Chapter 384 Dragon Vein, Country, Smoke from the Butt

Shi Kefa looked at Zhang Shenyan and said tactfully: "Mr. Kuncen, this person is not useless, at least he knows how to lead troops."

Yang Yipeng and Zhang Shenyan were both Jinshis in the 38th year of Wanli. In front of the two old predecessors, Shi Kefa, a Jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen, was a veritable junior. Yang Yipeng's courtesy name was Kuncen, and Shi Kefa was also called Kuncen Gong. As for looking at Zhang Shenyan, he had already noticed that Zhang Shenyan had a strong desire for talent.

In fact, Shi Kefa also had a bit of appreciation for Zhang Zhun's leadership. Among the Ming army that Shi Kefa had contacted, no one could impress Shi Kefa so deeply. His morale was high, his spirited, he had to obey orders and strict discipline, which was several times stronger than all Ming army. However, in general, this guy was still a thorn.

Yang Yipeng said angrily: "There are many people in the world who know how to lead troops, and he is not Qi Shaobao!"

Zhang Shenyan said slowly: "Kuncen, this person is quite like Qi Shaobao."

Yang Yipeng was slightly stunned, as if he was a little disbelief, and said deeply: "Jiaoshan, do you value him so much?"

Zhang Shenyan nodded and said affirmatively: "If this boy can be used by me, he must be another Qi Shaobao, even more than that."

Yang Yipeng said angrily: "Qi Shaobao is not as rude as him."

Zhang Shenyan said obscenely: "This is exactly the difficulty."

Yang Yipeng said angrily: "The wolf's ambition is too big... Miaoshan, Xianzhi, do you think this person has the intention to serve the country?"

Zhang Shenyan remained silent.

Shi Kefa tentatively said: "If Kuncen and Miaoshan agree, I would like to go to Yuzhou Mountain and have a detailed discussion with Zhang Zhun in person, maybe I can check his true thoughts."

Zhang Shenyan nodded and said, "It's great. But it's not advisable to be too hasty, you need to understand the way to go slowly."

Yang Yipeng pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Well, you go!"

Shi Kefa immediately left the city and took a boat to Yuzhou Mountain.

Zhang Zhun had no airs and asked someone to put Shi Kefa in. He was thinking about the construction of the dock at the East China Sea. There were some old drawings on the table, all of which were left in the East China Sea. The original Qianhu had not compiled these materials. The last update date was actually the 44th year of Wanli.

Roughly speaking, it has been almost twenty years since these materials were touched. If such a thousand-household office can have combat effectiveness, the sun will really come out from the west. Now that Zhang Zhun takes over the East China Sea Zhongshu, he will naturally play a major role, and these drawings are very important.

Seeing Shi Kefa come in, Brigadier General Zhang rolled up the drawings, pointed to the seat next to him, signaling him to sit down casually, and then said with a smile: "Dr. Shi, are you okay?"

Shi Kefa sat down with laughter and tears.

I haven't seen each other for a few days. What does it mean to be fine? Isn't this intentional embarrassing me?

Fortunately, Shi Kefa came with a request, and was used to Zhang Zhun's rudeness and said slowly: "Yulin, you are indeed rude just now. The governor and governor just want to see you, but there are only benefits and no harm to you."

Zhang Zhun smiled and said, "What if I catch me and cut off my head with one knife?"

Shi Kefa said seriously: "There is absolutely nothing!"

Zhang Zhun looked at Shi Kefa's eyes with a smile and said casually: "Isn't there really?"

Shi Kefa's ability to lie with his eyes open is also excellent. This is the basic skill of civil servants. The so-called nourishing energy is actually joy, anger, sorrow, and panic, and he is not reflected in his expression. He immediately kept his eyes off and insisted: "There is absolutely nothing."

Zhang Zhun nodded and said casually: "Then I am Meng Lang. However, Yang Yipeng is in trouble and his death is not far away. I see that he will not get any benefits, so it is no big deal."

Shi Kefa was shocked.

What does it mean to be in a disaster? The death is not far away?

Shi Kefa suddenly realized that if he talked to Zhang Zhun according to the civil servant's mind, he would definitely go crazy. This person's thinking was too jumpy. If he was not careful, he would say something shocking. Yang Yipeng was the Minister of Revenue, the Governor of the Grain Transport, the Governor of Fengyang, and the Lord Commander... All titles are good! When he was in the court, he didn't hear anyone impeached Yang Yipeng for being ineffective! It was exaggerated and exaggerated!

