This time Wu Shigong went to the capital and brought all the calligraphy, painting, antiques and valuable goods he had given to him from Kong Youde in Dengzhou City. Except for some that were sold to Manager Hong of the Wu Mansion, the rest were given to the pawn shop of the Xue Mansion.
Go to the store to sell.
The capital's spending power is really high, so many valuable but hard-to-realize things were quickly sold out. Except for some price differences that should be paid to the Wu and Xue families, Wu Shigong's income was higher than his own estimate.
There are so many rich people in this capital!
The Wu Mansion not only arranged the purchase of horses for Wu Shigong, but also asked Wu Shigong to notify Runing's army to pick up the horses from nearby places such as Mazheng Racecourse in Shandong and Taipu Temple in Nanjing. This indeed reduced Wu Shigong's trouble in transporting horses.
But Wu Shigong basically doesn't have to worry about these things himself. These days, he just plays with his two sons. Although these two sons are very naughty, Wu Shigong can also see their differences.
After all, Xue Chenglin grew up in the Hou Mansion and did things according to the rules. Besides, he had already started elementary school, so every move he made was in accordance with the rules. Moreover, Xue Chenglin had always been an only child. This time when he saw his younger brother who suddenly appeared,
He was also very happy. He often held his brother's hand and took him everywhere to play.
But Wu Chengying was different. After all, Wu Shigong's home in Runing had few rules, and Wu Chengying often went wild with the children of high-ranking Runing army officials who came to visit her, so she went crazy every day as if she had endless energy.
During this period of filial piety, Wu Shigong basically stayed in the Xue Mansion except for showing up at the Wu Mansion every now and then. He couldn't have fun or travel around, so he might as well spend more time with him.
Family.
Although it is stipulated that you cannot visit relatives and friends during the mourning period, it is unrealistic to strictly abide by this rule. After Wu Shigong returns to the capital, he must visit some important guests.
I must visit Eunuch Qin. However, Wu Shigong was originally planning to send a greeting card and bring some gifts. Unexpectedly, Eunuch Qin happened to be at home, and he warmly invited Wu Shigong to have a long talk.
In fact, from an objective analysis, before Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne, the problems in various aspects of the Ming Dynasty were quite serious, but they were not fatal yet.
Although Emperor Chongzhen himself had character flaws and had not received the education of a prince in governing the country, after getting through the adaptation period, with his diligence, he also learned and grew very quickly. Basically, he can be called a
A qualified emperor.
As soon as he came to power, he killed Wei Zhongxian and appointed Zhou Yanru, who had strong Donglin Party affiliations, as his chief assistant, which greatly weakened the power of the eunuch group. This time, he appointed Wen Tiren as the chief assistant, which also greatly weakened the power of the Donglin Party civil servants who formed the party.
.Not to mention those side effects, from the perspective of the emperor's dictatorship, Emperor Chongzhen's behavior in controlling power was very successful.
In order to deal with the difficult situation of the Ming Empire, an iron-fisted autocratic monarch is indeed needed. Of course, this monarch must also have strong abilities. Let’s not mention this for now.
The reason why we encountered the current headache situation. In addition to the irresistible factors such as natural disasters, it was also because of the wrong policy choices made by Emperor Chongzhen when he came to power. At that time, he chose to solve the Houjin in Liaodong first, and the candidate he selected was Yuan Chonghuan.
.
But can Emperor Chongzhen be blamed for this? If he had chosen to deal with the peasant rebel army in Shaanxi first, it is unknown whether there would have been a good result. And Yuan Chonghuan was also the popular candidate for governor of Liaodong at the time. Did you ask Emperor Chongzhen to return the favor?
Who can you choose?
The subsequent series of chain reactions caused by mistakes in the selection of commanders were beyond the control of Emperor Chongzhen. But in any case, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was much calmer now. Later Jin Dynasty was digesting the victory of Dalinghe in Liaodong.
As a result of the victory, they were temporarily unable to launch a new offensive. The peasant rebel army was also at a disadvantage and was surrounded by the Ming army.
So it can be said that the issue that Emperor Chongzhen is most concerned about now is the military issue. If the military issue is solved, even if it is only partially solved, it can greatly alleviate the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty.
As for Wu Shigong, everyone in the palace, including Emperor Chongzhen, thought this way: Personal morality aside, Wu Shigong's ability to achieve such a high exposure rate in every battle is also a skill. And as long as he has
The battles Wu Shigong participated in were all victorious in the end. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen still recognized Wu Shigong's military talents.
Of course Eunuch Qin also knew this. Moreover, he also wanted to relieve the Lord's worries, so this time Eunuch Qin invited Wu Shigong for a long talk. He wanted to hear Wu Shigong's military opinions and submitted them to Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Cheng'en for reference.
Wu Shigong was very candid. He told Eunuch Qin: Since there is nothing that can be done about Hou Jin at present, and the peasant rebel army is surrounded, the best strategy is to concentrate all the power of the Ming army to completely eliminate the scourge of the peasant rebel army.
If the elimination is not successful, then the peasant rebel armies must be driven back to Shanxi and Shaanxi. Anyway, these two provinces have been destroyed. No matter how much harm the peasant rebel armies cause, they will not be able to do much harm.
