Although it was late at night, Wang Chengyin's enthusiasm did not diminish and he held a banquet to honor Wu Mengming. After all, he was the commander of the Imperial Guard, the emperor's confidant, or rather the emperor's sword. Such an unprecedented sudden arrival from the west was definitely not just a payment. Is it possible?
I came here to investigate some case and arrest someone. Thinking of this, I felt panic-stricken. I had to find out some inside information.
The banquet was held in the inner house, it was quiet and peaceful, and there were very few participants. Apart from Wu Mengming, it was Chang Yu. There were not even guests. As for the entourage, there was a separate banquet outside.
It was at this time that Wu Mengming knew for sure Chang Yu's identity. He was indeed a eunuch, but surprisingly he was not sent to supervise the army. He was said to be accompanied by guards and paid.
Weird things happen every year, but this year there are a lot of them. The royal guards actually used the commander of the Royal Guards, and also sent a cold-faced eunuch. It's really strange.
After some polite exchanges, the three of them sat down. Wang Chengyin and Wu Mengming had a casual chat. Chang Yu only focused on eating and drinking. During this period, Wang Chengyin tried to chat with him several times, but he responded with cold ums, ohs, and ahs.
In the past, Wang Chengyin also knew enough not to harass him anymore.
After drinking for three rounds, Wu Mengming began to get down to the topic: "General Wang, the emperor had previously ordered to mobilize a large number of troops to defend Taiyuan. Have you ever sent troops?"
Just to put it bluntly, how could a Jin Yiwei commander come just for payment? Wang Chengyin knew in his heart that he was sent by the emperor to supervise the dispatch of troops.
Alas, Wang Chengyin let out a long sigh: "Master Wu, dispatching troops and generals is not an easy task. It will always take some time from assembling the troops to getting the food and grass in place..."
"That means we haven't set off yet," Wu Mengming interrupted.
"Not yet, but the troops will be sent out soon. As you know, Mr. Wu, the imperial court is in debt and the morale of the soldiers is not high. They keep asking the imperial court to make up for the money they owe before they are willing to leave." Wang Chengyin began to complain.
Wu Mengming had a dark face and said nothing, and glanced at Chang Yu.
"It is indeed inappropriate for the imperial court to owe pay, and it will also affect morale, but the enemy is currently facing a mountain of military orders, but you are threatening them with this. Although the soldiers are innocent and rogue, they appear to be incompetent and disloyal." Chang Yu said calmly,
However, these words were very serious, and even felt like a direct slap in Wang Chengyin's face.
Sure enough, Wang Chengyin's face turned extremely ugly. You are a dead eunuch, why are you talking so rudely!
But he is an old man, so he will not get angry if he cannot figure out the depth of Chang Yu. Moreover, he saw the kind of attitude Wu Mengming showed in front of Chang Yu, so he knew that this little eunuch had a lot of background.
"How much money does the imperial court owe the Xuanfu? How much troops can the Xuanfu send this time?" Chang Yu asked directly without waiting for the black-faced Wang Chengyin to think of his words.
"More than 100,000 are owed in pay. Xuanfu's current military strength totals more than 50,000, but it can be adjusted up to 15,000." Wang Chengyin also discussed the matter.
Chang Yu snorted coldly. He didn't know how many vacancies the so-called more than 50,000 people left for warlords like them, but it was not bad to be able to draw more than 10,000 people. After all, the Xuanfu had a very wide jurisdiction and the number of troops that could be mobilized was not bad.
That's the limit.
"Okay! The salary can be paid tomorrow morning, and General Wang can send out troops tomorrow," Chang Yu said calmly.
"I won't be able to send troops tomorrow, I'm a little impatient..." Wang Chengyin shook his head slightly, but was interrupted by a cold snort from Chang Yu.
"Seeing that the rebel army is approaching the city, you are still pushing back and forth. The imperial decree has been issued a few days ago, and you are not ready yet? At this time, the military salary can be paid at any time. What are you waiting for? Let's say it again tomorrow
We are about to see the troops dispatched!"
At this point, Chang Yu's tone became sharper and his voice became much louder.
The atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward. It could be seen that Wang Chengyin was suppressing his anger, but he did not dare to get angry in the face of a commander of the Royal Guards and an unfathomable eunuch.
"Master Wu, Eunuch Chang" Wang Chengyin took a deep breath, stood up suddenly, clasped his fists at the two of them, and said in an unusually calm tone: "We will discuss it later whether we can send troops tomorrow. I have something unclear at the end. Please
Two people clarify the doubts."
"Tell me about it." Wu Mengming looked at Chang Yu and took over the conversation.
"The thieves sent millions of troops to Xi'an..." Chengyin had just started to speak, but was immediately interrupted by Chang Yu's scolding.
"Who told you that there are millions of thieves?"
"The bandits have sent out a message!" Wang Chengyin was startled and didn't understand why the little eunuch was going crazy again.
