Chapter Three: Li Wei
Since these officers have been suppressed, Zhou Shixian no longer takes any turns. He sat upright and said with a serious expression:
"I guess you are sure you are aware of what's going on today. Now the situation is critical, the country and the country are about to be overthrown by traitors, and my son-in-law will not say anything nonsense to everyone."
Zhou Shixian paused, swept over with a pair of hawk eyes, and then continued:
"Everyone, the emperor has decided to move the capital to Nanjing. My son-in-law is ordered by the emperor to recruit loyal and brave men, protect the emperor, and go south to Nanjing, and rebuild the country and country of our Ming Dynasty. Do you want this Heavenly Family, the Heavenly Family, the Heavenly Family, the Heavenly Protected Master, or do you want it, or do you want it?"
As soon as these words came out, the soldiers below became restless. After all, this news was really shocking for them.
You know, they came here because of the title of the royal concubine and the rumored silver reward. Now they found that behind the prince consort was His Majesty the Emperor, how could they not be excited?
For people of this era, the emperor was the supreme existence, representing the court and the world. In order to avoid the leak of the plan, Zhou Shixian told them until now.
Looking at the reactions of these soldiers and generals in the house, Zhou Shixian naturally knew that they were moved. After all, this was based on the dragon's skills. If he grasped it, he would not only bring honor to his ancestors, but also enjoy endless wealth.
He turned sideways slightly, walked slowly in front of these soldiers and generals, and after the atmosphere was brewing just right, he continued to say:
"Of course, the journey south and a thousand miles away was not a simple matter even during the Taiping period, let alone the chaos today, thieves and soldiers are everywhere, and some accidents will inevitably occur on the road.
You should also understand that this opportunity to protect the dragon, to highlight the family and to glorify the ancestors, to be prosperous and wealthy are not so easy to grasp.”
This must be said, not because Zhou Shixian wanted to persuade some people to withdraw, but because he wanted to lure those who were not firm.
Since they have come, there is no reason to withdraw again. Zhou Shixian will keep them shut up forever if they are not firm and want to withdraw.
However, Zhou Shixian's words did not seem to persuade anyone to withdraw. The officers below had already become active with sensation.
Almost everyone was ready to try. Zhou Shixian's identity as the prince consort and the Jinyiwei personally handled it, which made them not doubt the authenticity of this matter.
"We are all military men. We have been in the army for so many years and have been through the deaths. Now this great opportunity is in front of us. Who wouldn't want to compete for glory, wealth and glory to glorify our ancestors?"
A tall and thirty-year-old officer stood up immediately, bowed his hands and said bluntly, then turned around and looked at the other officers, saying, "Brothers, aren't they?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Several brave officers in the house responded.
"The prince consort, that guy is named Zhang Hong, the 100th general of the fifth military camp, is very popular in the army on weekdays." Xue Laoer quickly explained to Zhou Shixian.
After hearing this, Zhou Shixian nodded. He looked at the expressions of these officers and knew that they were almost all moved, and then said:
"If you have thought about it and made up your mind, please go back and prepare. Tonight we will gather in the palace. Before the operation begins, the emperor will reward you with ten taels of gold and thirty taels of silver each. This is a reward for the opening of the money, and the military pay for the next year will be paid together. As for the rewards made on the road, you will never treat it unfairly when you arrive in Nanjing!"
Zhou Shixian knew what these soldiers needed. As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes lit up in the house. They hadn't seen military pay for nearly a year. This time, just rewards were worth two years of military pay, and the temptation was great.
People die for money, birds die for food, let alone these veterans who have been licking blood on their heads all year round and keep their heads on their belts?
Many people who had already retreated when they heard that they wanted to protect their troops and went south, secretly changed their minds after hearing that the action began, and they all chose to be loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty.
This is also Zhou Shixian's calculation. He doesn't want half of the house, or even most of the people, to choose to leave. His more than 80 Jinyiwei, cannot solve so many people by relying on his more than 80 Jinyiwei. He needs to divide the group to the smallest to deal with it.
"In addition, the emperor has already made an order. After arriving in Nanjing, all officers and soldiers who are protecting their lords will be promoted to the third level according to their original positions, and will be promoted to the third generation of descendants!"
As soon as Zhou Shixian finished speaking, the house immediately became excited. He had both promotions and wealth, and he had both. What reason would this group of soldiers disagreed? What's more, this is a protection. The most politically correct thing in this era is worth it even if he fought for his life.
Even some sleek officers knelt down directly at Zhou Shixian and shouted loudly: "I am willing to serve the son-in-law and the emperor!" One of them knelt down, and no matter whether they believe Zhou Shixian's words, the others knelt down and shouted loudly.
There are so many people in the house, so naturally some people don’t believe that Zhou Shixian, or that they don’t believe that the Ming Dynasty can really send military pay, or that they don’t believe that going south can really succeed. After all, from Beijing to Nanjing, it’s a long journey, and it’s not a joke.
Seeing this, Zhou Shixian knew that the time was ripe, and then the conversation changed again and said:
"But my son-in-law also talks about ugly things ahead. From today on, anyone with deserters, who dares to disobey military orders, or who is not very nervous. Whoever leaks the military situation plan will be killed, no matter who it is, all three tribes will be killed, five horses will be dismembered, and no forgiveness will be given!
So, if anyone regrets it and doesn’t have the courage, then stand up and leave the Ten Princes’ Mansion. Otherwise, this prince consort would have agreed that you are all loyal people.”
