Shi Kefa was the minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. His high position and reputation as a loyal emperor earned him the respect of Chang Yu. Therefore, even the Dongchang fans who always had eyes on their foreheads did not dare to make any mistakes and treated him with great courtesy.
They all spoke with shy smiles, and they were about to take advantage of Huang Degong. If others interfered, they would have to threaten them, but they did not dare to talk to Shi Kefa, so they said: "Sir, please tell me."
Shi Kefa cleared his throat and said: "Although the military orders are overwhelming, General Huang is also loyal and brave this time. He wants to bring reinforcements to the capital. He has also killed many Tatars, so he deserves credit, and no irreparable losses have been caused. Can you use your discretion?
One or two".
"Master Shangshu is going to intercede with Mr. Huang," a eunuch said sternly: "Master Shangshu also knows that it is good if the military orders are as clear as the mountains. The factory supervisor wants to govern the army strictly. How can we allow people to violate military orders at this time?
As things happened, it was ridiculous for Lord Shangshu to call for reinforcements for the capital. With the Tatars' small force to attack the city, the factory governor had a sure chance of victory. Otherwise, he would have ordered everyone to go north to support. The reason why he did not mobilize troops was because the factory governor wanted to attack the city.
The high wall of the city was a loss of Tatar troops. Huang Zongbing's reinforcements were just a single move. It can even be said that it was a disservice. If he hadn't sent troops northward, the Tatars in Nancheng would have attacked the city. The Tatars would have died by then.
But there’s more…”
"Co-authored..." Huang Degong was about to explain, but was interrupted by the eunuch: "As for Mr. Shangshu saying that Mr. Huang deserves credit for killing hundreds of Tatars, let's ask Mr. Huang, you killed nearly 100 Tatars.
Three hundred people, but how many casualties were there?”
Huang Degong was speechless for a moment, and his face became extremely embarrassed. Yesterday, there was a bloody battle in the heavy rain. Hundreds of Tatars were killed, but they also suffered heavy casualties. He deliberately kept it secret for the sake of the current situation.
"What's the point of killing eight hundred enemies and losing one thousand?" The eunuch snorted coldly and signaled to the Jin Yiwei to take the person. Shi Kefa blocked his exit again: "This father-in-law, have you ever heard of a sentence that will not be tolerated by foreign military orders?"
!”
The eunuch smiled and said, "I've heard it before. It comes from Sun Tzu's Art of War. Generals who disobey orders especially like to use this sentence to excuse themselves."
Shi Kefa smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You really don't know. You should ask your factory supervisor when you go back. He will know about it." The eunuch was startled, "How could we not know this? It is clearly from Sun Tzu's Art of War."
Shi Kefa did not argue with him, but explained the recent rumors about the instability of the military's morale: "Thanks to General Huang's dispatch of troops, it not only stabilized the morale of the military, but also boosted it. This is what I say, merit is merit but no fault.
If the two father-in-laws still don't understand, and they should go back to Beijing and explain the matter to the factory supervisor first, he will definitely take back his orders. Why don't I follow you back to Beijing and explain it to the factory supervisor."
"There's no need for Sir Shangshu to come. I'll make it clear myself. I don't believe that the little eunuch really chopped me off!" Huang Degong blew his beard. When the two eunuchs heard that he was so disrespectful, they immediately glared over with cold eyes: "General Huang, please speak your mind.
Behave yourself, the tea from Dongchang is not as delicious as the tea from Qianmen Dashilar."
Huh! Who are you trying to scare... Huang Degong rolled his eyes and stopped talking. Shi Kefa looked around, finally sighed, waved his hands, and the two eunuchs signaled the Jin Yiwei to take the person back to the capital, but they didn't ask for shackles.
The top priority was to imprison the general, so as not to disturb the morale of the army. Shi Kefa looked at the figures of more than ten cavalrymen galloping northward in the wilderness, and his heart was extremely confused.
At dusk, several groups of cavalry were fighting on the banks of the Yongding River outside the southern city of the imperial capital. The Ming and Qing armies were engaged in a private feud. When the fierce battle was in full swing, a small group of more than 20 cavalrymen came from the south. The leader was Huang Degong.
, saw the fighting in the distance and watched it for a while. He was about to kill him with a steel whip, but was stopped by the Dongchang fan next to him: "General Huang, the most urgent thing is that you still want to enter the city and finish your own business."
"I have nothing to worry about. I don't believe it's a crime to kill the Tatars..." Huang Degong snorted coldly.
As dusk fell, the civilians who were cleaning up the battlefield outside the city, the defensive Ming army, and some of the detective horses from the outside reconnaissance returned to the city one after another. The gates of the Forty-Nine City were all closed, and green smoke gradually rose in the city.
In the Dongchang Yamen, Chang Yu was making tea and drinking with Tang Potian and several other commanders of the Guards under the flower stand in the courtyard. After hearing the announcement from outside, he was startled at first, and then smiled bitterly: "This old boy is really
Something that broke into something."
