Four sets of candles were already lit in the study, but after all, the lights were not as bright as in modern times, so the study was still a little dark. Wu Shigong almost lay on the table, carefully looking at the spread out map of Henan that he had long known by heart, and repeated
Considering the further movements of the peasant rebel army.
Today is November 10th, the seventh day of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. At dusk, the messenger from Henan Governor Xuanmo arrived. This time, Xuanmo did not simply send a small school boy to deliver the letter, but a famous official from the governor's Yamen.
The counselor named Zhou Junwu.
This Counselor Zhou is only in his early twenties, has a good reputation as a civil servant, and like Xuan Mo, he is also from Beizhili. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty government, that Counselor Zhou must be Xuan Mo's nephew and disciple, and he is definitely Xuan Mo's nephew.
Mo's cronies were nothing more than letting him get acquainted with some of the yamen's affairs before he went to Beijing to try out further.
Wu Shigong also read Xuan Mo's autographed letter. The politeness of the tone made Wu Shigong a little flattered. The central idea of the letter was to ask Wu Shigong's Runing Army to send troops northward to jointly resist the peasant rebel army from entering Henan again.
However, when Counselor Zhou was halfway there, he had already heard the news that the Second Peasant Rebel Army had entered Henan. Therefore, as soon as he saw Wu Shigong, the young and energetic man immediately issued an order and asked the Runing Army to send troops immediately to save Henan's crisis.
Wu Shigong became a little impatient when he saw Zhou Junwu's arrogant face. Does he think he can really represent the governor? Does he think he can really give orders to the Runing Army? Does he think that just relying on the Runing Army?
Can soldiers and horses really stop these hundreds of thousands of peasant rebels?
But Wu Shigong also had a city government after all. On the surface, he politely arranged for Zhou Junwu to stay there, and promised Zhou Junwu to send people to spread the news. Tomorrow, he would gather officials from Runing Mansion, Supervisor Ye Zhong and others to discuss the military situation.
In fact, Wu Shigong knew the news that the Second Peasant Rebel Army had entered Henan only one day later than Xuanmo. In order to get the news in time, the secret sentry points set up by the Shanchuan Division along the Henan border were further strengthened.
Although the news came in quickly and timely, the amount of information was really small. All we knew was that the total number of peasant rebels exceeded 300,000. They were now united and preparing to move towards the hinterland of Henan.
Now the senior officers of the Runing Army are also in their respective units. There are only senior officials such as Deng Qifan and Xue Yongli in the Runing Army headquarters, so there are very few opinions that can give Wu Shigong advice.
Facing the threat of the peasant rebel army, the only response that can be made is to block it with soldiers and cover it with water and soil. But what should we do specifically? Now it is almost Wu Shigong who has made the decision. But what if his decision has something to do with it?
The deviation caused heavy losses to the foundation of the Runing Army, so Wu Shigong was also to blame. Therefore, Wu Shigong is now under considerable pressure.
The focus is nothing more than the movements of the peasant rebel army. Of course, the best outcome is for both parties to live in peace. But Wu Shigong also knows that this outcome is impossible. The current control area of the Runing Army is too large. The interests in the control area are also invested.
Too much, and the peasant rebel army would threaten the Runing army if it moved even a little bit in Henan, so there was no way the two sides could avoid friction.
The secondary result is to inflict pain on the peasant rebels, so that they will remember this lesson and not dare to approach the areas controlled by the Runing Army again.
The worst outcome is an all-out war. However, this is also the last resort. Even if the Runing Army wins in the end, it will suffer heavy losses, which will definitely be extremely detrimental to the future development of the Runing Army.
But it sounds easy to say, but it is not easy to do it in practice. First of all, Wu Shigong didn't know the possible actions of the peasant rebel army, so how could Wu Shigong prescribe the right medicine?
So all Wu Shigong can do now is one guess. If he guesses correctly, he is a wise and powerful person who anticipates the enemy first. If he guesses wrong? Then just clean up the mess!
And now Wu Shigong can no longer delay, the troops have been assembled. The officials are also waiting for orders, and are preparing to issue an order to launch the war machine of the Runing Army tomorrow after Wu Shigong makes a decision.
The study door was gently pushed open. Qiong Niang walked in with a food box in her hand.
Wu Shigong raised his head after hearing the sound, and saw Qiong Niang smiling brightly at Wu Shigong: "My family has made a bowl of snacks for you, please drink it to warm your stomach!"
After finishing speaking, Qiongniang placed the food box on the small table next to her and took out a bowl of steaming white fungus soup.
After overexerting his brain, Wu Shigong also felt a little tired. He also took the opportunity to take a rest, so he straightened up, walked to the side of the small table, picked up the white fungus soup and took a sip.
A warm current flowed from the mouth along the esophagus to the stomach, making the numb body relax again. The white fungus soup was very sweet, and the ladies also knew that Wu Shigong liked to eat sweets, so Wu Shigong felt that drinking it was particularly sweet.
Wu Shigong smiled gratefully at Qiong Niang and asked, "Has the child slept?"
Qiong Niang immediately replied with a smile on her face: "I said I would wait for the master, but I couldn't help it and fell asleep on my stomach."
At that time, the Qi County magistrate had three children who were captured by the Tatars, and one of their sons was born to Qiong Niang. But until now, the whereabouts of those three children are still unknown. Therefore, Qiong Niang is particularly fond of this son.
"Alas!" Wu Shigong sighed with some regret, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I don't have time to play with him for a while. Maybe I won't be able to stay at home during the Chinese New Year. I really feel sorry for you!"
"It's nothing, master!" As long as Wu Shigong has this kind of heart, Qiong Niang likes it very much. "The master is a person who does big things, and the slave family will not drag him down." After saying that, Qiong Niang packed up the empty bowl and prepared to leave. study.
Wu Shigong gently traced Qiong Niang's waist with his fingers, and said with a smile: "Wait for me for a while, and after I finish everything, we will go back to the room together."
"Yes!" Qiong Niang immediately nodded with a smile. But she immediately realized that her behavior was a bit impatient, and her face immediately turned red. She lowered her head to Wu Shigong and said nothing, but her lips could not hide it. Keep that slight arousal.
Wu Shigong walked to the map again and began to place chess pieces on the map again, judging the possible actions of the peasant rebel army and the response that the Runing army should take.
After finishing cleaning up, Qiong Niang also sat down on the chair next to the small table. She held her head with one hand and looked at Wu Shigong who was bowing his head in thought. Gradually, Wu Shigong's serious expression made her intoxicated.
Candles flickered out from time to time, creating a quiet and warm scene in the study! (To be continued.)