shen Tingyang, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing. In the Ming Dynasty, when nobles got married, there was absolutely no reason for the woman to send her daughter directly to her door. So where would the woman lose her face?
Outsiders who didn't know about it thought it was because they couldn't get married and insisted on stuffing it out.

What's more, Prince Lu's Mansion is where the prince married the princess. If there is a mistake, it will lose the dignity of the royal family, and it must not be neglected.

Therefore, even if it was a wartime military affairs, and Zhu Shuren couldn't come to pick up the marriage in person because he was overseeing the war against the bandits, at least he had to send someone from the Shen family to come to Hefei to give gifts, gifts, wine and wine to get married.

After Shen Tingyang handed over to King Lu himself, the little princess also visited his parents-in-law. Shen Tingyang could go back to Nanjing, and then let Xu take his daughter-in-law to Wuchang first, meet with the eunuch who passed the decree, and then enter Sichuan together. face.

In this way, it is not that Lu Wangfu sent the daughter who had not been married to the public and sent her to Chongqing to live in the house, but first paid homage to the parents-in-law, and the mother-in-law took the daughter-in-law to visit her husband.

Finally, in Chongqing, just add a "husband and wife worship". (In ancient times, marriage worship only worshiped the elders of the man and not the woman, so Zhu Shuren didn't have to worship his parents-in-law, and he didn't have to go to Hefei. This is also acceptable to Luwang Mansion)

……

The relevant decree was sent to Nanjing and Hefei respectively on March 25th. It only took seven days to set off from Beijing, which is very fast, and the daily journey is more than 300 miles.

Of course, the decree sent to Nanjing will not mention Zhu Shuren's promotion to governor.
After all, one matter is another matter. Both Nanjing and Hefei only need to know about the marriage grant. The rest has nothing to do with them. The promotion will be sent directly to Chongqing.

Therefore, Shen Tingyang also lost the ecstasy of double happiness. He couldn't know that his son was promoted and that his son gave him a marriage in one day.

But this is enough for Shen Tingyang. It can even be said that Chongzhen's arrangement objectively avoided the risk of Shen Tingyang's high blood pressure attack.

Otherwise, if so much glory hits his head all at once, it is possible for Shen Tingyang to be as excited as Fan Jin and lose his mind.

As it is now, even if he was mentally prepared, after Shen Tingyang received the order, he couldn't help but go back to the place where his ancestors were temporarily ranked in his house (not the official ancestral hall, the official ancestral hall is in his hometown in Taicang, Suzhou, and he is a minister in Nanjing. The mansion has only one hall for temporary tablets),

Burning incense to the ancestors with snot and tears, whispering how promising the descendants of the Shen family are: "Father, grandfather, you have all seen... Our Shen family can be married by the emperor to the princess of Lu Wangfu, the glory of the ancestors... "

After Shen Tingyang's mood stabilized, he confirmed the etiquette, property, and scale required for welcoming the bride, and then with a swipe of a pen, all of them were configured according to the top style.

Anyway, the Shen family has nothing but money!
In the past two years, Xiaowan spinning machines and shuttle looms have continued to flourish. The Shen family's textile business has almost monopolized Nanzhili, and any item is worth a million taels.As for the sea trade in the Yellow Sea, it has been monopolized all the time, and the transportation capacity of the imperial court's water transportation to the sea is also increasing at an annual rate of several percent.

The least profitable business of the Shen family is about 200 million yuan a year, and if it is too much, 400 million yuan will not be able to cap it.

When Zhu Shuren had just assumed the title of governor in the 14th year of Chongzhen, the wealth of the Shen family was about one-third that of Zheng Zhilong's family (historically it was only about one-twentieth that of the Zheng family).

Now that it has developed for more than a year and a half, the wealth of the Shen family has snowballed to more than half of the Zheng family!It has almost reached [-]%, and the catch-up is amazing!
If this growth curve remains unchanged, according to this ratio, within two or three years, the Shen family's wealth will be equal to or even surpass that of Zheng Zhilong.

In this case, how can it be possible to save money when the eldest son of the Shen family marries the elder mistress?
In just a few days, everything was ready to go.

In addition, because the wedding process is quite special this time, the groom himself will not appear on the stage, but the in-laws sent someone to greet the bride, so more guests need to be invited as witnesses—a bit similar in nature to the witnesses of later generations, but not the same .