Zhang Zhun noticed that Shi Kefa's face was strange, smiled casually, and said casually: "Shi Kefa, I ask you, if the thief army in Henan suddenly goes south and attacks Fengyang Mansion and burns Huangjue Temple, what will happen to Yang Yipeng?"

Shi Kefa stood up quickly.

Fortunately, he didn't have a teacup on his hand, otherwise he would have broken again.

Zhang Zhun looked at Shi Kefa, whose face was becoming more and more surprised, and said with a smile: "Why? Don't believe it?"

Shi Kefa's face turned blue and white, his eyes were a little dull, showing that his inner shock had exceeded his limit. For Shi Kefa, who was slowly cunning, this was unprecedented. Even if the emperor scolded him in person, Shi Kefa would not have such a big reaction. After a while, Shi Kefa came back to his senses, swallowed hard, and said with difficulty: "...I believe."

He was nervous for a moment and actually called himself me.

The reason is very simple. Zhang Zhun's words were too stimulating to him. He was a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue and did not know much about military affairs. He could not judge whether the rioters in Henan would go south to Fengyang Mansion. However, he knew very well that if the rebel army captured Fengyang Mansion and burned Huangjue Temple, Yang Yipeng would definitely be the result of the whole family being executed. In addition to Yang Yipeng, a large number of officials would be implicated.

Where is Fengyang Mansion?

Zhu Yuanzhang’s hometown!

Where is Huangjue Temple?

Zhu Yuanzhang's place of dragon prosperity!

These two places are the legendary dragon vein of the Ming Dynasty! What is the dragon vein? The dragon vein is the fate of the country! The destruction of the dragon vein means that the country's fortune is dim and the time for a change of dynasties will come! If the dragon vein of the Ming Dynasty is destroyed, what is that?

If what Zhang Zhun said was true, not to mention the titles of Minister of Revenue, Governor of the Grain Transport, Governor of Fengyang, Governor of the Dui Yuan, even if you give you a title of Supervisor or even a title of Prince, it would still be a death sentence! The dragon vein was destroyed, and Emperor Chongzhen was angry and didn't know how many people's heads would be removed!

Zhang Zhun said lightly: "When you go back, tell Yang Yipeng that if you want to survive, you must guard Fengyang Mansion and Huangjue Temple. If you can't defend it, it must be the fate of the whole family being executed! He has many enemies in the court! Once something happens to Fengyang Mansion, those people will definitely attack him! I think he is a clean official and doesn't want to see him die inexplicably, so he gives advice. He will do this and do it himself."

The more Shi Kefa thought about it, the more hemorrhoids became serious. He seemed to have hemorrhoids under his butt. He couldn't sit still, so he simply stood up and said nervously: "I... said goodbye."

Shi Kefa knew better than Zhang Zhun about what the situation is now. There are absolutely no one who has the ability to save Yang Yipeng. There are many people who have the ability to take advantage of the situation. What's more, who can save Yang Yipeng in such a big event? Birds of a feather flock together, and he himself is a righteous person. He admires Yang Yipeng and Zhang Shenyan, and of course he cannot sit idly by and watch them make such a fatal mistake.

After saying goodbye in a hurry, Shi Kefa left Yuzhou Mountain. When he arrived at the dock of Yuzhou Mountain, Shi Kefa suddenly remembered that he was here to persuade Zhang Zhun to serve the court. As a result... Forget it, let's talk about it next time. The military situation is urgent, so there is no delay at all.

Shi Kefa hurriedly returned to Haizhou City, and Zhang Shenyan and Yang Yipeng were still talking. Both of them were Jinshi in the 38th year of Wanli, and they were both Jinshi and were older. They both experienced the ups and downs of the officialdom, and they both experienced the ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty. Now that the country was not prosperous, and treacherous ministers were in power, they naturally had a lot of complaints to say. Seeing Shi Kefa returning so quickly, both of them were surprised.

Yang Yipeng said angrily: "This Zhang Zhun! How dare you drive you out?"

Shi Kefa shook his head and said, "No, there is something important to tell me, and I hurried back."

Immediately relayed Zhang Zhun's words.

"Bang!"

Someone's teacup was broken.

