No matter how much Qin Hong admires Zhang Zhou, he doesn't need to pave the way for Zhang Zhou's future. Instead, he will help Wang Qiong if he can.
Wang Qiong has always been a "little person" and has a long road ahead. Having Qin Hong as his mentor will be of great help to Wang Qiong's future career.
When Qin Hong left for Yansui, Tang Yin and Wang Shouren had their own tasks in Piantou Pass and were about to leave Piantou Pass.
Wang Shouren was attending the funeral for Wang Yue and wanted to send Wang Yue's coffin away, while Tang Yin was only serving as an aide to the "Xuan Da General Administration". Now that the Xuan Da General Administration has been replaced, he will go to the Xuan Mansion to meet Zhang Zhou. Anyway, Zhang Zhou
Zhou was his "senior brother" and he had been hanging out with Zhang Zhou for two months, but he didn't think anything of it.
When he returned home and was packing his things, Xu Jing came to the door.
"Bohu, are you going to Xuan Mansion to join Master Zhang?"
Xu Jing was shameless and insisted on having a close relationship with Tang Yin, becoming the so-called "staff of staff".
At first, Tang Yin didn't want to have any contact with Xu Jing. He couldn't stand Xu Jing's thick skin and rich wealth. Tang Yin had just entered the officialdom and couldn't even rent a place in the capital to settle down. He usually had to live in an official residence. Now Xu
After following him to Pianguan, he could not only drink and drink regularly, but also had people offering money and help, so he had no choice but to accept it in the end.
Tang Yin knew that Xu Jing wanted to go to Xuanfu with him, so he shook his head and said: "The journey from here to Xuanfu is not peaceful. Wang Zhongcheng will only give a few fast horses and a dozen cavalry to escort him. It will be a hard journey, otherwise you can stay
Stay in Pianguan and wait until the situation stabilizes before planning elsewhere."
"do not."
When Xu Jing heard this, Tang Yin wanted to get rid of him. He hurriedly said, "I'm going to see Master Zhang. Why don't I go instead? Bohu, my life is over. If I go to Zhejiang as ordered by the court, I will
I can only be a petty official for the rest of my life. With my background, why should I suffer such cowardice? I can only follow you."
Tang Yin frowned.
In the past, he was a little embarrassed in front of Xu Jing, mainly because he was the financial backer and he was a follower.
Now I feel that Xu Jing is a dog-skin plaster that I can’t get rid of even if I want to.
Xu Jingdao: "Bohu doesn't have to worry about the expense of going to Xuan Mansion. I'll recruit my own people. A few dozen people are enough. We'll have someone to take care of us along the way. I don't have to pack up there, I can hit the road at any time..."
"Hello!"
Before Tang Yin could object, Xu Jing had already run back to sort out his belongings.
Tang Yin suddenly felt that he seemed to have made a very wrong decision by letting Xu Jing follow him, and he seemed to have no peace wherever he went in the future.
…
…
Beijing.
After Zhang Zhou left, his influence on the courtiers was not great. It can even be said that the government and the public were relaxed.
In the past, I had to endure even participating in the impeachment of Zhang Zhou, but now I finally no longer have to endure it. I can participate in the impeachment as much as I want. Zhang Zhou is not in the capital anyway, and the emperor did not talk about it in the court after receiving the memorial...
This feeling that both the government and the public are under the control of my civil servants is really great.
However, under this kind of relaxation, there is something "weird" everywhere.
Zhang Zhouren went to Xuanfu, but the shadow he left behind always shrouded every yamen in the imperial court.
Especially the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of War, and the Governor's Mansion, because this is the yamen where Zhang Zhou is responsible. In addition, there are also yamen such as the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry. Zhang Zhou's mining and artillery casting issues always have to be dealt with.
Relevant official documents.
The court meeting just ended today.
When Zhu Youtang returned to Qianqing Palace, Dai Yi took an urgent note from the Xuanfu and handed it to him.
"...Your Majesty, it is Ma Zhongxi, the governor of the Xuanfu, who impeached Wan Quan, the commander of the Left Guard, the former chief military officer of the Xuanfu, and now the deputy chief of the Xuanfu, Ma Yi, who used his private army to enrich himself and concealed his mistakes. Wait, please bring him to justice, but before he took him, Ma Yi heard the news in advance and left his post without permission on the pretext of patrolling, or he may have defected to the barbarians..."
After Dai Yi said this, he felt that the matter was quite difficult.
Zhu Youtang frowned when he heard this and said: "It doesn't matter that the chief military officer left his post without authorization, but he actually surrendered to the enemy? Are you sure you are not mistaken?"
