Chapter 337: Master Zhang who checked the troops

Before the Huai Yang Army sent a fast horse to Jinan, Li Meng heard the news about four days in advance and sent the suspense liner installed in the capital to send the matter back in advance.

Shandong's intelligence system has great investment and results, but it has never been successful in its true high-level management, which has a lot to do with the fact that Jiaozhou Camp itself started from a small scale.

In the capital, there are countless high-ranking officials and nobles. When you reach a certain level, you can't even deliver money. The procedures are very troublesome. Just a manager in the second door, your nostrils are facing the sky.

Moreover, because Shandong is deliberately low-key, officials regard Shandong as a soft persimmon pauper, look down on him, and are too lazy to pay attention to him. If Zuo Pingzi comes to the activity, it can be said that it is unimpeded.

The result is that Lingshan Trading Company and Shandong Salt Gang have been in the capital for so many years, and the money has been spent a lot of money, but they have never achieved much results. The news that Jiaozhou Camp needs is often unable to be found out.

But there is nothing to keep in mind in the entire capital. Sometimes a minister and the emperor meet alone, and the emperor himself thinks it is a huge secret. As a result, what they said the next day was spread all over the city. The leak of Chinese ban was originally a serious crime. In ancient times, the prime minister had to be demoted when he encountered this crime, but now no one takes it seriously.

The eunuchs in the court and the minor officials on other occasions often have the habit of selling news for money. They can take a few taels of silver and even steal the drafts written by the imperial pen for you. The ministers and censors in the court are willing to pay for money for political struggles or other purposes. The beginning of the Donglin Party's sweeping world was that the founder of the founding father, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of Nanjing, Li Sancai, secretly copied the memorials of his teacher Wang Juexi to the emperor, and initiated a political tide to achieve great victory.

The so-called empire is like a big ship. It’s just that this ship leaks from above. This is the case with the Ming Empire, full of holes, and it’s difficult to keep any secrets.

The secret spies in Shandong have used this to inquire about a lot of information. In the past two years, some have even started to collect scrapped manuscripts from various departments and government offices. According to convention, the drafts below are generally drafted. The chief officer copied another copy, and the manuscripts originally drafted by the subordinates were sold out as waste paper. The secret spies in Shandong disguised themselves as rags, which has received a lot of news. Li Meng was able to roughly grasp the trends of the court by relying on such news spread, which is also a big laugh.

The head of the Ministry of War is the only result of the officials of the Lingshan Trading Company and the Salt Gang among the six officials. The Lingshan Trading Company's semi-colon in the capital. By chance, I learned that the head of the Lin was in a difficult life and had many Beijing officials. However, the situation of the Ministry of War is really rare, so the head of the Lin is too precious to the Jiaozhou Camp.

The method of capturing the head was not clever. The intelligence personnel from Jiaozhou camp, who were military and military, were even rude. First, they kidnapped the three sons of Director Lin and put them in a big cart to the capital as goods, and then a generous gift of 3,000 taels of silver.

The head Lin did not hesitate for too long and made a quick decision. He left 200 taels of silver for 3,000 taels, and then sent the remaining silver to Shandong with his wife, so that she could reunite with her son and stay in the capital by herself. The head Lin also wanted to bet once.

But after thinking about it carefully, I could consider it. Liu Fulai, the eunuch in Nanjing, is so cunning and cunning, and he is even more familiar with the central government. I guess he can also consider it. I was so anxious, but the old eunuch has always been busy, which means that Jiaozhou Camp may have had a case to deal with in response to these matters, so let's wait and see.

A few days later, the messenger sent by Gaoke, the deputy of Huai Yangjun, to report the message, saying that the imperial eunuch from the court had already arrived at Yangzhou Prefecture to announce the order. He had made all preparations, but Chen Liu was not at the base. So he wanted to send a message to inform him.

This news made Sun Chuanting a little worried, but on the third day, Huai Yang's quick horse delivery letter followed again, indicating that in the small battle in Lijiaqiao, all 700 bandits who claimed to be officers and soldiers were killed, and no one was left. At the same time, it was said that Deputy General Chen and his family were not used to the waters and soil of the Huai River and wanted to send them back to Jinan. Please take care of the general.