Considering that it was the Shen family who went to work in Hefei, and in Nanjing, Shen Tingyang was already the Minister of the Six Southern Departments, and there was no one who was obviously higher than him, and there was no magistrate in Hefei who could have a higher status than Shen Tingyang. .

Finally, after negotiating with Prince Lu's Mansion, it was confirmed that the Governor of Water Transport and Shi Kefa, who had just served as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing this year, were invited as the guest of honor to witness.

Naturally, Shen Tingyang couldn't do without giving generous gifts to all the guests who witnessed the marriage. Not to mention others, just an upright official like Shi Kefa, when he received a few buckets of Korean pearls and Japanese tortoise shell from Shen Tingyang, his eyes were straightened.

However, Shen Tingyang was just exchanging favors and favors in daily life, and it was not a bribe to ask him to bend the law for personal gain. Shi Kefa had no reason to refuse, so he had to accept it.

……

As soon as Shen Tingyang made a move, the etiquette was definitely not only to the extent that Shi Kefa would be shocked.

On the day when the Shen family arrived in Hefei, King Lu Zhu Changhao was dumbfounded when he saw the greeting card and gift list sent in advance.

No matter how rich the Luwang Mansion is, the savings and family property of the two generations in the past 40 years add up to less than 1000 million. During the previous fleeing process, more than 200 million yuan was scattered, and the real estate of the Wangfu also fell into the hands of the enemy. .

Now Zhu Changhao can take around and get Hefei's fine and soft family property, which adds up to 200 million taels.

Seeing the betrothal gift sent by the Shen family, Zhu Changhao felt that he was a bit unable to offer the return gift from the majestic Prince Lu's mansion.

In the end, it was his daughter Zhu Yuchan who reminded him in private: "Father, you are famous all over the world for your elegance, why should you care about the amount of wealth. I heard that when the Shen family has been a sea merchant for generations, when Shen Shangshu donated an official to become an official, he did not ask for money in return. , I just want to be decent. Shen Shangshu will be delighted if you give back some elegant things made by the palace."

Zhu Changhao made sense after thinking about it, so when Shen Tingyang came to visit, Zhu Changhao was at the banquet, in front of Shi Kefa and other important guests, and returned the greeting to Shen Tingyang calmly:

"Shen Ge's family is so rich that it can rival the country. It is really enviable. This king is just an idler in the mountains and fields. His lifelong interest is only to study the ancients and study the rhythm. Shen Ge's family may look down on some trivial things."

Then, he asked people to send a row of Boshan stoves and other incense burners supervised by Lu Wangfu, a pile of precious incense, plus a set of antique chimes drawn by himself, and a few "Luqin" made by himself.

Shen Tingyang was originally a nouveau riche with a temper. The Shen family had been a maritime merchant for his generation before he began to donate official positions with real power. It turns out that there are only grades but no real power, so of course Shen Tingyang also likes arty to decorate the appearance.

The musical instruments produced by the Prince Lu's Mansion were unrivaled in the Chongzhen Dynasty. From the qin to the chime bells to the incense burner, which one is not the most elegant thing?
Shen Tingyang was overjoyed when he received this gift, and thanked the prince repeatedly.He also said that after going back, these bronze incense burners must be properly enshrined.
As for those musical instruments...he will definitely urge his son to learn the rhythm well in the future so that his son and daughter-in-law can play harmoniously.

The other guests couldn't help but come to watch, like Shi Kefa and others, they also knew a little bit of rhythm, and their self-cultivation quality was much more elegant than that of the Shen family. When they saw these Luqin, they praised them all.

"It's really a good piano! It's absolutely extraordinary!"

"Thousands of pieces of ordinary Luqin on the market are so different from those carefully selected by the prince himself."

Shen Tingyang was not very knowledgeable at first, but after listening to others' comments, he was a little ashamed and felt that he was really vulgar.

In this way, one of the two parties feels that the other party is really rich and unfathomable, while the other party thinks that this side is really noble and elegant, and the situation is harmonious and equal.

Neither the husband's family looked down on the mother's family nor the mother's family looked down on the husband's family. Everyone has their own awe and what they need.