The most terrifying thing is that the peasant rebel army crossed the Yellow River and entered the hinterland of the Central Plains. Then they could threaten the Grand Canal to the east and the Huguang area, the granary of the Ming Dynasty, to the south. With the addition of people and materials from the hinterland of Henan, the situation would take a turn for the worse.
.
Moreover, Wu Shigong also pointed out that the most likely time for the peasant rebel army to cross the Yellow River is when the Yellow River freezes this winter. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen must pay special attention to it.
Of course, Wu Shigong was not so frank because he was loyal to the emperor and patriotic. If the Ming army really completely crippled the peasant rebel army under the strict orders of Emperor Chongzhen or was driven back to Shaanxi, then there would be time for the Runing army to develop for a few more years.
Okay. If that was the result, then Wu Shigong would wake up laughing even in his dreams.
Then Wu Shigong told Eunuch Qin frankly: If the peasant rebel army really crosses the Yellow River, Wu Shigong himself will definitely interrupt Ding You and rush back to Runing to prepare for the battle.
Wu Shigong told Eunuch Qin: After so many years of fighting in the south and north, Wu Shigong also built a strong army and built a number of fortresses in Runing Mansion and Guide Mansion. If he could get a large amount of food and salary from the court and support from other troops,
Wu Shigong's Runing Army could prevent the peasant rebel army from marching eastward and threatening the Grand Canal. But it could not prevent the peasant rebel army from marching south to Huguang. Of course, it could not destroy the peasant rebel army. After all, Wu Shigong's Runing Army was too large in number.
Less.
Wu Shigong was so candid that he gave Eunuch Qin several vaccinations. The first was of course to end Ding You and leave the capital for himself. In fact, he won Eunuch Qin's favor with his candid attitude and told the truth! The last was to let the court
I have some understanding of the strength of my Runing Army. If the Runing Army wins the battle, this powerful army will emerge out of nowhere, and this powerful army will only have more than 1,000 soldiers per person.
In the hands of Du Si, how could Wu Shigong argue that he had no ambition to rebel?
As expected by Wu Shigong, after the long talk, Eunuch Qin immediately presented the contents of the long talk to Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen. In fact, Wu Shigong's view was not surprising. Emperor Chongzhen also had advisers who knew military matters, and they were more or less
He said the same point of view. However, after it was reiterated by Wu Shigong this time, it attracted the great attention of Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately sent a message to the Ming army who had surrounded the peasant rebel army to step up the encirclement and suppression. He also sent a secret message to the supervisory troops that the peasant rebel army must not be allowed to cross the Yellow River.
At this time, the former governor of Henan was transferred due to the departure of his first assistant Zhou Yanru, and the newly appointed governor of Henan was Xuanmo. Emperor Chongzhen also issued an imperial edict to Xuanmo, asking him to organize local troops in Henan to prevent peasants from rebelling.
The army broke out of the Ming army's encirclement and was able to block them from crossing the Yellow River.
Driven by Wu Shigong, the Ming Dynasty court paid more attention to the crossing of the peasant rebel army than in history. But can this change history? It is still a mystery at present.
Of course, Emperor Chongzhen and others also ignored Wu Shigong's inoculation for the latter half of his life. Compared with national events, whether Wu Shigong was worried about others or not was really a trivial matter that could be ignored.
Another event Wu Shigong attended was a banquet hosted by Zhou Shikun and other Nancheng military attachés. There was nothing surprising about this banquet, and because Wu Shigong was in his mourning period, he did not invite any accompanying ladies at all, and he did not even drink wine.
How many.
But an interesting thing happened in the restaurant where the banquet was held. When Wu Shigong was changing his clothes, he met a candidate who was going to Beijing from Guide Mansion to participate in next year's examination. The candidate's name was Si Qiyan.
In the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, it was the time for the imperial examination, and people from all over the country went to Beijing to take the exam. However, Deng Qifan had given up again, because he had such a high status in the Runing Army and had no interest in being a Jinshi.
However, Si Qiyan was a talented disciple of Gong Haoran when he was the tutor at that time. He also received support from Wu Shigong. When Wu Shigong and Gong Haoran were dating, Si Qiyan also met Wu Shigong several times. Of course, he later also
I passed the exam.
Si Qiyan also happened to be in this restaurant to discuss poetry with the same year. When he saw Wu Shigong, he immediately came forward to meet him. To be honest, Wu Shigong didn't remember who Si Qiyan was at first.
However, after hearing Si Qiyan introduce himself, the two of them immediately felt a sense of intimacy as if they were meeting old friends in a foreign land. Si Qiyan cordially pulled Wu Shigong into the private room where the same year party was held, and Wu Shigong also politely greeted Si Qiyan's classmates.
Toasted a glass of wine.
However, when Si Qiyan's classmates learned that Wu Shigong was a military attache, some of them couldn't help showing a look of contempt on their faces. Of course, Si Qiyan wanted to earn face for Wu Shigong, so he publicized Wu Shigong's sponsorship of county schools.
, to promote the merits of enlightenment. However, those who were in the same year as Si Qiyan still disagreed.
Wu Shigong had no choice but to earn face for himself. When he revealed that he was also a scholar, and more importantly, that his teacher was Sheng Yangong, all the officials present were dumbfounded.
When Wu Shigong left, he was secretly amused in his heart: This slap in the face was indeed so satisfying! No wonder this kind of plot is everlasting in modern Internet articles! (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature , the novel is better and updated faster!