The Ming Dynasty was relatively benevolent to its border army officers. Generally, even if they falsely reported military exploits, suffered strategic mistakes, suffered defeats, etc., and were found guilty of crimes that deserved death, the emperor would usually be extra merciful and change them to dismissal from their posts, or send them to live in exile for meritorious service. Rarely did they actually do so. Will kill the frontier generals.
But for a former commander-in-chief to surrender to the enemy, this is a bit unbelievable.
Dai Yiwei said: "It was Ma Zhongxi who guessed this, but it is not accurate. After all, there was no report of Ma Yi leaving the fortress in Guansai, or he hid it because he was afraid of being accused."
Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "What is Ma Zhongxi going to do at this juncture?"
In the Ming Dynasty, Ma Zhongxi was a "ruthless character". His purpose as an official throughout his life was to make enemies of various "evil forces". From the Chenghua period when he participated in the impeachment of Wan Guifei's younger brother Wantong, to later in the impeachment of Wang Zhi, Liang Fang, then when he was the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Jiang Cong, who was the guard eunuch of Nanjing during the investigation, Lou Xing, a doctor in the Ministry of War...
To put it mildly, he hates evil so much that he can't get the sand out of his eyes.
To put it bluntly, he is a thorn in the side, as if everyone in the world feels sorry for him.
Zhu Youtang expressed this emotion because he believed that Ma Zhongxi suddenly wanted to investigate Ma Yi at this time, which was clearly intended to target Zhang Zhou, who was transferred to the trilateral system.
Ma Zhongxi has been an official for half his life, and now he has to serve as a subordinate to a new Jinshi. It's strange that he feels comfortable. You, Zhang Zhouren, haven't arrived at the Xuan Mansion yet. It's a bit difficult to directly investigate you. After all, we haven't found any bad deeds about you, but the investigation is about to begin. I'm better at currying favor with you, or even with the generals who follow your lead.
"Your Majesty, the news that came earlier is that Mr. Zhang and his party have left Juyongguan and will arrive at Xuanfu in three or two days. What do you think about this matter... Do you want Mr. Zhang to take over?"
Dai Yi is a discerning person.
Since Ma Zhongxi wants to cause trouble, the best way is to give Ma Zhongxi the authority to investigate and deal with Ma Yi to Zhang Zhou.
Aren’t you, Ma Zhongxi, trying to establish your authority over Zhang Zhou?
Now I will transfer your authority to investigate and investigate the Xuanfu army's illegal activities to Zhang Zhou. I will pluck out your claws and see how you can still do it.
Zhu Youtang held Ma Zhongxi's memorial in his hand, looked it over and then threw it on the table: "If the commander-in-chief Ma Yi really surrenders to the enemy, then no one can blame him. He should be arrested or confiscated, but if not... he just went out to hide. How to investigate the crime has not changed."
"But Your Majesty..." Dai Yi wanted to remind.
This is clearly aimed at Zhang Zhou, so we just let Ma Zhongxi do what he wants?
Zhu Youtang said: "If the case filed by Ma Zhongxi is handed over directly to Bingkuan, it will be true. Ma Yi has nothing to do with Bingkuan. Is there anyone who wants to use it to make use of it?"
Dai Yi understood immediately.
It seems that giving Zhang Zhou the authority to investigate the case will prevent Ma Zhongxi from taking advantage of the situation.
But the emperor's thoughts are at a higher level. The emperor must show as much as possible that this matter has nothing to do with Zhang Zhou and is left to you, Ma Zhongxi, to toss.
As long as Zhang Zhou is the chief executive of Xuanda and you, Ma Zhongxi, are still just the governor of Xuan, the official level will be able to suppress you firmly, and the so-called killing the chicken to scare the monkey will have no effect on Zhang Zhou.
…
…
In recent days, the situation in the northwest has been relatively stable, and there have been no further reports of war.
Pianguan, Xuanfu, Yansui, Ningxia and other places seem to have stopped for the time being.
This is related to Wang Qiong's victory in the attack at the side pass. The Tatars also seem to feel that the Ming Dynasty will no longer only retreat and defend like before. Knowing that the Ming Dynasty is likely to send troops to retaliate, whoever attacks will find trouble for themselves.
trouble.
It happened that this was the eve of the internal Tatar annexation, and no tribe was willing to offend Ming, a powerful enemy, before the internal fighting began.
In the past, the Ming Dynasty was cowering, and it was easy to rob. Now whoever provokes the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty army will directly attack... There are also some mighty gunpowder, divine long-range cannons, etc. Are you worried? Are you afraid?
The northwest will be safe and sound, and the cabinet will be a little less relaxed.
On this day, Li Dongyang finished his night shift and returned home after attending the court meeting. He was ready to catch up on his sleep, but it was Li Zhao who came first to salute him and say hello.
