Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 101
(PS: There are two updates today, and the first one will be delivered.)
After delivering the seal letter to Gaodi, Sun Chengzong rode a little donkey and led two bookboys back to his hometown in Baoding. Young Master Zhang and Gaodi, whose character was not so bad, couldn't bear it, and proposed to send troops to protect Sun Chengzong When he returned home, Sun Chengzong refused with a smile, and said: "My lords, you don't have to worry about the safety of this old man. As long as you guard Liaodong and prevent Jiannu, the pass will be peaceful and prosperous. What else is there to worry about?" Young Master Zhang and Gaodi had no choice but to respect Sun Chengzong's choice, but after Gaodi who came to see him off returned to the customs, Sun Chengzong suddenly turned his donkey's head, ran back to Young Master Zhang who stayed where he was, and said solemnly: "Tanhualang, Liaodong On the battlefield, I will leave you alone."

"Mr. Sun Ge, it seems that you are looking for the wrong person. I am a small official in Jinzhou, what qualifications do you have to entrust Liaodong to you?" Young Master Zhang asked with a wry smile.Sun Chengzong smiled lightly, and replied: "Tanhualang, do you think that the old man is really dim-sighted, and you don't see that you are deliberately restraining your edge? Is a person like Gaodi worthy of entrusting the old man to Liaodong? But his He's not too bad, at least he'll obey you and won't hold you back—such a boss is hard to come by for a minister with great ambitions like you."

Young Master Zhang was silent, and after a while he smiled and said: "Old Man Ge is absurd. Wansheng has always been able to muddle along with things, so what can we talk about with great ambitions? But Old Man Ge is also right. If Gaodi doesn't have these advantages, The Xiaguan will not come to Liaodong with him—at least, if the Xiaguan is determined not to come to Liaodong, it is not impossible to make the emperor and Jiu Qiansui take back their orders with the methods of the Xiaguan."

Sun Chengzong laughed, then bowed his hands to Master Zhang, laughed and turned the donkey, and walked slowly towards the official road leading to the southwest.Looking at his slender back, Young Master Zhang suddenly shouted again: "Mr. Sun Ge, if one day, Wansheng invites you to come out of the mountain again, will you agree?" He said without replying, "Tanhualang, let's talk about it when you are qualified to recommend this old man to come out of the mountain again."

Sun Chengzong, a famous minister of a generation, left just like that. His chief aide, Lu Shanji, also left quietly with his wife and children. He didn't even say hello when he left. What they left for Young Master Zhang and Gaodi was a dangerous battlefield in Liaodong , There are also a lot of rebellious Liaodong Titans.Faced with such a situation, if someone else was to serve as the Liaodong economic strategy envoy or Gaodi took up the post alone, it seemed that the overall adjustment of Liaodong would not work. The generals who are arrogant and disobedient are suppressed, killing chickens to make an example to monkeys.But when Gaodi brought out his plan to discuss with Young Master Zhang, Young Master Zhang vetoed it outright.

"No, large-scale personnel adjustments are absolutely not allowed!" Young Master Zhang categorically vetoed, and then gave his reasons, "Master Gao, you can recall that since Sun Chengzong and Sun Ge took over the post of Liaodong Economic Strategy, Jiannu Nunu Did Erhachi never launch an active attack? And the few small defeats Sun Ge Lao lost were all offensive battles, right? This is enough to prove that Sun Ge Lao’s original arrangement was very successful in defense. Nu Nuerhachi didn't dare to attack lightly, wouldn't it be superfluous for us to make further adjustments? What's more, the Liaodong army is changing coaches just before the battle, and the old and new coaches lack mutual understanding. Adjusting personnel, wouldn't it add chaos to chaos?"

"Tanhualang is right." Gaodi nodded. Although he didn't understand military affairs, but out of trust in Young Master Zhang's ability, he immediately adopted Young Master Zhang's suggestion.Gaodi asked again: "Then according to Tanhualang's opinion, what should we do as the first step?"

"Regarding this point, I have been thinking about it for a long time." Young Master Zhang replied: "The first step we should do is to stabilize people's hearts. For the civil and military officials left behind by Mr. Sun Ge, except for the Shanhaiguan General Soldier who led to the defeat of Liuhe Except for Ma Shilong, none of them will be held accountable, and all of them will retain their distant posts. At the same time, my lord, you can publicly announce that you will go to the court and ask for an extra month of military pay as a reward for the army."

"Wonderful, this will help us gain the morale of the army." Gaodi applauded, and then asked: "Tanhualang, what about Ma Shilong? Now that the officials and censors of the Manchu Dynasty are impeaching him, are we right?" Pull him out to vent his anger on the court, let him go out or go to heaven and jail for a few days?"