Seeing this letter, Sun Chuanting felt relieved. Massacre of bandits who claimed to be officers and soldiers was a matter of doing something similar to a confession. He sent his relatives and parents back to Jinan, which was to take the initiative to send the hostages to show his confession. Anyway, his relatives are all in the hands of the commander. If there is something wrong with us, wouldn’t we just make a joke about the safety of our relatives?

Li Meng believed in Chen Liu, and Chen Liu also believed that Li Meng would not doubt himself. However, the two sides were separated by two places, and the court made such rewards again, and did everything that should be expressed and done, so that both sides would be at ease.

On the fifth day of the second month, Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War, led a group of people from the capital, went to Shandong to verify the number of soldiers and horses, and prepared to pay the money.

Sitting in the swaying carriage, Zhang Ruoqi felt like he was dreaming. In the Battle of Songshan, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were dispersed, and tens of thousands of soldiers were surrounded on Songshan. The last tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the Ming Dynasty were destroyed by him. Looking back, it was still like the sky collapsed and the earth was broken. Thinking about the sea of ​​corpses and blood, he often woke up when he slept. He knew how serious this kind of crime was.

After returning to the capital, he lived a muddy life every day, and was free and enjoyed it as much as possible, regardless of diet, men and women. He sang in the house every day. Since ancient times, no one has died, and he spent one day playing. He knew that the blame was serious. The state was not like the Song Dynasty. He just exiled you to Shamen Island and was done. He was really going to be cut off his head. He was just waiting for the court to deal with it, but he stayed there so much that the court had never dealt with it. Even Chen Xinjia, who was instructing him, stayed safely and soundly, and gradually became a little relieved.

Even if the sky falls, isn’t there still the Shangshu above to hold on? You don’t have to worry too much. After Zhang Ruoqi was silent for a while, he recovered.

This time, the job of going to Shandong to check the troops fell on him. Not only were his colleagues in the Ministry of War surprised, but even Zhang Ruoqi himself was stunned. Why did Lord Shangshu be cheaper for himself with such advantages and disadvantages?

Until he left the capital, Zhang Ruoqi was confused and thought it through a little. Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, and himself were grasshoppers tied to a rope. He was supervising the army on the front line, and the decrees and urgings of Emperor Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, were sent over. Both sides had a considerable responsibility.

If he was punished, it was hard to guarantee that he would not involve Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, and even damage the face of Emperor Chongzhen. However, the current emperor has killed the first traitor in the history of the Ming Dynasty before he was young. How could he make a mistake? How could he make a mistake?

After understanding this, Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War, suddenly became much more courageous. Now even the Minister of War and the Emperor have to cover it up for me. Then, can I act unscrupulously and not be afraid of anything?

After leaving the capital, Zhang Ruoqi's low mood was wiped out. He happily studied with his followers all day long how to pick out some oil and water from Shandong soldiers.

The 40,000 Shaanxi troops led by the governor of Shaanxi Wang Qiaonian, left Tongguan. At this time, a group of troops from the general Zuo Liangyu, who was fighting against the bandits, were fighting with Li in Xiangcheng. The Luo coalition forces fought hard. Shaanxi Governor Wang Qiaonian placed the infantry in Luoyang City. He led 20,000 cavalry and rushed straight to Xiangcheng. He intended to cooperate inside and outside to defeat the Li and Luo coalition forces.

It was around the first month of the year, and despite the chaos in Henan, whether it was the officers and soldiers, Li, the Luodi refugee army, and the large army were resting for a short time.

The only large-scale battle in Henan is the battle in Xiangcheng.

After Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War who went to Shandong to inspect the troops, entered Shandong, the news of the battle in Xiangcheng quickly spread to the capital and all over the world. Shaanxi border soldiers, which had always been known for their courage to fight, fought with the Li and Luo coalition forces. Once they were defeated, General Zhang Guoqing was killed on the spot.

He Renlong and two other generals led their subordinates to flee to the future. Shaanxi Governor Wang Qiaonian could only lead the remnants of defeated soldiers to retreat to Xiangcheng. Five days after being besieged by the Li and Luo coalition forces, Xiangcheng was broken, and Shaanxi Governor Wang Qiaonian was captured and killed.

I don’t know why. The whole world was very indifferent to this failure, as if it was commonplace. The censors and censors in the court were going to launch an impeachment against Chen Xinjia, but they were all silent at this time. Occasionally, a few people sighed there. Shaanxi soldiers were so unbearable. What kind of troops can fight in the world? The thieves became increasingly uncontrollable.

Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, who was still in Henan, the commander Ding Qirui, and the general Zuo Liangyu, who mobilized his troops like crazy. He was preparing to make a desperate bet on the decisive battle with Li and Luo.

"Is there any rules for Shandong soldiers and horses? I am a representative of the Ministry of War to test the soldiers and horses. How can I be so negligent!!"

Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War, was furious at the post station. This number of soldiers checked and paid the money and land chores were equivalent to pinching the neck of the local general. No matter how arrogant and domineering he was, he would give him a smile and please and welcome him.

Who would have thought that when he arrived outside Jinan City, there was a gate guarding soldier asking. Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the official, was very energetic and thought that I came to your Jinan City to test your Shandong soldiers and horses to meet your general. What do you have to say to you soldiers?

However, after only a few rebukes, the soldiers guarding the city gate were already pushing over with swords and guns.

When I saw the other party’s cold sword, who would dare to say a word? I was obediently placed in the inn outside the city, according to the Ming Dynasty system. This is in line with the rules.

Officials who handle errands should live in the official station. However, no one has followed this rule for many years, but they can't tell what mistakes the other party will make in accordance with the rules.

After entering the post station, Zhang Ruoqi thought about it. Didn’t this post station be sacked in the early years of Chongzhen? It seemed that after entering Shandong, he saw the existence of the post station, which was not even in the capital and Jizhen.

But this question flashed through. Zhang Ruoqi gritted his teeth and thought about hundreds of ways to make things difficult for the other party. A vulgar military general dared to be so arrogant.

And at this time, Zhang Ruoqi remembered that before leaving, Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, had an instruction, saying that "we must check it carefully."

When leaving the capital, Zhang Ruoqi made a plan in his heart that if the Shandong general knew how to do things and gave enough money, he would have fooled it.

When he saw the other party's behavior, he immediately raised the words of Lord Shangshu, and decided to strictly handle them according to the rules. There are no military generals in the world who do not eat the vacancy. As long as it is strictly investigated, he is afraid that the problem will not be found.

Zhang Ruoqi believed that he had made things difficult for the general who led the troops. During the day, he was in the sixth rank, and in front of the first rank Hong Chengchou and the second rank generals, he was very powerful, so that these people could only handle everything according to the orders he conveyed.

Shandong General Li Meng, a military general who had never seen the market, did not take it seriously at all. Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War, did not take it seriously. He could use a little trick to make the opponent anxious.

But Zhang Ruoqi was so cruel that no one came out to receive the officials in Shandong City. He had been allowed to stay outside the city for three days before a Jinan Prefecture official came out to receive the officials.

It's up to you that the matter is not your own. The test horse has nothing to do with this civil servant. The other party will definitely be polite. Who would have thought that the slogan's face was cold and said a few words hard:

"I guess it's been a long journey. The Governor and the General have important things today. We will not summon you tomorrow afternoon. Please prepare carefully."

After saying this, Zhang Ruoqi exploded and pointed at the nose of the promoter and cursed:

"Okay, you are a slutty thing. I am the one who sent by the Ministry of War to test your Shandong military personnel. What are you? You dare to say that."

The urging officer was not vague and knocked off Zhang Ruoqi's arm in a cold voice:

"What are you? You are a sixth rank, and I am also a sixth rank. This is Jinan, not a capital city. Don't be there to be accent..."

After saying that, Zhang Ruoqi left. He never thought that the other party would say such words, but he had such an attitude. He stood there for a long time without saying anything, and finally realized that this time the job was not easy to handle.

The next afternoon, ten indifferent soldiers came to lead the way, and their behavior was a formal attitude. They had nothing to do with pleasing and politeness.

Jinan City is deserted and clear. It looks like there is no prosperity and style of the capital city at all. There is no time when fully armed soldiers lined up by.

The General Army Office was even more vigilant, and there was such a fortress. Zhang Ruoqi, the head of the Ministry of War, felt a little strange, because this test of the troops should be to go to the Governor's Office. A governor came to arrange all this. Who would have thought that Shandong was directly taken to the General Army Office and couldn't help but ask:

"It's not that I should go to the Governor Yan..."

The soldier leader who led the way said coldly:

"The Governor and the General are in the lobby, and you will see it later."