There was a three-day banquet in the temporary Luwang Mansion, after which Shen Tingyang returned to Nanjing, and Xu also took his daughter-in-law who had paid homage to Gaotang and set off again. They will meet in Wuchang and then go to Chongqing without mentioning it.

……

It will take more than half a month for the eunuch who passed the decree and the team from Prince Lu's Palace to send off the relatives to enter Sichuan.

However, this speed did not affect Zhu Shuren's layout in Bashu and the progress of the war, because Zhu Shuren had already estimated in advance that Wang Chengen and Chen Xinjia had a high probability of persuading Chongzhen to send Cao Bianjiao to Hanzhong and Dashan Pass for defense.

There may be deviations in the specific selection of candidates, but it is absolutely necessary to send someone.

Chongzhen has already hated Zhang Xianzhong so much, of course he wants to kill this thief chieftain who dug his family's grave, and he will never let him run for his life.

However, Cao Bianjiao first crossed the Yellow River westward into Guanzhong from Hedong and Pingyang, and then went to Chencang, entered Chencang Road to Hanzhong, even if there were only a few thousand troops, it would take more than half a month to march.

The departure of the army is much slower than the delivery of the messenger. One can travel hundreds of miles a day, and the other can travel seventy or eighty miles a day.

From Beijing to Taiyuan to Hedong to Chencang and then to Hanzhong, the total mileage for sending letters is about [-] miles, and the follow-up march is nearly [-] miles. It will take more than a month to add up.

Therefore, since Zhu Shuren had expected this situation, he would hold back his troops for the time being, and would not rush to attack Zhang Xianzhong's heart before Cao Bianjiao or anyone else had deployed their defenses in Hanzhong.

Otherwise, if Zhang Xianzhong was beaten in advance and fled to the north, entered Hanzhong, and harmed another piece of land, it would make more haste and complicate the problem.

Of course, not alerting the enemy in advance does not mean that no other military actions will be taken in the past month or so.Zhu Shuren still needs to make adjustments and explanations for the frontline deployment.

So, a few days after Zhang Huangyan sent the letter to inform Sun Kewang that he would divide his troops to guard Leshan and strangle the Dadu River fortress on the Minjiang River, that is, when Zhu Shuren had just sent Wang Gonggong back to Beijing, Zhu Shuren immediately sent Zhang Huangyan a reply letter, asking Zhang Huangyan held back Sun Kewang, trying to try to divide Sun Kewang.

He also sent an eloquent and eloquent staff member who was good at explaining from the perspective of the overall situation, to convey to Zhang Huangyan and Fang Kongxuan why he did this-in fact, Zhang Huangyan didn't need to explain too much, mainly to Liu Guoneng, and There are Fang Kongxuan and Qin Liangyu.

Zhu Shuren didn't have too many eloquent debaters around him, so this role naturally fell to Gu Yanwu.

Gu Yanwu set off on February 25th, and arrived in Neijiang and Leshan around February [-]th, conveying Zhu Shuren's suggestion.

After Zhang Huangyan got the order, he didn't quite understand it at first: "Zhang Xianzhong is entrenched in Chengdu. Every few days, the people will suffer more from it, and the spring farming will also be affected. Why do we have to slow down?"

Zhu Shuren's original intention, of course, had another consideration, that is, he didn't want Chongzhen to find an excuse immediately after Zhang Xianzhong was wiped out, and transfer him north to Beijing to serve as king.

Therefore, Zhu Shuren hoped that after Zhang Xianzhong's death, Sun Kewang's leftovers, which had not been cleaned up, could be used as an excuse for him to support the bandits, and delay for another year or a half.

After all, it has been Chongzhen for 16 years. A military excuse to delay for half a year is really not too much. Wu Sangui can delay for half a year. Why can't he, Zhu Shuren?

It’s just that this can’t be said, even with Zhang Huangyan, so Zhu Shuren didn’t even tell Gu Yanwu, he just asked Gu Yanwu to publicly say another reason:
"Zhang Daotai, you are not an outsider. You have fought side by side with Lord Guoxing for many years. Don't you believe him? He is trying to appeal to the court through the prince.
Let the imperial court send another group of troops to Hanzhong to block the opening that may flee northward after defeating Zhang Xianzhong, and then fight him thoroughly.Although the common people in Chengdu may suffer for a few more months, they can avoid the spread of poison and corruption in more places.