Young Master Zhang made some calculations, and immediately shook his head and said, "Your official thinks it's not possible. There are two reasons. One is that Ma Shilong is now stationed on the front line of Jinzhou with more than 1 troops, and the punishment is too heavy. I'm afraid he will have a different heart; He is the commander-in-chief of Liaodong. Being able to command so many arrogant soldiers in Liaodong for Sun Chengzong is enough to prove that he also has a certain ability. The General of Jinzhou will continue to lead the army on the front line of Jinzhou. When the next official goes to Jinzhou to take up his post, he can take over the army from him. As for the court, those officials and censors seem to be targeting Ma Shilong, but the real target is actually Sun Elder Ge, now that Elder Sun Ge has taken the blame and resigned, they will not continue to pursue it."

"One more thing, after relegating Ma Shilong to Jinzhou General, the crucial post of Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief will be vacated." Young Master Zhang added: "For this position, Mr. Gao, you must find someone who will listen to you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have much ability, as long as you are obedient. Because we must first stabilize the situation in Liaodong. It is better to have an obedient general in charge of the army than a capable but disobedient general in charge of the army. "

"Okay, let's do it this way." Gaodi applauded happily, and praised with admiration: "Listening to Tanhualang's words is really better than studying for ten years. God gave me Tanhualang, which is really my greatest blessing." Faced with Gaodi's sincere praise, Young Master Zhang curled his lips, thinking that you, a trash, still have the face to say such things. If it wasn't for worrying that you, a trash, would not be able to suppress Liaodong and give you a chance to build slaves, I wouldn't be bothered to come to this place with you. Woolen cloth.

As Young Master Zhang had expected, after Gaodi announced according to Young Master Zhang’s idea that all the generals in Liaodong, except Ma Shilong, would retain their original posts, the generals in Liaodong would not have to worry about being wiped out by one emperor and one courtier, and the morale of the army was greatly improved. Stablize.And after Gaodi announced that he would pay an additional month of military pay to reward the three armies, the grassroots generals and ordinary soldiers also cheered, and began to develop affection for Gaodi, the legendary wretch, and the morale of Liuhe, who was extremely depressed after his defeat, also began to pick up.There was only a problem with the handling of Ma Shilong, the former Liaodong general. Ma Shilong, who knew that he had implicated Sun Chengzong, resigned due to illness, and asked Gaodi to remove all his posts and reduce him to a commoner. Young Master Zhang suggested that Gaodi resolutely reject this request. He asked Ma Shilong to still lead the Jinzhou army and discuss it when Master Zhang went to Jinzhou.

The morale of the Liaodong army has been stabilized for the time being, and the crucial issue of the candidate for the Shanhaiguan commander-in-chief quickly came to the table. At present, there are only three people in Liaodong who are qualified to take over this position, namely Yang Qi, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, and Ning Qianbing. Beiqian Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Dongzhen, and Sun Yuanhua, Sun Chengzong's deputy, have been transferred to the governor of Denglai and were excluded from the candidates.Among the three, Mao Wenlong, who insisted on fighting behind the enemy, could not be mobilized anyway, and only Yang Qi and Yuan Chonghuan were left, so Gao Di went to Young Master Zhang to discuss: "Tanhualang, Sun Ge Before the old man left, he once recommended Yuan Chonghuan to me, saying that he is a rare talent and worthy of reuse, how about letting him be the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan?"

"Yuan Chonghuan?" Eldest Young Master Zhang curled his lips in disdain once again, thinking that you, Gao Di, with a pussy appearance, can control a man like Yuan Chonghuan, unless the sun comes out from the south!So Young Master Zhang said directly: "Yuan Chonghuan is absolutely not good. His character is too stubborn and irritable. The local generals in Liaodong, Xiangzu Dashou, were also single-handedly selected by him. Letting him be the chief soldier will only make you empty. So just Let Yang Qi be the chief soldier, although he has a little pus, but he will listen to you."

Young Master Zhang gave such a conclusion, Gao Di naturally obeyed, but what Young Master Zhang did not expect was that when he summoned the Liaodong generals to appoint Yang Qi as the general soldier of Shanhaiguan, Gao Di actually said in public that he had adopted Young Master Zhang to recommend Yang Qi. Qi's decision requires Yang Qi to thank Young Master Zhang in person.Although Gao Di's move was out of good intentions, let the joyful Yang Qi know that it was a good deed done by Young Master Zhang, and also let the Liaodong generals understand how much he relied on Young Master Zhang, and established Young Master Zhang's prestige in the Liaodong army-but in this way Yuan Chonghuan, who originally disliked Young Master Zhang very much, inevitably had a bad face, and his attitude towards Young Master Zhang has become more and more indifferent since then.