It was Yang Ze, the eunuch who accompanied the army supervisor.

Originally, Yang Ze was dozing off next to him and didn't care much about the chat between Zhang Shenyan and Yang Yipeng. He, the eunuch in the military, was actually an ordinary old man and a good man. Yang Ze entered the palace in the middle of Wanli and worked in the palace for more than 40 years. He was helpless and had no children, but he didn't like to accept his godson and didn't know how to flatter the emperor. As a result, people of the same age were basically dead, and it was his turn to come.

In fact, the Fengyang Mansion supervising the army is like guarding the imperial tomb. No one is willing to do a ghost job. Fengyang Mansion has a large group of royal relatives, and everyone has something to do with the emperor. If you do it well, no one praises you. If you do it badly, there is a large group of people who report to the emperor. There is also a Huangjue Temple, where the monks are all substitutes of the emperor and can often report to the emperor.

No matter how close the eunuch is to be with the emperor, he will never be able to be with his own family! A eunuch here is naturally not good at supervising the military. Therefore, the smart eunuchs are unwilling to come to Fengyang Prefecture to supervise the military. So, Yang Ze, who had no backstage, was arrested and appointed as the eunuch of the military supervisor of the Zhongdu Left-behind Office.

Yang Ze was completely unwilling to care about political affairs and military affairs. Anyway, he was an old eunuch and did not understand any culture. He needed other people's detailed explanations to understand part of the situation. His biggest wish was to make some money and live his life safely. Because he basically didn't care about things and his mouth was very tight, Zhang Shenyan didn't need to avoid talking to Yang Yipeng.

Suddenly hearing that the rioters might attack Fengyang Mansion, Yang Ze suddenly had no intention of dozing off. Even if he didn't understand, he knew that if something happened to Fengyang Mansion, it would be a big deal. Yang Yipeng, the governor of Fengyang, would naturally be finished immediately. He, the eunuch in the military, would definitely be dead. Yang Ze knew about his own acre of land for a long time.

At present, a large number of rebels are gathering in Xingyang, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan. Once they go south and kill Fengyang Prefecture, the troops of Fengyang Prefecture cannot be stopped at all. At present, only the Zhongdu left behind the Prime Minister Zhu and 10,000 Ming troops. The Ming army claims to be 10,000, but in fact only less than 6,000. Once they encounter the rebels coming, they will only be submerged.

"Yang Cao, let's go back to Fengyang to prepare for military affairs." Yang Ze said nervously.

"Okay! Jingshan, I will entrust you with the matter here." Yang Yipeng did not dare to neglect. If something happened to Fengyang Mansion, God would not be able to save him.

"Miaoshan will do his best." Zhang Shenyan said slowly.

After hearing Zhang Zhun's words, Zhang Shenyan also felt that the matter was too dangerous and hurriedly sent the two away. When he was seeing off the guests, Zhang Shenyan was still thinking repeatedly. The more he thought about it, the more terrible he felt. Wan Yiyi's rebel army really took Fengyang Mansion from Henan... It was so terrible! If the dragon vein was destroyed, the Ming Dynasty would probably be really over.

Zhang Zhun is really good at seeing the small things and preparing for the future! After all, they lack military experience. They thought that the rioters in Henan were surrounded by a large army of officers and soldiers, and at most they fled in scattered areas. They never thought that the rioters might go south to Fengyang Prefecture and directly attack the Zhu family's nest! Even Hong Chengchou and Zhu Dadian might not have thought of this move.

Yang Yipeng hurriedly led his army to leave, and all the Ming army withdrew. Haizhou City returned to its daily tranquility. The people of Haizhou who were not aware of it were even more angry. They came without placing their feet and walked without placing their feet. When was Haizhou City? Fortunately, there was news that it was Zhang Zhun's troops and were still stationed in the nearby East China Sea. Only then did the people of Haizhou City feel relieved.

Looking at Yang Yipeng and Yang Ze leaving hurriedly, Zhang Shenyan and Shi Kefa looked at each other, wanting to say something, but they didn't say it. In the end, they all sighed helplessly. This Zhang Zhun is hard to deal with!

Fortunately, Zhang Zhun was just at ease to train troops on Yuzhou Mountain, and his troops were also stationed on the top of Yuzhou Mountain. It was the jurisdiction of the East China Sea Central Institute and had nothing to do with Haizhou City. Zhang Zhun was in trouble and no one could control it. The only person who could manage Zhang Zhun was Yang Yipeng. But Yang Yipeng had already left Haizhou City with smoke from his butt.