You must first talk about rewards before you can talk about punishments. If you don’t tempt these people and gain the support of most of them, the so-called threats cannot be used, and you will even be backfired.
Sure enough, after hearing Zhou Shixian's warning, the soldiers in the house began to look at each other again.
After a while, a soldier who seemed a bit cunning stood up and asked carefully:
"Mr. Prince Consort, if we don't have the courage to leave, can we still get the reward? We haven't received military pay for more than a year, so we can give us some more, just treat it as a supply of money we have to owe."
After hearing this, Zhou Shixian did not immediately express his opinion, but looked at the officers in front of him with sharp eyes and asked:
"Who else has to leave, let's stand up together. Those who want to stay and serve the country will follow Xue Lao Er first. This son-in-law also has some rewards to you. Although not many, in the future, the hundreds of people in our ten princes' mansions will be in the closest life and death. This son-in-law still wants to express this intention."
"Mr. Prince Consort, I don't mean that. If I don't leave, I will stay and follow the prince consort to protect him." The officer who looked a little cunning looked at Zhou Shixian and thought that there would be no reward after leaving, he immediately explained.
Zhou Shixian ignored him, and immediately turned his head to look at Xue Laoer:
"There is another thing. While my son-in-law was not around, they stood up to Xue Lao Er and each of them was given a fifteenth military stick. Only after receiving the military sticks could they receive the reward of my son-in-law, otherwise they would stay and go with the others.
The state has national laws and the army has military rules. Today, my son-in-law wants to tell you that the rewards from the court are not so easy to get, and the protection of the carriage is not a casual thing. Here, we must pay attention to military laws in everything. Those who make trouble just now have no military laws and no court."
The soldiers and generals in the house were shocked for a moment. They did not expect that the young prince-consort in front of them had such a method. Although the punishment was not heavy, the intention of using force was obvious.
But the one standing in front of them was the serious prince consort, and Emperor Chongzhen was behind him, and there were dozens of Jinyiwei in his hands. These officers were in the wrong, so they stood up one by one.
The cunning officer who was changing his mind was the first to stand up, and the burly man Zhang Hong was among them, but he looked indifferent and stood upright among the crowd with his head held high, not caring at all.
After all the people who had just caused trouble stood up, Zhou Shixian waved his hand, and Xue Laoer took these people out to receive a reward.
There were five officers left in the room. They watched the others walk out together and were very frightened. Especially when they saw another general flag king Chaodong, under Zhou Shixian, immediately took over Xue Laoer's position and stood behind this great prince, he was even more nervous.
"Are you really leaving?" Zhou Shixian glanced at the five people and asked again: "If you missed this kind of opportunity, you will never be able to do it again in the future."
Under the pressure of Zhou Shixian's eyes, two more people went out to lead the army and they were just now pulling and raising noises in front of Xue Laoer.
At this time, only three people were left in the house. Seeing this, Zhou Shixian stopped persuading him. Without waiting for him to speak, one of them asked:
"Mr. Prince Concubine, are we three really not rewarded at all? We haven't paid any military pay in the past year. My brothers are all those whose pockets are cleaner than their faces. You are like this, aren't you forcing us brothers to go and rush to the scene at that time?"
Well, this tastes right. If I were not threatened, these officers would not have the temper of the Ming soldiers. In the past, they even dared to force the governor to death.
"Let's do it, you three are waiting here. I'll get some broken silver for you, each of them will take ten taels as travel expenses, and you'll go while you're in the chaos." Zhou Shixian smiled slightly:
"But remember, you must not let others know about this matter. After you take the money, just leave quietly."
When the three of them heard this, they immediately smiled and knelt down to Zhou Shixian to thank him.
Zhou Shi waved his hand and then asked Wang Chaodong to go out with him. As soon as the two walked out of the hall, they saw more than a dozen officers standing beside him lined up to get beaten with military sticks, and the atmosphere was quite warm.
The officer who had been given the military stick immediately received five taels of silver from Xue Laoer to work hard from Lord Chen Yan and Lord Chen, and all the guards they brought also received a copy.
Zhang Hong lay on the bench and was beaten, shouting, "Damn it, didn't eat?" He was beaten like a girl, and his skin was not itchy."
Zhou Shixian listened and couldn't help but smile in his heart, and had already recorded this "thorn".
Behind Zhang Hong, the officer who looked very cunning, did not make any noise when the 15th Army rod down, which surprised Zhou Shixian - it seemed that this guy was not as simple as it seemed.
Then, he turned around and winked at Wang Chaodong. The other party immediately understood and turned around and walked back to the hall. Several fully armed Jinyiwei had already been guarding the door, and saw this and immediately followed Wang Chaodong into the hall.
Soon, a few sounds of soldiers and swords collided in the hall, followed by three screams.
The other officers and soldiers in the yard were all surprised when they heard the sound, but when they looked at Wang Chaodong walking out of the hall covered in blood, they immediately understood what was going on.
It's a joke, come whenever you want, and leave whenever you want. There is no such cheap thing in the world. Since it's here, you either do it together or die. As for those who dare to threaten Zhou Shixian, it's even more dead.
In this world, what is indispensable is the so-called "truth" that you believe. Whoever believes in it will die. Be reasonable? Whoever explains to you, doesn't understand this principle. Whoever can blame you for death?
Chapter completed!