Several top ministers of the Ming Dynasty came out of the Qianqing Palace. Before they could take a few steps, Xie Qian's unstoppable mouth started teasing again.
"What you should be worried about now is not that the barbarians won't come, but that you won't be able to withstand them when they come, right?"
After Xie Qian finished speaking, everyone, including Zhang Mao, looked at him sideways as they walked.
Zhang Mao smiled and said: "What Yu Qiao means is that he is not only worried that Zhang Bingkuan's prophecy will not be true, but also worried that after his prediction is true, the Ming Dynasty's frontier troops will not be able to pull up their pockets in Ningyuan? But this Ningyuan The terrain is special, let alone the three guards of Duoyan, even if the little Tatar prince personally leads the troops, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to cause a serious situation, right?"
In this matter, Zhang Mao basically sided with Zhang Zhou.
What he represents is Wu Xun's attitude.
Those who you civil servants do not want to accommodate are welcomed by all of us in Wu Xun. You may say that we in Wu Xun have no principles or that we are sycophants, but Zhang Zhou’s ability is shown there.
Not convinced? Come on!
Xie Qian wanted to joke with Zhang Mao a few more times, but it was Li Dongyang who said solemnly: "I don't think the insistence on using Zhu Zhijie is necessarily an outsider's idea, or that His Majesty insists on it."
Ma Wensheng said: "Why does Binzhi think so?"
Obviously, in the minds of the other people, the emperor's appointment of Zhu Feng had long been considered to be recommended by Zhang Zhou.
Only Li Dongyang saw that things were not that simple.
"If I were Zhang Bingkuan, when I calculated that Di Yi was about to invade Ningyuan, it would be best to ask the imperial court to issue an order and let the garrison generals in Ningyuan set up pocket formations according to the arrangements. Why would I have to mobilize troops and mobilize people to transfer Zhu Zhijie from the side pass? Foreign military generals who are not familiar with the situation in Liaodong are in charge of everything? There seems to be another reason for this."
Even if Li Dongyang said this, he couldn't analyze the reason behind it.
Even Zhang Mao couldn't help but nod his head in agreement after hearing this.
No matter how much Zhang Zhou believed in Zhu Feng, he would never use Zhu Feng again and again. To say that Zhu Feng could carry out Zhang Zhou's orders was more like a reason forcibly given by the emperor. The specifics of what happened cannot be determined for the time being. And know it.
…
…
After meeting several important ministers in Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youtang immediately went to Kunning Palace to see Empress Zhang.
At the same time, someone was sent to call Zhang Zhou.
"His Majesty……"
Zhang Zhou was waiting not far away, and after being ordered, he arrived in front of the Jiaotai Hall.
For foreign ministers, this place already belonged to the inner garden of the palace, and it was not a forbidden area that Zhang Zhou should set foot on.
"Bingkuan, let's go, follow me to see the queen." Zhu Youtang said, stepping forward.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, this...isn't it bad?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "You are not an outsider, so what does that mean? Besides, I just thought about it myself. How to implement it, I'm afraid I won't be able to tell clearly without you beside me."
Under Zhu Youtang's insistence, Zhang Zhou could only follow him into Kunning Palace.
…
…
Inside Kunning Palace.
The emperor and the empress each sat on the main seat, and Zhang Zhou, a minister, also had a seat, but it was a bit awkward for him to sit there.
"Kekeke..."
Zhu Xiurong ran out after a while, turned around in front of Zhang Zhou, and then ran into the inner hall.
The palace maid wanted to chase Zhu Xiurong, but she could hardly catch up with her.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Go and call the prince here. The whole family will have a meal at noon and treat Bingkuan."
"yes."
Xiao Jing accepted the order and left the palace gate.
Queen Zhang didn't say anything, but her eyes kept falling on Zhang Zhou.
Her emotions towards Zhang Zhou are also very complicated. Before, it was hatred, but also some fear... fear of Zhang Zhou's unpredictable abilities, but this time there was also some hope.
What Li Dongyang didn't expect to understand was that Zhu Youtang wanted to give Zhang Yanling a chance to go to Liaodong with Zhu Feng in the battle of Liaodong to make achievements and calm down the people in the court. talk.
This is also the main purpose of Zhu Youtang calling Zhang Zhou to Kunning Palace.
"Queen, you see, this matter must be fully planned by Bingkuan. If it can be done, Yanling will no longer just walk around the northwest. He may have made a lot of achievements. By then, he will have made a few mistakes. What else is it? Will others still look down on him?"
Zhu Youtang is very proud.
If it weren't for Zhang Zhou's plan, even Zhu Youtang wouldn't dare to play like this.
Zhu Feng took Zhang Yanling and ran to Ningyuan to stop the three guards of Duoyan?
The most ridiculous thing in the world.
Empress Zhang didn't understand military affairs either, so she asked: "Your Majesty, is this really possible? Is there any danger?"
Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Zhou and found that Zhang Zhou had no expression before he smiled and said: "What danger could there be? This time Ningyuan was preparing to defend against the enemy. Bingkuan had planned it in advance. The local soldiers and horses cooperated to complete the ambush. As soon as Di Yi arrives, all the soldiers and horses will cooperate to fight out. When Di Yi finds out that he is in ambush, he has to flee... All he needs to do is pursue him all the way..."