Li Zhaoxian's face looked happy.
"Father... my son has taken medicine and is fine. On the contrary, his condition has been relieved..."
Li Zhaoxian was a little excited.
He was originally a terminally ill patient waiting to die, and was gradually falling into despair step by step, but now there are sudden signs of survival from the desperate situation. He still wants to share this good news with his father who "lowered himself" for his sake.
Li Dongyang's face froze for a moment and he asked seriously: "Are you sure it's getting better?"
Li Zhaoxian rolled up his sleeves in front of his father and said, "Father, you see these red spots are starting to fade."
Li Dongyang's first thought was: Could it be that Zhang Zhou really has a "villain's heart"?
"Are there any signs of poisoning in the body?" Li Dongyang was still worried.
Fighting poison with poison has always been a common practice among doctors, and sometimes it can indeed achieve the effect of fighting poison with poison, but not everyone can afford this method.
Li Zhaoxian said: "My appetite has improved a lot recently. I occasionally have a splitting headache, but it hasn't happened again in the past few days. However, I don't dare to increase the dosage of the medicine without authorization. I take and apply it according to Mr. Zhang's instructions."
"Okay, okay." Li Dongyang nodded with satisfaction.
No matter how hard-hearted Li Dongyang is, he will still be happy to see his son's condition alleviated and his face improving.
"Father, I want to take a walk outside after my condition improves, and also go to Xuanfu to see..."
Li Zhaoxian's illness had just improved, and he immediately wanted to leave home and even planned to travel far.
Li Dongyang immediately said with a serious face: "You are not allowed to go anywhere recently. You should stay at home to recuperate. You should not even attend the usual cultural gatherings, and do not see others who come to visit. At this time, what you have to do is to take good care of your health.
You are also not allowed to set foot in Huajie or Liuxiang again!"
Now Li Dongyang doesn't want outsiders to know about Zhang Zhou's treatment for his son.
He knew his son's character and was free and easy as a scholar. If he let his son go out to meet friends or something, he would have to reveal the matter.
He, Li Dongyang, is shameless. Not to mention that his son's illness has not improved significantly yet. Even if he is cured, he still has to consider whether to let others know about it.
"Father……"
Of course Li Zhaoxian was not happy.
Isn't it that I am recuperating for a better life in the future? But you want to keep me at home and be a loner?
Do you think I'm still a teenager? I'm already twenty-five or six, and I've long been able to be independent. Why do I need to listen to you in everything?
Li Dongyang said: "You have to remember that you are the son of the Li family first, and then the minister of the Ming Dynasty. Now that you are not in the court, there is no need for you to worry about the court affairs, and there is no need for you to bother with the trivial matters of life. Now you just need to recover from your illness to live up to your father's duties."
A lot of hard work for you."
This is a reminder to my son.
Your condition has improved now because your father and I gave up the principles we adhered to and asked Zhang Zhou to treat you.
As a result, you haven't recovered from your illness yet, so you want to go out to get a fever? Are you worthy of the painstaking efforts I have made for your condition?
Also, since you don’t have your own career, you are still a parasite, and you have never been bothered by the trivial things in life. You have never thought about your responsibility as a "Li family son", give birth to a grandson for your father and me, and then
To think about something else?
"Sir, remember this."
Li Zhaoxian also knew that his father had been worried about his illness in the past two years, and he also understood his father's obsession with the family's incense.
Now that his father has said this, even if he doesn't want to be locked up at home, he can only endure it for the time being.
…
…
Zhang Zhou and his party went to Xuanfu and passed through Huailai County five days after leaving the capital.
Zhang Zhou originally thought that the marching speed would not be too fast, but when he came out, he realized...it is true that any general can bring out what troops.
A group of lazy soldiers who usually seemed like soldiers, knew that they were following him, a "famous general" on the battlefield, and they all showed their potential. They traveled more than a hundred miles a day without anyone complaining about being tired along the way.
Those ordinary craftsmen did not complain all the way, driving the chariots and dragging the artillery. The whole journey was basically a desolate and decayed scene, but they were still able to complete the rapid march.
Zhang Zhou also witnessed the decline of the northwest of the Ming Dynasty along the way.
Especially after leaving Juyongguan.
Even the road from Juyongguan to Xuanfu was so full of weeds that it was almost difficult to distinguish the traces of the road, and not even a village could be seen along the way. Occasionally, traces of merchants could be seen. These merchants found out that Ming troops were passing by.
Always stay away...
The night of the fifth day of the expedition.
After the group was stationed, necessary food was delivered to the post house. In fact, it was impossible for the post house to provide meals for the army led by Zhang Zhou, and it could only cook a small stove for Zhang Zhou alone.