However, Zhang Zhun deliberately did not allow the two to live a leisurely life. Yang Yipeng left, and Zhang Zhun's envoy arrived. It was Mo Luo, a barbarian who was tall and powerful. He came to the gate of the prefectural yamen, opened his voice and shouted directly inside: "Mr. Zhang, Lord. Shi, my family is welcome."

Seeing Zhang Zhun sending a savage like Mo Luo as an envoy, Zhang Shenyan and Shi Kefa were both amazed and amazed. Zhang Zhun is holding a grudge! Didn’t you say behind your back that I am a martial artist? OK! I’ll send a real martial artist to show you! Fortunately, the two of them no longer care about these details. They were also curious at the same time, not knowing what Zhang Zhun was doing, so they decided to go to Yuzhou Mountain to see what was going on.

Under the leadership of Mo Luo, Zhang Shenyan and Shi Kefa boarded the ship and came to the top of Yuzhou Mountain. Zhang Zhun was at the port. At first, the two thought Zhang Zhun knew some etiquette and went to the dock to greet him. Later, they found that it was not. There were many other people around Zhang Zhun. No matter how they looked at it, it didn’t seem to be related to welcoming him.

Shi Kefa said bluntly: "Zhang Zhun, what are you going to do?"

Zhang Zhun said, "Please watch the show."

After saying that, he pointed to the port and said nothing.

The two looked along Zhang Zhun's fingers and saw that there were many people running back and forth in the port. At first, neither of them felt anything, but slowly, their faces became solemn. It turned out that the people running along the beach in the port were the military households who wanted to join the army. The first test was endurance. The standard test content was naturally a long-distance run.

After three days of preparation, the military households naturally took out their strength to participate, and no one wanted to be beaten in the first round! Therefore, even the weakest people ran forward desperately. Running on the beach was not as good as it was on the hard ground. At the beginning, everyone could still run, but after five kilometers, most of the military households could not hold on. As they ran, someone fell down.

Shi Kefa said in surprise: "They... are all military households of our institute?"

Zhang Zhun said lightly: "It's like a fake one."

Shi Kefa stopped talking.

He knew that Zhang Zhun had no need to lie to him. Since he said that these were local military households, they must be local military households. Looking at the military households who were running tenaciously, they were unwilling to give up even if they fell down and got up and continued running, Shi Kefa's inner shock was getting worse and worse. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Shi Kefa would have never believed that the military households in the East China Sea would have participated in training so actively.

Of course he knew what the military soldiers in the Ministry of Revenue looked like. What he hated the most was these military soldiers. They could not fight, but they consumed a lot of money and food. Because the number of military soldiers was too large, the imperial court's owed military soldiers had reached an astronomical number.

Shi Kefa once roughly calculated that it would take at least nine million taels of silver and more than 50 million stones of food to clear out all the debts. With the current income of the imperial court, it would be impossible to clean it up in another hundred years, or even hundreds of years. In fact, as time goes by, this number will only grow larger and will never become smaller.

This East China Sea is obviously among the ranks of arrears of money and food. Without money and food, the military households naturally have no intention to train. Without mindful training, they naturally have no combat power. This is a vicious cycle, an elusive cycle that cannot be solved at all. Even capable ministers like Zhang Juzheng cannot completely solve the problem of the garrison, and later ministers were even less capable.

If Shi Kefa had such active training in the East China Sea military households, Shi Kefa would not believe that they would have been killed. If the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were all so active training, what were the Jianlu, the Donglu, Mongolia, and Shaanxi people were in chaos, they would have been destroyed for a long time. Where was their turn to cause trouble?

It was precisely because the millions of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty were cowardly and incompetent, consuming money and food in vain, and could not bear the combat tasks that the court had to recruit other soldiers. Now, all the troops that the Ming army could fight were war soldiers. The troops on the nine sides were gradually replaced by war soldiers. As for the soldiers in the guards, the court had forgotten them.

Zhang Shenyan looked at the military households in the test with interest and said thoughtfully: "Yulin, what method did you use? Can they make their training so active?"

Zhang Zhun said lightly: "There is nothing else, just four words."

Zhang Shenyan said solemnly: "Please say it."
To be continued...