"Yeah." After hearing this, Queen Zhang seemed pretty good, and her eyes at Zhang Zhou became much softer.
Before, she was extremely afraid of Zhang Zhou and had a lot of dissatisfaction with her, but now she has to rely on Zhang Zhou to take credit for her brother. She can no longer show off her face, and even wants to curry favor with Zhang Zhou to prevent Zhang Zhou from cheating her brother.
Zhang Zhou was secretly worried after hearing this.
This emperor is still drifting.
It sounds like something on the battlefield, just move your mouth and arrange the arrangements casually, and you can reap the results. This is simply easier than playing chess.
Zhang Zhou wanted to say, if it was really that easy, then I wouldn’t take the Imperial Examination, and I would also like to go to Liaodong.
The only way to win the partial pass is because Wang Yue fought to the death.
Who do you rely on this time?
Rely on Zhang Yanling or Zhu Zhijie?
"Let's get ready for a meal. I'm also hungry. I've been wanting to have a meal since morning today, but I haven't been able to do it yet..."
…
…
Zhang Zhou stayed in Kunning Palace and had dinner with the emperor and his family.
The emperor's family of four, plus Zhang Zhou.
The dinner table was not so "harmonious". The main reason was that there were two little ones making trouble. Zhu Xiurong may have never received guests at home. She was very curious about Zhang Zhou and always ran to Zhang Zhou intentionally or unintentionally.
And Zhu Houzhao...
As soon as this kid arrived at the dinner table, he started to mess around.
"Father, why can my second uncle go to Liaodong, but my son can't? My son also wants to go to war!"
Before Zhu Houzhao picked up his chopsticks, the first question he asked made Zhu Youtang pick up the bowl and almost smashed it over.
Zhang Zhou thought to himself that father and son cannot be together without enmity. This is indeed true.
Stop talking and go back and beat Zhang Jun up.
No matter what the reason is, just beat him, and then think of a reason after beating him.
Empress Zhang said: "Prince, the war is not a joke. How old are you?"
"You can't let him go no matter how old you are!" Zhu Youtang got angry and said, "As an emperor, if you personally take risks, it will only make the country uneasy. Aren't the lessons from the past enough?"
Zhu Houzhao insisted on his opinion: "Isn't it also said that 'the emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country'?"
"Who told you?" Zhu Youtang frowned.
"he!"
Zhu Houzhao pointed at Zhang Zhou.
"Ahem..." Zhu Youtang choked on his saliva.
Zhang Zhoudao: "Prince, the king dies in Sheji. This is the content of the "Book of Rites". As for the emperor guarding the country, it is the result of learning from history. He only needs to sit in the capital, when did he say that he would go to the land of nine borders to personally defend the enemy?"
"You...you..." Zhu Houzhao glared at Zhang Zhou.
You traitor, you are the one who said this, and now you are saying that I misunderstood?
"Have you heard what Zhang Qing's family said? When Emperor Taizong moved the capital, he did intend to use the capital as the gatekeeper of the country. As for the king's death in the country, it is the teaching of the sage. You want to misinterpret this to let the king lead the country. If the soldiers go to the border, disaster will only happen. And you must not say this to the Queen Mother, otherwise... I will not be able to spare you!"
Although half a century has passed since the Tumu Fortress incident.
But no one at that time has passed away, just like the Queen Mother Zhou. She was only nineteen years old when the Tumubao incident occurred, and her son Zhu Jianshen was only two years old at the time.
If the Empress Dowager Zhou knew that the current prince likes to use the theory of "the emperor guards the country and the king dies in the country" to lead the army personally, no matter how much she loves her great-grandson, she will teach the naughty child a good lesson and say that the emperor will not discipline his son.
"Also, the matter of using your second uncle to go to Liaodong must not be mentioned to outsiders, not even to people in the East Palace. Otherwise, let's see how I teach you a lesson! Have a meal!"
…
…
Zhu Houzhao was very unwilling to be punished by his father.
After lunch, the emperor ordered him to go back and study hard. He also said that there would be more classes in the afternoon.
Zhu Houzhao knew that his father was punishing him for saying the wrong thing at the dinner table, so he left bitterly.
Later, Empress Zhang was about to take a nap, so Zhu Youtang took Zhang Zhou towards the Qianqing Palace. On the way, Zhu Youtang also expressed some emotion: "Bingkuan, I said that I would use Trillium to go to Liaodong, which is a bit embarrassing for you. .”
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It's not bad."
But I'm thinking in my heart, you're not making things difficult, you're just messing around.
Even if we just use Zhu Feng, we actually have to add Zhang Yanling.
Sure enough, you have a way of favoring the people around you.
"I have thought about selecting someone among the nobles to coordinate with the troops and serve as deputy commander-in-chief for Zhijie, who can take over at critical moments. Who do you think is suitable?" Zhu Youtang asked.
Zhang Zhou said: "I think your Majesty already has a candidate, right?"