While assisting Gaodi to stabilize the overall situation, Young Master Zhang also began to prepare for his appointment in Jinzhou. After investigation, Young Master Zhang discovered that after the Ming army recovered Jinyou, the person responsible for repairing the city wall of Jinzhou was Mao Yuanyi, an important adviser of Sun Chengzong. Mao Yuanyi asked him about the repair situation of Jinzhou city defense.Mao Yuanyi, who was disheartened because of Sun Chengzong's resignation, told Young Master Zhang coldly, "Master Zhang, since Jinzhou City was abandoned by Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen in February of the second year of Tianqi, although Jiannu did not completely destroy the city wall, it took more than two years. After the ups and downs of the Jinzhou City, the city wall of Jinzhou was already damaged. The officials repaired it for half a year, but only filled in the gaps, and had not had time to reinforce and heighten the moat, and most of the houses in the city had been destroyed. It was destroyed by the flames of war, and only a small part was repaired, that's all."

"The situation is so bad?" Young Master Zhang didn't care about Mao Yuanyi's indifference towards him at all, but he was so frightened by the actual situation in Jinzhou that he gasped, and asked quickly: "Then, may I ask Master Mao, the current Jinzhou city defense is better than Ning Yuan?" How about getting up?"

"Can the defense of Jinzhou City be compared with Ningyuan?" Mao Yuanyi laughed dumbfounded, and replied mockingly: "Master Zhang, you really know how to joke, Ningyuan City was built by Mr. Sun Ge and Master Yuan with all their efforts. The city wall is strong, and all kinds of fortifications are indispensable. , can definitely be regarded as the first city in Liaodong. And Jinzhou City is surrounded by land on three sides except for the Xiaoling River in the southwest.

Young Master Zhang didn't speak, and after a long silence, Young Master Zhang said to Mao Yuanyi: "Master Mao, I think you are very clear that Mr. Sun Ge resigned from office and returned to his hometown, and Liaodong changed his commander. He will definitely take advantage of the fire to attack our army, and his first goal is the entrance of the Liaodong Corridor—Jinzhou! I am going to Jinzhou to take office, and my goal is to defend Jinzhou and prevent Jiannu from poisoning my Ming people. Goal, I am already ready to die for my country, and I have even entrusted my friends to support my parents. But before I go, I hope that you, who are familiar with the situation of Jinzhou city defense and are good at building cities, can accompany me. Go to Jinzhou to take office—of course, if you don’t want to die in vain, I will definitely not force you, and I will not disclose a single word of our conversation today.”

Mao Yuanyi looked up in surprise, and began to look again at the incompetent young master Zhang in his impression, and the young master Zhang put on a serious expression of seducing an ignorant girl, staring into Mao Yuanyi's eyes, his eyes were full of calmness and determination.And Mao Yuanyi was also moved by Young Master Zhang's domineering spirit, and said in a slow tone: "Master Zhang, although the Jinzhou city defense is damaged, it is not impossible to save it, but I need manpower and time. As long as you give me enough manpower and In two months, I guarantee that Jinzhou City will take on a new look and have the ability to stick to it for a long time."

"If I give you two months and enough manpower, do you dare to go to Jinzhou with me?" Young Master Zhang asked word by word.Mao Yuanyi gritted his teeth and said loudly: "Why am I not afraid? I, Mao Yuanyi, have joined the army, and I am ready to return the shroud of horse leather! You, Mr. Zhang, are so young that you can sacrifice for the people of the country. I, Mao Yuanyi, are 31 years old. Why? Don't you dare?"

"Okay." Young Master Zhang agreed, and then said: "Master Mao, go back and get ready. We will set off in a few days. There are plenty of people in Jinzhou City. As for the time, I will try to find a way to let Jiannu let go." Wait for two months before attacking Jinzhou."

"Find a way?" Mao Yuanyi was a little skeptical, and said again: "Master Zhang, this is not a joke, Jiannu is extremely cunning, how can you give us enough time to prepare for the city defense?"

"Don't worry." After arriving in Liaodong, Young Master Zhang showed a relaxed smile for the first time, and said shamelessly: "Although Jiannu is good at tricks, their little tricks are nothing more than a big ax in front of Lu Ban's door in front of me. Selling articles in front of the Confucius Temple! Just rest assured, I will definitely have a way to make Jiannu not rush to attack Jinzhou."

Mao Yuanyi left with doubts, while Young Master Zhang rested his chin on his hands and pondered how to slow down Nuerhachi's attack time. After thinking for a long time, Young Master Zhang finally showed a smug smile on his face, and murmured: "Tungus wild boar skin, this Let’s see if you can still be fooled.” After carefully calculating the plan several times, Young Master Zhang hurriedly got up to find Gaodi, preparing to arrange a false appearance to confuse Jiannu, and asked Gaodi for one thing and a person necessary to stick to Jinzhou—— The things are of course red cannons, which are found in Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan City; the people are called Mangui, and only Yuan Chonghuan's Ningyuan has them.

(End of this chapter)