"But the imperial court also issued a decree to inform the entire army that the one-million-strong bandit army was just a bluff, but in fact there were only more than 60,000 people. As a general of the imperial court, Wang Zongbing was convinced that the bandit army's slogan was really ridiculous!" Chang Yu said between words.
Already angry, they are just like those online keyboard warriors of later generations, whether they believe or refute rumors!
Hehe, Wang Chengyin smiled awkwardly: "That's what the rebel army said in the letter, and the court's announcement may not..." He suddenly paused because he had already seen Chang Yu's expression extremely ugly, and what he said next was his own
It's really not appropriate to reveal your identity.
"Ahem, even if the bandit army only had more than 60,000 people when they launched their troops, based on the bandit army's past experience and the practice of holding people hostage in every place they passed by, there must be at least over 100,000 people now."
What he said is true. This is also the usual practice of the bandit army. Wherever they go, they recruit and kidnap people to show their momentum. When fighting, they can use artillery fire to consume the strength of the officers and soldiers, and when they escape, they can act as obstacles.
Chang Yu sneered: "So what if there are more than 100,000 people? It's just a mob. How can it withstand a single blow? Those who can fight are not those tens of thousands of thieves!"
As soon as these words came out, Wang Chengyin couldn't help but show contempt on his face. Hey, he is a dead eunuch who doesn't understand anything and can compete with each other. A mob can bring down an elite team, but he is too lazy to fight with Chang Yu.
Tangled up in this topic, he smiled slightly: "It's true what Eunuch Chang said, but what I want to ask is another question. Why didn't the rebel army cross the Yellow River from the east and defeat Pingyang Prefecture (today's Linfen, Shanxi) not go east and enter Hebei Province?"
The south went directly north to attack the capital, but it had to go north to attack the capital from Taiyuan, which was heavily guarded. I would like to ask why the court speculated on the route of the eastward expedition. The general may have heard some rumors that even the cabinet was strongly opposed. No.
I don’t think the rebel army would be so foolish as to attack Taiyuan, not to mention that there are two important towns here, Xuanda and Da, which are heavily guarded by soldiers."
After Wang Chengyin finished speaking, he stared at Chang Yu. At this moment, he could see that this little eunuch was the real talker.
After hearing what he said, Chang Yu cursed his mother countless times in his heart, damn it, historically it was the miscalculation of the marching route of the bandit army that led to the court's unfavorable response, loss of active defense, and passive beatings everywhere.
He also knew that even at this time, many people in the court thought it was incredible that Chongzhen was so firm in believing that the rebel army would go north to attack Taiyuan and Datong, and it was simply nonsense.
The reason why Chongzhen insisted on deploying troops to defend Taiyuan despite so many objections was because his son's dream had been confirmed too many times!
"That's because the rebel army has no intention of attacking the capital at all." Chang Yu looked at Wang Chengyin and snorted: "And at this time, the rebel army is indeed divided into two groups, going north, eastward and south, trying to cut off the imperial court's southward retreat.
The imperial court has already announced its decree, hasn’t General Wang heard about it? Moreover, even if the rebel army wants to advance eastward, the shortest way is to capture Taiyuan and then turn to the northeast. This way, the road is short, and secondly, it can expand the army and
forage".
"Of course the general knows the imperial decree, but I don't understand where he came from when he came to the conclusion that Eunuch Chang said that the traitor army had no intention of entering the capital?" Wang Chengyin frowned and asked.
Chang Yu really wanted to go up and punch him, but at the same time he sighed secretly in his heart, no wonder they were defeated one after another in the following battles. Look at what kind of things these generals are. Even though the imperial court has issued a decree, they still don't believe it. Instead, they believe in the ghosts of the rebel army, so they
Just like those netizens in later generations who believed and spread rumors but beat them to death for not believing official announcements.
"Our so-called conclusion is actually the court's inference. Is it possible for the intruders to attack the capital with only 60,000 thieves? In his glory days, hundreds of thousands of people have been wreaking havoc for more than ten years, but have they ever touched the root of the capital wall? Now there are 60,000 people.
Is it possible to hit them as promised? The purpose of his eastward expedition is just to proclaim himself the emperor in Xi'an. He is guilty of being a thief and wants to clean up his surroundings and expand his territory and security area. Can't General Wang even see this?"
.
Wang Chengyin thought thoughtfully and nodded slightly, feeling somewhat convinced. After all, the imperial edicts issued by the imperial court were not as clear, straightforward, and convincing as what Chang Yu said.
"Since this is the case, the general thinks that the intruders are just bluffing, so he doesn't have the guts to attack Taiyuan. Even if he goes, it's just for show!" Wang Chengyin's face became more relaxed.
"If General Wang doesn't believe it, he can go and implement it himself," Chang Yu said with a smile.
Wang Chengyin was startled, then smiled awkwardly: "Well, the last general guarding Xuan Mansion did not receive the imperial decree to go to Taiyuan..."
It was late at night and the banquet was over. It was not a good banquet, and the guests of honor were not very happy.
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