The tone of the soldier leader was also hard, and the soldier leader was not of any kind. He was far inferior to Zhang Ruoqi's grade. However, seeing the soldier leader pressing his hand on the hilt of the knife, Zhang Ruoqi swallowed and said nothing.

He brought the trusted followers of the land and was stopped at the door of the General Army's Office. One of Zhang Ruoqi's confidants immediately became angry and shouted loudly there, "My master is from the capital. The Ministry of War is in charge of you, Qiu Ba. If you are out, you can be the prefect of Jinan directly, why do you..."

I guess this sentence is "How dare you", but the following words were not said at all. The guard at the door held the hilt and hit the belly heavily on his stomach. He seemed to be curled upside down on the ground like shrimps.

Zhang Ruoqi wanted to turn around and say a few words, but several soldiers stopped him and said, "A leader urged him:

"My coach and the governor have been waiting for you in the hall for a long time. Take action quickly!"

Looking at these cold soldiers, Zhang Ruoqi opened his mouth, but after all, he didn't speak. He turned around and walked forward silently with the soldiers leading the way.

It is not easy to do when I come to Jinan to check the troops.

"Yesterday, news from Kaifeng City and Guide Mansion came together. Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and Ding Qirui's soldiers entered Kaifeng Mansion. They might have noticed that Li Chuang and Luo Rucai's soldiers were somewhat concerned about the ground of Kaifeng Mansion, so they gathered their soldiers there."

In the hall, Shandong general Li Meng talked to Yan Jizu with the documents sent yesterday. Although the governor of Jiaozhou Camp Yan Jizu did not participate in many things, he knew much more than outsiders.

Moreover, many people in the Shandong Li Meng system do not avoid Yan Jizu's affairs. Anyway, they cannot escape the palm of Shandong soldiers and horses, so they are not afraid of anything.

Shandong Governor Yan Jizu was also very adapted to the situation in front of him. When he heard Li Meng talk about it, he thought about it and replied:

"Reading the newspaper of the palace, and letters from my official’s friends in the capital, the court is issuing an order to urge Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu to attack the bandits as soon as possible. A large number of soldiers and horses pursued and suppressed in Huguang were transferred to Henan. I am afraid that the bandit Zhang Ni would not care about it, and the Zhongdu side would have any mistakes."

Li Meng turned his head and looked at Sun Chuanting sitting beside him. Sun Chuanting was wearing a literati's blue shirt, with an iron face on his face, but he was silent and listened from the side.

Yan Jizu was appointed as the Minister of Personnel in the Capital, and had a few encounters with Sun Chuanting. He should be careful not to be recognized by the other party in this occasion, so he remained silent. However, Yan Jizu's attitude seemed to have no "iron-faced man" in his eyes. When dealing with Li Meng, he had to pay attention to what he shouldn't see and he wouldn't see.

"The thief power is growing more and more unscrupulously. On Zhang Ni's side, there are still some soldiers who can fight in Nanzhili, but Henan must leave again. Governor Yan, you will ask you to go through the procedures for documents at that time."

Li Meng can make up everything in Shandong, but if he is marching and fighting on the surface, he will still be the governor and commander, and the correspondence of the procedures and negotiations with the court, he will ask Yan Jizu to handle it. Of course, Li Meng said this just to be polite. Since Yan Jizu is tactful, he will also give it to the other party.

Hearing Li Meng's request, Yan Jizu bowed his body in the seat, indicating that he was to receive the order.

There had long been a promise to pass the test. Zhang Ruoqi followed the soldiers leading the way in a nervous mood, but saw the scene in the main hall.

General Li Meng sat in the middle, Yan Jizu sat on the right. The seat was already the general and the governor was at the bottom. The action of bowing just now was clearly the attitude of the people below to take the order.

Zhang Ruoqi's mind was completely confused. He looked at the hall blankly, regardless of his feet, and was tripped by the obstacle below, and fell directly towards the front and fell firmly.

He walked into the main hall of the General Army's Office in a dirt. Zhang Ruoqi was not vague and was just preparing to hold his fists as a ritual, even though he was the sixth-rank chief.

Although he had to kowtow according to the rules, he represented the court and the emperor. Even when he was in Hong Chengchou's army, he would be polite to him and treat him with courtesy. What is the governor and general of Shandong?

Li Meng didn't see this person's rude behavior, but just squinted his eyes and looked at Zhang Ruoqi, who was bowing there, and asked slowly:
Chapter completed!