In addition, Lord Guo Xing reckons that Sun Kewang asked himself to divide his troops at this time, and it may be because he has a dissatisfaction with Zhang Xianzhong. We must make full use of this.Lord Guoxing thought of a way to test Sun Kewang's sincerity. "

Zhang Huangyan raised his eyebrows and humbly asked for advice: "I would like to hear the details!"

Gu Yanwu asked someone to fetch a map, unfolded it, and repeated the strategy Zhu Shuren taught him: "Zhang Daotai, please look, the place where Qingyi River (Dadu River) and Minjiang River meet is Leshan, and around Leshan, where the two rivers converge. There are three counties and guards in the Trident Land.

To the east of the Minjiang River is Leshan County and Jiadingwei.To the west of Minjiang River and north of Qingyi River is Jiajiang County; to the west of Minjiang River and south of Qingyi River is Emei County.

If our army wants to enter Chengdu from this point, it is necessary to take Leshan County and Jiadingwei to the east of the Minjiang River by force, but it is not necessary to completely wipe out the west of the Minjiang River.Even if you let it go, and still stay in the hands of the thieves, our army's warships and troop carriers can still pass through..."

When Zhang Huangyan heard this, he immediately interrupted: "Isn't this too risky? It doesn't conform to the common sense of the art of war. If Jiajiang County and Emei County are not cleared, in case our main force has passed, the siege of Chengdu will continue for a long time, and we will need to transport it from the Minjiang River." grain.

And it is impossible for our grain fleet to be protected by heavy soldiers every time. What if Sun Kewang took advantage of the situation to rob grain?Didn't our army suffer heavy losses?The reason why the army marched along the river and every confluence of waterways had to be cleaned up was not because of the grain roads. "

Gu Yanwu is just a messenger, and of course he will not be angry when faced with doubts, but he just explained kindly: "So, Lord Guoxing has prepared a second move, and he hopes that Zhang Daotai and you can try to contact Sun Kewang secretly, at least It is also a combination of grace and power to reach a tacit understanding.

For example, first take Leshan County by force with the momentum of thunder, to show that if our army is willing to fight, regardless of the cost, it is absolutely capable of destroying Sun Kewang.But after taking Leshan, he was not in a hurry to cross to the west of Minxi to expand the results of the battle, so he could let Sun Kewang continue to occupy Emei, Jiajiang and other places.

Our army only pretended to disregard the rear, bypassing Sun Kewang with a small number of troops and marching northward along the Minjiang River, but used heavy troops to protect the food.As long as Sun Kewang comes to rob food, he will be beaten hard!If Sun Kewang doesn't come to rob food, we will make an extra trip in vain as a heavy escort.

After doing this two or three times, if Sun Kewang never robs food, it can be considered that he has understood the tacit understanding of Guo Xingye, and we can continue not to offend each other.

However, under the pressure of Zhang Xianzhong's remote order, Sun Kewang sent troops to rob food once, and dared not go out again after being beaten, Guo Xingye asked you to go to Chengdu to spread rumors, saying that our army has reached a secret agreement with Sun Kewang, As long as he refuses to save Zhang Xianzhong in the subsequent battle of Chengdu, our army will allow him to stand on his own and not pursue him.

In this way, if Sun Kewang didn't work hard to rob food, Zhang Xianzhong would inevitably become more suspicious of him. If he tried hard to rob food, he would hit the muzzle of our army's food guards again.In order to protect himself, Sun Kewang may find another way out and be forced to reach a new tacit agreement with our army! "

When Zhang Huangyan heard this, his eyes were completely brightened.

I have to say that Zhu Shuren's combination of kindness and power is really a bit like the heart attack in the battle of Pingjin in the later generations-for the adjacent twin cities, first thunder kills one, showing muscle, showing that we are not impossible to fight, while for the other, be patient Show sincerity, hypocrisy.

Killing Leshan first and leaving the Emei soldiers now is the same as killing Chen Changjie first and keeping Fu Mou.

Now that Sun Kewang has separated from Zhang Xianzhong, it is impossible to say that he has no idea at all.Therefore, as long as you dig hard, you will probably be able to seize the opportunity to disintegrate and disintegrate.

(End of this chapter)