"Alas! I still can't hide it from you. In fact, what I want is to let Uncle Ping Jiang go. I transferred him back to the capital before, which made him bear a lot of infamy. Now he has difficulty gaining a foothold in the governor's mansion. He has been claiming to be ill recently. It’s hard for me to arrange errands for him. If he can go to Liaodong and perform meritorious deeds, he can probably restore his reputation and make his merits disappear.”
Zhu Youtang punished Chen Rui before, mostly because of Wang Yue's instigation.
After Zhu Youtang calmed down, he felt that he might have been a little harsh on Chen Rui.
But Zhang Zhou didn't think so.
You, Chen Liangjiu, were very slippery when you were running away. Why didn't you think about saving face at that time? Oh, when Wang Weining won the battle, you said that people were ridiculing you! There is nothing wrong with you, but Wang Weining will target you?
"By the way, Bingkuan, what do you think are the chances that Duoyan Sanwei will offend Ning Yuan again?" Zhu Youtang asked seriously.
Zhang Zhou said: "Sixty to seventy percent."
Zhang Zhou's statement is well-founded. "Records of Xiaozong" records that after the three guards of Duoyan committed an attack on Kaiyuan in early March, they committed another offense in mid-March.
First, "prisoners entered Kaiyuan and other places in Liaodong, killed and plundered people and animals, and ordered patrols and censors to ask questions to prepare for the garrison and other officials. They all commanded Wang Zong, and guarded the right general Jiao Yuan and the right prisoner Huang Yan. Dai Zui was still ordered to kill them. thief".
There is no penalty at first, so you can continue to defend and kill the enemy.
But then...
"(March 3) Jiazi, the prisoners entered the far territory of Ningxia, Liaodong, killed and captured people and animals, and ordered the censors to arrest and interrogate Qian Ying and other town inspectors, and the eunuch Ren Liang and others to wait for Ying and other prison instruments to hear about it."
After Duoyan Sanwei's two crimes are over.
The imperial court also issued an order: "... the right-hand generals who were guarding Kaiyuan were ordered to command the minister Jiao Yuan to return to the capital and stay at leisure, so that the guarding eunuch Ren Liang could report his illegal activities and investigate the facts."
In other words, the imperial court punished Duoyan and his three guards twice in March.
The situation in Ningyuan was more serious. Qian Ying, the commander of Ningyuan, was directly imprisoned for questioning. However, because of the follow-up pursuit and meritorious service, the commanding officer Wang Zong and the supervisor Huang Yan of Kaiyuan were not arrested. Jiao Yuan, the commander of the capital, was punished and was dismissed from his post and lived idle.
Ren Liang, a guard eunuch with a background in the imperial court, played a very special role. He himself was guilty, but when the crime was finally investigated, he became the judge.
Even eunuchs with no background in the court would find it hard to get out and hang out.
Now Zhang Zhou has learned from Xiao Jing that Ren Liang is the son of the eunuch Wei Bin, the eunuch Bingbi, and that Chen Kuan also has many contacts with him.
Coupled with the fact that Li Gao, the commander-in-chief of Yizhou, and Zhang Yu, the censor of Youqiandu, had falsely reported military exploits, Zhang Zhou knew that Liaodong was actually the territory of Wei Bin and Chen Kuan, and many people were promoted through their connections. , which also explains why Wei Bin showed some resistance to him when he previously suggested that Liaodong might take credit.
The reason is that this is tantamount to touching Wei Bin's vital interests.
"Sixty to seventy percent, that's okay." Zhu Youtang said with a smile, "If you say sixty to seventy percent, I'll take it as eighty to ninety percent."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Why doesn't your majesty give 10%?"
The few eunuchs who followed him held their breath and concentrated.
In the whole court, only Zhang Zhou dared to speak to the emperor like this.
Zhu Youtang smiled and analyzed: "I also remember what you said, God's will is easy to predict, and people's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows what Di Yi is thinking in his heart? If they were aware of Liaodong's preparations for war, they probably wouldn't Here, this is why I have to dispatch troops and generals from other places, just to prevent Di Yi from investigating..."
"Um."
Zhang Zhou nodded in agreement while thinking.
Your Majesty, stop pretending.
Don't make excuses for creating opportunities for Zhang Yanling. Perhaps in your opinion, attacking the arrogance of Duoyan Sanwei is not as important as making contributions to Zhang Yanling, right?
If the Duoyan Three Guards were really such a big threat in Liaodong, it wouldn't be the case that Liaodong's defense has been so lax for so many years.
"Bingkuan, I plan to find someone to hint to Uncle Ping Jiang and ask him to come and beg you," Zhu Youtang said.
"I'm afraid it's not appropriate for him to ask a tribute like me." Naturally, Zhang Zhou declined.
Zhu Youtang said: "We also want to give each other a step down. I was so harsh to him before. If no one interceded for him, how could I let him continue to lead troops in Liaodong? If he wants to compliment you, you don't have to. Be polite to him and accept whatever he gives you. You don’t have to give it to me. You can just treat it as a way for him to atone for his previous sins.”
Zhang Zhou thought to himself that he was asking for bribes again.