Zhang Zhou became a local official for the first time, at the general level. In the three-acre area of Xuanda, Zhang Zhou was the biggest official. The people in the post house knew that Zhang Zhou was a celebrity in front of the emperor, so they naturally had to take care of him as much as possible.
.
I don’t want to show my face, I just want not to be hated.
"How much money does this cost? Chicken, duck, fish... if you eat too much, you will feel full." Zhang Zhou pointed to Zhang Lun next to him, "Take it out, I have been suffering from indigestion recently and can't eat it!"
It can be said that Zhang Lun's journey was very hard. Even if he didn't eat glutinous rice, the food was much worse than at home.
What's more important is that as a young man, he had to complete such a long journey. In the past, even if his family strictly required training, the intensity could not be half as intense as this march.
Immediately, Zhang Lun took the food box and went out to find Zhu Hui and others to eat together.
"Sir." Sun Shangqi entered Zhang Zhou's tent, "The sentries intercepted several riders three miles away. One of them claimed to be Ma Yi, the former chief soldier of Xuanfu, and said that he had been framed by Governor Ma of Xuanfu.
, I came here specifically to redress my grievances."
"What?"
Zhang Zhou frowned.
I haven't even arrived at Xuan Mansion yet, so why are there so many weird things happening?
Sun Shangqi said: "I have found people in the army who are familiar with the northwest, and I am sure that Ma Yi is correct."
Zhang Zhou did not immediately respond.
When encountering this kind of thing, the best thing is to not listen to what Ma Yi said, and directly send the person to the Xuan Mansion and hand it over to Ma Zhongxi, who is investigating Ma Yi. This shows that he, Zhang Zhou, has nothing to do with this matter.
Or you can hand the person over to the Jin Yiwei, and have the Jin Yiwei take him back to the capital and hand him over to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment for questioning.
At the next level, you can raise your account on the spot, publicly interrogate Ma Yi in front of all the nobles and soldiers, and then decide what to do next.
The worst thing...that is, the one you shouldn't choose is to meet in private.
But Zhang Zhou is no ordinary person.
"Let him come and see you." Zhang Zhou put down the official letter in his hand. The so-called official letters are for reporting military information from various places. After he left Juyongguan, all the disturbances related to the declaration of the land boundary were what he, the commander-in-chief, should be concerned about. He also
Always pay attention to the movements of the Tatars, lest you encounter the Tatar cavalry knocking at the pass to attack the camp.
…
…
Sun Shangqi came out of the camp and brought Ma Yi.
In order to ensure that Ma Yi did not come to threaten Zhang Zhou's safety, he removed Ma Yi's weapons and tied his hands. He was accompanied by six Jinyi guards.
"Ma Yi, a humble official, comes to see Zhang Zhitai."
Ma Yi knelt down when they met, without hesitation at all, and she felt like she regarded Zhang Zhou as her biological father and grandfather.
Zhang Zhou looked at Ma Yi's face and sighed: "He is so majestic and heroic. He is truly a hero."
"Um?"
Sun Shangqi and others next to him were stunned.
How could Zhang Zhou actually take on the role of a military commander who was "a guilty person"?
No matter how much you admire him, you can't judge that he is a "hero" based on his appearance, right?
"I don't dare to take it seriously." Ma Yicheng was frightened.
It turns out that this newly appointed General Secretary of Xuanda, a powerful person in front of the emperor, has heard of me a long time ago? And he still appreciates me so much? Could it be that His Majesty also told him to think more highly of me?
"Is everything okay at home? I mean...your children are waiting..." Zhang Zhou suddenly asked an unreasonable question.
Ma Yi's tiger body trembled.
Damn it, aren’t you trying to kill me to give gifts to that damn Ma Zhongxi?
Ma Zhongxi condemned me to death!
If you don't want to kill me, why are you asking my children?
"The children... are still... okay." Ma Yi looked nervous.
Zhang Zhou smiled: "Children must be well disciplined, and fathers must set an example."
"..."
Ma Yi was completely confused.
Is this a charade?
Zhang Zhou smiled. His interest in Ma Yi...had nothing to do with what this person had done. In history, Ma Yi was also impeached by Ma Zhongxi, and this guy was indeed not a positive character.
But the only fame this kind of person has in history is that Ma Zhongxi demonstrated his demeanor as a famous official.
Become a backdrop for others.
But the children of this guy are very famous...
Ma Yi's son Ma Ang was the one who would give his married and pregnant sister to Zhu Houzhao in the future... That's why Zhang Zhou was so interested in asking about his children.
Because of the age, Ma Ang and her sister had already been born by this time.
"Okay, get up and talk. Speak slowly if you have anything to do. As long as it doesn't involve righteousness, I can still help you. Who wants some people to treat you just to smear my face?"