Huang Degong barged in majestically. Chang Yu stood up and was about to speak when he saw something flying over and rolling to his feet. It was a bloody Tatar head. He was so shocked that Chen Suole and other attendants beside him drew their swords.
If you want to take him, you think this old boy wants to cause trouble.
Huang Degong ignored Chen Suole and other personal attendants, went straight to the table under the flower stand, picked up the wine bottle, drank it in one gulp, then threw it to the ground, looked at Chang Yu and said: "I heard that killing Tatars is guilty, I am guilty of these two."
I'll kill hundreds of them. What crime does the factory supervisor intend to punish me for, skin peeling or cramps?"
"Hey, as soon as you enter the door, you are throwing heads and faces. Who are you talking about?" Chang Yu looked at Huang Degong and laughed: "But if you don't have an explanation today to make our family nod, you are really good enough."
Drink a pot."
"If I don't pour a thousand cups, I won't be afraid of ten more pots." Huang Degong snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense. If you have something to say, just say it. If you have something to say, let it go. I'll give you a cup of tea to decide whether you sleep in the guest room or in the prison tonight." Chang Yu raised his eyebrows and curled his lips.
It didn't take a cup of tea at all. Huang Degong even said less than ten sentences, but every sentence was on point, especially the last three sentences: "Am I meritorious? Should I be rewarded? Should I be severely punished?"
A heavy reward?".
After hearing this, Chang Yu smiled bitterly and stood up: "I will be away, and I will not accept your fate. You can't say this, but Master Shi said it."
"It doesn't matter who said it, is this the truth?" Huang Degong refused.
"That's the truth." Chang Yu took a long breath. The generals are leading the troops outside. The battlefield is changing. You need to know how to make emergency changes. How can you listen to the so-called planners who are thousands of miles away from the battlefield? There are many generals who have been tricked to death in history.
It is said that Ge Shuhan, who was far away, and Sun Chuanting, who was nearby, were both tricked to death because the big bosses in the palace did not understand the situation on the battlefield and asked them to follow orders.
But this sentence has also become a good advice for many generals to avoid responsibility.
"As you said, the morale of the army was low and even panicked. Thanks to you sending troops to calm it down, the merit outweighs the fault, right?"
"Isn't it?" Huang Degong grumbled again, but Chang Yu couldn't refute: "But you disobeyed the order first, and secondly, although you wanted to boost the morale of the army, you sent tens of thousands of cavalry to a dangerous place, and you didn't think about losing if you were defeated.
A defeat will not only result in numerous casualties, but may also add fuel to the fire and make the military even more fearful and uneasy."
"I haven't thought about it!" Huang Degong answered simply: "I dare to ask Mr. Factory Superintendent, what method will you use at that time? The war is imminent, and the morale of the army is not stable, and there is a danger of panic. Our soldiers will fight
The rebel army is already exhausted. They have traveled long distances and fought several fierce battles this month. They are already exhausted. At this time, they are afraid again. I dare to ask the factory supervisor if such soldiers can be mobilized to fight. Is it for the Tatars?
Give away your head!"
Chang Yu was speechless for a moment.
He smiled bitterly for a long time: "Master Shi taught you to say this, right?"
Huang Degong rolled his eyes: "Bizhi is not a three-year-old child, why do you need someone else to teach you how to speak? Mr. Factory Supervisor, if you put me... and put Bizhi in jail today, I'm afraid..."
Seeing how stubborn he was, Chang Yu couldn't laugh or cry: "Well, you are guilty of disobeying the order, but you have merit for killing the enemy. How about balancing the merit with the fault?"
"No matter what, the merit of killing the enemy in a humble position outweighs the fault of disobeying the order, but the merit of stabilizing the morale of the army is also worth it. Why not reward it?" Huang Degong was at odds with Chang Yu today.
Chang Yu was startled, glanced at Li Muxian next to him and burst out laughing: "It's okay to be glib and talk like you haven't seen for a few days. Our family won't care about you. If you ask for a reward, we will reward you. But it is our private reward.
You will not be punished for disobeying the order, but you cannot be encouraged. There is no reward at all. Tell me how much reward you want. If you ask for more, we won’t be able to get it..."
Huang Degong gave up when he saw that it was good. He was secretly relieved. Civil servants are still good at playing with words. Shi Kefa's words really worked. Seeing that Chang Yu was not punished, he just went down the road and said: "You don't need to reward me with a low position."
"Oh, what do you want?" Chang Yu asked.
"I want wine." Huang Degong pointed to the broken wine bottle on the ground and said, "I want a woman!"
Everyone laughed, and Chang Yu nodded slightly: "Okay, I will let you have a good time as the host of our house today. Fang San will take Mr. Huang to Dashilan to find a girl for him..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Huang Degong: "One can't do it, I want ten!" (To be continued)